Huo RaymondRAYMOND HUO (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let's get to some basics. Even after hearing and listening to the contributions of the Opposition I still believe and I am confident that in this beautiful and sensible country common sense still prevails. What does referendum or referendums or referenda actually mean? The online Cambridge Dictionary defines it as—and I quote—a vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their opinion about or decide an important political or social question". "All the people" here in terms of this bill are the people of New Zealand—our voters. They will be asked to give their opinion about and to decide an important political or social decision or question which respectively refers to a referendum on legalising the personal use of recreational cannabis and on the End of Life Choice Act. For those members who voted for the End of Life Choice Bill last Wednesday they must have gotten terribly confused and puzzled because the majority of the members voted for the bill but now according to National Opposition—particularly the Hon Dr Nick Smith—letting the people decide in a democracy is terribly anti-democracy. The Justice Committee considered the bill. The committee discharged the bill with no report. This is hardly surprising. The Justice Committee is a so-called split or tight committee with four members from the Government and four members from the Opposition. For any matters or any business before the Justice Committee to be progressed it would require a certain level of compromise or consensus. However given this is a split committee for any business to be progressed as I said we do need a certain level of consensus and from the Government's point of view compromise. As National lead member the Hon Dr Nick Smith correctly threatened that he would get a counter-motion going for the whole day and therefore would stall the business of the Justice Committee. In that regard normally for scenarios like that he would move a motion which contained a piece of misleading information and normally Government colleagues would put a counter-motion to get that misleading information corrected. As he correctly threatened he would get a counter-motion or a counter - counter-motion going for the whole day and in that regard—that's a reality—even the minutes of the Justice Committee could not reflect what had actually happened in the Justice Committee. It's really regrettable that a very experienced member who has been here for close to 30 years has not used his experience or expertise to help the progress of this House or helped his own party to hold the Government to account but instead has tried his best to stall the select committee business. But back to this bill and especially at the second reading I should acknowledge and thank all the submitters notably the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee and also all the advisers and officials for their hard work. With regard to the wording of any referendum in question it will be developed in consultation with the Electoral Commission and then approved by the Cabinet then brought into effect by an Order in Council and then it would be followed by a parliamentary review of the referendum question through the Regulations Review Committee which is chaired by a National member of Parliament."