edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Members SwornText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMembers Sworn[Sitting date: 20 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:3. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Members SwornMary Winifred Harris QSO Clerk of the House of Representatives a Commissioner appointed to administer the oath to members did administer the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance to the following members which being done they took their seats in the House: Amy Juliet Adams Jacinda Ardern Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi Darroch Leicester Ball Todd Keith Barclay Margaret Mary Barry Andrew Henry Bayly David Allister Bennett Paula Lee Bennett Mahesh Bindra Christopher Bishop Kerry James Borrows Simon Joseph Bridges Steffan John Browning Gerard Anthony Brownlee David Cunningham Carter David Scott Clark David James Clendon Jonathan David Coleman Judith Anne Collins Clayton James Cosgrove David Richard Cunliffe Clare Elizabeth Curran Kelvin Glen Davis Jacqueline Isobel Dean Catherine Delahunty Matthew Maurice Doocey Sarah Maree Dowie Peter Francis Dunne Ruth Suzanne Dyson Simon William English Kristopher Faafoi Christopher Francis Finlayson Te Ururoa James William Ben Flavell Craig Foss Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell Marama Kahu Fox Philip Bruce Goff Paul Jonathan Goldsmith Joanne Gay Goodhew Kennedy Gollan Montrose Graham Timothy John Groser Allen Nathan Guy Kevin Grant Hague Joanne Kowhai Hayes Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare Christopher John Hipkins Brett John Hudson Gareth Thomas Llewellyn Hughes Steven Leonard Joyce Nicola Laura Kaye John Phillip Key Annette Faye King Tutehounuku Korako Barbara Joan Kuriger Melissa Lee Iain Francis Lees-Galloway Andrew James Little Heather Janet Logie Peseta Samuelu Manunu Lotu-Iiga Timothy Harley Macindoe Nanaia Cybele Mahuta Trevor Colin Mallard Ron Stanley Mark Tracey Anne Martin Mojo Celeste Mathers Todd Michael McClay Ian Robert Flockhart McKelvie Clayton Robert Henry Mitchell Mark Patrick Mitchell Suzanne Mary Moroney Todd Michael Muller Stuart Alexander Nash Jonathan Mark Naylor Alfred Ngaro Russel William Norman Damien Peter O’Connor Simon O’Connor Denis John O’Rourke Rewiti Pomare Kingi Paraone Patricia Hekia Parata David William Parker Kushmiita Parmjeet Kaur Parmar Winston Raymond Peters Richard Ivor Prosser Shane Raymond Reti Grant Murray Robertson Denise Maree Roche Jami-Lee Matenga Ross Adrian Paki Rurawhe Michael Lewis Sabin Eugenie Meryl Sage Jennifer Teresia Salesa Alastair Oliver Scott Carmel Jean Sepuloni David Breen Seymour James Peter Edward Shaw David James Shearer Scott Anthony Simpson Su’a William Sio Nick Smith Stuart Tayler Smith Barbara Joy Stewart Fletcher Tabuteau Rino Tirikatene William Lindsay Tisch Anne Merrilyn Tolley Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei Philip Stoner Twyford Louise Claire Upston Nicola Joanne Wagner Louisa Hareruia Wall Meka Whaitiri Munokoa Poto Williams Maurice Donald Williamson Michael Allan Woodhouse Megan Cherie Woods Jian Yang Jonathan Edgar Joseph Young.
Return of WritText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeReturn of Writ[Sitting date: 20 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:3. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Return of WritThe CLERK: Honourable members I have received from the Electoral Commissioner a writ endorsed with the names of those members elected to represent electoral districts and a return listing the names of the members elected from party lists. I hereby lay those documents on the Table.
Authority to Administer OathText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeAuthority to Administer Oath[Sitting date: 20 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:2. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Authority to Administer OathThe CLERK: Honourable members I will now read the Commission authorising me to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance required by law to be taken or made by members of the House. It reads:Pursuant to section 11 of the Constitution Act 1986 I Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae Governor-General of New Zealand hereby authorise youMary Winifred Harris Clerk of the House of Representativesto administer to members of Parliament the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance to Her Majesty The Queen required to be taken or made by every such member before that member shall be permitted to sit or vote in the House of Representatives.John Key Prime Minister.
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Tuesday 21 July 2020 (continued on Wednesday 22 July 2020) - Volume 747
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Oranga Tamariki (Youth Justice Demerit Points) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.Ayes 110New Zealand National 54; New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Ross.Noes 9Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8; ACT New Zealand 1.Bill read a first time.Bill referred to the Social Services and Community Committee.
Oranga Tamariki (Youth Justice Demerit Points) Amendment Bill — First Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Arms (Firearms Prohibition Order) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.Ayes 65New Zealand National 54; New Zealand First 9; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Noes 54New Zealand Labour 46; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Bill read a first time.Bill referred to the Justice Committee.
Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading
Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill — Referral to Justice Committee
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the motion be agreed to.Ayes 101New Zealand National 54; New Zealand Labour 46; Ross.Noes 17New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Motion agreed to.
Local Government (Customer Focus) Amendment Bill — First Reading
SpeechHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to speak on behalf of New Zealand First and to signal right at the outset that we feel very sorry for Nuk Korako. I mean Nuk Korako came to the House with a serious bill and it got labelled as probably one of the most ineffective and useless and unnecessary members' bills to ever hit the floor and that title's just been taken away from him by the Hon Jacqui Dean with her Local Government (Customer Focus) Amendment Bill—his was of course the infamous lost-luggage bill. So congratulations the Hon Jacqui Dean you've just taken the title off Nuk Korako and that's hence why New Zealand First sees no need to support this bill. Look I do apologise to the honourable member; I know she sweated hours and hours and months of research to come up with these two clauses to amend the Local Government Act to make local government do what my council did when I was the mayor as a matter of course—talk to people.In fact I thought I could do a quick straw poll of mayors throughout the country and flicked out a text and said Do we need this bill?" Well it's interesting. Now I know they're all busy people and I really should not have interrupted their days but the response that's come back from various mayors around the country is simply "No we do this as a matter of course; this is what we do."I do find it rather curious that the party had trumpeted the need to cut red tape slash bureaucracy do away with stupid rules the Paula Bennett—Mark Patterson: Bonfire regulations.Hon RON MARK: Bonfire regulations. Paula Bennett was going to burn down the world with piles and piles of regulations that were pointless meaningless had no need and were simply tying up hours and hours of Public Service time.But look it's really simple and I have no real depth of knowledge—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The time is coming for me to leave the Chair. This bill is set down for further consideration next sitting day.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 1 p.m. (Wednesday)"
District Court (Protection of Judgment Debtors with Disabilities) Amendment Bill — First Reading
Genter Julie AnneHon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. The Green Party will be supporting this bill. It's incredibly important that we provide extra protection and support for the most vulnerable people in our society: those with disabilities. I want to just acknowledge all those who have been advocating for that support and protection both in this specific instance but also in other wider areas of our society.
Smith NickHon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson): I am pleased to take a call on this quite detailed minor amendment bill the District Court (Protection of Judgment Debtors with Disabilities) Amendment Bill. I am happy to be supporting the bill to select committee. We've done a lot of work through this Parliament in improving the rights of people with disabilities in New Zealand and it's proper that we work at laws like the District Court Act around ensuring that its provisions are appropriate for the full diversity of people including those who have disabilities that need care support and equipment for that purpose.One of the things the select committee will need to have a careful look at is that sometimes when we seek to help a particular group by removing the capacity for debts to be collected you may well have a situation where people won't provide finance for that particular group. I think it's OK but at select committee what you wouldn't want is to create a situation where this law change resulted in people with disabilities being unable to access finance for purchasing mobile scooters and those things as a consequence of removing the right of the person that provides that finance to be able to recover the property. So we have to try and navigate a way through improving our debtor laws so that we don't get the almost inhuman situation of a person with a severe disability having their mobile scooter or other equipment that's essential to their wellbeing being removed. On the other hand you are always with such laws looking for unintended consequences. I'm also interested that as we try and micro-write" the laws for every possible circumstance—we currently say in the law that bailiffs need to act fairly and reasonably. I will be interested at the select committee to see how many examples there are and whether there is the scale of problem where people are having scooters or other essential equipment or property removed. Part of me thinks that when the law already prohibits behaviour that is unfair or unreasonable why is that not working in holding back bailiffs from doing such unconscionable acts as removing equipment that's essential for those New Zealanders that have these sorts of disabilities?I commend the member on introducing the bill. I'm pleased to have it go to a select committee—and they are some of the issues that the select committee in detailed consideration of this bill will need to consider in determining whether these are appropriate law changes to make to the District Court Act."
SpeechDARROCH BALL (NZ First): Thank you Mr Speaker. I don't intend to take a very long call. I think it's actually a bit crazy that we have to debate a bill like this when—look it says in the general policy statement that the Act requires good judgment to be exercised by the bailiffs. We've heard the examples the particular example about why this bill is put forward and it just amazes me that a situation like that would occur when we've got our most vulnerable people in situations that they are in being treated the way that they are. That's what it comes down to: the way that individuals want to and have been treating people—and whether it's written in black and white unfortunately it seems to matter. That's why New Zealand First will be supporting this bill through to select committee. It's just unfortunate that we have to get to this stage where we have to put this into legislation. New Zealand First supports both sides of the House's comment actually and the reasons for this bill and why we need to support this bill through and also some of the concerns or rather questions that were raised and questions that it has been stated will be raised during the select committee. I think that's important that we hear from the stakeholders and the people that are involved with this both from the implementation side but also the receiving side so we can iron the law out and make sure that we get what we want which is an improved result of the implementation of the law as it's written. We look forward to the select committee and hearing from the experts and hearing from the advisers on how we can make this a good one. Thank you.
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to take a short call on the Oranga Tamariki (Youth Justice Demerit Points) Amendment Bill in the name of New Zealand First member Darroch Ball. It's a pleasure to be supporting this piece of legislation to select committee so that it can be scrutinised so that the public can make submissions and so that the people are able to have their say on this important piece of legislation.One of the big issues I think in our justice system that I get often asked about as a member of Parliament is around youth offending. It is one of the complex and complicated issues where the justice system seeks to balance the rights and the futures of the young people against the crime that they do commit. There is a debate to be had in my opinion around whether the law currently sits in a way that gets that balance right. I think this bill does in some ways seek to address that debate by putting in place a system whereby young people who offend are given demerit points in a transparent and open way where their offending is measured in a way which then can be looked at by the courts looked at by the justice system and so that it can then be addressed. If it continues and persists—and one of the shocking figures that I see in the explanatory note is that 60 percent of youth offenders reoffend—then it can be taken to court.One of the key issues that this bill does is it seeks to put in place essentially a carrot and a stick. It has consequences if the offending continues but also provides opportunities for young people to prove that they are changing their behaviour by going on a course by the limited service scheme—to be able to change their behaviour and to be able to prove and demonstrate that they are seeking to make amends for their offending. So this bill I think is good framework. There will be a number of questions which I and I know other members of this House will have over how this will work how it will be set up and how it will be managed.I look forward to hearing submissions from the public from those who are involved in the youth justice system but also those who are victims of crime who have been affected by youth offenders and the experience that they've had with the system. So I commend this bill to the House and I look forward to the select committee process.
SpeechKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. First of all I would like to congratulate the member for bringing this bill and I have good news for him: the National Party will be supporting this bill to the select committee stage. Any innovative idea and good idea brought to this Parliament will be supported by the National Party. I would also like to thank New Zealand First for supporting Brett Hudson's bill the member who is based in Ōhāriu working very hard. He had a very good bill which was supported by New Zealand First. So it is I think one all for both sides for innovative and good bills which are being supported in this House today.Darroch Ball gave a very passionate speech and I agree with him on many fronts—that youth are to be given a proper direction so that they can contribute to this country and they are our future. I want to give an example that when youth are given a proper direction they perform and deliver. The example is when the Christchurch earthquake happened the youth came out and helped the people over there. There was a direction for them and that is what we lack sometimes.I believe that a lot of people say that youth are useless but my belief is that youth are used less. We need to use them in a proper manner so that we can have better results and this bill exactly gives some very good incentive to the justice system to monitor the youth for what they are doing.Demerit points—we know as we have seen in the driving licence that when we cross a certain limit we drive very consciously not to gain any further demerit points. On a similar basis this bill will enable youth offenders to get the demerit points so they will be discouraged to get involved in any kind of crime or the justice system. National supports the intent of the bill to encourage youth offenders to take responsibility for their actions which the demerit point system incentivises. This could have positive effects on the young offenders who will be encouraged not to acquire demerit points.We can be encouraged that youth offending is decreasing. National supports any attempt to continue this trend. However the bill needs to be scrutinised at the select committee. That is why we believe that it is important that the select committee process should have a thorough look at this bill and improvise. The select committee always has an intention to improvise with any bill which is referred to the select committee and I hope this happens in this case also.The research is clear that young offenders need solutions and intervention into the cause of their offending. Punitive punishments have been proven to be unsuccessful in dealing with these young offenders. As the proposal of the bill mentions going tough on youth is not a solution. We need to give them incentives and guide them that this is not the right path and the demerit points will encourage them not to clock up to 100 points where they will be referred to the District Court system. With these words from the National side we will be supporting this bill to be referred to the select committee and we'll continue to consider this further. Thank you Mr Speaker.
Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill — Bill Read a First Time
SpeechINSURANCE (PROMPT SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS FOR UNINHABITABLE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) BILLFirst ReadingASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): Members at the end of the first reading debate on the Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill the Clerk did not have the opportunity to announce the bill's first reading. I'm going to ask him to do this now.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Governance and Administration Committee.
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity to take a call on the Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) a bill in the name of my colleague Brett Hudson a fantastic police spokesperson—I'm sure he'll make a police Minister too very soon; maybe not as soon as what Ron Mark was referring to but maybe in 60 or 59 days or something like that he will be the Minister of Police.This piece of legislation is an incredibly important piece of legislation because what it does is it targets gangs and those who have committed serious offences and it puts in place a system whereby the Commissioner of Police is able to prohibit them from having firearms. It is about ensuring not only that gang members but people who have committed serious violence offences offences under the Domestic Violence Act and offences under the Arms Act are not able to have firearms.This is the type of legislation which should have been progressed by this Parliament as it has worked through the Arms Act over two bills in this Parliament over the last couple of years. This is the type of legislation which targets those people who are not law-abiding citizens who have been convicted of serious offences and makes it clear that it is not acceptable for them to have firearms and to be able to have access to them. This is the type of legislation that puts the emphasis on those who break the law not on law-abiding citizens.So I'm proud to support this piece of legislation in the name of Brett Hudson. I'm proud of the fact that he is finally getting this to a select committee and that it will be duly considered and that this will be progressed and will soon be part of our law here in New Zealand so that we can make our streets and our communities safer.
Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill — First Reading
SpeechRAYMOND HUO (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to take a short call but before I do that I'd like to congratulate the member sponsoring the bill on having successfully progressed the bill to this stage. After listening to the detailed analysis from my learned colleagues Dr Duncan Webb and Dr Deborah Russell there is no need for me to repeat the key points behind our decision not to support this bill. The bill is well-intentioned no doubt about that but the bill does little or nothing to address the issues in question. We can't support it. Thank you.
Ghahraman GolrizGOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN (Green): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to speak to this Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill and congratulate the member who has brought it. As others have said it does appear to be a well-meaning bill. The Green Party will not be voting for it today only because we do feel that although there is a problem in this sector and others have touched upon it and delay and settlement claims may be one of those problems there are others and there needs to be a more comprehensive approach to solving these problems where fairness for those experiencing loss of property—and often in really stressful situations as we all know including those of the big natural disasters like Christchurch and Kaikōura and others—needs to be at the heart of the processes that we review and put in place here. There is other work under way that the Government is going to do that for this sector. But to introduce this type of reform in an ad hoc way and to introduce just one solution which is to impose arbitrary time limits on settlement without putting in place other measures to also guarantee fairness to guarantee a fair process in terms of enforcement and to facilitate people to understand their rights and to make sure that those rights are there in the insurance claim contracts does seem to be solving a problem that's not quite at the core of what people are experiencing when they experience unfairness in their insurance claims. So we will be voting against this bill but we are cognisant of consumer rights issues in this sector and we will work with the Government to continue solving them in a more comprehensive way.
SpeechKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity to stand in support of the Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill moved by my good friend Stuart Smith a hard-working member of Parliament who has himself seen many of his constituents go through the stress that is going to be addressed in this bill.The bill says that any property which is uninhabitable because of an incident should be settled by the insurer as soon as possible. There should be a time frame. For example if the person who pays a premium hasn't paid the premium he can't claim it if the incident happened on the day the premium was due. There's a time frame and you have to pay the premium on time whereas on the other side the insurance company don't have any deadline with how long they will take to settle the claim.So I can clearly say this can only be seen by someone who has gone through that kind of trauma. I have gone through that kind of trauma when my business was burnt out. The premium was paid on time but the insurance company took a long time to settle it. It was really stressful for me personally that I did not have a business to run. I didn't have the capital to reinvest and that kind of thing happens when there is an incident.So I support this bill and I can see that the Government members are just opposing it because of the reason of opposing it. But it is a very good bill. I was hoping that some of the sensible members could stand and support this bill to the next stage. If they have got any issues those could be addressed during the select committee process. I am really disappointed with the Government. Thank you Madam Speaker.
SpeechFLETCHER TABUTEAU (Deputy Leader—NZ First): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise on behalf of New Zealand First—unfortunately for the member opposite in opposition to this piece of legislation. The reasons are that it kind of missed the mark in terms of timing missed the mark in terms of intent and we're already on the substantive issues that were raised by the member in his opening speech. This Government realises there's still work to be done and we're working on it. So we thank the member for his well-meaning messages but thank you we've got it under way. Cheers.
Brown SimeonTUESDAY 21 JULY 2020(continued on Wednesday 22 July 2020)PROTECTION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND PRISON OFFICERS BILLReferral to Justice CommitteeSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): I move That the order of the day for the committee stage of the Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill be discharged and the bill be referred to the Justice Committee for consideration.
Tuesday 17 March 2020 (continued on Wednesday 18 March 2020) - Volume 745
Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Māori Affairs Committee
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 56New Zealand National 55; Ross.Motion agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill be reported to the House by 29 June 2020 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting (except during oral questions) during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 191 193 and 194(1)(b) and (c).Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 56New Zealand National 55; Ross.Motion agreed to.
VoteThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 455 in the name of Jan Logie be agreed to.Amendments not agreed to.House resumed.Bill reported with amendment.Report adopted.
Abortion Legislation Bill — In Committee—Clauses 1 & 2
Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill — First Reading
SpeechCLAYTON MITCHELL (Whip—NZ First): I move That the question be now put.
SpeechHon CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South): I move That the question be now put.
Allan KiritapuKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour): I just want to briefly pick up some comments just to help alleviate the member who just spoke the Hon Jacqui Dean of any of the concerns that she may have had particularly in respect to the ability to provide members who want to speak in respect to this bill whether they have to meet in Wellington or outside. Helpfully the referral motion before this House right now contemplates Standing Order 193 which enables meetings outside of Wellington to occur during sitting days which is what this referral motion is requesting so that we can ensure that the contributions of those that the member who just spoke in this House had concerns for—that they may not be able to attend this House—would be enabled to give their considered views in respect of this bill. It is a fundamental proposition that the Minister of Local Government has turned her mind to—to enable the voices of those in particular that are impacted which may be outside of this region—that this referral motion directly is attributable to. So I hope that assists the member in this House to ensure that those concerns are met.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): I call Denise Lee. Could I just remind the member that this is a really narrow debate.Denise Lee: Sure.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): It doesn't deal with the contents of the bill; it just refers to the instruction to the committee.
Jackson WillieLOCAL GOVERNMENT (RATING OF WHENUA MĀORI) AMENDMENT BILLInstruction to Māori Affairs CommitteeHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister of Employment) on behalf of the Minister of Local Government: I move That the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill be reported to the House by 29 June 2020 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting (except during oral questions) during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 191 193 and 194(1)(b) and (c).
Allan KiritapuKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour): In times of uncertainty that the globe is currently facing it is I guess for my part at least quite pleasing when we as the House can come together and I guess speak with a unanimous voice in support of particular measures particularly when it comes to financial certainty. And albeit for one member I'm pleased that this House is almost unified in our approach that we will all be voting to support the Taxation (KiwiSaver Student Loans and Remedial Matters) Bill today.I want to acknowledge the efforts of the Hon Stuart Nash and I really actually want to also acknowledge the stewardship through the select committee by Dr Deborah Russell. We have seen some fundamental changes to this bill since it was first presented to us in the Finance and Expenditure Committee of which many of the members in this Chamber this morning have alluded to.This bill brings clarity. It brings certainty. In matters that are so significant to all of us that impact taxation and our fiscal security this is the kind of clarification simplification that everybody is calling for right now. So without further ado I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a third time.
Taxation (KiwiSaver Student Loans and Remedial Matters) Bill — Third Reading
Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour): Madam Speaker thank you for the opportunity to take a brief call on this bill. Look the KiwiSaver aspect of it is a fantastic scheme started in 2007 under the previous Labour Government and it is time to have a review and a bit of a tidy up of that scheme. So this bill certainly looks at that and we've heard a lot of those aspects articulated from various speakers.The second key point that I'd like to touch on is the aspect around student loans treating overseas-based borrowers who are unable to meet the payment obligation as a result of serious illnesses or disabilities as physically in New Zealand so that their loans would not be subject to interest. This is common sense and it's about having respect for people and their individual situations.I'd like to acknowledge the work that the Minister of Revenue Stuart Nash and the Finance and Expenditure Committee have done on this. I'd like to commend this bill to the House. Thank you.
O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): Thank you Madam Speaker. I think many of the speakers this morning have spoken and alluded to the current economic situation and I think it's good that they are because this will bring many New Zealanders who will be anxiously looking at their KiwiSavers a new realisation of what is actually going on in their portfolios. I think the timing of this bill is excellent because as they readjust as they become better informed for many who will not even understand what a PIE is—their portfolio investment entity—all of a sudden it will become quite significant particularly as incomes may start to change.So this bill is timely it is a good opportunity for people to ensure that they're not only aware of where they are with their investment portfolios but actually planning for the future. Therefore I recommend this bill to the House.
Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Thank you Madam Speaker. I actually would like to just address James Shaw and his comments about Judith Collins. I listened to her very closely and I didn't get a general debate speech at all. In fact I found it very informative on tax and on this bill.With that said I'd also like to address the life-shortening conditions and the ability for people with those conditions to withdraw their funds or get access to their funds from KiwiSaver earlier. It actually started life as a member's bill which was by Nicola Willis and was put in the ballot and wasn't actually drawn. She actually negotiated with the Hon Kris Faafoi to try and get something done but it was completely ignored. Fortunately the Government saw sense and adopted it and made it into a Supplementary Order Paper which has been included in the bill. So good on them for doing that because it is a very good move.I think the issue for me in this bill is very well highlighted by Andrew Bayly under his Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 477 which was unsuccessful. The investment funds under the PIE rates—and Dr Deborah Russell highlighted this that you know our tax system is based on self-assessment. That's true. It is up to those taxpayers to self-assess and to get the right rate. But however then to take the next step and say that if you get it wrong that's your problem well that would be true but if you get it wrong in that you underpay they do come after you. And there were 550000 Kiwis who did underpay to the tune of $50 million. IRD at this moment are getting that money back. They're out there and they're going to be able to go back and get their money back.However the 950000 Kiwis who overpaid who paid too much—and as my colleague Andrew Bayly quite rightly said—and are on the wrong rate are people who are the on the bottom of the ladder and could actually do with this money but they are not going to get it back. That is very unfortunate. The system's all there. All it needs is this SOP to have been adopted and put in this bill. In these times these very times when COVID-19 is such an issue for us and is going to be very tough particularly on the lower-income brackets those people could have done with that refund and they're not going to get it. And I think that that's very short-sighted on the part of the Government.I don't know why they're doing that when on the other hand they are announcing packages to help people. This would help people a significant number of people and would give them back what they actually deserved to have. They paid it in error. They made a mistake. Yes they made the mistake. But those people that made the mistake the other way they are being chased by IRD to get their money. The people that paid too much are not getting it back and I think that's wrong. Thank you.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The next call's a split call—Greg O'Connor.
SpeechHon SHANE JONES (Minister of Forestry): I'd say to the member who's just resumed his seat Andrew Bayly that there's a famous English saying and the saying runs along the following lines: that when opportunity arises it can maketh the man. I think it doesn't enhance the dignity of this House or the debates by veering off and making gratuitous bouts of critical kōrero about the Government's response to the virus. That is not what this bill is about and it's actually been enhanced by the select committee which is good to see by the most powerful select committee in the entirety of Parliament the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Of course I'd say that because I used to be its chair. The reality is that the bill has been approved by the efforts of the select committee. I just want to direct our attention to research and development and the improvements that have been made there because unless we continue to upgrade not only our physical capital but our human capital and obviously human capital through improving the administration of our loans scheme—and then financial capital improving the efficiency and the clarity around our KiwiSaver scheme and physical capital through ensuring that research and development continues in what will be a trying set of circumstances for our fellow Kiwis.I make the reference to the fact that the committee improved matters because so often is the case that select committees can be rubber stamps. I suffered that problem when I sat on the select committees when the country was led by John Key. For far too many occasions those select committees had good ideas submitters turned up but they were knocked out of the park and smashed in a capricious fashion under the last regime. So to see that the current bill has been improved by the efforts of the select committee—I want to acknowledge the members of that select committee and also I want to acknowledge that there were opportunities during the committee stages of the House to improve matters.I think this behoves well and I hope to see that spirit of comity more frequently from the other side of the House given the nature of the challenges we have as a country before us but I'll have more to say about that in my general debate speech later today. Thank you very much.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The Hon Judith Collins.
Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): National supports this bill. It's part of a detailed piece of tax legislation that the House deals with on a regular basis. Of course we're meeting at the moment under extraordinary times when a lot of New Zealanders are desperately worried about the health implications of COVID-19 and also the economic consequences. So this is probably not top of mind for most people at this moment but it's an important piece of legislation none the less. The only point I'd make around tax generally is that as the previous speaker mentioned cash flow is king. And so there'll be a lot of businesses right now trying to figure out how they're going to pay the bills over the next few weeks next month how they're going to keep employing people and the absolute priority for everybody across this House is to do what we can to lessen the chances of job losses over the next couple of months. Wage subsidies that have been announced yesterday will help—albeit this side would have gone further and faster on that front.In terms of this bill specifically the only point that I want to make is that the kind of attitude expressed through this Government in terms of dealing with the 550000 New Zealanders who have underpaid their portfolio investment entities tax. It would basically be primarily people in KiwiSaver who—and I'm thinking of young people particularly—will not be earning much and on a low tax rate and because of you know a moment's inattention I suppose when they signed up to the scheme or they didn't even sort of have the issue raised they have found themselves on a 28 percent tax rate for their KiwiSaver profits when really they should be only paying 10.5 percent. So they're paying more tax than they should have. Now we've only just recently got the ability from an administrative point of view to correct that and the Government seems to be adopting the philosophy of heads I win tails you lose. That is to say that if you've underpaid we'll take the money off you straight away but if you've overpaid we won't give it back to you straight away; we'll wait a couple of years. We don't think that's right. We think they should be moving more quickly to give that money back to New Zealanders. They're paying more tax than they should and that makes a difference. It's only a small difference but it makes a difference and it sends an important signal. So we're disappointed that they haven't supported Andrew Bayly's Supplementary Order Paper 477 on this topic which would have said Let's pay it back now." That's the only point I'd make on this but otherwise we commend this bill to the House."
SpeechAGNES LOHENI (National): I seek leave to correct the vote on Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 292 in the name of Darroch Ball's amendment to clause 2 and to correct—there was a proxy vote for Maggie Barry in favour of that SOP.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): So leave is sought; is there any objection?Hon Ruth Dyson: Was it cast the wrong way or not cast?CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Not cast. No objection? There is objection. OK I'm sorry there is objection.
Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): I move That the question be now put.Motion agreed to.
SpeechHon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Deputy Leader of the House): I move That the question be now put.
Thursday 12 September 2019 - Volume 740
Education (School Donations) Amendment Bill — In Committee
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That clauses 1 to 3 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.House resumed.Bill reported with amendment.Report adopted.
VoteEDUCATION (SCHOOL DONATIONS) AMENDMENT BILLIn CommitteeDebate resumed from 10 September.Part 2 Consequential amendmentsA party vote was called for on the question That Part 2 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Part 2 agreed to.
12. Question No. 12—Building and ConstructionPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Building and ConstructionQuestion No. 12—Building and Construction12. PAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent reports has the Minister seen on forecast construction activity?Hon JENNY SALESA (Minister for Building and Construction): May I first of all as a Tongan express my sincerest condolences in the passing of the Rt Hon 'Akilisi Pōhiva—to his family and to all Tongans worldwide. Last week I released the National Construction Pipeline Report 2019 that forecasts strong and sustainable construction activity for at least the next five years. The report shows the value that construction activity is expected to hit: $43.5 billion at its peak. This represents significant activity across residential non-residential and infrastructure construction sectors. Given the construction sector represents our fourth-largest employer and our fifth-largest industry by GDP this is further proof that our Government policies and work in the construction sector are indeed hitting the nail on the head.Paul Eagle: How does forecasting construction activity help the construction industry?Hon JENNY SALESA: One of the key concerns I hear frequently from industry through the Construction Sector Accord is about managing the boom-bust cycles that negatively impact productivity innovation and employment in the construction sector. The positive forecast highlighted in the National Construction Pipeline Report 2019 provides certainty to the construction industry and means that Government and industry can work together to support better planning better scheduling of investment and better coordination of construction procurement.Paul Eagle: How does this forecast construction activity align with other measures?Hon JENNY SALESA: This report is just one indication that the construction sector is performing to support jobs and deliver houses schools and hospitals that are essential to all of our wellbeing. Last month Statistics New Zealand reported that there were almost 36000 houses consented for the year to the end of July including 14000 in Auckland and 4000 in the Waikato. This rate has not been seen since February of 1974 and further demonstrates the strength of the construction sector.
9. Question No. 9—Māori DevelopmentTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister for Māori DevelopmentQuestion No. 9—Māori Development9. TAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister for Māori Development: He pēhea te tautoko a te kāwangatanga i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori?[How is the Government supporting the revitalisation of te reo Māori?]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister for Māori Development): E tautoko ana te Kāwanatanga me te rāngai tūmatanui i ngā rautaki reo Māori ki te whakakaha i ngā pūkenga i te reo kia waia anō Te Reo Māori. E mōhio ana e haere ngātahi ana Te Reo me ngā hītori hei hanga tūāpapa o te tuakiri ki tō mātou ahurea me ngā taonga tuku iho.[The Government and public sector are supporting Māori language strategies by improving language skills so that the Māori language is again familiar. We know that the language and history go together in the creation of the foundation of identity in our culture and heritage.] Tamati Coffey: He aha ngā pānui inaia tata ake nei hei tautoko i ngā whakarauoratanga o Te Reo?[What recent announcements have there been to support the revitalisation of the language?]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: He āhua roa tēnei whakautu. Heoi hei tāpiri atu i ngā kaupapa kōrero i whakatakotoria i Te Whare nei i te Rātū e whakapakari ana mātou i te tautoko mō ngā kaiako mā ēnei kaupapa e whai ake. E 700 ngā kaiako kei ngā rohe e whā e ako ana me pēwhea te whakauru i Te Reo Māori ki roto i ngā karaehe. He kete rauemi mā ngā kaiako me ngā whānau hei āwhina i a rātou ki te whakamahi i Te Reo Māori ki ngā kura ki te kāinga hoki. He whakakore i te kaikiritanga i ngā kura. Ka whakarewaina te hōtaka tuatahi ki Te Tai Tokerau hei te tau 2020. Ka waihangatia e te Māori he hōtaka tēnei mō te whakatō me te whakaako i te mātauranga Māori. He paetukutuku hou kei reira katoa ngā rauemi reo Māori mō ngā kaiako—[This is a long answer. Anyway to add to the topics of discussion that were laid before this House on Tuesday we are improving the support for teachers via the following initiatives: 700 teachers in four regions are learning how to introduce the Māori language to the classroom; a set of resources for teachers and families to help them use the Māori language in schools and in the home; getting rid of bullying in schools. The first programme will be launched in Northland in 2020. Created by Māori this is a programme for the introduction and teaching of Māori knowledge. A new website where Māori language resources for teachers can be found—]SPEAKER: Kāti kāti kāti!Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: He maha he maha ngā kaupapa e kawea nei e mātou te Kāwanatanga.[There are many many initiatives that we the Government are carrying out.]Ginny Andersen: Mō ngā Māori anake tēnei rautaki?[Is this strategy for Māori only?]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: E kao. He rautaki tēnei mō ngā iwi katoa. Ko te whāinga matua o Te Maihi Karauna kia māhorahora Te Reo ki ngā wāhi katoa i ngā mahi katoa mō ngā iwi katoa o ia rā. [No. This is a strategy for all peoples. The main goal of Te Maihi Karauna is for the language to be ubiquitous everywhere in all endeavours and for all people daily.]