A Board of between five and nine people will be appointed by the Minister and this board will appoint the chief executive. The Bill also formally changes the name of the Ministry of Commerce to Ministry of Economic Development, and changes the title of the Secretary of Commerce to Chief Executive of the Ministry of Economic Development. The Guardianship Act, including related family policy, is to be reviewed. NZ's guardianship law was passed over 30 years ago and is thought to be out of date. A public discussion paper will be issued mid-year, and submissions will close in early November.
Families are now diverse in nature.
There is, however, little recognition in the current Act of the different forms of families, or of the role played by wider and extended family members in the lives of children. This issue is of particular importance to Maori and Pacific cultural values and approaches, and may impact on the rights and interests of Maori and Pacific children. The move follows on from increasing recognition of the contribution made by the community and voluntary sector to NZ over the last few years. First NZ has a long-standing practice of not ratifying an international treaty unless domestic law and practice fit with the Treaty's provisions. This means that before we can ratify the Convention, therefore, the Crimes Act 1961 will need to be amended to make sure NZ can comply with the Convention's provisions on prostitution.