Hudson BrettBRETT HUDSON (National): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker—pleasure to rise. We are supporting the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017-18 Employment and Investment Income and Remedial Matters) Bill in this its second reading. The bill keeps our tax system working efficiently and will help prepare us for the sort of work we're doing with Inland Revenue's Business Transformation.As previous speakers including the Minister have pointed out the Finance and Expenditure Committee did some great work to bring the bill back to the House in an even better shape. So it is really quite unfortunate that with all that good work done by that committee—fairly clearly a very capable committee—the Minister decided one day after the report was returned to introduce a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) around the brightline test which means that that public consultation and submission process has been subverted. This Government does not want to listen to the public on that important matter—a matter that affects so many of them. I think the stats show that its around about 120000 to 125000 people that own something like no more than three investment properties so when people talk about mum and pop investors that is definitely who they are talking about.So the Government's determined they don't want to listen to the public. They've also shown they don't want to listen to officials on this because Treasury and inland revenue are both saying that the measure won't have the intended effect and could have some very adverse consequences. So we're left wondering on this side—and I think the public also are left wondering—just who they are consulting with. It appears to us at least that they've set up this little echo chamber that is a Cabinet room where they're sitting around a round table talking to and at each other and thinking that somehow that constitutes proper reflection and consultation on legislation.Just to compound that we have the Greens who formerly opposed this bill when it was introduced under the previous National-led Government who as Mr Shaw pointed out did raise issues about the taxation for the mining and oil exploration—end of business tax treatments. If he had referred instead to National Ministers' comments in the first reading he would actually have known and been able to acknowledge that the concerns they had were addressed by the then Government in the first reading. But instead the Greens appear just to have changed their minds because they now find themselves on the other side—just another principle the Greens appear to have sacrificed for the baubles of office. They've done it on this particular bill they've done it on the waka-jumping bill they've done it on urgency being introduced to the House—they even did it last year on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary bill. Quite frankly I listened to Mr Shaw's speech and I thought of Groucho Marx—Groucho Marx—who remarked These are my principles; if you don't like them I have others."That I think absolutely accurately describes the Green Party that we have in this 52nd Parliament and I'm pretty sure that the public see that and the public will remember that. This SOP is an absolute disgrace but the bill we will continue to support. Thank you."