Goodhew Jo: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill Charities Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Goodhew Jo: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill Charities Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 30 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2714. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JO GOODHEW (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
 on behalf of the Minister of State Services: I move  
That the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill the Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill and the Charities Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a third time 
. These three bills until recently formed the constituent parts of an omnibus bill the Crown Entities Reform Bill. The three bills all address the Government’s priorities for the State sector with a view to delivering better quality services to New Zealanders. These priorities are reducing State sector fragmentation increasing the viability of Government functions by having them carried out by larger more resilient agencies and increasing State sector efficiency by reducing duplication of services and back-office functions.  
The content of these bills has already been comprehensively addressed in previous speeches. However I will now briefly recap what each bill will accomplish. The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill disestablishes the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) and the Health Sponsorship Council. In their place the bill establishes a new Crown entity the Health Promotion Agency which will take on the health promotion functions of ALAC and the Health Sponsorship Council and will have a wide mandate to carry out other health promotion programmes as well. The bill also disestablishes the Crown Health Financing Agency because it is intended that its functions will now be carried out by Treasury and the Ministry of Health.  
These proposals have received widespread support from both the health sector and the House. It is encouraging that many recognise the benefits that the new Health Promotion Agency will provide with its strong focus on integrated health promotion. The Government believes that the integration of ALAC the Health Sponsorship Council and other health promotion functions will lead to real administrative efficiencies and better health and well-being outcomes for New Zealanders. It is pleasing to see a wide level of support for these goals.  
The Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill brings forward the disestablishment date for the Mental Health Commission which was 31 August 2015 to 1 July 2012. It also establishes a Mental Health Commissioner within the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner whose functions will be to monitor and advocate for improvements to mental health and addiction services in New Zealand. This change will put an end to the uncertainty created by repeated extensions of the Mental Health Commission’s disestablishment date. It will secure a home for mental health advocacy and monitoring in an independent well-established Crown entity. The bill gives strength and robustness to the new Mental Health Commissioner role by establishing it in statute making the Mental Health Commissioner the only deputy commissioner so established.  
The new mental health functions will achieve efficiencies by reducing the duplication of back-office services and will align and integrate well with the Health and Disability Commissioner’s current service improvement functions in line with the Government’s priorities for the State sector.  
The Charities Amendment Bill (No 2) disestablishes the Charities Commission and transfers its functions to the Department of Internal Affairs except for the registration and deregistration of charities which will be performed by an independent statutory board of three persons. All the functions and duties that the Charities Commission currently performs under the Charities Act 2005 will remain. Indeed the promotion of trust and confidence function is moved into the Act’s purpose section reflecting its importance.  
The bill’s changes are structural only and reflect Government priorities of reducing State sector fragmentation improving the resilience of functions by having them carried out by larger agencies and promoting efficiency by integrating similar functions and back-office services. The bill preserves the independence of the charities registration and deregistration functions by providing in law that Ministers may not give any direction to the board or to the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs in respect of these functions. The Department of Internal Affairs has extensive experience supporting independent boards and offices of this kind. In all other respects the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs will be responsible for carrying out the functions set out in the Charities Act and will be responsible to Parliament for its performance in this regard. The Government has every confidence that the charities sector will continue to receive a high level of service and support under the bill’s new arrangements.  
Overall these bills will lead to greater efficiencies in the State sector and ultimately better services for New Zealanders. It is with these goals in mind that I commend these bills to the House.