edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Dean JacquiASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to. All those of that opinion will say Aye; to the contrary No. The Ayes have it.Ricardo Menéndez March: Party vote called for—for the proxy votes.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): I had already ruled but let me just double check. Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): This bill is set down for committee stage immediately. I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill.
Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill — Second Reading
Williams PotoHon POTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm going to take a relatively short call in this debate but there are a couple of things that I would just like to highlight. We've got broad support for this particular bill which is really important but there have been some themes that have been promoted during the course of this debate and the first reading and some of those are around—we are in uncertain times. There's the war in Ukraine and there is a requirement upon us to view these uncertain times in terms of the planning and forward-thinking that we need to do right now. There have been massive disruptions to supply chains over the last few years and how do we ensure that we have built resiliency into our system not just around fuel but around a whole lot of issues and the issue that the Green Party so articulately described to us in that we are a country in transition and exploring options for other ways to use energy to support our transport infrastructure to support how we move ourselves around in the everyday things that we need to do and how we build resiliency into that.Also just to quote members from the Opposition they say we are taking practical steps to build our resiliency. Now whilst this is all very good in the broader context of the energy proposals as have been promoted by this Government speaking specifically to this bill this is about ensuring that the levy that is quoted in section 14(2) of the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Act of 1989 can be used specifically to build resiliency of our fuel stock to ensure that we have 90 days' supply because there is no doubt that we are living in uncertain times and we need to ensure that we have backup and backstops in case that occurs.The Opposition have indicated they will be speaking to certain aspects in the committee stage and I support that discussion. One point I do want to illuminate and highlight which will be of useful discussion for us to have in the committee of the whole House is about the source of supply. I think that's been raised by members of the Opposition and I am looking forward to the Minister of Energy and Resources participating in that broader debate. On that note I don't want to hold up the debate any longer. I commend this bill to the House.
Peke-Mason SorayaSORAYA PEKE-MASON (Labour): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. Whai korōria hareruia ki a Ihowa o ngā mano. Ko te Matua Tama Wairua Tapu ngā Anahera Pono me te Māngai āianei āke nei āe. Haere atu rā e ngā anahera tapu ki te torōna o Ihowa o ngā mano haere haere moe mai rā. Nui te aroha ki a koutou te whānau pani. [Glory and halleluiah to Jehovah of the masses. Father Son Holy Spirit the True Angels and the Prophet now and for ever yes. Rest in peace the sacred angels at the throne of Jehovah of the masses go on go on rest in peace. Much love to you all the family that is bereft.]It's appropriate for me to stand and to acknowledge the pōuritanga in our rohe—the sadness in our rohe—at this time as I stand to speak for the first time today. I am pleased to take a call on the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill. Clearly there needs to be change in terms of this legislation for the purposes of being able to utilise that levy to the best of our advantage.This is about continuity and economic security of supply. It's about building that resilience. It's about everything that everyone has already spoken about before me. Managing the transition to a future of self-determination for Aotearoa is very very important. We can uphold as a country our own mana motuhake.I want to thank the Opposition for seeing the sense and the value in this bill and supporting it. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.
Omer IbrahimIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to take a short call on the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill. This bill is part of a wider fuel resilience policy package announced by Government in November 2022 which includes introducing a minimum onshore fuel stock-holding obligation and dedicating additional resources for operating the national fuel plan. As the MP for Tukituki Anna Lorck rightly pointed out we are living in a very volatile environment internationally and locally. We have seen what Cyclone Gabrielle has done to our infrastructure. In events like that having a resilience to be flexible with so we can operate our emergency services is important. It actually does save lives. So this bill is going to help with that. It's all about fuel resilience it's all about flexibility. It's a good bill I commend it to the House.
Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): I think you have to say The question is …". She's moved the second reading.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Sorry I was distracted. Is the member calling for a point of order?STUART SMITH: No. I am seeking a call.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): You are taking a call?STUART SMITH: Yes.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Stuart Smith.STUART SMITH: I think you need to say "The question is that the"—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Oh thank you. Thank you for that. Yes I should have. The question is that the motion be agreed to. Stuart Smith.STUART SMITH: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. It is a narrow bill—I understand that—but as has been pointed out several times in this debate both last night and this morning the closure of Marsden Point oil refinery in New Zealand has made New Zealand's fuel supply more tenuous than it might otherwise be.While that closed in April last year the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and the sanctions that followed—in fact we passed a bill in this House on 9 March 2022 the Russia Sanctions Act as it is now to ensure that we do not support the Russian regime economically in any way. However I am sure you will be interested to know of what's happened in the fuel industry international markets. The Americans have sanctions and are not allowed to import Russian oil or Russian diesel and they used to import quite a bit of diesel from there.Actually what's happening now is Saudi Arabia is importing Russian refined diesel. Saudi Arabia already has plenty of diesel and as you know they produce a lot of oil. But they are importing Russian diesel and exporting their own diesel to the US thereby getting around the Russian sanctions. Some refineries in India are buying Russian crude and refining it into diesel—or most of it into diesel—and sending that to Russia thereby getting around the sanctions.The question for us is now that we only import diesel—we don't actually make any diesel in New Zealand. If you're importing crude as Marsden Point did there's no doubt where the crude comes from. Importing refined fuels what was the source of the crude that went in to make that? Are we importing Russian diesel into New Zealand? I don't know. I can guarantee the Minister doesn't know. But the way the international market works we could actually be supporting the Russian economy indirectly by importing Russian diesel refined from Russian crude. We don't know. Unless there's a lot of work done behind there—and I guarantee almost certainly we'll find out in the next stage that that hasn't been thought of.So we do support this bill but we don't understand the need for the urgency that it has. None the less we do support it. But with those comments I commend it to the House."
Woods MeganSECOND READINGHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources): I move That the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill be now read a second time.I think it's probably worth just taking 30 seconds to remind members opposite exactly what it is that this piece of legislation does. It's part of a wider piece of fuel resilience policy work that this Government has been undertaking for a long period of time now. Once the decision was made the commercial decision was made for Marsden Point to shut down a package of policies was put together. Consultation on that work went out in early 2022. In November of last year the Government made announcements around what that work would look like. It's going to introduce minimum onshore fuel stockholding obligations but it's also going to have Government procurement of storage and management of at least 70 million litres of reserve diesel stock to be held onshore.What this legislation does today is it ensures that the Petroleum or Engine Fuel Monitoring Levy—the levy that we're talking about here that is already collected—can be used to recover the cost of promoting onshore fuel resilience initiatives in addition to the very narrow existing purposes that define what the levy can be used for. What we have is that the levy basically says that you have to use it only to cover the lowest cost options. The lowest cost options are always going to be buying oil tickets to be held internationally. This is the right thing for us to do in terms of our international obligations around fuel security and what we do as a member of the International Energy Agency.But what we are concentrating on today is domestic fuel security and it would not be useful for us to be holding those tickets internationally and that diesel not to be onshore for the use of New Zealanders as part of the suite of policy around fuel resilience. So it is saying that that levy can then be used for that purpose. So it is a very narrow piece of legislation. The only part of the fuel resilience policy that it is addressing is the use of the levy and what we can use the levy for and this will enable the levy to be used for the roll-out of the policy package which aims to strengthen our fuel resilience and our economic security. The levy will be needed for covering the Government administration costs associated with the minimum stockholding obligation which is expected to come into effect in the coming months. The levy will also be needed for entering into agreements for operationalising the reserve diesel stock arrangement and I intend to have these arrangements finalised by the end of 2023 so we need funding certainty for the arrangements as soon as possible. The other measures that I've talked about the other parts of the suite of policies around fuel resilience that I'm sure the Opposition members who are thinking that this is covering all of it—I'm sure they read the consultation documents and understand the different components of the resilience policy as it stands but this is a very narrow piece of that work. I commend this bill to the House.
Coffey TāmatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I too will support this bill the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill like other members of the House. For that reason I don't need to go on very much more. We've had lots of contributions today. This bill is going to pass through urgency and it's very needed for the reasons that previous speakers have outlined. For that reason I commend it to the House.
Lorck AnnaANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki): Thank you Madam Speaker. We know fuel is a lifeline service. In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle fuel played an essential role. We had to ensure we could get diesel and LPG gas out to isolated communities. This required a huge response from our helicopter pilots and the air force and military to make sure that we could get out to those communities. We are acting now to improve fuel resilience so we are confident that we have got the stocks onshore that we need for when we do run—never ever ever run out. Storing more fuel such as diesel in New Zealand will help protect us against disruption to critical services. And this includes things such as getting food out to these communities and to give us peace of mind that emergency services have the capability to get out and help those in need every time we need them. And this bill does what has needed to be done. I'm pleased to see that support across the House for business continuity and making sure that we can keep going forward as a country that's more resilient and looks after each other. Thank you Madam Speaker I commend this bill to the House.
Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Good morning and happy Pink Shirt Day. It's a pleasure to rise to speak on this bill the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill for its first reading in the House. I will be taking a second call in the House so you can expect to hear from me again. Hon Members: Whoa!ARENA WILLIAMS: My colleagues on the other side of the House aren't very excited about that. Let me tell you that this is an important bill and I can speak from experience. Recently I was travelling in the US with my colleague who has just resumed his seat Sam Uffindell. We had the opportunity to go to the UN and to speak with our ambassador there about energy policy and climate change and how it is destabilising the States around the world that we care about particularly our neighbours in the Pacific. This bill is relevant to our policy at home about how we respond to those challenges which are inherently global our climate change challenge that we all must respond to. This is part of a package of wider fuel resiliency policy announced by the Government in November 2022. It also means we're making changes to introducing minimum onshore fuel stockholding obligations and a dedication of additional resources to operating the National Fuel Plan. It means that we are setting ourselves up so that we do not have the kind of reliance that we have previously seen on offshore fuel lines. But it also means that it should be read in a broader package of moving our transport fleet into cleaner greener opportunities. It also should be read in the context of us moving to a future where we have less reliance on offshore. So this is a good bill. As part of that it should be read together and I look forward to speaking on it in the second reading.
Uffindell SamSAM UFFINDELL (National—Tauranga): Thank you Madam Speaker. I will also rise to support this bill. We are rushing this through under urgency today. I'm not sure if that's the best way to go about it but here we are—we're doing that. We don't have a lot of resilience in our supply chain at the moment and I think that we saw that we had a couple of bad batches that came in last year. They were talking about having to ground planes or limit the amount of time that they could fly. Not ideal—it's a long way from Tauranga to Wellington—but thankfully that was averted. We note that there are quite low diesel stock holdings and that's a challenge as we no longer have the ability to refine onshore. We don't have that independence or that resilience so this bill is coming in to help address that and the fuel companies—I'm not sure whether they were consulted. I'm going to hazard a guess that they probably weren't but it was noted that there is quite a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built out and they may not be able to do that. So through the levies they will get some support from the Government which is good. It's not an ideal situation but here we are with no Marsden Point. We will support this bill. Thank you.
Clark DavidHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin): Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to take just a quick minute to reiterate what the bill does so that those who have tuned in this morning and perhaps weren't watching when this bill was introduced last night into the House—maybe they were celebrating the changes to prescription charges the fact that the health system will be relieved of tens of millions probably hundreds of millions of dollars with the burden—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): We're getting back to the bill.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: —if they were doing something else last night and missed the start of the bill.Hon Damien O'Connor: A stitch in time saves nine.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: It is a bill that has a similar purpose—as my colleague the Hon Damien O'Connor says a stitch in time saves nine. It's the same general principle right?So making sure that we have the supply chain resilience—similar to the announcement around the prescriptions—having that thing done early so you save costs later on. The same kind of principle the preparedness principle in action.This bill amends section 14 of the Act so that the fuel levy can be used for the purpose of meeting the reasonable costs and expenses of the Crown on promoting resilience of engine fuel supplies in New Zealand." It's part of a wider package the Government's settled on just to make sure we have those supply chains as resilient as they can be. Because we've seen—in the face of the cyclones the natural disasters—how important it is to have stock on hand.The change to the levy's purpose through this change in the Act will give the Government more flexibility to use the levy funding for initiatives that would improve resilience of fuel supplies in New Zealand. At its most basic it goes to things like getting good information to planning ahead as to what a good set of reserves would look like to procurement of those same reserves and to any mitigating action if there are disruptions. Those are the things that this bill will achieve through the change in purpose of this levy.For New Zealanders who are facing that disruption of natural events we know that one of the best things that people can do is remember that they have a car with fuel in it and they can go and check their radio to get emergency updates—some of the things are really simple that are enabled by having good resilient supply chains for fuel.So I want to support this bill. It is a sensible bill looking to the longer term and I think from what we've heard the whole House is supporting this bill. So I'm imagining most of the speeches will be very short. And on that note I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Sam Uffindell—five minutes."
Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): If there's one thing that 2023 has taught all of us it's the need to be resilient and to plan for the future and to realise that shocks that we thought were happening once in 100 years can happen several times in a year. We need to be prepared and failing to plan is planning to fail. What this piece of legislation does is enable the Government to be more prepared to be able to ensure that we have the stocks that we need onshore so that we can be resilient if there is some kind of devastating international event or a disruption to our supply chains. It means that we have in a way a nationwide business continuity plan something that just gives us a buffer to be able to continue to trade continue to get in our cars get our kids to school go to work get to the doctor as we then work out the bigger plan for dealing with some of these shocks that were almost inconceivable a few years ago. Climate change is upon us. We've also seen other things that were not wholly predicted such as the invasion of Ukraine and the impact that's had on oil supplies around the world. This legislation is very much just about planning to be resilient to have a plan and to be able to have a buffer so that we can continue business and not have devastating impacts that would otherwise occur. It's a good bill. I commend it to the House
Collins JudithHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): What the member who's just resumed her seat Naisi Chen forgot to say is that we didn't use to have this and it wasn't because of offshore operations but it's because Marsden Point has been closed down. The companies that owned Marsden Point or those who are the shareholders in it they were quite shocked when the Minister didn't bat an eyelid and said they were going to close down Marsden Point. What is true is we now have a situation where we don't have security of supply of fuel and of course we've got a Government which has been anti the oil and gas industry from day one although when they were last in Government before that they understood that it was an important part of our economy and our security. So they've let Marsden Point close and now there's a problem—well they walked away from that but what they forgot to do is to actually make sure that there was that supply and the capacity to hold the supply.So this fuel levy which is by the way the sort of levy that most people would think was paying their fuel taxes so that the roads could be built is now going to be used to hold storage of diesel. The issue about diesel supply in New Zealand and storage is actually critical. So given the fact that the Government allowed Marsden Point to be closed without any attempt being made to find an alternative this is why New Zealanders are going to see their fuel taxes going to pay for diesel storage. One of the things that we've seen in the last six years has been a massive rise in inflation particularly the last few years and part of that is around the cost of fuel and a lot of that cost is actually Government taxes and levies anyway. And on 1 July this year it's going to go up yet again and that is one of the things that's driving up the cost of fuel in this country.So rather than worrying so much about you know every little dollar here and there around prescriptions how about just looking at this because we're going to have to support this today as the Government has allowed Marsden Point to be closed without an alternative without requiring the fuel companies to look for other storage or for the Government to provide that storage and they've allowed this situation to occur?So I'm sorry to say we're going to have to support them on it because we can't allow the country to not have enough storage of diesel. It's a problem that the Government has allowed to happen. The energy Minister was consulted I understand by the owners of Marsden Point when the decision was being made to close it mothball it and they tell me that they were really shocked that she said Yeah no that's fine—it's your decision." Maybe she didn't understand how important storage of diesel is to this country given that our heavy transport fleet does not run around on electric vehicles (EVs) and it's very hard to have any truck that's an EV given the weight of that truck and given the range that it doesn't have.So it really is that they've basically cut the fuel security out from under New Zealanders without another plan so therefore we're going to have to support it today."
Dean Jacqui; Chen NaisiTHURSDAY 18 MAY 2023(continued on Friday 19 May 2023)ENERGY (FUELS LEVIES AND REFERENCES) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Good morning members. When we broke last night at 10 p.m. the House was considering the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill. I'd now like to call the next speaker.NAISI CHEN (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. Happy Pink Shirt Day. It's my pleasure to take a call on the Energy (Fuels Levies and References) Amendment Bill. This bill is to ensure that the levies we collect go towards making sure that our onshore supply is one that is capable of seeing New Zealand through hard times. This is especially important when there are global disruptions supply chain disruptions and weather events. Doesn't that sound familiar to us? Hasn't that been exactly what's been happening in New Zealand for the last four years? This is to make sure that the money that we collect from levies actually goes to ensuring that New Zealand keeps moving. It's to make sure that our onshore oil supply petroleum supply—our energy supplies—are actually up to the fact that our economy does not see the disruption that we saw in the last four years and that we're prudent to avoid those rainy days. So that's why I commend this bill to the House.
Tuesday 16 May 2023 - Volume 768
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the Minister's amendments to Part 4 set out on Supplementary Order Paper 353 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 109New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Amendments agreed to.Part 4 as amended agreed to.
Grocery Industry Competition Bill — In Committee—Part 4 (continued)
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 109New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the Minister's amendments to Part 3 set out on Supplementary Order Paper 353 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 109New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Amendment agreed to.Part 3 as amended agreed to.
Grocery Industry Competition Bill — In Committee—Part 3
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 109New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.The result corrected after originally being announced as Ayes 111 Noes 10.
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the Minister's amendments to Part 2 set out on Supplementary Order Paper 353 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 106New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Amendments agreed to.Part 2 as amended agreed to.
Grocery Industry Competition Bill — In Committee—Part 2
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the Minister's amendments to Part 1 set out on Supplementary Order Paper 353 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 106New Zealand Labour 62; New Zealand National 34; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Noes 10ACT New Zealand 10.Amendments agreed to.Part 1 as amended agreed to.
Grocery Industry Competition Bill — In Committee—Part 1
Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): The question is that Parts 1 and 2 the Schedule and clauses 1 to 3 stand part.A party vote was called for on the question That Parts 1 and 2 Schedule and clauses 1 to 3 be agreed to.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Parts 1 and 2 Schedule and clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.Bill to be reported without amendment.TIM van de MOLEN (National—Waikato): Point of order. Mr Chair I believe we were only putting that the question be put. Mr Utikere moved that the question be put so you then move the motion that the question is that the question be now put so that's what we're voting on rather than the actual bill itself—CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): No you are correct. I was getting ahead of myself there. So I didn't actually put the question that the question be put so I actually do need to—I did call that the question that Parts 1 and 2 and the Schedule be actually—so no sorry I correct my self-correction. I did actually get that right. But thank you for putting me to that test there Mr van de Molen.
VoteCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the Minister's amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 351 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 72New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Amendments agreed to.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that Joseph Mooney's amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 354 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Noes 72New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Amendment not agreed to.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that Joseph Mooney's amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 356 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Noes 72New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Amendment not agreed to.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that Joseph Mooney's amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 355 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Noes 72New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Kerekere.Amendment not agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That Parts 1 to 3 Schedules 1 to 3 and clauses 1 and 2 as amended be agreed to.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Parts 1 to 3 Schedules 1 to 3 and clauses 1 and 2 as amended agreed to.Bill to be reported with amendment.
Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Bill — In Committee
Appropriation (2021/22 Confirmation and Validation) Bill — Third Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Appropriation (2021/22 Confirmation and Validation) Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.SPEAKER: I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Bill the Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and the Grocery Industry Competition Bill.
Annual Review Debate — Agriculture
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the reports of the committees on annual reviews be noted.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Reports of the committees on annual reviews noted.A party vote was called for on the question That clauses 1 to 9 and Schedules 1 to 5 be agreed to.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 62; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2; Kerekere; Whaitiri.Noes 44New Zealand National 34; ACT New Zealand 10.Clauses 1 to 9 and Schedules 1 to 5 agreed to.Bill to be reported without amendment.House resumed.CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Mr Speaker the committee has considered the Appropriation (2021/22 Confirmation and Validation) Bill and reports it without amendment. I move That the report be adopted.Motion agreed to.Report adopted.
12. Question No. 12—ForestryANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister of ForestryQuestion No. 12—Forestry12. ANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister of Forestry: What recent announcement has he made about the Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay regions?Hon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Forestry): On Sunday I announced a $10.15 million fund to clean up slash and debris throughout Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti. Debris from forestry in these regions has had a devastating impact on infrastructure rivers and communities and this fund will go some way to supporting the clean-up.Anna Lorck: Can he explain how the funding will support the Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay regions?Hon PEENI HENARE: This funding aims to remove up to 70000 tonnes of woody debris from rivers and catchment systems and also support the establishment of slash management traps to contain debris from entering waterways in the first instance. This $10 million fund is on top of the $1 billion flood and cyclone recovery package recently announced by my colleague the Minister of Finance. That covers the basics of rebuilding roads rail and schools while preparing for future events with a big investment in flood protection measures.Anna Lorck: How does this announcement relate to the findings of the ministerial inquiry into woody debris—including forestry slash—and sediment in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa?Hon PEENI HENARE: The inquiry's report made it clear we need to get the woody debris out of the waterways and I'm committed to supporting the communities to do this. The Government is also continuing to focus on initiatives that help reduce the impacts of severe weather events by investing $25.2 million over the next four years to protect around 21000 hectares of erosion-prone hill country farmland across Aotearoa New Zealand. These initiatives directly support the findings and recommendations of the inquiry.Anna Lorck: Does the Minister think this funding is enough?Hon PEENI HENARE: This $10.15 million announcement is a start. While we're urgently looking into the findings of the report we need to get on with the clean-up and this funding will start that. We all have a part to play: central government local councils iwi the forestry industry and our communities. We must urgently get on with the mahi to help the Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay regions. As a Government we are moving with urgency to provide support as mentioned in my previous answers.
11. Question No. 11—TransportSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 11—Transport11. SIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by his statement This over-egged story and headline are just wrong" in response to reports that the door was open to delaying the delivery of some of New Zealand's most high-profile roading projects; if so will he rule out any cuts to the NZ Upgrade Programme?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): To the first part of the question yes. The story in question for example listed one significant project as potentially being subject to delays—that is the Papakura to Drury State Highway 1 project which is currently employing several hundred people and is in the middle of construction. To the second part of the question I can rule out the prospect of any cuts to New Zealand Upgrade Programme. The Government is committed to the programme and is continuing to invest $8.7 billion to invest in critical projects up and down New Zealand including the Ashburton rail hub which received consent within recent weeks and is now getting on with construction.Simeon Brown: Why did the Minister refuse to release this table from the July New Zealand upgrade project update and which I then had to request the Ombudsman to force the Minister to release it because it shows that a majority of the projects have an overall health red status and does this mean that this Government is going to delay some of these projects or does it just show the Government is poor at delivering major transport infrastructure?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: In answer to the first part of the member's question because there is a longstanding practice that free and frank advice from officials is often redacted from Official Information Act releases. In the end I'm not too worried about sweating the small stuff like the member; I'd rather focus on delivering these projects that our country needs.Simeon Brown: So will I have to go to the Ombudsman again to get the next executive summary overall health status released because there are more projects which have now got to red overall health status and is this because some of these projects are going to be delayed or is it again just because this Government is so poor at delivering transport projects?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As I have confirmed in my primary answer none of these projects will be delayed and I can also confirm that none of them will be put for example into a botched public private partnership like Transmission Gully that we had to fix up to deliver for the people of this region after the previous Government stuffed up its implementation.Simeon Brown: Following what he said on Twitter "I haven't said anything about delays and we don't intend to do this." will he rule out cutting or delaying the Ōtaki to Levin expressway promised to be completed in 2029?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Yes I can absolutely and categorically rule that out. I don't think I would be able to go into the caucus room with the local MP Terisa Ngobi if I did anything other than that because she's been a passionate advocate for it and our Government's going to get it delivered."
10. Question No. 10—HealthDr ANAE NERU LEAVASA (Labour—Takanini) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 10—Health10. Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA (Labour—Takanini) to the Minister of Health: How is the Government supporting the health and wellbeing of those significantly impacted by the recent North Island weather events?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Minister of Health): On Sunday I announced dedicated investment into mental health and wellbeing support as part of the Government's cyclone recovery package. We know from other disasters in New Zealand and globally that mental health and wellbeing impacts emerge over months and years following a disaster. So following on from our initial response we're now setting up services to support the community for the coming years. In addition through the Access and Choice services that are already existing we've been able to face this disaster with accessible services already on the ground.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: What mental health initiatives will be available for the impacted communities?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: The Government has set aside $6.3 million for locally led community-based initiatives to meet the wellbeing needs of people in the most impacted areas with a focus on Māori Pacific peoples and youth. Recovery plans will be developed with local communities to identify their needs along with proposed interventions such as initiatives for people who have lost their homes and boosting telehealth capacity. We are also providing additional funding to expand the successful Mana Ake programme to Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti to provide mental wellbeing support in primary schools and for intermediate students.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: How will the Government support isolated communities?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: We also know the devastating weather events made it harder for some people to get to medical appointments or for specialists to get into affected regions to provide care. In response to this the cyclone Budget package covers $8.9 million in funding for front-line health providers supporting isolated communities in Northland Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay. This includes funding for air and road transport helping people get to appointments medical outreach and other hospital services in isolated communities.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: What support will there be for primary and community care?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: I've met with local GPs and community providers in the affected areas and heard about what they need. We are acting on those requests which is why this Budget also provides $6.1 million to cover community primary and residential care. This funding provides workforce relief for locum GPs pharmacy and nursing staff an increase in funding for air ambulance for an additional six months and improved access to online GP community health mental health and addiction and registered nurse consultations.
9. Question No. 9—HealthDr ELIZABETH KEREKERE to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 9—Health9. Dr ELIZABETH KEREKERE to the Minister of Health: Tēnā koe e te Māngai. E tautoko ana i ngā mihi kua mihia i tēnei wā pōuri. Haere e ngā mate ki te puna wairua ki te puna roimata ki te puna tangata haere atu rā.[Thank you Mr Speaker. I support the acknowledgments made at this sad time. To our dearly departed go on to the spiritual source the source of tears the source of humanity go in peace.]Does she agree with the report by BERL that the quantity of data on rare disorders is strikingly low so it is not possible to accurately estimate their prevalence here; if so what steps is Te Whatu Ora taking to collect such data to inform policies and improve health outcomes for people living with rare disorders in Aotearoa?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Minister of Health): In answer to the second part of the question we have made great steps to improve the health outcomes and policies for people living with rare disorders in Aotearoa. Following a boost in Government funding Pharmac has recently made available drugs used to treat rare disorders including risdiplam and nusinersen for spinal muscular atrophy and Trikafta for cystic fibrosis. The funding of Trikafta supports an expected outcome of 27 years' additional life expectancy. On the policy front Manatū Hauora is leading development of a rare disorders strategy. This will include looking into how to further improve health outcomes and support for people with rare disorders. In answer to the first part of the question it's true there are thousands of rare disorders and each may affect only a few New Zealanders. Currently we do not have sufficient data to accurately measure how many New Zealanders are affected by rare disorders overall. As part of developing a strategy the ministry and Te Whatu Ora together with Rare Disorders New Zealand and other organisations will consider how best to collect this data and also to provide digital support to help improve access to information and quality care.Dr Elizabeth Kerekere: What rare disorders are currently coded for in the New Zealand health system and what options are you considering to improve this?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: New Zealand currently codes hospital discharges according to the International Classification of Diseases system established and administered by the World Health Organization. This national-level data includes hospital discharges and associated diagnostic codes. There are some codes for rare disorders in there that are helpful to inform inpatient care. However not all rare disorders are covered or don't have a specific enough code and they may not allow reliable identification of people who have these disorders. Improving information about rare disorders will be considered as part of the ministry's work on a strategy for rare disorders in New Zealand.
8. Question No. 8—EducationERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 8—Education8. ERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of Education: Why has she been unable to deliver the 82 promised attendance officers in time for term 2 when she said It is urgent we know that we have got an issue around attendance. We need to get the resources in front of our young people now" and can she explain her statement in relation to why just one officer had started working with schools as of 9 May that "I have had constant discussions with my officials. There seems to be excuses all the time"?Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Education): We are delivering the 82 attendance officers and it is urgent. It was never the goal to have all 82 employed by the start of term 2; that's just not feasible. The roll-out was always planned to start from term 2. To the second part of the question: at that point in time I was frustrated by the lack of progress in hiring attendance officers. As of today contract negotiations are under way with 76 of the 82 roles. The remaining six are set aside for services to Māori-medium schools. Nine percent of the positions are filled. That is very promising progress but I will continue to keep a close eye on how that is tracking.Erica Stanford: Why has the average time to re-engage an unenrolled student in Auckland more than tripled since 2017 increasing from 82 days to 260 days in March this year?Hon JAN TINETTI: I want every student enrolled attending and engaged in school every day unless they are sick. These kids aren't going to start attending overnight but that doesn't mean we have given up on them. We know that there is an issue which is exactly why we are putting the measures in place that we are putting in place.Erica Stanford: Why are the unjustified absences continuing to increase to the point now where they are the highest on record an 80 percent increase since 2017?Hon JAN TINETTI: As I have just said we know that there is an issue. We also know that these do not turn around overnight but we have seen pleasing progress in the term 4 data.Erica Stanford: When she told Cabinet in February that there is a significant gap between her target of 70 percent of students attending school regularly by next year and current attendance rates which are just at 50 percent did she expect to only have delivered three officers after three months?Hon JAN TINETTI: The member is wrong. We have more than three officers on the ground right now.Erica Stanford: Why are schools turning down her attendance officers with one principal reported as stating that "I was disappointed. It wasn't what I thought or had been led to believe these positions would be."?Hon JAN TINETTI: I met with that principal on Friday having set the meeting much earlier in the week. I spoke about the concerns that that principal had. I've instructed the ministry to work with her and that cluster to find solutions that work for them. I'm aware she was concerned the roles wouldn't include a case management function and I've ensured there is flexibility for this in the job description."
3. Question No. 3—EducationANGELA ROBERTS (Labour) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 3—Education3. ANGELA ROBERTS (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has the Government made about building more schools and classrooms?Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Education): Yesterday I joined the Prime Minister at Ridgway School to announce that Budget 2023 will build 300 more classrooms in new and existing schools across the country helping to ease existing pressures while accounting for future population growth. This new targeted funding will ease pressure on our education sector helping to further fix years of underfunding overcrowding and decay in schools and classrooms.Angela Roberts: How will the funding be used?Hon JAN TINETTI: Of the funding we've announced $300 million will provide 6600 new student spaces. An additional $100 million will be added to the education infrastructure funding pipeline which will enable the construction of up to four new schools and new school expansions. The first two projects are in central Auckland and Pāpāmoa with the remaining two projects to be announced in due course. This adds to the 16 schools opened under this Government so far.Angela Roberts: How will these classrooms benefit students?Hon JAN TINETTI: Schools and classrooms that are modern warm dry and fit for purpose make teaching easier kids more comfortable and help to improve attendance and achievement. We want kids to look forward to coming to school and spending time in class and parents to know their children are safe well and working to unlock their full potential. This investment will do just that.Angela Roberts: How does this build on the Government's legacy?Hon JAN TINETTI: Since 2017 we have worked to fix the foundations of our education system by upgrading every school in the country and funding over 2700 new classrooms to create 60000 more student places. I've seen some of our ageing damp and cold classrooms up close—in fact I've taught in them—and frankly it's not good enough. Previous Governments may have been OK with that but we're not. I'm proud of the investment we have made to deliver warm safe and dry classrooms for our tamariki.