Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1663. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 I move  
That the Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill be now read a third time 
. The repeal of this Act reflects the overall change of military tactics and organisation that has occurred in the 100 years since the Military Manoeuvres Act was originally passed. During the tragedy of World War I military strength was largely measured by the number of available fighting soldiers. The Military Manoeuvres Act allowed for these large formations of soldiers to practise and train en masse and were the recognised tactics of the day which are now known for their tactics episode on the Western Front and were decidedly flawed.  
Since this time military tactics have significantly evolved. Although the courage and the fortitude of our soldiers remains unchanged technology rather than weight of numbers has largely become the deciding factor in military engagement. The New Zealand Defence Force today demonstrates where we have come in the last hundred years. The serving men and women of the Royal New Zealand Navy the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the New Zealand Army are all highly trained highly motivated individuals. They utilise complex and state-of-the-art equipment that requires extensive training and ability to use and are mostly deployed in small agile and independent formations. Although they are a fraction of the size of our forces during the two world wars the New Zealand Defence Force is more agile more effective and more situated to the geopolitical requirements of the present world today.  
The Military Manoeuvres Act is a relic from an uncertain period of New Zealand’s history. This history has been ably recorded elsewhere and will not be forgotten. The law in New Zealand should remain current and uncluttered. This repeal bill will address a broader issue of older legislation clogging up the books. This Government’s focus is on providing better public services and cleaning up and improving the quality of regulations.  
I would like to say as a parliamentarian that it is one’s duty to look at the aspects where we can contribute. By repealing this Act I want to bring awareness to the problem—which has also been pointed out by Sir Geoffrey Palmer—that there are many redundant Acts that remain in force that needlessly clutter the statute book. These Acts add clutter but provide no value to the statute book. By repealing this Act now and other Acts we will be cleaning up our statute book. In the words of Sir Geoffrey Palmer the law and the statute book should have as little dead wood as possible.  
The Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill is an indication that there are many bills that are out of date in today’s context. The Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill which is on the Order Paper has repealed 31 Acts that have been identified as redundant. They are no longer needed and are completely unnecessary. We believe in better regulation and less regulation is essential to the 21st century New Zealand.  
Finally I would like to thank the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee then chaired by my colleague John Hayes for careful consideration of the bill. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the parties who have supported this bill. It is time to make these changes now. Defence policy is a long-term commitment. National is giving our defence forces some certainty about their future and we are preparing them to meet the challenges they may face looking forward. I commend this bill to the House.