Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you very much Madam Assistant Speaker. It's a sad day for democracy in New Zealand when we are debating legislation which will limit the freedom of speech the freedom of association and the freedoms of New Zealanders here in this House. This is a sad day for New Zealand's democracy. What we've heard from the other side of the House is excuses excuses excuses. We all know the real reason why this legislation is being put through the House and it's because it's all about Mr Winston Peters and a deal that he's done to try to get power and to try to protect his authority—Brett Hudson: He can't trust his own team.SIMEON BROWN: —and because he doesn't trust his own team. That's right Mr Hudson. He doesn't trust his own team in Parliament.The key argument—the only argument—which Mr Andrew Little put forward for putting forward this bill was to protect the proportionality of Parliament. Well the only safeguard he's put in the bill is two-thirds of a caucus. Well I just want to remind Mr Little that he only got four other votes for his own leadership bid so it would only work if he was the leader of the Labour Party. That's the only person it would protect—him. Well I want to remind the House of the words of the late Rod Donald and we've heard this: this is the most draconian obnoxious anti-democratic insulting [piece of] legislation ever inflicted on this Parliament." All we heard from the Green Party when they got up to speak was excuses excuses. They have sold their souls and sold their principles in voting for this piece of legislation. They have not listened to their members and they've come up with a whole list of reasons why they think that they are going to get policy concessions but they've sold their principles—policy concessions but they've sold their principles in the process. They have no courage they have no principles and soon they will not even be in Parliament.This bill is an affront to democracy and it is something which has been done in smoke-filled back rooms of Parliament because there is nothing in the coalition document which requires the Green Party to support this piece of legislation. There's nothing. They have sought Cabinet advice and the Cabinet advice said there is no reason under the confidence and supply agreement why they should support it. The only logical reason is there must be something in the 36-page secret document which still hasn't been released and it still hasn't been released because they are hiding from New Zealanders what the real intentions and real policy decisions were which were made in smoke-filled back rooms prior to this coalition Government being put together last election.This bill is an affront to democracy and I've heard Mr Darroch Ball get up and try to defend it from New Zealand First's position. Well he forgets that his own electoral record is that he received 2155 votes at the last election—612 fewer party votes than the party even got in Palmerston North and that's probably the 612 people he met because that's what happened in Palmerston North.Hon Gerry Brownlee: He didn't do that much work.SIMEON BROWN: He probably didn't do that much work. He probably met 100 people and they told six friends. That's probably what happened. The New Zealand First Party MPs are getting up to try to defend themselves because they are trying to defend their own list position leading into the next election. They know that they are at the whim of their leader Mr Winston Peters who will be determining whether any of them will stay or go at the next election.This piece of legislation is to protect this coalition because they know they've only got a three-seat majority. They're scared of what might happen and they want to stop all of these list MPs from firing off and deciding that they will do something. They've decided that they're going to consign themselves to being bound by the leadership bound by Winston Peters and they're putting aside the principles which they have sold for no policy concessions and no real gain for them. We will not be supporting this legislation."