Allan KiritapuKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour): E Te Mana Whakawā i tēnei wiki o tō tātou nei reo rangatira kei te mihi au ki a koe. [Madam Deputy Speaker greetings to you in this week of our esteemed language.]For those that don't perhaps live in the Wellington bubble the name—Hon Chris Hipkins: What bubble?KIRITAPU ALLAN: —what bubble?—of the State Sector and Crown Entities Reform Bill might not come across to some as the most riveting and interesting of legislation. However the State sector—for any ordinary layperson—effectively is where the day-to-day interaction that most people will ever have with the Government happens and therefore the way in which the State sector conducts itself and represents itself to the ordinary Jane and Joe Bloggs of our communities is inherently important. So the reforms that this omnibus bill seeks to undertake under both the State Sector Act and the Crown Entities Act—and it's good to hear that there is common agreement across the House—basically are to ensure that there is transparency and that the public can trust what the State sector is doing on its behalf and to make sure that it's fit for a current and modern context.There are really only a couple of things I want to speak to. Starting with the State Sector Act the ability of the State Services Commissioner to undertake inquiries is probably one of the most important elements of the reforms that this bill will bring through. Look the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 has been a very useful Act that the State Services Commissioner has had to operate under but we know that it has been cumbersome and we know that it has been challenging particularly in recent times to the ability of the commissioner to undertake relevant inquiries. So to bring it into alignment with the Inquiries Act 2013 is common-sense practice and so on this side of the House we do commend our Minister of State Services for bringing through those amendments.Turning to the Crown Entities Act this is probably some more of the values and principles alignments that I'm really pleased to see we're bringing in through this piece of legislation. What we did see and what we have seen—and I think both sides of the House had concerns about the way in which those in executive positions particularly the CEO positions were watching remuneration escalate into the six-digit figures whereas the gap between the executive level and the ordinary worker was just becoming further and further apart. There were concerns expressed under the previous Government and recommendations were made by Ministers to the relevant boards. Those recommendations—and this is particularly apparent in both ACC and the Superannuation Fund—weren't taken up by those boards and there was little really that could be done.So by enacting the amendments in this bill to limit the remuneration or at least to have the remuneration of the CEO position affirmed by the commissioner—and where there is a dispute then the Minister will have to come in and work with the board to make the relevant amendments. I think that's a prudent measure that will increase the public's trust and confidence in the fact that the Minister will be a backstop in terms of making sure that there aren't unbridled abilities by those boards to let that remuneration go out of control. And then secondly of course is having that five-year term as a starting point for those in Crown entities. Of course that's renewable so that's good. That gives certainty to those who want to be involved on those Crown entities and on that board so that they can do the necessary planning but the buck is that there must be that review at that five-year point.So I think that the public can have trust and confidence in both the State services sector and the amendments that we are bringing through in terms of the Crown entities to make sure that they are controlled and that there are measures put in place. So with those brief comments we commend this bill to the House.