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Graham KennedyDr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green): I did not have the privilege of serving on this committee to review these two bills and I am speaking on behalf of our co-leader Metiria Turei on this matter when I say that the Green Party is entirely prepared to support both amendments—the Electoral Amendment Bill which aims to rationalise and clarify the law and improve services to voters and assist with the smooth delivery of the elections on the one hand and the Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Bill which aims to increase flexibility in the use of funding allocations provided to political parties for the election programmes.There have been some pretty interesting issues raised in the course of the drafting and submissions and the committee's deliberation and its report back. I tend to agree with our colleagues from Labour—Chris Hipkins who tends to say that it really amounts to just a few small steps to improve the electoral law and bring it as close as we can into the 21st century but that much remains to be done if we really are going to complete that job. I recall also the comment of the Hon David Parker that the essence of liberal democracy is an honest accurate and transparent electoral system. We can take some satisfaction in the fact that New Zealand is pretty well endowed in this but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. It is wise for us to revise this every 3 years after the election and to see how we can improve it.There were some pretty interesting suggestions raised in the course of the debate in the previous readings: whether the IRD system should be used by way of identification for the purpose of voting as happens in the Nordic countries; the question of whether it should be sufficient to simply enrol at the time of voting turning up at the voting booth as Jacinda Ardern suggested; the question of a children's civics education programme to get them familiar with the idea the essence the intrinsic merit and the processes of voting; the question of advance voting; the question of prisoners voting and the slight absurdity of the situation of the law at the moment; the question of further improving access for voters with disabilities; making it easier for Māori to switch between the Māori roll and the general roll; issues pertaining to the display of campaign material; and having regard for and trying to answer to the increasing use of social media—digital technology—by younger people. I do agree that the issue is not one of intrinsic lack and apathy on the part of young people but rather the fact that the mechanism by which they are invited to participate in politics and in the electoral system is changing and we need to keep up with that.On balance the Green Party is entirely happy with where we are at the moment in full recognition that more needs to be done and we will need to pick up where we left off after the coming election. The Green Party will be supporting the cognate bill. Thank you.
Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): I too stand today in support of the Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Bill in its third reading. Thanks to the effective and solid work of the Justice and Electoral Committee the review of the 2014 elections enjoyed good support across all the parties even though there was some debate about some of the content and this is evident in the contributions being made in the House today.Following a general election there is a review and as a result of the review of the 2014 elections we are now debating the changes that have been recommended by the Justice and Electoral Committee. Currently it is a requirement that political parties have their opening and closing addresses broadcast by TVNZ and Radio New Zealand and that those companies must make time available for those addresses. So in this bill we are recognising that that is now a very outdated requirement because we now know that people get their information from an increasing range of outlets and most of those are from the internet. Thanks to the sterling work of this Government getting ultra-fast broadband around the country this is more accessible to people than ever before. This committee's review revealed that in 2014 there were actually less than 25 percent of people tuned into those broadcasts on TV than their normal viewer numbers. So in actual fact the viewers tuned out when those broadcasts were being made. So it does make sense that we open the door to other ways of parties communicating with their audience. As a result the Government has allocated a funding increase of $750000 to each of the parties so that that money can be allocated to the broadcasting choice of each individual party whether that be print or whether it be radio TV or signage but more especially through social media.The Government has also recognised that because of the increase in advance voting—and the Electoral Commissioner who spoke to the select committee anticipated that up to 50 percent of votes could be cast in advance of polling day—the counting day should be moved from 2 p.m. to 9 a.m. on the day of the election. They are some sensible requirements and I have pleasure in commending this bill to the House. Thank you.
Tuesday 14 March 2017 (continued on Wednesday 15 March 2017) - Volume 720
Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill — Third Reading
Hayes Joanne; Borrows ChesterJOANNE HAYES (National): Tēnā koe tēnā koe ā ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou ngā whānau o Te Awa o Whanganui nau mai haere mai ki te rā whakahirahira. [Thank you thank you and a huge acknowledgment to you collectively the families of the Whanganui River. Welcome come hither to the highly important day.]Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker and kia ora to the whānau o Whanganui. I am really pleased to take a call in the final reading of Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill today. I am really privileged to do this because it has been a long time coming as my colleagues have said in their contributions in the House today. I do want to acknowledge our Tā Tumu te Heuheu and our Dame Tariana Turia. It is right and respectful to do that at the start of my speech and I am really pleased to see you both sitting here listening to the contributions today.My contribution is going to be brief. It always is on a third reading mainly because the longer we talk the longer you wait to actually have your bill given Royal assent. One of the kuia who I do want to acknowledge who passed away is Auntie Dardi Metekīngi. I knew her prior to going to Whanganui to the district health board (DHB). She was the kaumātua—the kuia—for the Whanganui DHB at the time and she passed away last year. I am going to read out today one of the contributions that she made towards the awa because I thought it was rather poignant that she said these things before she passed. She considered the awa and said: The awa is a beautiful thing. You need the people. It lives with the people. It's part of who you are like a soul partner sharing everything with you and it gives it back to you. You don't get strength from what you see but from what you believe. These things that nature has given us are our inheritance are our whānau and that tells us—that tells us—that the awa is an entity. It always has been. It never ever was never ever an entity for our whānau of the Whanganui awa."I just say for the people in this House here our members of Parliament that if ever you get a chance to be able to cross the Whanganui River at any point of its journey from Hinengakau all the way down through to Tūpoho and if you sit and you stop and you listen I am sure that you will hear the voices of our tūpuna as they are singing that wonderful waiata that I have fallen in love with. The words are: e rere Te Awa Tupua [flow the Ancestral River].And with that I commend the bill to the House. Congratulations. Kia ora.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: James Shaw—a 5-minute call on behalf of the Green Party."
Iwi and Hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading
Borrows ChesterMr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Tēnā koe e Te Whare e tū nei tēnā koutou e ngā Iwi o Te Awa o Whanganui tēnā tātou katoa. Ko tēnei mahi nunui o tēnei rā ko te kaupapa wheneki o Te Whare mō te kawa o Te Whare Pāremata nō reira te wairua tanapū te kauwae ngā mihi nui ki a koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Acknowledgments to you the House standing here and to you the tribes of the Whanganui River salutations to us all. This matter of huge significance today relates to the policy of this House in regard to the procedure of Parliament and so to the rearing spirit and to the jawbone much appreciation to you collectively and to us all.]Greetings everybody. Because I am the Speaker during this session I am not allowed to make a speech but there is another whakataukī that Dame Tariana will agree with and that is that rules are made to be broken. I did not want the give up the opportunity to sit in this place and bask in the reflected glory of the people I care very very much about and have had the privilege to represent for 12 years and my clever cousin. So I have chosen to sit in the big chair and until the intervention of Auntie Julie I thought I was running the show. Nevertheless it is a terrific day to be here and a wonderful occasion to celebrate with you.
Hayes JoanneJOANNE HAYES (National): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. E ngā whānau whānui o Te Iwi me ngā hapū o te rohe o Wairoa nau mai haere mai![Greetings Mr Assistant Speaker. To the extended families of the tribe and subtribes of the Wairoa region welcome come hither!]I stand privileged to be able to take a call on the first reading of your bill and I am really pleased to see that this has come to the House so quickly. I attended the signing of your settlement at Tākitimu Marae last year with the Minister and I was just saying to my colleague Nuk Korako: Boy it's come around real quickly." I am so pleased that it has come around really quickly because being the fifth-largest settlement that this Government is making it is really important to start the procedures and move them along very quickly for you. Also 62 hapū is a big number of hapū that belong to you so speed is what we are here to do to make sure that we do the process that is befitting of your claim ngā whānau.I just want to thank you all for coming here today. I look forward to the bill going to the Māori Affairs Committee. Unfortunately I no longer sit on that select committee but I know that it will do a very good job under the leadership and chairmanship of my colleague Nuk Korako. So without any further kōrero I think let us get on with it let us get this bill into the select committee let us start hearing what your whānau has to say about your bill and let us start speeding it towards the third reading and finally it going into law. So kia ora and congratulations. I commend the bill to the House. Kia ora."
Korako NukTUESDAY 14 MARCH 2017(continued on Wednesday 15 March 2017)KARAKIANUK KORAKO (National): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. As part of our tikanga I would ask that we be able to do a karakia before the beginning of our hui today.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is no objection.NUK KORAKO: Kia ora e Te Mana Whakawā ā tēnā rā koutou e hoa mā me ō tātou mātua tīpuna ā ko tēnei karakia e huihui i a tā tātau katoa kia īnoi tātou. Kei mua Koe i a mātou mahi katoa Ihowa hei tohutohu i a mātou mahi katoa. Ko koe anō hoki te whakakaha i a mātou mahi katoa he mea tīmata he mea mahi he mea whakautu i roto i a Koe. Ka whiwhi ai hoki mātou ki te ora tonu i te mea atawhaitia nei e koe. Ko Ihu Karaiti nei hoki tō tātou Ariki. Āmene kia ora.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and acknowledgments indeed to you collectively fellow colleagues and our ancestral forefathers. This prayer is to bring us together. Let us pray. You are before us in all that we do Jehovah to guide us in all our work. You also give us the strength in all that we do to start it to work on and to respond through You and continue to receive wellness because You take care of us. Jesus Christ is indeed and also our Lord. Amen. Thank you.]
Thursday 9 March 2017 - Volume 720
New Zealand Intelligence and Security Bill — Second Reading
VoteThe question was put that the amendments recommended by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee by majority be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the question be agreed to.Ayes 106New Zealand National 59; New Zealand Labour 31; New Zealand First 12; Māori Party 2; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.Noes 14Green Party 14.Question agreed to.Bill read a second time.Name changed to Intelligence and Security Bill.
12. Housing—Building Consents and SupplyDENIS O'ROURKE (NZ First) to the Minister for Building and ConstructionHousing—Building Consents and Supply12. DENIS O'ROURKE (NZ First) to the Minister for Building and Construction: Does he stand by all his statements on building activity; if so how?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Construction): Yes particularly my statement that building activity is at an all-time high of $19 billion a year and the dwelling consent numbers have more than doubled from 13000 a year to 30000 a year over the last 5 years.Denis O'Rourke: Are the Minister's claims of a construction boom" credible when code compliance certificates issued by Auckland Council show that between 2011 and 2016 there was a gap of over 13500 between building consents and dwelling completions especially of high-density units?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member clearly does not understand the building system because code compliance certificates are issued for whole units or retirement villages so you would not expect the number of building consents that count dwellings to match the number of complexes particularly as over the last 5 years we have seen stronger growth in townhouses in apartments and in retirement villages than in stand-alone homes.Denis O'Rourke: Is it not the Minister himself who is guilty of junk science by using 2013 census data to try to prove building completions in 2017 when the yawning gap between consents and physical dwelling completions kicked off in 2013?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The reason I have confidence in the building consent numbers is that if you look over any census over the last four decades and you count the number of building consents that are issued they are very very close to within 1 percent of the number of new dwellings that are counted in the census. The second point I would make to the member is whether in denying that there is any sort of building boom he can explain why the labour force survey shows an increase of 70000 more people working in the building industry. Only a blind man would say that there is not a building boom in New Zealand. Just look at the number of cranes across Auckland currently. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Mr Robertson.Denis O'Rourke: As Auckland Council and all other councils collect code compliance certificate data but the Minister chooses to ignore it are New Zealanders not being deliberately misled by him on the true magnitude of the continuing housing crisis?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member simply does not get it. I have got an apartment building of 50 apartments. That is 50 dwellings but one code compliance certificate. That does not mean that the houses are not being built. In fact if the member looks around New Zealand building activity by every measure is at a very high level—over 30000 houses a year the highest in more than 10 years."
10. Tertiary Education—Centres of Asia-Pacific ExcellenceDr JIAN YANG (National) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and EmploymentTertiary Education—Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence10. Dr JIAN YANG (National) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment: What announcements has he made to grow New Zealand's ties with the Asia-Pacific region through new tertiary education initiatives?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment): Today I announced during a visit to Victoria University of Wellington the establishment of three new Centres for Asia-Pacific Excellence (CAPEs). This is a major investment in cross-institutional centres of excellence in language culture politics and economics focused on countries or groups of countries within the Asia-Pacific region. The centres will help individuals better prepare to connect and do business with the Asia-Pacific region and provide initiatives for small to medium sized enterprises wanting to grow their understanding of these neighbouring regions. Much of our trade tourism and migration are focused on the Asia-Pacific so it makes sense to deepen our understanding of the region.Dr Jian Yang: What geographical areas will these Centres for Asia-Pacific Excellence focus on?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Each CAPE will focus on a different area of speciality. They will facilitate student and faculty exchanges and become a focal point for New Zealand's relationship with that part of the world. The first CAPE led by the University of Auckland will specialise in North Asia. The second led by Victoria University will focus on South-east Asia and the final centre will specialise in Latin America and will also be led by Victoria University in partnership with the University of Otago the University of Auckland and the University of Waikato. Each centre will be a nationwide resource to deliver benefits to New Zealand as a whole.Dr Jian Yang: How does the establishment of CAPEs support the Government's wider Business Growth Agenda?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: A priority for this Government is to build a more competitive and productive economy. The Centres for Asia-Pacific Excellence programme is part of the Building Export Markets work stream of the Business Growth Agenda which will provide centres of excellence for New Zealand businesses to draw upon as they build international connections and seize opportunities overseas. CAPEs will do this by working with businesses to understand their needs and the types of initiatives they will find useful for growing their Asia-Pacific understanding and capability.
9. Immigration Policy—SettingsRON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of ImmigrationImmigration Policy—Settings9. RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all his statements; if so why?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister of Immigration): Yes; because I believe them to be accurate.Ron Mark: If our immigration policy settings are making sure the right people come in and the wrong people don't." does that include the over 1800 unschooled migrants for the Christchurch rebuild since 2011?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Emphatically yes. Those people are needed to rebuild our second-largest city. Despite the very good efforts that this Government is going to to make sure that Kiwis are being trained and getting the jobs that are available there will still be a very strong excess demand that will be met by the international labour market.Ron Mark: If our immigration policy settings are "just about bang on" why did he approve pet groomers fitness centre managers massage therapists—among others—and 760 approvals that were either not recorded or stated since 2010?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Clearly because there was a demand for those roles that could not be met locally. But I should add this: if the member is concerned about the number of labour market - tested visa holders he should look to his own party. The number of those visas granted in the last 10 years has gone down materially by more than a third since that member's party was supporting Labour in Government.Ron Mark: If our immigration policy settings are making sure that the right people come in now why are 30 unemployed migrants granted citizenship—or do we have a shortage of unemployed New Zealanders?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: If they were granted citizenship that is probably a question best directed at the Minister of Internal Affairs but I should say it was because they were entitled to."
8. Housing Affordability and Availability—Reports and Government Measures to AddressMELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for the EnvironmentHousing Affordability and Availability—Reports and Government Measures to Address8. MELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for the Environment: What advice has he received on the parallel planning issues for New Zealand from the just released UK Government Report Fixing our broken housing market"?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): The UK white paper highlights restriction on land supply as the No. 1 cause of Britain's housing unaffordability. Prime Minister Theresa May notes in the report that the housing market in the UK is broken with average house prices eight times incomes and the negative impact this is having on homeownership rates and the housing costs for low-income families. It identifies restrictive planning policy as the No. 1 problem and proposes reforms to free up land supply require councils to plan for growth and simpler and quicker planning processes. The report parallels the recommendations of the New Zealand Productivity Commission.Melissa Lee: What specific provisions in the Government's Resource Legislation Amendment Bill set down for second reading today will help address these fundamental causes of housing market failure?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The bill contains five critical reforms. Firstly it introduces a new specific function for councils to ensure they provide sufficient development capacity for growth. Secondly it streamlines the planning process for bringing new areas available for housing reducing the process from years to months. The third change is it removes appeals on subdivision consents for areas that are zoned residential. A fourth change is removing the duplicate charges of development contributions and financial contributions under both the Resource Management Act and the Local Government Act. The fifth change is the planning standards that will make it so much simpler for people to get on and build houses. The bill is a litmus test for which parties in this Parliament are serious about addressing housing.Melissa Lee: How will the bill's changes to the Reserves Act and the Public Works Act help support increased housing supply?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There are examples where changes in reserves can both increase housing supply and amenity. At Three Kings the area of reserve is retained and actually expanded but also reconverted to provide for much better recreational space and much better amenity for the local community. The bill enables resource consents and reserve changes to be dealt with in one integrated process. Housing developments require infrastructure like roads and pipes and their construction can be delayed under the Public Works Act. The process is made faster with more generous compensation. The payment for an affected landowner over and above market values increases from $2000 to $35000 with an additional $10000 incentive for early settlement. I credit Maurice Williamson with that particular innovation."
3. Roading Northland—State Highway ProjectsDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of TransportRoading Northland—State Highway Projects3. Dr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has the Government made on the Whangarei to Northport highway?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): The Government recognises the absolute importance of a reliable roading network to support future economic growth in Northland. That is why last week I was pleased to announce that up to $500 million will be invested to upgrade State Highway 1 linking Whangarei to Northport. The investment will see 22 kilometres of State highway upgraded to four lanes with the section between Oakley and Port Marsden Highway expected to be completed within 3 to 5 years followed by an upgrade between Whangarei and Oakley to be finished in 5 to 7 years. This upgrade will make travelling along this stretch of highway safer will result in shorter travel times and will also ensure the future prosperity of Northland by providing a very reliable and resilient connection to the port.Dr Shane Reti: What other transport projects is the Government delivering to support economic growth in Northland?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Last week I was joined by the member in marking the completion of two State highway projects. The first was an $18 million upgrade of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns where the current road is being realigned in places tight corners removed and a median wire rope barrier installed in an effort to bring down the high crash rate on the road. The second was an upgrade of State Highway 1 through Whangarei to remove bottlenecks and improve safety for those travelling through the city. The Government also marked the start of new two-lane bridges at Matakohe and the members should keep an eye out for further progress on other projects later this year. These projects are just a part of the Government's multibillion-dollar investment north of Auckland demonstrating our commitment to the region and its great future.
Kuriger Barbara; Mallard TrevorSITTINGS OF THE HOUSEBARBARA KURIGER (Third Whip—National): I seek leave for the House to adjourn.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Is there any objection? There—Hon Members: For the day.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): For the day—oh! Not until 23 September? OK. There being no objection the debate on the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill is set down for resumption next sitting day and the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 14 March 2017.The House adjourned at 5.53 p.m.
Ministerial Statements — Kaikōura—Extension of National Transition Period
Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Civil Defence): Can I thank other parties in the House for their support for this particular extension. Can I just apologise for the way in which the information has been disseminated this afternoon. I must say that I have myself been caught somewhat short but that simply reinforces in my mind the need for some reconsideration of how emergency services are managed in New Zealand and I will be in touch with other parties to reconvene the cross-party group as we were going to be meeting at the time that the Christchurch fires occurred. I take on board the comments from Steffan Browning. I know that he has done a lot of work up in the parts of the country that he spoke about—the Awatere and around the Clarence etc. right down into Kaikōura. I know that that is very much appreciated and I have appreciated the feedback he has been able to give us at various times. The comments from Clare Curran I think were salient and it will be up to I guess the entire Parliament to try to sort out some of this. But I once again thank people for their support and apologise for the very short notice of the extension coming to the House.
Prosser Richard; Mallard TrevorRICHARD PROSSER (NZ First): New Zealand First thanks Minister Gerry Brownlee for this notice albeit it is a little bit late—coming some 5 hours after the notice actually came into force. We do share some of Mr Browning's concerns but I would say in response to that that they are probably not germane to the issuance of this particular order. I think that they are something that is separate and perhaps the way in which the earthquake recovery is dealt with on the ground is a matter for another discussion. The extension of this order itself—I think we are fortunate in New Zealand that the imposition of emergency powers and the imposition of executive authority over and above normal legal procedures is something that happens on a rare basis. We trust that it happens for very good reason when it does and we tend to support it for those reasons and this certainly appears to be a case in point. We do know that when natural disasters occur cleaning up after them and getting things back on track is not something that can occur always to a formula. There are delays that crop up there are additional elements of damage that are found and jobs are found to be taking longer than was previously thought and so in situations like that it only makes sense that the emergency systems that are put in place in order to facilitate recovery can be extended as necessary.So not to hold up the House any further I say that New Zealand First does thank the Minister for this notice. We do support it. We share some of Mr Browning's concerns but they are as I say probably better dealt with in another forum. Thank you.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): The Hon Gerry Brownlee in reply.
Browning SteffanSTEFFAN BROWNING (Green): The Greens will support this extension as well for the genuine purposes of recovery that are purported here. We are concerned however that we got this at such short short notice and we have had no real time to look at the implications or to even talk with our constituencies about what this might mean for them. So our support is a slightly nervous one. The region that I live in is covered by this and I have businesses coming to me consistently and individuals homeowners and communities whether it be Waiau or Seddon in particular that feel that they are being cast aside by this Government in the recovery. The processes that we hear from the Minister of Civil Defence saying that there is good dialogue with the teams that are working there—but is there good dialogue with communities? There is not. And there is not with their local member of Parliament either. He might be seeing some that it suits him to but he is not doing the rest. The business support package that was extended out—why not roll that out another 90 days as well? When it was announced that it would be extended effectively from my reading all that was being extended was the using-up of the change from the money announced in the previous extension. There was no serious new money apart from that $1 million for a mayoral fund. That is not going to help those communities and businesses through this coming winter—this very dark winter that is coming there until that road is opened. I put it to the Minister and other Ministers that they should be setting up a suspensory loan facility for those businesses so they can stay there. There are businesses going under today while we are here now. There are communities wondering whether they have got any future—now. This may help for some of it but there was a slow stuff around on the road and the Minister knows full well about the mucking around with the land transport authority and other things that have been going on. This is another example of a very untidy messy and badly managed approach to the recovery. We will support it but we would like to see some much more positive stuff for the businesses in that area. Let us hope you will facilitate something very very soon that gives the communities real confidence that there is a far more recoverable future—more than just the road recovery. That is where we come from. We will support it. We have some nervousness about some of the implications. We are upset about the lack of time to consult around it. We are hoping for much much more from the Government but there is support from the Greens. Thank you.
Curran ClareCLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South): The Labour Party supports the extension to the national transition period. We support any measures that will hasten and improve the recovery process for the people of Kaikōura and the recovery of their economy and our thoughts remain with the people who live and work in those areas and those who are working on the ground to assist in their recovery.I note that in this very House just around about a week before the Kaikōura earthquake Parliament passed a piece of legislation that provided a framework for recovery management providing a mandate for recovery managers strengthening the requirements for plans for recovery and supporting a seamless transition from response into that recovery phase and establishing a transitional notice mechanism that makes emergency powers available for a specified period of time.So I think we can see that the legislation is being effective. However around the time of the Kaikōura earthquake there were some significant concerns in the public arena about how the public was informed particularly around the threat of a national tsunami and the lack of an effective alerting service. After that process there was a review promised of that and that still has not occurred. I do want to put on record that it is very important that that review occur.Then 3 weeks ago we had the Christchurch fires which we are talking about now and that also had questions raised about the communications the chains of command and the communication channels. So these things are important. They require a bipartisan approach. We are expressing our support for the Minister of Civil Defence's statement today. We note that there are issues that do need to be addressed in terms of how we approach the immediate aftermath of these major events and how the communication channels work. We are keen to work with the Government on that.
Brownlee GerryMINISTERIAL STATEMENTSKaikōura—National Transition Period ExtensionHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Civil Defence): I wish to make a ministerial statement under Standing Order 356 in relation to the extension of a national transition period under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Act 2016. The amendment Act passed last year by this House enables a state of emergency to end but a state of transition before you get full recovery to begin. It requires a declaration and it requires that declaration to be notified to the House. So pursuant to Part 5A of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Act 2016 I formally give the House notice that I have today approved an extension to the national transition period in the Kaikōura and Hurunui districts and the Wairau-Awatere ward of Marlborough district.The extension came into force at 1 p.m. today and will last for a further 90 days. The extended national transition period for these areas will now end at 1 p.m. on 7 June 2017 unless extended or terminated earlier. An extension of the national transition period will help recovery managers to deal with the ongoing recovery issues such as restricted access to some places in the district and to buildings while further geotechnical and engineering investigations are carried out. The national transition period allows the national recovery manager to coordinate the work of central government agencies while also allowing local authorities to continue effective recovery work on the ground. There is a very constructive engagement between local authorities and the recovery manager progressing at the present time. This simply enables it to go on for a longer period in order to make things better for people in that district.
Prosser RichardRICHARD PROSSER (NZ First): Speaking to the point of order.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Has the member really got something new to add?RICHARD PROSSER: Well I am looking at Standing Order 267(4)(b): the bill is not available for debate until copies of it as reprinted have been circulated to members." My understanding from Mr Parker's original point of order is that this is a reprint. I could be mistaken. I just wonder whether you could clarify that.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): That is the case. My understanding is that under the modern practices of the House for about the last 10 years the circulation to members has been its availability in the Bills Office for those members who have become aware of its existence electronically or through any other method and they request it. We used to—earlier in my time—have every bill and every reprint taken to every member's office and we decided that that was not actually a very good practice.Debate interrupted."
Sage Eugenie; Mallard TrevorEUGENIE SAGE (Green): Just speaking to the point of order I have a concern that you are making a potential ruling here that may mean that bills do not have to be available on the Table and I think that has quite significant implications if we are just expected to pick them up electronically. I think they physically should be available in the Chamber and your ruling I suggest is actually potentially saying that that does not need to be the case.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): I can hear the member but I am not going to make the extreme ruling that debate cannot happen if there has been either an efficiency question here or members—I think if members are unable to make it to the Bills Office in order to get a copy of a bill then it is part of the role of the staff here to do that.
Parker DavidHon DAVID PARKER (Labour): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With respect your gloss on the obligation to—there are two issues here. A matter cannot be put on the Order Paper until a bill has been tabled in the Table Office more than 2 days before the debate—2 or 3 days whatever the limit was that you suggested. That is a different matter from whether the bill is meant to be on our Table in the House when we debate a bill.I have been in the House too when matters have been considered under urgency and an urgency debate has started before the bill has been tabled in the Bills Office. It is a terrible practice but we seem to have some ruling which should be overridden one day by a Speaker of this House to make sure that we do not have fallacious debates where we cannot see legislation. That is under urgency. There is no ruling that I am aware of in Standing Orders that says that this Parliament is meant to debate a bill that is not available to members when they are debating it.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): OK. Well I have heard your point of view and my ruling is that as long as bills have been made available at the appropriate time in the Bills Office if members see a bill as coming up and it is not on the Table I do not think it is asking too much of them to walk the 20 metres and get it or to ask the Clerk to get the bill before the debate. This has been on the Order Paper all day and the bill has in fact been available since Monday.Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour): Are you making a ruling when you do not need to in respect of such a serious matter? If you are making a ruling that is going to bind future Speakers in respect of that rule when you actually do not need to because the matter was cured by the—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): The member will resume his seat. The ruling that I have made is that Standing Order 267 applies to bills being available to members. I happen to agree with the member on the question of urgency where bills are not available to members and are being debated but if bills are available to members for debate then I do not think a debate should be held up. I think it is a matter of politeness and a matter of efficiency and I have no doubt there will be some investigation in the Clerk's Office as to why it took from Monday to today to actually get the thing out when it was down for debate today. But that is a matter I think of efficiency rather than a ruling.
SpeechThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! The member's time has expired. Before I call a member I am going to go back and give the Hon David Parker half an apology for the comments that I made earlier. Under Standing Order 267(2) unless a bill is under urgency it has to be made available to members. The experiences I have had in the past have been under urgency and therefore my initial reaction was wrong. However this bill was made available to members on 6 March and was available on Monday and therefore that does not apply.
Kuriger BarbaraBARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): It is my pleasure to commend this Taxation (Annual Rates for 2016–17 Closely Held Companies and Remedial Matters) Bill to the House.Bill read a second time.
Taxation (Annual Rates for 2016–17 Closely Held Companies and Remedial Matters) Bill — Second Reading
Foss CraigHon CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki): The previous speaker Dr David Clark in his 5 minutes was probably right for about 5 seconds of that. Almost every other point he made was incorrect and actually had very little to do with the bill itself of which there are many of these types of bills. I think the bill has been supported totally across the House. It is an omnibus bill and yes there is tinkering in it. There are some fundamental shifts in it as well—that is what taxation bills do. And yes there will be more of this nature to come in the ongoing upgrading updating and tidying up of New Zealand's tax law and tax parameters to help our economy to continue to grow like it has been over the last few years and particularly in leading the OECD.The bill—as I have mentioned I think—came through the Finance and Expenditure Committee relatively unscathed and I acknowledge and thank the committee for its work and the suggestions it made with officials to make for better legislation as it arrives in the House. One earlier speaker noted the need for constant vigilance" I think she said in and around all things tax—that is absolutely correct. Total constant and absolute vigilance is needed in and around all things tax to make sure the tax system is as effective and as efficient as the desires of the Government and the people of New Zealand need it and want it to be.In the context of these changes in this tax bill I do note because obviously many members seem to forget this that this kind of upgrade and the tax system that we currently have contribute to help making New Zealand No. 1 or No. 2 of countries leading the world for the ease of doing business No. 1 or No. 2 for starting a business. All this contributes to our top ranking across the OECD in particular and in those countries we compete with and source capital from to lead us in the top 1 or 2 or 3 all the way through. The job of making a better more efficient and effective tax system is never complete but this is yet another step as we move towards—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! I am going to interrupt the member. The member has I think gone for well over 2 minutes now without really referring to the substance of the bill at all. I think it is fair to say that members in the Chair are going to take a tighter attitude on that. Hearing repeated comments from various members which are not related to the substance of the bill but are very general are going to be less acceptable than they have been in the last few years.Hon CRAIG FOSS: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and I acknowledge you are tightening up as you have arrived in the chair during my speech. Just to round off this is as I have said an omnibus bill. I am enjoying this and I thank the rest of the House for their support and ongoing commitment to the good rapid progress of upgrading New Zealand's taxation law. Thank you."
Ross Jami-Lee; Tisch LindsayJAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany): I am going to be extremely brief; I am not as excited as Richard Prosser.Grant Robertson: You sat through the submissions.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I did sit through all the submissions Grant Robertson. We had submissions it was a very technical bill and there were technical changes made at the Finance and Expenditure Committee which Grant Robertson spent many many hours following closely. He has done an excellent speech of course on many of the technical matters.The bill covers as has been outlined the most important part around setting the annual rates for taxation for New Zealand for the year. It also has had as has been canvassed already very technical changes around closely held companies simplifying processes to make it easier for New Zealanders to do business. It has changes around GST changes around non-resident withholding tax—they are in such detail in this bill that we could spend hours going through them in detail like Mr Prosser. But I am not going to do that—Dr David Clark: Is this bill worth putting through the House or not?JAMI-LEE ROSS: It is worth putting through the House because it has the annual rates. The most important part of it Dr Clark—the new health spokesperson—is that it funds the health system which is seeing more New Zealanders getting access to elective surgeries. He is going to spend hours decrying that in the House. It funds all of the Government services that his constituents are enjoying year after year and when he goes to the election later this year he is going to find that all the services that are funded by this bill are proving to be beneficial for New Zealanders. He should probably calm down a little bit when he speaks in the House later.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): The next call is a split call and I am calling Barry Coates—5 minutes.
Scott AlastairALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa): It gives me great pleasure to rise in support of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2016-17 Closely Held Companies and Remedial Matters) Bill. It has already been described well by my predecessors—speaking-wise that is. It covers seven Acts including the income tax Acts and GST Acts. It deals with lists of charities that are now able to take advantage of tax benefits. Look-through companies have been described as have GST non-resident withholding tax and tainted capital gains—and that is where we have a situation where we have a capital gain that is essentially locked up in a limited liability company. This legislation allows that capital gain to be distributed to shareholders as if the shareholders were the original taxable entities in themselves. A much fairer—as Mr Robertson described it—system has evolved as a result of this legislation.I would just like to pick up a couple of points that Mr Wood mentioned in his contribution. He asked for a review of the tax system. He did not think the tax system was very fair and he thought this was an opportunity to do something with the tax rates. I can tell Mr Wood that the only thing that would occur with a review—and with a Labour-Green Government if that could ever possibly happen—would be that tax rates would rise.And there is really no concern Mr Robertson about the tax rates being set at a late rate because the public knows that the National Government is reliable and steady as she goes and that the discussion is around decreasing taxes. That is simply because things are in hand the economy is growing and choices are available. But I can tell you Mr Wood that were the Greens attached to a Labour coalition agreement there is absolutely no way that taxes would ever be considered to be thought of to be falling. That is because of the ad hoc expansive lollipop"—"lolly scramble"—policies advocated by particularly the Greens.Hon Ruth Dyson: I like lollipops better.ALASTAIR SCOTT: Well the "lollipop"—Ms Dyson—"lolly scramble" policies that your party advocates are for example free tertiary education—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! We should focus on the substance of the bill and not on speculating.ALASTAIR SCOTT: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. That is the second time that has happened to me in a couple of days. This is a very tidy piece of legislation. It sets the income tax rates for the year 2016-17. The public can be assured that with this Government the tax rates will remain the same or go down. That is because there are options available to the Minister of Finance to do such a thing which would be an impossible situation to imagine with a Labour-Greens coalition. I do commend this bill to the House."
Tisch LindsayTAXATION (ANNUAL RATES FOR 2016-17 CLOSELY HELD COMPANIES AND REMEDIAL MATTERS) BILLSecond ReadingDebate resumed from 7 March.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): When we were last debating the second reading of this bill Grant Robertson had the call and has 4 minutes remaining to speak.