Hipkins ChrisSTANDING ORDERSSessionalHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I seek leave to amend the motion as set down on the Order Paper by replacing in paragraph 2 In a week" with "In any week" and to replace "to be Estimates week" with "to be an Estimates week". That's in accordance with the conversations that I've had with the other side.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There appears to be none. The motion is so amended.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Thank you Mr Speaker. I move That—(1) The main Appropriation Bill may be introduced after the announcement of the introduction of bills on any sitting day previously notified to the House by the Government despite Standing Order 333(1). (2) In any week that is determined by the Business Committee to be an Estimates week any select committee may meet for the purpose of examining the Estimates during a sitting of the House (except during oral questions) during an evening (after 6 pm) on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on the Friday of that week despite Standing Orders 191 and 194(1)(b) and (c). (3) Select committees must within 10 weeks of the delivery of the Budget report to the House on all of their examinations of the Estimates and on the fiscal strategy report and the economic and fiscal update despite Standing Orders 336(2) and 338(2). (4) The debate on the question for the third reading of the main Appropriation Bill must be completed within four months of the delivery of the Budget despite Standing Order 341(1).This motion if agreed will become a sessional order that makes changes to how the Budget process is handled by the House and through select committees. There are four elements to the motion and I will quickly go through each of them. Currently Standing Order 333 dictates that the Budget must be delivered on a Thursday. This has not always been the case and there really isn't a good reason to say that it must be done on a Thursday. The first section of the motion sets out that it could be a Tuesday a Wednesday or a Thursday for the Budget. This means that if there's legislation resulting from the Budget to be passed under urgency as there often is it might make sense to do it during the working week rather than extending Parliament into the weekend as has often been the case in the past. It doesn't say to the Government—any Government—that that is what must happen; it gives the Government of the day that opportunity. The Budget date for 2019 has not yet been set—that's a matter for the Minister of Finance.The consideration of the Estimates by a select committee is a very important part of the House's scrutiny of the Government's spending plans with Ministers appearing before select committees being a core part of that process. For the last couple of years Estimates and Estimates week have been identified with the idea of focusing Estimates hearings in a week—or around a week and a half I think it roughly worked out to be this year. The success of this initiative of course has been limited by the fact that the time earmarked by the Business Committee has been a non-sitting period. So paragraph 2 of this motion allows for the Business Committee to identify a sitting week—or now sitting weeks—where the select committees might meet to examine Estimates referred to them by the House including when the House is sitting. This is important because that would not normally be permitted under the Standing Orders. This will make it easier for the select committees to arrange their programme and to ensure the availability of Ministers to attend to that. I can give the House an assurance that as long as I am the Leader of the House I will endeavour during any week to be identified as Estimates week to schedule business that is of the least controversial nature and more low-key so that members during that time can focus on the very important task of scrutinising the Estimates as fully as possible.The amendment that I sought leave for at the start of this debate clarifies that the Business Committee could nominate more than one week to be Estimates week. Currently Standing Orders give select committees two months to report on the Estimates that are referred to them. In practice this period is reduced by the time taken by the Office of the Auditor-General to produce the briefings for the committees and for their reports to be written and considered. So paragraph 3 extends the period by which select committees must report to the House to 10 weeks after Budget day. It's a small amount of extra time but it does give select committees more space to do their job thoroughly and ensures that the examination of the Estimates is effective.Currently the third reading of the main Estimates bill has to take place within three months of Budget day. The Estimates debate by the committee of the whole House normally takes place after the select committees report. It occupies 11 hours of the House's time and then the third reading takes a further three hours. Therefore an extension of time given to select committees also needs to be matched by an extension of time for the final stages of the House's consideration which is what paragraph 4 of the motion does by requiring the third reading to be completed by four months after the delivery of the Budget.These are relatively small changes to the Budget process but collectively—together—I think they offer significant enhancements to the ability of the House and of members to perform the very important scrutiny function that the House has. I'd like to thank the Business Committee for facilitating these changes and for supporting this debate."