Joyce StevenREGULATORY SYSTEMS (BUILDING AND HOUSING) AMENDMENT BILLREGULATORY SYSTEMS (WORKPLACE RELATIONS) AMENDMENT BILLREGULATORY SYSTEMS (COMMERCIAL MATTERS) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingsHon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Regulatory Reform): I move That the Regulatory Systems (Building and Housing) Amendment Bill the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Bill and the Regulatory Systems (Commercial Matters) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Local Government and Environment Committee to consider the Regulatory Systems (Building and Housing) Amendment Bill the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee to consider the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Bill and the Commerce Committee to consider the Regulatory Systems (Commercial Matters) Amendment Bill. The three regulatory systems amendment bills are each omnibus bills in their own right. They contain amendments to legislation administered by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. As stated in the 2014 Productivity Commission report Regulatory institutions and practices regulation touches the lives of all New Zealanders in many ways. It is indispensable to the proper functioning of economies and societies. Regulation when implemented well underpins markets protects the rights and safeties of citizens and their property and assists the efficient and equitable delivery of goods and services. It is an important tool in preserving and advancing the public interest.These amendment bills will achieve effectiveness and efficiency by clarifying and updating statutory provisions addressing regulatory duplication gaps and errors bringing the legislation up to date with relevant public expectations as well as removing unnecessary compliance costs. These bills will reduce the chance of regulatory failure and unintended consequences that can harm the well-being of New Zealanders. The amendment bills will improve laws that affect business building and housing energy communications commerce and consumer affairs and workplace relations regulatory systems. Each of the changes are small and do not warrant stand-alone bills in their own right but together they will ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency of the relevant regulatory systems.In line with the Government's objectives of regulatory transparency the exposure draft of the Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill was released in December last year. The exposure draft served its purpose well in that businesses and relevant organisations provided feedback on the proposed amendments and that feedback has been reflected in the bills before you today. A summary of each bill is as follows.Firstly the Regulatory Systems (Building and Housing) Amendment Bill is made up of amendments to a number of Acts including the Building Act 2004 and the Unit Titles Act 2010. In the Building Act there are minor amendments to correct cross-referencing provisions and to remove a redundant provision. In the Unit Titles Act 2010 the amendments are technical and clarifying provisions to reduce unnecessary compliance burden and ambiguity in the Act. The amendments include clarifying the terminology and responsibilities for assessment and reassessment of ownership and utility interest providing time frames for the body corporate share person to call and hold an extraordinary general meeting when requested by unit owners and clarifying that the incidental rights in section 73 are in respect of all the land to which the unit plan relates.The Regulatory Systems (Commercial Matters) Amendment Bill contains amendments to 16 Acts in total: the Building Societies Act 1965 the Commerce Act 1986 the Companies Act 1993 the Construction Contracts Act 2002 the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000 the Fair Trading Act 1986 the Financial Advisers Act 2008 the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011 the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982 the Gas Act 1992 the Insolvency Act 2006 the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Act 2001 the Postal Services Act 1998 and the Takeovers Act 1993. Rather than go through each change to each Act let me highlight the common themes behind the changes.The first theme relates to clarity of regulatory roles—for example in the Fair Trading Act 1986. The changes are to ensure consistency between regimes and provide clarity in the split of regulatory responsibilities between the Commerce Commission and the Financial Markets Authority. The second theme is good governance and decision-making arrangements for example in the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008. The change ensures the integrity of the register of financial service providers by ensuring the Registrar of Financial Service Providers has the power to initiate deregistration of a financial service provider where the provider is not but should be a member of a dispute resolution scheme. Another common theme is strong institutions and leadership. For example in the Commerce Act 1986 the amendments will improve legal clarity and certainty by clarifying provisions in relation to lay members of the High Court and expenses of the Commerce Commission incurred under multi-year appropriations.The omnibus bill the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Bill makes amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. In the Employment Relations Act the proposed amendments clarify the circumstances in which a person is regarded as being involved in a breach of employment standards. The amendments to the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act will improve the clarity and certainty of the Act in relation to pre-term and parental leave payments.I have nominated the three bills be considered by the three earlier advised select committees. In conclusion in 2014 the Productivity Commission's report found that it can be difficult to find time on the parliamentary calendar for repairs and maintenance of existing legislation. These amendment bills are the vehicles for smaller regulatory fixes to be progressed in a timely and cost-effective way in order to deliver the flow-on benefits to businesses and the whole of the economy. I commend these bills to the House.