Woolerton R Doug: Electoral Finance Bill — In Committee 
Woolerton R Doug: Electoral Finance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:644;Page:13606] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 I hope that a lot of people were listening to that contribution if I can call it that—intervention is probably a more appropriate word—from Bill English. They will have heard National’s view on the law; they will have heard National’s view on electoral law in particular and they will have heard National’s view on common sense and morality. In this country most people obey laws to the extent of common sense. 
Hon Members 
: Ha ha! 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Opposition members scoff but that is how most New Zealanders run their lives—by common sense—and it is the correct way to live. But not in the National Party. That party runs the law to the absolute limit and that is exactly what has caused this bill to come into the House. At the last election National members went beyond common sense they went beyond what is reasonable and they went beyond what is acceptable. In my view and in the view of many New Zealanders they also went beyond what is morally right and what is morally just in this country. 
Bob Clarkson 
: Pay it back. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: New Zealand First will pay it back. [ 
Interruption 
] The member will see when. Common sense is what rules most New Zealanders’ lives. It is an indictment on a party that presumes to take power that it does not see law in the understanding of common sense and that it does not see moral right as having anything to do with the law. National members believe that the law is the preserve of lawyers and they will run it to the very edge. That is not the way New Zealanders live. [ 
Interruption 
] I am getting interventions from the National Party as I speak but I think that at any other time in our history that would have been considered absolutely disgusting because in New Zealand we take great pride in doing what is right; not what is necessarily lawful to the letter of the law. 
We believe in doing what is right and the National Party does not believe it. Those members have said it time and time again throughout this debate. I think it is just terrible that they are doing that. I have to say that I am ashamed to have had anything to do with the National Party in the past. The National Party that I belonged to did believe in doing the common-sense thing it did believe in doing the moral thing and it did believe in doing the right thing by its fellow countrymen. I am ashamed to have had anything to do with this modern version of that party. 
Bob Clarkson 
: Pay it back. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: We will pay it back. Part 3 does deal with consequences it does deal with penalties and it does deal with the liabilities of candidates and we all know what they are. They are written there clearly for everybody to see. I am sure that the National Party will take those to the absolute limit of the law. That saddens me because in New Zealand First we are not afraid of any of these penalties or any of these sanctions. We do not see any single one of them as inhibiting our right to free speech and we do not see any single one of them as inhibiting the rights of New Zealanders to participate in an election. That is why we are supporting this bill. We do things that are right we do things that are moral and we do things that are just. We believe that most New Zealanders understand that. 
When it comes to National members hopping up continually and saying that there is huge concern about this bill in the country amongst the populace I want to break this issue down not for the people in this Chamber but for the record and for people who may be listening. In this country at the present time we basically have polls that say that Labour is on around 40 percent and National is approaching 40 percent also and that adds up to 80 percent of the voting public if I am correct. The rest of it is distributed amongst other parties.