Brown Peter: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
Brown Peter: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:617;Page:13481] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 If I was inspired by any content of anybody’s speech yesterday it was when Dr Cullen really let loose and said he earns $200000 a year and is determined to give something back to the people who put him here. He was a poor lad from Edmonton close to where I come from in the UK but a little bit nearer Tottenham Hotspur than I was—I am not close to Tottenham Hotspur at all! He said he wanted to give something back and I thought that was an admirable sentiment. Then I looked at the bill and saw that he wants to give it back next year. We want to give it back this year so on the Table there is an amendment in my name to clause 2 and other clauses that brings the date forward. If we are going to give something to families in this country why wait a year? Let us give it to them now. 
I take the point that Maurice Williamson made—and he made it very strongly—that this bill might not be the best way of doing it. But right now we would sooner see some money in the pockets of poor families in this country than in the “Treasurer’s” treasure chest. We do not want him to sit on a war chest at the expense of families in this country. There are families out there who have young children who are out on the streets selling their bodies for money. I would like to think that a little bit of compassion a little bit of understanding and a little bit of finance would solve or at least ease that problem. I do not want to wait until April next year. New Zealand First does not want to wait until then before things happen. That looks to me like a lolly-scramble an election bribe—nothing more nothing less. 
The Greens will support our bringing the dates forward ACT will support our bringing the dates forward and I think National will support our bringing the dates forward—although National members oppose the bill they can support our bringing the dates forward. So I ask the members of United Future what they will do.It will come down to the United Future members—who are not awake at the moment. If they come alongside and vote to bring forward the dates then we can do business with Dr Cullen and Mr Maharey and we can test their allegiance to families in this country. We can test whether they really mean to do something to help people or are just having a lolly-scramble that will make them look good a month or so out from the next election. 
I do not know whether the contents of this bill are sound. I would have preferred this bill to go through the process of select committee scrutiny. That is where the bill should have gone. I cannot see the point of our sitting here in urgency to pass a bill that does not take any meaningful effect until April next year. We could have done things properly and listened to submissions. So New Zealand First is prepared to say: “We will go with you Labour. We will go with the Government. You might not have got it right—we have not found all that we are looking for—but we will go with you. But we want it delivered now.” We want the promises delivered now. We want the date of April next year changed to July this year. It can be done and we want the outgoing years 2006 and 2007 changed to 2005 and 2006. That is the challenge. As soon as I finish this call I am going to talk to the officials and find out the practicalities of that but I cannot see from reading this bill any hindrance whatsoever to the Government’s bringing this measure in now. 
I hope the United Future members subscribe to that view. Those members have been loud and clear. I heard Mr Dunne say loudly and clearly that the United Future members are fighting for families. Well we want them to fight for achieving something now not next year. He made a big noise saying that until United Future came on board no one had mentioned the word “family”. Well we are saying that if this legislation is to have a good effect on families it should be brought in now. There is a war chest of money there. Let us give some money back to the average New Zealanders out there who are suffering.