Brownlee Gerry: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBrownlee Gerry: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 23 September 2015. Volume:709;Page:6956. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) on behalf of theDeputy Prime Minister: I move That the New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I want to begin my contribution to this particular bill this afternoon by congratulating the Labour Party on getting out of sleepy hollow for the first time in 7 years and actually doing something this afternoon that looked a little bit interesting. Might I say that it is no surprise to me that when some people who would normally be calling the shots around these matters are not available the Labour Opposition left in the hands of the Hon Trevor Mallard the old tusker himself manages to pull one out of the bag and almost—almost—gets what it was after.I return now to the bill. This is a bill introduced to the House by the Government but significantly it was constructed by Gareth Hughes and a team from the Green Party. They have recognised that a large number of New Zealanders would like to have the fifth option on the referendum panel that asks people to put a preference from one to five now for a flag should there be a vote in favour of a change.The Government considers that that is not an unreasonable position but we do want to express our huge confidence in the design panel which was put together for the consideration of the flag. That panel has been in some places criticised and not least of those criticisms has been that there was no designer on the panel. Well it was not a group of designers who put up the hundreds and hundreds of options that could have been considered; it was largely ordinary New Zealanders who have a patriotic view of their country and were wanting a view along those lines expressed on the flag. The panel behaved in I think a thoroughly professional manner and undertook a very good public consultation process. Remember they were faced with 10000 different flag options—10000 different flag options expressed by various New Zealanders. So it was a challenging job for that panel to do as the law required of them and to whittle that number down to some four options.One of the things it did was ask for public opinion about the 40 options that it thought may be of interest to New Zealanders. It is worth noting that the Red Peak came in 37th out of those 40. That being said there has been considerable activity and on a matter like this you would expect New Zealanders to become a little bit passionate. So we have an option today to put another flag in the referendum.Hon Annette King: It’s not in here.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Well Opposition members are waving bits of paper around in anticipation that it may be that particular flag that is included. Perhaps they should just have a little bit of a sleep overnight and see what comes of it in the next day or so. I think accepting the way that we are moving forward and completing the aspects of the bill—that is the first reading the second reading the Committee stage and the third reading—all in one day so that instruction can be given to the people responsible for the referendum is the appropriate thing to do.I want to tell the House that by doing this we will not affect the planned referendum dates the preferential voting system does not change and the approach to regulating the referendum advertising etc. is also unchanged. I think it will be interesting to see how New Zealanders react to this over the next couple of days.Changing a flag should create reaction but it should not create the sorts of descriptions that we are getting from people across the other side of the House who are actually violently opposed to this approach now but actually went into the 2014 election saying that if they were in Government—the same position that we are in today—they would be promoting a change to the New Zealand flag. The one thing this House can be certain of and all New Zealanders can be certain of is that had it been in Government Labour would have changed the flag and not one New Zealander would have had a say in that other than those members of its Government. What we are seeing over the other side is crocodile tears the wringing of hands at the disappointment at not being able to do this and now after a 30-second read of the bill all sorts of claims that it will not do what it set out to do.Well I think it does not happen every day that a member can come to the House and propose a bill have that bill defeated by a leave motion and then have the Government pick it up particularly when that member is a member of an Opposition party. So I think it is a day that I am sure Gareth Hughes will remember for a very long time. It does indicate that when there is a good idea put forward then the Government is not opposed to listening to that idea.The biggest surprise to us is that the Labour Party did not think of doing something like this. The Labour Party had not the wit it would seem to be able to come up with something that the Green Party has done this afternoon. So what we are seeing really is a lot of bitterness—and we will hear it over the next few hours—from a party that has been totally snookered by a smaller party in this House but a smaller party that is increasingly listening to the voices of New Zealanders and representing their aspirations—Grant Robertson: It’s just politics Gerry. That’s all it is—just politics.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: —although Mr Robertson over there says “It’s just politics.” I take him at his word but I know that deep down inside past the politics he really does want to see a change to the flag and most definitely wants to see the process for it. [Interruption] Well now we have got the contest between Mr Robertson and Ms Ardern—a contest that apparently is not on because Ms Ardern is way out in front on this one—yelling across the best option they have got Mrs King and I think we are going to see that little scenario play out over the next couple of days as well.This is a bill that reflects the fact that New Zealanders who have spoken have been listened to. It is a tribute to the ability of our Government to work with other parties to ensure that where there is a fair case that should be dealt with we are prepared to move in that direction. Thank you.