SpeechFIRE AND EMERGENCY NEW ZEALAND BILLThird ReadingHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Internal Affairs): I move That the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bill be now read a third time. I am delighted to do so on International Firefighters' Day because the firefighters in New Zealand are our most respected and trusted profession and today is a day to celebrate not just the passage of new legislation restructuring and unifying our fire and emergency service but also to recognise the contribution that generations of firefighters—paid urban rural volunteer—have made over the years to delivering a quality service to all New Zealanders; to acknowledge the support of their families who have often put up with their absences; and to acknowledge the work of everyone who has been part of making the Fire Service our pre-eminent emergency service.This bill brings together our fire services as a unified national service for the first time. Fire and Emergency New Zealand will combine rural and urban paid and volunteer together to form a new effective national fire and emergency service fit for purpose in the 21st century. This is the culmination of a series of reviews and reforms over the last 70 years since the Ballantynes fire in Christchurch. It is ironic perhaps that until today the one outstanding recommendation from the 1948 royal commission into the Ballantynes fire was the establishment of a national fire service. Never let it be said that we move hurriedly but today we are giving effect to that outstanding recommendation and I am absolutely delighted to have driven through this reform.There has been huge community engagement throughout this process and the passion and the commitment and the desire for change that we have seen up and down the country at every meeting that I have had with firefighters and community groups over the last 2 years has really made possible the scope of today's change. I want to acknowledge that support. I want to acknowledge the presence of firefighters with us today to celebrate this occasion and I want to acknowledge their support and encouragement as we have gone through.It was no coincidence perhaps—or in many senses it was I assure you—that on the night we had the second reading of the bill in February the Port Hills fires broke out in Christchurch shortly following the Hawke's Bay fires. What those two events did was put a real spotlight on the camaraderie of firefighters the lengths that they will go to to serve their communities and the dangers that they are prepared to face. It also drew attention to why this reform was needed in terms of better coordination a better delivery of service and a positive step forward.It would be remiss of me on this occasion not to acknowledge the sacrifice of Steve Askin the firefighter—or the helicopter pilot—killed during the Port Hills fires to acknowledge his contribution and to express again our sympathy to his family friends and colleagues.Whatever the nature of the emergency not just fire but civil or other emergencies our fire and emergency workers are at the forefront of helping communities. Cyclone earthquake flood—any form of natural pestilence they are there. This legislation puts in place a 21st century solution to their structural issues. It gives them the protections they need the mandate they need but equips them in such a way that they can deliver an effective service for the future.I want to acknowledge the Hon Ruth Dyson who chaired the Government Administration Committee that heard the evidence on this bill. I thank her for the efficient and cooperative way in which that committee did its work and the contribution that she has made as this process has gone through. I want to acknowledge all the parties in this House that have supported this legislation for their encouragement and positivity.What this bill does is it repeals the Fire Services Act 1975 and the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977 and brings them together in one modern piece of legislation. As I have said it confirms the mandate and functions of the Fire Service it gives protection to firefighters in the work that they do and it deals with an extraordinary irony. The very week that the United Nations released a commendatory report on the work of urban search and rescue services in the Christchurch earthquake predominantly carried out by the Fire Service the royal commission of inquiry into that earthquake produced its report and drew attention to the laudatory work of the Fire Service and urban search and rescue but pointed out that it actually had no mandate to carry that out. That was an extraordinary irony. This bill corrects that and makes sure that whether it be getting people out of vehicle accidents extricating people trapped in buildings dealing with hazardous substance incidences tarpaulins on roofs pumping out floods or responding to earthquakes the Fire Service—the new Fire and Emergency New Zealand service—will have a mandate to cope with that.We all know about the work the Fire Service already does in animal rescue technical and maritime rescue continuing a lot of ongoing work with other civil defence agencies and protecting our communities. This is a modern firefighting service for the future. Although it is a national service it is important to recognise in New Zealand that we have very strong regional differences. That is why we are establishing in this bill a network of local committees to ensure that local interests and local perspectives are focused into the development of policy and operations for the new national service. Pilot programmes to establish those committees are already under way.New Zealand has around 14000 fire and emergency workers. Over 80 percent of those are volunteers and the spirit of volunteerism and the contribution of our volunteers stand right at the centre of this new legislation. Our volunteers are critical to the delivery of our service. They are not paid employees so they need to be treated differently and the fire and emergency transition team and this legislation bring volunteers together into a new professional relationship with the central entity. There has been a bit of criticism in recent days largely from ill-informed sources about the fire levy. Vested interests and ill-informed sources will always oppose an insurance-based levy system. They claim it is going to be extremely costly for the people who have to bear the 70c-a-week increase in the Fire Service levy; it would be much better to fund this out of general taxation. Of course if we were to do so tacking on about half a billion dollars a year on to the direct taxpayers' budget would cost individual taxpayers far more than the 70 cents a week that they complain about—but then that is the protection of their vested interest.We have a fairer levy system as a result of this bill. We will ensure through its provisions that there is public consultation and a greater sense of transparency to ensure that the funding that is provided is tied to the strategic needs and business needs of Fire and Emergency New Zealand.We will also have a better disputes resolution service when disputes occur within the service. The current process is cumbersome it is archaic and I think it acts as a disincentive to good problem resolution. This bill sets up new structures in that regard.As I have said this bill has been a very long time coming. There have been something like 16 previous attempts to reform the Fire Service. All have failed for various reasons. Today we stand on the cusp of passing legislation that will ensure Fire and Emergency New Zealand can take its place from 1 July 2017. The principal reason why we have been able to succeed at this time when other attempts have failed has been the goodwill and support and encouragement of the men and women of the New Zealand Fire Service up and down the country who recognised there was an opportunity for change who sought to promote change and who worked constructively with us to achieve that change. I salute them for the work that they have done.I want to acknowledge as I close a number of people. I want to acknowledge the Hon Paul Swain and the board of the New Zealand Fire Service which is soon to be the board of Fire and Emergency New Zealand for the huge job they have done during the transition progress. It has been truly in the right sense of the word an awesome piece of work by them.I want to acknowledge our firefighters up and down the country and my officials in the Department of Internal Affairs who have worked tirelessly and enthusiastically on this legislation since it was but a concept about 2 years ago. It is a great joy for them to see that work come to fruition today. I want to acknowledge the communities of New Zealand which as a result of the passage of this legislation will have a better fire service a better-organised service and a greater level of confidence that their safety is being protected. With huge pride and a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure for the final time I take pleasure in commending this bill to the House.