Mark Ron: Crimes of Torture Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Mark Ron: Crimes of Torture Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:635;Page:6276] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 Well is it not interesting; from listening to that speech from the Maori Party one would think that its members are the upholders of peace justice and human rights in this Parliament. I remind the honourable member that sometimes it helps if one comes to this House and speaks from the heart from the shoulder and from a depth of understanding of the issues as opposed to standing up and reading a speech from a pre-prepared script. Something that the Maori Party members are becoming legendary for and known for is turning up to the House and speaking from a pre-prepared script written for them by some staffer back in the office or maybe by their own hand. The fact is that if those members stand in this House and read from a pre-prepared script written for them they need to remember that they will be adjudged on the sincerity of the arguments they put according to that. I know as I travel around the country and attend various marae and meetings with iwi and hapu—and the honourable member Te Ururoa Flavell knows this more than anyone in this House—that most of our great Maori orators both men and women speak straight from the shoulder; they speak from the heart. They do not turn up with a written script that they rabbit through. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Point of order— 
RON MARK 
: It had better be a point of order Mr Deputy Speaker. I take great offence at this. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Mr Mark that is uncalled for. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I might be wrong but I am standing to ask about the response from the member in his speech. I will apologise if it is out of order but I have heard other members in this House interject on other speakers about coming to the point and talking on the bill as opposed to making comment on the speeches of individual members. I might be out of order; I just ask the question. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: It is not a point of order but you have asked a question. Mr Mark is quite entitled to bring into the opening part of his speech the member who spoke before him. 
RON MARK 
: Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and I thank the honourable member. I have been here a decade and I do understand the Standing Orders. 
It is an interesting piece of legislation. It is interesting that we have a Crimes of Torture Amendment Bill presented before the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee which is as I have noted by going through the report pretty equally balanced between the National Party and the Labour Party. I think the balance of power clearly rests with the Green Party in the vote of Keith Locke. 
I do not think anybody in this House would oppose this bill. New Zealand First supports the passage of this bill. But in respect of some of the speeches made here this evening it is I guess timely that we do reflect on the issues of human rights abuses. I find it very rich that people would stand in this House and promote—indeed reinforce—the principles espoused in this bill when they themselves did nothing to prevent the abuses that were happening in the New Zealand Department of Corrections. I point specifically to the instances relating to the operation of the emergency response unit otherwise known infamously as the “goon squad” in the New Zealand prisons. It is interesting that the previous speaker the Maori Party member should talk about what the views of the Maori Party were. I need to put it on the record that when I was raising issues in this House about the activities the human rights abuses and the failure of the State to live up to its responsibilities to investigate those abuses the Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia was the Associate Minister of Corrections. Indeed she was in a position in Government at the Cabinet table to do something about that. 
The honourable Te Ururoa Flavell needs to reflect on the history of his party. His party does not come to this House with a clean sheet and a clean napkin. It comes with a history. The honourable member Tariana Turia the co-leader of the Maori Party had an instrumental part in the cover-up and the denial of the charges levelled against the Department of Corrections in respect of human rights abuses that occurred in New Zealand prisons during the time that she was the Associate Minister of Corrections. Only New Zealand First stood firm on that issue and it took New Zealand First 4 years to bring about a commission of inquiry that concluded what we all knew. 
I take my hat off to a number of members in Labour. I point to the honourable Tim Barnett who for many years fought with his party behind the scenes to help me make sure that there was an inquiry. But people like Tim are few and far between when it comes to standing up. It is one thing to stand in this House and talk grandly about human rights abuses and the need to stand up against these things but it is another thing to do something about it. I am sick to the gut of hearing sanctimonious speeches from MPs postulating their new-found presence on the political spectrum of high and mighty and lauding to all and sundry how grandly they stand on these issues whilst condemning others. Get some time up I say to the Maori Party. 
And while I say that let us talk about Mokomoko. Who pardoned him? Who? At a time when the Maori Party was but a twinkle in its dad’s eye other people in this House were fighting that issue such as the Rt Hon Winston Peters—and I will give credit to the National Party. The National Party also accepted that an injustice had been done. I tell the Maori Party that they should not come to this House preaching sanctimony; they should at least be genuine and generous enough to acknowledge the efforts of the National Party and New Zealand First in pardoning him. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Ran out of time. 
RON MARK 
: Well it took time but many of us have been alive for only 50 years not 150. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: I ran out of time for my speech. 
RON MARK 
: I know the member did but he had plenty of time to make that point. It took three words. “I acknowledge the work” of other parties—maybe that is four. 
We sometimes forget when we adopt a mantle and seek to campaign on issues that are dear to our hearts that we are not the people in the vanguard and that people have come to this House and fought these issues before us—people like Tim Barnett like those who made up the National Cabinet at the time of the National - New Zealand First coalition Government and like the members of the law and order select committee at the time such as Brian Neeson. I will put that name in the record and I hope that the National members who sit here today and who enjoy the salaries the position and the status that they have remember Brian Neeson. He was the only man in the National caucus who stood up against the human rights abuses that were occurring in the Canterbury prisons at the time of the previous National Government. 
We are pretty good around this place at beating our chests standing up and saying what we stand for. We are sadly lacking an ability to stand up and recognise those of us—cross-party—who have come before this House and put their political careers on the line by advocating for things that were unpopular and were not supported by our greater caucus numbers. I do not believe that there is a member in this House who does not support this bill. I do worry about the implications of some of the things that we think of in this House in respect of the safety and security of our Defence Force personnel deployed in Afghanistan Iraq and around the world. But I do acknowledge the greater humanity that exists in this place and in the hearts of individuals in Parliament cross-party. New Zealand First supports this bill and we acknowledge with respect all other members of Parliament who likewise support this bill.