Tremain Chris: Inquiries Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTremain Chris: Inquiries Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 22 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12763. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRIS TREMAIN (Minister of Internal Affairs):I moveThat the Inquiries Bill be now read a third time . This bill is intended to reform and modernise the law relating to inquiries and it largely replaces the Commissions of Inquiry Act of 1908. It was introduced by the previous Government in response to a Law Commission review of the law relating to inquiries. The Government recognises that the law in this area is long overdue for an update. Contrary to reports this bill was not forgotten by the Government. The bill was reported back from the Government Administration Committee in 2009. Of course the Minister of Internal Affairs then was the Hon Nathan Guy. I would also like to thank him for his work at the time. I understand that there was some confusion during the second reading of the bill as the printed version of the bill was of course in the name of the Minister at the time of the select committee report.I would like to take this opportunity to clarify again that the bill was deliberately put on hold during the Canterbury earthquakes and the Pike River royal commissions of inquiry to enable us to learn from those inquiries and strengthen the bill as a result. Following those royal commissions of inquiry the Department of Internal Affairs began developing a Supplementary Order Paper which was close to completion when the whey protein contamination incident arose. This has highlighted the need for a robust inquiry process. I am pleased that we have been able to introduce Supplementary Order Paper 330 and pass the bill quickly through its remaining stages in response to this incident and I thank all members of the House for that.The bill provides a much stronger framework for an inquiry to occur. Up until now ministerial inquiries have been operating outside the statutory framework. The bill will ensure that Government inquiries have the powers and protections necessary to be effective. The bill provides a modern framework in which inquiries will be able to operate in the future and we largely have the Law Commission and the select committee process to thank for that. It provides for two new types of inquiries public inquiries and Government inquiries while recognising and providing for royal commissions established under the letters patent. Public inquiries will be established for matters of significant public importance. Government inquiries will deal with more immediate issues where a quick and authoritative answer is required from an independent inquiry. All types of inquiries will have the same level of powers and protections available to them.I would like to thank members for their constructive comments from across the Chamber in the Committee of the whole House and for their support for the amendments that were put forward. Those amendments arose from lessons learnt from the two recent royal commissions of inquiry and will provide greater procedural flexibility and clarity. I intend to arrange for the publication of the Cabinet paper detailing the work on those amendments on the Department of Internal Affairs website shortly. I am also pleased that we were able to support the amendment brought forward by the Hon Trevor Mallard which will ensure that inquiries give due consideration to the need for open justice when considering whether to withhold information.We recognise the importance of justice being done and being seen to be done. An open process is important for establishing or re-establishing public confidence and for perceptions of independence. However we also agree with the Law Commission that although inquiries should be as open as possible there will be cases where their purposes are better served without formal hearings and where witnesses can speak freely without fear of public exposure. The bill provides that an inquiry can set out itsown access regime including the circumstances in which access to evidence documents and hearings may be restricted.I would also like to thank Holly Walker for raising in the Committee stage the importance of participants in an inquiry having protections under the law. The privileges set out in the Evidence Act 2006 relating to confidentiality religious communications matters of State and confidential journalistic sources will apply to inquiries in the same way that they apply before the courts for civil proceedings. Under the new regime documentation from both public inquiries and Government inquiries will be subject to the Official Information Act once an inquiry has reported. However it will be possible to withhold information on specified grounds such as where a submission provided to an inquiry contains sensitive information. The bill also provides for the way in which the Public Records Act will apply to inquiry documentation once the inquiry has concluded.The Inquiries Bill is intended to eventually replace the outdated Commissions of Inquiry Act. Only sections 2 and 15 of the 1908 Act which relate to the appointment of commissions of inquiry and royal commissions respectively are repealed by this bill. This is because a number of other statutory entities take their powers from the 1908 Act. However the bill requires a review of the powers of these entities to commence within 5 years of the new Act entering into force and that review will identify whether the powers required by these entities can be more appropriately provided for in other legislation allowing the final repeal of the 1908 Act.Can I take this opportunity to thank my team in the Department of Internal Affairs. They have dealt with this bill for a number of years now and they are very pleased to see it moving forward and entering as legislation in the House. I particularly acknowledge the hard work of Brian Hesketh and Kate Timlin on this bill. It has been satisfying to see widespread support for the bill as it has progressed through the House. Once again I would like to thank the Law Commission for the extensive review it carried out into the law relating to inquiries. I am pleased that as a consequence of the commission’s review and this bill inquiries will now operate within a regime that reflects modern practices and that is a good thing. I commend this bill to the House.