Mahuta NanaiaRATES REBATE (STATUTORY DECLARATIONS) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): I move That the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill and I intend to move that the bill be reported back to the House by Tuesday 3 December.This bill aims to make the rates rebate application process more accessible to eligible ratepayers and to increase the efficiency of the application process. The current application approach for this scheme set out by the Rates Rebate Act 1973 requires applicants to make a statutory declaration. This involves them either being physically present at the council offices or meeting with an authorised person. This bill will remove the requirement to make a statutory declaration when applying to the scheme.The priority for this Government is ensuring that all New Zealanders have access to rates rebates. We're determined to remove the barriers for superannuitants to getting the rebate they are entitled to and deserve. The current requirement of applicants to be physically present is a barrier to people with physical mobility or other impairments that make it difficult for them to visit a council office. This scheme is for low income ratepayers a significant number of whom are superannuitants. In the latest figures 79 percent of applicants were superannuitants. Last year 102000 New Zealanders applied for this rates rebate which is a significant number. The average refund that was paid out was $582.50 which does make a big difference on somebody's annual rates bill. For a person this is a huge huge benefit and of assistance to them.Some of these eligible ratepayers may find it difficult travelling to a council office especially when it is some distance away from their home. The current requirement for applicants to be physically present also imposes an unnecessary travel cost and can be in some instances quite time consuming. Another key reason is that researchers discovered that the physical presence acts as an inhibitor for some people because sometimes it's just embarrassing especially in small communities to admit that you're on a low income. Some applicants may still choose to travel to councils to get help filling out these forms or because they prefer this process to be a face-to-face experience. However there's no reason all applicants should have to be physically present to receive their rates rebate.This change will also reduce administrative costs to local authorities. Many local authorities offer home visits to applicants who are unable to travel which is an unnecessary burden on stretched council resources. The statutory declaration requirement also prevents councils from using technology to improve the efficiency of processing applications. Removing this requirement will enable councils to offer an online application process alongside a paper-based one. The application process without a statutory declaration is no less secure. When witnessing a statutory declaration authorised witnesses are not required to verify whether the information provided is true and it is an offence to provide false or misleading information. The risk of increased fraud from removing the face-to-face aspect of the application process is low because there are suitable fraud detection processes in place and the penalty for fraudulently claiming a rebate is very high.This is part of the Government's wellbeing programme to support our local bodies and their ratepayers to realise their ambitions and potential. Based on the four wellbeings—our social economic environmental and cultural priorities—the Government will be working closely with our councils and communities to ensure greater influence on the design and targeting of public services that are provided by central government.We've already made a significant change in this area earlier this year with the Local Government Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill which was passed into law in March. These changes in relation to the rates rebate began under my colleague the Hon Ruth Dyson and corrected an anomaly under section 7A of the Rates Rebate Act. This assumed that retirement villages are all one separate rating unit. However some villages are comprised of multiple separately rated units. The problem was that under some ownership structures the eligibility of residents would be affected. The change that we implemented removed any confusion for councils as to who is eligible for the rebate. The second change related to the winter energy payment being included as income when assessing a rebate. This was not the policy intent of the winter energy payment; therefore the amendment in that Act fixed that also. Just to repeat the Local Government Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill was passed in March earlier this year to ensure full eligibility for rates rebates for retirement villages and for those receiving the winter energy payment for 2019.Coming back to the bill in addition to the changes that we are currently seeking to make I intend that it will be a much simplified process primarily for superannuitants. I propose that for this new bill a shortened select committee consideration time frame is appropriate for three reasons: first there is significant support for this change particularly amongst the local government sector. All parties affected by the change have expressed support for it. Second removing the statutory declaration will provide benefits to applicants and local authorities with little risk. Third the bill is short and makes a discrete change to the Rates Rebate Act. It was considered for inclusion in the Statutes Amendment Bill but members of the Opposition didn't agree to that approach. I therefore commend this bill to the House.