Ririnui Mita: Third Readings 
Ririnui Mita: Third Readings 
[Volume:635;Page:6810] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Minister of State) 
: 
 I move  
That the Electricity Amendment Bill the Gas Amendment Bill the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill the Ministry of Energy (Abolition) Amendment Bill and the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Bill be now read a third time 
. 
These bills represent the Government’s ongoing commitment to the safe delivery and use of electricity and gas and to the delivery of good health outcomes arising from plumbing and drainlaying. The bills will ensure continued access to safe and reliable energy for our everyday use and for use in industry and ensure electricity and gas supply safety management systems that minimise the public’s exposure to risk. 
The Electricity Amendment Bill and the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Bill update the occupational regulations provisions for electrical workers plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers by delegating registration and licensing to the Electrical Workers Registration Board and the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. An important feature of these two bills is that they provide for the continuation of a registration and licensing regime recognising the investment made by tradespeople who obtain their qualification. 
The registration and licensing regime will be more flexible to allow for specialist registration categories and for competencies to be specified for the particular work authorised under each registration category. Another important feature of these two bills is to provide for competency-based licensing. This will ensure that before a worker is issued with a new licence he or she is competent in specified areas such as the use of new equipment and the changes in standards and regulations. 
These two bills continue employer licences in the electricity and gas industries. These licences have been used for over 10 years and are an alternative to individual worker licences but they still require the same high level of competency of workers. 
Nothing in these bills reduces the need for competency in the workplace. In a workplace requiring electrical and gasfitting skills either individuals who are registered and licensed must be employed or the workplace must have an employer licence. 
During the Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Energy Safety Review Bill it became evident to the Government and the committee that there was a breakdown in the relationship between the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board and the Plumbing Gasfitting and Drainlaying Industry Training Organisation. Earlier this year in an acknowledgment of these concerns the Hon Dr Michael Cullen Minister for Tertiary Education ordered an independent review on the relationship between the board and the industry training organisation. 
The Commerce Committee took into account the recommendations in this report and related them to the bill. As a result the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Bill now provides greater guidance to the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board on its role and on the procedures to be followed establishes increased accountability of the board to the relevant Minister and provides greater clarity about the respective roles of the industry training organisation and the board. 
The Electricity Amendment Bill and the Gas Amendment Bill require safety management systems to provide a framework for the owners of electricity generators greater than 10 megawatts and require the owners of the electricity and gas distribution systems to take responsibility for developing their own safety regimes. This approach acknowledges modern risk management concepts and has widespread industry support. 
The Electricity Amendment Bill and the Gas Amendment Bill provide for new offences including offences in respect of a person intentionally or negligently creating a risk of serious harm or significant property damage and offences in respect of breaches of the occupational licence conditions. Penalties for serious harm to a person or serious harm to property have been increased to reflect those in the Health and Safety in Employment Act. 
 The transitional arrangements of the Electricity Amendment Bill and the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Bill include carrying forward the existing registrations and licences. These also allow the registration boards to commence work immediately on defining new registration categories and standards and the terms and conditions of registration and licensing. The Electricity Amendment Bill and the Gas Amendment Bill require some existing regulations to be updated and also require that some new regulations be introduced. This work will be done in consultation with the industry and other interested parties. 
Energy is critical to the economic growth prosperity and social well-being of all New Zealanders. Plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers play a significant part in contributing to this country’s good health outcomes. These bills are an important part of ensuring continued consumer confidence in the energy industry by promoting the safe supply and use of electricity and gas. The bills will provide greater assurance of safety to consumers wanting work undertaken. They will also make it easier for tradespeople to gain competencies that are relevant to their particular areas of work. 
I again commend the chairperson of the Commerce Committee Katherine Rich and the members of the committee especially Maryan Street for the work they have done on considering the Energy Safety Review Bill and the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Bill. To all those who made submissions to the select committee and to Hazel Armstrong I express my appreciation for their time and their views. 
Finally the work that has been done on this legislation by officials has been tremendous and that is evident in the acknowledgments that officials have received from both sides of the House. I especially thank Evelyn Cole Jim Green and Scott Murray for their dedication patience and hard work. I commend this bill to the House.