Dean JacquiHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): Thank you Mr Speaker. Referendums Framework Bill at the second reading. This is my first opportunity to speak on this bill and I want to centre my contribution around the framework around referenda and around changes to electoral law and to reflect back that prior to this Government electoral law changes have customarily always been subject to any change only after consideration by the Justice Committee of the day by way of a triennial review into the general election and/or into the local election. In previous Parliaments those two review inquiries have been taken separately; in this case not so. The changes that have been made to electoral law under this Government are a departure from that custom in the strong democracy that is New Zealand and are a departure from that structure of a parliamentary scrutiny then recommendations then legislation—with opportunities for public input both in the inquiry stage and then when the bill passes through the Parliament stage—which has endured in past Parliaments for many many generations. That piece of electoral legislation which is the very foundation most would argue of our strong parliamentary democracy is now being eroded under this Government. I can reflect back over a number of Parliaments where under the Government of the day—and in particular I refer to the John Key - led and Bill English - led National Governments—there were a number of changes to legislation that were made but they were made as a result of a particular event. I'm thinking around the appointment of commissioners to Environment Canterbury because of a failure of that local authority to notify a water plan which was sorely needed. I refer to the appointment of commissioners at the Southern District Health Board legislation which had a finite period for the Rugby World Cup around special events and Canterbury earthquake recovery legislation. Those are the pieces of legislation that were brought in outside of that structure and they were brought in because of an event that needed legislation to deal with that particular event and most of them had a sunset clause or were only there for a certain time. Where this Referendums Framework Bill utterly falls down is that it not only—not only—pays no lip service to good parliamentary practice but is there to serve the needs of the current Government and that is just wrong. There is no good reason for a change in electoral law to serve the needs of the current Government unless those needs are less than honourable. So this Referendums Framework Bill does just that. So there is no proper parliamentary process around this bill. In the bill the Government is taking away from Parliament the responsibility for the wording and the subject of the referenda. That is an absolutely naked grab for power. The speeches over the other side of the House by this coalition Government are nothing—nothing—other than self-justification for a piece of legislation that they know is certainly not up to the standards of what we should expect in New Zealand out of our Parliament and out of our democracy. The fact that elections and referenda then become the subject for the Government of the day is about as far away from good practice as you can possibly get and we continue to oppose—Ginny Andersen: What was the flag? What was that? Your legacy. Hon JACQUI DEAN: Legacy? A member from the other side of the House just called out It's a legacy." It's a legacy all right. It will be remembered as a moment in time of infamy for this New Zealand Parliament but not this side of the House—not from the National Opposition—because we oppose. We emphatically oppose this terrible poor poor bill."