Prime Willow-JeanWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour—Northland): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Thank you for the opportunity to take a short call on the member's bill. Tuatahi māku e mihi kau ana ki a koe e Rawiri. Nāu te waimarie i puta tēnei o ngā pire i te tīni pihikete me kī engari e mihi ana ki a koe. [Firstly I acknowledge you Rawiri. You have been lucky to have this particular bill drawn from the biscuit tin let's say but I acknowledge you.]I can see there is a little bit of confusion in terms of taking this call but I will carry on. Thank you to those who have made the contributions before me. What I wanted to add to that is today has been a really significant day for us in Parliament. We've had a special photograph taken celebrating the fact that we are now 50:50 wāhine in Parliament. This evening in the speeches we had Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia recognised for the work that she did around—along with others and those that came later—ensuring that women could enrol and could vote. So I want to mihi to that tupuna of ours wahine mana whai kaha kia tū tātou katoa i tēnei Whare i tēnei pō [a woman whose strength enables us to stand in this House tonight]. Secondly I want to just acknowledge Iriaka Rātana the first Māori woman to be elected to Parliament. Like Arena Williams I am actually on the Māori roll and I am the MP for Northland and there was a funny situation in the by-election and that's the point I really want to make around this this evening. But in the by-election  there were questions being asked about who I would vote for in that by-election and I was proud to be able to say that my MP for Parliament was Kelvin Davis and I had already cast my vote. And to everybody's surprise they were like Ha! You're not even on the general roll; you can't vote for yourself." And you know they couldn't fathom that I wouldn't be on the general roll and getting that additional vote for myself. I am still on the Māori roll proud that Kelvin Davis is my MP and even though I have that ability to switch rolls and to vote for myself I fundamentally believe in the Māori seats in Parliament and will stay on the Māori roll because of it. And you know what? It was so special to be able to vote in this year's local body elections for my four candidates for the Ngā Tai o Tokerau seats in the Far North District Council and the Te Raki constituency in the Northland Regional Council. But I too have long understood the problem—the unfairness that exists—that we can only switch those rolls after a census every five to six years in a very short window of time when you get the little envelope with the orange guy on it; that every time you get it it's something a little bit different that you're needing to respond to; and that within that four-month window so many people missed that opportunity to switch rolls. Yet if I moved to a different area like I have—I've lived in Hamilton I've lived in Wellington and I've lived in Northland—I can change my electorate at any time that I move around. There is an inherent unfairness and that's what your bill—sorry Mr Speaker what the member's bill—aims to address. But like has been mentioned in the House we actually already have a bill which does that and is far more progressed than the member's. I am a member of the Justice Committee. We received over 120 submissions. Overwhelmingly they pointed out the problems that together the member and our side of the House have identified and wish to address. If I could just say that in terms of our bill the one thing it does mention is the by-election and I do actually support this because when I stood for Northland you know I already elected my member of Parliament—that was Kelvin Davis. To then be able to jump over and elect myself I think would be unfair and you would be getting two bites at the cherry. So I do actually support that there be that restriction that limitation around by-elections because you have already had that chance to choose your person. So I think that provision within our piece of legislation is preferable but I absolutely support that we be able to change rolls freely and certainly more frequently than five to six years. But unfortunately I won't be supporting the member's bill because we have one already past second reading. Kia ora."