Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Bill — Second Reading 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13719] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 It is my privilege to participate in the second reading of the Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Bill this afternoon. This bill highlights concerns demonstrated by the review of the 1974 Private Investigators and Security Guards Act. This bill repeals and replaces the Act. 
There have been major developments since that Act was enacted in 1974. Public and private security personnel did not have access to cameras and other surveillance equipment in those days as they do today. The bill will ensure that in future there will be better screening and monitoring of all personnel entering this industry and it will bring New Zealand in line with the United Kingdom and Australia. 
Due to terrorist attacks worldwide and other security threats security personnel may find themselves in a situation where there is a risk to their lives and may even encounter physical confrontation. This bill regulates all people involved in this industry to undertake some kind of training to handle such situations. In particular bouncers will now be required to undertake training and hold a licence. I know that everyone in the House will have heard stories about patrons of bars or clubs being seriously hurt or killed in altercations with bouncers or other customers. We all know about or can imagine the damage that can be done through the improper use of personal and confidential information. This bill addresses these very real and very significant risks. 
The other thing I want to mention in relation to the bill is that the good people in this industry—the vast majority who carry out their roles with the highest degree of integrity and take pride in their work—stand to gain as much as society. Any industry is degraded by the presence of cowboys. Therefore those who hold themselves up as able to perform these roles with integrity and skill are protected and insured by this bill. We can have faith as a society that people carrying out these roles have skills and training and that they serve to enhance the reputation of the profession as a whole. 
Volunteers such as people performing volunteer neighbourhood patrols do not have to hold a licence or a certificate of approval. In-house security personnel—people who are employed to provide security services directly to their employer—do not have to have a licence or hold a certificate of approval. The exception is that an in-house crowd controller such as a bouncer employed by a bar has to have a certificate of approval. It is very important for crowd controllers to be trained as we will be hosting the Rugby World Cup next year. These crowd controllers should have adequate training to handle such a situation. 
This bill also provides for an increase in penalties to individuals and companies who employ someone without such training from $2000 to $20000. Any individual operating an illegitimate business will be fined $40000 and any company operating without a licence will be liable to pay $60000. 
During the select committee process many submissions were received and heard. The main concern was about clause 66. Clause 66 like the Act of 1974 prohibits private investigators from taking or using photographs or audio recordings without obtaining a person’s written consent. This clause is quite controversial. The select committee has a majority undertaking to remove clause 66 which will be replaced with a regulatory code of conduct for private investigators. 
With its balanced approach to regulation the bill provides for a modest low-cost and self-funding occupational regulatory regime in response to concerns that the 1974 Act is out of date. It strikes the right balance between the regulatory cost and the risk associated with the industry. The bill will ensure better screening and monitoring of individuals who want to enter this industry. I support this bill in its second reading.