Ririnui Mita: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRirinui Mita: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) — First Reading[Sitting date: 11 October 2007. Volume:642;Page:12320. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon MITA RIRINUI (Minister of State)on behalf of theMinister of Finance: I moveThat the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) be now read a first time.At the conclusion of the first reading debate I will move that the bill be referred to the Regulations Review Committee with an instruction that the bill be finally reported back by 12 November 2007.This is a routine annual bill to confirm and validate items of subordinate legislation that in accordance with the confirmation and validation provisions in the Acts under which these various instruments are made lapse at stated times unless earlier confirmed or validated by an Act of Parliament. This year the bill provides for Parliament to confirm or validate and confirm 16 Orders in Council made under 10 Acts. To avoid the subordinate legislation lapsing the bill must be re-enacted by the end of 2007. The 12 November report-back date will allow time for the select committee to receive explanations on the contents of the bill from the various departments that administer various orders and regulations while still leaving time for the bill to pass its remaining stages before the end of the year.Two of the 16 orders apply movements in the consumer price index to the rates of social security benefits New Zealand superannuation and war pensions. One of thoseorders also makes an additional increase to the rate of New Zealand superannuation so that the net amount payable to a married civil union or de facto couple is 66 percent of the net average wage. Three orders are made under the Customs and Excise Act 1996. These orders apply movements in the consumer price index to the rates of excise and excise-equivalent duties on alcohol and tobacco products and motor spirits.One order is made under the Tariff Act 1988. It changes from 1 September 2007 the duty-free quantity of alcohol spirits that passengers may import into New Zealand from one 1125 ml bottle to not more than three 1125 ml bottles. This order was accompanied by a separate regulation to exempt alcohol from the diminished provision where duty is not collected if the total amount payable is less than $50. These changes reflect current practice in maintaining the status quo in light of the inflation increases in duty. Six of the orders deal with commodity levies and three replace similar orders relating to pipfruit that expired in December 2006 vegetables and fruit that expired in July 2007 and will expire in November 2007 and avocados that expired in August 2007. Those orders were voted on by the respective industry participants themselves. Each is payable to the industry organisation to finance activities of benefit to the industry.The other three commodity levy orders relate to fisheries. One exempts for 5 years the existing order relating to fish. It was made at the request of the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council to which the levy is payable and it finances work on policy issues research promotion and administration for the seafood industry. Another order replaces the existing levy order relating to southern scallops that expired in July 2007 and also changes the way in which the levy is calculated. The third fisheries-related order made under the Commodity Levies Act 1990 imposes a single levy on farmed green-lipped mussels Pacific oysters and salmon. It replaces two existing levies on farmed green-lipped mussels and Pacific oysters and a voluntary levy paid on farmed salmon. It is payable to the recently established industry organisation Aquaculture New Zealand. A further order concerning fishing is made under the Fisheries Act 1996. This order made a number of changes to the administrative aspects of the quota management system. The aspect of the order concerning the annual catch entitlement holdings for the South Island’s West Coastpāua fisheries requires confirming and this is achieved by confirming the whole order.Regulations made under the Animal Products Act 1999 give effect to cost recovery proposals for services provided by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Biosecurity New Zealand relating to the production processing and export of animal products and the export of live animals and animal germ plasm. The regulations redistribute fees and charges so that they are more equitable and justifiable and replace various fees and charges that have been in place since 2003.An order made under the Gambling Act 2003 specifies the problem-gambling levy that will be payable between 1 July 2007 and 20 July 2010 by the gaming-machine operator a casino operator the Lotteries Commission and the New Zealand Racing Board. This levy money funds the costs of developing managing and delivering an integrated problem-gambling strategy by the Ministry of Health. The final order to be confirmed is made under the Road User Charges Act 1977 and increases rates of road-user charges for heavy vehicles. I commend this bill to the House.