McClay Todd: Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
McClay Todd: Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 05 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7213. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
: 
 The Government will be voting against this legislation the Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill because we believe it would be irresponsible to allow it to pass into law. We are already practising the responsible investment criteria that the bill seeks to formalise and therefore this bill would mean more red tape and more bureaucracy and that would be irresponsible for New Zealanders. You see we do not support creating red tape and bureaucracy around investment or in any other area where it is unnecessary in New Zealand. Actually this Government has a very good record over the last 4 years of working through bureaucracy so that New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses can get on doing the job that they need to rather than having unnecessary Government intervention and interference. We also have responsible investment work integrated into our investment activities and I believe very clearly that responsible asset owners will exercise best practice when it comes to portfolio management across a number of sectors and areas of interest—environment social governance issues and so on. 
See the purpose of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund is to meet the future requirements of New Zealanders when they retire and this bill will do nothing but tinker with that objective. What it means at the moment is no Government interference and I understand that this is a foreign concept to many members opposite. Indeed Russel Norman is the current Opposition finance spokesman. He wants to get his hands on every single part of the pie that he can. We have already heard from Mr Norman that he intends when he becomes Minister of Finance in a Green-Labour coalition to print billions of dollars—magic them out of thin air—to solve some of the challenges that we have in New Zealand at the moment around meeting our debts and balancing the economy. 
Well indeed the Governor of the Reserve Bank came before the Finance and Expenditure Committee not so many— 
Dr Russel Norman 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This has absolutely nothing to do with the bill. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: It has been a pretty wide debate I would have to say so I know the member will come back to the point. 
TODD McCLAY 
: Thank you Mr Speaker and I am going to continue because it has absolutely everything to do with his bill—the credibility of the member who has brought it forward and the devastating effect that legislation like this and other things that that member has been spouting up and down the country will have upon New Zealand and the New Zealand economy. So I continue. 
Mr Norman said that he wants to print billions of dollars to solve some of our problems—magic them out of thin air. Quantitative easing of course. The Governor of the Reserve Bank came before the Finance and Expenditure Committee and said that this was a desperate policy and I agree with him wholeheartedly. We have heard from Mr Norman in line with what this bill would seek to do in New Zealand that he wants to tax the most productive businesses in New Zealand out of existence. You know he hates rural New Zealand. He would love to see farmers give up— 
Dr Russel Norman 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take offence at the comments by that member that I hate rural New Zealand. It is completely untrue and I take offence at it. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: No look these are debating points. 
TODD McCLAY 
: Good. Thank you Mr Speaker. Most of the policies that that party of Mr Norman portrays to New Zealanders would lead a reasonable person to believe that he hates rural New Zealand and wants to see farmers— 
Dr Russel Norman 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member’s opinion that someone might hate rural New Zealand has nothing to do with this bill. I would ask that you keep him on the topic. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I am the judge of that and this has been a pretty wide debate. It has been a fair debate pretty equitable— 
Dr Russel Norman 
: No it hasn’t. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I am on my feet and do not interrupt when I am on my feet. I am asking the member—the member has 1 minute to go. 
TODD McCLAY 
: Thank you very much Mr Speaker. So what this member who has brought this bill before the House wants is to see the most productive part of New Zealand our farmers and our dairy farmers on welfare. Well that is not good enough for the Government. 
Finally with his bill he wants to get his hands on the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and put the future of all New Zealanders at risk. That is irresponsible and this is a very bad piece of legislation. When it comes actually to the detail of what he thinks needs to happen in this area and indeed what the Superannuation Fund is already doing it has signed up to a wide number of codes of conduct and international bodies that put integrity including environmental integrity at the heart of the way it makes decisions about their investments. A most important part of this is that it is up to it to decide what it is it does with New Zealand funds. Members opposite in coalition with the Green Party where those Green Party members will take on extremely important roles in Government in finance should keep their hands off these funds. I am very happy to say we will be voting against this legislation because it would do great harm to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and to New Zealand businesses—