edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
SpeechTONI SEVERIN (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I stand on behalf of the ACT Party to support this Statutes Amendment Bill. This as everyone said is a house cleaning bill. I wish someone would come and do my ironing and dusting; it would be very good if I could have someone doing that. But as my learned colleagues over here said it is an omnibus bill that makes small changes across a number of different Acts. In this bill there are a total of 41 Acts that have small to a little bit larger changes.ACT supports bills that have a problem to be solved and legislation that makes it clearer for those New Zealanders who are affected by these Acts. It's interesting when reviewing the bill how old some of these Acts are and how new others are. One amendment to this is the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957. So for all those lovely people that have got a birthday this year—they're turning 65—there's an Act in here that we're changing; Part 26 of this bill that makes changes to section 9 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957. Section 9 lists the persons before whom a declaration may be made in New Zealand. The amendment adds to the list a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the Māori Land Court who by a notice issued in the Gazette on 25 June 1992 at page 2181 under section 9 are authorised to take a declaration.As you can see some of this is quite technical and can be quite confusing for the average person. But we do hope that those that these amendments affect definitely make their submissions to our select committee to make sure that we're not changing things and making it more confusing to them.I also found in amongst some of these Acts a very recent one that already has to have some word changing and that's the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020. The COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 Schedule 6 amendment: new clause 25(2) set out in clause 24 replaces requesting" with "requested to provide". So slight wording differences can make things very confusing and also not quite legible for people to quite understand what is supposed to be going on in these bills.Then also over this side there's quite a few of the bills in this omnibus bill that are required to remove registered posting and I mean most of the kids these days would not know what registered posting is. It's even getting more difficult for us oldies here to recognise a lot of these things that we would have called inventions that are now called old ways.There's also amendments to the Care of Children Act 2004 which Chris Penk spoke about changing wording from the "domestic violence" to "family violence". There's just minor word changes that make a huge difference within a lot of these Acts.So really as Deborah Russell said yes it's a house cleaning bill. I commend this bill to the House and hope for a lot of select committee reviews to come through to make sure we've done it right."
SpeechDr ELIZABETH KEREKERE (Green): Tēnā koe. I rise on behalf of my colleague Jan Logie to support these amendments to 41 different Acts. Many thanks to everybody who was involved in this epic piece of work. Along with all the other parties in the House we were consulted on this. There were two areas though where amendments were made that had flow-on consequences that we were not aware of.The first related to the Privacy Act where this bill reinstates the Human Rights Review Tribunal's power to make and review interim orders under sections 95 and 96 of the Human Rights Act. We have been reassured on that point. And the second relates to amendments to the Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Act of 2015. We have confirmed that the intent to—and I quote—specifically provide for a determination to be revoked where there is a change in the relevant circumstances of a returning offender such as overseas conviction being quashed or pardoned". So that remains the same.And finally we had originally opposed the repeal of section 202 to the Evidence Act which provides for periodic reviews of the legislation. We've since resolved that with the Minister. So all of that being said this is a technical bill with which all agree. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora."
Boyack RachelRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson) (remote): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a real pleasure to take a call the second call I've taken from the spare bedroom in my house as I participate in the virtual House. This is an important bill the Statutes Amendment Bill. As Minister Sio said earlier before the dinner break this bill has 62 proposals that amend 42 different Acts. I'm delighted that it will be coming to the Governance and Administration Committee a small but hard-working committee. I'm sure we will look across every part of this bill with the level of detail needed to ensure that it comes out the other side ready to be passed into law.There's one particular piece I wanted to point out which was Part 22 amending the Legislation Act of 2019. I noted here that we will be amending the definitions to ensure they're correct with reference to the North Island and the South Island. As a proud South Islander I just want to note how important it is to me that we correctly reference the South Island in our legislation. And so this bill will ensure that we are correct in our definitions.This is an omnibus bill. It tidies up technical corrections and drafting errors within other pieces of legislation. I'm looking forward to hearing from thousands of New Zealanders across the motu who will submit on this bill and on that note I commend this bill to the House.
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a real pleasure to take a call on this housekeeping piece of legislation and I just want to thank the member beaming in via Zoom Deborah Russell for that great inspirational speech: vacuum cleaning sweeping dusting—all of those great analogies. It sounds very exciting but something which I'm not too keen to look forward to those particular tasks. But look it's great to be able to discuss this piece of legislation. It's an omnibus bill as my colleague has referred to. It changes a number of pieces of legislation and I think as my colleague Chris Penk said these are pieces of legislation which need changing and where there is generally unanimous agreement across the House around the fact that there is a need for the change in this legislation. So we work together across the House to get to this point and then of course we look forward to the select committee and the submissions to ensure that there's no particular unintended consequences of any of these particular changes. I think there's been certain lessons which I hope are learnt recently regarding unintended consequences—the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act in particular is a piece of legislation which I think is on the minds of many New Zealanders at the moment as a piece of legislation which may have good intent but has very severe unintended consequences and has made a huge impact on many New Zealanders' ability to get a mortgage buy a car and do many other bits and pieces which they need to be able to do.So there's not a lot that I'd like to touch on in particular in this piece of legislation but of interest to my portfolio of transport there are some amendments to the Railways Act the Government Roading Powers Act the Land Transport Act and one particular amendment that is being changed is the fact that particular things will no longer need to be sent by registered post. I imagine that means that the registered post was when the letters were sent and it was noted down as to when they reached particular post boxes along the way of their journey which is of course a service that I don't believe New Zealand Post continues to serve New Zealanders with. Hence with that service no longer being available very clearly the legislation needs to not allow or not require something which cannot actually be offered.There's lots of other pieces of legislation being changed. I'm sure the good people on the committee which will be considering this piece of legislation will be looking forward to I'm sure many hundreds of submissions from interested New Zealanders up and down this country who will have an interest in many of these particular areas and will be looking at that and very diligently taking that all into account before this bill continues to progress through the House. The National Party supports the Statutes Amendment Bill.
Salesa Jenny; Russell DeborahASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Good evening members. Before we went to dinner we were debating the Statutes Amendment Bill. The next call is a Labour Party call.Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn) (remote): Good evening and thank you Madam Speaker. The Statutes Amendment Bill is a housekeeping bill. It's a regular tidy up a freshen a repairing of small things and I think it has a very important task for us to do. I want to take you through just a few of the amendments in this bill and talk about why they're so important. I turn first of all to Part 12 where we're fixing a squeaky door. The excise and excise equivalent duties table had the wrong rate of duty for a particular item of alcohol and in order to get that fixed we couldn't do it by Order in Council; it had to be done by legislation—a squeaky door now being fixed up with a little drop of oil.Part 15 is a job which actually we don't need to do any more. It concerns the Evidence Act. When that Act first came into being there was a periodic review of the operation of the Act that was allowed for. That review has been done periodically and it was found that the principal Act is doing well. So actually that's a job that just doesn't need to be done any more. And I ask: does anyone actually iron sheets any more?Part 19 of the bill has amendments to the Government roading powers. Instead of referring to the Chief Surveyor we are now going to refer to the Surveyor-General. Yes that's the right way around. The words do actually matter. It's a little bit like getting around to finally hanging up that new calendar in February when perhaps it should have gone up on 1 January.Part 30 of the bill has a whole series of changes to the Privacy Act—so not just one small change but a number of changes. It's a bit of a—well not exactly a spring clean because that would be an entire overhaul of the Act but a deep clean making sure that we get various items tidied up.Part 35 is to do with retirement villages and it's making sure that operators of retirement villages have to make sure that they actually get a particular piece of information to intending residents before signing any agreements. It's about doing things in the right order a bit like dusting before you vacuum.I know I've pushed this analogy of housekeeping quite a long way. I'm sure that Mr Chris Penk will be enjoying it. But it's actually quite important. This is a job that we do every year. There was a Statutes Amendment Bill last year. There will be one next year. We will do it year after year after year. It is a bit of a Sisyphean task a bit like housekeeping is but in this case it is a job that is well worth doing keeping our legislation tidy keeping it up to date. I commend this bill to the House.
Voting — Correction—Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill
SpeechVOTINGCorrection—Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment BillJAN LOGIE (Musterer—Green): Point of order Madam Speaker. Sorry Madam Speaker. I just seek to correct the previous vote in that our member who's on House duty did put in the chat that we wished to vote.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you for that. Leave has been put to correct the vote. Is there any objection? There is none.A party vote was called for on the question That the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 108New Zealand Labour 65; New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.Noes 12Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.
Statutes Amendment Bill — First Reading (continued)
SpeechSTATUTES AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed.Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Courts): I move That the Statutes Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Governance and Administration Committee to consider the bill.It is important our legislation continues to remain accurate fit for purpose and reflective of the policy intent. We all have a responsibility to be stewards of our systems and legislation. Regularly progressing these types of bills is one way we can ensure we continue to prioritise and maintain the quality of our legislation. Statutes amendment bills make small technical and non-controversial amendments to several Acts. This allows amendments to be made that would not usually be given sufficient priority. Amendments have progressed through the support of all parties in Parliament and I acknowledge everyone for their participation.This bill comprises of 62 proposals that will amend 42 Acts administered by 11 different Government agencies. Many of the amendments in this bill correct drafting errors such as an incorrect wording of references. For example the proposed amendment of the Maritime Transport Act 1994 will replace the outdated term doctor's surgery" with the correct term "medical centre" or replacing the reference to "Customs and Excise Act 1996" with "Customs and Excise Act 2018" in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.Other changes make technical amendments to provide clarify or better reflect the intention of the legislation. For example a proposed amendment to the Retirement Villages Act 2003 will clarify that it is the operator's role to ensure incoming residents receive standard information such as the code setting out their rights as residents.Some amendments make non-controversial and supported improvements to how the legislation works in practice. For example one of the proposed amendments to the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 will better explain the necessary powers for an officer of an industry brigade such as the practical steps to extinguish a fire or stabilise hazardous substances. Another example is the proposed amendment to the Biosecurity Act 1993 which will enable certain secondary legislation made by the same maker to be consolidated.Even though I've only covered a few amendments from this bill these examples demonstrate the value of statutes amendment bills as a way of advancing minor but important changes. While all the parties in Parliament have indicated their support for the amendments proposed in this bill I look forward to hearing the committee's views on these matters as well as any views of the public. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to.Debate interrupted."
Speaker's Rulings — Remote Participation—Calling for a Party Vote
SpeechSPEAKER'S RULINGSRemote Participation—Calling for a Party VoteASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): With apologies to the Minister but I just need to clear a procedural matter up now. To say to the Green Party that in calling for a party vote the Green Party had a lot of time to do that but the vote was already in progress. I didn't have time to see the message from the Green Party. So please all members if they wish to make a remote contribution the sooner you let the Chair know the sooner it appears in the message function and we can go about our business in an orderly manner. With apologies to Aupito William Sio.
SpeechSTATUTES AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Courts): I present a legislative statement on the Statutes Amendment Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Debate interrupted.
Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill — Third Reading
SpeechASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to. Just for the House the Green Party will voting remotely.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.A party vote was subsequently held to correct the vote on the bill with the result Ayes 108 Noes 12.
SpeechHon DAVID BENNETT (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. In true autocratic socialist form the Opposition is trying to rewrite history and put a different version of what actually happened. Well I was Associate Minister at the time and we actually looked at doing this nine years ago and we couldn't because the technology wasn't there. So that is the simple truth of it. Australia actually brought it in about a year before we looked at it and they struggled with the technology and to actually make it appropriate. And the do-gooders in this House from the left of the Parliament basically wouldn't have anything like that happen in New Zealand because it had to be all perfect for all the druggies out there so they'd be fine.So that's essentially the history of what happened in this bill and finally we've got to the stage it's going through Parliament. As we've said you know Labour's had a couple of hiccups on the way with a little bit of a reason to hold it off while they're doing other things in the drug enforcement area or un-enforcement—Barbara Kuriger: It wasn't enforcement; it was un-enforcement.Hon DAVID BENNETT: —yeah the un-enforcement area. But essentially this is a bill that all parties should support. Maybe the Greens will abstain like they did on taxation—no real point being in Parliament if you're going to abstain on a tax bill.But the reality is that this is a part of the evolution of road enforcement and alcohol testing has been there for many years. Drug testing is much more recent with technology being a bit more difficult because some drugs stay in the system longer than the actual impact they will have on the driving ability. Also you have difficulty in actually testing regimes; without basically doing a blood test it's very difficult to show at an early stage.So all those things complicate it but this technology has got to the stage where the New Zealand Parliament can do it. All parties I would imagine will be supporting it. It needs to happen. It's in the best interests of New Zealand road users so we support the bill to the House.
SpeechTERISA NGOBI (Labour—Ōtaki) (remote): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity as the member of the Ōtaki electorate to take a call today in the House albeit virtually in this hybrid Parliament of which this is my first time doing this. I was able to be on precinct last week so this is the first time I'm doing a virtual call so please bear with me colleagues and Madam Speaker.I am also privileged to be part of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee of which we heard submissions on this the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill. I think we can safely say that the majority of those submitters all agreed that the safety of people on our New Zealand roads is critical. Also I think we can all agree that the majority of the submitters all agreed that driving impaired under the influence of drugs is not what we want on our roads.This bill gives our police our awesome and hard-working police officers access to a tool the oral fluid testing tool which means that that will quite quickly identify anyone who is impaired or under the influence of drugs while driving. With this tool that means that our police officers are able to quickly administrate the test when they suspect someone may be impaired or under the influence and quite quickly get the result back of what that looks like. Now if that driver is negative then quite quickly that driver also provided that everything else is fine can go on about their day quite quickly. It gets through the screening and the testing process really really quickly for our police officers who we all know have got many many important works to do including this in making sure our roads are safe. However if that driver is under the influence then the police can continue to process that driver accordingly.But ultimately this new tool for our police officers makes sure that the police's time is used efficiently and also it makes sure that we are quite quickly taking anyone who is impaired and under the influence of drugs off our roads and making sure that we keep our roads as safe as we can. This oral test also picks up like my colleague Arena Williams said around six actually of the prevalent drugs here in Aotearoa and so that in itself is a good thing. We don't want again people who are impaired driving on our roads under those impairing drugs.Again as Arena also mentioned this bill is a piece of the wider mahi that this Government is doing around the Road to Zero. Again I think everyone even those across the House regardless of when you think we should have done this bill in comparison to the nine long years that the Opposition had to do this bill—I think we can all agree that at least something is happening now. This Government is making sure that they're putting the safety of all New Zealanders and actually everyone who travels on our roads first. This Government is making sure that they're giving our public servants the police the tools to properly do their job. This Government is making sure that they are protecting our people as we said we would and for that I commend this bill to the House.
Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) (remote): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to speak on this bill briefly. I thank the previous member Barbara Kuriger for her support for this bill but wish to make the quick point that the National Party had nine years to introduce legislation which dealt with drug-driving offence.But I am glad that in this House it is a Labour Government that has brought this legislation because the National Party would have had the priorities all wrong. The National Party's member's bill on this dealt with only three drugs and those were MDMA THC and meth and that is the wrong approach to an otherwise—what is under a Labour Government—evidence-based approach to the harm minimisation of drugs on our roads. This bill does take that harm minimisation approach which is in line with the police approach to roadside testing of alcohol already. Alcohol is what is doing the damage on our roads. Predominantly our roadside testing of alcohol reflects that and this is an extension of that harm minimisation approach. This bill unlike National's proposal doesn't simply list drugs that people think do harm; it takes into account the Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving's recommendations and lists a number of substances with a specific high risk blood concentration level. Things like lorazepam which is a benzodiazepine that treats anxiety; things like tramadol codeine and morphine which are commonly used pain medications which do have a known effect on drivers' ability to respond to threats; and zopiclone which treats difficulty in sleeping. These are all commonly used drugs. They do have an effect on drivers and this approach in this bill shows that we are taking a harm minimisation approach to all drugs which doesn't just single out those drugs that people think do harm; it really takes into account the drugs that are doing harm on our roads.This also shows that the Labour Government is committed to road safety with the recent launch of our approach to the Road to Zero campaign which sees billions of dollars invested in road safety around the country and the majority of that's been spent on the police's approach to be able to enforce these rules. I have complete faith that this Government is the one to be addressing not only roadside testing of drugs but all road safety measures that we need to get right this term. Thank you.
SpeechANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) (remote): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'm beaming into the House today on International Women's Day from Hastings in our sunny region of Hawke's Bay where we've been experiencing a new housing building boom right across the region which includes seeing new homes for the private residential rental market. As a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee speaking in favour of the Government's Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22 GST and Remedial Matters) Bill the new legislation sends a very strong message: if you are planning to invest in housing for the rental market build new. Build new and contribute to the housing supply because the more we build the more affordable housing becomes for more people. Even if you are a mum or dad investor who has a rental property that you've been renting out and may well have had it for well over a decade here is a real opportunity to take advantage of interest deductibility and only a five-year brightline test by building new and investing in new housing. Be part of fixing the housing crisis by selling your existing rental and having a new modern investment by investing in a new build for the rental market.Now we know that large investors can generally outbid first-home buyers. So in this legislation we want to make sure that residential properties are less attractive for investors whilst stimulating investment in new housing by removing the interest deductions as a business expense for residential investment property but allowing deductions for property developers or people purchasing a newly built residential investment property. By allowing interest deductibility for property developers and purchasers of new builds but removing it for other investors we will continue to encourage supply. And this should help boost our housing stock by channelling investment towards expanding new builds and away from the rent competition with first-home buyers and owner-occupiers for existing housing stock.Now as well as this we've said that new builds would be subject to a five-year brightline test rather than a 10-year test. So this legislation is already working. And I can give local examples that show that the work we're doing in select committee in signalling this legislation and hearing submissions is working. I've spoken to a small investor who is using the equity in her existing properties to look at building two new warm affordable rental properties and once they're built she's going to sell up her existing rental stock. She's excited about the opportunity of adding houses and supporting the rental property market. At Camberley I recently visited a new property development of 10 three-bedroom warm dry rentals—all interest as a deductible for this investment. Now as well as this the houses can be sold after five years and will not be subject to a capital gain brightline test because they're built new.Affordable rentals are very important to helping deal with the housing crisis. This Government recognises that new rentals play an important part so that families wishing to rent can. These are positive things that are happening and the message I have is: build new—build new.
Bishop ChrisBUSINESS OF THE HOUSECHRIS BISHOP (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. I seek leave for—Hon Chris Hipkins: There is objection!SPEAKER: Well I think we'd—CHRIS BISHOP: We haven't even heard it!SPEAKER: Order! Given the history of the day the member might understand why the member is saying that but I think to be reasonable rather than have a general objection to anything the Opposition seeks leave for it might be appropriate even if slightly unpleasant for the member to refer to the number of the notice of motion to which he may be referring.CHRIS BISHOP: I could have been moving something the Government wanted to support. You never know! I'm not. I seek leave for members' notice of motion No. 1 to be debated and voted on forthwith.Hon Chris Hipkins: There is objection.SPEAKER: There is objection.
Willis NicolaQuestion No. 7 to MinisterNICOLA WILLIS (National): Point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave to table a document. It is an email from a general manager at Kāinga Ora to a senior staff member including the quote I don't like the conclusion"—SPEAKER: Order! The member doesn't need to quote it. The member needs to give the source of it. Is it an Official Information Act (OIA)—NICOLA WILLIS: I obtained this document under the Official Information Act.SPEAKER: So it's been previously made public?NICOLA WILLIS: It's not publicly available. I've obtained it under the Official Information Act.SPEAKER: Normally when these things are made available under the Official Information Act these days they are actually made generally available. If the member assures me that is hasn't I will put that to the House.NICOLA WILLIS: I'm certainly not aware it's been made publicly available.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to it being tabled? There appears to be none.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.NICOLA WILLIS: Can I seek leave to table another document?SPEAKER: Yes of course the member can.NICOLA WILLIS: It's a very big OIA and these emails—SPEAKER: Order! The member has had her chance.NICOLA WILLIS: Point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave to table a document.SPEAKER: The member has just acted in a disorderly manner. She will apologise to the House.NICOLA WILLIS: I apologise Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: A point of order—Nicola Willis.NICOLA WILLIS: I seek your guidance Mr Speaker. I have two—SPEAKER: I'm giving you a chance to seek leave without giving a running commentary.NICOLA WILLIS: OK. I seek leave to table a document. The document is an email from the chief executive of Kāinga Ora to senior staff at Kāinga Ora and includes a quotation in which he says "The judgment call you made was fine."SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that document being tabled. There appears to be none.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.NICOLA WILLIS: Point of order Mr Speaker. One more document.SPEAKER: A further point of order—I will give the member advice now. She could very easily have asked for leave to table the three documents the quotations of which she referred to earlier. That would have been the orderly way of doing it. The member doesn't need to quote from it—just the date and from whom to whom.NICOLA WILLIS: The final document is an email from the chief executive of Kāinga Ora to senior staff relating to his conversation with the Minister of Housing.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that being tabled? There appears to be none.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House."
SpeechPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: A petition has been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Zorawar Mann requesting that the House urge the Government to give lifetime visas to parents over 60 of all immigrant citizens providing them with medical benefits but not living costs.SPEAKER: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee.I present the annual report of the Parliamentary Service commission for the year ended 30 June 2021. That paper is published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Report of the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee on the Retail Payment System Billreport of the Governance and Administration Committee on the Paige Harris Birth Registration Billreport of the Māori Affairs Committee on the Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Billreport of the Regulations Review Committee on the examination of COVID-19 orders presented between 30 November and 3 December 2021.SPEAKER: The bills are set down for second reading; the COVID-19 orders are set down for consideration. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of a bill.CLERK: COVID-19 Response (Courts Safety) Legislation Bill introduction.SPEAKER: That bill is set down for first reading.
SpeechTUESDAY 8 MARCH 2022The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSHon JACQUI DEAN (Assistant Speaker) (remote): Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom justice mercy and humility for the welfare and peace of New Zealand. Amen.
Thursday 3 March 2022 - Volume 757
Motions — New Zealand Parliament—Occupation of Grounds
SpeechRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave of the House to amend the motion to include our Māori wardens who as the last speaker rightly pointed out were on the front line yesterday also.
SpeechPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No bills have been introduced. Petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Mawera Karetai requesting that the House change the process and criteria used by the Social Worker Registration Board to register experience-pathway social workers petition of Maarten Wagenaar requesting that the House pass a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister and her Government petition of Pandora Black requesting that the House pass legislation to repeal section 19 of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 petition of Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers requesting that the House urge the Government to increase funding for the Social Workers Registration Board petition of Kiri Goodspeed requesting that the House urge Waka Kotahi to rescind its decision to permanently lower the speed limit on State Highway 5 between Rangitaiki and Esk Valley.SPEAKER: Those petitions stand referred to the Petitions Committee. I present the report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment entitled: Knowing what's out there: Regulating the environmental fate of chemicals. That paper is published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Reports of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the:Budget Policy Statement 2021Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22 GST and Remedial Matters) BillHalf Year Economic and Fiscal Update December 2021report of the Health Committee on the petition of Rebecca Toms.SPEAKER: The bill is set down for second reading.
Hipkins ChrisBUSINESS STATEMENTHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Thank you Mr Speaker. Following the unanimous agreement of the House last night today the House will consider a motion on the action that took place out the front of Parliament yesterday. Following that the House will adjourn for the rest of the week. When the House returns on Tuesday the Government will progress business currently on the Order Paper and I'll circulate a list of the priorities for next week to the parties. On Wednesday a two-hour debate on the Budget Policy Statement will replace the general debate.
Rurawhe AdrianTHURSDAY 3 MARCH 2022The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSADRIAN RURAWHE (Deputy Speaker) (remote): E te Atua kaha rawa ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga kia mōhio ai kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei mō te oranga te maungārongo me te aroha o Aotearoa. Āmene.[Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility for the welfare peace and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]
Tuesday 1 March 2022 - Volume 757
Maritime Powers Bill — Second Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Maritime Powers Bill be now read a second time.Ayes 110New Zealand Labour 65; New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 10Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Noes 45New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That this House approve the following orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020: COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Required Testing and Vaccinations) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine and Other Matters) Amendment Order 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Amendment Order 2022 and COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Noes 45New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.Orders approved.
4. Question No. 4—Energy and ResourcesRACHEL BROOKING (Labour) (remote) to the Minister of Energy and ResourcesQuestion No. 4—Energy and Resources4. RACHEL BROOKING (Labour) (remote) to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What action is the Government taking to decarbonise New Zealand's transport sector?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources) (remote): The Prime Minister and I recently announced the successful projects that the Government is co-funding through the first two rounds of the Low Emissions Transport Fund. The fund is about demonstrating and adopting high potential low emission transport technologies innovation and infrastructure to help accelerate and maximise the decarbonisation of how we power our transport sector. The $6.45 million of Government funding is being matched by more than $9 million of private sector co-funding.Rachel Brooking: What notable projects have been funded in the first Low Emissions Transport Fund round?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Just three examples of projects being funded are: Firth Industries who will deploy New Zealand's first electric battery-swap concrete mixer truck; we're working with Fonterra to enable New Zealand's first electric milk tanker—the tanker will operate with battery-swap technology at the Waitoa Depot near Tauranga; and Bayes Coachlines will provide a passenger bus with solar panels providing 5 to 10 percent of its own power. These projects are helping demonstrate what is technically and commercially viable enabling businesses to invest in their own decarbonisation with greater confidence.Rachel Brooking: What investments have been made in charging infrastructure through the Low Emissions Transport Fund rounds?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Government continues to invest to build network coverage and accelerate the roll-out of the nationwide electric vehicle charging network. The funding has enabled a faster roll-out of a further 25 chargers distributed around the country including in Te Tai Tokerau Napier New Plymouth Masterton Christchurch and Rākaia. The latest investment increases the number of chargers the Government has supported since 2017 to 1313. Further investment will be focused on filling gaps in New Zealand's charging network. We are now seeing real progress in the roll-out with more people able to access charging infrastructure where and when they need it.Simeon Brown: Has the Minister seen the Waikato Chamber of Commerce report which states the Te Huia train service emits 11 kilograms more carbon dioxide per passenger than people using their own cars between Hamilton and Auckland and if so will she be advising the Minister of Transport to cancel this service to help reduce New Zealand's carbon footprint?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes I have seen that report and so has my colleague the Minister of Housing who I have discussed it with. Funding this service and ensuring that we are planning for the future is critical not only for looking how it is we are going to provide housing in the future but the way that we do that in a decarbonised and low emissions way. So no I will not be recommending cutting such an important service.
2. Question No. 2—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 2—Finance2. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Mr Speaker—[Interruption]SPEAKER: I've never regarded the Minister for COVID as a wet but—the Hon Grant Robertson.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The international credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's reaffirmed New Zealand's local currency credit rating to triple A and the foreign currency rating to AA+ both with a stable outlook. The agency once again praised the Government saying New Zealand had weathered the pandemic better than most countries in terms of health fiscal and economic outcomes. Hon Simon Bridges: How's business confidence?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Mr Bridges I prefer the international ratings agency than your reckons on this matter. Mr Speaker Standard & Poor's report is recognition that the Government's continued health-led response to the ongoing pandemic strategy has been the right one for the economy.Dr Duncan Webb: What else did the report say about New Zealand's financial position?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Standard & Poor's noted that New Zealand's relatively better management of the pandemic meant the country's credit position can withstand the potential damage of the shock to the economy. The agency is forecasting New Zealand's fiscal deficits to narrow materially from the June 2023 fiscal year towards a surplus in 2025. This is expected to ease pressure on the Government's debt levels. Standard & Poor's said that while debt is much higher than in the past due to responding to the pandemic it remains below most of New Zealand's peers. It noted that if Budget deficits in the future were less than 1 percent of GDP the foreign currency credit rating could be upgraded to triple A in line with the country's triple A local currency credit rating.Dr Duncan Webb: Why are credit ratings important?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well otherwise we'd be left with the reckons of the Opposition finance spokesperson! But in this case the ratings are important for ensuring that the cost of our borrowing remains low. Our triple A and AA+ plus ratings give people more confidence that New Zealand is a good place to invest. It also helps ensure our debt-servicing costs are kept as low as possible. Overall the upgrade is a sign of confidence in the economy and that the hard work of New Zealanders and Government decisions have put us in a strong position to recover from the ongoing pandemic and that no one is listening to the Opposition finance spokesperson run down New Zealanders and run down their hard work in growing the economy.
SpeechPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Tēnā koe te Māngai o te Whare Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to be speaking on this third reading of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill. I happened to be with the member for Ōhāriu Greg O'Connor and talking to the good men and women of the New Zealand Police service outside and there was some discussion about reallocation of police resourcing. I wasn't sure but a quick Google between Greg O'Connor the chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and myself did find that actually when the other side were in they had to look at shifting 111 road policing staff positions to other tasks. So they are concerned about this we're concerned on this side and it makes me wonder—Hon Member: Fake news Paul fake news.PAUL EAGLE: —whether sometimes you hear—it's fake news! Well well well. Look let's focus on this bill because we're about saving lives and that's what we're doing in terms of improving road safety outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Look this is as has been said long overdue. Let's get on with it. What we have seen—and I know in my electorate there certainly are concerns about what's being done in this area and I was looking back at the road toll 2019: 110 persons killed where the driver was found to have drugs in their system; 2020: 101. This is going to bring in a new oral fluid testing regime—we've talked about the setting of criminal limits and the fact that the Minister said this is a road safety tool only and explained that eloquently. I'm not going to talk too much more I commend this bill to the House.
Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading
Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading
Prime Willow-JeanWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Assistant Whip—Labour) (remote): [Audio issue]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): Willow-Jean can you please start again? We can't hear you.WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: [Audio issue]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): We still can't hear.WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: I move That the question be now put.
Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise in hearty support of this glorious motion to appoint Ian McKelvie perhaps temporarily to the Speaker's Chair. I think it would be fair to say that Ian McKelvie is a man of maturity quite considerable maturity and he'll use that very well—Hon Gerry Brownlee: What other qualities?DAVID SEYMOUR: —in the Speaker's Chair. Gerry Brownlee asked What other qualities?" Well Ian McKelvie's someone I've got to know and like over the years that we've both been here in the House and he's somebody who has great humility. He has great magnanimity he has great judgment and I think that those are wonderful qualities to have in a Speaker. The only thing I can say is that it might be bit of a shock for some members to get used to seeing those qualities return to the Chair but I think we can welcome them. Thank you Mr Speaker.Motion agreed to."
Bishop ChrisCHRIS BISHOP (National): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. It gives me great pride and pleasure to stand and support the motion moved by the Leader of the House nominating Ian McKelvie to serve as a temporary Assistant Speaker and I want to echo the remarks of the Leader of the House in complimenting Mr McKelvie on his good humour and his good cheer and his experience. Hon Simon Bridges: Does he get a pay rise? CHRIS BISHOP: He does get a pay rise Mr Bridges I think I'm right in saying. I don't want to mislead the House. Mr McKelvie has—Hon Gerry Brownlee: No he doesn't. Hon Simon Bridges: He's doing it for free? CHRIS BISHOP: Mr McKelvie has served as an MP—SPEAKER: It's the same rate as a chair of a select committee. CHRIS BISHOP: Oh well there you go.Mr McKelvie has served as an MP since the 2011 election as the MP for Rangitīkei in addition to being the current chair of the Governance and Administration Committee which is a reasonably bipartisan committee—it is a small committee and reasonably bipartisan in nature; just with National and Labour members on it—and he does a good job of keeping good order in that committee. He has also previously served on the Finance and Expenditure Committee and is a former chair of the Primary Production Committee. I don't think any member of the House would disagree with me in saying that he commands respect across the House for his wise contributions on a range of legislation some of which is non-controversial and some of which is controversial but he's someone who I think everyone in the Parliament always listens to. Because of that there can be no better criteria to bear in mind when you're considering a presiding officer because ultimately it is the respect of the House that is the most important in that role and Ian will certainly command the respect of the House. So I've no hesitation in commending this motion to the House. Thank you.