Cullen Michael: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill Racing Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Cullen Michael: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill Racing Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:634;Page:6102] 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I move  
That the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill and the Racing Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill is an important contribution to the trans-Tasman single economic market. It is a pioneering step in cross-border banking supervision cooperation. The trans-Tasman market of course is not the only cross-border banking market in the world. We are showing the way in which regulators can work together on shared issues and be alert to each other’s interests in times of stress. The fact is that most—nearly all—of our retail banks are owned from Australia and that therefore cooperation is crucial to the financial health of the New Zealand economy. 
The Reserve Bank and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority the Australian regulator have already made a number of commitments to cooperate on prudential matters. The proposed changes in the bill and in the reciprocal Australian legislation currently before the Australian Senate will strengthen that commitment. They do so by creating upon each regulator a duty to consider formally the interests of the other regulator. There are specific duties to consult and to avoid interference with outsourcing arrangements when actions taken in one jurisdiction may impact adversely on the other. The bill draws a realistic balance between the desirability of trans-Tasman cooperation and the independence and discretion of each prudential regulator within international boundaries. That will help I think to enhance the maintenance of financial stability in both countries. 
There is also a technical amendment to the Racing Act to ensure that the Racing Board has the necessary flexibility in setting its policy to round dividends. That is in response to the withdrawal of the 5c piece. Members might wish to know or have probably already noticed that the old coins have just about disappeared from circulation but that only 30 percent of the silver coins have yet been returned to the Reserve Bank. This suggests that the 5c pieces in particular have largely disappeared because people have found them a nuisance to handle in relation to their actual value. But I do say that if people have lots of the old coins in their possession I am sure they can use those for the Labour Party “great whip-round” because they can still be traded in to the Reserve Bank in terms of being actual money. 
Hon Member 
: Ha ha! 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I would not want to give that member a whip-round. Again I thank the Finance and Expenditure Committee those who made submissions and officials for their work on the legislation. I also thank the House for its rapid consideration of the legislation in the Committee stage yesterday. It is simple technical legislation and it has widespread support particularly from the major Opposition party. I would not be very happy about passing any significant amendments to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act without at least bipartisan support from the two main parties.