edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Bishop Chris; Tisch LindsayCHRIS BISHOP (National): Last week—or was it the week before; I think it was the week before—I was in Australia with my colleagues on the Justice and Electoral Committee ably chaired by Sarah Dowie and Louisa Wall.Peeni Henare: Sounds like a junket.CHRIS BISHOP: Well Peeni Henare says it sounds like a junket. We actually ran into him in the Australian Parliament and I can say for sure that while we were doing work he most definitely was on a junket. So one needs to be a bit careful when interjecting Mr Henare. We were not on a junket; we were meeting with officials from the Office for Women in Canberra and the Attorney-General's department—the federal Attorney-General's department. We met with the ACT Legislative Assembly—various members from one of their standing committees dealing with family violence—and we had very productive discussions. Louisa Wall I see is nodding away.It is interesting to see some of the challenges actually that Australia is grappling with and the federal nature of Australia makes that quite tricky. We had quite extensive discussions around the difficulty of enforcing protection orders between states in Australia. Actually that applies to New Zealand as well. One of the issues we canvassed with some of our colleagues over in Australia was trying to develop a better mechanism for the enforceability of protection orders issued in New Zealand against people in Australia and maybe that is one of the issues that the committee will be looking at.As we were over in Australia it was very clear that this is not a party political issue I do not think. Obviously it is an issue being considered by the Parliament and we are made up of political parties but actually this bill is going to go to the select committee unanimously I believe. I think it is going to be a good thing that we look at it on the Justice and Electoral Committee in a fairly non-partisan way. That tends to be how that committee works actually. It certainly has been in the time that I have been a member of the committee.Various speakers before me have canvassed all the issues. This bill is a start and I echo what Tracey Martin says. I am looking forward to examining it on the Justice and Electoral Committee. Kia ora.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): The next call is a split call. Mojo Mathers—5 minutes.
Naylor JonoJONO NAYLOR (National): While we are currently experiencing in New Zealand an all-time low in a long time in terms of our crime rates the big blot on that is the increasing amount of family violence. I think we would all agree right across this House and right across New Zealand that that is absolutely unacceptable. It is something that we do need to take a system-wide look at. Over the last little while Minister Amy Adams has taken the lead on that and I think it has been great to see what has come out so far.What we have today though in this Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill is an omnibus bill that actually says we are not going to just tweak around little bits of the edges. Today as we start this bill on its journey through the House we are going to see six different Acts amended and that will change over 30 pieces of law. I think that is really critical at this point in terms of us actually putting another stake in the ground to say that we are not going to tolerate this any further.Amongst those 30 changes to the law there are a number of things and I will look forward to debating them all particularly as we go through the select committee process and through the other stages in the House. But today I just want to focus a little bit on the fact that while it is absolutely appropriate that up to now we have been focusing on victims there is actually something within this legislation that says we are going to look to have earlier and more effective interventions with perpetrators. That is not to excuse their behaviour. It is not to make allowances for them. But if we are actually serious about stopping this we need to get in earlier with people to look at what is causing them to perpetrate and we need to get that intervention in place so that we can actually either prevent victims from being revictimised or have people be able to detect early the signs that they might go down this path so that they may be able to seek help.So right across the board I agree with this bill. I am looking forward to it coming to the Justice and Electoral Committee and I am sure that we will have a really interesting time looking at the various issues. I look forward to seeing it come through.
Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): I rise in support of the Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill. I rise in support of its principles and the movement to get on top of this insidious issue that is rife within New Zealand. I rise in support of the Hon Amy Adams who with a group of other Ministers in this Government has spearheaded this cause. She has spearheaded extensive consultation with NGOs and people in the sector. I myself ran a family violence legislation review workshop in Invercargill and I thank the participants for showing up to that workshop and participating and putting submissions into this process to help bring about this reform.This is a reform that is long overdue in respect of our 20-year-old domestic violence laws. As the Hon Amy Adams says it is legislation. It is the platform for us to springboard to hold perpetrators to account to put victims and survivors of domestic violence at the heart of bail conditions and the heart of this issue and to wrap around services so that perpetrators get the help that they need to form appropriate behaviours moving forward. But it is also to support the victims and the survivors and their children to empower them to make the right decisions and to put in place measures to support them to move forward and live happy and free lives so that they too can reach their potential.As we have heard from the Minister domestic violence is absolutely rife in New Zealand. There were 110000 call outs in 2015. Of that number 76 percent of intimate partner violence-related deaths were perpetrated by men. This piece of legislation creates a platform as I have said to hold perpetrators to account and in doing so creates a new offence of strangulation. There is also a new offence of coercion to marry and of course assault on a family member which goes right to the heart of this issue—that any type of violence towards a family member is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.We are making it easier to apply for protection orders and again we want to make sure that the appropriate NGOs and wraparound services are provided to victims and survivors of this intergenerational crime that must be got on top of here in New Zealand.With that I look forward to the select committee process. I know that the Justice and Electoral Committee is quite united on this issue of making change for the better for New Zealand citizens. I commend this bill to the House.
Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): I support the comments made by members on this side of the House I support the principles of this bill and I therefore commend the Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill to the House.Bill read a third time.
Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — Third Reading
Macindoe TimTIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): It is very encouraging to hear the intelligent and constructive comments that have come from members across the House. Clearly the Commerce Committee has done a very good job and I too support this bill.
O'Connor SimonSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki): I will take a short call on this Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill for no other reason really than that there is quite a lot of concord in the House and support around this bill today. As other members have noted the Commerce Committee worked quite hard and collegially on this. There were a number of issues that did strike us. One of them was around the whole balance between of course private property rights—particularly important to this side of the House—but also an acceptance that if one person on a shared driveway or within a body corporate setup for example wants access they should be able to have the right to do that. This bill rebalances things in many ways with a presumption that the fibre should come to the home.Importantly we did understand as a select committee that there could be some tensions around that and we do not want to completely ride roughshod over that so the bill has provisions for effectively appeals or the chance to actually go to a dispute dynamic. That is quite important.Look a lot of the other elements have been well surveyed already by other members of the House. As I said in my first speech many months ago as we introduced this there is the difference between the old dial-up speed which is like a 10-minute speech and an ultra-fast broadband speech which is over in just less than 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Genter Julie AnneJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): I rise to speak on the third reading of the Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. The Green Party supports this bill. Of course the Green Party has been very supportive of investment in infrastructure that can benefit all New Zealanders and help us transition to a lower-carbon economy. Ultra-fast broadband is one of those investments and although we probably have had concerns about the particular approach the Government took to ultra-fast broadband investment—it seemed to favour some providers more than others and we have questions about that—the reality is that it is an example of investment in something that is in the public interest. There are many areas like that particularly as we are looking to reduce our carbon emissions looking to reduce inequality and looking to get an economy that is working for New Zealanders—a fairer greener economy. It will require more leadership from Government not less—more leadership on those investments that have wide public benefits like ultra-fast broadband.The other really phenomenal thing about this bill which is dealing with very particular problems that came up in the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband around initially dwellings that included multiple owners—we had to find a solution to that. What was interesting about this process—I did not sit on the Commerce Committee which went through this but my colleague Gareth Hughes did and my understanding is that because the numbers on this particular select committee are perfectly balanced there was a need to find consensus and work together which we do not often see here in this House. I think there is a really great lesson that comes out of that which is that we are better when we work together. We are better when we hear from all of the different people who are affected and we find better solutions when everyone with their different perspectives is able to bring something to the table and we can work through it on a consensus basis. That does not usually happen in this Parliament because the reality is the Government has the numbers on most things right now. It has one vote thanks to the support of two very small parties that have only one member each and so it does not have to find consensus. But I think the story of this bill is that when you do have to find consensus and work together we can produce legislation that is going to come up with better solutions for all New Zealanders. I think that the people of New Zealand would like to see more of this type of collaboration from their politicians. I think there is a real hunger out there as we face the different challenges we are facing particularly our long-term challenges around climate change and inequality and we do need a more democratic approach and a more collaborative approach. So the Green Party is very happy to support this bill. We were very happy to participate in the process of making the bill better with other parties from across the House and we would like to see a New Zealand where we have more of that collaborative approach more often because we know that that is going to help more people. Kia ora.
Hudson BrettBRETT HUDSON (National): It is a pleasure to rise in support of this Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. There are just two parts I want to briefly canvass on the first of course being what has taken some time to achieve: balancing property rights with both the desire of the recipient to receive fibre in their home across shared infrastructure and of course also the Government's desire to expand our broadband capability across greater parts of New Zealand into more of the population.It is important to know that we are not actually suspending property rights. We are not really constraining them or removing them. All we are doing is limiting under very specific circumstances rights of objection. It is notable that it is where the works are going to be temporary both in their nature and in terms of their impact in the sense that there is no great lasting impact. I think it is a very pragmatic way of getting past areas where people have been able to object and forestall the installation and receipt of broadband of some of their neighbours simply for their own reasons of not particularly perhaps liking a bit of digging works outside their house along the driveway. I think it is a very pragmatic approach.The main part I will just finish with is this idea of extending fibre access across rural properties one where the Commerce Committee worked very solidly together to protect private property rights particularly of our rural landholders while also seeking to extend the Government's objective of extending not only high-speed broadband but fibre access across more of our rural communities. It is a fantastic example of members of Parliament working across the House for a common objective. It was an absolute pleasure to sit on the committee as we worked through that and I think we have returned a very very solid bill one that I commend to the House.
Lee MelissaMELISSA LEE (National): Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to take a brief call on the Telecommunications (Property Access and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Commerce Committee as the honourable member across the House has actually done as well. I would especially like to thank my deputy Mr Brett Hudson whose knowledge has actually been tremendously helpful and also the secretariat and officials for their due diligence in assisting us with our work. The bill creates a new consenting process that telecommunications companies must follow when installing modern telecommunications networks such as the ongoing ultra-fast broadband network roll-out around New Zealand. These changes will help New Zealanders get faster and more effective access to top-level internet speeds in their communities cut through the red-tape and bureaucracy that comes in multi-owner dwellings and overall assist with the best possible development of our online needs around the country. As the member opposite has actually said the speeds at which we want our internet to be and our taste and our desire have actually grown as the technology has progressed.The Commerce Committee made a number of recommendations on the telecommunications amendment bill. One of the biggest issues discussed at the committee was the deployment of fibre on electricity lines which was traversed extensively during the Committee stage of this bill and also by Ms Curran earlier.Another key recommendation was about the narrow definition of property in regards to shared property where at least one party with an interest in the property has requested fibre to the premises' service. The recommendations also allow for more effective roll-out where installation methods with the lowest impact will no longer need consent from other parties and will overall ensure that installation with local impacts on other property or property rights holders will no longer need consent from all parties speeding up installation rates and supporting the interest of the community.Many communities have been waiting for a long time for this bill to happen and I am not going to delay the process by talking about who was right and who was wrong. The Commerce Committee is a split committee where members opposite and the Government have equal members. Without cooperation at the committee we would not be bringing this bill back to the House. I appreciate the support of the Opposition as well as the Government members who work very cooperatively. As Miss Curran has actually said in terms of the conversation of fibre on electricity power lines it came as a result of the recommendation by one of the submitters and we in fact extended the time at the committee seeking extensions to discuss this further and to traverse the conversation with a wider audience. We wanted to get it correct and get it right and I think the Commerce Committee has actually delivered. It is a good bill and I commend the work that the committee has actually done and I commend the bill to the House.
Amended Answers to Oral Questions — Question No. 7 to Minister 5 April
Carter DavidTELECOMMUNICATIONS (PROPERTY ACCESS AND OTHER MATTERS) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingMr SPEAKER: I call the Hon Gerry Brownlee—please mind your crystals.
English BillTUESDAY 11 APRIL 2017Mr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.Prayers.AMENDED ANSWERS TO ORAL QUESTIONSQuestion No. 7 to Minister 5 AprilRt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Prime Minister): I seek leave to make a personal explanation to correct an answer I gave to a supplementary question question No. 7 on 5 April 2017.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is none.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: In response to the supplementary question I stated that the police receive 4600 111 calls every day. I should clarify that the police receive on average 2400 111 calls a day. The total of 4600 calls includes ٭555 calls non-emergency calls and crime reporting line calls received by the Police Communications Centres Service Centre.
Thursday 17 August 2017 - Volume 724
11. Waste Management—Microbead Ban and Plastics RecyclingMAUREEN PUGH (National) to the Associate Minister for the EnvironmentWaste Management—Microbead Ban and Plastics Recycling11. MAUREEN PUGH (National) to the Associate Minister for the Environment: What recent announcements has he made to better protect New Zealand's natural environment?Hon SCOTT SIMPSON (Associate Minister for the Environment): Microbeads are nasty little plastic beads that get washed down drains and sinks and find their way into our marine environment. That is of course a bad thing. We called for public submissions back in January on the banning of microbeads and a staggering 16000 submissions were received every single one of them in favour of a ban. So today I announced that microbeads will be banned in May of next year and that is earlier than previously signalled. Further we have also widened the scope of the ban to include all wash-off products.Maureen Pugh: How is the Government's Waste Minimisation Fund supporting plastic recycling?Hon SCOTT SIMPSON: A $4 million grant means that more than 200 million plastic bottles can be recycled into high-grade food-safe packaging each year. Over a thousand tonnes of bulk fertiliser bags will be recycled into new products such as irrigation tubing and rope thanks to a $1.25 million grant from the fund and the Plasback scheme has recycled more than 6500 tonnes of plastic from farms. We are also supporting the recycling of soft plastics across New Zealand.
9. Small Businesses—Online ResourcesPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National) to the Minister for Small BusinessSmall Businesses—Online Resources9. PAUL FOSTER-BELL (National) to the Minister for Small Business: What recent reports has she received showing Government support for small business?Hon JACQUI DEAN (Minister for Small Business): I have received a report that shows that there were 190000 visits to Business.govt.nz in July 2017. This is an 8 percent increase from July 2016 and continues the strong growth and use of the online portal. Business.govt.nz is small businesses' first stop for new and small businesses wanting to find Government information and support.Paul Foster-Bell: What is the trend of small businesses exporting and how does the Government support small businesses to export?Hon JACQUI DEAN: In 2010 12 percent of small businesses were exporters. In 2016 this number had risen to 23 percent. However we cannot get rich selling to ourselves which is why the Government offers a range of support and advice through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and business.govt.nz to help small businesses navigate the world of exporting. Examples of support include workshops mentoring and advice and in some cases funding to help businesses internationalise their ideas and their products.Paul Foster-Bell: How is the Government supporting small businesses to be innovators?Hon JACQUI DEAN: Such an excellent question from an excellent member who will be missed. Business.govt.nz has a new How to grow" section which is of interest to the Government if not the Opposition. It supports businesses to navigate the help and funding out there for businesses wanting to commercialise their good ideas and innovations. Through programmes such as Callaghan Innovation vouchers and regional business partners we are teaming with small businesses that want to invest in innovation with the skills knowledge and potential funding to help them."
5. Flooding Bay of Plenty—Government SupportTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister for Social DevelopmentFlooding Bay of Plenty—Government Support5. TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister for Social Development: What update can she provide on the Government's support for those affected by the flooding in Edgecumbe and the Bay of Plenty?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): After the cyclones and flooding in Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty the Government classified a medium-scale adverse event and we have been working with councils businesses NGOs and iwi to restore and enhance the affected communities. Together central government and local government have invested nearly $15 million to support the recovery effort including $1 million for enhanced Taskforce Green teams to clear debris from properties parks and reserves in Edgecumbe Whakatāne Tāneatua Ruātoki and other affected areas. The Ministry of Social Development has made around 3000 civil defence payments totalling over $850000 to help people with food clothing and bedding. We are committed to making sure that the Bay of Plenty - Whakatane district and Edgecumbe community have the support they need to recover. Todd Muller: What other support is the Government offering to the people of Edgecumbe who have been displaced as a result of the flooding? Hon ANNE TOLLEY: We are offering psychological support to people affected by the flood and wraparound services to help them cope with the challenges they face. Along with the Minister for Building and Construction Dr Nick Smith I announced that the Government was activating a temporary accommodation service to assist Edgecumbe residents. The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is managing requests for temporary accommodation and is providing porta-cabins and temporary homes and Te Puni Kōkiri and MBIE are working with iwi on a new Māori housing development that will provide five two-bedroom houses and infrastructure for 41 housing sites at Kokohinau Marae. Todd Muller: Has the Government announced any other relief measures for the people and businesses affected?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Along with the revenue Minister Judith Collins the decision was made that Inland Revenue will waive late payment fees and penalties when the flooding has prevented people from paying on time. We have contributed close to $1.2 million in support for farmers growers and businesses affected by the flooding through funds such as the rural assistance payment the rural support trust and a disaster relief fund. Earlier this month Minister Guy and I announced a further $100000 for the primary industries flood recovery fund for farmers to help with clean-up and recovery. This is a Government that is there to help farmers not hurt them and recognises their valuable contribution to the New Zealand economy.
Adjournment
Carter DavidMr SPEAKER: Honourable members the 51st Parliament has certainly been a busy one. It has sat for a total of 257 calendar days—so more than the statistics suggested by the Leader of the House earlier and certainly more than the 50th Parliament when we sat for only 238 calendar days. We have sat for a total of 1544 hours as opposed to 1409 hours in the previous Parliament. The Government has passed 272 bills and we have passed three local bills four private bills and six members' bills. I have presided over 2988 questions for oral answer including 60 questions to members and four urgent questions. I do not have a percentage of how many were answered to the satisfaction of the questioner.During the 51st Parliament we have seen a seamless transition to David Wilson as Clerk and I want to take this opportunity of thanking him and his team on behalf of all members of Parliament for the professional and apolitical way that advice is given to us all. My personal thanks to you David for your guidance through some very tricky issues that I have had to contend with and to Andie in the office for settling both of us when our nerves were frayed at times often with a very fattening cupcake.The other organisation I engage with on a daily basis is Parliamentary Service and Parliamentary Service continues to make good progress as it repositions that organisation with a real focus on the needs and the challenges of members of Parliament as they carry out their duties both here in Wellington and in their electorates. So a very special thanks from me to the general manager David Stevenson and Corinne Messenger and to the senior leadership team.To my fellow presiding officers the Hon Chester Borrows Lindsay Tisch and the Hon Trevor Mallard: thank you for sharing our workload and for the support and advice that you have given to me. With the retirement of Chester and particularly with the retirement of Lindsay the next Parliament will start with a huge gap in institutional knowledge of the role of the presiding officer and that will be a challenge for whomever is the next Speaker.To my own office and its tight-knit team Roland Todd Oliver Whitehead and Lisa Kinloch: thanks for the daily support and commitment to me. As mentioned by many of you thanks to all those who make this place work: the Serjeant-at-Arms messengers cleaners caterers Hansard security drivers—to everybody who supports us thank you for what you do for us.Finally to our retiring or retired members of this 51st Parliament: thank you for your contribution to New Zealand's democracy. During this term eight members of Parliament have already retired and 19 MPs have said they are retiring at this election. That is 22 percent of Parliament so regardless of the election result per se there will be a very significant number of fresh faces coming into this Parliament after 23 September.In conclusion honourable members I want to thank you for giving me the privilege of being your Speaker and to those of you embarking on an election campaign I wish you all the success that you deserve. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.Motion agreed to.The House adjourned at 5.36 p.m.
Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. It is my honour to be the last speaker on the Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill in its first reading. Can I just acknowledge that previous speaker Mr Henare because what he did is he articulated exactly why this side of the House has actually put this bill forward. We have heard all of the debate today but the main thing about this bill—and what this Government is about—is that this bill will assist in promoting the safety of our most vulnerable children. That is the real essence of this and this is what this is about.Being the final debate here the other part that is also important is that we have kotahitaka or we actually have cross-party agreement across the House to support this bill right through to the select committee. It is a great thing in the fact that we have finally got that cross-party thing in this final bill that we are debating in the House.I commend this bill to the House but finally Mr Lindsay Tisch Assistant Speaker can I just also acknowledge the incredible input that you have had in this Parliament particularly as the Assistant Speaker. What I can say finally to you is: Ka mihi nunui; haere pai e taku hoa.[A huge acknowledgment; go well my friend.]Go well sir and your whānau as well. Nō reira e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Social Services Committee.
Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill — First Reading
McKelvie IanIAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei): I am somewhat surprised to be taking a call on a bill that is being referred to the Social Services Committee. None the less in 2002 I remember being involved with the social workers in my district in this very discussion which led to the setting up of the 2003 Act. Some of the issues that Louisa Wall has raised were very pertinent at that time and she raised them in what I thought was a very good summary of the challenges that the select committee will face as it implements this bill. It was a contentious issue at the time amongst the social working fraternity. One of the reasons it was a contentious issue was that many of our social workers had little in the way of qualifications but were outstanding performers in the field and they felt intimidated by the need to have a qualification. I think that the point that Louisa made about the cost of getting them qualified is one that is certainly going to be of concern to them. So Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch I will not take any more time other than to congratulate you on your time in Parliament and thank you for the great service you have done in the Chair. I commend the bill to the House.
Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): I too would like to wish the Black Ferns all the best in the Women's Rugby World Cup and I hope they do bring the cup home. Also Mr Deputy Speaker I acknowledge your great contribution and guidance on the select committees I have sat on with you. I have very much enjoyed that. So all the best in the next part of your life and your journey.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you.STUART SMITH: I thought a really good point was made before by Louisa Wall the previous speaker that in the 2013 census of the people who identified themselves as social workers less than a third were actually registered. I think that is a pretty sad statistic in a lot of ways and this bill will actually tidy up all of those things.I think that is fantastic for the profession because these people work in a really difficult field. They make a big difference to people's lives and without their contribution New Zealand would be a much poorer place. And I think to have those people actually have a formal qualification have all of the rules that surround that and undertake professional development through their careers is something that is long overdue. I really commend that.I think it is quite interesting to see the way that this bill has come together—the time that it has taken. I would really like to just take a moment to go back to what Carmel Sepuloni mentioned—the bill of 2008. I would just like to point out to the House that it was actually introduced only a few days before Parliament rose because the Labour Government was obsessed with getting the Electoral Finance Act through because it was quite rightly very concerned about its prospects in the upcoming election. So it is a bit rich to start blaming everybody else for their lack of urgency on such a bill.With that I think enough has been said on this bill and I would like to commend it to the House. Thank you.
Hayes JoJOANNE HAYES (National): Before I start my contribution Mr Deputy Speaker I want to add my farewells and thanks to you as the Deputy Speaker of the House being that this will be the last time that I speak in the 51st Parliament so I do want to say thank you very much for your guidance—to you and to Lindsay Tisch as well.As I say I stand to take a call on the Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill and even though I was not on the select committee at the time that the inquiry was done I come with a background in this area. Many moons ago I did the first year of the social work degree at Massey University. I never continued—I did pass my papers but never continued because I saw that perhaps I would not make a very good social worker with the bluntness that I bring the type of person that I am. But I do applaud those who do the 4-year degree. It does challenge you and it does bring about that professionalism that tertiary qualifications embed into people.My other experience around social workers was as a supervisor. I was a supervisor for a number of social workers who had graduated or were in their second- and third- and fourth-year placements through the Youth One Stop Shop in Palmerston North. Those young people came out—they were very keen and very open and willing to work with whānau who needed help and with young children. I do take my hat off to the hard work that they do.I do support this bill. I think it is about time that social workers became registered. I think that it may have been a long time coming but it is here now. I think that the Social Workers Registration Board will actually put that professionalism back into the role of social worker protecting the actual name of social worker". I also want to add my support to the changes around the criteria for appointment to the board—the Social Workers Registration Board—to include someone who will actually represent employers of social workers as well as social workers themselves. The fact that the board numbers will actually reduce from 10 to seven will make it a very tight very focused registration board.I too add my voice to the Minister's voice about police-vetting of social workers. I think it is very important. Social workers are no different from any other health professional or legal professional—anyone who actually does that term of study does gain that credibility around the professionalism.So without any further ado I agree with the previous speaker Carmel Sepuloni and our Minister in that I do look forward to this bill going to the select committee in the new term. I too hope that I will be back in Parliament and participating in further debates around this bill. So without any further ado I too want to add my voice to recommending and commending the bill to the House. Thank you."
Points of Order — Presentation of Petitions (continued)
Williams Poto; Carter DavidPOTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): I seek leave to table a petition received at Parliament today asking for a royal commission into the New Zealand Family Court system.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought for the presentation of that petition. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be presented.Petition presented.Question time resumed.
Bridges SimonPOINTS OF ORDERPresentation of PetitionsHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the House): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I appreciate that you dealt with Poto Williams' leave to put the petition and also with Chris Hipkins' point of order but I have just been reflecting on it and I want to make clear that this side of the House objected on the basis that we had not understood why it was being done in this way. Now of course we understand it. I just want to make clear that if leave was put for that petition to be tabled outside of the process of the Standing Orders we would have no objection.
Points of Order — Presentation of Petitions
Hipkins Chris; Carter DavidCHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Gidday cobber!CHRIS HIPKINS: Yeah gidday. Today is the last day of the House sitting. Normally a petition like this would be presented to the Clerk and tabled on the next sitting day. Just to be clear the reason that the member is seeking leave to table it is that it is too late to present it to the Clerk to be tabled and I wonder whether you could put that leave again.Mr SPEAKER: No. I have put the leave and it has been denied. That is the end of the matter.
Williams Poto; Carter DavidPOINTS OF ORDERLeave to Table Petition—New Zealand Family Court SystemPOTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave to table a petition received at Parliament today calling for a royal commission into the New Zealand Family Court system.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular petition. Is there any objection? [Interruption] Order! I will put the leave. Is there objection? [Interruption] Is there objection? There is objection.
Bridges Simon; Carter DavidSITTINGS OF THE HOUSEHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the House): This is a genuine point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave for the House to sit past 6 p.m. if necessary in order to conclude the adjournment debate.Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is not.
Points of Order — 51st Parliament—Statistics
Visitors — Republic of Korea—National Assembly Special Committee on Ethics
Bridges Simon; Carter DavidPOINTS OF ORDER51st Parliament—StatisticsHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the House): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Normally at this time of course there is a business statement to the House from the Government but given that Parliament is about to conclude its business for the session I thought it might be useful to give the House—[Interruption]; it is all right—one or two statistics so the House can take stock and congratulate itself on this final day on the hard work that it has done over the past 3 years.This Parliament sat for a total of 251 days seeing a total of 288 bills passed including six members' bills four private bills and three local bills. As a commendation to the Opposition there have been some 42396 questions for written answer produced over the term—Chris Hipkins: Some of them more problematic than others.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: —that is right. Ha! I am glad you admit it—and 2988 questions for oral answer. Both of those figures were more than for the previous term. Those questions were answered extremely well and competently by all Government Ministers to the complete satisfaction of the Opposition on all occasions.Can I say thanks to the Business Committee for the constructive way it has worked to allow extended hours to be used more often. This term has seen the continued reduction of the use of urgency. Over the whole term there have been about 116 hours of urgency in comparison with 127 in the Parliament before and as importantly extended hours have been used 23 times for Treaty legislation and other bills which saw agreement in a large number of cases from most sides of the House. It is been a busy and productive 3 years and I want to thank all members for their contribution to the House.Mr SPEAKER: And that is not strictly a point of order but it did not create too much disorder.
Carter DavidTHURSDAY 17 AUGUST 2017Mr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.Prayers.VISITORSKorea—National Assembly Special Committee on EthicsMr SPEAKER: Honourable members I am sure that members would wish to welcome members of the Special Committee on Ethics from the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea led by Jeon Hye-sook present in the gallery.
Wednesday 9 August 2017 - Volume 724
Thames-Coromandel District Council and Hauraki District Council Mangrove Management Bill — First Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Thames-Coromandel District Council and Hauraki District Council Mangrove Management Bill be now read a first time.Ayes 105New Zealand National 58; New Zealand Labour 31; New Zealand First 12; Māori Party 2; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.Noes 14Green Party 14.Bill read a first time.Bill referred to the Local Government and Environment Committee.
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the amendments recommended by the Māori Affairs Committee by majority be agreed to.Ayes 93New Zealand National 58; New Zealand Labour 31; Māori Party 2; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.Noes 13Green Party 13.Abstentions 12New Zealand First 12.Question agreed to.Bill read a second time.
New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill — Second Reading (continued)
9. Beneficiaries—Reduction in Numbers and ReportsDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister for Social DevelopmentBeneficiaries—Reduction in Numbers and Reports9. Dr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister for Social Development: What recent reports has she received regarding reductions in the number of people receiving a benefit?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): The latest Ministry of Social Development quarterly benefit data shows that there are over 17000 fewer people on a main benefit than 3 years ago. The proportion of the working-age population receiving a benefit is now at the lowest it has been in a June quarter since 1997 which also happened to be under a National Government. This Government's strong and stable economic management has seen unemployment drop to pre - global financial crisis levels of 4.8 percent and 248000 more people have been employed over the last 3 years.Dr Shane Reti: What groups have had particular success moving off benefits and into employment?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The number of people receiving sole parent support continues to reduce at levels above all forecasts and predictions. They are a terrific group of people determined to get ahead. In the last 3 years the number of people on sole parent support has reduced by 18 percent. Even more encouraging amongst 18- to 24-year-olds the reduction is a massive 35.6 percent over the 3 years—a 35.6 percent reduction. Honestly we all know it is tough to be a parent on a benefit but their desire for a better life for their family means we now have over 61000 fewer children growing up in a benefit-dependent home.Dr Shane Reti: What changes have there been in benefit numbers in the Northland region?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: More good news. As seen in the latest household labour force survey released last week the unemployment rate has dropped significantly in Northland by 3.4 percent in the last year. We are also seeing this reflected in the benefit statistics for the region which show a 5.1 percent reduction in the number of job seeker work-ready recipients in the last year in Northland. But we are not resting on these results. We know there is much more to do. That is why last month alongside the Prime Minister and other Ministers we announced a $50 million youth employment pathways programme to support young people who are not in employment education or trainingRt Hon Winston Peters: It shows you what I've done in 2 years flat.Tracey Martin: The Winston Peters effect.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Listen you might learn something for your people. This follows on from the success of grow KAIKOHE and now the Taitamariki 500 to get Northland youth currently on a benefit on the pathway to sustainable long-term employment which is more than you have ever done Mr Peters. Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That Minister cannot break the Standing Orders and address a person in the way she did. I know she is not the brightest cog in the wheel but she cannot get away with that. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member on this occasion is right. The last part of the answer was unnecessary to the order of this House.
6. Horticulture Sector—Outlook Growth Targets and Commercial Water User ChargeTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister for Primary IndustriesHorticulture Sector—Outlook Growth Targets and Commercial Water User Charge6. TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister for Primary Industries: What recent reports has he received on the bright" outlook for the horticulture sector?Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister for Primary Industries): Last week I spoke at the Pipfruit New Zealand conference where New Zealand was named as the world's most competitive apple performer for the third consecutive year. The apple industry continues to go from strength to strength and it is set to achieve its goal of earning $1 billion in export returns by 2022. Zespri also released its annual review showing the largest ever kiwifruit crop and record returns back to growers—up 21 percent from last year. Another report shows that kiwifruit's contribution to New Zealand's GDP is set to increase to over $6 billion by 2030 creating an additional 29000 New Zealand jobs—a very bright outlook indeed.Todd Muller: What potential challenges does our horticultural sector face in achieving its aspirational growth targets?Hon NATHAN GUY: Like many of our primary sectors horticulture depends on a very secure and sustainable supply of water. A charge on water would mean the price of fruit and vegetables would rise and affect our international competitiveness in 80 world markets. I note that Horticulture New Zealand has just issued a press release entitled "… let's not do this". This PR talks about how the policy that Labour has announced will make food more expensive—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! There is no responsibility from the Minister for a Labour Party policy announcement.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Supplementary question. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! [Interruption] Yes I will come to the member in a minute; I just need substantially less interjection from both my left and on this occasion particularly my right.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If the outlook for horticulture is so bright how come as of just the other day the kiwifruit industry has taken the Government to court seeking $400 million compensation for the absolute botch-up leading to Psa and what on earth is the local member doing about it?Hon NATHAN GUY: I am not going to comment on a case that is in front of the courts but what I can say is that if the member takes some time and reads the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI's) response he should be satisfied with the response from MPI's officials."
Films Videos and Publications Classification (Interim Restriction Orders) Amendment Bill — Third Reading
Martin TraceyTRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak on the Films Videos and Publications Classification (Interim Restriction Orders) Amendment Bill. Up until this point New Zealand First has opposed this bill but we have taken the time and we have been persuaded by Mr Bishop's eloquent arguments about why the changes that have been made at the Justice and Electoral Committee have been needed.New Zealand First as the responsible reasonable party that it is had a wide and varied conversation at our select committee.Debate interrupted.Sitting suspended from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Thursday)
Bishop ChrisFILMS VIDEOS AND PUBLICATIONS CLASSIFICATION (INTERIM RESTRICTION ORDERS) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingCHRIS BISHOP (National): I move That the Films Videos and Publications Classification (Interim Restriction Orders) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This is a bill that has been widely canvassed at the first and second readings and at the select committee stage and the Committee of the whole House stage. There have been no amendments made to the bill since the select committee stage. As has been widely canvassed in the House on previous occasions it makes a small but useful change to the regime around interim restrictions as part of our censorship law in order to avoid a situation like we had with Into the River the book that was banned temporarily at least for 6 weeks in 2015.I do not think I should take up any more of the House's time. I commend the bill to the House.