Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill

I was on the Education and Science Committee at the time that the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill was first being heard. I travelled around the country and listened to the submissions on the bill. It is simply a matter of fact that 98 percent of the nearly 5,000 submissions on the bill—4,800 submissions—were opposed to it. The date of commencement of this legislation, which is the clause that we are looking at, at the moment, really is a clause that could be endlessly amended, and my colleague Grant Robertson has amendments to that effect. The truth of the matter is that most of the people, the vast majority, who submitted on this bill did not want this legislation to commence at all on any date—not on 1 January 2012, as in the bill, or on any other date at all. It does not matter which date is in this bill, because the majority of people did not want this legislation to commence.

I want to explore that for a moment, because we have just been having the debate about the title and the fact that it is the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. Not only is that a complete misnomer but the date on which this legislation is to commence becomes null and void in the light of the very strong submissions opposing this bill. The question that arises is why anybody would want to support clause 2 when nobody wanted the bill in the first place, with the exception of the ACT Party and a couple of submitters who were self-confessed members of the ACT Party. The only people who got up to support the commencement of this legislation are signed-up members of the ACT Party. That is not sufficient to justify National’s capitulation on this bill, which on 1 January 2012 does away with legislation that National itself was responsible for and that was working perfectly adequately.

I will just touch on the issue of freedom of association. The date of commencement will be 1 January 2012 if this bill passes, and National does not reconsider its position and find some fortitude around this issue. That will be a date on which the freedom of association can be marked as having been undermined in this country, not enhanced. The freedom of association is a freedom, and a principled freedom, that many people have fought for and died for around the world over centuries. The freedom of association is something that exists as a positive right in the environment where association is allowed. The freedom to associate is an active right.

If this legislation commences on 1 January 2012, it will provide an environment where freedom of association is not possible.

💬 Hon Sir Roger Douglas: Why?

I will tell that member why. Students associations exist because of the economies of scale. Advocacy services, counselling services, and all of the other recreational services will not exist if this legislation comes into force on 1 January 2012. If that happens on that date, then this legislation will deprive people of the right to associate. People who need, for example, independent advocates in a university or polytechnic situation will have to pay for them. People will have to pay for the services of a lawyer or an advocate, and that will cost them a great deal more than it costs to be enrolled and enlisted in a students association now.

House resumed.

The Chairperson reported progress on the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill and no progress on the Employment Relations (Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill.

Report adopted.

The House adjourned at 9.56 p.m.