Huo Raymond: Statutes Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Huo Raymond: Statutes Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 29 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12290. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAYMOND HUO (Labour) 
: 
 I will take a short call to support the Statutes Amendment Bill. This bill is a good vehicle to tie up a number of pieces of legislation in one hit and to correct anomalous errors within a sensible frame. 
My colleague Charles Chauvel expressed some concerns during the first and second readings that a number of the provisions were straying close to the edge of what is acceptable in statutes amendment legislation. I am particularly interested in two issues. The first is that Labour has expressed its objection to Part 47 of the bill which amends section 11 of the Wills Act 2007. The Wills Act came into force on 1 November 2007 and it was hailed as a timely reform of succession law. It replaced the old British Wills Act 1837 which governed a lot of the law in New Zealand for 180 years. It is only 41 sections long and it is easy to read. What is more fantastic is that the Act was drafted in plain English. It is easy to understand and most of all it is accessible to all people. The terms “testator” and “testatrix” have been replaced by “will-maker” and a “testamentary document” is now simply a “will”. The Act was welcomed because it made it easier for a will to be drafted to reflect the will-maker’s intentions and wishes. 
The current law says that the will-maker must in the presence of two witnesses sign the will either personally or by acknowledging another’s signing on the will-maker’s behalf. But the change proposed in this bill to section 11 substituting new section 11(4)(a)(ii)(A) will also allow will-makers to effectively sign a will not by signing it but by acknowledging a signature as his or hers. This is bad according to Margaret Nixon of the Parliamentary Counsel Office for two reasons: the will as executed could be challenged on the grounds that the will-maker particularly the elderly did not have will-making capacity and the idea is just as bad for younger people; and it makes incorrect judicial statutory interpretations into statutory law. Legislation should restore Parliament’s original intention if the common law has not corrected the misinterpretation in later cases. 
In a similar vein new section 11(4)(a)(ii)(B) resolves ambiguity in section 11 of the Wills Act. The ambiguity is whether a person signing at the direction of the will-maker must do so in the presence of the witnesses or may do so in the presence only of the will-maker. This is clearly a controversial issue and we think it should be referred to the select committee. 
The second issue relates to the amendments in clause 119 to section 94A of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988. This amendment concerns the independence of witnesses to enduring powers of attorney and seems to be policy-related. The Government Administration Committee report recommended that no change be made to clause 119 of the bill as section 108AAB of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Act 2007 provides for a review in 2013 of the effectiveness of the amendments and whether further amendments are desirable. 
Unlike an ordinary power of attorney an enduring power of attorney allows a person’s attorney to act for that person if that person becomes mentally incapable. The law in connection with enduring powers of attorney changed from 26 September 2008 including the process for completing an enduring power of attorney. Those changes also required the donor to receive an explanation of the effects and implications of it and of other matters from the person who witnesses the donor’s signature. That person must also give a certificate as to certain matters before signing the enduring power of attorney. Thank you. 
Part 1 agreed to. 
Part 2 agreed to. 
Part 3 agreed to. 
Part 4 agreed to. 
Part 5 agreed to. 
Part 6 agreed to. 
Part 7 agreed to. 
Part 8 agreed to. 
Part 9 agreed to. 
Part 10 agreed to. 
Part 11 agreed to. 
Part 12 agreed to. 
Part 13 agreed to. 
Part 14 agreed to. 
Part 15 agreed to. 
Part 16 agreed to. 
Part 17 agreed to. 
Part 18 agreed to. 
Part 19 agreed to. 
Part 20 agreed to. 
Part 21 agreed to. 
Part 22 agreed to. 
Part 23 agreed to. 
Part 24 agreed to. 
Part 25 agreed to. 
Part 26 agreed to. 
Part 27 agreed to. 
Part 28 agreed to. 
Part 29 agreed to. 
Part 30 agreed to. 
Part 31 agreed to. 
Part 32 agreed to. 
Part 33 agreed to. 
Part 34 agreed to. 
The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 143 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to Part 35 be agreed to. 
Amendment agreed to. 
Part 35 as amended agreed to. 
Part 36 agreed to. 
Part 37 agreed to. 
Part 38 agreed to. 
The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 125 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to new Part 38A be agreed to. 
New Part 38A agreed to. 
Part 39 agreed to. 
The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 126 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to Part 40 be agreed to. 
Amendment agreed to. 
Part 40 as amended agreed to. 
Part 41 agreed to. 
The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 148 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to Part 42 be agreed to. 
Amendment agreed to. 
Part 42 as amended agreed to. 
Part 43 agreed to. 
Part 44 agreed to. 
Part 45 agreed to. 
Part 46 agreed to. 
Part 47 objected to and struck out of the bill. 
The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 142 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to schedule 1 be agreed to. 
Amendment agreed to. 
Schedule 1 as amended agreed to. 
The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 142 in the name of the Hon Nathan Guy to schedule 2 be agreed to. 
Amendment agreed to. 
Schedule 2 as amended agreed to. 
Schedule 3 agreed to. 
Clause 1 agreed to. 
Clause 2 agreed to. 
The Committee divided the bill into the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill the Animal Products Amendment Bill the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Bill the Births Deaths Marriages and Relationships Registration Amendment Bill the Building Amendment Bill the Charitable Trusts Amendment Bill the Chatham Islands Council Amendment Bill the Companies Amendment Bill (No 2) the Conservation Amendment Bill (No 2) the Copyright Amendment Bill the Coroners Amendment Bill the Court Martial Amendment Bill the Court Martial Appeals Amendment Bill the Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons United Nations and Associated Personnel and Hostages) Amendment Bill the Crown Entities Amendment Bill the Defence Amendment Bill the Dog Control Amendment Bill the Electoral Amendment Bill (No 2) the Epidemic Preparedness Amendment Bill the Fire Service Amendment Bill the Flags Emblems and Names Protection Amendment Bill the Immigration Advisers Licensing Amendment Bill the Incorporated Societies Amendment Bill the Insolvency Amendment Bill (No 2) the Juries Amendment Act 2008 Amendment Bill the Marriage Amendment Bill the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 2) the National Parks Amendment Bill the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Amendment Bill the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Amendment Bill (No 3) the Property Law Amendment Bill the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill the Public Finance Amendment Bill the Public Records Amendment Bill the Radiocommunications Amendment Bill the Rates Rebate Amendment Bill the Real Estate Agents Amendment Bill the Securities Amendment Bill (No 2) the Sentencing Amendment Bill (No 4) the Social Security Amendment Bill (No 2) the Statistics Amendment Bill the Summary Proceedings Amendment Bill the Takeovers Amendment Bill the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre (Wairarapa) Amendment Bill the Telecommunications Amendment Bill the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill and the Wild Animal Control Amendment Bill pursuant to Supplementary Order Paper127. 
Bill reported with amendment. 
Report adopted.