Roy Heather: Electoral Finance Bill — In Committee 
Roy Heather: Electoral Finance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:644;Page:13616] 
HEATHER ROY (Deputy Leader—ACT) 
: 
 I rise to speak to Part 3 and I too will focus on clause 119 “Liability of candidates party secretaries and third parties”. But before I move on to that I will make a comment on the Green member who throughout Dr Mapp’s very excellent speech I have to say called out repeatedly: “Why don’t you trust the people?”. This whole bill is about the fact that Labour New Zealand First and the Greens do not trust the people. Heavy-handed law and regulations are being put in place because they have no trust in the people. Those members do not trust people to have freedom of speech or to spend their own money in the way that they see fit. Trust seems to be a commodity that is in very short order in this House and that is a terrible terrible statement on the state of our democracy. 
With regard to the liability of candidates party secretaries and third parties who in their right mind would put a hand up to be a party secretary? Certainly I would not. Let us look at these liabilities. They were bad enough before this bill but they are even worse now. [ 
Interruption 
] I do not think they do. 
Chris Auchinvole 
: They’ll be dragged off to prison. 
HEATHER ROY 
: That is quite right. 
Who in their right mind will put a hand up to be a financial agent for a candidate or for a party? Those people will be fined and thrown in prison too—for 3 years thank you very much—for doing their best for democracy in this country where there is no trust except from members on this side of the Chamber. 
Dr Mapp made some other very pertinent points which were also cried down by the Green Party members. People’s freedom of speech will be taken away under this bill. They will not be able to make statements. We have had some appalling revelations about Wellington Hospital in the House this week. What if somebody who has been subject to some of those misadventures at Wellington Hospital wants to say that he or she does not trust this Government because it has not handled an issue particularly well but has sat on its hands for 7 years done nothing and is not even prepared to take the bull by the horns take a brave and innovative step and put a commissioner in place? 
What if one of the people affected by these issues wants to speak out and say that he or she does not like what Labour has done to the health system and that people should vote for another party? If that person has not registered as a third party to say those things then under this law that person will be affected. The Minister has been saying during question time just about every day for the last few weeks that we should not worry and that New Zealanders will be safe because the Government will put in place the law of common sense. Well is that not reassuring? Where is the law of common sense? I have not seen it. Maybe it is on the Order Paper for next year because this Government has run out of other things to talk about. Where is the law of common sense and how are the police supposed to administer it? 
All I am hearing in relation to this bill up and down this country is people saying: “How dare Labour try to stamp on our freedom of speech? How dare Labour try to stop us from saying what we want to?”. We have heard a lot of flak about the marches up and down the country. That is a right in a democracy—people are allowed to march if they want to and I say to the Minister they are allowed to have their say on any matter they choose. This might have escaped the notice of the members opposite but we live in a free society and we are proud of that. 
So if people do not like the situation at Wellington Hospital just as one example of what they might like to speak out about because they are not happy they are not allowed to do so and they are not allowed to make anything that might be construed as a political comment without registering as a third party. If they do not follow the letter of the law then they or their financial agents will be liable for up to 3 years in prison. The law of common sense apparently is part of all this and quite how that will be administered we do not know. 
It is no wonder that Helena Catt is confused because the whole country is confused. I sat through most of the discussions with the officials and through the submissions at the Justice and Electoral Committee. I have to say that I was not the only person who was confused in that committee. Every single person including the chairperson was extraordinarily confused at times. Sometimes the officials seemed confused. Certainly Helena Catt has made very public her view about the confusion around this law including around the liability of candidates party secretaries third parties and a number of others. Where that leaves New Zealanders is in a state of total confusion.