Mitchell MarkHon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to take a call on this the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill at the third reading. Although I didn't sit on the Education and Workforce Committee—so I didn't hear any of the submissions on this bill—I did take a call I think at the second reading and I just want to reiterate the comments that I made then in congratulating and acknowledging the Minister—Minister Hipkins—and the work of the select committee.This is a very good bill and I just spoke very briefly about my own experience in the private sector going back to 10 years ago as part of a very big global logistics organisation and I was running the compliance programme across 130 countries and 30000-plus employees. We had a very progressive chairman in Tarek Sultan and he understood very clearly in an organisation that big when you're dealing with multiple Governments and agencies the responsibility associated with that but also the risk around bad behaviour and that employees had to have the protection and the ability to be able to report that behaviour without fear of any negative repercussions on them. So we developed a very comprehensive compliance programme that ran globally—and there are some real challenges around that—but it was successful. So I was very pleased to see this bill come to the House.On a personal level I think some of the Opposition MPs in their speeches have made the point that we lead the world and especially the OECD around most targets that relate to transparency and corruption. We should be proud of that as a country and as a Parliament and we should protect that as much as we can. So it does aggrieve me that as a member of Her Majesty's Opposition recently through a Minister of the Crown I requested a meeting with the head of the agency that I'm the spokesperson for. Now normally in convention that is a courtesy—to allow the Minister to know that you are seeking a meeting with the head of that agency—but in this case it was declined. I have been blocked. And I have to say that my predecessor Simeon Brown who made the same request was granted that meeting.So when I look at this bill and I look at the meaning of serious wrongdoing" I just wonder whether I could actually make a complaint because if you go down to clause 10(e) it's "oppressive unlawfully discriminatory or grossly negligent behaviour". And I have to say that it feels pretty oppressive and unlawful as a member of Her Majesty's Opposition to be blocked from a meeting with the head of an agency—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Order! Can I ask the member how that even relates to the whistleblowers bill? Can I just ask the member to just come back to the bill.Hon MARK MITCHELL: I think how it relates to it Madam Speaker is that members on the other side have raised transparency and corruption and the fact that this bill is designed to be able to deal and ensure that we remain the most open and transparent democracy in the world. And so what I am highlighting is that that type of behaviour is neither open nor transparent. So I feel that should I want to use that avenue that is available maybe I should be using it. Maybe it actually applies to me as well.So anyway Madam Speaker I am happy to stand and support the bill and I'm also happy that you did allow me to make what I feel is a very important point. Thank you."