Hipkins ChrisSUBORDINATE LEGISLATION CONFIRMATION BILL (NO 2)Second ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That the Subordinate Legislation Confirmation Bill (No 2) be now read a second time. I suspect after that last debate that this is going to be somewhat of an anticlimax for the House particularly after the very moving speeches that we just heard and the very warm and considered contributions from members across the House—this is somewhat of a contrast.Subordinate legislation confirmation bills are an annual event in this House. Their purpose is to confirm by an Act of Parliament regulations that would otherwise be revoked on a particular date in some cases at the end of the year. If these regulations were allowed to lapse the result would be administrative chaos considerable expense and the loss of a significant amount of revenue. The process is set out in the Legislation Act 2012 having been clarified in detail by the Legislation (Confirmable Instruments) Amendment Act 2015. With only the second reading of the subordinate legislation confirmation bills being debatable detailed select committee consideration of the bill is particularly important. I'd like to thank the Regulations Review Committee under the chairmanship of the Hon Gerry Brownlee for the work that they have done on this bill which was examined with commendable thoroughness. Explanations about why the instruments should be confirmed were sought from five Government departments that have responsibility for administering them as a result of which the committee felt they were able to recommend that all of those instruments be confirmed by the House. The committee's report also contained reflections on the confirmation process itself which could be fed into the Standing Orders Committee's triennial review of Parliament's rules in 2020. Having had some conversations with members involved in that process I think there are some really good issues there that the Standing Orders Committee could get into in more detail. This year's bill confirms delegated legislation made under seven Acts of Parliament: the Animal Products Act 1999 the Antarctica (Environmental Protection) Act 1994 the Biosecurity Act 1993 the Commodity Levies Act 1990 the Customs and Excise Act 1996 the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 and the Tariff Act 1988. The instruments to be confirmed fall into several broad categories. The setting of levies and duties on various goods and services accounts for half of the regulations that are being validated by this bill. They include levies on fish processors and large processors in the dairy industry biosecurity system entry levies and commodity levies on kiwifruit rock lobster pāua arable crops maize cereal silage and asparagus. Increases in the excise duties on tobacco and alcohol products are also included. A second category of regulations that is validated by the bill is import and export prohibitions. The export of certain kinds of pounamu and green-lipped mussels is prohibited. Consumers are protected by the banning of the import of motor vehicles with faulty or absent odometers. The safety of the general public is enhanced by the banning of the import of certain offensive weapons including some kinds of knife. New Zealand's commitment to peace and non-aggression is behind the prohibition of items that may have an application in a nuclear chemical or biological weapons programme as well as certain other weapons or military goods. Several regulations are consequential from international agreements or treaties such as amendments to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty which increased protection for native Antarctic animals mammals birds and plants.Finally increases in benefits and allowances related to New Zealand superannuation are approved. The subordinate legislation confirmation process enables Government to be responsive and efficient without compromising the essential parliamentary scrutiny. I commend the bill to the House.