Ryall Tony: State Sector Management Bill — Second Reading 
Ryall Tony: State Sector Management Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:669;Page:15898] 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of State Services) 
: 
 I move  
That the State Sector Management Bill be now read a second time 
. This is the second reading and report back of the State Sector Management Bill which has come back from the Education and Science Committee and I would like to acknowledge the contribution of all members on the bill. 
The State Sector Management Bill is an omnibus bill and the intention is that during the Committee of the whole House it be divided into three separate bills: a research science and technology bill a National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa) amendment bill and a public records amendment bill. 
I recap the bill and the machinery of government objectives. The bill provides for machinery of government changes in two important sectors. Two existing agencies—that is the Ministry of Research Science and Technology and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology—will merge into a new Ministry of Science and Innovation and the National Library and Archives New Zealand will be brought together into the Department of Internal Affairs. These changes are part of the Government’s drive to ensure that State services are organised to deliver improved front-line services within existing baselines to reduce costs once the transitions are embedded and to future-proof the long-term delivery of services by Government agencies. The changes along with other well-publicised structural reforms in the State services such as those in the New Zealand public health service add up to a commitment by the Government to put in place the administrative arrangements that are best suited for each sector. 
Part 1 addresses the research science and technology sector. The amalgamation of the existing Ministry of Research Science and Technology and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology—a Crown entity—will see the new Ministry of Science and Innovation clearly leading the sector as a single agency combining the operational and policy skills of the two current agencies and simplifying and streamlining the accountability arrangements both for the new ministry and for the recipients of research science and technology funding. The changes will also reduce complexity and transaction costs across research science and technology and will enable gains in efficiency. The changes will future-proof the delivery of services by combining the expertise of what are now two small agencies which will put them on a more viable corporate platform with increased critical mass and capability. 
Part 1 does much more than repeal the foundation’s current Act disband the foundation and transfer its employees to the new ministry. Its main provisions are to set out the purposes for which specified research science and technology funding may be allocated; to require the Minister to establish one or more boards to make independent decisions on the proposals for specified research science and technology funding; to require the Minister to set and publish in the  
Gazette 
 the criteria that the boards will use to make their allocation decisions; and finally to require the chief executive of the new ministry to refer the funding proposals to the boards and to supply all secretarial and administrative services to enable the boards to carry out their functions. 
Parts 2 and 3 bring together the Government departments that gather protect and develop the current and future use of some of New Zealand’s main records knowledge and information resources. The amalgamation of Archives New Zealand and the National Library with the Department of Internal Affairs will bring together knowledge leaders in fields of mutual interest. The amalgamation will build on their common capability and their overlapping strengths in information management and information technology. That will put them on a par with a number of other agencies around the world. 
The bill by amalgamating the three departments will set up the core infrastructure that will enable better-integrated decision-making in the future be the decisions about future spending technological systems development or other aspects of their operations. For these amalgamations we can expect systems improvements lower corporate overheads and reduced costs within the public management system. 
A key feature of Parts 2 and 3 is how much of the existing legislation remains intact for Archives New Zealand and the National Library whereas Part 1 repeals the Foundation of Research Science and Technology Act. Parts 2 and 3 deliberately leave untouched much of the National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa) Act and the Public Records Act. The objective of the bill is to make only the necessary minor changes to the existing Acts in order to bring about the machinery of government changes. These are largely technical matters about departmental administration. I expect that the Hon Nathan Guy as the Minister responsible for the National Library and the Minister responsible for Archives New Zealand will take the opportunity to outline these provisions in more detail. 
The State Sector Management Bill was introduced towards the end of August and to have it reported back to the House so early in December is a really significant achievement. I thank the Education and Science Committee and I commend it for its hard work and its valuable recommendations. Thirty-one individuals and organisations also made submissions. The committee recommended a number of amendments which I will go through. 
In relation to clause 7 “Purposes for which specified RS&T funding may be allocated” the select committee recommends and the Government agrees that “RS&T” should be spelt out in full to “research science or technology or related activities;”. [ 
Interruption 
] It is just great that the Labour Opposition turned up and achieved something. It is intended that these terms have their ordinary and natural meanings and there should be no confusion about the references to “RS&T”. 
Secondly it is important that the boards that are set up are making independent funding decisions. In respect of clause 9 “Decision making on specified RS&T funding” the select committee recommends and the Government accepts the addition of subclauses to enable the board to require the ministry to provide all the information it holds in respect of the decisions before it. 
The committee has also recommended that clause 11 be deleted. The clause provided for the boards to reconsider their decisions on referral by a Minister or chief executive. The clause was not intended to fetter the independence of the boards. The clause was discretionary and merely permitted the board to reconsider a decision. The committee made a recommendation which the Government is agreeing to that that clause be removed from the bill. Clause 15 was also unnecessary and the committee has recommended that it be deleted. The clause dealt with the transfer of functions from the Ministry of Research Science and Technology and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology to the new ministry. That transfer of functions is not usually conferred by way of statute; it is dealt with through Cabinet process and that will continue. 
With regard to the amalgamation of the National Library and the Department of Internal Affairs the select committee recommended one important change in the bill which the Government supports and that is deletion of clause 27(2) so that the legislation clearly retains reference to the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library remaining in the custody of the National Library rather than in the custody of the department. Though the National Library will be part of the department it was never intended to cause doubt or confusion on this important point. 
In regard to Part 3 which deals with the amalgamation of Archives New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs the committee recommended amendments on an important point. It commented on the importance of retaining the identity of Archives New Zealand. Although the bill continues to define Archives New Zealand as the repository referred to in section 9 of the Public Records Act the Government agrees that references to the department should be removed where it is appropriate to maintain explicit references to Archives New Zealand. This applies to eight clauses where the specific functions in question will continue to be the functions of the repository—for example receiving transfers of public archives. 
The Hon Nathan Guy will no doubt have the opportunity to speak in more detail about the submissions received in respect of Parts 2 and 3 and about the Crown Law advice that the Government has received confirming the ongoing independence of the statutory offices within Archives New Zealand and the National Library. 
Despite a rather pathetic scare campaign by the parties opposite New Zealanders are not in the least bit worried about these changes. I again thank the Education and Science Committee for its judicious recommendations and the very speedy and prompt way that it reported this bill back to the House. The Government certainly supports progress on this bill.