Hide Rodney: Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Hide Rodney: Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:575] 
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 On behalf of the ACT party I rise to oppose this legislation as inherently anti-democratic and anti the rights and privileges— 
Shane Jones 
: Oh! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: I hear Shane Jones going on. He has been here 5 minutes. He should wait until Labour falls on top of him and he has to kick into line as every other Maori in that party has done. They all had to go along like little sheep to the slaughter and vote for the Foreshore and Seabed Bill because of legislation like this. 
When we come into this Parliament we do not swear allegiance to our party; we swear allegiance to the Sovereign and to the people of New Zealand. We owe our allegiance to them not to a political party. Yet this legislation says that we owe our allegiance to a political party and that MPs are no more than functionaries of that political party. If an MP steps out of line—[ 
Interruption 
] Well the leader can bully 75 percent of the caucus into line and fire off a letter to the Speaker and that MP will be sacked. That MP will not be sacked by the people of New Zealand at an election—will not be sacked by a vote—but will be sacked by the leader of a party and the caucus.  
Hon Tau Henare 
: Tyranny. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: That is a tyranny.  
Shane Jones 
: Poor Donna. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Shane Jones calls out: “Poor Donna!”. 
Hon Member 
: He wouldn’t know. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: He would not know what went on. I say to Mr Jones that ACT voted against that bill becoming law but we believe that Donna Awatere Huata should not have been in Parliament for what she had done. It was the Labour Government that handed her all the money by the way; it was the ACT party that actually dealt to it once again cleaning up Labour’s mess. We used what means were given to us by this Parliament. 
 We stand here as the only party that has used this legislation but we still think it is wrong because there are good reasons for MPs to stand up against their party to speak out from their conscience and to speak out on behalf of what they believe in. We know it suits Labour to run a noose around all its MPs and for the MPs to do what Helen Clark says on so-called conscience votes. I ask members to look at what has happened to poor Phillip Field because he voted the wrong way—with his conscience. 
I am shocked by my colleague Mr Peter Dunne who in the past on this matter has been very very sound. I say to Mr Dunne that I think I am correct in saying that he voted against this bill. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Yes. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: He voted against this bill when it was first becoming law. He declared it to be anti-democratic and tyrannical. In fact Mr Dunne who has now just voted for this waka-jumping bill had this to say about it in the Christchurch  
Press 
 on 19 July 2003: “I think it is certainly an anachronism now.”—that is a big word for me; I know my colleague Dr Richard Worth will know what it means—“It was never necessary. I don’t think it’s achieved anything.” That is what Peter Dunne said about the bill that he has just walked in to vote for—after being corralled up by Helen Clark. He said that it was an anachronism that it was never necessary and that he did not think it had achieved anything. And he said this—and this is the truth; I say to Mr Dunne that he was right when he said this—“The electorate will always be the ultimate regulator. Its judgment will always prevail.” 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Absolutely. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Mr Peter Dunne is sitting there saying: “Absolutely.” so does he agree that the bill is an anachronism? He cannot answer. That was something he told the people of New Zealand 2 years ago. He yelled out chipped in and said that he agreed with it then but he has changed his mind. 
Let us cut to the nub of the matter about why we are debating this bill. It is very simple; it is because of “old bauble”. Mr Peters said: “I’m going to pull a fast one. I’m going to grab all the baubles that I can get because ‘Bob the Builder’ has killed me in Tauranga and my career is over so I might as well grab the best 3 years that I can. Sayonara I’m off on the overseas trips. I’m going to go to every rugby game I can; I am going to go to every hot city that I can; and I am going to have the time of my life.” [ 
Interruption 
] Pita Paraone is right. Mr Paraone does stay home. He and the other New Zealand First MPs all have to stay home. 
Pita Paraone 
: But we’re not complaining. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Pita Paraone says he is not complaining. Actually I have heard nothing but complaints from New Zealand First MPs. But I am with Mr Paraone; I actually agree with him and his complaints about Winston Peters. Winston Peters said: “I’m going to have a problem Prime Minister. I’ll come across and I’ll support you. I’ll give you our votes. You give me foreign affairs in exchange but I will need to corral in my MPs because they will not be happy. I have not even consulted them about becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs and going back on the promise I made to the people of New Zealand.” Indeed that was the promise that Pita Paraone made to the people of New Zealand. 
Pita Paraone 
: Do I look sad? 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well I am not worried; I know Pita Paraone. He is just so happy to be here. He cannot believe his luck.  
Pita Paraone 
: I am just happy to be the member for Auckland! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: For wherever! He is the member for Winston Peters. They are all the members for Winston Peters. 
Mr Peters said: “I’ve got a problem Prime Minister because a couple of them could walk.” They really all want to be members of the National Party where they can be properly looked after. They see how well Tau Henare is doing. They see how happy he is. They see Tau Henare as an operating member of Parliament. They see the Maori Party voting as it sees fit not as it is told to by Helen Clark and Winston Peters. Yes Brian Donnelly and Ron Mark would both love to be in the National Party would they not? So the solution from Helen Clark Winston Peters and Peter Dunne—going back on what he used to tell the public of New Zealand—is to legislate that MPs will owe their allegiance to their party leader and their party first and foremost—not to their conscience not to the people of New Zealand not to the Sovereign but to the party. 
I can say that we do not need this legislation in our caucus. The caucus is happy and it will stay in ACT. It does not need to be legislated to stay in the party as the New Zealand First caucus does. I think Peter Dunne must be worried about his caucus because why else would he change his vote? Why would he vote against this legislation consistently speak out against it in Parliament speak out about it in public to the  
Press 
 in July 2003 and then troop down here and suddenly say that it is a huge democratic measure and that we need this anti - waka-jumping bill. 
Of all people Peter Dunne jumped from his party—the Labour Party. He did not go back and have a by-election. Winston Peters jumped from his party—the National Party. 
Pita Paraone 
: No he didn’t jump. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: He jumped. He at least had a by-election and held the seat of Tauranga in that by-election. But my understanding is that he lost the seat at the last election that he is no longer the member for Tauranga and that he does not have a chance in court against “Bob the Builder”. 
Pita Paraone 
: But he’s still here. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: He is actually not here. Where is he? He has been overseas. This is the first day he has been in Parliament since the first week of Parliament. Mr Peters is not here and that is why we have the bill. The ACT party stands four-square against this bill and it is throwing the weight of its entire caucus against it.