KEY POINTS:
The Human Right Commission has just put its oar into the debate over what is happening at Parliament at present.
Legislation is being rammed through the House without going through the scrutiny of select committees. Five bills are to be put through all stages this week and next.
Human Rights Commissioner Judy McGregor has just issued a press statement saying the commission has "urgently requested the Government to reconsider its decision not to allow the 90-day bill to go to a select committee."
"Rushed legislation is potentially risky legislation and this is a fundamental change to employment law which requires serious consideration,' says McGregor, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner.
She should be listened to.
National was prepared to listen to and applaud the same Human Rights Commission when it appeared before the select committee hearing the Electoral Finance Bill pointing out that it was a 'dramatic assault" on fundamental human rights and that it "undermines the legitimacy of political processes".
It should not dismiss it as irrelevant now.
Contrary to the views of the conspiracy theorists, it was the exposure of the EFB's flaws by dozens of submitters during the select committee process, including the HRC, that persuaded the Herald to take the unusual step of campaigning against the passage of the bill.
It might be okay for National to push one bill through all stages under urgency but there is no excuse for so many to be - other than to give the perception that the Government has 'momentum'.
Pushing bills through all stages without such scrutiny should be reserved for exceptional circumstances.
All media except television have carried stories today about a change to Kiwisaver that was completely missed back in October when National released its policy.
It was missed by all media and political parties because the policy was worded in a very misleading way, suggesting savers would benefit when in fact they would be worse off.
It will strip hundreds of dollars annually and thousands over the lifetime of some Kiwisaver accounts by removing a tax exemption on employer contributions.
Bill English says it was in the policy all along, implying that it was others' fault for not finding it.
That is about as convincing as Helen Clark blaming others for her not revealing until August that Owen Glenn told her back in February he had given money to New Zealand First.
There can be no doubt that if the Kiwsaver and tax-cuts bill had gone before a select committee, other hidden effects may have been found.
The 90-day bill - giving employers the right to fire employees in the first 90 days with impunity - has already had the scrutiny of a select committee.
But it has been changed since then.
National argued strongly before the election that Labour's changes to the emissions trading scheme bill warranted a return to select committee scrutiny.
In the words of Steve Maharey, perhaps that was just one of those things you say in Opposition
