Brown Simeon; Tuiono TeanauPUBLIC FINANCE (FINES COLLECTION COSTS—BUDGET MEASURES) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Local Government) on behalf of the Minister of Justice: I present a legislative statement on the Public Finance (Fines Collection Costs—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill.SPEAKER: The legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on Parliament's website.Hon SIMEON BROWN: I move That the Public Finance (Fines Collection Costs—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. This bill is part of a package of proposals that support the Government's Budget goal to deliver efficient effective and fiscally sustainable public services. The package promotes the effective provision of court and tribunal services and will contribute to the target of getting the Government's books back into balance. Furthermore this bill will increase revenue at a time when we're investing a crucial $2.9 billion into restoring law and order and cleaning up the mess left by the last Government. Our Government is facing up to the reality left behind: New Zealand isn't as safe as it once was. It isn't the New Zealand many of us grew up in. This kind of revenue will allow us to invest in addressing serious youth offending ensuring there are real consequences for crime increasing prison capacity and getting more police officers on the beat.This bill will amend section 73 of the Public Finance Act 1989. I acknowledge the Minister of Finance's agreement to the amendment. The bill will increase the proportion of fines retained by the Crown which are collected in the courts by the Ministry of Justice on behalf of local authorities and other organisations. The percentage of fines collected which will be retained by the Crown will increase from 10 percent to 14 percent and is expected to increase net revenue by $2.697 million across 2024-25 to 2028-29. This does not include fines collected for Government departments or Crown entities but does include council-controlled organisations.Provision of collection enforcement services by the ministry for local authorities and other organisations includes a high volume of fines imposed for infringement offences. Individuals who commit an infringement offence such as illegal parking must pay a fine. If a person fails to pay an infringement fee local authorities can choose whether to use the collection and enforcement services provided by the courts to collect this fee. When fines are recovered by the Ministry of Justice on behalf—Hon Dr Duncan Webb: It's a parking tax.Hon SIMEON BROWN: —listen—of local authorities and other organisations—Hon Dr Megan Woods: We're listening all right—so's the rest of the country.Hon SIMEON BROWN: Listen up. When fines are recovered by the Ministry of Justice on behalf of local authorities and other organisations 10 percent is credited to the Crown in accordance with section 73 of the Public Finance Act and the remainder of the fine is paid by the local authority. The 10 percent deducted from fines is retained by the Crown rather than the ministry but reflects a contribution towards the cost of collection and enforcement services. The 10 percent retained by the Crown from fines it recovers was set in 1989 and has not been reviewed or increased in over 30 years. The costs of collection have of course increased over that time. Local authorities and other organisations who receive most of the money the court collects for their fines benefit from using the service and should be responsible for a reasonable level of costs for the recovery.The increase in the amount of the fine the Crown retains from 10 percent to 14 percent is comparable to the proportion charged by private debt collectors. The recovery rate will remain competitive whilst still helping to cover the costs of collection.This bill is part of a suite of changes to update fees and costs in courts and tribunals which will increase revenue. These fees and costs will be increased in line with inflation since they were last set and most come into force on 1 July. There are 26 Orders in Council giving effect to the fee changes. Most of these have not been updated in over 10 years. These collection charges include fees paid to file unpaid infringements for collection and the court costs—these have not been updated since 1998—and the enforcement fee for fines which was last updated in 2013. It is appropriate that the costs of collecting and enforcing fines are recovered from those who commit the offences and have unpaid fines. The suite of changes which includes this bill will encourage recipients to resolve their infringements directly with the issuing authorities rather than leaving them unpaid. It is important that where the courts' collection services are used the portion of fines retained by the Crown is also increased through this bill to ensure it reflects increases in collection costs. It is intended that this bill will come into force through the Budget night legislation and the proposed commencement is 1 July 2024. I commend the bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): The question is that the motion be agreed to.