Cosgrove Clayton: Inquiries Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: Inquiries Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 July 2009. Volume:656;Page:5219. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I will take a brief call in the dead of night as it were as we move to close at 10 o’clock. I will touch on the comments of the previous speaker Michael Woodhouse when he said that his Government would focus on the things that matter. 
This is an Inquiries Bill. Inquiries are very important to the general public especially when they do not get their say. There are matters of controversy whether they be political criminal or constitutional that this bill will address in terms of modernising the inquiry function. Let us focus on one of the things that matter. 
Tonight I propose an inquiry. The inquiry would be a very good one on one simple matter: the $2.5 million that has been gutted out of the special-needs budget. This affects mostly children. One in particular called Brittany Graham I will speak about a little later on. [ 
Interruption 
] That $2.5 million as National members chip away over there to children—[ 
Interruption 
] They do not like it of course. They do not like it now. Let us focus on the things that matter. That is what that pompous individual over there said. The sum of $114000 has been taken off Addington School where there is a group of children some of whom who are able to walk for the first time with the aid of a ladder. They cannot control their bodily functions because they suffer from cerebral palsy. 
The mother of one of the children a constituent of mine said to me that the previous Government kept her daughter alive for the last 9 years. She was a premature birth. The previous Government kept her daughter alive. It has spent a vast amount of taxpayers’ money helping this child. The funding is now being taken away—$114000 which is a drop in the bucket in a Government’s Budget—and that will probably force that mum to withdraw that child from school. Those are the mum’s words. The mother said a very interesting thing. She said that if her daughter is withdrawn from school “All the money that the taxpayers generously spent on my daughter will go down the toilet.” because the costs— 
Amy Adams 
: How’s this about the bill? 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Because we will have an inquiry on that. That learned lawyer did not even have the intestinal fortitude to turn up at Papanui High School last night to face 500 people whose adult and community education funding she had gutted. She did not turn up there. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Inquiries Bill. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: We would have had a great time having an inquiry last night. 
I say there should be an inquiry with the stature of a royal commission. That mum said that for the amount of money that would be required to deal with her daughter’s health problems which were being addressed through conductive education funded by the State every year for 9 years— 
Hon Members 
: Talk about the bill. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I am sure that Julie Baker would relish an inquiry as to why the rug has been pulled out from under her 12-year-old daughter’s feet. Her 12-year-old daughter has been able to walk through therapy. Her mother would love an inquiry. Up until now her daughter has not been able to control her bowels but as a result of the therapy that she has been getting because of the previous Government’s funding she now has some dignity. I met that girl last week. 
As those members chirp on and bleat over there about the things that do not matter I say to that pompous member who has been here for 5 minutes that he might want to stand up and answer questions at an inquiry to be called to give evidence to an inquiry as to why his Government cut $2.5 million for those children. That would be an interesting inquiry would it not? I think it would. I think at the very least yes those members won; yes they have the numbers; and yes they have a right to govern but I think it was John McCain who said that elections have consequences. My word do elections have consequences! 
Louise Upston 
: “Thank goodness” the public are saying. Thank goodness we have got the ability to do it! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I invite that genius from Taupo to go back to her electorate talk to the parents who are involved in conductive education and find the— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: This is getting out of hand. 
Hon Christopher Finlayson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Even taking into account “Mini-Mike’s” limitations this speech is simply too far wide of the mark. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Although members can give examples of inquiries and I have given some latitude to all speakers tonight I ask the member to come back to what the bill is about. I want quietness from the Labour side of the House. Interjections are fine but that last outrage was unacceptable. The member will confine his comments to the bill please. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Absolutely. I will do what every other member has done tonight and that is refer to a list of inquiries. I take no offence at “Tinkerbell’s” intervention from over on that side of the House. He can call me names. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: When we are referring to members we refer to them by their names. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Well he can do the same to me. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I am saying to all members that we refer to members by their names. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Absolutely. You have to be able to take it I say to Mr Finlayson if you are going to dish it out. 
Hon Christopher Finlayson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member has been here long enough to know that as Mr Hipkins would say on a point of order one cannot say “you”. The member has his limitations but he really must sharpen up. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The point is taken. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I am indebted to that learned gentleman who could not even become a Queen’s Counsel after being a senior partner in a law firm. What a genius that member is. 
I really look forward to the passage of this bill. As we go— 
Hon Christopher Finlayson 
: “Mr Comb-over.” 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Oh there he goes again—old “Tinkerbell”; poor old soul that he is. All he can do is chirp from the sidelines. It would be really nice if Mr Finlayson got up and as a Cabinet Minister addressed some of the points I have made about an inquiry into conductive education. It may be that as a learned lawyer he in a past life was called upon to represent some of those parents in an inquiry. Maybe he has perhaps in a court of law advocated for some of those parents. I doubt it but maybe he has. If he has I would be grateful if he would tell us. I would be indebted to him. But it would be very interesting for the Cabinet Minister who made that decision to be on the sharp end of an inquiry— 
Hon Member 
: Go on! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
:—it would be a sharp end too—and to be forced to give an explanation to the people of New Zealand for his actions. 
I support this bill. It is very interesting to elicit the colourful responses because they are called guilt they are called shame and that is why those people get so upset. These issues are sharp issues they are the issues that matter and I invite some of these very gutsy members to get up front up to an inquiry or otherwise and explain how they have cut the parents of this country off at the knees.