edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
SpeechHon TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): Thank you Mr Speaker. New Zealand First supports the creation of the Epidemic Response Committee. We agree with Mr Brownlee and obviously with the contributions by Mr Hipkins: the Opposition has such an important role inside New Zealand's democracy. All of us have been on one side or the other side of the House and so each one of us each side of the House plays such an important role in what is a highly recognised democracy around the world. And we don't want that to fall over because of COVID-19. We don't want to give anything away of the strength of that because of the circumstances that we find ourselves in.I agree with Mr Brownlee: most select committees are apolitical when they talk about a piece of legislation when they talk about decisions of Government and their role is to make things better—if we get away from the annual reporting sort of stuff—so when we actually get into legislation that's what select committees do: they make it better for the people of New Zealand. And that is I believe the goal of this select committee: to replace the scrutiny that is required of any Government particularly when we're making decisions as quickly as we are and putting pieces of legislation through the House—and as others have said spending this much of taxpayers' money—but also to actually bring together the collective wisdoms across the Parliament. By doing that when we find those issues that are a bit gnarly or when we as Mr Brownlee said are able to bring to the attention of Government problems and possible solutions from across the House it can only be good for New Zealand and New Zealanders.I believe that my colleague Fletcher Tabuteau is going to be the New Zealand First person who will be on the select committee. I had hoped to be there myself but I'm a Minister of the Crown so I understand that's not allowed. So fair enough—and I'm sure that there will be others that will be pleased that it's not me and that it will be Mr Tabuteau. But that's my understanding at this time—it will be confirmed in writing with the Speaker I believe later on.So again New Zealand First says thank you very much for this opportunity to all those that worked across the House to bring this together. It's a big step for the New Zealand Parliament both to adjourn and to have a select committee like this and I hope that it will give us what Mr Brownlee has outlined as the possibilities—which is such a strong oversight and the ability to combine our collective wisdoms to make things better for New Zealanders. Kia ora.
COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill — Third Reading
COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill — Second Reading
Hipkins ChrisSecond ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill be now read a second time. Bill read a second time.
COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill — First Reading
Hipkins ChrisCOVID-19 RESPONSE (URGENT MANAGEMENT MEASURES) LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill be now read a first time.Bill read a first time.
COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill — Third Reading
COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill — Second Reading
Robertson GrantSecond ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance) on behalf of the Minister of Revenue: I move That the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill be now read a second time.Bill read a second time.
COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill — First Reading
Robertson GrantCOVID-19 RESPONSE (TAXATION AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE URGENT MEASURES) BILLFirst ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance) on behalf of the Minister of Revenue: I move That the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill be now read a first time.Bill read a first time.
Hipkins Chris; Mallard TrevorCOVID-19 RESPONSE (TAXATION AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE URGENT MEASURES) BILLCOVID-19 RESPONSE (URGENT MANAGEMENT MEASURES) LEGISLATION BILLIntroduction and Passage through all StagesHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Following discussions across the House I seek leave for the introduction and passing through all stages of the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill and the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill and that there be no debate on the first and second readings and no committee stage of those bills.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that process being followed? There appears to be none.
Imprest Supply (Third for 2019/2020) Bill — Third Reading
Robertson GrantThird ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I move That the Imprest Supply (Third for 2019/20) Bill be now read a third time.Bill read a third time.
Imprest Supply (Third for 2019/2020) Bill — Second Reading
Imprest Supply (Third for 2019/20) Bill — First Reading
Robertson GrantIMPREST SUPPLY (THIRD FOR 2019/20) BILLIntroductionBill introduced.First ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I move That the Imprest Supply (Third for 2019/20) Bill be now read a first time. Bill read a first time.
Ministerial Statement — COVID-19—Move to Alert Level 4 and State of National Emergency
Thursday 19 March 2020 - Volume 745
Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 56New Zealand National 55; Ross.Motion agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the date be changed to 6th July 2020".Ayes 56New Zealand National 55; Ross.Noes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Amendment not agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill be reported to the House by 2 June 2020 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting (except during oral questions) during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 191 193 and 194(1)(b) and (c).Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Motion agreed to."
4. Question No. 4—PoliceGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 4—Police4. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Police: What advice has he received about the Police's role in responding to COVID-19?Hon STUART NASH (Minister of Police): I'm advised that the New Zealand Police are working closely with the Ministry of Health to help deal with a dynamic situation that is COVID-19. The Commissioner of Police is providing operational strategic oversight to the all-of-Government response. Police's main role at this time is to help the Ministry of Health enforce the new self-isolation requirements that came into effect on 16 March. For example on Tuesday 17 March at the direction of the Ministry of Health police conducted compliance and welfare visits on a random sample group of travellers who had arrived into New Zealand after the new self-isolation requirements came into effect. Police say they are pleased with the high level of compliance and report that most people are taking the self-isolation requirements seriously.Greg O'Connor: What advice has he received about compliance with the requirements to self-isolate?Hon STUART NASH: As the Prime Minister has stated more than 10000 people have already voluntarily self-isolated before the new self-isolation rules came into force on Monday. I have been advised that a range of front-line agencies including Police Immigration and Health are receiving tip-offs from the public. As of yesterday police received 90 COVID-19 - related calls in this first two days of the new rules. Most of these reports were from members of the public who suspected breaches of self-isolation by others. This is promising to see as it shows that neighbours families workplaces and the community recognise that everyone has a part to play to contain the spread of COVID-19. Government agencies like the police cannot do it on their own. We are all in this together.Greg O'Connor: What advice has he received from police about what members of the public can do if they suspect someone is in breach of the new self-isolation rules?Hon STUART NASH: Police advise me that if a member of the public suspects a breach of the self-isolation rules they can email. I would like all the members to note this down and send it out on their social media or other platforms. This is the email address: . That's nhccselfisolation"—one word—"@health.govt.nz". They can include details or screenshots from social media as appropriate. In the last year police have been tested by extraordinary events from the Tasman wildfires the terror attacks the eruption at Whaakari / White Island and now COVID-19. But I would like to reassure members of this House and members of the general public that police's top priority is as always keeping our communities safe."
3. Question No. 3—TransportDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 3—Transport3. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Transport: Will he cancel the 3.5 cents per litre petrol excise increase due to take effect from 1 July this year to reduce costs on consumers during the predicted recession?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House) on behalf of the Minister of Transport: On behalf of the Minister of Transport our Government is very concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and on our communities. That's why we've moved quickly with an initial $12.1 billion package to support New Zealand workers and businesses. This morning I ruled out any further increases for the next three years but we have no current plans to cancel this year's increase.
1. Question No. 1—HealthWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister of HealthORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Health1. WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister of Health: What is the Government doing to keep the public informed of the steps they can take to protect themselves against COVID-19?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Yesterday I launched the Unite against COVID-19 public health campaign alongside the influenza vaccination drive. The $10 million COVID-19 public health campaign has a simple call to action. It asks New Zealanders to support each other and to do everything they can to slow the spread of COVID-19.Willow-Jean Prime: What does the public health campaign ask people to do?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The campaign has four very simple messages that everyone needs to follow. Firstly wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds then dry them. Do this often. This kills the virus by bursting its protective bubble. Secondly stay home if you're sick. If you have a fever a cough shortness of breath sneezing or a runny nose don't go to work or school. Thirdly self-isolate for 14 days if you have been overseas or if you have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19. And fourthly be kind. Check in on your neighbours especially older or vulnerable people. Make sure they have what they need to get through this.Willow-Jean Prime: How will people hear or see these public health messages?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Every single New Zealander must and will see these messages. We have an initial spend of around $10 million to ensure this happens. The campaign began yesterday and is already appearing on social media radio TV in newspapers and on billboards and will increase in coming days.
Shaw JamesHon JAMES SHAW (Minister for Climate Change): Thank you Madam Speaker. I also rise on behalf of the Green Party in support of the Child Support Amendment Bill. A number of the previous speakers have alluded to how it would be very useful for this to go through at this particular moment because this is a time when all New Zealanders are going to need a great deal of support and of course those who are most at risk need the most support. So an improvement to the child support system which affects 185000 children around New Zealand is most welcome. I just want to read something from the commentary on the bill. It says that there was a discussion document that circulated in 2017 which said the problems ranged from unfairness [in the system]" to the need to address situations where "the person's circumstances are unusual or complex. Those problems can lead to dissatisfaction with the scheme and reduced compliance." I think that belies just the sheer frustration that people have with the current system. So I think whilst most of it looks quite technical and so on what it will lead to is a much simpler system that's easier for people to interact with and I commend it to the House.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 6 p.m."
SpeechAGNES LOHENI (National): Thank you Madam Speaker I'm very happy to make a contribution on this the first reading of the Child Support Amendment Bill. It's probably good to acknowledge that when you come to talk about child support there are real stories behind what's happened. And I think it's good that we can support a system and streamline a system to provide better clarity for groups of people who—ultimately at the end of the day there's been some conflict and there are children involved.So I'm here to stand and say I really support the measures of some practical steps noted in this amendment which ultimately will reflect some of the modern realities of this environment today. So clearly there are some good things here around enabling IRD to be able to provide a better system in processing this and that's a good thing.I note the numbers for New Zealand. We've got 164000 parents that are liable to pay child support and 135000 carers who are looking after 182800 children. So there's a significant number of people in our community that will be affected by this bill and it's good that we can stand on both sides and support measures to make it a better hopefully fairer system for all parties involved.I note some of the key changes in the bill around—they've already been mentioned by some colleagues—some definitions which is good. The definition of income now includes dividends and interest. The other one I think is really good to note is the introduction of a grace period of 60 days where people who are new to paying child support won't be charged that penalty. Again I think that's a good change. If you're new to paying child support this is a very recent development in your life or in the life of that family so I think it's good that this is acknowledged in this way that there is some sort of a grace period as it's a transition for all parties going into the space of child support payments. The other change is that it requires a person new to paying child support to pay it by automatic deduction from their wages or salary by the employer. And I think that just helps to bring better certainty as well to some parties. So I think this is a good change and I'm pleased to support this and I'm pleased also to note the report-back date the Minister has indicated. I think you do need a good time to allow as many people particularly in this time that we're facing at the moment to be able to make a contribution in the select committee process. Actually this is my select committee. I sit on the Social Services and Community Committee. So I look forward to this bill coming to the committee and to be able to get a good understanding of how people in the community parents Inland Revenue and other parties feel about some of the changes and to get their feedback on that too. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.
Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on the Child Support Amendment Bill and like has already been spoken tonight I think this is an excellent bill for the fact that it makes stronger and fairer a system that already exists and aims to provide a same home background for children while they might be going between two different houses—in trying to introduce that level of fairness. The difficulty in any legislation or system or in such an area as child support is tailoring it to such individual circumstances that—and as members of Parliament we will all no doubt be aware of individual cases and trying to have a system that's flexible enough to meet the needs that are quite diverse for individual circumstances is a real challenge. So I look forward to the select committee process to hear in person from the members of the public to understand how we are able to improve the current system. This bill will improve the administration of the scheme by introducing a fairer and more effective penalty regime for rules. In addition to that there are compulsory deductions of child support from source deduction payments made by an employer or for newly liable persons. Also including in there a fairer definition of income" is interesting. And I know that is a way I have seen people not providing child support when they probably should've—by having a more fair definition of that term "income" and what is included. There will also be finally a four-year time ban on the reassessment of child support. So I look forward to this bill going to select committee and I look forward to hearing from a wide range of submissions about how we can improve the existing system. I commend this bill to the House."
O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): Thank you Madam Speaker. The previous speaker Andrew Bayly was lambasting the Minister for his lack of enthusiasm and he may well do; he's a man with the enthusiasm of a Jack Russell on methamphetamine often as he stands in this House but it was a shame he didn't maintain that enthusiasm. He then turned to the perennial outrage of a Dr Nick Smith. So he does cover a range. But Madam Speaker perhaps back to the bill at this stage.This again is a very sensible piece of legislation and as I look through it some of the main parts that will help—I think anyone who's ever been involved with or had to assist or had a family member who's been paying child support knows that what starts out as quite a simple process can very quickly often through failure or through fault not necessarily of their own—all of a sudden people get into arrears and once people are in arrears they get in real trouble. What I see here is something that will assist that—particularly those eight days. Once you're in arrears normally the process would start after eight days. One would suggest that the very facts the very situation that put one into arrears are very hard to rectify in that short period whereas going to 28 days certainly does make more sense. Certainly it gives the IRD time to maybe just find the person and alert them—alert them to what will happen if they don't resume payments.The second part around Inland Revenue and the automatic payments which currently exist—and of course with improved IT systems with Inland Revenue—is that becomes a much more streamlined system. However what I do think is a good idea is that there will be those who want to have an alternative payment system for whatever reason often privacy reasons—they may not want their employer to know they are in that situation. So provided they can come to an arrangement with the IRD they will be in a position to actually make such an arrangement—again a very sensible provision. I do commend this bill to the House.
Organic Products Bill — First Reading
Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Speaker. How lovely and refreshing on a Thursday afternoon it is to have the Greens and National both supporting the same bill—must be a great idea. So we're the last country among many of our trading partners who do not have a mandatory standard in terms of organic products and the sooner that we can fix this the sooner we can capitalise on those benefits. I think there is agreement in general about that.One of the purposes of this bill is to give confidence to those businesses to invest in organic production. As already mentioned the sooner this bill is passed the sooner those organic businesses can make those decisions and make a valuable contribution to our economic resilience and how important that is at a time right now when we face a high level of uncertainty in terms of those businesses.So currently New Zealand's organic export products to the US must be certified to the US standard and this means that if New Zealand organic businesses want to export a product to our two biggest organic markets they would need to meet two different sets of rules. It's about time that we sorted that out. This is a good bill. It helps New Zealand businesses do what they're already good at doing in a more certain area and I commend it to the House.
O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): Thank you Madam Speaker. I think that if one stands in this House one will see everything. I notice that my cousin the Minister of Agriculture the Hon Damien O'Connor brought in this bill and the previous speaker was talking about compliance. I know that his father had probably one of the least compliant cowsheds on the West Coast and I know that my own father had probably one of the second-least compliant. There were many yellow stickers. It's a great irony that we see Mark Patterson and Ian McKelvie standing here waxing lyrical about organic farming. Things do progress. So as I read through this I actually have to say that I didn't realise that we didn't have a national organic—certainly every time I've picked up organic products I've looked for the certification. So it will be great news to many New Zealanders watching to see that we will now have faith that we are now going to what clearly is an idea that has its day. To know how overdue it is the fact that we can see some of the people who are agreeing with this just gives some idea of how overdue it is. I commend this bill to the House.
Kuriger BarbaraBARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): Thank you Madam Speaker. I would say that this is a bill which the time has come for and it's a bill that's been quite a while in the making. I do want to commend the Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor for bringing it to the House but I would also like to make mention of the Hon David Bennett who started the process when he was a Minister. Now Ian McKelvie spoke a few minutes ago about people's perceptions of what an organic farmer actually looked like and that perception has changed over the years. Let me just ask you today do we know what an organic farmer looks like—because actually in the House this afternoon you're looking at one who's standing up speaking. I can't take the credit for the organic transition but I can give the credit to our daughter Rachel and her husband Kenneth who have led this process. So in declaring my conflict of interest in speaking to this bill it is that I do have quite a strong interest in it. But what's interesting for me also is the process that we've gone through. We've always run a pasture-based system and the system itself hasn't changed but we just have a whole new set of products. I have to say the organic industry has come a very long way in a short period of time and I do see the excited look on our daughter's face when new products are certified for organics. The time has really come when there is no place for people calling products organic when they are not certified organic. Now Mark Patterson spoke before about the compliance cost and with any piece of legislation there is always the worry about compliance cost. I am probably less worried although we have to be mindful of it but right now the compliance that our farm has to go through is compliance to the US compliance to the EU compliance to Korea and compliance to wherever the product is going to and as the country of New Zealand she has that many compliance audits. I think it's time that we had a New Zealand standard that built into these other countries' compliance. There would be less compliance for exporting organic farmers than what they currently have now and it would be a great alignment. I also think that the time has come to build the pride in the New Zealand product. It's one thing to say that we're an organic farming business but if we could say we were a New Zealand - certified organic farming business the pride in that would be so much greater than what it is now. So I'm really pleased to say that National supports this piece of legislation. It's a good piece of legislation and I commend the team. I know there's been a lot of work gone into getting it to this point because I've had a number of conversations with people. So I'm not going to speak any further this afternoon because I think it's important that this first reading gets passed so that we can start working on the next part of the process. Thank you Madam Speaker. DEPUTY SPEAKER: So this is a split call.
Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill — First Reading
Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. I just want to very briefly talk about this bill and in particular just the important work it does in tidying up these regulations. I really emphasise the point that we absolutely need good regulation to manage people's behaviour and to ensure that the tools are there to respond effectively. Really as opposed to the legislative work that we do here the existence of regulations are there to be nimble to be detailed and to be responsive. Just noting clause 8 which deals with exemptions—that is to say the powers of the director to exclude the applicability of certain regulations in certain cases—it is another level of detail but when it actually comes to be applied it is very very important and that's been clarified here. The fact that exemptions don't have to be given necessarily person by person but they can be given across an entire class. So that means that we can do things like say that people in certain circumstances can drive outside of their licence conditions and things like that. It is very important work highly detailed but absolutely is the oil in the cogs that makes our transport systems work. So with that I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.
Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): I'm going to lift the tone of this debate up again because I think the last thing that New Zealanders want to see from us all right now is bickering across the House. Of course National supports this bill so there is support on both sides of the Chamber for this bill. National supports this bill because fundamentally and at a principled level we support regulatory efficiency. We think wherever regulation is getting in the way of good decision-making good investment or progress for New Zealanders we should be prepared to remove it or simplify it and this is a case where that appears justified.In its substance this bill seeks to address regulatory duplication gaps errors and inconsistency. That is a good thing. The bill ensures that regulators have new tools that are effective for keeping the system up to date into the future so that we're not just looking at the regulations for today but making sure that they continue to be efficient in the future and it removes unnecessary compliance costs. All of these are objectives that we on this side of the House wholeheartedly support and actually think should be applied more broadly across our statutes. Finally we acknowledge that this bill does have implications that require thorough examination and consideration. For example the idea of increasing board membership of transport bodies could be a good thing if those appointments do ensure a better spread of expertise and knowledge. But equally—like I'm sure members on the other side of the House—we are wary of extra bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake. So we think it's important the select committee examines this bill carefully takes submissions from experts and ensures it achieves what it sets out to achieve. I also want to acknowledge that our transport spokesperson Chris Bishop isn't here today and I'm sure that he laments the opportunity to speak on this bill. So I will mention him at this juncture. National supports this bill. Thank you.
Prime Willow-JeanWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Thank you for this opportunity to speak briefly on the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill. I have sat through the entire debate while on duty and I just wanted to first respond to a couple of the criticisms of this Government in those early speeches. It was mentioned that amongst the challenges that we're facing with COVID-19 is this the most important piece of legislation that we could be debating? Well National failed to lodge an urgent debate request on COVID-19 today. That would have been an excellent opportunity for us to be able to do that. So I do just want to make that point—[Interruption] I just want to make that point that there was an opportunity to do that today.But this bill is important because it too is also about the safety of New Zealanders—the safety of New Zealanders on our roads. I know that there is support from the other side of the House on that after having a dig about the importance of it amongst other things at the moment. So the purpose of this bill is that safety is a priority. It's about the smooth running of our regulatory system and that the regulatory system is fit for purpose. And what we know is that in the past it has been very ad hoc. So what this bill proposes to do is introduce a range of measures to ensure that it avoids any duplication fixes any gaps errors and inconsistencies so that it is efficient and there are no inconsistencies in being able to roll out the regulatory measures proposed under this bill.In particular I just wanted to mention that I'm really pleased to see the amendment to the Railways Act 2005 and with the Government's announcement of $1 billion into rail—Dr Duncan Webb: How much?WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: —$1 billion into rail—and getting rail back on track ensuring that the regulation powers are efficient and consistent is really important particularly for Northland where rail is getting back on track. And so with that I commend this bill to the House and I wish the select committee all the best in their deliberations.
Warren-Clark Angie; Rurawhe AdrianANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker it's a real pleasure to rise and talk to the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill. First and foremost I have to congratulate the Hon Phil Twyford who is obviously super busy with all of the amazing infrastructure work that he's doing currently on roads to actually bring a bill which is going to take care of some of the small but important issues that are overhanging and left over from not being completed by a previous Government. He's still got time to do those things while focusing on the fact—and we have had it raised $993 million in my region for roads in the last announcement that's come out.Kiritapu Allan: Massive announcement.ANGIE WARREN-CLARK: We're looking—massive announcement. And in fact just announced $54 billion—$54 billion in the next 10 years in this area.So it is extremely important. It is extremely important that we look at the small things that are attached to this. So I think it's a lot of common sense a lot of updating modernising. And you know we are not putting a bonfire to regulations because these things are important. They cut through the red tape; they do the sensible things. So I'm really pleased that this bill is coming to the House. And I'd also like to just take one quick moment to acknowledge the member from Rongotai the mighty member who supports the Chatham Islands and tautoko him in his comments about the fact that the Chatham Islands should be included under the definition of regional" in the regional councils. So with that I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Maureen Pugh—five minutes."
Eagle PaulPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Thank you Madam Speaker and it's a pleasure to be taking a call on this the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill first reading. There's lots to be said but I'm going to restrict myself to just sort of correcting a few things the previous speaker Brett Hudson said. Look I know that on the Transport and Infrastructure Committee we sort things out. So when he said look they were going to scrutinise it I know really we're just cleaning up what they just didn't do. So it's really that simple. It's some simple things but very important. On this side of the House or this curve I'm certainly keen that we just clean them up. I mean who else would forget the Chatham Islands and their status—being the only member along with of course the Māori electorate member for Te Tai Tonga Rino Tirikatene? We know much better than to forget our cuzzies down on the Chathams and Madam Speaker you too have had some experience there but not on that side of the House. They probably thought it was a Pacific Island. But no they are Kiwis New Zealanders. And so we are working to ensure that their status—not as a regional council but to include them in there—is put back in here. This is actually really important. These amendments in here these additions are small things but really really really important. When you talk about transport instruments they are quite technical. They're detailed but I tell you what when it gets all put into practice then you know and you wish that you had the legislation on your side. There's no cosiness around Crown agency boards here. That's simply just a practical thing. In the paper it talks about numbers—just sizing them up in terms of not having even numbers on the board. That's practical. That's common sense. I know those boards must have been frustrated when things came down to taking votes on things maybe but it's also part of our Public Service standardisation across the service including Crown entities so nothing to see there other than to clean it up.Look I'm going to stop there and just commend this to the House and let's get going with the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and work this through. Kia ora.
Warren-Clark AngieANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): I move That the question be now put.
Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): I move That the question be now put.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The question is that the question be now put. Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Dr Webb has already moved that in this debate. I think the rules of the House mean that one person can move it only once in any debate. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): That's correct. I call the Hon Gerry Brownlee and I apologise for my error.
Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): I move That the question be now put.
Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): I just acknowledge the comment that has been made by the Leader of the House in outlining the provisions that are being put in place today. He is right that it simply will enable the Parliament to continue its work at a time when New Zealand is facing a great deal of uncertainty and the capacity for the whole 120 members of Parliament to turn up here to do that work may be impugned by some of the restrictions that could come as a result of the fight against this virus and its worst effects. It is pleasing that the near unanimity of the Business Committee is going to be the determiner of what will be the shape of any Parliament in any straitened circumstance.Parliament is very important in a democracy like ours and I very much appreciate the comment that the Leader of the House has made with regards to the legislative programme. While we wouldn't want to see all of that stop—because it's important for the rest of New Zealand that the confidence that they need to work through this is maintained by the way that we show from this place that life can go on—it is none the less prudent that we do have a provision that would let people participate from a distance. I just want to make the point that we just a few moments ago granted leave to extend a report back on the financial reviews. The main reason why I thought that was necessary is because all of this while it's been brewing for some 60-odd days has really crystallised as being a massive problem in the last 10 days. And in many cases there will need to be upgrades of the hardware essentially that MPs have. I know that the Office of the Clerk and the Parliamentary Service Commission are working to ensure that that upgrade occurs as quickly as possible. But just in the event that there can't be that type of remote activity in the next week it was a prudent thing today but I do appreciate the Speaker making the proper point that there is another usual way to do it and in these unusual circumstances I think the House did the right thing today. So I conclude my remarks by saying that the National Party supports the decision to introduce these relatively straightforward changes to our Standing Orders for the remaining session of this Parliament. I think it will enable us as a Parliament to convey that confidence that New Zealanders will be looking for.Motion agreed to.
Hipkins Chris; Mallard TrevorBUSINESS OF SELECT COMMITTEESReporting DatesHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I followed up on the issue that the shadow Leader of the House raised with regard to annual review report-backs. I understand that there are five annual reviews still to be reported back but the deadline for them to report back is the next sitting day. Therefore I seek leave for that report-back deadline to be extended until 6 April. That would give that committee all of the next sitting week in order to be able to meet and to do that if needed.SPEAKER: I know it's not a good practice for the Speaker to object to leave being sought—and I won't—but I will remind members that we are about to consider a motion which would allow for the remote consideration of these things and not require members to come together to do it. But I will put the leave. Is there any objection to the leave that the Leader of the House is seeking? There appears to be none.
Hipkins Chris; Brownlee GerryTHURSDAY 19 MARCH 2020The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.Karakia.BUSINESS STATEMENTHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): In presenting the business for the next sitting week it's important to emphasise that in the current circumstances it is obviously subject to change. Legislation to be considered by the House in the week beginning Tuesday 31 March is currently scheduled to include the first readings of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 2) the New Zealand Bill of Rights (Declarations of Inconsistency) Amendment Bill and the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill; the second readings of the Public Finance (Wellbeing) Amendment Bill; and the third reading of the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill. Wednesday 1 April will be a members' day. As I have said though the situation is evolving rapidly and should things change I'll communicate that to members through party whips as quickly as possible.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): Thank you to the Leader of the House for that indication and also recognising that we are in interesting times there are two questions really. Just in the last few minutes it's been brought to my attention that some select committees who are now advised not to travel as much as they might have and could be under further restriction by the time they are due to meet during the recess may not be able to meet the deadline for the return of financial reviews. Has the Leader of the House given any thought to some House process to extend the date by which they might be reported back given that the technology for some of the provisions that will be agreed by the House today may not be in place in time to meet those deadlines? Second question is: when is the Government's intention to bring an imprest supply bill to give life and effect to the package that was announced earlier in the week? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): In regard to the last point an imprest supply bill is imminent so our intention would be to introduce that either in the first or the second week of Parliament back after the adjournment. With regard to the first comment of course where timetables need to change as a result of House activity being restricted because of COVID-19 the Business Committee has the power to do many of those things at the moment and I'd need to check it out but I'm pretty sure the Business Committee could extend the report-back time for the financial reviews. I'm looking for confirmation for that but if it can't then a motion in the House would certainly be possible and the Government would look to do that. I do want to make it clear that if we reach the point where House activity and members' activity become significantly restricted for any reason—we're going to talk about this after question time—the Government will be looking to cut back the business of the House to only what is essential.
Wednesday 18 March 2020 - Volume 745
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Bill read a first time.Bill referred to the Justice Committee.
Abortion Legislation Bill — Third Reading
VoteA personal vote was called for on the question That the Abortion Legislation Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 68AdamsFaafoi (P)MarcroftSwarbrick (P)Allan (P)FalloonMartin (P)TinettiAndersenGenter (P)McAnultyTolleyArdernGhahraman (P)Mitchell M (P)Twyford (P)Bennett DHenare (P)Nash (P)Wagner (P)Bennett P (P)HipkinsParker (P)WallBidoisHudsonPrime (P)Warren-ClarkBishop (P)Hughes (P)RadhakrishnanWebb (P)CarterHuo (P)RobertsonWilliamsClarkJacksonRoss (P)WillisCoffey (P)Kaye (P)RussellWoodCollins (P)KurigerSageWoods (P)Craig (P)Lees-Galloway (P)Sepuloni (P)YangCurranLittleSeymourDavidsonLogieShaw (P)Davis (P)LubeckSimpsonDoocey (P)Luxton (P)Sio (P)Teller:Eagle (P)MallardStanfordDysonNoes 51Bakshi (P)Jones (P)O'Connor GTirikatene (P)Ball (P)Kanongata'a-Suisuiki (P)O'Connor SUpstonBarry (P)KingParmar (P)van de MolenBaylyLee DPattersonWalker (P)Bridges (P)Lee MPenkWhaitiriBrownMacindoePeters (P)WoodhouseBrownleeMahuta (P)Pugh (P)Young (P)Dean (P)Mark (P)Reti (P)YuleDowie (P)McClay (P)RurawheGarciaMcKelvieSalesa (P)Goldsmith (P)Mitchell C (P)ScottGuy (P)Muller (P)Smith NHayes (P)NgaroStrangeTeller:Hipango (P)O'Connor DTabuteau (P)LoheniBill read a third time.
Abortion Legislation Bill — Recommittal
VoteA personal vote was called for on the question That the motion be agreed to.Ayes 43AdamsGhahraman (P)MallardTinetti (P)Andersen (P)Henare (P)NashWallBennett P (P)Hipkins (P)PrimeWarren-ClarkClark (P)Hughes (P)RadhakrishnanWebb (P)Coffey (P)Huo (P)Robertson (P)WilliamsCollins (P)Kaye (P)Ross (P)Yang (P)Craig (P)KurigerRussell (P)Curran (P)Lees-Galloway (P)Sage (P)DooceyLittleShaw (P)DysonLogieSio (P)Eagle (P)LubeckStanfordTeller:Genter (P)Luxton (P)Swarbrick (P)DavidsonNoes 76Allan (P)Guy (P)Mitchell M (P)Smith SArdern (P)Hayes (P)Muller (P)StrangeBakshi (P)Hipango (P)NgaroTabuteau (P)Ball (P)HudsonO'Connor D (P)Tirikatene (P)Barry (P)Jackson (P)O'Connor GTolleyBaylyJones (P)O'Connor STwyford (P)Bennett DKanongata'a-Suisuiki (P)Parker (P)van de MolenBidoisKingParmar (P)Wagner (P)Bishop (P)Lee DPatterson (P)Walker (P)Bridges (P)Lee MPenkWhaitiri (P)BrownLoheniPeters (P)Willis (P)BrownleeMacindoePugh (P)WoodCarterMahuta (P)Reti (P)WoodhouseDavis (P)Marcroft (P)RurawheYoung (P)Dean (P)Mark (P)Salesa (P)Yule (P)Dowie (P)Martin (P)Scott (P)Faafoi (P)McAnultySepuloni (P)FalloonMcClay (P)SeymourGarciaMcKelvieSimpsonTeller:Goldsmith (P)Mitchell CSmith NUpstonMotion not agreed to.The result corrected after originally being announced as Ayes 43 Noes 77.
12. Question No. 12—HealthANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 12—Health12. ANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister of Health: What changes have been made to this year's influenza vaccination campaign in response to COVID-19? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): This morning Minister Genter and I announced that we have brought forward—SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough earlier on. Minister" is not an honorific. You can refer to the Hon Julie Anne Genter or the Associate Minister of Health. Start again. Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: This morning the Hon Julie Anne Genter and I announced that we have brought forward the start date of the influenza vaccination campaign to get ahead of COVID-19. The flu vaccine will not protect people against COVID-19 but more flu vaccine is expected to reduce demand on our hospitals over the critical winter period. This is New Zealand's largest flu vaccination campaign with 30 percent more vaccines available than last year. The campaign begins today for our most vulnerable New Zealanders. This is two weeks earlier than previous campaigns which normally begin in April. Angie Warren-Clark: How is more flu vaccine expected to help the health system? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: We are busy preparing for a busy winter as the global COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe. Vaccinations reduce incidents of the flu and they protect our most vulnerable who are the people most likely to get sick and consequently be hospitalised with the flu. Flu vaccinations will improve our health system's ability to cope with the expected higher demands at hospitals from COVID-19. It's critical that we do all we can to prevent a bad flu season this year so that we can focus on responding to COVID-19. Angie Warren-Clark: Which groups will be able to get free flu vaccines? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: People who are 65 and over pregnant or living with a chronic health condition and children with respiratory conditions will be able to get a free vaccine from their GP or pharmacist. Healthcare workers will be able to get it free from their employer. Our top priority is to vaccinate people who are most vulnerable to getting sick this winter. Most Kiwis will agree that this is the right thing to do. Other New Zealanders will be able to get the flu vaccine from Monday 13 April."