Sepuloni CarmelREGULATORY SYSTEMS (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT) AMENDMENT (NO 2) BILL REGULATORY SYSTEMS (HOUSING) AMENDMENT BILL (NO 2)REGULATORY SYSTEMS (WORKFORCE) AMENDMENT BILL (NO 2)First ReadingsHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development) on behalf of the Minister for Economic Development: I move That the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment (No 2) Bill the Regulatory Systems (Housing) Amendment Bill (No 2) and the Regulatory Systems (Workforce) Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a first time. I nominate that the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment (No 2) Bill be referred to the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee for consideration that the Regulatory Systems (Housing) Amendment Bill (No 2) be referred to the Social Services and Community Committee for consideration and that the Regulatory Systems (Workforce) Amendment Bill (No 2) be referred to the Education and Workforce Committee for consideration.Each of the three regulatory systems amendment bills—the bills—is a self-contained omnibus bill that amends legislation administered by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The first regulatory systems bill was enacted in March 2018 and the second regulatory systems amendment bill is amending another 20 different MBIE statutes.Regulation touches the lives of New Zealanders in many ways. It is indispensable to the proper functioning of economies and societies. Regulation when implemented well underpins markets protects the rights and safety of citizens and their property and assists the efficient and equitable delivery of goods and services. Regulation is an important tool for preserving and advancing the public interest. These amendment bills will achieve effectiveness and efficiency by clarifying and updating statutory provisions; addressing regulatory duplication gaps and errors; bringing the legislation up to date with relevant public expectations; as well as removing unnecessary compliance costs. These bills will reduce the chance of regulatory failure and unintended consequences that harm the well-being of New Zealanders. The amendment bills will improve laws that affect business housing commerce and consumer affairs and workforce regulatory systems. The changes are small and do not warrant standalone bills but together the changes will ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency of the underpinning of regulatory systems.A summary of each bill is as follows. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment (No 2) Bill contains amendments to 14 Acts in total: the Building Societies Act 1965 the Companies Act 1993 the Continental Shelf Act 1964 the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 the Fair Trading Act 1986 the Financial Reporting Act 2013 the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act 2006 the Insolvency Act 2006 the Limited Partnerships Act 2008 the Personal Property Securities Act 1999 the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 the Takeovers Act 1993 the Trade Marks Act 2002 and the Weights and Measures Act 1987.Rather than go through each Act in this omnibus bill let me highlight the common themes behind the changes. The first theme relates to updating statutory provisions—for example in the Personal Property Securities Act 1999 the changes remove unnecessary regulation. There is a current requirement that the Personal Property Securities Register be kept in New Zealand; however the register is kept electronically and there is no justification for requiring it to be in New Zealand. The second theme is clarity of process—for example amendments to the Trade Marks Act 2002 clarify the status of a trade mark when its registration expires and sets out the procedure for the renewal of registration. Another common theme is better enforcement of the regulatory regime—for example in the Weights and Measures Act 1987 the change empowers an inspector to require documents relating to any goods for sale to include goods that are being sold as well as those still for sale.The Regulatory Systems (Housing) Amendment Bill (No 2) is made up of amendments to the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act 1992 and the Retirement Villages Act 2003. In the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act the changes simplify the role of the Community Housing Regulatory Authority and reduce the administrative burden on registered community housing providers. In the Retirement Villages Act 2003 the amendments clarify and create certainty about the penalty that applies to operators of retirement villages that contravene their obligations relating to the code of practice of operating a retirement village. The code sets out the rights and obligations of retirement village operators and residents and it is important that the operators understand the consequences of breaching the code and that the registrar has clarity when detecting such breaches and offences under the Act.The Regulatory Systems (Workforce) Amendment Bill (No 2) contains amendments to four Acts in total: the Holidays Act 2003 the Employment Relations Act 2000 the Remuneration Authority Act 1977 and the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. The amendment to the Holidays Act clarifies that the maximum penalty for a person involved in a breach depends on whether that person is an individual or a body corporate rather than depending on whether the employer is an individual or a body corporate. The amendments to the Employment Relations Act firstly allow for the Remuneration Authority to set the remuneration of Employment Relations Authority members who are delegated to take over the responsibilities of the chief of the authority. The amendment to the Remuneration Authority Act 1977 is to effect this change. The amendments to the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 are to enable a spouse or partner to become a primary carer within the first months of the child's birth only in circumstances where the biological mother dies or for any other reasons the spouse or partner becomes the person who has permanent primary responsibility to the exclusion of the mother for the care development and upbringing of the child and the biological mother does not have an entitlement to parental leave payments or does not take up that entitlement by giving notice to her employer.In conclusion it can be difficult to find time on the parliamentary calendar for repairs and maintenance of existing legislation. These amendment bills are the vehicles for smaller regulatory fixes to be progressed in a timely and cost-effective way in order to deliver the flow-on benefits to business and the wider economy. I commend these bills to the House.