McClay ToddHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): Mr Speaker can I ask you on behalf of the Opposition to put the Lord's name back into the prayer because thank God that the Minister stopped speaking then at the end of the five minutes. SPEAKER: No.Hon TODD McCLAY: Well we'll try again. So here's the thing: there is only one thing that this country can be thankful for to Winston Peters and it's him choosing Jacinda Ardern as the Prime Minister. Without that Kelvin Davis could well have been Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and wouldn't that be a concerning sad day. When the Opposition are asking about a dairy in there actually it's because every time he's released his diary all it talks about is the lunches that he has. On behalf of the Opposition I've got to say that that was a disgraceful speech from the deputy leader of the Labour Party because there wasn't a single thing of importance to New Zealanders that he spoke about. Up and down the country this Government is being seen as ineffective and in a shambles. Winston Peters is about to go off to the US but what he won't tell New Zealanders about is what the Government's position is on a UN agreement when it comes to migration. Does he and his Government accept that the United Nations have had an impact and a say when it comes to New Zealand's immigration practices or not? What I want to go through is just a little bit of process here because what we've heard from the honourable Mr Peters is him not giving absolutely the detail that New Zealanders need about his involvement and the involvement of this Government. He's right that in 2016 there was a process in the United Nations where the United Nations tabled an agreement or a document that went through with all members supporting and that was about refugees. New Zealand was not involved in the negotiation and when it was open for signature some 50 countries did sign it; New Zealand was not one of those countries. It dealt with the refugee problem around the world with great numbers of refugees moving towards Europe and other places. Largely the things that were in there New Zealand could support because it was more or less in line with our refugee policy. But where we had issues was where the United Nations wanted to start telling countries of the world what they should do around migration and immigration. That document said that there should be more discussion and debate and that a compact could be negotiated that could set out some of these rules. Now we jump forward to Mr Peters who is the negotiator in chief when it comes to the United Nations compact that has just been agreed this week. On 20 February of this year the first round of negotiations took place. On 7 March of this year Winston Peters received a briefing on the negotiation and he was asked to sign off on New Zealand's negotiating parameters. He did that. Let me be clear: he is a negotiating Minister. On 13 July of this year under a New Zealand First - Labour Government that agreement was concluded. New Zealand was involved with the negotiation of it and its conclusion. Then on 4 December we jump forward. Winston Peters said last week that he's concerned about sovereignty and the effect this UN agreement could have on New Zealand. He said that non-binding agreements have the problem and the challenge of becoming binding over time. He denied receiving any briefings or that Cabinet had made its decision.On 10 December—Monday of this week—the Prime Minister tells the media that no decision has been made to support or sign this UN compact and she's seeking legal advice. On 10 December the UN Secretary-General put out a statement saying that the migration compact has been adopted by countries that include New Zealand on that list and that it is going forward. On 11 December Winston Peters denies that it's been adopted and on 11 December Winston Peters tells the media that a decision around New Zealand signing off an adoption of it has been pushed out. Here is the issue. The issue here is that this Government is not being clear with New Zealanders. I think they've decided to sign up to this but they've seen that Australia and many other countries have concerns with it and have said they won't sign it and they're not being upfront with New Zealanders. Why is that? Because Mr Peters knows that he made pledges to the New Zealand public when in Opposition in the last campaign around immigration and migration. The public knows that Winston Peters has made pledges over many years that he doesn't believe the UN should have a say on New Zealand policy. Here is an agreement that will actually force New Zealand to do things it may choose not to. Winston Peters is on his way to America at this moment. Mark my words New Zealand will sign this agreement next week. It is not in the best interests of New Zealand.