Hipkins ChrisSTATE SECTOR AND CROWN ENTITIES REFORM BILLThird ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of State Services): I move That the State Sector and Crown Entities Reform Bill be now read a third time. This bill makes changes to the State Sector Act of 1988 and the Crown Entities Act of 2004. The Government recognises the need for greater consistency in the standards and expectations across the State sector. New Zealand's State services are a wide and diverse group of entities. Crown entities for example are separate legal entities that operate at arm's length from Ministers and come under varying levels of ministerial control or influence depending on the type of entity they may be but they are still part of our broader Public Service and they still exist to serve the public interest. Crown entities operate with public money for the public good and they're often the face of Government providing the majority of public services that New Zealanders use every day. They are responsible for running public hospitals and schools and a range of other service delivery and regulatory activities. It's important that these entities remain connected to the core values of public service and the unifying spirit of service to the community. That is what this bill is all about. The bill brings parts of the State sector into better alignments that exist in other parts of the State sector. That allows for stronger oversight and regulation of Crown entity chief executive pay—which we've been debating extensively last night—and the conduct of board members and it provides the investigation powers for the State Services Commissioner to investigate any impropriety in the sector. These are all necessary changes. They promote the integrity and the transparency and accountability required in the Crown entities and in doing so I hope that they will bolster the trust and confidence New Zealanders can have in the Public Service and in particular those public services delivered by Crown entities. To recap very briefly Part 1 of the bill makes two key changes to the Crown Entities Act. First it requires the State Services Commissioner to give express consent to the terms and conditions of employment including remuneration of any Crown entity chief executive. This is a change from the current arrangement for a number of Crown entities although that provision does exist for some Crown entities already. There is a high level of public concern about the growing salaries of Crown entity chief executives. There is a risk that the growth in chief executive pay is starting to erode public confidence in the broader Public Service and in Crown entities in particular. This bill creates a much more robust system and one that I am confident the New Zealand public can have confidence in.Part 2 of the bill makes key changes to the State Sector Act to strengthen integrity as well as accountability across our public services our State services. It provides a clear and mandated mechanism for the State Services Commissioner to oversee the integrity of State sector boards and board members including setting high standards of integrity and conduct. It provides the commissioner with the ability to issue a code of conduct but it is important to note that that code will not override members' existing statutory duties or functions and the bill has been amended by the Governance and Administration Committee to make that very clear. The bill also introduces a consistent approach in the way inquiries are carried out by the State Services Commissioner that brings them into line with changes that the Parliament made around the Inquiries Act in 2013.So once again I believe that this bill will help to strengthen the accountability arrangements within the wider Public Service. I want to thank members on the select committee once again for the constructive way they approached this legislation. I want to welcome the support for the bill across the House. I want to welcome the very robust scrutiny and critique that the bill was given yesterday afternoon as it went through the committee stage and I look forward to this bill being passed through its remaining stage through the House this afternoon.