Shanks Katrina: Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Shanks Katrina: Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 It is my privilege once again to stand tonight and speak to the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill. For those Aucklanders who are still in rush-hour traffic on their way home tonight I hope this debate is good listening for them. Hopefully they are not too far away from home. And for those mothers who have just picked up their children from care and have young children in the back of their cars in the traffic jams in Auckland I hope that they enjoy listening to this debate tonight and that they are not too far away from home. Many of those mothers like myself know what it is like to have children in their cars late at night and they will be feeding dinner to their children in the back now some way or another. So I hope that they get home safely and that they are not too far away. 
The Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill may not affect those women in their cars in Auckland at the moment but moving forward it certainly will affect their parents and their grandparents. I would like to talk about the dates surrounding this bill. Enduring powers of attorney have been around for 19 years—Judith Collins just spoke about that. Judith Collins is deputy chair of the Social Services Committee alongside Russell Fairbrother who chaired it. They both did a good job. We worked hand in hand on this and produced good legislation and we worked alongside the officials of course who gave us a lot of help. 
I would like to talk about the time frames surrounding this legislation. Enduring powers of attorney have been around for 19 years as I mentioned just before. In 2001 the Law Commission or Law Society did a review— 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Commission. 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: I thank the member very much. In 2001 the Law Commission came up with the paper  
Misuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney 
 so it has taken a little while for this legislation to get here tonight in 2007. That is 6 years. 
I will talk about a submission that we received in the select committee from representatives of Alzheimer’s New Zealand. They talked about looking at the legislation again in 1 to 3 years to ensure that it is still relevant and that its intent—which was to safeguard and protect those who have enduring powers of attorney who are the most vulnerable in our society—is relevant and that it is doing the job it should be doing. I think it is a great idea to look at legislation and ensure that it is current in the environment and that its intention and purpose actually accords with what is happening out there in real life. That is what legislation is about; it is about making it relevant in people’s lives and actually making a difference. 
The people from Alzheimer’s New Zealand brought up a couple of interesting things. They brought up the need for a register for enduring powers of attorney—which the committee did not take on board—because there was a discussion about how people can make more than one enduring power of attorney. They can have a number of enduring powers of attorney out there and no one would be quite sure which was the last registered enduring power of attorney. People might think they have enduring powers of attorney for other people when they actually have not—they have been overwritten with a new enduring power of attorney. So this organisation came up with the suggestion that a register be put forward for enduring powers of attorney and that is something we looked at at the time. 
Alzheimer’s New Zealand was very concerned about continuing community education and continuing education for the public so that people would understand the changes in this legislation around enduring powers of attorney. The organisation was also concerned that the people who need the information most actually have access to it which was a very valid point. The other point Alzheimer’s New Zealand raised was about welfare guardians. The Social Services Committee looked at those issues and although the organisation’s submission was very well written we did not take it on board; we kept focused on the legislation that we have produced tonight. 
So for those who have just tuned in and are listening to us I would say that— 
Dr Richard Worth 
: Welcome! 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Yes welcome. Enduring powers of attorney are important for us and for our families moving forward. It is our pleasure to support this good legislation tonight. Thank you very much. 
Clause 1 agreed to. 
Clause 2 agreed to. 
Clause 3 agreed to. 
Bill to be reported with amendment presently.