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Hipkins Chris; Mallard TrevorURGENCYHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That urgency be accorded the passing through the remaining stages of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21 Feasibility Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill and the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill. The annual rates bill has to be passed by 31 March each year to validate the tax rates for the year. Tomorrow being a member's day the use of urgency is necessary to ensure that it happens. Some of the measures announced in the housing package this morning are tax provisions to be implemented through amendments to the bill that are proposed in the Minister of Revenue's Supplementary Order Paper that is before the House. It is essential that these are in place for the start of the new tax year on 1 April to address the serious housing challenges we face. The Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill also has measures in it that need to be in place by 1 April—for example the full transfer of powers to the new Director of Land Transport. Inclusion of that bill in the urgency motion ensures that it won't be delayed by the need to pass the tax bill. SPEAKER: The question is that—sorry? Hon Michael Woodhouse: Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: The question is—Hon Michael Woodhouse: Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: This is an urgency motion; it's not a debatable motion. Hon Michael Woodhouse: I am proposing an amendment to the motion Mr Speaker which I believe I am able to do under the Standing Orders. SPEAKER: I'm going to take some advice on this particular matter. Standing Order 57(3): no.
Mallard TrevorURGENT DEBATES DECLINEDCOVID-19—Trans-Tasman Travel BubbleSPEAKER: I have received a letter from the Hon Judith Collins seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the Prime Minister's comment yesterday that the Government will be making an announcement on the commencement date of the trans-Tasman travel bubble on 6 April. The urgent debate is a means of debating matters that have occurred. It is not a means of debating things may occur in the future: Speaker's ruling—[Interruption]—well we'll think about that tomorrow—205/3. The application is therefore declined.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No petitions or papers have been presented. No bills have been introduced. A select committee report has been delivered for presentation. CLERK: Report of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee on the International treaty examination of the Protocol to Upgrade the Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the People's Republic of China. SPEAKER: That report is set down for consideration.
Rurawhe AdrianTUESDAY 23 MARCH 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSDEPUTY SPEAKER: 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. Amene.[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.]
Rurawhe AdrianCHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): I understand we have Teanau Tuiono.Teanau Tuiono (remote): Thank you Mr Chairperson. Actually I asked my questions in the last round so that wasn't me.
Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill — In Committee—Part 3Document for deletingA document for getting rid of other documents by having its document id replaced with that of the document to be deleted. Then the date role=removed" field takes over to ensure the document is retired.Content:some content"
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Thursday 18 March 2021 - Volume 750
Appropriation (2019/20 Confirmation and Validation) Bill — Second Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Appropriation (2019/20 Confirmation and Validation) Bill be now read a second time.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Noes 44New Zealand National 32; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
1. Question No. 1—Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment BillTONI SEVERIN (ACT) to the Member in charge of the Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment BillQUESTIONS TO MEMBERSQuestion No. 1—Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill1. TONI SEVERIN (ACT) to the Member in charge of the Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill: Does she have estimated costs of increasing leave requirements on employers under the Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill; if so what are they?TERISA NGOBI (Member in charge of the Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill): In my Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill parental interview leave is proposed to be capped at four hours per year. The cost to employers will vary according to circumstances. We know some employers do already have this type of provision in place. I look forward to hearing submissions and advice on this bill at select committee and will be working with committee members so we can develop legislation that enhances the education for our tamariki.Dr Duncan Webb: Mr Speaker?SPEAKER: No the supplementary goes to the member who's asking the question.Toni Severin: Will she have estimated the costs and release them publicly?TERISA NGOBI: Again as I said we have proposed four hours per year and again this still needs to go through to select committee. But what I would say is that employers can calculate what that might look like on the four hours per year proposed at this time. This is about supporting tamariki whānau and kaiako or learners to make sure that they come together to get the best plan to support our children to get the best educational outcomes and I'm sure we all support that.
12. Question No. 12—EducationJO LUXTON (Labour—Rangitata) to the Associate Minister of EducationQuestion No. 12—Education12. JO LUXTON (Labour—Rangitata) to the Associate Minister of Education: What recent reports has she seen on progress towards implementing Learning Support Coordinators in schools?Hon JAN TINETTI (Associate Minister of Education): Today I released the findings from phase one of the learning support coordinator (LSC) evaluation which shows students with diverse learning needs are getting better support to learn in school as a result of this new resource. The learning support coordinator role is for registered and certificated teachers in a dedicated and full-time position. It was a key deliverable from the Learning Support Action Plan 2019-25. The first tranche of LSCs started in 1052 individual schools and kura and served over 300000 students.Jo Luxton: What feedback has she received from the phase one evaluations?Hon JAN TINETTI: It has now been just over a year since the first LSCs started work and already we have heard overwhelming positive feedback from teachers students and whānau on the difference this has made to the provision of learning support. This morning I was at a school and heard from teachers that LSCs are doing excellent work to assist the one in five students who need some level of additional support for their learning. When we came into Government in 2017 educators had been crying out for extra resource for some time to better support learners who may not have received the help they had needed before. We've responded with investing $1.1 billion into learning support since 2017.Jo Luxton: What are the next steps for learning support coordinators?Hon JAN TINETTI: This is just phase one of a comprehensive evaluation plan. We have phases two and three still to go. I want to see us continuously improve the LSC role to fine-tune how we assist students with diverse learning needs. We have consistently heard that parents educators and whānau place a high priority on having a dedicated learning support role in schools and the evaluation shows how important the team approach in learning support is. We are deliberately taking a multi-phased approach to rolling out coordinators across all schools.
10. Question No. 10—EnvironmentHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 10—Environment10. Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: Does he stand by his statement that Immediate improvements in IWG"—intensive winter grazing—"practices this season are required" and does he expect those improvements to occur before winter begins? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House) on behalf of the Minister for the Environment: Sorry Mr Speaker that's me as well. SPEAKER: I've never seen a more relieved Deputy Prime Minister.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: That's right. Sorry Mr Speaker—slightly distracted. On behalf of the Minister yes and yes.Hon Eugenie Sage: Does the Minister agree with Tom Kay of Forest & Bird that "government has caved to pressure from intensive farmers instead of standing firm for freshwater health and upholding the promises they made to all New Zealanders."; if not why not? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No the Government remains committed to addressing the issues. We've taken a pragmatic approach to accelerating progress and that's exactly what we're focused on doing.Hon Eugenie Sage: If the Government is committed to accelerating progress does that mean with the regulations not being in force that farmers can increase the area they subject to intensive winter grazing which they couldn't do without resource consent if the regulations were in force?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Ultimately the Government took the pragmatic decision to bring forward an alternative way of addressing the issues which was to get farmers working to reduce those through the farming plans. That's ultimately what the approach has been based on—we think we'll make faster progress by doing that.Hon Eugenie Sage: What happens if the voluntary approach that the Government is placing such confidence in doesn't work?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Then of course regulation continues to be an option.Hon Eugenie Sage: If the Minister is saying improvements will occur without the relevant National Environmental Standards for Freshwater being enforced can New Zealanders be certain that they will not once again be seeing images of cows up to their hocks in mud with nowhere comfortable to lie down and our precious rivers running brown with sediment this winter?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I have been advised by the Minister of Agriculture that in terms of the animal welfare issues the member refers to the Ministry for Primary Industries will be taking a much firmer stance.Hon Eugenie Sage: Why did he choose to announce the delay on implementing the winter grazing rules at a DairyNZ stakeholder function?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Because it was a convenient time to do so."
9. Question No. 9—PoliceSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 9—Police9. SIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of Police: Is she confident the Government will meet its target of 1800 new police officers over three years; if not how will police have enough resources to deal with increasing gang violence?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House) on behalf of the Minister of Police: Yes.Simeon Brown: When will the Government achieve the promised net increase of 1800 additional police officers over and above the number of officers at October 2017?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We've already delivered on our commitment of 1800 new police officers and we're well on our way to meeting our additional growth target of 1800 over five years.Simeon Brown: When will the Government deliver the promised 700 police officers dedicated to serious and organised crime and how many have been recruited into this unit to date?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Overall we've recruited an additional 1400 who've graduated through the police college so far. In terms of organised crime I'm happy to get back to the member with the specific number that have been dedicated to that.Simeon Brown: What does the Minister say to the New Zealand Police Association who said in a submission to the Justice Committee It has been quipped that gangs are recruiting faster than Police which this committee would appreciate is no joke."?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I would say that the police are recruiting far faster under this Government than they were under the last Government when police numbers declined.Simeon Brown: Will she bring forward funding to complete the promised 1800 additional new police officers over three years; and if not why not?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The police do have sufficient funding to deliver on the target."
8. Question No. 8—Māori DevelopmentPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Māori DevelopmentQuestion No. 8—Māori Development8. PAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Māori Development: What recent Papakāinga announcement has he made for Māori on the Chatham Islands?Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Māori Development): On Monday I announced an innovative papakāinga development that will support low- to medium-income Māori and Moriori whānau towards homeownership. This step towards addressing complex housing issues on the island will host five new homes by the middle of the year. Te Puni Kōkiri is investing $974760 towards the retained equity in the houses through its Te Ara Mauwhare initiative. I'd like to thank the local member Paul Eagle for his advocacy and for representing the Government at a wonderful presentation we had on the island in the last few days. So great work from the local member.Paul Eagle: Why is developing papakāinga on the Chatham Islands complex?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Building houses on the Chatham Islands Rēkohu Wharekauri is difficult logistically and made even harder because banks don't really lend there. There's also the need for skills and tradespeople that aren't readily available on the Chathams. So it can cost $100000 more to build a house on the island than it would to build it on mainland New Zealand. So the houses are being built offshore and they will arrive by barge by mid-year with our whānau ready to move in shortly after that.Paul Eagle: How has the community support been for the papakāinga development?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I think that the Chathams is a wonderful example for most of the country because we've had the community come together to advance this kaupapa. So I'm really proud of what we've seen down there in terms of all groups of people coming together. So I want to acknowledge today the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Hokotehi Moriori Trust and the Chatham Islands Council for coming together to solve housing needs on the island. It's great to see whānau coming together moving together—kotahitanga—in action in the Chatham Islands.
6. Question No. 6—Social Development and EmploymentANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentQuestion No. 6—Social Development and Employment6. ANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What initiatives has she recently launched to support food security?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): This morning I launched the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance—otherwise known as AFRA. AFRA is one of three national sector partners supporting communities to reduce food waste and increase food security. The Ministry of Social Development have provided $500000 over a two-year period to support their vision of effective food rescue in Aotearoa: Food for All. AFRA's launch is a key milestone towards recognising the critical and cost-effective role that food rescue plays in increasing the supply of good quality surplus food through to our communities.Angie Warren-Clark: How does this initiative align with the Government's broader priorities to address food demand?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance sits as part of a $32 million investment in Budget 2020 over two years to address demand on food banks food rescue and other community food providers. This investment builds on the Government's efforts to support sustainable food and to secure communities into the future. It also supports our Government's objective of building a more cohesive social sector through facilitating effective collaboration helping to limit the duplication of services and enhance the reach of food providers to those in need.Angie Warren-Clark: What else is the Government doing in delivering support in our community?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We recognise that supporting food rescue initiatives is only one step towards better food security in our communities. That's why our support has to be multifaceted. We have expanded our Lunches in Schools programme and sought to improve income adequacy through lifting and indexing benefits lifting abatement thresholds and increasing the minimum wage. Our Government is committed to making progress; we have seen some significant changes over the last three years but we do acknowledge there is more to do.
4. Question No. 4—EducationMARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 4—Education4. MARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What progress has the Government made in preparing for increased student numbers north of Auckland?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Good news: earthworks and retaining structures. Work got under way this week for one of the two new primary schools in the Orewa Whangaparaoa catchment area. Orewa North West Primary School will initially have capacity to cater for up to 420 students. A second school—Milldale Primary School—is also being planned with an initial capacity of up to 370 students. Both year 1 to 6 schools in the growing area of north-west Orewa and Milldale are expected to be open for term one of 2023.Marja Lubeck: Why are two new schools needed in Orewa Whangaparaoa?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The Orewa Whangaparaoa catchment is a high-growth area with more than 1800 extra students expected by 2030. Other schools in the area are close to capacity; so we're making sure we have schooling options for the hundreds of families moving into new residential developments. Greenfield growth in the Milldale area alone is expected to deliver 4500 new homes over the next decade.Marja Lubeck: Are these new schools part of a wider programme of work in relation to school property?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes absolutely. We have one of the biggest school-building programmes that New Zealand has seen in recent times. We have invested in over 1400 new or upgraded classrooms for around 38000 students across the country. Since October 2017 over 120 redevelopment projects and over 80 expansion projects have already been completed and there's a lot more to come. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Oh sorry. I thought with all the excitement there might be a supplementary from one of the local members.
Ghahraman Golriz; Dean JacquiGOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN (Green): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise with great pleasure to make a brief contribution to this debate in support of the Secondary Legislation Bill. It is a companion piece to the Legislation Act which the previous Parliament passed. It was surprising for me as a first-term MP then to find that secondary legislation was largely not very publicly accessible although as has been said already in this debate today it is the legislation that impacts sometimes our lives and the lives of the New Zealand public most.It comes in all sorts of forms; it's the legislation that we in this House have an obligation to oversee but having it not be publicly as accessible as primary legislation has made it harder for even members of this House to know our obligations. But of course it is law and the rule of law should therefore apply which is to say that whatever laws bind and impact on the lives of the public should be knowable should be transparent and accessible to them. So far we may have been breaching the rule of law in the confused manner that we were approaching secondary legislation so it is commendable. This Minister and as others have said the Hon Chris Finlayson QC who began this work recognise that secondary legislation like primary legislation should be both clearly defined and publicly accessible and these two companion pieces of legislation bring those two principles together.I was also pleased to find that the definition that this bill has applied is one of function. So whatever type of law or regulation has the function of being secondary legislation was caught in that definition and officials have gone through and in this—what is this?—some 600 pages they have gone through every piece of primary legislation that refers back down to what would in effect be secondary legislation and should thereby come under the Legislation Act to make the public's access more functional.So I do commend this bill to the House. It makes New Zealand's democracy more fair and transparent.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 23 March 2021. Good afternoon.The House adjourned at 4.55 p.m.
Secondary Legislation Bill — Third Reading
Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to speak on the Building (Building Products and Methods Modular Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. Actually I well remember building our house and thinking at the time how much easier it would have been to get it weathertight in a much tighter time frame than happens when we build them bespoke as most houses are in New Zealand. I've since seen a neighbour—that was some years ago when we built our house but our neighbour has recently built a house and they had panels imported from overseas complete with insulation and wiring ducts in the walls and the panels that went up very quickly. You could get the house weathertight so much more quickly and save a lot of issues that can occur later on due to weather so much more efficient. And it must be much more pleasant to be out of the weather building those components that are later assembled on site; so I think that's a great innovation.That is not new actually. In Germany they've been using modular construction for many years and their building costs are lower per square metre than ours as a result of that. So we do need to move on and no one really knows why I think it's not been adopted as quickly in New Zealand and it's possibly to do with scale. I know Mike Greer Homes set a factory up in Christchurch not long after the earthquake to construct modular components for homes and I think we need to really reflect on why that didn't go as quickly and become as successful as quickly as it could have. I note that it's still doing that now in Auckland I understand. So it's good and we do need a good regulatory framework as has been alluded to to ensure that that works. This won't be the end I'm sure. I do note that the good old Regs Review Committee has stated that there is a Henry VIII" power in this bill because the bill allows specific products and methods to be declared by Order in Council to be—or not to be—building products and methods. I'm not sure of the details around that and no one seems to be concerned about it. However we do know over time some of the legislation we put through this House has some unintended consequences and hopefully that's not the root of some of them.On the modular construction I note that Rolls-Royce are promising to have a small modular nuclear reactor their first power station up and running in 2031. I wonder if there's scope within this bill for a small modular nuclear reactor to be approved to be built in Auckland somewhere. It would be quite good to solve all those electricity losses that go right—on the way sending electricity from the power- and energy-rich South Island up into the North Island. But just a thought. I thought I'd raise it with you—I see that a couple of the colleagues on the other side are very enthusiastic to see a modular reactor in their hometown. So with that I'll leave the House with that thought and commend the bill to the House."
Coffey TamatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker—thank you Madam Speaker for that. Yes look this came through the Environment Committee and we recommended that it be passed with a couple of amendments. One of the things that came through in the submissions was around the definition of both building product" and "building method". Some of the submitters felt as though we needed to better define that.It went to the Regulations Review Committee for their consideration as well and one of the things that they came back with was their consideration that we were giving "Henry VIII" powers over unnecessarily via Order in Council. So we managed to work through those issues. We did ask submitters how they felt about that but we've landed in a really good place. So clause 7 looks to insert sections 9A and 9B into the Act to better define what "building product" and "building method" look like. As I say we worked through those issues we came out the other side with agreement not needing for anything further to be added into that.I agree with what one of the earlier speakers said which was that this is about actually making sure that our building landscape is actually fit for purpose. And as we start importing products which are coming in from overseas some of them have instruction manuals with them some of them don't some of them are of variable quality and we need to make sure that our laws and our regulations here in New Zealand are fit for purpose because we have a housing issue in our country right from the top to the very bottom and so we need to make sure that as people start to purchase these products and as people start to engage in different kinds of building methods to try and help solve the problem of our housing crisis actually our legislation is fit for purpose and aligns with that. So for that reason I commend this bill to the House."
Dean JacquiASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): With apologies to the next speaker before we do proceed I'd like to encourage new members that instead of reading from a speech to address the House directly. I know that members will become more confident as they have more speaking time in this House but we have clear Speakers' rulings and I'd like to encourage members to move towards a point where they can speak off speaking notes.
Child Support Amendment Bill — Third Reading
Stanford EricaERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays): Thank you. I'm pleased to rise to take a call on the Child Support Amendment Bill. I would like to firstly acknowledge the previous speaker and congratulate him on his very long and dramatic pauses to drag out what really could have been said probably in about 30 seconds to a very long five minutes.Look this bill is a great bill. There are some issues that we've had with it along the way. On the whole it does some very good things. It widens the income scope from simply PAYE to include interest and dividends. We still have some concerns around people who manage to hide their income when it comes to owning their own company and when it comes to shareholder advances still being able to hide some of that income and that's some further work that needs to be done—in fact I know that that was brought up at the committee stage. I'm very supportive of the fact that we are pushing out some of those dates that penalties can accrue—I've had many people through my office who are overwhelmed by a situation that they find themselves in which is foreign to them they haven't been through it before they are in a very stressful and difficult period in their lives and find themselves suddenly in an enormous amount of debt through real fault of their own—and I think that that's a very good thing.I do have to—and it doesn't happen very often but I do happen to agree today with my colleague from the Green Party Chlöe Swarbrick when she talks about the Children's Commissioner's comments at select committee about having a more child-centred approach to this bill. I think we did miss a trick there and there is more work to be done. Look I don't think much more needs to be said. We're all broadly in agreement with this bill apart from a few things around the edges we can clear up I think probably in future legislation. So without further ado I commend the bill to the House.
Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Thank you Mr Speaker and I rise to take this call in the event that Te Paati Māori chooses not to which is a little of a surprise given how important this bill is to our tamariki. I really just wanted to make a couple of comments really flowing on from some of the speeches that we've seen today. I guess if you had a business that was collecting debts and 75 percent of its book was in default we'd worry about it. Essentially that's what this bill does. It's really tidying up the collections system.Probably the smallest change but the one with the greatest impact is compulsory deductions so that people don't have to actually turn their mind on a regular basis and in some ways make the overt decision to pay the support that they're liable for and in some ways suffer that tiny sense of pain whenever money goes out no matter how important and deserving that cause is. So that's a really great—and as I say it's part of the overall transformation of the revenue and to making a more usable user-friendly and intuitive system. That's really what this is doing.So the upshot of this is—and it's certainly intended to be—that more money goes more quickly to families who are caring for children. It's an absolutely fantastic piece of legislation. I commend it to the House.
Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): I rise as the member of Parliament for the North Shore a very proud MP along with many New Zealanders following the superb win by Team New Zealand—and I say that because they won in the beautiful waters of my electorate and of course a little bit of my colleague Chlöe Swarbrick's as well. I reach out to all of those young people at the Wakatere Boating Club the Devonport Yacht Club and the Takapuna Boating Club: you are our future.I speak today on the third reading of the Child Support Amendment Bill and I am very proud to say that the National Party supports this bill as do other members and parties in this House. It is a bill that we believe will improve the child support arrangements and supports and protects our tamariki.This bill continues the great work that was initiated under National and implements the changes that were recommended as a result of a review when National was in Government. National believes that we need a modernisation of our child support system that reflects the realities of today—a system that was developed nearly 30 years ago when I myself was a child—and as my colleague said before a system that places the child at the centre of that system.We all live in an exceptional country and we need a child support system that works for all New Zealanders; a system that makes sure that liable parents pay their outstanding obligations and makes sure that the system receives those payments and passes them on to those carers and on to the children who need that support.National remains concerned that this Government continues to place increasing obligations and costs on our business community. Businesses incur real costs in terms of the administrative burden of such schemes. In my electorate the North Shore there are over 11000 businesses that employ over 33000 people—so this is a real impact in my home electorate as it is across the country.National also believes that payments required to be paid for those defaulting parents should be passed on to those parents who are looking after those children. As we've heard before there are just over 134000 parents who are liable in this country for child support payments. They represent nearly 200000 children.As my colleague Andrew Bayly noted before the child support debt levels in New Zealand exceed $2 billion of which 75 percent relates to penalties for late payment. It seems ironic that this Government did not wish to see those penalties go through to the carers who support our children and those children who don't have a voice for which we are obligated to represent.Finally I acknowledge all of the young people in my electorate and across New Zealand whose voices we represent in this House and are always in our minds in terms of ensuring that we protect their obligations and support them. So I commend this bill to the House.
Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I'll make a short contribution to the Child Support Amendment Bill. As the member who has just resumed her seat Deborah Russell alluded to this was work that was started back in 2017 and as part of the Business Transformation programme and the investment in the IT systems with IRD this is one of the payment regimes that is going to benefit from that new technology. I too pay my tribute to the officials—not always the easiest job to answer all of the questions and queries that come out of a select committee. Some of those conversations can be a wee bit testy so I do appreciate the effort that the team has put into getting this bill to its third reading today.There were several submissions and many suggestions that came out of the submission process and I think in my contribution I'd like just to note a couple that we felt or I felt it was a disappointment that we could not include them in this bill. They were ideas that I think deserve further consideration in maybe some other form. Many of them were considered out of scope. One of the ones that resonated for me was the inclusion of a clause that apparently was included in another piece of legislation and removed and it was that the interests of the child be at the heart of the legislation. I think if we think about that as a concept the interests of the child they need to be considered as part of all legislation and I think that's something that we could turn our minds to as a Parliament—that a filter is run over the legislation that we consider to assess the impact it will have if any on children.Many of the submissions that we heard related to the penalty payments and you know it's one of the aspects of this bill that will give some relief to that. As we've heard $1.7 billion of the $2.2 billion that is outstanding in child support payments is purely penalties and what that has had the impact of doing is making re-entering the child support payment regime really difficult for liable parents. Some even left the country because it was just too difficult. That mountain was too hard to climb for many people. So this new penalty regime I think is a lot more sympathetic to the liable parent.There were other submissions that we weren't able to consider either and they were around the shared care where you have the separated family that share the care of the child or children fifty-fifty but there is always a liable and a receiving parent even though those costs are shared—in one case where the mother and children went to live in a much more may we say comfortable situation and a second family for the liable parent was established but the child support payments meant that the new family for the liable parent was living in increased hardship as a consequence. So there was no ability to look at the financial situation across both families.I think we've given it a really good thrash-out through the select committee process and through the readings and the committee of the whole House. It's another piece of legislation that I'm happy to say that the National Party initiated and I have pleasure in commending it to the House.
Hipkins ChrisAPPROPRIATION (2019/20 CONFIRMATION AND VALIDATION) BILLSecond ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House) on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I move That the Appropriation (2019/20 Confirmation and Validation) Bill be now read a second time.
Motions — Allocation of Oral Questions—Leave Declined
Bishop Chris; Mallard TrevorMOTIONSAllocation of Oral Questions—Leave DeclinedCHRIS BISHOP (National): Point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion asking the Business Committee to consider the issue of the allocation of Government questions proportional to Opposition questions with a view to reducing the number of Government patsy questions.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There is.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No petitions have been presented no bills have been introduced but Ministers have delivered papers.CLERK:Annual reports for 2019/20 of the New Zealand Blood Service and the Takeovers PanelNgāi Tahu Ancillary Claims Trust Annual Financial Statements of the Year Ending 30 June 2020.SPEAKER: Those papers are 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:2019/20 Annual review of the Pike River Recovery Agency and2019/20 Annual review of the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company Limited andReserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Statement February 2021report of the Governance and Administration Committee on the Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill.SPEAKER: The bill is set down for second reading. The Monetary Policy Statement is set down for consideration.
Hipkins Chris; Bishop ChrisBUSINESS STATEMENTHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Legislation to be considered next week will include the first readings of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill and the Incorporated Societies Bill and the remaining stages of the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill and the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21 Feasibility Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill. There will be five National Party maiden statements next week. On Thursday there will be a special debate giving members the opportunity to talk about local issues and Wednesday is scheduled to be a members' day.CHRIS BISHOP (National): Can I ask the Leader of the House whether or not he has given some consideration to referring the Fair Trading Amendment Bill No. 9 on the Order Paper back to the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee given it was reported back on 12 August without a date or report from that committee.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): The member did raise that at the Business Committee on Tuesday. I undertook to follow that up and I'll certainly report back to the Business Committee next week on those discussions. It's not my intention to bring it before the House again for further consideration until we've had those discussions.SPEAKER: And it might be worth just informing members at this time because we have a debate in the new format for local issues this will be a debate where members seek the call rather than having a strict speaking list.
Ngarewa-Packer DebbieDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Kia ora. We would like to stand Te Paati Māori to mihi to the team of Emirates Team New Zealand. I mihi to our hau kāinga who hosted the manuhiri and mihi to our moana Hauraki who safely carried the kaupapa. It was truly a privilege to see that alongside the absolute skillmanship of our excellent athletes was the absolute unique manaaki and innovative arts and culture of our mana whenua. And indeed there is their name Te Rehutai instead of eat my dust was out there eating my spray. It would be amazing to see Kupe's mokopuna also enjoy the support and the free TV and investment for many grassroots sports in the water Te Matatini included Waka Ama. We hope that with this pride also comes a resourcing and support to our kaitiaki and our moana who under the luxurious yachts is ecologically stressed and challenged. We are indeed sharing in this nation's pride and encourage that we also hold this pride for kaupapa such as Te Matatini and Waka Ama. We also take note and encourage those in Aotearoa who use their passion to excel and encourage our rangatahi to be the best that they absolutely can be. Kia ora koutou.Motion agreed to.
Smith DamienDAMIEN SMITH (ACT): I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to congratulate Emirates Team New Zealand. The 36th America's Cup was contested on our beautiful harbour in the Hauraki Gulf and viewed by global TV audiences in lockdown. Congratulations must go to the Italians and Jimmy Spithill on a great duel and an outstanding effort. Despite the result 7:3 this could have gone either way. As of today Team UK are confirmed as challenger of record and the intrigue now deepens. Sir Ben Ainslie's syndicate backed by the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe will replace the Italian outfit Luna Rossa for the next cycle of the cup.In Peter Burling the spirit of Sir Peter Blake has risen again: world class good blokes and calm on the seas. The Tauranga yacht club should be very proud of this 30-year-old man. Peter and Grant Dalton have built a great team—boat management very well done—and it was great to be personally in the viaduct and out on the water seeing families singing God Defend New Zealand" and waving New Zealand flags. It was inspiring to say the least.But we must also not forget our ladies the Silver Ferns who we did not recognise recently our world champions and we're so proud of their coaches and management. And considering they hosted that event under the circumstances and brought back the Constellation Cup is a testament to their strength. So well done to the Silver Ferns' captain Ameliaranne and coach Noelene underscored it's been nine long years in the waiting. So I'd like to give them a round of applause as well. [Applause]So the last couple of weeks have not been good for Australian sport stars but fantastic for New Zealanders and now we move on to the Olympics and the Paralympics for more medals. So on behalf of the ACT Party we thank Team New Zealand the Silver Ferns and now our hopes are with the New Zealand Olympic and Paralympic teams. New Zealanders are world champions and do have the X factor."
Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Kia ora Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of the Greens to congratulate the success of Team New Zealand in acknowledging that this brought joy to many people. I also want to acknowledge the great sportsmanship of the Italian team. Part of making sports accessible to our communities is ensuring that they are available to free-to-air TV. The fact that the America's Cup was being broadcast on free-to-air TV contributed to it receiving substantive coverage and community-wide celebration. I want to note that the same level of access should hopefully be given to all sports including women's sports and sports led by grassroots community groups.I want to acknowledge the significant investment that has been given to the America's Cup and keeping Team New Zealand onshore by the Government. I pay tribute to local grassroots sports clubs in low socio-economic areas who play an integral part in the wellbeing of our communities yet struggled to receive adequate funding. I hope in the future we can act with similar swiftness and generosity when it comes to funding grassroots community sports and other initiatives that are key to our collective wellbeing.There is a certain discomfort that comes from witnessing the lavishness of the America's Cup co-existing with the shortage of public housing and shelter for our homeless in Auckland's CBD. The visibility of the America's Cup is also in part due to the amazing scenery of the Hauraki Gulf and the Rangitoto highlands. These are precious resources that should be protected and the Crown has an obligation to uphold the kaitiaki rights of tangata whenua. We know the Hauraki Gulf is on the brink of ecological collapse; so it's great to see people like Peter Burling helmsman of Team New Zealand know the importance of having healthy thriving oceans. I want to acknowledge the work he has done to protect our oceans including co-funding the Live Ocean Charitable Trust. That is a marine conservation charity with goals such as ocean and research innovation that can happen within a mātauranga Māori framework.The interconnection between the health of our ecosystems and the ability to enjoy sports and recreation is clear to sailors and tangata whenua. As we celebrate the victory of Team New Zealand and bask in our collective efforts to make a major sport happen here I hope we can collectively rally to beat the big environmental and equity challenges that we face on the ground that the America's Cup took place on. Kia ora.
Reti ShaneDr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National): I rise on behalf of the National Party to offer heartfelt congratulations to Emirates Team New Zealand—we are so proud of them. To Peter Burling the sailors designers support crew race management and many others: ko tēnai tō tātou mihi atu ki a koutou katoa—this is our thanks and congratulations to you all.This is another high-performance sporting achievement where the best of us was showcased to the world. In every single race there were desirable disciplines and virtues that New Zealand society upholds and models: composure graciousness and a never-give-up attitude. To summarise: other teams may have extensive US and European boat-builders; we have Southern Spars in west Auckland. Other teams have NASA at Cape Canaveral; we have Rocket Lab in Taranaki. And other teams may have extensive human resources but we have the sailors. The National Party warmly congratulates Emirates Team New Zealand.
Salesa JennyTHURSDAY 18 MARCH 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Mālō e lelei. Ke tau lotu. 'E 'Otua Māfimafi kuo mau taa'i mālie 'i ho'o 'ofá mo e ngaahi tāpuaki hono kotoa. 'Oku tuku homau lotó ka mau hū atu ke ke malu'i ange mu'a 'a e Kuiní mo tataki ange 'emau fua fatongia 'i he Fale Aleá 'aki 'a e poto Faka-e-'Otua 'ofa pea mo e 'ulungaanga malū ko e 'uhí ko e mo'ui pea mo e melino 'a e fonuá. 'Oku mau kole atu 'a e ngaahi me'á ni hono kotoa 'i he huafa ho 'aló pē 'e taha ko Sīsū Kalaisi ko homau fakamo'uí 'Emeni.
Wednesday 17 March 2021 - Volume 750
Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill — In Committee—Part 1
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Amendment Bill be now read a third 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 third time.
Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration ) Amendment Bill — Third Reading
Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Amendment Bill — In Committee — Clauses 1 to 3
VoteClauses 1 to 3CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members we come now to clauses 1 to 3. This is the debate on the title commencement and principal Act clauses. The question is that clauses 1 to 3 stand part.Clause 1 agreed to.Clause 2 agreed to.Clause 3 agreed to.Bill to be reported without amendment.
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that Simeon Brown's tabled amendment to Part 2 deleting new clause 11 from clause 5(7) be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 33New Zealand National 33.Noes 85New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; ACT New Zealand 10.Amendment not agreed to.Part 2 agreed to.
Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Amendment Bill — In Committee — Part 2
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Amendment Bill be now read a first 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 first time.
Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration ) Amendment Bill — First Reading
Urgency motion