Graham Kennedy: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGraham Kennedy: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 23 September 2015. Volume:709;Page:6988. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green): I thought that the first reading in this debate on the New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill was fairly constructive but I am not convinced that the same can be said of the second reading. I think that after dinner we have tended to demean ourselves a little in our excessive rhetoric. The choice of flag one might have hoped might allow us to transcend party politics and think about the national interest as a whole. Instead we have tended to descend into rather small-minded party squabbling and the occasional exhibition of personal invective and I think that is a shame. I think the choice of flag deserves more and I think the people of New Zealand are hoping for more. I do want to acknowledge and thank a number of members of the House for their constructive comments from National as well—Jono Naylor and Tim Macindoe particularly and Jacqui Dean Jo Goodhew and not least Jonathan Young who chaired the cross-party group with such skill and I thank you for that as well. The same cannot be said of your leader of the evening the Minister—the Hon Bill English—who turned himself into a small creature this evening with his comments.Denis O’Rourke: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member referred to another member as a “small creature”. Previously I was reprimanded for using the word “courage”. Surely “small creature” is not parliamentary—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Oh look—Denis O’Rourke: —and not acceptable.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): I have been referred to as that many times—since I can remember.Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I am happy to take the reprimand from Denis O’Rourke—and do we conclude that Denis O’Rourke will not in fact be voting for Red Peak or is he? Perhaps we cannot put too much money on that. No let me rephrase it. The comments from the Hon Bill English for whom I have had a high regard in the past are characteristic of a small creature. His comments were difficult disruptive and occasionally dangerous to a constructive interpretation of a second reading and I think he caused his party and this House some shame this evening. I want to acknowledge the comments of the Hon Annette King and Grant Robertson which I think were constructive. We disagree with the points that Labour is putting across but we do respect the points made and we understand where Labour is coming from in that respect. The same cannot be said of the Hon Trevor Mallard but it is not worth my bothering to comment any further. While we are covering the field on individuals let me just pay tribute to my colleague Gareth Hughes who has taken the initiative on this bill and conducted himself with dignity and I think integrity. Looking at the Hon Bill English the Hon Trevor Mallard and myself I think Gareth Hughes has a bit of a lesson to teach us in this respect tonight.Just one substantive point: we were trying to get across—and still are—tonight two things. This Parliament is acting with constitutional propriety in changing the legislation that changes the process to choose this flag. It has the power to do it it has the right to do it and it is constitutionally proper. The second point is that whether the Parliament should do so or not is a political judgment and in our view the Green Party’s view it is a sound and wise political move to reflect the increasing will of the people. Not of everybody Mr O’Rourke and there may have been a few people who voted more than once but that does not diminish the fact that there were about 50000 people who moved for this flag and that is overwhelming Mr O’Rourke. Let us see which way it goes when the time comes. So in our view it is up to this House all MPs as leaders elected by the people to reflect the will of the people bring in the fifth flag and move on to the referendum and then we will choose the flag from then on. Thank you.