Faafoi Kris: Border Processing (Arrivals and Departures) Levy Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFaafoi Kris: Border Processing (Arrivals and Departures) Levy Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3906. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana):Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak briefly to the Border Processing (Arrivals and Departures) Levy Bill. I believe that the questions just posed by the Green member of Parliament James Shaw are good ones. The time of this Parliament would not be being taken up asking these questions if this piece of legislation had followed the normal process. If we had the select committee process this piece of legislation would have gone to either the Primary Production Committee or perhaps the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and these really basic questions could have been answered. But no we are here at 11 minutes to 8 on a Saturday night.I know that some of the members across the other side of the House do not want to be here but it is their own fault. It is their own fault because this did not have to be rushed through this Parliament under urgency. Some of the very basic questions that Mr Shaw is asking could have been answered. The process has been completely backwards and that is plain to see in the departmental disclosure report where a simple question was asked: “Were any regulatory impact statements provided to inform the policy decisions that led to this Bill?”. Usually that is something that is basic and is on the table for us so we can get answers to some of these simple questions that Mr Shaw has asked that Mr Prosser has asked that members from the Labour Party have asked. But the answer to that question is no.It is quite surprising that we have got to this stage—we are into the second reading of this bill—and a departmental report says: “A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) was not prepared in support of the decision to implement the policy. However the regulatory impact of imposing a levy”—that is the Government’s spin—“and alternative options was set out … in the Cabinet paper proposing its introduction. A consultation RIS will be prepared and submitted for consideration by Cabinet when approval is sought in late May”—in about a week or so well after this piece of legislation is going to be passed. You know this is just not good enough. If this Government wants to introduce a new tax a travel tax on New Zealanders put it through the wringer through the scrutiny of a select committee. But no it did not warn anyone. It said there would be no new taxes. So to try to get away and sweep this under the carpet the Government puts this legislation under urgency at 10 to 8 while it thinks people are watching the Hurricanes beat the Blues.I will come to a conclusion soon but I would just like to also make a plea to members on my side of the House: take it easy on Stuart Smith. He is a new member to the House it is his first urgency he is a bit tired he has had a hard week he let his guard down and he got caught out telling the truth. Let us forgive him. Let us forgive him for that because he only confirmed what we already know: this is not a levy; in fact it is a tax. It is not the first time that the Government has used this urgency to bring in another tax. The telecommunications development levy was also a tax and this is also a tax. Let us forgive Stuart Smith. Forgive him. But we cannot forgive Nicky Wagner. She is the Minister. She is the Minister and she let it out also that this is a tax. A tax is a tax is a tax.The Prime Minister says that this tax will not make a blind bit of difference but I do not think that is necessarily the case because what did the Tourism Export Council’s chief executive Lesley Immink I think it is—I hope I have pronounced that correctly—say a couple of days after the Prime Minister spoke to its conference? She said: “Clear surprise is the first reaction that there was no discussion with either the inbound or outbound tourism agencies in New Zealand and the implications for the traveller.” Mr Key went along and spoke to them but did not bother telling them. What is the go there?Mr Chair the Prime Minister also posed a pretty simple question—Mr Speaker sorry. I have got the jitters from the Committee stage sorry Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister posed a pretty simple question. Is it a levy or is it a tax? He said: “Go google it.” We googled it. It is a tax—end of story.