Dalziel stretches truth on late changes to bill

Lianne Dalziel has again stretched the truth about her failure to get agreement to last-minute changes to the Business Law Reform Bill, says National Party Economic Development spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

“Rather than look to her own inability to get support, she blames National for blocking the last-minute changes to the Takeovers Code.

“But Ms Dalziel omits some damning facts, including:

The fact that the Minister u-turned and made late changes despite promising that there would be no sneaky inclusions at the committee stage.

The fact that she declined the chance to consult on the changes to the code with the business community through the Commerce Select Committee.

The fact that nobody got to make submissions on the changes to the code because nothing remotely linked to the code was contained in the original bill.

The fact that officials considered it was unlikely that the ‘floodgates’ would open on the types of takeovers the Minister was panicking about, and so there was time to do the necessary consultation.

“In the House today Ms Dalziel also claimed I had agreed with officials that the late changes to the bill were needed, but that is utter rubbish.

“National has some sympathy for what the Takeovers Panel was trying to achieve, but the concerns should be dealt with by proper processes and not through backdoor amendments that the business community is shut out of commenting on.

“Ms Dalziel should look in the mirror, instead of blaming National for her botched process.“

Ends

© Scoop Media