Cosgrove Clayton: Statutes Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Statutes Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:637;Page:7856] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Statutes Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Statutes Amendment Bill be referred to the Government Administration Committee. As members will be aware the Statutes Amendment Bill is useful for making minor technical and non-controversial amendments to a number of Acts. It allows amendments to be made that would not usually receive sufficient priority to be progressed. 
I thank all the parliamentary parties for their consideration of the amendments proposed for the bill and for expressing their support for the amendments included within the bill itself. I also thank those who have provided feedback on the process for obtaining cross-party support. This feedback has been valuable in the development of the process that we will use for the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2). I acknowledge the splendid work of the various officials coordinating the administrative aspects of the bill in respect of the development of the bill. 
Hon Member 
: Oh quite splendid! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I am glad the member opposite concurs. The bill introduces amendments to 50 Acts administered in 17 different departments. The proposed amendments include—and I will touch on just a few—the amendment to the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 which empowers District Court judges and other specified court officials to authorise the use when executing certain warrants under the Act of facsimile copies of the warrants in question. 
The amendment to the Gas Act 1992 ensures that regulations can be made covering all the parties necessary to give effect to gas customer switching. This amendment will enable the development of a more effective gas switching regime. 
The amendments to the Racing Act 2003 relate to the nomination of an advisory panel. The panel recommends to the Minister for Racing three persons for appointment to the New Zealand Racing Board. The amendment permits a suitably qualified substitute member to serve on the panel when a member prescribed by the Act is unable to attend. 
The amendment to the Biosecurity Act 1993 provides that inspectors in conducting inspections of a transitional facility or a biosecurity control area to determine whether risk goods are present may seize unauthorised goods along with the risk goods if unauthorised goods are found. Risk goods are goods that may harbour harmful organisms while unauthorised goods include imported goods that have not been declared or goods that have been cleared using misleading or fraudulent documents. This amendment will simplify an inspector’s powers to seize non-risk unauthorised goods. 
The amendments to the Real Estate Agents Act 1976 make clear that references to a salesperson include persons engaged as well as those employed by a real estate agent. The amendment makes it clear that licensed real estate agents must retain custody of certificates of approval for every salesperson working for them including the majority of salespersons who are independent contractors. 
To conclude the examples of amendments I have mentioned that are included in the bill demonstrate the value of the Statutes Amendment Bill as a vehicle for advancing technical yet important amendments. I commend the bill to the House.