Curran Clare: Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCurran Clare: Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 18 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18663. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South):Why has it taken so long for the Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill to come back to the Committee? It is not an unreasonable question. Why has it taken so long? I have just gone today and looked back at the last time it was that I spoke on this bill which was in July last year—July last year—in the second reading. Before that it took 18 months to actually get to the House and then another year to get through the Commerce Committee. So why has it taken so long for this piece of legislation to come back to the House for the Committee stage? The next question is: how long is it going to take for it to get to the third reading and for it to actually get through? Is that going to happen or is that going to take another year? This is a really important question and I think that everybody who is watching or listening on the radio to this debate tonight should actually be asking themselves this question.I do not know how many times I have stood in this Chamber and said basically these same things. Why is it taking so long for legislation that is around managing and ensuring accountability for the corporate raiders in this country—for the white-collar criminals to be actually held accountable? Why is it that it is taking so long for the legislation that holds them accountable to get through this Parliament under that Government over on that side of the Chamber? Why? I would like to know whether it is a deliberate strategy because we are seeing an awful lot of other legislation that is going through the House that is actually impacting on working people and people who are the most vulnerable in our society and making their lives harder under this Government. But when it comes to those who are responsible for white-collar crime it takes for ever—for ever—to get legislation passed through the House.That is a really important difference between the National Government and the other side which is the Labour Party which actually cares about the lives of ordinary working people who might invest their life-savings into a company where they think that they will take some shares in a company and what happens is that they get ripped off by the corporate raiders who are supported by the National Government. They get ripped off and it takes for ever—for ever—for any legislation to get passed and for them to have their rights protected or feel as if this Government is actually on their side. This Government is not on their side. This Government is on the side of the corporates. This Government is on the side of monopolies. This Government does not support the ordinary working person and does not support the ordinary battling person whether they are a small-business person or a person who is really just trying to make their way—even a person who has got good ideas and is trying to get a good company up.Hon Simon Bridges: Oh Mega.CLARE CURRAN: Excuse me? That is what I would like to hear from the Minister sitting in the chair Craig Foss because I do not know how many times I have stood in this Chamber as a member of the Commerce Committee who has sat and heard submissions on this bill. We have heard through the financial reforms that have come through in the last few years people before the select committee who were crying who have lost their life-savings and who have been extremely badly affected. Inch by inch by inch we have seen legislation eventually coming before the House taking years—simply years. If there was urgency why would a bill like this not be considered to be an important bill? Why would this bill not be considered a bill that could merit being passed through the House really quickly? Well because it is not a priority. That was my first point: why has it taken so long? I would be really interested to hear the Minister of Commerce’s explanation for that because there is no explanation. If there is it would be really good to hear what it was.The second point that I want to make tonight around this piece of legislation is the work—[Interruption] I know that the members on the other side of the Chamber are feeling a bit embarrassed about that because actually there is nothing they can say really to dispute the fact. The fact stands that it took 18 months to even get the legislation before the Commerce Committee then it took at least another year once it had got out of the select committee to get before the House. No doubt it will take a long time to actually pass it into law.The introduction of criminal sanctions for the very serious breaches of existing duties of directors—that is my second point. I do want to comment on the important work that the select committee did on this because it was important work. There was an important balance as the Minister said when he got up. I do appreciate the fact that the Minister did get up. This Minister despite the fact that he does take a long time to get legislation through the House does not resile from standing up and taking a call. I do want to give him credit for that because he does not resile from doing that. Unlike other Ministers in this Chamber who just sit there like dummies and do not say a word this Minister actually does have the guts to get up take a call and try to provide explanations on issues.Sue Moroney: That’s you Simon.CLARE CURRAN: Yes there is at least one of those Ministers sitting in the Chamber tonight. With regard to the work that was done on the criminal sanctions and the importance of creating that balance so that it was not seen to be punishing risk-taking innovative behaviour members on this side of the Chamber are right behind the engine room of our country in terms of economic development which is small business. That is where your innovation comes from that is where we are going to see the greatest ideas and what are we doing? We are actually backing small business. That Government over there actually backs crony monopolists and the big companies that are its mates. In terms of small business which is where innovation comes from in this country that Government is not behind it. It is really important that we do not put barriers in its way in terms of innovation.It is also very important that there is accountability. When it comes to the impact of corporate behaviour on investors—particularly on the small investors who get really badly done over—it is really important that we have criminal sanctions. White-collar crime should be treated with much more seriousness in our country than it is. So on this side of politics on this side of the Parliament of New Zealand we believe that it is all about intent—dishonesty with intent. If it is dishonesty with intent then it should absolutely be penalised. That is a basic principle. It is a basic principle of law it is a basic principle on which this country is founded and it is a basic principle of Labour values and that is extremely important. After the work that was done in the select committee—I want to thank my fellow members of the select committee and the officials who participated—on this part of the law we have found that balance and we should be proud of ourselves for that.My conundrum is: why has it taken so long? Why? Please Minister get up and tell us what it was that was so important that it had to be passed under urgency that might actually impact on the lowest-paid people and the more vulnerable people in our country. Why is it that we are not saying that white-collar crime is not OK? It is absolutely not OK in this country and we are going to not only put laws through this Parliament but say that they are important urgent laws. We are going to do it quickly and we are going to ensure that they are sorted.