Foss Craig: Crown Entities Reform Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Foss Craig: Crown Entities Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 October 2011. Volume:676;Page:21654. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Civil Defence) 
 on behalf of the Minister of State Services: I move  
That the Crown Entities Reform Bill be now read a first time 
. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Government Administration Committee. 
The Crown Entities Reform Bill is an omnibus bill providing for machinery of government changes in the health and charitable sectors. The bill provides for the following structural changes. It establishes a new Crown agent the Health Promotion Agency to take on the functions of the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand the Health Sponsorship Council and the relevant functions of the Ministry of Health and it disestablishes those councils. It also disestablishes the Crown Health Financing Agency and transfers some functions to the Ministry of Health while other functions continue to be provided by Treasury’s New Zealand Debt Management Office. The bill brings forward to 30 June 2012 the date for disestablishing the Mental Health Commission and transferring the functions of the commission to the Health and Disability Commissioner including establishing a new Mental Health Commissioner within the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner to carry out the advocacy and monitoring functions. The bill also disestablishes the Charities Commission and transfers its functions to the Department of Internal Affairs with the exception of decisions relating to the registration and deregistration of charities which will be carried out by an independent decision-making board of three persons. 
The changes are consistent with the Government’s overall direction for the State sector and the Government’s aim of improving State sector performance. The New Zealand public’s expectations of what the State sector can do for them continue to rise. We expect the State sector to be organised in a way that makes it more accessible to New Zealanders and able to deliver its services more efficiently. A State sector that meets the needs of 21st century New Zealand is one based on the following principles of clear priorities—that is focusing our efforts and Government funding on the things that matter most to New Zealanders today and in the future—of easy access to the Government and to high-quality front-line services and of high-quality services ensuring that public services are modern responsive and provide good value for money of reducing waste and ensuring that government administration is efficient well organised and resilient. The bill’s structural changes to the health and charitable sectors will improve services reduce cost in the long term and future-proof the long-term delivery of State services. 
There are three parts to this bill. Part 1 covers the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. Part 1 relates to the establishment of the Health Promotion Agency the HPA as a Crown agent and to the disestablishment of the Alcohol Advisory Council the Health Sponsorship Council and the Crown Health Financing Agency. The bill provides that the new Health Promotion Agency board will have at least five but not more than seven members appointed by the responsible Minister. Levy provisions carried over from the Alcohol Advisory Council Act 1976 enable the Health Promotion Agency to recover certain of its operating costs. In respect of the Health Promotion Agency’s alcohol-specific functions—that is advice recommendations and research relating to problems associated with the misuse of alcohol—the agency will be required to have regard to Government policy when directed by the responsible Minister rather than being required to give effect to Government policy. 
Part 2 refers to the Mental Health Commission Act 1998. Part 2 relates to the expiry of that Act and the appointment of a Mental Health Commissioner under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994. The Mental Health Commission Act will now expire on 30 June 2012 rather than on 31 August 2015. The bill provides for the appointment of a Mental Health Commissioner under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 and for the appointment of the chairperson of the Mental Health Commission as the first Mental Health Commissioner. 
Part 3 looks at the Charities Act 2005. Part 3 disestablishes the Charities Commission and reassigns the functions and duties under the Charities Act 2005 to the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs with the exception of decisions relating to the registration and deregistration of charities which will be carried out by an independent decision-making board of three persons. The decisions of the board will be subject to appeal to the High Court as are the Charities Commission’s decisions now. The board will also retain the commission’s ability to publish details of possible breaches of the Charities Act or possible serious wrongdoings. The bill provides that the board members are not subject to direction from Ministers in performing or exercising their functions duties or powers and that each member must act independently in exercising his or her professional judgment. This will ensure independence in decision making. The bill places a requirement on the board to actively consider delegations to the chief executive or another person such as a board member. This will ensure the effective and efficient use of resources. Any delegations carry with them the same independent and professional judgment in decision making. The bill provides that the chief executive must supply all secretarial and administrative services required to enable the independent board to carry out its functions duties and powers. 
In the Committee of the whole House stage it is intended that this bill will be divided into the following separate bills: a New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill a Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill and a Charities Amendment Bill. 
This bill is part of the Government’s ongoing State sector reform focused on efficiency in the State sector to ensure that government administration is efficient well organised and resilient. I commend the bill to the House.