Dunne PeterFIRE AND EMERGENCY NEW ZEALAND BILLSecond ReadingHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Internal Affairs): I move That the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bill be now read a second time. Before I go to the substance of my remarks can I just simply say that our hearts and our thoughts are very much with the men and women of the New Zealand Fire Service at the moment as they are battling those horrific fires in and around Christchurch. Our admiration and support are for them and what they are doing.This bill repeals two Acts the Fire Service Act 1975 and the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977 and brings together the urban and rural organisations that currently form the fire services of New Zealand into one single organisation Fire and Emergency New Zealand or FENZ as it is popularly known. The Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bill is the culmination of many years' work. Indeed it could be argued that its genesis lies in the 1948 report of the commission of inquiry into the disastrous Ballantynes fire in Christchurch the year before which recommended the establishment of a national fire service. More recently the 2012 Fire Review Panel report made a number of recommendations which led to the 2015 discussion document seeking the feedback of the fire services and their communities. That feedback highlighted the need for change for modernisation and the passion and the commitment of our fire services. This bill recognises that the role of the fire services has greatly expanded since the passage of the current legislation in the 1970s and that modern legislation is required to support and enable the current and future work of our fire services.I want to acknowledge the work of the Government Administration Committee for their thorough and robust consideration of the bill not even halted by the Kaikōura earthquake and particularly to acknowledge the work of the Hon Ruth Dyson as chair of the committee and the hard work that she and the other members have put in to progress this bill. They received 104 written submissions on the bill and heard 47 submitters orally. The submitters commented on a wide range of topics from the use of fire as a land management tool to the impact of the fire levy. The submissions highlighted the importance of the fire services to communities. The changes to the bill I think directly respond to the submitters' concerns.Let me highlight a number of the changes recommended by the committee. Local committees will now be known as local advisory committees" to better reflect their role within FENZ and the advice they will provide. Their role is to provide knowledge and expertise on local risk profiles issues and needs to Fire and Emergency New Zealand. The committee has recommended that the local advisory committee's clauses be reordered to make it clearer to whom the clauses apply—to the committees the board or to FENZ.Second is the explicit reference to the use of fire as a land-management tool. Fire is an important tool particularly in rural communities. A number of submitters were concerned that the bill removed their ability to use wanted fire in a safe manner. The use of fire was still permitted under the bill as introduced; however changes have been made to make this more explicit. As part of its promotion of fire safety FENZ must now provide guidance on the safe use of fire as a land-management tool and a definition of fire as a land-management tool has consequently been included in the bill. The offence relating to causing or allowing a fire to get out of control and spread to vegetation or property has been clarified so that it does not duplicate other offences such as arson. The bill has also clarified that the decision to let a fire burn may well be a valid response to a fire. That was a key concern of many firefighters as it is sometimes appropriate to let a fire burn. The decision is always carefully considered and made and so the committee has ensured that that provision is explicit in the legislation.The new clauses 58C to 58F will give FENZ the power to remove fire risks from private property. Territorial authorities currently have this power under the Local Government Act 2002 but it is the intention of this reform that FENZ will become responsible for all rural and urban fire services in New Zealand. So it will need to work with territorial authorities to ensure a smooth handover of this power with a transitional period provided through to mid-2018. To avoid duplicating FENZ's and territorial authorities' powers the bill makes it clear that where there are inconsistencies between local fire bylaws and this legislation this legislation will prevail. Territorial authorities would continue to deal with other matters such as smoke nuisance and air quality concerns.Although it is important that FENZ is adequately funded for the critical roles it plays in communities across New Zealand it is also vital that the regime governing its key-funding source the levy is as fair and simple as possible for both those who pay it and those who collect it. Many submitters provided comment on the levy and as a result various changes have been made to those clauses of the bill. The committee has clarified and expanded the procedures for hearing and settling disputes between FENZ and levy payers over just how much levy should be paid. The committee has also amended the levy avoidance provisions to allow FENZ to pursue an insurer a broker or a policyholder for levy avoidance where that is appropriate. The committee has also introduced defences against avoidance penalties for parties who can show an absence of fault and reductions in penalties for good behaviour. The regulation-making powers of the levy have been amended to create a far more flexible and responsive regime. For example it will now be possible to set different levy rates and caps on the total levy payable for different types of properties. Levy exemptions will now be set out in regulation allowing them to be consulted on and reviewed from time to time. Many other smaller changes have been made to the levy provisions such as streamlining the process for reaching agreement on the valuation of assets. The use and transfer of response assets are seen as an important part of the transition to FENZ. The bill makes it clear that the transfer of these assets must be agreed by all parties. Fire and Emergency New Zealand will not have an automatic right to own response assets but it will be able to access them to carry out its functions. It has also been made clearer that community-funded assets will remain with the communities that purchase them. These changes along with other minor technical changes improve the clarity of the bill.The changes recommended by the Government Administration Committee reflect I think its careful consideration of and response to the submitters and their concerns. So can I thank all of those who took the time to make submissions on the bill and also again thank the committee for its work. The upshot is that we are now poised to establish an integrated national fire and emergency service one that brings together our paid staff and our urban and rural volunteers and one that ensures adequate and proper resourcing and support across the board. There will no longer be any "poor relations" within the fire services of this country.When I took on this task I was reminded of the daunting reality that over the last 20 years various Ministers have made a total of 16 different unsuccessful attempts to reform the Fire Service. This current reform process has gone far further than any of those and it is succeeding because of the thorough consultation that there has been at every stage and the very deliberate and methodical approach of the board of the Fire Service and the officials at every stage. I want to acknowledge the board of the current Fire Service the senior management and the officials of the Department of Internal Affairs for their efforts. They have taken what was a concept 18 months ago to the reality of this legislation.I said at the beginning that one of the recommendations arising from the Ballantynes royal commission way back in 1948 was the establishment of an integrated national fire service. I am delighted that after nearly 70 years of trying we stand today on the verge of achieving that outcome in Fire and Emergency New Zealand. With a huge degree of pride and a great deal of satisfaction I very proudly commend this bill to the House."