Fitzsimons Jeanette: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:636;Page:7222] 
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 Is it not extraordinary what Christmas can achieve in the House? I have a serious proposal to make and that is that next year we have Christmas every second week which will mean that the House will accomplish in 2 days what would normally take 4 or 5! Then we can finish the business of the House in 3 months and all go home for the rest of the year. I have certainly never seen legislation move as fast as it has in the last 2 days. I do not know whether it is because of the media’s Christmas party tonight—I notice they are all off preparing for it—or the attraction of the beach but it has certainly changed things. 
The year 2006 was when the New Zealand public and even to a small extent the New Zealand Parliament caught up with the rest of the world in respect of climate change. It was the year in which the March conference at Victoria University changed hearts and minds. We had international scientists here speaking we had Al Gore’s movie and we had Al Gore visiting. All of a sudden the National Party decided that maybe climate change mattered after all and changed its position. I congratulate National on that. There is nothing wrong with changing one’s position and finding that something matters after all. What matters now is what the policy will be and we will watch for that with great interest. It was also the year in which Labour having cancelled all its climate change policy last December started again to write a new one. We are still waiting to see what that will be though a few inklings have come out in the last week. At the moment both major parties in the House are without a policy on climate change but we hope that 2007 will take us a lot further in that regard. 
The year 2006 was when the price of petrol rose to $1.78 a litre then dropped to $1.40. This is temporary—it will go up again and be over $2 a litre. It was the year when New Zealanders in record numbers left their cars at home and caught public transport to the point that public transport could not cope; when the trains and buses in Auckland and Wellington were full at rush hour; and when the Government put another $1.5 billion into roads on top of the ever-increasing road budget that we have anyway. New Zealanders have voted with their bums. They want better public transport and next year is the year to have it. This was also the year in which greenhouse gases continued to rise inexorably. 
This was also the year in which the depths of undemocratic political influence were exposed not by Nicky Hager but by the email words of Dr Brash and his advisers. The same emails exposed the huge sums from the parliamentary leaders’ budget that the National Party spent on its election campaign in ways that were not audited by the Auditor-General. In 2007 we will have to deal with the question of campaign finance reform and proper election funding if we are to restore a democratic process whereby elections cannot be bought by either side of the House. 
The year 2006 was when the death of the Maori Queen united a nation of Maori and Pakeha in recognition of the dignity and aroha of Maoritanga that make us different from every other nation. I have to contrast the effect on the national psyche of the tangi of Dame Te Ata with the effect on the national psyche of the Orewa speech. 
The year 2006 was when the Government moved to break up Telecom’s monopoly over broadband and local lines. The Greens really welcome the fact that that will free up the communication system which can do a great deal to take us past the age of cheap oil. It was also the year when 10000 albatrosses and petrels were killed in the New Zealand longline fishery when 115 Hooker’s sea lions were killed in the fishery and when bottom trawling continued unabated with 90 percent of the fishing fleet that destroys thousand-year-old corals in the South Pacific oceans being licensed in New Zealand. 
This was the year that our overseas development assistance rose almost insignificantly to 0.27 percent of gross national income—far short of the OECD average of 0.42 percent and even further away from the official UN target of 0.7 percent. No one line item in the Budget affects the livelihoods and well-being of so many people. The consequences of our lack of generosity are highlighted by the instability that is now being experienced in some parts of the Pacific. 
It was also the year in which it was reported that the number of overweight people in the world has overtaken the number of malnourished for the first time. A billion people are considered to be heavier than is healthy for them. While almost one in six of the estimated world population of 6½ billion is now overweight or obese about 800 million people do not have enough to eat. That is a big challenge for 2007. 
It was a good year for the Greens. We have been polling third all year without exception. We are the only third party that has polled over 5 percent all year without exception and on the rolling poll we have consistently been a couple of points above our election night numbers. It was the first year that the Greens had the opportunity to run Government programmes—programmes that deliver towards the issues of climate change and healthy homes that support local manufacturing and that reduce the balance of payments deficit. Sue Bradford stood up for principle and established clearly that Buy Kiwi Made means “Buy products made in New Zealand.” and that principle has been established. The solar water heating programme was launched and by February we will see more solar water heaters going on to Kiwis’ roofs and reductions in electricity use greenhouse emissions and the cost of hot water. Tomorrow we are launching the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy for discussion which takes another step on issues of climate change and energy. Our budget bids were successful with significant funding for environmental education in schools and for an organic advisory service. 
The six of us have eight bills before Parliament at the moment—that is more than one each. Those bills hold out the promise for more flexible working hours to help families; for the protection of our kids from violence by taking away the defence in the Crimes Act for beating children; for a revolution in the way we think about waste; for people with certain medical conditions who cannot be helped by other pharmaceuticals to have the benefits of medicinal cannabis to help them; for mothers in prison to soon be given the chance to bond with their babies; and for young people in the workforce to soon be earning equal pay with adults for equal work. There are many challenges to meet next year. 
I wish all members a very restful break and a happy Christmas. I hope they come back with renewed energy. I thank all the colleagues I have worked with—my Green colleagues and those in other parties. I thank all the parliamentary staff the messengers the security people the library staff the Bellamy’s staff the select committee staff the Clerk’s Office and—as Michael Cullen said so aptly—all those I have forgotten. Happy Christmas.