edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Sharma GauravDr GAURAV SHARMA (Labour—Hamilton West): Kia ora Mr Speaker. It's the first time I'm speaking in the House since the country went into lockdown about a month ago and I just wanted to quickly acknowledge all the Kiwis around the country who have been diligently and patiently following all the public health advice. Thank you for keeping our communities safe.Coming back to the bill we live in a beautiful country but one in five New Zealanders are supplied with drinking water that is not guaranteed to be safe from bacterial contamination. That's why this Government and Minister Mahuta have brought in a comprehensive range of programmes to help with the three waters reform and the Water Services Bill is an important part of that substantial reform. At the moment we've got 67 different councils around the country which are dealing with waste water stormwater and drinking water in different ways. There has to be a way of making the system consistent so that we are complying with all of the safety issues. What happened with Havelock North—where four people died and 5500 people became ill—should not be repeated again and here is an opportunity to prevent another one of these incidents from happening.As a member of the Health Committee where this bill came through I just want to acknowledge all the organisations the iwis and the individuals who contributed towards the changes. As the Minister has mentioned quite a few things were constructively changed around the initial bill that was proposed and we had over 130 people actually make oral submissions as well—so I just want to thank everybody for doing that. But I strongly recommend this bill to the House as a medical professional as well because this is about making sure our communities are safe. Thank you.
Shaw JamesInstruction to Transport and Infrastructure CommitteeHon JAMES SHAW (Minister of Climate Change) on behalf of the Minister of Transport: I move That the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill be reported to the House by 2 February 2022.
Rurawhe AdrianDEPUTY SPEAKER: Ā kāti rā tēnā rā tātou katoa. The House is resumed. So members before the dinner break we had just finished call 11 on the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill and it's now call No. 12. No? No. OK then.
Bennett GlenGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth): Kia ora Mr Speaker thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill. Thank you to the Hon Michael Wood for his work in this space. For this side of the House I'm just really grateful for the conversations and the opinions that we've had this afternoon.Climate change as we've heard is our biggest challenge that we are facing. I want to be on the right side of history to ensure that we are doing the right thing. I want to being looking forward not looking back. My colleague Greg O'Connor earlier talked around the challenges of horse and carts turning into vehicles around the world as it happened but there also were the challenges when trains first became common use around Europe. In that situation initially women weren't actually allowed on trains for fear that it might actually harm or hurt them in some way because we didn't quite understand the challenges of new technology. Here we are thankfully long gone are those old gas-guzzling trains and we are looking at our future here. I want to be someone who ensures that we have options and opportunities.Last year 85 percent of all vehicles sold in this country wouldn't have been connected to this piece of legislation. So it's a very small amount. When I bought my vehicle at the start of the year I looked at an electric vehicle (EV) but unfortunately prices just didn't work out for me; ended up with a hybrid. As I looked at this I would've hoped to have the opportunity to buy an EV but just the price was not right and it was untenable for me at that time. I hope that maybe if we did this earlier there would be far more options in terms of EVs their price and their availability.I'm really supportive of this piece of legislation. I'm really supportive of the way that we are transitioning and we are moving forward. Just recently Waka Kotahi announced investment on roads around New Zealand and to see that it wasn't just around tarmac it wasn't just around making sure the road networks were going; it was ensuring that public transport cycling and walking was also part of that. So I support this piece of legislation and I commend it to the House.
Overseas Investment (Exempt Investment from OECD Countries) Amendment Bill—Postponement
Seymour David; Mallard TrevorOVERSEAS INVESTMENT (EXEMPT INVESTMENT FROM OECD COUNTRIES) AMENDMENT BILLPostponementDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr. Speaker. After discussion with all parties on behalf of a member who is in Auckland for COVID reasons I seek leave of the House for the Overseas Investment (Exempt Investment from OECD Countries) Amendment Bill in the name of Damien Smith to be held over until further notice from the Business Committee. SPEAKER: We have dealt with a very similar matter at the Business Committee today and members are generally very cooperative. So is there any objection to that occurring? There appears to be none and I'm assuming that we'll bring it back. We'll talk to the Business Committee about the timing of bringing it back. Does that sound right? OK?David Seymour: Just waiting. Yep—as soon as we know the alert level.SPEAKER: There is agreement.
Speaker's Rulings — COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill—Reprinting of Bill
Mallard TrevorSPEAKER'S RULINGSCOVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill—Reprinting of BillSPEAKER: I just want to do a quick ruling members before I call the next member. I want to inform the House about the reprinting of a bill introduced today. The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill was introduced today but a bill with that title has already been introduced into this Parliament. Therefore I have ordered the bill be reprinted with the title COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No 2)". I apologise to the House for the errors that have occurred resulting in this having to happen."
Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill — First Reading
Mallard TrevorSPEAKER: Before I call Angela Roberts I just want to make two comments. One is that we've got a couple of members who have been having a chat down the front and they—again there's a question of judgment about volume with masks on and it's been a bit noisier than would normally be reasonable so if people do need to have a chat then go out and be socially distanced in the lobby is something I would ask for.The second point I'd make and I understand that the member was working from a draft that could well have been prepared for someone else or by someone else but I have noticed today a tendency for people to lapse back into reading speeches. While I wasn't going to interrupt the member in that circumstance I am going to issue a general warning: if people do it I will take it as a sign that they have got nothing else original to say and we will move onto someone else.
Coffey TamatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. I am standing in support of this bill as the final speaker in this round on the second reading of the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill. For those people that are listening know that this has been carefully considered. There have been a lot of organisations a lot of individuals putting their effort into making this the best possible legislation that we can to protect New Zealanders. As we've seen from the last couple of years we need to make sure that we've got laws that are fit for that purpose—the terrorist killings in Christchurch those affected on 3 September in West Auckland to name just a few.But without getting too much into the detail of this bill can I thank all of those people that came forward in their submissions to the committee to ask really pertinent questions about where this legislation was going to leave us as a country. Questions came through such as Would the changes have prevented the Auckland terrorist attack?" Well we can't be absolutely certain about that but the amendments in this bill—particularly the planning or preparation offence—would be a valuable tool in the Police's resources to make sure that we're combatting any potential terror attack or terror offence. It would enable police to be able to disrupt those terrorist activities particularly during the planning stages for any kind of future terrorist attack and also to prevent escalation to a full-blown terror attack here in Aotearoa. "Will the changes make it easier to stop those terrorists?" Yes. As I've said we have through this legislation made sure that we've widened that range of terrorist activities and potential terrorist threats based on what we know the best information that we've got. "Why are these changes being introduced?" Well it's really important that we can respond to the full range of terrorist activities seen today both here in Aotearoa but also overseas as well. It responds to the increasing threat from small groups or lone actors—or lone wolves as some have called them—as opposed to focusing on large organised terrorist groups.There have been some changes made through the drafting of this bill and again I thank all of those people that have submitted—on both sides of the fence actually. But one of the key considerations kept coming through again about the impact that these changes would have on Māori. Can I say that committee members were absolutely careful to consider that any new or expanded offences would not apply disproportionately to Māori. There's an overrepresentation of Māori in our justice system and the bill shouldn't exacerbate that issue. It was also important to highlight that counter-terrorism laws would help protect vulnerable communities—any vulnerable communities—who may be the target of terrorist activities. So you've heard a lot from various speakers this afternoon so I'll be another one to add my support and I commend this to the House."
Omer IbrahimIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Salaam alaikum Mr Speaker. The incident on 3 September and before that 15 March reminds us to act. It reminds us to get our act together to do something about our legislation to fill in the holes and the gaps that exist in our legislation.Can I first say something about the 15 March perpetrator and also the LynnMall attack stabber. They both were lone wolves and they both idolised and were inspired by entities and individuals whose whole purpose is to kill people and those entities are ISIS and also Anders Breivik who killed dozens of young people in Norway. Most importantly to me they both betrayed the people—the people of New Zealand—who welcomed them with open arms.On the back of these two evil acts gaps in our laws and legislation must be addressed and changes are needed. These changes are preparation for a terror act weapons training or combat training for terror purposes international travel for terrorist purposes. Unless we address these issues and these gaps the two incidents won't be the last. In saying this we've got people who expressed concerns throughout the select committee process and we acknowledge those concerns. The last thing we want to see is human rights watered down because of this bill. But this bill doesn't do that.This bill has been overseen by the Ministry of Justice and other agencies including Crown Law and the select committee process. There was enough scrutiny by the public on it. We have to get things right. We've got to have a balanced approach between civil rights and also protecting our country from terror actors. So this bill went through enough scrutiny and I personally have no concerns whatsoever that this is going to erode human rights. While this legislation alone might not stop future attacks combined with other things it will keep our country safe. We will allow our agencies to do their job in full capacity.I'd like to thank the work that the select committee has done from across all the political parties and the members of the public that submitted to this bill—those who supported and those who opposed. Today with this bill passing soon our country will be safer and our people very assured feeling that there is a law that is going to protect them a law that's effective and combined with other things there is no doubt it's going to keep us safe. On that note I commend this bill to the House.
O'Connor Greg; Rurawhe AdrianGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): As someone who had to work with the law a lot in life often by the time legislation arrived you thought How the heck did this happen? How was it watered down so much? How was it so weak?" and often it was because there was no context. We should be very lucky and those that come after us should be very thankful that we're able to pursue this legislation now even though it was ready to go before what happened in West Auckland happened because we have the context. We don't have to wonder what might happen; we know. We've had two outrageous terrorist attacks this year one of them where the offender was unknown a failure of the Australian authorities and one where everything was known; and the one thing that did come out of it was our law wasn't adequate. So this legislation purely by luck is actually right at the right time the right place and it will not be watered down.I'm confident looking at it that it will be actually a workable piece of legislation. I see it's focused on people who are worried about what might happen. Well think about this: to actually surveil someone you've actually got to have a warrant. You've got to go back every 28 days. You'll have to go back to a High Court judge to get a warrant. Well as the evidence builds up at some stage that judge is going to have to decide will he issue another warrant or are we close enough to the offence that actually he's not going or she's not going to actually issue another warrant: "You need to act Mr Police Officer or Mr Agency." And that may not necessarily be as theoretical a situation as we might say. So I have no hesitation in recommending this legislation.Also many people have talked to what happened in that supermarket in West Auckland. Actually let's just think how well our agencies operated to be on that spot how much had to go right as Mr Brownlee has just pointed out for those agencies to be there and how easy it was for that offender in the very limited time allowed him to carry out those six stabbings that he did. So very good work by the agencies very good piece of legislation and I think New Zealanders can be assured that because of the context in which it is going through it will be a pragmatic workable piece of legislation which is more than can be said for much legislation that goes through this House. Thank you Mr Speaker.Harete Hipango: Mr Speaker?DEPUTY SPEAKER: It's a Labour Party call and I'm not sure if the member down there is seeking one or not. Is he?Ibrahim Omer: Thank you Mr Speaker.DEPUTY SPEAKER: You've got to seek the call.Ibrahim Omer: Thank you.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yep—Ibrahim Omer."
Brownlee Gerry; Rurawhe AdrianHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National): I think the final comment made by the member Duncan Webb that this bill does in fact strike the appropriate balance between you could say human rights but also the right—I'll take my mask off; sorry I was getting a bit carried away there—to go about your business freely in our society and the restraint that has to be on people preventing others from behaving in that very lawful fashion. Everyone got a little bit of a surprise to say the least with that supermarket attack at just how easily some of these things can be done. Here you had someone who was on the New Zealand watch list who was being very closely surveilled by the New Zealand Police and there was concern about some of what he had been effectively planning but no capacity to restrain him under the law. So this particular change while some might say it can affect the general freedom of New Zealanders to do what they want to express what they want to say things without any particular meaning I think does go right to the heart of the fact that if there is a plan to materially affect the lives of people through the sort of violence that we saw at that New Lynn supermarket then there should be capacity to restrain people like that. And we can get all concerned about civil liberties etc. but we live in a world where there are these days far too many people using those freedoms to push agendas that are totally anti-freedom.So the National Party does support this. We think it's a good idea to change the definition of terror" to "intimidate" in some circumstances. There will be many cases where people have suffered through intimidation where there is no actual law broken but in fact their lives are very much constrained by that threat. The other aspect is around the coercion side of it and whether it is illegal to coerce someone into a violent act. Well this makes it very clear that it is. I think the Justice Committee have taken the time to hear all of those 82 submissions and to take the concerns that were laid out in those submissions and the supports that were in there as well and make recommendations to the House that see the bill back in its current form and as it's presented to the House we are of a single mind that it should be progressed into law as soon as possible.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I call Greg O'Connor—five minutes."
Webb Duncan; Rurawhe AdrianDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Kia ora e te Mana Whakawā. Thank you—and a pleasure to rise and speak on this bill. I really want to make a brief contribution making two points. The first point is that obviously the use of the powers in this bill are very much a matter of last resort and our first resort should always be to strengthen our communities and to make sure that we have an inclusive community which makes extremism—which pushes it out and really strangles and suffocates those thoughts that can lead to the horrific attacks that we've seen here in New Zealand in recent times. And in that I would commend the work done by the Christchurch Invitation talking about reconnecting spreading peace and extending hospitality amongst others.The second point I'd make is really about just one provision of the bill and it is an unusual provision. It is the planning and preparation offence. As Andrew Little noted this goes further than the traditional inchoate offences under the criminal law such as conspiracy and attempt in that it prohibits something which isn't just a thwarted attempt but merely contemplating. But I do want to make it clear that the select committee has done a good job in making it clear that sort of planning to plan is not making a plan; that planning is in fact a systemised putting into place a series of steps by which to operationalise a terrorist act. It's something much more than simply fantasising or dreaming about doing something evil. It is actually taking the first step in operationalising it. So whilst I accept that some parties—the Green Party has concerns around thought crimes about making thinking about something a crime; I don't think that that's the case here. This is an offence which prohibits taking the very first steps putting in a plan to operationalise a terrorist act and for that reason I think the balance between human rights and protecting the public has been struck correctly here. I commend the bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I understand this is a split call. I call the Hon Gerry Brownlee—five minutes.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No petitions have been presented. Ministers have delivered papers.CLERK: Statement of performance expectations 2021-22 of:Privacy CommissionerPublic TrustHealth Quality & Safety CommissionPharmacMental Health and Wellbeing CommissionEducation Payroll Ltd andOffice of Film and Literature Classificationstatement of corporate intent 2022-24 for KiwiRailstatement of intent 2021-25 for Education PayrollAttorney-General's report under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act on the Freedom Camping (Infringement Offences and Other Matters) Bill.SPEAKER: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Report of the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee on the Commerce Amendment Billreport of the Education and Workforce Committee on the Education and Training (Teaching Council Fees and Costs) Amendment Billreport of the Governance and Administration Committee on the Films Videos and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Billreport of the Health Committee on the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Billreport of the Justice Committee on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Billreport of the Petitions Committee on the petition of Josiah Tualamali'i and Benji Timureports of the Regulations Review Committee on:the complaint about Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017complaint about Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 andcomplaint about the Unit Titles Regulations 2011report of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee on the Maritime Transport (MARPOL Annex VI) Amendment Bill.SPEAKER: The bills are set down for second reading. The complaints are set down for consideration. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of bills.CLERK: Animal Welfare Amendment Bill introductionCOVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill introduction.SPEAKER: Those bills are set down for first reading.
Rurawhe AdrianTUESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSDEPUTY SPEAKER: Kia tau anō te rangimārie ki a tātou. E te Atua kaha rawa ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga kia mōhio ai kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei mō te oranga te maungārongo me te aroha o Aotearoa. Amene.[Allow peace to prevail over us once again. Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility for the welfare peace and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]
Thursday 9 September 2021 - Volume 754
VoteIMPREST SUPPLY (SECOND FOR 2021/22) BILLThird ReadingHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs) on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I move That the Imprest Supply (Second for 2021/22) Bill be now read a third time. A party vote was called for on the question That the Imprest Supply (Second for 2021/22) Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 77New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 43New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.SPEAKER: In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 21 September 2021. Thank you members.The House adjourned at 3.50 p.m.
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Appropriation (2021/22 Estimates) Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 77New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 43New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.A party vote was called for on the question That the Imprest Supply (Second for 2021/22) Bill be now read a second time. Ayes 77New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 43New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No papers have been presented. A petition has been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Conrad Petersen requesting that the House initiate an inquiry into whether the IPCA is fit for purpose.SPEAKER: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK:Report of the Education and Workforce Committee on the petition of Tami HarrisReport of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Statement August 2021Reports of the Regulations Review Committee on seven COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) orders and amendments.SPEAKER: The reports of the Regulations Review Committee are set down for consideration. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of a bill.CLERK: Electricity Industry Amendment Bill introduction.SPEAKER: That bill is set down for first reading.
Speaker's Observations — Tongan Language Week—Prayer
Mallard TrevorSPEAKER'S OBSERVATIONSTongan Language Week—PrayerSPEAKER: Just for members' information people will be aware that we've lacked a certain colour from this end of the Chamber during Tongan Language Week and it is my intention when the House is sitting in a more regular form to ask colleagues with a good grip of the Tongan language to say the prayer in Tongan for a few days as a bit of make-up. Mālō 'aupito.
Hipkins ChrisBUSINESS STATEMENTHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Thank you Mr Speaker. Today the House will adjourn until Tuesday 21 September. The nature of the sitting at that time will depend on the alert levels that apply to different parts of New Zealand and will be subject to discussions in the Business Committee. When the House resumes full consideration of legislation priority will be given to bills that have to be enacted by a certain date such as the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22 GST and Remedial Matters) Bill which has to be passed by the end of March next year in order to validate the collection of tax in the current financial year. The Government does intend to pass the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill by the end of September.
Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT and in particular our sports spokesperson Damien Smith who couldn't be here being under lockdown in Auckland to congratulate the New Zealand Paralympic team including Fiona Allan the CEO of Paralympic New Zealand; the Chef de Mission; and all the high-performance athletes who performed and their sponsors.The Paralympics is actually called Paralympics" because it runs in parallel to the Olympic Games and the New Zealand teams have been competing in the Paralympics since 1968. Yet television coverage was virtually non-existent until Paul Holmes' ground-breaking documentaries of the 1992 Barcelona and the 1996 Atlanta games. This team and event have changed the perception of New Zealand disabled athletes for ever. Ben Lucas the former Chef de Mission summed it up perfectly about the Paralympic challenge when he said "Sport gives people hope. It's phenomenal to watch what people can do after the curve ball life has thrown at them. And life is different with a disability." ACT admires the aspiration and uplifting dream to compete. These athletes harness the spirit of the Olympic movement in its purest sense: rising above the odds super resilient skilful and demonstrating the New Zealand way. We'd like to thank Tokyo and Japan for a great and proud hosting. And here's to Paris in 2024.The New Zealand team ended the Tokyo Paralympics with six golds and 12 medals in total. Special congratulations of course must go to New Zealand's greatest Paralympian. Sophie Pascoe returned the biggest individual medal haul bringing home four or one in three of all of the country's medals—two golds a silver and a bronze from five events. She now sits on a career tally of 19. It was the athletics and swimming show for New Zealand with all 12 of the Kiwi medals coming from those two sports in what was a fantastic return to the Tokyo Paralympics. I want to especially acknowledge Sophie Pascoe for the 100-metre freestyle gold; Sophie Pascoe again for the 200-metre individual medley; Tupou Neiufi 100-metre backstroke; Lisa Adams shotput; Anna Grimaldi for long jump; and Holly Robinson for javelin—all returning gold medals. I think the Paralympics particularly in a time like this when our little country has faced a lot of bad news—perhaps one of the most beautiful and uplifting things that happen: they show what people can achieve when they put their mind to it. They show what an exceptional country New Zealand is for its competitiveness and for its ability to get out there and make a difference no matter who we are. With that I'd like to conclude by giving ACT's warmest congratulations to this triumphant 2020 Paralympic team. Thank you Mr Speaker.Motion agreed to."
Motions — New Zealand Paralympic Team—Congratulations
Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's my huge pleasure to rise on behalf of the Green Party and acknowledge the fabulous efforts of the Aotearoa Paralympians at the Tokyo Olympics with a special shout out to Tonga for a great contribution to our team—mālō 'aupito.Firstly I'd like to acknowledge all 29 athletes who made it and those who didn't make it because of difficulties qualifying in the midst of a global pandemic. Elite athletes seem to me like a bit of a breed apart from the rest of us demonstrating such determination sacrifice; just sheers guts as well as that elusive thing called athletic prowess. They say though much of the success comes down to mental attitude and I suspect that has been more true this year than in any other year what with the delay breaks in training and a loss of audience and the usual supports. It was a small team with many—18 in fact—first-time athletes who are now well set up for the next Olympics. So congratulations to every one of them.As a country stuck to our couches with our chippies and beers we cheered them on and they all made us so proud. To be honest we would have liked to see more of them and the Greens will advocate for better TV coverage for the next games. I want to acknowledge everyone but I can't go past a particular mention to Tupou Neiufi for our first medal which was so unexpected—to us at least—and the perfect gift to South Auckland at a time when there was so much bad news.And of course the legend Sophie Pascoe who left everything in the pool and a bit more on the side. She brought home two golds a silver and bronze after almost pulling out just weeks before the games because she'd not been able to compete in an international competition for almost two years and it had been months since she had been in a serious competition. She said at one point she felt she had let us down. I want to say clearly in this House: Sophie you did not let us down you did us bloody proud.Finally I also want to acknowledge the words of Chef de Mission Paula Tesoriero describing the Paralympic village: There are more people like me no awkward stares and most things are accessible. I wish the rest of the world could be like that. More social inclusion greater accessibility." So as the ultimate tribute to our athletes let's all take an action to make our country more inclusive #lifeshouldn'tbeanOlympicstruggle."
Collins JudithHon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd like to join the Prime Minister in congratulating our Paralympians on behalf of all New Zealanders. At a time when good news is hard to come by it's great to see Kiwis performing so admirably on the world stage. New Zealand's tally of 12 medals six of them gold at the Tokyo games again proves just how much we punch above our weight when it comes to world sport.Of course special recognition must go to Sophie Pascoe our greatest ever Paralympian. With two golds a silver and a bronze in Tokyo Sophie is one of this country's greatest ever athletes. It's testament to her pursuit of excellence that she was in tears after taking bronze in the 100-metre backstroke final. Such was her determination drive to be the best third was below her own high standards. Rather than let disappointment hold her back Sophie drew on it to push herself even harder and to win gold medals in the 100-metre freestyle and the 200-metre medley. Sharing in Sophie's success and disappointment was a privilege for all New Zealanders. She did us all proud with her honesty and her desire to be the very best.There are other great stories from the games. Lisa Adams a member of the truly remarkable Adams family sporting dynasty didn't just win gold in the women's shotput; she demolished her opponents with multiple world record throws. Anna Grimaldi also set a new world mark in winning the long jump and Holly Robinson had us on the edge of our seats winning gold with her sixth and final throw to take gold in the javelin. And of course we cannot forget Tupou Neiufi winning New Zealand's first gold of the games in the 100-metre backstroke.It has been another memorable games for our incredible and inspiring Paralympians—these world-class athletes who have let nothing stand in the way of success. In many cases they have overcome enormous hurdles to be the best and have never let disability define them. These are our heroes and we salute all who took part. Thank you Mr Speaker.
Mallard TrevorTHURSDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSSPEAKER: Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom justice mercy and humility for the welfare and peace of New Zealand. Amen.
Tuesday 7 September 2021 - Volume 754
5. Question No. 5—FinanceHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 5—Finance5. Hon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister of Finance: Does the Minister have confidence in the administration and timeliness of the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Mr Speaker mālō 'aupito. Yes. We have never had to stand up a scheme such as this in New Zealand's history and in these circumstances I think the administration and timeliness of the scheme has been excellent. The wage subsidy scheme has so far made 1133379 payments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. From time to time administration errors can occur when staff are working around the clock as happened last week when applications were not possible under the scheme for two hours and when the new form was uploaded. This is regrettable of course but does not take away from the excellent work that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has done here.Hon Louise Upston: Will he extend the application deadline for the first fortnight the wage subsidy was available given the early closure on 2 September and portal issues on 3 September meant some businesses were unable to apply?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As was said at the time anyone who had issues during the two-hour period that the applications were not possible should make themselves known to MSD. I am aware that 430 people have done so and MSD is now working that through with them.Hon Louise Upston: How many wage subsidy applications were not processed within the three-day time target set by his Government in the current wage subsidy round and how many are still outstanding?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The information I have here in front of me is that 91 percent of applications have been paid within three working days.Hon Louise Upston: Why has the Government taken reference to the three-day target off their website?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I wasn't aware that we had.Hon Louise Upston: Does the Minister appreciate that delayed wage subsidy payments are creating uncertainty and stress for New Zealanders at a time they are making sacrifices and have done everything the Government has asked of them?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I absolutely accept that many businesses are in a very stressful period at the moment and we're doing our level best to support them through that. As I said in my previous answer I'm advised that 91 percent of applications have been paid within three days. What I can say is that the most common reason for a delay in applications is where the information held by Inland Revenue about a business is different from the information on the Ministry of Social Development's application—on the application form. That is the single most pressing issue so if I can put out a plea for people when they are applying to ensure that the details on their application form with MSD are the same as the details that are held by Inland Revenue about that business.
Mallard TrevorHouse resumed.CHAIRPERSON (Rt Hon Trevor Mallard): The committee has considered the Appropriation (2021/22 Estimates) Bill and reports progress. I move That the report be adopted.Motion agreed to.Report adopted.SPEAKER: In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.The House adjourned at 6.54 p.m.
Edmonds BarbaraBARBARA EDMONDS (Associate Whip—Labour): I move That the committee report progress.Motion agreed to.
Hipkins ChrisHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): I'll try and blitz through those topics as fast as I can. On the Teaching Council the Government is aware of the concern that's been raised by the profession. We will have a bit more to say about the legislation when it comes back towards the House and some potential further changes to address some of the concerns put from the profession. But I would say we remain committed to the commitment of the last Government that the Teaching Council should be self-sustaining as other professional regulatory bodies are. Lawyers are nurses are social workers are—they pay for those professional regulatory requirements through a fee. The Teaching Council from way back to when it was the Teacher's Council and it was the Education Council in between times has never collected enough money through fees in order to be able to meet the costs of its core services. So the council faces a double-whammy where costs have gone up during the period of time that those fees have been frozen and they were never adequate in the first place. So one way or the other the reality is for the council to exist and for the council to be self-sustaining it will have to increase its fees. But I acknowledge there's some concern about some of the wider functions of the council and who should pay for those non-core functions of the council—we're having conversations about that at the moment and we'll have more to say on that soon.The Ministry of Education will be providing curriculum resources around Matariki. One of the things around ecology sustainability is that there's a lot around the underpinning principles around that in the curriculum already and there are a lot of really good resources—in fact the member's co-leader James Shaw and I launched some of them at a primary school in Raumati South a few years back. So there's a lot that's happening in that space and I think that's exciting.In terms of learning support there is a case before the Human Rights Tribunal. I don't want to get into the specific case but I would note we're aware that there's a lot of pressure here there are a lot of kids with additional needs who need that extra support. We've put a billion dollars in as a Government already into increasing that and we know that more is required. So we know that we've still got a hill to climb there to ensure that those kids are getting the support that they deserve.In terms of tertiary student support watch this space in the next couple of days.
Reti Shane; Hipkins ChrisDr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National): Thank you Mr Speaker. To the Minister I have some tertiary questions which myself and my colleague Penny Simmonds have been working on which we'd appreciate his attention to.Can he please address which DHBs in the Auckland region are now refusing to accept nursing students on clinical placements for the remainder of 2021? Following that will any third-year nursing students at University of Auckland or any other tertiary institute in Auckland fail to complete their nursing qualification this year because of a lack of clinical placement hours? Should this be correct what impact would this have on the number of nursing graduates this year? Should this be correct what impact will this have on tertiary funding for those institutions in 2022? And what impact would this have on tertiary funding for those individual students in terms of loans and allowances in 2022? If the Minister could address that that would be useful.Secondly I'd like to ask a couple of questions on the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE). Can he confirm Treasury documents demonstrating that the cost of implementation of the RoVE is $130 million dollars to date? And secondly what is the change in headcount at polytechnics over the past two years? Thank you.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Mr Speaker sorry I'm just making a note so that I don't forget all of the issues that the member has just raised there. In terms of the nursing placements that is a question for the institutions and for the DHBs. Tertiary education institutions have institutional autonomy when it comes to the delivery of their programmes. I have not been advised that this is an issue but if I do get that advice I'm certainly happy to engage with the institutions if they wish for me to do so. But ultimately the institutions engage with the DHBs and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to intervene. But if there is a problem there where the Government can assist I'm certainly available to have that conversation with them.In terms of the cost of RoVE I don't have the detailed breakdown of the implementation costs. There are a range of different factors to that one of which is that we're dealing with significant growth in the vocational education sector at the moment and we are putting additional funding in to meet that exponential growth in vocational education at the same time as the system is being reformed. I don't have an up-to-date figure on the head count for the number of staff at our polytechs.
Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): As a member of the committee it's a pleasure to rise and have an opportunity to contribute in this debate. First of all I do just want to take a moment to acknowledge the Minister who's in the chair now the Hon Chris Hipkins for a second chunk of Estimates. Actually it is a demonstration in terms of the breadth of his accountabilities and responsibilities in this country at a very very difficult time. I personally want to acknowledge him for that. In Japan there's a phrase called otsukaresama deshita" where you acknowledge somebody's work and it feels a relevant phrase at the moment. There are a few lines of questioning I'm interested in following on behalf of our education spokespeople. The first is around early childhood education and the struggles around staffing that our centres are experiencing across the country and that has come through very clearly in the submissions around the change to legislation to help enable pay parity and the Government's partial contribution towards pay parity. It's a kind of a bit of a down payment but we were hearing very clearly from centres that it's not enough actually necessarily to be confident that the policy intent is going to be achieved. And it feels as if that's been compounded at the moment as well around the uncertainty for relief teachers to be able to get paid through COVID when many centres aren't currently eligible for the wage subsidy. They're told that they're Government-funded centres and they're expected to pay for relievers out of that pool of funding yet they're paying for their core staff out of that funding and they're saying they're not able to afford to cover relievers and it's created this uncertainty and people are being told to go to Work and Income. Some of them are reluctant to do that because actually this is their job. They feel as if they have a job and it's a critically important one for our children to ensure that there are teachers available for them in their early learning the most important learning in their lives. So the Greens are really interested to know what the Minister's planning to be able to address those staff shortages and pressures around relief teachers and that implementation of pay parity."
Upston LouiseHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō): I thank the Minister for that answer and I'd like to just continue along that vein before coming to attendance as a separate line of questioning. So I'm interested in the difference between what the Ministry of Education did in terms of planning and pre-planning and preparation for the lockdowns as opposed to what the schools themselves were expected to mitigate. So having now been in the middle of a pandemic for quite some time there still seems to be a disproportionate load that landed on the schools as opposed to support from the ministry itself. So I'd like to know what came out of the evaluations if they were undertaken of the split of responsibilities between the Ministry of Education and the schools themselves.Following on from that and the point around outcomes and student learning I'm interested to know how do the internal assessment grades submitted to NZQA by 1 September 2021 compare to previous years and following on from that what planning has been done for changes to NCEA and credits for students as a result of the current lockdown? Two aspects of the NCEA credits question: one is obviously for those who are in Auckland and then the question of fairness that's been raised Minister through electorate offices is for those schools in level 2 some won't be able to be up functioning properly tomorrow—it may be the end of this week or even next week on Monday that the school will recommence—and the differential in terms of the number of days is really then down to one or two days between the Auckland schools where those students will get NCEA credits for the 20 days. So I'm interested to know the evidence behind the 20-day limit and what flexibility is available and how that could be applied.
Mallard TrevorCHAIRPERSON (Rt Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! Sorry I'll take my mask off. The time agreed for this debate has now expired. We'll keep the same Minister in the chair but give him his education hat now. Now is there anyone here who's actually a member of the Education and Workforce Committee? No?Ibrahim Omer: Yes.CHAIRPERSON (Rt Hon Trevor Mallard): Anyone who wants to take the call?
Estimates Debate — COVID-19 Response