Shaw James: Standards and Accreditation Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeShaw James: Standards and Accreditation Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 04 November 2014. Volume:701;Page:495. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAMES SHAW (Green):I rise to offer the Green Party’s support for the Standards and Accreditation Bill being read a first time and referred to the Commerce Committee for the consideration of submissions.I was lucky some years ago to do a piece of work for the British Standards Institution exploring the development of a new standard for ethical fashion—in other words items of clothing that conformed to fair trade organic cotton non-chemical dyes etc. This is only one of several tens of thousands of standards that the British Standards Institution had developed and maintained over time. The British Standards Institution is probably the world’s leading institution in this field and I am sure that it will be an example that will be examined by those who are working on this bill.There comes a time when any piece of legislation should be reviewed to ensure that it is still fit for purpose and both the Standards Act and the Testing Laboratory Registration Act have been on the statute book for almost as long as I have been alive—since 1988 and 1972 respectively—so it is pleasing that in 2012 the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment took the initiative to undertake a review of those legislative provisions and during the review process undertook extensive consultation with stakeholders. It did find that the current provisions were no longer fit for purpose and that change was required to the national standards body because in particular it was not financially sustainable within its current business model given its operating environment. This is hardly surprising given for example that a Testing Laboratory Registration Council - accredited laboratory is now a requirement for over $20 billion of New Zealand’s exports which was something that probably was not foreseen in 1972 when its Act was passed.The Green Party acknowledges that a well-functioning standards system must have sufficient flexibility to align with Government priorities such as innovation and trade facilitation. However we also would like to stress the point that is contained in this draft bill of keeping the actual process of developing standards independent and free from interference by Ministers or ministries. That is essential in order to maintain the integrity of our standards and to maintain public confidence in them both in New Zealand and among our trading partners. In that regard I think that the Government has got the balance just about right with this bill by maintaining the statutory independence of the new New Zealand Standards Approval Board the NZ Standards Executive and the Accreditation Council from the Minister and the ministry.One aspect that I would question is whether it is appropriate for the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to appoint the entirety of the membership of the New Zealand Standards Approval Board as the bill currently provides. Although the board will be required to be statutorily independent having the Minister appoint all of its members including the chairperson could be seen to be giving rise to cronyism and to the perception of undue ministerial influence through ministerial appointments over the decisions and recommendations of the board. So perhaps some consideration should be given to having the sectors that contribute to the standards appointing at least some of the membership of the board directly rather than having all of the appointments being made by the Minister. That is an issue that I hope the select committee will address.The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment reported back largely positive feedback from stakeholders in the development of the policy upon which the bill is based. The select committee process will provide a further opportunity for stakeholders and for the wider public to have input into a piece of legislation that is necessary but that could be seen to be quite complex. The Green Party is supporting this bill being referred to the select committee.