Mahuta Nanaia: Standards Amendment Bill Testing Laboratory Registration Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Mahuta Nanaia: Standards Amendment Bill Testing Laboratory Registration Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:634;Page:5525] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Commerce 
: I move  
That the Standards Amendment Bill and the Testing Laboratory Registration Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. I thank the members of the Commerce Committee for their consideration of these bills and also thank all those people who made submissions to the select committee. Standards and conformance are critically important in both the New Zealand and international contexts. Consumers are demanding safer products of a higher quality and this has resulted in higher minimum standards. Increased technological change requires a more rapid development and amendment of standards. Also an increase in social and environmental concerns has led to standards applying in areas of the economy not previously covered. At the same time providing independent confirmation that a product or service complies with the relevant standard has become increasingly important for business success. That is why these bills are so important. 
Although New Zealand’s standards and conformance infrastructure is well respected internationally maintaining the confidence of our trading partners in it is essential. The key purpose of these bills is to ensure that our infrastructure remains up to date with international best practice. Therefore most of the amendments are largely technical in nature. The bills clarify the roles of the standards and testing laboratory registration councils and improve their efficiency and effectiveness. 
The Standards Amendment Bill will clarify and expand the scope of the Standards Council functions to include the preparation of codes of practice handbooks specifications and other material currently produced by international standards development bodies. The bill extends the development of standards to include minimising environmental risks and promoting social responsibility in a manner consistent with our international obligations. It also includes improving the process for nominating organisations to make appointments to the council. 
The Testing Laboratory Registration Amendment Bill will delineate the roles of the Testing Laboratory Registration Council and the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand. This is the one urgent amendment. The bill clarifies that the council does not have the ability to accredit certification bodies and confirms that it does have the ability to accredit inspection bodies. It also makes the council’s provision of certification services discretionary rather than mandatory. 
When the Minister Lianne Dalziel introduced these amendments to the House she indicated that a major review of standards and conformance was to be undertaken. This has been progressing and has indicated that our infrastructure is generally sound. But there is always room for improvement. The Minister has now released a discussion document that identifies a set of issues for further consideration and provides options for addressing those. The provisions of these bills are however an important first step in ensuring that New Zealand’s standards and conformance infrastructure continues its excellent international reputation into the future. I commend the bills to the House.