Brownlee Gerry: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill — First Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:658;Page:7195] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) 
: 
 I move  
That the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill be now read a first time. 
 This legislation happens on an annual basis. It is in fact designed to bring together a number of matters that need to be dealt with by the House by way of confirming or validating provisions of other bills and regulations. At the conclusion of the first reading debate I will move that the bill be referred to the Regulations Review Committee with an instruction that the bill be finally reported to the House by 23 November 2009. 
This is a routine annual bill to confirm and validate items of subordinate legislation that in accordance with the confirmation and validation provisions of the Acts under which the various instruments are made lapse at stated times unless earlier validation is achieved by Act of Parliament. This is what we are setting out to do. This year the bill provides for Parliament to confirm or validate and confirm 20 Orders in Council and one set of regulations made under 10 separate Acts. To avoid the subordinate legislation lapsing this bill must be enacted by the end of 2009. The report-back date of 23 November will allow time for the select committee to receive explanations on the contents of the bill from the departments that administer the various orders and regulations while still leaving time for the bill to be passed through its remaining stages before the end of the year. 
Two of the 13 Orders in Council apply to movements of consumer price indexes and relate to the Social Security Act and to New Zealand superannuation and the war pensions of New Zealanders effective from 1 April 2009. There are several Orders in Council made under the Customs and Excise Act 1996. Three of these Orders in Council involve rates of excise and excise-equivalent duties with two applying movements in the CPI to duties on alcohol and tobacco products and one providing for an increase in the duty on motor spirits. Another three of the orders under the Customs and Excise Act continue prohibitions regarding the import and export of toothfish and the importation of specified offensive weapons and motor vehicles with inaccurate odometer readings or in fact no odometer at all. 
The seventh Order in Council under the Customs and Excise Act continues export prohibitions of specified goods such as unprocessed pounamu which is also known as greenstone and all toheroa and introduces controls on the electronic transfer outside of New Zealand of specified software and technologies and of goods and technologies that may be intended for end-users contrary to New Zealand’s interests. These Orders in Council are made under the Tariff Act 1988. One of these restructures the breakdown of the tariff relating to certain alcoholic beverages. The other two remove or reduce tariffs and make changes to the new biofuels tariff structure as a result of the New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement. 
Seven of the Orders in Council deal with commodities levies. Six of these replace similar Orders in Council and impose levies relating to milk solids non-proprietary and uncertified herbage seeds passionfruit satsuma mandarins summer fruit and wheat grain. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: What’s the difference? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Taste. These Orders in Council are voted on by the respective industry participants themselves. Each levy is payable to the industry organisations in order to finance activities of benefit to the industry. One of the Orders in Council made under the Wine Act 2003 also provides a commodity levy in relation to non-grape wines. One set of regulations covered by the bill is made under the Animal Products Act 1999. Amongst other things it increases the export processing levy on lamb bobby calves goats sheep cattle and horses and before my learned friend asks the question again it is a matter of taste. Only the aspects of the regulations imposing levies are confirmed by this bill. 
Finally one of the Orders in Council increases certain rates of road-user charges under the Road User Charges Act 1977. I commend the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill to the House.