Hide Rodney: Electoral (Vacancies) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Hide Rodney: Electoral (Vacancies) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:610;Page:7761] 
RODNEY HIDE (ACT NZ) 
: 
 What we have is a very very misnamed bill. If it were properly titled it would be called the “Saving Harry Duynhoven from the Voters of New Plymouth Bill”. But that would not be correct either. From the way the bill is drafted it is not just a matter of “Saving Private Harry”. It should be titled the “Saving Harry Duynhoven (and Unnamed Members of the Labour Party) from the Voters Bill”. We on this side suspect that a list member or two are caught up in this bill. The significance of that is that those members are gone; there is no by-election—they are gone! I look across to my colleague and friend the Hon Peter Dunne— 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: You’ve never said that before! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: When the Hon Peter Dunne of United Future had the unfortunate and sad circumstance of one of his MPs being caught up in the Electoral Act—which could happen to anyone—did he say to the Government: “Oh you need our vote Prime Minister so change the law. Because Kelly Chal has been elected change the law.”? No he did not. I do not think it would ever occur to Peter Dunne that the Government would change the Electoral Act to accommodate a member of Parliament. It would not occur to him. So what is the difference now? The Labour Government has introduced a measure that should be titled the “Saving Harry Duynhoven (and Unnamed Members of the Labour Party) from the Voters Bill”. I point out that if it were a list member that person would be gone and the next person on the list would come in. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: Who is it? 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Who is the next person on the list? The Government obviously does not like that individual and also does not like the thought of another by-election. But again as my friend and colleague the Rt Hon Peter Dunne pointed out— 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Now you’ve promoted me. It gets better and better! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well I have never before heard so much common sense in 5 minutes. This bill is not just about saving the Labour Party MPs who are in trouble and do not even have the courage to front up; it is actually about saving as Peter Dunne pointed out every MP in the House in the future who decides to sign up to a foreign power. Is that seriously what this Parliament wants? We could have Nandor Tanczos Rastaman signing up to Jamaica. We could have Helen Clark signing up to the UN. We could have my colleague Richard Worth signing up to Monaco as a bolt hole after the next election to hide his face. He could be signing up to that one. We could have Clayton Cosgrove after Ron Mark has beaten him declaring himself a political refugee throwing himself on the mercy of a country that has even slacker immigration rules than we do and floating in a boat somewhere but in the meantime saying under this bill: “Actually I can sign up to a foreign power.” 
Richard Worth 
: Where would you go? 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Oh I would go straight to Epsom as the member for Epsom. I tell Mr Worth that ACT members do not need to sign up anywhere; we are New Zealand citizens with New Zealand passports. We do not sign up to any power overseas unlike the Labour Party. Think about it: what sort of ministry is Helen Clark running when the Hon Harry Duynhoven as far as we can figure out has not signed anything this year as a Minister except his allegiance to the Dutch Government? He is getting paid big bucks as a Minister and the only thing that he has done as a Minister—and let us be clear about this—of the Crown is to sign his allegiance to a foreign power.