Auchinvole Chris: Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Auchinvole Chris: Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 14 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8566. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National) 
: 
 May I say what a pleasure it is to rise to speak in favour of the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill as sponsored by the Minister for Building and Construction Maurice Williamson and indeed to follow the previous speaker Raymond Huo who clearly understands the circumstances and the situation of this bill coming before the House. I must say it is a pleasant continuum of my parliamentary career because in 2005 I served on the Commerce Committee. Even though we were in Opposition it none the less had an Opposition chair. At that stage we handled the Gasfitters Plumbers and Drainlayers Bill. I see the Hon Maryan Street nodding. You remember the event? 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No I do not actually so please do not bring the Speaker into the debate. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I notice that the Hon Maryan Street does remember and it was a fascinating and very engaging bill. They are a remarkably dedicated body of people and I found the whole thing particularly interesting. They did have problems as an organisation and I like to think that we were able to help them. The problems continued on for a while but consistently there have been improvements in the direction that this very very important industry has been going in. 
I note the concerns of the previous speaker that we should be cautious with this that it is retrospective that it is validating and that sort of thing. He is quite correct but it is a very important bill which we progress none the less. It is a bill that will capture few if any headlines but this does not take away from the importance of its field or its intent. The bill tidies up legislation around the funding of the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board so that it can effectively do its job of protecting public safety. The bill also validates the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board’s disciplinary levy which funds investigations and prosecutions of plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers who are found to have been in breach of best practices or who are practising without the proper skills or qualifications. 
Let us remember the difficulty we had in maintaining the volume of plumbers that we needed. Recently during a prime ministerial visit to the West Coast we visited a plumber’s business that had been highlighted by the development trust on the West Coast as the business of the year. It is fascinating to see the level of skill qualification and dedication that is required to ensure that the services are properly passed on to houses. Plumbers in fact may I suggest do more for longevity than the health services do at a medical level because they look after our well-being prior to illness and disease. 
The amendments that are being proposed are in keeping with the original intent of the law. That is the reassuring bit. It is clear that the Government’s intention was always for the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board’s prosecution function to be funded by the industry. All its statutory functions are funded through fees and levies charged under the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006—that famous one that Maryan Street remembers. The clarifications this amendment bill makes are simply a move to reflect the true meaning and purpose of the law as it should have been put forward. I look forward to working towards this with my colleagues on the Government Administration Committee who have proved over recent months their ability to handle with competence and focus bills both large in prognostication and division as well as those of a forthright and logical nature like this one. I support this bill coming to the committee and I call on the House to do the same.