The government must be desperate to get their Marine and Coastal Area Bill through.

My written submission went in on Friday at the last possible time.  I was called on Monday and asked to appear at the earliest possible occasion.  So I'll be before the Maori Affairs Select Committee this evening at 5-30 pm.

I'm not looking forward to this duty. I've spoken to some deeply unimpressed submitters from yesterday. The Chairman's prickly response to John Boscawen's reasonable protest yesterday does not bode well.

Sending a Bill of major constitutional significance to that Committee contrasts badly with Dr Cullen's establishment of a Special Committee, including Parliamentary heavyweights, to consider his Foreshore and Seabed Bill. 

The result was vastly improved legislation. It benefitted from National's intense political challenge, the earnest work of United Future, and the need to ensure that NZ First could support it.

Unfortunately, from what I heard of yesterday's contributions, Labour are not performing the duties of an Opposition. They are not defending their own record and testing the government lines. Perhaps that will change as the MPs warm up to their task. It is hardly fair to expect them to be across the issues in submissions they can not have seen until Monday midday at the soonest.

I fear, however, that we are back in the political state suffered from mid 1980 to 2003, when the major parties colluded to ensure that ordinary New Zealander's concerns about racist law were stifled, and never debated in Parliament without snide references to "red neckery". Dr Brashes Orewa speech blew that cosy consensus open. Have the establishment parties now drawn the curtains closed again?

If so I forsee them being re-opened by Winston Peters. He could swing from them back into Parliament.  

Back to this evening. The competence and strength of each committee changes with personnel so I will not prejudge the perspicacity or pertinacity of the current members of the Maori Affairs Committee who I do not know. But  I was substituted to sit on that committee  several times during my time in Parliament. Not only was it ineffably light weight in effort, the members formed a discourteous cross-party club, happy to dismiss outside views as not needing discussion. I was grateful to Georgina Te HeuHeu for intervening to prevent them spending more time attacking me one morning for questioning a department boss than they did questioning him.