Salesa JennyREMUNERATION AUTHORITY LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Courts): I present a legislative statement on the Remuneration Authority Legislation Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: I move That the Remuneration Authority Legislation Bill be now read a second time. I want to thank the chair and members of the Justice Committee Ginny Andersen and all the parties involved in that. I acknowledge that this bill received cross-party support at the select committee and I want to thank the parties for their constructive participation in the consideration of this bill. I also want to table my acknowledgment of the submitters who took the time to express their view on this bill.This bill enhances public confidence in our judicial system by changing responsibility for determining the remuneration of some of our judicial and quasi-judicial officers. Judicial independence is a core pillar of any democracy and an independent judiciary protects people from the arbitrary use of power by the State. Security of remuneration is one of the measures that enable judicial officers to discharge their duties free from undue influence from the executive.There are currently two mechanisms in New Zealand for determining the remuneration of judicial and statutory officers. One is the Cabinet fees framework administered by Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission. The framework classifies judicial and statutory officers into categories and prescribes a range of fees for each category. The responsible Minister makes the final decision on the fee to be paid to each type of officer within that fee's range. The other mechanism is the Remuneration Authority an independent statutory body that determines remuneration for judicial and statutory officers such as judges and ombudsmen that need to be and to be seen to be free from external interference in their decision making. The Remuneration Authority Act requires the authority to take into account a range of factors when determining remuneration. These include the requirements of the position the conditions of service and a range of other things—and the committee of the whole House will be able to delve into—and lastly fairness to the person whose remuneration is being set and to the taxpayer. These factors are very similar to the assessment criteria set out in the Cabinet fees framework for the determination of remuneration for each category of officers.The key difference between the two remuneration-setting mechanisms is the degree of independence from the executive and their decision making. Ministers make the remuneration decisions under the framework and the Remuneration Authority Act requires the Government to implement the remuneration determinations of the authority for officers specified in that Act.I understand and endorse the principles that underpin the Cabinet fees framework. It ensures consistency of fees-setting across a broad range of judicial and statutory officers as well as other bodies in which the Crown has an interest. Some of the judicial and statutory officers administered by the Ministry of Justice will continue to have their remuneration determined under the framework. I consider these officers require a lesser degree of independence from Government than the officers that this bill is transferring to the Remuneration Authority. I consider judicial and quasi-judicial officers who make decisions in courts and in directly comparable bodies need to be and to be seen to be independent from any potential for interference in their decision making by the executive. Similarly officers who hear appeals against decisions of Government Ministers need a greater degree of independence from the executive to ensure that they are and are seen to be independent of the Government and unable to be influenced through their remuneration to favour the Government.This bill amends the Remuneration Act and six other Acts to transfer responsibility for determining the remuneration of six groups of judicial and quasi-judicial officers administered by the Ministry of Justice from the Cabinet fees framework to the Remuneration Authority. These officers are disputes tribunal referees tenancy tribunal adjudicators community magistrates of the District Court commissioners and deputy commissioners of the Environment Court the chairperson and deputy chairpersons of the Human Rights Review Tribunal and lastly the deputy chairpersons and members of the Immigration and Protection tribunal. This transfer will enhance public confidence in the integrity and independence of these courts and tribunals.The disputes tribunal and the tenancy tribunal hear cases that would otherwise come before the District Court. They have had significant increases in their monetary threshold and the legal complexity of their cases over the past couple of years. This warrants a greater degree of independence from the executive. Disputes tribunal referees hear property disputes of up to $30000. The disputes tribunal is a division of the District Court and hears most of the substantive cases in this court's civil jurisdiction. Tenancy tribunal adjudicators hear disputes between landlords including Kāinga Ora and tenants of residential properties of up to $100000 and disputes relating to unit title developments such as apartment buildings of up to $50000. The tribunal enforces the healthy homes standards and can impose pecuniary penalties of up to $50000 on non-compliant landlords.Community magistrates hear lower-level criminal matters in the District Court that would also otherwise come before a District Court judge. Environment commissioners and deputy environment commissioners sit in the Environment Court either with an Environment Court judge or alone to hear appeals about the contents of regional and district plans and appeals rising out of applications for resource consent. The Human Rights Review Tribunal hears claims relating to breaches of the Human Rights Act the Privacy Act and the Health and Disability Commissioner Act. It has the authority to declare an Act of Parliament inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The Immigration and Protection Tribunal hears appeals against decisions of the Minister of Immigration and Immigration New Zealand relating to residency deportation and refugee or protected person status.To implement these transfers the bill creates new permanent legislative authorities in the legislation governing these officers. These authorities will enable the Remuneration Authority determinations to be implemented without a specific appropriation from Parliament.In conclusion I consider the transfer of responsibility for determining the remuneration of these six groups of judicial and quasi-judicial officers from the Cabinet fees framework to the Remuneration Authority is necessary to reinforce their independence from Government and to maintain public confidence in our courts and tribunals. Again I thank the chair and members of the Justice Committee and the submitters. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the motion be agreed to.