Cosgrove Clayton: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
[Volume:642;Page:12107] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Government Administration Committee for consideration. 
As the House is well aware Statutes Amendment bills are a useful vehicle for making minor technical and non-controversial amendments to a number of Acts. They allow amendments to be made that would not usually receive sufficient priority to be progressed. This is achieved with the support of all members of this House. 
The House has only recently dealt with the Statutes Amendment Bill. The reason for the second bill being introduced so soon after this is primarily to regularise the annual timing of the Statutes Amendment bills following requests from members of this Parliament needing to plan their consideration of the proposed amendments within their annual parliamentary schedules. 
 I thank members for their feedback on the Statutes Amendment bill process and for their cooperation with the revised process as all members had input into it. I also thank members for their consideration of the amendments proposed for this bill and for expressing their support for the amendments included in it. I acknowledge the splendid work of the various officials coordinating the administrative aspects of the development of the bill and those who have provided very valuable support and information for members while they have been considering the proposed amendments. 
The bill as introduced amends 14 Acts administered by eight different departments. Proposed amendments include an amendment to the Crimes Act 1961 to correct and remove a reference to the death penalty which was abolished some time ago and an amendment to the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 to substitute the term “video record” for the outdated term “video tape”. This change in terminology is to reflect the definition in the Evidence Act 2006 which is broad enough to cover digital video recordings. An amendment to the Historic Places Act 1993 amends a drafting error and removes ambiguity in a provision that creates an offence of and imposes a penalty for the damage or destruction of a property under the control of the Historic Places Trust. An amendment to the National Parks Act 1980 removes an incorrect statutory reference and corrects a drafting error. An amendment to the District Courts Act 1947 removes subsections that also reside in the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 to clarify in which court certain proceedings should be brought. 
Amendments to the Veterinarians Act 2005 close a gap in the legislation that permits people who hold a recognised veterinary science degree to be registered only on the basis of their qualifications. Veterinarians will now have to satisfy the Veterinary Council of New Zealand of their fitness to practise in order to be registered. This change brings the Veterinarians Act up to date with comparable legislation for other professions—for example lawyers and teachers. I particularly want to thank the Green Party for its support of these amendments to the Veterinarians Act 2005 being included in the bill. 
To conclude I point out that the examples of amendments I have mentioned that are included in the bill demonstrate the value of Statutes Amendment bills as a regular vehicle for advancing technical yet important amendments to current legislation. I again thank members on all sides for their support of the bill and I commend it to the House.