SpeechHARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. As is known the National Party is opposing this bill. The member who's just addressed the House Ginny Andersen indicated in the earlier stages of her speech if there's anybody watching this debate". I acknowledge a kaumātua I met at Ōhinemutu in Rotorua on the weekend—at the posthumous medal ceremony awards for the 28th Māori Battalion whānau—Pita Anaru who does watch Parliament TV. Ngā mihi ki a koe e kaumātua. Turning to the bill I acknowledge the kaumātua because there are many of our elderly who value along with the rest of New Zealand and New Zealanders the importance of democracy and democracy is about New Zealanders' rights and the protection of those rights. The concern that the National Party has about this bill is that it's well known that the amendment is to make a number of changes to the Electoral Act 1993 but it's also well known that the Labour Government has initiated a review panel and that review panel is to report back next year looking at the wider issues of electoral reform.So there's concern as to why's there's such earnest and haste again from this Labour Government to rush through this legislation when there is a review panel in the same way that there's been the royal commission of inquiry into abuse in care and that the Government chose to rush through in haste legislation by dismissing and dispensing with the wider public opinion and view. That is the concern that the National Party has. This Government talks big about transparency this Government talks big about valuing the rights of New Zealanders and again here we have another piece of law that's being rushed through dispensing with the fact that this Government has engaged a review panel to report back and is going to ignore that and the value of that work.Parliamentary colleagues in the House who have sat on the Justice Committee have addressed in detail this bill. I was not a member. My colleagues Paul Goldsmith Mark Mitchell and Simon O'Connor did sit on the Justice Committee and as a result scrutinised with the other 41 submitters to this bill with nine oral submissions heard the detail of the bill. And as a result the New Zealand National Party has in that Justice Committee report which has been reported back to the House a differing view and opinion and the concern is effectively again highlighting the fact that we are far better to wait for the review and to do the electoral law reform all together—all substantively rather than piecemeal and this is a piecemeal approach.It seems that the primary purpose of this bill is to make it harder for parties to raise funds. We've heard in the House tonight my colleague Paul Goldsmith mention that those donors who willingly donate do not wish to have their privacy breached and have it disclosed—who it's from how much it is—and the threshold has been lowered in terms of the amounts. The detail of the bill this being the second reading will go to the committee of the whole House. Understandably there are likely to be anticipated Supplementary Order Papers which for the benefit of the public listening in means an amendment to amendments that have been proposed at select committee and reported back to the House this evening being spoken to.So the detail—in the six minutes that I have left—is that it's proposed in this bill to change the donations and loans framework which includes lowering reducing the public disclosure threshold of donations and contributions to political parties from $15000 to $5000. It's quite a significant threshold reduction. Also it amends the reporting requirements for donations received from the same donor in excess of $30000 either in one lump sum or in total over the preceding year by reducing the threshold to $20000 but requiring disclosure within 10 working days—within 10 working days; under the pump—only in a general election year. So perhaps that's a redeeming factor; perhaps not bearing in mind there is a review panel to report back next year before the general election. Go figure! Also the bill requires the annual return of party donations to separately state the total amount of monetary and in-kind donations received. What I picked up which is of some interest—again because this has some bearing in terms of my family situation—is that at present New Zealand citizens who are living overseas must have been in New Zealand within the last three years to be registered as an elector. I have an adult son living overseas who hasn't been home—he tried to get home during COVID. But part of the reason for an amendment within this bill is recognising the fact that so many New Zealanders were locked out during the COVID times and not allowed back. So provision is made and there's an extension in terms of their having to have been back to New Zealand within the last three years—that period is extended out. So that would be a benefit for the purposes of many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders my son being one of those. That amendment acknowledges the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on international travel and therefore would apply only to the 2023 general election. Now we know that the COVID-19 impact is going to be long term. This is a long game and here we are. We've got a Government that for some reason sees that there's urgency and is in haste despite a review panel being set up by this Government to look at the wider implications of electoral law reform and is going to rush this bill through. It does not have the support of the National Party and that is an anticipation of not having the support of many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders. I do not commend the bill to the House Madam Speaker."