Salesa JennyDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to take a call on the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Levy) Amendment Bill. I wish to first give a heartfelt thanks to our Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) staff particularly our firefighters who have played a key role in responding to the recent flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle. I also join in with the rest of this House in extending our sympathies to the families friends and colleagues of the two volunteer firefighters who tragically lost their lives Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg. Our country owes them a great debt.When the levy settings contained in this bill eventually do come into force it will have been seven years since the review of the funding model. The justification for the two-year delay—the two-year sort of extension—going back to the Minister's statement in the first reading is an unfortunate but necessary side effect of the disruption that COVID-19 has caused". It's not the most thorough explanation but none the less here we are.The original levy settings were given a commencement of 2024 to ensure that they were fit for purpose and this is one of those odd situations where the Government is now changing something that they haven't even tried yet but at least it has given stakeholders in the insurance sector time to reflect and give their thoughts. I do wonder however if this additional two years that the bill provides will simply result in further change before anything actually happens but we'll see.For this bill to be the outcome of the review into the funding model for FENZ is underwhelming to say the least especially in light of the nationwide protests in which firefighters expressed their dissatisfaction with not only pay but resourcing working conditions mental health services training and equipment. And obviously there has been some progress in terms of pay but a lot of those issues are still very much real and outstanding.It's been well canvassed in this House that firefighters do a heck of a lot more than just fighting fires. They are called to a wide variety of situations most of which are incredibly stressful—for example family harm and domestic incidents suicides and so on—and certainly our greatest respect to them for dealing with all of that. The recent civil defence emergencies have re-emphasised the need to ensure that our emergency services are well funded—adequately funded and resourced—so that they can respond quickly using every tool available.The specific amendments in this bill are by and large technical and reasonable therefore we will support it at second reading. But as I said before in the broader context of the fire and emergency services framework this legislation is underwhelming.I acknowledge the select committee for tidying up a few things with this bill including a sensible change for marine insurance and the calculation of the sum insured and all of those other technical details. Other clarifications for instance around specifying fire-related damage as opposed to damage caused by other things is a fairer approach and the amendments appear to strike a better balance in the levy settings to reduce free-riding while at the same time seeking to ensure that those who are already paying levies are not being overburdened. On the whole however as I've said this bill does little to address the issues at FENZ and does not bring with it any provisions for better fiscal oversight and accountability. The levy generates a significant pot for FENZ but with all the issues raised in break rooms and fire stations around the country one has to ask what they're actually doing with it. There are some who believe that an entirely new model for funding for our fire and emergency services could be a step in the right direction if done properly but as it stands I acknowledge that this will likely be a discussion for a future Parliament given no such work has been done. This bill is a lost opportunity; nevertheless I commend it to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): I call on James Strange—Jamie Strange."