edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the amendments recommended by the Social Services and Community Committee by majority be agreed to.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Amendments agreed to.The result corrected after originally being announced as Ayes 74 Noes 44.
Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill — Second Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill be now read a second time.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.The result corrected after originally being announced Ayes 74 Noes 44.
8. Question No. 8—RevenueHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) to the Minister of RevenueQuestion No. 8—Revenue8. Hon MEKA WHAITIRI (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) to the Minister of Revenue: Does he stand by his recent statement We have hard data confirming fundamental unfairness in our tax system"; if so what specific policies if any has he proposed to Cabinet to address unfairness in the tax system?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Revenue): In response to the first part of the member's question yes. For the first time ever we have concrete data that indisputably shows that the effective tax rate paid by middle-income New Zealanders is much much higher than that paid by our wealthiest citizens. Recent research from Inland Revenue has shone a light on the wealth income and tax paid by 311 of New Zealand's high-wealth individuals their life partners and dependent children. They had an average of $276 million in net assets totalling $85 billion for that group. The study showed that 93 percent of that group's income comes from investment returns and that their effective tax rate including the GST they pay in their expenditure was 9.5 percent. In response to the second part of the member's question: as always Cabinet discussions are confidential.Hon Meka Whaitiri: What is he doing to respond to the recent report which estimates $7 billion per year is being stolen from Aotearoa taxpayers in tax evasion and tax avoidance enabled by a tax system that allows the rich to evade tax further placing the burden on wage and salary earners?Hon DAVID PARKER: The study didn't show that there was illegal behaviour by anyone; it just showed that the incidence of taxation falls much more on people who earn their living from their labour and wages and salaries than it does on those who earn their money by returns on investments.Hon Meka Whaitiri: Will he significantly raise the budget of the Serious Fraud Office to enable them to properly investigate white-collar criminals who use lawyers bankers and accountants to get around paying their fair share of tax; if not why not?Hon DAVID PARKER: As I said there is no evidence of illegal behaviour here on any great scale. But what this study does show is that it is necessary for Inland Revenue to have the proper powers to investigate who's paying what in the tax system and this report shines a light on what we think are unfairnesses.Hon Meka Whaitiri: Point of order Mr Speaker. The question was would the Government invest in the Serious Fraud Office. I don't think the Minister came anywhere near—SPEAKER: It's definitely addressed."
7. Question No. 7—Digital Economy and CommunicationsNAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and CommunicationsQuestion No. 7—Digital Economy and Communications7. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What recent announcements has the Government made on expanding provincial connectivity?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications): It was my pleasure to announce last Friday that the Government has struck a significant deal with major telecommunications networks to speed up the roll-out of 5G to regional towns right across New Zealand. Through these agreements with Spark 2degrees and One NZ 55 rural and regional towns will receive expedited 5G services to help with economic growth and recovery for our provinces. This is in exchange for long-term access to 3.5 GHz spectrum band allowing these companies to operate their 5G networks nationwide. From Oamaru to Ōtorohanga Motueka to Murupara this deal means that 5G connectivity is one step closer for more New Zealanders.Naisi Chen: Why did the Government choose not to auction this spectrum?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: It's very simple: we had something the networks wanted—radio spectrum—and they had something we wanted—faster roll-out of 5G to provinces. That puts us in a unique position to negotiate an allocation and hit two birds with one stone. In exchange for commitments made by the major network operators the Government will provide each of the three major operators with sufficient spectrum to operate their 5G networks nationwide. That's great news no matter where you are—Te Awamutu Te Aroha Taumarunui or Te Puke.Naisi Chen: What else does this deal include?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The Interim Māori Spectrum Commission will receive 100 MHz of spectrum in line with the previous agreement achieved with Māori. They will manage this spectrum on behalf of all Māori ensuring equitable access and the benefits of 5G technology. To support rural connectivity Spark One NZ and 2degrees will each contribute $24 million to the Government between 2023 and 2025. This funding will be utilised by the Rural Connectivity Group to expand mobile coverage into rural areas that would not have been otherwise commercially viable bringing mobile blackspots down and ensuring comprehensive coverage. That's more good news from Greymouth to Greytown.Naisi Chen: How does this build on existing initiatives?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: This Government has continued to invest in connectivity for all of New Zealand. The agreement builds upon previous Government investment including the allocation of $60 million through Budget 2022 for rural connectivity improvements. Additionally $47 million has been invested in rural capacity upgrades which began in February of last year. With fibre and wireless now covering almost all New Zealanders we know New Zealanders are getting connected faster in regions like Waitara Wellsford Wairoa or any of the 42 towns I haven't already mentioned.
5. Question No. 5—HousingHELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 5—Housing5. HELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of Housing: What action is the Government taking to increase the supply of public housing?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): The Government is undertaking the biggest State house building programme since the 1970s adding more than 11800 net new public homes since 2017 including over 9000 brand new builds. To put this in perspective of the public homes in New Zealand today one in seven has been added in the last five years. This is a significant achievement when you consider that we have been building State houses since 1937. There is a continued focus on delivery in the regions new build supply and partnership with community housing providers Māori and iwi. We have made a good start but we know there is more work to do.Helen White: How many of the Government's new public houses are in Rotorua?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Government has added 261 additional public homes in Rotorua since 2017. This is in stark contrast if we compare the 2008 to 2017 period to where the number of Housing New Zealand houses fell by 42 places. I'm also happy to report that over 370 new homes are currently in the pipeline and due to be completed in the next few years. This is helped by innovative solutions like off-site manufacturing where Kāinga Ora has delivered 25 homes in Ranolf Street and Malfroy Road and has another 42 public homes due for completion this year in Quartz Avenue.Helen White: How is Lower Hutt benefiting from the Government's new public homes?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I am pleased to report that the Government is making good progress rebuilding public housing in Lower Hutt. We've delivered 215 new public houses in Lower Hutt over the past five years and another 500 are in the pipeline. Under the previous Government there was a net loss of 314 homes between 2008 and 2017. Over 650 Lower Hutt homes have also undergone the retrofit programme and improved to make them warmer and drier with more planned to be retrofitted this financial year.Helen White: Why has there been an increase in delivery of public homes in regional New Zealand?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Housing providers build public housing when it is financially viable to do so. Prior to 2018 funding for the operating supplement was only available in Auckland and was capped at 50 percent of market rents. In order to increase delivery in regional New Zealand we made changes to ensure that that operating supplement is available in all regions and is up to 100 percent in regional New Zealand. This means it is once again financially viable for both Kāinga Ora and our partners to build outside of our main centres. This has enabled delivery of new warm dry public homes in the likes of Nelson and Waimakariri both with a 27 percent increase in public housing stock.
Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill — Third Reading (continued)
Dean Jacqui; White HelenASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): I call Emily Henderson—no no. No; Helen White.HELEN WHITE (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I will take a very short call and let everyone go home. What I want to say about this bill—first of all I actually commend my friend Emily Henderson whose passion you heard and who I actually respect for that passion. It brought her to the House. It was things like the delays in the Family Court that brought her here. My ex-husband was a Family Court lawyer and it was very distressing when that happened so it's really nice to see something that's going through that will really look at that problem and fix it. I really like the fact that there's a review that will come in after five years when we have five years of data to make sure we're doing the right thing and we're getting it right and that's good for all New Zealanders. I commend this bill to the House. Good night.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members the time has come for me to leave the chair. The House is resumed at 2 p.m. tomorrow.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 9.57 p.m.
Voting — Correction—Charities Amendment Bill
Shaw JamesVOTINGCorrection—Charities Amendment BillHon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green): Point of order. Thank you Madam Speaker. It is with some trepidation that I seek leave of the House to correct the record.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Leave is sought for that course of action. Order! Is there any objection? There is none.Hon JAMES SHAW: Thank you Madam Speaker. At the end of the Charities Amendment Bill second reading there were two votes held. I would just like to record the Hon Meka Whaitiri's vote on those two votes—which were in both of them one vote in favour.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you very much.
Henderson EmilyDr EMILY HENDERSON (Labour—Whangārei): Kia ora e te Māngai o te Whare. I'm going to speak very briefly because as has been repeated a number of times justice delayed is justice denied and this bill shouldn't be delayed any longer. But I am going to say this: as someone who spent many years as a Family Court lawyer many years researching the Family Court and who spends a lot of time talking to Family Court practitioners I really struggle when I hear members of the Opposition attempt to school this Government about the fact that it apparently is not supporting the Family Court enough. I'm sorry but I was in the court in 2012 when the party on the other side gutted us when the party on the other side removed the right for representation in the early stages which caused the absolute disaster of delay that we have now which skyrocketed ex parte applications which caused a crisis of self-represented litigants. This bill is one of many practical sensible changes that this Government's bringing in because we do the darn mahi unlike other people who in the interests of cost saving—can I just say to hear someone talk about how they're going to spend lots of money on judges when they gutted the court in the interests of cost saving when they refused to listen to the very judges they have mentioned tonight I find that really difficult. This bill is a good simple step forward. It will give the judges who are currently buried in paperwork real practical assistance. It took this Government to do it because that Government was about phony cost savings. They stripped the lawyers from the clients where they were needed and it decimated the court. When I talk to my colleagues and I see the stress that they are still under when I hear them talk about how they are barely hanging on because of the delays that they see their clients having to go through because of the workload created by the absolutely pointless reforms that we knew would decimate the court when I see them talk like that and when I hear the sort of rhetoric from the other side—empty lacking-in-responsibility rhetoric—I despair. But you know what I don't despair about? This bill. I darn well commend it.
Walters VanushiVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity to take a call. We're wide awake on this side of the House. And I thought I might just start by responding to some of the comments made by my colleague Chris Penk but I'll reassure him that he doesn't need to duck for cover. I did want to comment on his reference to the very well-known phrase that justice delayed is justice denied". And that is a very well-known phrase and I want to begin by thanking some of our submitters because those are words but clearly it is felt very differently when you're going through some of those court processes. And whenever I come up against what I consider a key principle of legal process I'm always a little curious about its history so I did look to see when this concept of "justice delayed is justice denied" came up in history and it goes all the way back to the 1600s so it is a really well-embodied piece of our justice system. It wasn't the only theme that emerged from submitters. Others were the powers of Family Court Associates the independence of Family Court Associates the training and experience ensuring safety in the Family Court system Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations participation consultation evaluation and monitoring as well. So there were really robust submissions and once again I would like to thank our submitters and the Justice Committee for its work.In the second reading of this bill I did make reference to some of our submitters who included the New Zealand Council of Victim Support. They raised a very important issue I thought in regards to the Family Court being used as a tool of abuse. And of course this is a bill that responds to that critical issue as well. It is only one part of this Government's response to this issue. Very recently Minister Allan did announce that a new bill would be announced to prevent victims of abuse from being further abused or traumatised in the courts as well. We had a number of excellent submitters. The last one I wanted to acknowledge was the Disabled Persons Assembly New Zealand for their submission and they really spoke to the aspects of how the Family Court system doesn't in many ways work for disabled people but they were also really positive about some of the changes that this bill brings into being—particularly the creation of the Associates. And they submitted that with the introduction of the newest Associates there was an opportunity for the courts to look more broadly at disabled people's experience in the court system. So I will leave my contributions there just only to say that it is wonderful to see that there is broad support across the House for this bill. I do look forward I hope to seeing this bill pass this evening. But very much like the Disabled Persons Assembly New Zealand I look forward to seeing what impact this very new role will have on our court system and I commend this bill to the House."
Lorck Anna; Dean JacquiANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki): Thank you Madam Speaker. Charities bring people together who want to make a difference who through a whole range of initiatives can come together and support things that need good volunteers. Never have I seen more of this than in the past 12 weeks in Hawke's Bay where charities have played a huge role in helping people through Cyclone Gabrielle. Just last Friday night I went to Nourished for Nil which is a charity that started back in 2017 where I was there the very day that they started. They repurpose all the food and give it out so it doesn't go to waste. On this Friday night there were 300 food boxes given out—a regular Friday night—and there was an amazing team from the 80-strong volunteers who were working the distribution network on this Friday. It just showed what can be enabled through having a vision and a purpose and bringing a lot of people together. Now many of these volunteers are retirees who want to be kept connected and doing something good for their community.Earlier that week I had another opportunity to go and visit Christian Lovelink. Christian Lovelink delivers household goods to people in need and during Cyclone Gabrielle they have now repurposed donated household items to refurnish people who needed new homes or temporary accommodation to go into since being displaced. These are just two of examples in Hawke's Bay alone of the many many charities who work very hard and they need to have legislation that also enables them to do their work well.Now this bill talks about getting rid of red tape and a lot of it is practical support that can be given to smaller charities. It's those charities that sometimes can get bogged down in much of the bureaucratic stuff that can hold people back. So I think from having listened to the many speeches tonight that the practical changes that are being made in this bill are worth it and I'd like to again say thank you to all the charities and all the volunteers who give so much to make a real difference in the work they do for others. Thank you Madam Chair.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Simon Watts—five minutes.
Lubeck Marja; Salesa JennyMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. A pleasure to take a call on this Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill and let's bring it back to the arrival part of the bill. So I would like to start with congratulating my friend the Hon Jo Luxton as the Minister of Customs on her new position and she did a fabulous job I thought last night when she took the chair for the first time at the committee stage of this bill. It has been traversed extensively. This is a good bill necessary to support the implementation of a digital arrival card. It will support a safer and smarter border and it's good that we had reassurances given earlier on that paper versions of this arrival card will remain available. There was in fact—talking about light moments—a bit of a funny moment just before the dinner break when some concerns were expressed by Mr Bennett stating that he may have some trouble filling out an electronic arrival card and the Assistant Speaker Jacqui Dean suggested that his daughter could perhaps do it for him. Now I understand Mr Bennett's daughter is 10 months old but apparently she is extremely talented and beautiful.Now in a previous life I would have been handing out these paper-based arrival cards and often—I pick up on Mr Brownlee's comment—there were issues with these cards. They were sometimes not loaded sometimes they actually had the wrong languages on the card when they were needed in a different language and I'm also sure that airlines are pleased that they no longer have to carry these in large amounts to hand them out.Now the other comment that was made by Ingrid Leary I thought was excellent because I recently had to fill out one of these arrival cards when I left my whānau in the Netherlands—a shout-out to my sister who's watching—and it is extremely difficult with the small print on the cards. So moving to digital cards and to a digital border deals with a lot of these issues.It would be remiss of me to not commend the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and its excellent chair for their work on getting this bill through the House. They made some amendments and some other minor changes that have been well traversed so all that I need to do is commend this bill to the House. Thank you Madam Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Thank you and I do want to assure the House that the correct Minister's name will be printed on the final bill.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.
Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill — Third Reading (continued)
Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): It's a pleasure to take a call on this important bill tonight. It's also a pleasure to speak after the Hon Gerry Brownlee who is a well-respected member of this House who knows this area well and who has acknowledged the chair of the committee that considered this bill—the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee—as one of our finest committee chairs in our Parliament. Now can I speak to the importance of this bill for introducing a digital arrival card. That will make a significant impact for the workers of our Customs Service—those are workers who are really important to our economy. We've heard from members around this House about the importance of our biosecurity systems and the safety net that protects our exports and our primary production sector. But those workers they are South Aucklanders around the Auckland Airport; they are workers on the front lines of our airport; they are people who look out for our community; they are people who put themselves on the front lines of COVID during the global pandemic protecting our borders; and they are the people who we stand in solidarity with every day around the Auckland Airport and indeed around the other international airports in the country who my colleagues on the other side of the House are giving a shout-out to now in this late stage of the debate—in this late stage because it is the Manurewa MP who has given a shout-out to her Manurewa workers and the workers of South Auckland. It's important to make sure that we are updating our technology so that our workers are doing the most efficient jobs that they can and that we are supporting them through these times when there are shortages at our airports. That workforce is under pressure and everything we can do to support them is good work in my books.
Belich CamillaCAMILLA BELICH (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to take a call on the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill. I'm not privileged to sit on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee although having heard the wonderful words about how enjoyable the committee is and how ably it's chaired I'm slightly jealous of my colleagues in the House. This is an important piece of legislation. Our borders are significant and it's important for the security of our country and also for our very dedicated Customs officials to be able to do their job properly. This relatively straightforward piece of legislation moves New Zealand forward to what many other countries do in relation to the collection of information at the border. I've travelled recently twice overseas after not travelling at all over a period of time due to COVID and it became clear that most jurisdictions are moving towards this electronic collection of information. This is not merely to move with the times but also to allow the people who are assessing risk at the border to be able to do their job more competently and I understand from reading the legislation that this will assist them to be able to more ably do their job. It also creates two new offences which of course are necessary in any regime to make sure that there's compliance with that. I understand from reading the legislation that it's unlikely that those will be necessary for the majority of the time but obviously they're needed for a new system and to ensure that we do have the compliance that we need for our borders. So along with colleagues from around the House I commend this bill to the House.
Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. Look this is a sensible bill for the time that we live in but it does have the potential for a little bit of disruption on the way through and I think it's good to hear that others in the House have expressed a concern that those who perhaps don't have access to the digital platform will still be able to use the paper system at least for a time because we do give the comptroller the opportunity to actually end that in this bill as well. I think in that regard because there is a lot of authority confirmed for the Comptroller of Customs there is a need to make sure that this House does express its desire for this to be a successful implementation of a 2023 experience that people should be able to have. But there are circumstances where people won't and so that should be covered off.The other thing that is a little unclear is the time lines that might be involved and the circumstances that would arise if someone for example comes through duty free and inadvertently buys a little bit more than their allowance. How is all that going to be handled? How is it worked out? And I think the other thing is—Madam Speaker you would know and most in this House would know—that sometimes we find ourselves in jurisdictions where it's not advisable to switch on your electronic device. So what would happen in that circumstance? Will there be facility on aeroplanes etc. to be able to access those declarations and make them?I think the point that Ingrid Leary made is a good one: that a lot of the information that is on these cards is often scruffily put down and very much a challenge to work out exactly what's said. I suspect that most of those cards never get entered into the system. If there is someone there who's taking each of the arrival cards and punching in what's there it hasn't been evident in discussions with Customs and with the Ministry for Primary Industries to this point. So this is obviously going to give the system a lot more information—a lot more accessible information—and from that point of view and given that we're a country that does need to protect our borders we're not so much worried about someone turning up with an extra bottle of spirits or something but we are definitely worried if they turn up with food items that might be contaminated and could have a very adverse effect on whole industries in this country.So with that can I say it was an interesting exercise. Our committee the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee is of course extremely well chaired by a most competent chairperson who interestingly survives with only minimal advice from her co-chair! But it's always I'd have to say extremely valuable and I appreciate the way she receives that. Thank you Madam Speaker.
Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): One of the reasons I haven't heard for replacing the paper cards with digital arrival cards is people like me with really bad eyesight—those cards are tiny and there's tiny little spaces—and then really really bad handwriting. I'm sure there'll be a lot of Customs officers out there who not only will be freed up to manage risk but will actually heave a sigh of relief that they're not wading their way through all these illegible paper cards. But I have to say like the previous speaker Teanau Tuiono I really welcome the fact that paper cards will be available for those who for whatever reason will never be able to move into the digital space. And so I think that's a really good part of the system. As far as what this is intended to do many other speakers have already said. I just want to focus really on the clearer obligations that this bill makes around when the information is provided and the way it's provided. And I note that because it's a strict liability offence there are really good defences in the bill particularly in clause 6 around providing erroneous material if it's just putting a slight number wrong something that is not intentionally material and doesn't have a material effect that that will serve as a good defence. So that's heartening too when it comes to natural justice.So as other speakers have said it will make the border safer and smarter. It's clarifying our obligations at the border it's making enforcement and functionality better but most of all in my view it's going to make life much better for Customs officers who don't have to deal with bad handwriting and those tiny little cards that are quite difficult to fill out. I commend this bill to the House.
Tuiono TeanauTEANAU TUIONO (Green): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the Greens to support this third reading of the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve customer-related border management by introducing clear arrival information obligations and digitising the New Zealand Passenger Arrival Card—something that we support; it's 2023 so moving things to a digitised platform completely makes sense.I want to acknowledge the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for moving this through the select committee but also engaging in some of those concerns—valid concerns—that people have around data protection and privacy. And I note the discussions that happened during the committee of the whole House and actually during this first and second reading as well where members sought assurance that the bill would not compromise existing memorandums of understanding between like Customs and other agencies between Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development—so not getting in the way of that but finding a way to use all the advantages that you get from a digitised system as well. And also noting some of the concerns around—and the rationale after hearing it from various members from around the House—the rationale for enabling a CEO to set those regulations; that if there does need to be a different set of questions that need to be canvassed within the digitised arrival card they are empowered to do that and also to acknowledge that members want to have better clarifications around that which is totally appropriate.I think about this in terms of the last three years as we moved through COVID and how—coming through the border—we needed to have a system that actually was a lot more agile and a lot more flexible so sort of making sure that we have the systems in place if God forbid something else happens so that we can have that flexibility that you don't actually get with a paper system as well. But also acknowledging that some of our whānau aren't the most tech savvy and so having that paper option is also about ensuring that there is that accessibility as well. And also noting—because I live in a rural community out in the provinces—that sometimes the power goes out so having the paper option can be quite helpful. Hopefully that never happens at the border with our airports and so on and so forth.So that's all I have. I don't have more to add to this bill.Simon O'Connor: Keep going!TEANAU TUIONO: You want me to keep going?Hon Gerry Brownlee: No!TEANAU TUIONO: Nah he doesn't. He doesn't want me to keep going because he's had enough. So the Greens support this bill.
McDowall JamesDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to take a short call on the third reading of this bill and there isn't a great deal to add. Customs obviously do an incredibly important job protecting our border and this bill enables the enforcement of border regulations to work much more efficiently we hope by digitising the arrival declaration. And whilst sophisticated systems exist throughout a traveller's journey with all sorts of things updated this is one area that's remained rather old school. The benefits have been well canvassed ranging from improved risk management to faster assessments of travellers we hope and ideally fewer people being referred to border officials. I appreciate that the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee has looked into a few issues I raised in the first reading and I believe they have adequately addressed them. A few questions remain outstanding following the committee of the whole House stage but they are relatively minor and not a problem for our ongoing support. I do appreciate the nature of the roll-out the fall-back—having the paper cards still available and remaining in place—and the way that this has been trialled to do so. Concerns I raised around changing circumstances in previous readings and the committee stage have been I think mostly addressed and I thank the Minister for that. I do agree that having a more agile system in place here makes perfectly good sense though I do hope it doesn't open the door to a river of constantly changing regulations that could become very confusing for travellers so I'll just note that.While an early declaration may present some challenges in theory with circumstances changing as I just mentioned I think the benefits outweigh this especially as an early declaration allows for better education—they get presented with it what people can and cannot bring in and how much and so on—and I think this will result in fewer mistakes and hopefully not too many offences which have obviously been introduced by this legislation. So in summary that's all we really need to say on this bill. The modernisation enabled is probably very well overdue and I commend it to the House.
Rosewarne DanDAN ROSEWARNE (Labour): Kia ora Madam Speaker. It's my pleasure to take a call on the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill. This bill amends the Customs and Excise Act 2018 to improve and modernise the processes at our border. The bill provides an explicit obligation on arriving passengers to provide prescribed arrival information and creates new regulation-making powers to set the time by which our arrival information must be provided to Customs. The bill also creates new offences for failing to provide described arrival information and for providing false arrival information.These new changes mean that the bill allows the creation of a digital arrival card that will make arrivals more efficient and easier to handle. The digital arrival card will make arrival to New Zealand a better experience for those of us that have travelled recently and for visitors and free up border officers from unnecessary referrals and allow them to concentrate on identified risks.Also I'd like to thank my colleagues in the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for their work on this bill because the select committee has only had to make minor changes to make sure that the bill works effectively and provides extra time for the Defence Force and cruise ships to adapt to the new regulations. The committee also made sure that the bill was held to the highest standards on privacy and data collection as the previous member mentioned and consultation with the Privacy Commissioner has shown that this change would not expand the range of personal information that the visitors provide beyond what is already provided for in the Customs and Excise Act. So it's a good bill and I commend it to the House.
Omer IbrahimCUSTOMS AND EXCISE (ARRIVAL INFORMATION) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed.IBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to take a call on the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill third reading.This bill is a very simple bill. It just amends the Customs and Excise Act 2018 and in doing so it provides for clearer arrival information obligations and improves the enforcement and functionality of the system. The bill will enhance border management and the passenger experience by supporting a safer and smarter border. We live in a digitalised world and we have to update our system accordingly.Why we support this bill is simple. It's necessary to support the implementation of digital arrival cards. While the digital arrival card can be implemented under the existing legislation the bill only improves how the arrival information system works. And that is where there are a lot of changes to the time when information can be provided and it provides for officers to enforce the system.We had a few submitters—about five of them. There's a few different views from the submitters. Some obviously agreed that we need to digitalise our systems; some expressed their concern. None the less the vast majority were in favour of the bill.I'd like to commend the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee who worked collegially on this bill. As a committee we collectively examined the bill and recommended that the bill be passed with amendments unanimously. And while a simple bill it does make a difference and it's a good bill. I commend it to the House.
Tuiono TeanauVOTINGCorrection—Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment BillTEANAU TUIONO (Green): Point of order Madam Speaker. Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to seek leave of the House to correct a vote on the Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Leave is sought for the votes to be corrected. Are there any objections? TEANAU TUIONO: That's one vote in favour for Meka Whaitiri.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The record will be corrected accordingly. Thank you.
Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill — Third Reading
Bennett DavidHon DAVID BENNETT (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'd just like to congratulate the Minister of Customs Jo Luxton one of the finer Ministers in the Labour Government I would imagine and who has been I must admit a very good friend on the Primary Production Committee and somebody who it's great to see as a Minister. Well done and congratulations. It's a good thing that you're bringing this bill through the House. So well done to Jo Luxton.The National Party will be supporting this. This is a simple and necessary bill for travellers coming into New Zealand. I guess the only thing is to make sure that somebody that may not be technologically savvy like myself still has the ability to get back to New Zealand if we wanted to just in case we can't operate our phone or whatever device properly. So there's probably just—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! Order! Your daughter will do it for you!Hon DAVID BENNETT: Ha ha! Thank you thank you. Well actually in saying that she did buy a movie yesterday at 10 months old and it wasn't a great movie and now we have to watch it. But yes I'm sure she'll be more help than I would at doing these things.That's probably the only real issue. You know we can see that these things need to change with time and technology. When people come into the country they probably wonder what that information is actually used for and whether it is collated properly and if it is digitised then it probably does have more reason to do it. All those arrival cards just didn't make much sense as to what actually happened with them. They were cumbersome and people would have wondered why they had to fill in something in writing and then not actually know what happened with it. So at least that data would be accessible and would be retained and could be of some benefit at some point. So the National Party supports this bill.The only other thing I'd say is that our airports—especially Auckland—are terrible at the moment. Effectively anybody coming in would think they're coming into a Third World country which effectively the economy is at the moment. But Auckland Airport really needs to be a lot more efficient. We don't want to give up our biosecurity and our customs roles but we need to have efficiency at airports for the traveller experience and also just for the nature of travel if we are a country that wants to be productive and encourage people to come and visit this country. So that would be one thing that—not quite on the bill but you know is part of a package of someone coming into New Zealand. If it is digitised if it is a bit easier—we don't want them held up at the airport for three hours while there's something else that's happening there. That's inefficient.National supports the bill and we look forward to passing it.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. The House will resume at 7 p.m.Sitting suspended from 5.58 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Omer IbrahimIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to take a call on the Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill.I also want to start with my acknowledgment of yesterday's tragedy in Newtown. This incident happened about 300 metres from where I live—just down the road from me. A lot of people who have been caught in this tragedy are people that I know very well. Specifically I want to acknowledge Liam Hockings; today we found out that he is missing. Liam was my neighbour in 2011 when I lived in one of the apartments in Wellington Central. Then we both ended up moving to Newtown. Every day I'd see him walking down the street and buying stuff from Countdown in Newtown. It would be only a few days ago that I spoke to him and he looked very happy. I want to acknowledge his family and that this is very devastating news to all of us.Health and safety issues in New Zealand is—at some point something needed to be done about it. I actually want to acknowledge the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety—who unapologetically has been standing up for working people for vulnerable people—and the Education and Workforce Committee for their work on this bill. The situation around health and safety needs to be improved and this bill is going to do just that. It's a step in the right direction.Workers in New Zealand are exposed to a higher risk of work-related harm than other countries like the UK US Australia. Only in 2022 about 60 people have lost their lives. If this incident if this fatality doesn't wake us up then what's going to wake us up?I hear the argument that this is going to cause more monetary loss for businesses." What about the lives that are being lost? Those lives by simple legislation can be saved. But the fact that people's lives are being ignored that the monetary benefits are being put before people's lives—I just can't understand it.We are a First World country in many ways but our health and safety issues or problems need to improve. I have worked as a cleaner I have worked in farms and I have seen vacuums blowing up on people's backs and I've seen people being hospitalised by accidents that could have been prevented if we had legislation like this in place.We do have a legislation—we do have a health and safety legislation. For example setting up health and safety committees brings workers and the employers together and they can cooperate on improving health and safety. This legislation that we have now only applies to employers who have more than 20 employees. It doesn't go far enough in protecting people and saving people's lives.So this is a very simple legislation that's going to make a difference in people's lives. It does really concern me that members on the other side are really standing up on this bill opposing this bill but without even giving enough reasons except the monetary loss to employers.This is sensible legislation that's going to change people's lives. It's the right one. I commend it to the House."
Sosene Lemauga LydiaLEMAUGA LYDIA SOSENE (Labour): Before I begin can I please acknowledge the tragic deaths at Loafers Lodge and specifically the families that have now been displaced. I do want to acknowledge the firefighters and the first responders and as we move forward specifically the Wellington community. May those who lost their lives rest in peace; manuia lau malaga.I rise to make a short contribution. On this side of the House we have heard our Minister speak that the reason why this amendment bill must come to the House—must be passed—is it's about honouring the Labour manifesto the election promise that we made in 2020 to support and protect our workers because currently the health and safety of many workers across the motu—there are decisions being made for them that they don't understand—specifically those employees in small firms where the workers are only totalling 20 or under. This bill the Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill will help those workers to be formally engaged to request that when they require some good advice for health and safety requirements they are able to participate and they are able to use this mechanism because currently they don't feel safe.A person who is labelled as a person conducting a business or undertaking" can make the decision if they are working for an employer with under 20 workers to refuse to establish a health and safety representative or a health and safety committee because in their view the current practice meets the requirements.This amendment bill was introduced and referred to the Education and Workforce Committee and was reported back to the House on 5 May. I want to acknowledge the officials and the 24 submitters who provided further recommendations for the Education and Workforce Committee and I thank them for their work and I am very pleased that I am now a member of the Education and Workforce Committee.The intent and the objectives of this bill are very clear because we want our workers to be safe we want them to understand their rights and their obligations and we want to reduce the harm in terms of some of those workplaces where they don't feel safe. So we've heard what the other side have said and they say there's no problem—they are the problem: the National Party and ACT. Labour is delivering on its election promise. We want this bill to go through to reduce the risks for our workers. I commend this bill to the House."