SpeechParts 1 and 2 Schedules 1 and 2 and clauses 1 to 3BRETT HUDSON (National): Thank you very much—my apologies for being a little bit previous there. So Minister thank you very much for joining us today. I've just got a few questions I'd like to run through and given what we saw in the previous committee of the whole House if there is a need to consult with officials we'll take a few orders for long blacks and flat whites and pause for a bit. So new section 149B particularly subsections (4) and (5) outlines the levy being proposed and that it may be a uniform or a differential basis. So I'm interested around how the fee will be devised what an anticipated flat fee is likely to be and what you have received from video on-demand providers about preparedness shall we say—we know legally they're going to have to but preparedness to pay the levy—and are they particularly more supportive of a uniform or differential levy basis?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs): One moment caller.Brett Hudson: That's all right. Hands up for flat whites?CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Does the member have any further contribution or—Brett Hudson: I do but that just adds to the congestion of questions.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I thank the member—sorry. Thank you very much. I thank the member for his patience. So what has happened is around the annual fee there's been a recommendation that the annual fee is based on a measure of the provider's market presence in New Zealand which would be based off the provider's number of subscribers and active users. The Cost Recovery Impact Statement (CRIS) also recommended that this information be compelled from providers and to amend the bill via Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to require this—and that SOP's on the Table. The CRIS reflects initial analysis following consultation on options to ensure that the proposed commercial video on-demand activities are appropriately funded. However the thinking has moved on from that analysis that was originally set out. Officials will be doing further work as part of amending regulations to ensure that the new labelling regime is appropriately funded. This will be in close consultation with providers and with the Classification Office. Amending the bill to allow for the setting of a levy will allow officials to explore all appropriate funding options to help futureproof the new labelling regime.The SOP allows for officials to consider a menu of options not a specific option in itself because I think what—well if I was to paraphrase all of that what I would say is that the officials have been working incredibly closely with the sector here. We don't want this to be a barrier at the same time as we protect children and give parents tools to be able to make sure they know what their children are watching.BRETT HUDSON (National): So I think following on from that really—and particularly new section 149D inserted by clause 19 in Supplementary Order Paper 554—is the risk. I do take the Minister's point about trying to find a balance that the requirements may compromise the availability of overseas content particularly on multinational platforms—not just the Netflixes but that's the most commonly referred to at least platform in this country at the moment. I mean we did see when Netflix first arrived that for commercial licensing reasons in that case there was quite a curated collection in New Zealand. We wouldn't want to see a regime that either took us back to that tightly curated environment or which just led to more titles and matters of interest—perfectly reasonable to view—that weren't made available to New Zealanders' concern which indeed would then lead to them seeking to use technological workarounds to get around the measures that would otherwise prevent them viewing it.Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs): I thank the member for his question. I think from memory there were around three of the submitters that did actually raise this in their submissions—that it might lead to them restricting some of the content that they might bring to New Zealand if the regime was too onerous. What I think has been you know admirable work by the officials and by the chief censor in the Classification Office is that there's been real collegiality across the providers of video on demand and the officials and the Classification Office to come up with a structure that we all agree will be better to protect our children but at the same time not so burdensome that it will stop them bringing content to New Zealand. So all I can say is that it was raised as a concern. At this stage those who are the providers of video on demand are working so constructively with officials around this to make sure that there is a system whereby either the Classification Office can make sure they have the appropriate classification or there is an approved self-classification system that would be faster and less onerous and less costly for those providers. We're not predicting that that will therefore mean that there will be content unavailable to New Zealanders.BRETT HUDSON (National): So a question on information transparency particularly in clause 14 of Supplementary Order Paper 554 amending new section 77(ac): the chief censor to monitor the operation and the results of the use of those approved self-rating systems. Is it intended or is it stated that that information will be proactively released publicly for purposes of transparency and if not what would be the reason?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs): Just to address the member's question—and the officials are just going away now to double-check on that because actually it's not an issue that's been raised previously. Can I ask the member to clarify: does he mean that he wants transparency for the sector or is he asking for transparency across New Zealand—Brett Hudson: To the public.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: To the New Zealand public?Brett Hudson: Which would include the sector.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Right. Obviously yeah. OK. One moment please.Thank you. My understanding is that a database is required and it is required to be in the public domain so therefore the public as well as the sector obviously will be aware of all of the issues.BRETT HUDSON (National): Just a small point of clarification on that: will it be available if requested such as under the Official Information Act or will it be available for the public to be able to search on or look at?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs): Publicly available—be able to be searched.The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 554 in the name of the Hon Tracey Martin be agreed to.Amendments agreed to.Parts 1 and 2 Schedules 1 and 2 and clauses 1 to 3 as amended agreed to.House resumed.The Chairperson reported the Films Videos and Publications Classification (Commercial Video on-Demand) Amendment Bill with amendment.Report adopted.