Mark Ron: Third Readings 
Mark Ron: Third Readings 
[Volume:612;Page:9381] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 I am at a loss because I have not had the opportunity to look at that cartoon. No doubt I will as soon as I sit down. When we adjourned last evening I was saying to the House that we have seen a lot of legislation go through on whose passage New Zealand First has indeed supported the Government. But much of that good legislation becomes meaningless if resources are not put in place so its intent can come into effect. One of the things that worries me about this legislation we are supporting right now is that many of the agencies with primary responsibility for monitoring terrorism for ensuring the security of our nation and for helping us live up to our international obligations—I ask Mr Tisch to blow off and have his chat down the other end please—and I think that most of the nation— 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I was going to say that I am the whip and I will talk to my members as I wish. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: Be nice to them; they are very bruised today. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Yes no deals Ron! 
RON MARK 
: I am sorry. That is fine. I just find it a little rude when people stand in the aisles and have conversations in such close proximity to someone who is speaking. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I ask the whip to go back to the whip’s seat and talk there. 
RON MARK 
: I will be looking at a couple of agencies and watching the estimates for the next Budget to see how they have fared. I will be looking at the Security Intelligence Service to see whether its budgetary increases reflect its new responsibilities. I will be looking at the Customs Service at the border patrol in particular and at the ministry responsible for them. The greater provisions included in this legislation and the greater powers being extended to the people concerned are necessary in this new climate of instability but tracking devices and the ability to monitor people who enter this country for suspect purposes with goods considered to be illegal or suspect will be worthy or able to be utilised only if the customs people at our borders have the staffing the experience and the resources to carry out that work. 
We talk about the Defence Force. It is one thing to tell the world we are signing up to United Nations conventions then ratifying those conventions and passing law to bring them into effect in New Zealand—all in the interests of enhancing security and playing our part in the war against terrorism—but that situation is somewhat questionable when one looks at the state of our defence forces. 
We have an obligation—indeed we have now told the world we are prepared to play our part internationally in countering terrorism—to ensure that we have a Defence Force of the size that makes it a meaningful and valuable contributor to that cause. I look at the state of our infantry battalions which are running at below half strength I look at the state of our staffing right across the board in the Navy and Air Force in particular—when for 6 months of 1 year we could not even keep Orions in the air—and I have to say that the Government is falling flat in those areas. 
It is one thing to buy 105 vehicles at a cost of $750 million but it is another thing when we do not actually have the people to crew those vehicles. I guess what I am saying is that it is good legislation. It is necessary and New Zealand First supports it whole-heartedly. But the proof will be in the eating of the pudding and that proof will be seen one way or the other when we examine the Government’s performance in its finances budgets and allocation of resources to those parties responsible for implementing security measures to protect our people and the interests of our trading partners friends and allies.