Ross Jami-Lee: Crown Entities Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ross Jami-Lee: Crown Entities Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 23 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2355. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a call on Part 3 of the Crown Entities Reform Bill. It is a bill that the National-led Government believes is important and it is part of our Government’s overall programme to improve State sector performance as a whole. These changes are part of the programme to ensure that the State sector delivers the front-line services that New Zealanders expect in the context of a challenging economic climate. Reducing the number of Government agencies will improve coordination reduce fragmentation and ensure that functions are delivered by agencies with greater resilience that are better able to perform in tightened fiscal environments. That applies to the Charities Commission and the new board that will sit under the Department of Internal Affairs.  
I think it is important that when we consider the charities issue and the question of whether it is appropriate that charities sit within the Department of Internal Affairs we consider the parts of the bill that are designed to allay the fears of those who are concerned that one the charities functions that the Department of Internal Affairs will have will lack independence and two that the Charities Commission’s education goals will no longer exist. The charities functions of the Department of Internal Affairs will most certainly be independent. The bill clearly outlines that. And the bill also clearly outlines that the educational functions that the Charities Commission used to hold are still important and need to be implemented. 
I was listening very carefully to Louisa Wall’s speech and the point I really picked up about her speech was her mentioning Te Ora o Manukau. I think it is good that she highlighted Te Ora o Manukau because for those who do not know the history I would like to let them know that Te Ora o Manukau was set up in the 1980s and it is actually an organisation that is funded by the Ministry of Health and the Manukau City Council—well now by the Auckland Council. The reason why I think it is important to highlight Te Ora o Manukau a bit further is that it is actually an example of an organisation that is funded by a council and by the Government has its secretariat provided by a council and is able to provide independent governance independent advice and independent advocacy. That is exactly what is being talked about in respect of this board. The secretariat of this board will be provided by the Department of Internal Affairs it will be funded through the Department of Internal Affairs and the chief executive will provide advice from the Department of Internal Affairs to the board but it will still have independence. So if we talk about Te Ora o Manukau as an example Te Ora o Manukau is very similar to what we are talking about here. So I thank Louisa Wall for raising this point about the charities functions of this bill.  
I think it is important to highlight to the Committee some provisions of the bill that will help to allay the fears of individuals who have submitted on the bill. The bill elevates into the purpose clause of the Charities Act principles around education. It is important that charities are provided with assistance by the board which sits under the Department of Internal Affairs and the very fact that the educational elements that the Charities Commission held are being moved into the purpose clause of the Act highlights the fact that education provision is important for the board. New section 3 which is in clause 43 of the bill highlights in paragraphs (a) and (b) the board’s responsibilities for promoting public trust and confidence in the charitable sector and encouraging and promoting the effective use of charitable resources. The bill really does accept the point that the educational functions of the commission are important. It is highlighted right there in the purpose section. It is also worth pointing out that the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs will also have functions that he is required to implement around good governance and management promotion of charities. It is all right here in the bill. 
Independence is also important and that is also highlighted very clearly in the bill. If we are looking to ensure that the board is independent it is right here in the bill it is going to be spelt out in legislation and we cannot get any clearer than that. And if we want to ask ourselves whether the Department of Internal Affairs has the ability to provide a secretariat provide funding and still allow an organisation to act independently we need only to look at the Gambling Commission and we need only to look at the Local Government Commission. They are examples where organisations sit within the framework of the Department of Internal Affairs the Department of Internal Affairs funds them and provides secretarial support but those organisations are still most certainly able to make independent decisions independent of the Department of Internal Affairs. There are examples where the Department of Internal Affairs is already doing what is proposed in this bill. It has expertise in this area so we should not fear the changes that are coming. In fact the Gambling Commission often makes decisions that differ from the Department of Internal Affairs’ advice. The Gambling Commission is able to stand up to the Department of Internal Affairs. I am very sure—