edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
SpeechHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): I'll respond fairly briefly to some of the points that are made here which largely amount to we think that utes are good in some places" and I think are quite general in their nature. I want to draw members' attention to one of the considerations which is identified here before the Minister must make regulations which are the international and domestic climate change ambitions and commitments we've made. Now under the draft emissions reduction plan that we are consulting on—which derives from the independent climate commission's recommendations—the overall goal is that by about 2035 we need to have around about 30 percent of our fleet being zero emissions. By 2035 about 30 percent of the fleet needs to be at zero emissions. But if you would listen to the members on the other side of the House they are creating a sort of doomsday scenario in which everyone is forced out of their vehicles on the implementation of this legislation and that is simply not true. The members also make the mistake of not properly reading through the legislation and actually what it sets up which is a regime which through the standard and the discount incentivises cleaner vehicles over time. It doesn't go from zero to 100 at once.And so between high emitting vehicles and zero emissions vehicles—primarily electric vehicles but potentially other fuel sources as well—we also have lower emission petrol vehicles we also have hybrid vehicles and they are probably most likely to be one of the answers to the challenges that the members opposite are raising. I would invite those members to actually think about how we make this transition across all parts of our country instead of just kind of putting up this poster and saying that what we've got now is what we want and that's never going to change. The world is changing in respect of the provision of these vehicles and this is actually about how we help New Zealanders to get there. Because when those hybrid utes start to come on to the market it's this scheme—it's this scheme—which will make them more affordable for people to buy."
Kuriger BarbaraBARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): Thank you Madam Chair. The Minister's probably going to say Not utes again." but I just couldn't help taking another call on this point because while the Minister did enjoy obviously a wonderful summer holiday going to Ōtorohanga and Te Kuiti when the sun was shining and they had not been any rain for a period of time if he had come this weekend when actually Marokopa and places further out like Piopio and various areas had been flooded he would not have had a practical way with an electric vehicle either to power it up or to actually get out of Marokopa altogether. The mud was deep. I know that the Prime Minister when the Canterbury floods happened last year actually travelled in a ute to go and have a look at the damage. I happen to know that after three floods on the West Coast of the South Island maybe Maureen Pugh may never have come back to work on occasions if she had not been able to get into a ute to cross certain parts of the country. So the Minister may well say "Not utes again." and have a holiday on State Highway 3. State Highway 3 is a wonderful place to travel but it's not remote rural New Zealand. The hills are achievable. You don't need a four-wheel drive to get up them. I just think that forcing a tax on people who don't have an alternative at this point in time is very short sighted particularly as I said again before that we don't have the renewable electricity anyway. We're burning Indonesian coal to get it. It's a very short-sighted thing to do in the name of climate change. If there were vehicles available we'd all have them—we'd all have them. The Minister said before "You'd think we were banning them." Well I think people know that you're not banning them but I can tell you that those utes and a Ranger have been the top-selling vehicle because people know that they're going to need those vehicles and they know the impracticalities of what the Minister is going to introduce. So I'd like the Minister to tell me in his other role and I know it's a bit away from the bill but he's also the health and safety spokesperson for Health and Safety at Work—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! The member really is getting and straying a little bit far from the bill. Can we—BARBARA KURIGER: Yes I am straying. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Well I'm inviting the member to come back to Part 1.BARBARA KURIGER: Yeah. So I'll come back to Part 1 and I'll ask the Minister how people are going to cope in rural New Zealand if they don't have available these utes other than having to pay the taxes that the Minister's demanding of them."
Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): Thank you very much Madam Chair. I thank the Minister for his contribution. Look I just wanted to come back to Part 1 new section 167A(6)(b)(iv). And the point here is around consideration by the Minister that the imposition of the level of fees and charges are appropriate after considering the anticipated impact of the fees and charges on the market;". And so what I'd like the Minister to articulate to the committee is: what is the analysis that he has considered and the advice that he has received from officials in regards to the anticipated impact on rural New Zealand as a result of not providing an exclusion particularly for utes as a result of this legislation?I wanted to clarify that because I was a member of parts of the select committee process in which the fifth largest producer of motor vehicles in the world provided a submission categorically around the fact that the availability of electric utes in the New Zealand market is not going to be something that we're going to see in at least a couple of years. And even then the reality is that these will be left-hand drive vehicles which will then have to be productionised in terms of scale for a right-hand drive market. So we're going to deal with a period of time in which consumers and the good hard-working Kiwis in rural and semi-urban New Zealand—it's not just rural semi-urban as well—will be faced with the impact of fees and charges articulated in subparagraph (iv) there at that market. And the Minister has an obligation in subsection (6) "The Minister must not recommend the making of regulations unless the Minister is satisfied". He has provided no substantiation of the evidence that he is confident that this will not have an impact on those members of the market. And so I would call on him to give us a degree of confidence around that."
SpeechDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Madam Chair. I just want to draw attention specifically to Supplementary Order Paper 119 in the name of my colleague Simon Court. It is a very small amendment but it very much deals with one of the major issues and complaints about this legislation and the concerns that we've been hearing up and down the country—particularly from rural New Zealand but by trades people as well who just say that the supply is simply not going to be there the options are not going to be there.I would like to hear the Minister's thoughts on the Motor Trade Association saying that the industry will simply not be able to meet the targets and that penalties will flow on straight to consumers and what his thoughts are about this and the cost of living over the medium to long term. And I also wonder if the Minister would be willing to admit a bit of an inconvenient truth here which is that the supply and variety of vehicles will just not be available in the time frame stipulated by this bill. Thank you very much Madam Chair.
SpeechHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Thank you Madam Chair. Over the course of the last few speeches there has been quite a bit of general commentary on the issue of utes which I know is deeply felt by some members of the committee—it doesn't particularly pertain to this part of the bill but I just want to make the point: the fact is that the Minister considers those factors of supply and demand and those factors of consumer demand which we've already covered in discussion there. I think that is where the Minister whether it's myself or another Minister will consider the range of vehicles that New Zealanders do have access to.There was one specific question which I do want to respond to. It was raised by Mr Simpson who—sort of I've got to say—sort of pinched the glory for Mr Brown's Supplementary Order Paper and got in there and kind of introduced to the committee but fair play I guess and that was about the transparency of the discount on fuel labelling. I just want to confirm for the benefit of the member and for the committee that that will be transparently set out in regulations that there will need to be clarity on the labelling about the discount on the vehicle that'll be the vehicle fuel economy regulations which will be prepared subsequent to the legislation being passed. I can give assurance that members of the public will clearly be able to see on the labelling what the base price was what the discount was so that there's no way in which that can be fiddled with.Of course it will be in the interests actually of the retailer to be transparent about the discount. We're already seeing that in the advertising which is coming through. The retailers want to say what the discount is because it's attracting people to buy their vehicles. But to avoid any doubt that will be extremely clear in the labelling legislation.Look I think all of the other points were largely policy points about utes; I have provided a response on that. There won't be an exemption to those vehicles but we are providing greater choice. It's important to point out if you listen to members opposite you'd think there was a ban on these vehicles; there's not. There'll still be exactly the same choice that there is now and actually increasingly there'll be more choice. All of the key players that we talked to in the sector do tell us that in the coming years we're going to have a reasonable supply of both hybrid and electric vehicles coming in which is what we're already seeing in the international market.
Simpson ScottHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): Thank you Madam Chair. It's interesting that Greg O'Connor was the last speaker. People of his generation and that of the Hon David Parker will recall that when GST was first introduced into the New Zealand economy there was a lot of debate and discussion about whether pricing should be GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive in terms of advertising—for instance supermarkets and any kind of consumer goods and what have you. It's in that regard that I want to speak to the again very pragmatic and sensible Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) in the name of my colleague and friend Simeon Brown. It relates to an amendment that he is proposing to clause 7 which would require after section 172 to include the following words: that For the purposes of the clean vehicle standard sellers and importers of motor vehicles must include any rebate or charge in the prices of their motor vehicles including in any advertising."I think that's a very sensible option that Simeon Brown has put forward because already we are starting to see vehicle sellers advertising pricing that is confusing for consumers. And why wouldn't they? They're in the business of selling vehicles and they're trying to maximise their competitive advantage against other manufacturers and other brands and other sellers of vehicles. Some of the advertising seems to include the clean car discount already taken into account and some of it doesn't but there doesn't seem to be any clear or consistent mechanism for consumers to understand what the ticket price of the vehicle will be. I would've thought that—again putting aside their academic and sort of ideologically driven views about who should have what cars and when they should be driven and how they should be driven and how they should be powered—it would make sense to make it very easy and clear for consumers potential purchasers of cars to know what the actual price is. And right at the minute I think that there is reasonable concern amongst consumers about a confused pricing mechanism that doesn't mandate or require one way or the other. Should the price on the windscreen in the car yard have a price that reflects the discount taken off it or is it a gross price or a net price? And what is it that the consumer is actually going to have to pay to pick up and purchase that car?So I'm interested to know what the Minister of Transport's view is on the communication and clarity of pricing vehicles in the market place. Does he think that it's appropriate that consumers should have some clarity around it and that there should be some definition so that there is in his clean car standard a clean price standard as well?"
O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): That previous speaker Simeon Brown should remember the old axiom that success has a thousand fathers failure is an orphan"—so he will claim anything that he likes.My question is to the Minister. Minister is he aware what percentage of utes are registered as commercial vehicles in New Zealand? My understanding is less than 10 percent. He might like to comment on that."
SpeechHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Just responding briefly to a few of the points raised by members and I think a number of the points raised by Barbara Kuriger are part of the broader debate around this—I don't quite know if they relate to Part 1. But I can report that I had a very nice summer holiday travelling through her electorate and happily charged up my electric car in Ōtorohanga and Te Kūiti and many other parts of rural New Zealand who have now got those chargers on average every 75 kilometres along the State highway network and it's building well.Barbara Kuriger: Seventy-five.Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Seventy-five. That's right yeah. Mr Brown did raise one point that I do think is quite important for the committee to take account of and certainly the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and the Government have taken account of and that's the particular situation of disability vehicles. We have listened to the submissions that were made in respect of that and we will be providing exemptions for disability vehicles through regulations. So we won't be agreeing to the Supplementary Order Paper but we will none the less be dealing with that issue.In respect of the question of utes again I think this is actually a broader policy and political debate—I'm not entirely clear on the link to Part 1—but if I can respond briefly the point of this scheme as I've described is to ensure that New Zealand's fleet is geared towards cleaner vehicles. We are going to get a supply of cleaner vehicles across all vehicle types. We have that in many cases—in the United States this year we're already seeing electric vehicles coming into the fleet. Within New Zealand we know that the majority of utes that are bought and sold are actually bought and sold on the used market which isn't impacted at all by the clean car discount scheme. And of course yeah there's a little bit of typecasting here. Yes it's well understood that utes are an important of rural life but actually so are other vehicles and people in every part of New Zealand will get better access to those and the cost savings and environmental benefits of them including people in rural communities. We're already seeing those numbers going pretty well there. But ultimately providing widespread exemptions in a scheme like this ends up being a mug's game because the whole range of sectors can make an argument and you end up undermining the scheme.We have confidence that we're actually going to have good supply of those vehicles and more choices for people. I note this as well: the evidence that we already have is that the scheme is beginning to work in that we know from a range of importers that they're already actually adjusting the type of utes that they are bringing into the New Zealand market to bring in lower emissions utes to attract lower charges. So there's already a positive effect there. It's bringing the supply of the vehicles into New Zealand but a supply of lower emissions utes. That's a good thing for New Zealand and that's a good thing for the people who will be buying them because they will be cheaper to run.
Kuriger BarbaraBARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): Thank you Madam Chair. To the Minister I also am quite concerned about the utes for farmers and tradie vehicles. But I want to take a little bit of a wider perspective as well because I think some of my colleagues have actually drawn the attention to the lack of availability of utes. But I do know that in the consultation document that the Minister put out a few months ago there was a line in there that referred to building cycle-ways so that rural people and tourists could go about their business. I just actually wondered whether at that point in time the Minister had actually been in rural New Zealand and realised how people do go about their business. But I do know that the Minister was at the opening of the bypass of the Awakino Tunnel a fantastic project along with Mt Messenger that was announced by John Key and Simon Bridges six years ago in 2016. Hon David Parker: It took us to deliver it.BARBARA KURIGER: I also noticed that the Prime Minister mentioned in her statement the other day that Mt Messenger was on her list of things to do. It is a six-year-old project Mr Parker and I will say that not all of that is the Government's fault. I won't point all of the finger at you because a lot of it is to do with the Resource Management Act—but Mr Parker I would like some hurry-up in that regard so we can get some of the roads done in the projects that you're currently working on. Which then goes back to my question and it is all related which is that when the Minister was down opening the Awakino Bypass which by the way badly needs a resurfacing already—so take another drive out into rural New Zealand—you wouldn't have noticed very many chargers very many electric-car chargers on the way past. And I wonder in all of this when a lot of the vehicles in rural New Zealand are of the ute variety you would have also noticed when you were out there as you drove through the King Country to get down there or maybe you flew into New Plymouth and went up a lot of hill country a lot of places where you need four-wheel drive vehicles—you didn't see a lot of infrastructure for charging systems. And the other question I guess the Minister would like to ask is while he's actually bowled through all of this saying We're going to do all of these things with renewable vehicles." I just wonder how much renewable electricity infrastructure we have and how much Indonesian coal we're actually going to be burning to fuel these renewable electric utes that we can't get the ute or the electricity for at this stage so a little bit wider. I'm supporting Simeon Brown's amendments but I wanted to just ask those questions around infrastructure please Minister and I'd be really grateful for an answer. Thank you."
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Madam Chair. What an excellent question there regarding exemptions. I would just like to ask the Minister myself: it says here as part of this clause in regard to the regulation-making power in new section 167A(3)(b) in clause 5 that the Minister may prescribe any vehicle or class of vehicle as excluded from the definition of light vehicle for the purposes of the regulations:" and my question to the Minister is: will he support my amendments? I've got two amendments in regards to excluded classes of vehicles. One is in regard to the good old trusty ute which our farmers and our tradies rely on to keep our productive sectors of our society going which they don't actually have reliable options available at the moment. That information was very clear. It came through via the submissions but also in the departmental report regarding the number of options available. At the moment there are none and so effectively they're left in a position—farmers and tradies—where they have to pay a 15 to 20 percent increase potentially in the cost of their vehicle without the opportunity to be able to have a different alternative which they could get a discount for. The second particular exclusion for which I've also put forward a tabled amendment is in regard to disability vehicles. There was a very good submission by Rod Milner who runs a company in Auckland which specialises in the importation of disability vehicles and the modification of these vehicles and they are going to have to pay the extra charge. Due to their weight and due to the fact that they are generally higher-emission vehicles they will have to pay a higher fee and again there are no other alternatives available to them. So my question to the Minister is: is he going to actually put an exemption in place or will he support this tabled amendment which allows for an exemption for those two particular classes of vehicles? Now I do just want to finish my contribution here on a point in regards to the regulation-making powers. I asked the Minister before whether officials have started actually drafting the regulations and the Minister said yes. Now I find it intriguing that the legislation hasn't even been passed. It's going to have six weeks—or actually less than six weeks—between when it receives its Royal assent and the implementation date and how is he going to fulfil the requirement in new section 167A(5A) in clause 5: "Before recommending the making of regulations the Minister must consult such persons as the Minister considers appropriate."? I guess my question there to the Minister is: is he already doing the consultation now? Has he already started consulting now prior to this legislation actually going into law? I look forward to the answers from the Minister."
Cameron MarkMARK CAMERON (ACT): Thank you Madam Chair. To the Minister would he consider giving an exemption to tradies and farmers given that the technology that he is alluding to is probably the better part of a decade away? And what does he postulate the cost of an electric vehicle that would be conducive of that kind of livelihood would cost to the average farmer or tradie?
Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Tēnā koe Madam Chair. It's a pleasure to rise to speak on the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill. As always I'd like to begin by acknowledging my colleague Julie Anne Genter for her work in putting in the building blocks to get this legislation started and I commend the Minister for the progression of this bill. I have been reflecting on the comments of the members to my right because they've spoken plenty about the requirement to consult with the motor vehicle sector and I was actually more interested about the Minister's views regarding perhaps the variety of public groups that exist in our society who are going to be deeply impacted by this policy—for example communities in areas that may be affected by climate change. Those are communities who will ultimately gain and have the most to benefit from a transformation of our transport industry. I also wanted to get an understanding of I guess what the Minister's understanding is of who's purchasing new vehicles because through the passage of this bill we've heard a lot of the members to my right saying that this bill is an attack on working-class communities but I've yet to see evidence that these are the people who are buying new vehicles. If anything my understanding is that what this bill would do is create options. So I guess if the Minister can enlighten us with any evidence around who will be the people who will be affected by this bill when it comes to options that would be great because it would help perhaps dispel some of the misinformation that we've heard through the passage of this bill. Thank you.
Simpson ScottHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): Thank you Madam Chair. This issue relating to with whom the Minister must consult is I think quite important and my colleague Simeon Brown has already made mention of a concern that he has. The issue that I particularly want to raise with the Minister relates to what appears in the legislation to be a lack of a requirement to consult with actual stakeholders from the motor vehicle sector. These are the people who are charged under this piece of legislation with actually making it work. This is a sort of ground zero for the implementation of this scheme and yet there appears to be no requirement for the Minister—should he choose not to—to engage consult discuss and actually take with him on this journey to low-emission vehicles the sector that is going to be most concerned with the day-to-day implementation of it. And these are the people in the motor vehicle sector that are going to have to make it work.So I'm speaking in support of the amendment in the name of my colleague Simeon Brown. It's the amendment that would amend clause 5. It's numbered (f) on the Table. It would amend clause 5 to read that in clause 5 replace new section 167A(5A) with Before recommending the making of regulations the Minister must consult with (a) stakeholders in the motor vehicle sector; and (b) any other such person as the Minister considers appropriate." And so I think that that makes practical common sense. It's the sort of practical logic that is often lost I think on a Government that brings to this Parliament agenda-driven policy that is party political rather than pragmatic. If there's one thing that we've learnt over the years watching this Government—five long years—it is that they do like to have things done their way and they don't particularly like to hear from people who might have a contrary or a divergent view from their own. But in this particular case it seems to be painfully obvious with a piece of legislation that so dramatically impacts on the day-to-day operation of the motor vehicle sector that they should be by definition included in the legislation—be a group of stakeholders that are named for consultation by the Minister in terms of his implementation and decisions he makes about the regulatory impacts of this legislation.My question to the Minister is: why has it been that stakeholders in the motor vehicle sector have on the face of it been excluded from specific inclusion in the legislation? Will he support and adopt the very sensible pragmatic amendment in the name of my colleague Simeon Brown? And if not why not?"
SpeechHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): I'll just deal with a couple of the member's points quickly and hopefully that'll be useful for him. I mean the first points he made were general policy points about the bill. But I understand where he's coming from and the way in which they relate to subsection 6 that we were talking about. He talks about the lack of choice. The problem is that at the moment there's a lack of choice in the New Zealand market place compared to most other developed markets. That's because there is no particular incentive for importers to get the cleaner vehicles into our market. So you can look at those other markets which have standards like this and because they are incentivised to do so the importers in those markets get the clean vehicles from head offices. We don't get them in New Zealand. We've already heard from importers in New Zealand that the first stage is the Clean Car Discount. The prospect of this bill being passed is enabling them now to get a greater supply of cleaner vehicles into New Zealand because they can go to their head offices and say that the Government is setting the incentives here.To the member's point yes this is the purpose. We are trying to use market mechanisms to get cleaner vehicles into the country. We're not being particularly shy about that and nor should we given the woeful performance in the previously under-regulated market. We're already seeing for example for tradespeople much cheaper electric trade vans coming into the New Zealand market some dropping in price by around about $20000 to get under the cap and then getting the Clean Car Discount. Those are the kind of vehicles that we'll be incentivising getting into the market and people will actually have more choices than they do at the moment. That has been the experience time and time again in overseas markets. I make this point: these are not novel schemes internationally. New Zealand is currently the outlier in not having these. The only countries in the developed world without a standard scheme like this are Russia Australia and New Zealand. And guess what? They're about the three with the worst emissions profile in the world and the poorest choice of clean vehicles.On the final point that the member made I can respond to that very directly. He asked the question about new section 167A(6)(b)(v) in which the Ministers take into account the estimated revenue and the cost and expense of the scheme. The intention is for the scheme which was funded by around about a $300 million injection from the Crown in Budget 2021—is that it balances over time and that the incomings balance the outgoings. The Minister will have to take that into account and work within that scheme. So it's designed to balance out. It's not designed to generate either a surplus or a shortfall. Of course on a month-to-month year-to-year basis there might be small unders and overs. If in the end the scheme does have surpluses it will not go back into the general consolidated account; it will go into the National Land Transport Fund. But we do not expect that to happen and if it does happen we do not expect it to be a particularly large portion.
SpeechLAND TRANSPORT (CLEAN VEHICLES) AMENDMENT BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Amendments to Land Transport Act 1998CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): We come first to the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill. We move to Part 1. This is the debate on clauses 3 to 12 and the schedule Amendments to Land Transport Act 1998". The question is that Part 1 stand part."
SpeechHOUSE IN COMMITTEECHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members the House is in committee on the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill and the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill.
SpeechSPEAKER: Members a couple of points I want to make now before I put that the question be put and that is that it is my intention again to use a split voting method notwithstanding the fact that this is a conscience vote. So people will have to inform their party whips as to the way they're voting or if they choose they can vote individually on the floor of the House—there's an ability to do that as well. But we will not be having members in the lobbies for COVID reasons.Because again it is a conscience vote speaking lists and party lists do not apply. I will be taking calls out of order from around the House.The question is that the motion be agreed to. Those of that opinion will say Aye—Hon Paul Goldsmith: Mr Speaker?SPEAKER: Sorry? Oh Paul Goldsmith—the Hon Paul Goldsmith.
Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): I move That this debate be now adjourned. Motion agreed to.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): This debate is adjourned and is set down for resumption next sitting day. The time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break and the House will resume at 7 p.m.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Swarbrick Chlöe; Goldsmith PaulCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green—Auckland Central): Point of order Madam Speaker. I take extreme offence at that member's assertion that Auckland Central is a terrible place to be". I would just like to put it on the record that Auckland Central is in fact a wonderful place to be—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you—thank you very much. The member has taken offence. I'd ask the Hon Paul Goldsmith to stand withdraw and apologise.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Sorry Madam Speaker. I'm struggling to—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you. The member has taken offence at comments made by Paul Goldsmith. I'll ask Paul Goldsmith to stand withdraw and apologise.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Well I don't want to apologise for giving an opinion. Sorry—do you want to throw me out or something?ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): No I don't in fact want to throw the member out. However a member across the House has taken offence at something the member has said. Now it could be argued that when the member took offence she should have taken a point of order immediately. However I invite the Hon Paul Goldsmith to stand withdraw and apologise.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Well I withdraw and apologise."
Urgent Debate Declined — COVID-19 Mandate Protest—Speaker's Response
Obituaries — Hon Peter Neilson
SpeechURGENT DEBATES DECLINEDCOVID-19 Mandate Protest Wellington—Speaker's ResponseSPEAKER: I have received a letter from Brooke van Velden seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 my response to the protests at Parliament. An urgent debate may only be held if the matter involves the ministerial or administrative responsibility of the Government—Standing Order 399(2)(b). The Speaker is not a member of the Government and the actions of the Speaker cannot be the subject of an urgent debate. For members who want to look closely at this matter Speaker Carter gave an extensive ruling on the point on 6 December 2016. I refer the member to that ruling and to Speakers' ruling 201/6 which states that an urgent debate is not [the] vehicle for addressing matters that are the responsibility of the Speaker". The application is declined."
SpeechPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No bills have been introduced. Petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Matty Angel requesting that the House initiate an urgent inquiry into whether the provision of in-home care by for-profit organisations is fit for purposepetition of Catherine Bindon requesting that the House ban the sale of fireworks to the New Zealand publicpetition of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission Te Kāhui Tika requesting that the House urge the Government to establish an independent pay transparency agency and include pay transparency in legislation.SPEAKER: Those petitions stand referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.CLERK: Annual reports for 2021 of the:Commerce CommissionEnergy Efficiency and Conservation AuthorityHealth and Disability CommissionHealth Research CouncilHealth Quality and Safety CommissionHealth Research Council Statement of Performance Expectations 2021-22report on the Government Superannuation Fund Actuarial Variation as at 30 June 2021Social Development and Employment portfolio Vote Labour Market Report in relation to selected non-departmental appropriations for the year ended 30 June 2021.SPEAKER: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Report of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee on the international treaty examination of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedurereports of the Petitions Committee on the petitions of Jessica Keltie Lydia Tait Nicholas Chapman Ritwik Sharma and Trade Aid and World Vision New Zealand.SPEAKER: The treaty examination is set down for consideration.
SpeechOBITUARIESHon Peter NeilsonSPEAKER: I regret to inform the House of the death on 9 February 2022 of the Hon Peter Neilson who represented the electorate of Miramar between 1981 and 1990. During his membership of this House he held a number of ministerial positions including Minister of Works and Development Minister of Customs Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of State-owned Enterprises. I desire on the House to express our sense of the loss that we have sustained and our sympathy with the relatives of the late former member. I now ask members to stand with me and observe a period of silence as a mark of respect to his memory.Members stood as a mark of respect.
SpeechTUESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2022The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSHon JACQUI DEAN (Assistant Speaker): 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.
Thursday 10 February 2022 - Volume 757
Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill — Second Reading
VoteASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is That the amendments recommended by the Transport and Infrastructure Committee by majority be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.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.Amendments agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment 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.
11. Question No. 11—HealthDr TRACEY McLELLAN (Labour—Banks Peninsula) to the Associate Minister of HealthQuestion No. 11—Health11. Dr TRACEY McLELLAN (Labour—Banks Peninsula) to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent announcements has she made about contact tracing?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Associate Minister of Health): Contact tracing continues to be one of the key parts of our COVID response. It has served New Zealand well through the pandemic. The good work of our contact tracers is undoubtedly one of the reasons that the current Omicron outbreak has yet to see the rapid growth seen overseas. That's given hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders the opportunities to get boosted. But we do expect case numbers to continue to grow to levels that we have not experienced in New Zealand previously. That's why today alongside the COVID-19 response Minister I announced details of the close contact exemption scheme. The scheme is designed to keep critical supply chains operating by allowing some vaccinated close contacts to keep working if they return a negative rapid antigen test.Dr Tracey McLellan: What kind of businesses will be eligible to participate in this scheme?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: From today businesses and organisations can register online as a critical service if they think they will meet the criteria when we enter phase 2 of our Omicron response. Critical services include food production and its supply chain key public services like health and emergency services lifeline utilities such as power and water supplies transport critical financial services news media and social welfare. It also includes human and animal health and welfare. Businesses will self-assess to take part in the scheme and will need to declare that they meet the relevant criteria. In doing so there needs to be an awareness that bringing close contacts into the workplace will come with risks as rapid antigen testing sensitivity can range from 80 to 95 percent accurate meaning it can miss some cases.Dr Tracey McLellan: What will workers covered by the scheme need to do to allow them to continue to work?Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: Businesses that decide to register will be issued with a letter that confirms they have workers eligible for the close contact exemption scheme. When an eligible worker is confirmed as a contact of a COVID-19 case this will allow them to either use rapid antigen tests supplied by their employer or pick up free tests from a collection site. Workers will get enough testing kits to cover the period that they would have been isolating for and will be expected to remain in isolation outside of work hours. If one of their daily rapid tests returns a positive result they would be required to isolate and take a PCR test. This scheme strikes a balance between continuing to keep people safe but also keeping businesses and services operating as smoothly as possible.
8. Question No. 8—Digital Economy and CommunicationsARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and CommunicationsQuestion No. 8—Digital Economy and Communications8. ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What recent announcements has he made regarding Māori participation in the telecommunications sector?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications): At the end of last week I had the immense privilege of leading a Crown contingent that signed an historic enduring agreement recognising the critical role Māori can bring to the telecommunications sector. The agreement designed in partnership with Māori Spectrum Working Group includes the establishment of a Māori Spectrum entity to ensure Māori have a seat at the table for ongoing spectrum policy and allocation.Arena Williams: How will this agreement support Māori aspirations in the telecommunications sector?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: This agreement provides the ongoing allocation of 20 percent of future national commercial spectrum to the Māori Spectrum entity as well as substantial funding to ensure the longevity and success of their mahi. In the words of Māori Spectrum Working Group convenor Piripi Walker this agreement gives Māori access to training skills and jobs and it will drive much-needed innovation in the digital sector. These are exciting times for Aotearoa.Arena Williams: How long has it taken to reach an enduring agreement with Māori on Radio Spectrum?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: We've worked with Māori to break through decades of stalemate ushering in a new era for not only the telecommunications sector but for Māori-Crown relations. This kaupapa generates the building blocks for the future and it would be remiss of me not to mention the Hon Willie Jackson the Hon Kelvin Davis and the Hon Grant Robertson who have been staunch Government advocates for getting this agreement across the line.
4. Question No. 4—EducationMARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 4—Education4. MARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What new action is the Government taking to support schools to provide learning environments for their students that are warm dry and fit for purpose?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): More good news. Today I announced a $20 million funding injection to ensure the quick delivery of vital school projects in Auckland. At Auckland Normal Intermediate school and Onehunga High School we're relocating classrooms and improving ground conditions. At Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate we're addressing all of its weather tightness issues and at Mt Roskill Grammar the school's significant weather tightness remediation project will now also include the rebuild of the school's music block. These projects are part of a $150 million commitment made in Budget 2021 to support shovel-ready school property projects at schools all over the country.Marja Lubeck: Which other schools will benefit from this investment?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In addition to the four schools I've mentioned six other Auckland schools are benefiting from this investment including Caldwell School Somerville Intermediate School Chelsea School James Cook High School Kauri Flats School and Parakai School.Marja Lubeck: Why is the Government making this investment at this time?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: These are projects that are ready to enter the construction market but they needed an extra push so that we can get delivery under way in a challenging market. This extra funding won't just ensure that these projects can happen faster but in some cases it will also mean that we can do more. For example at Caldwell School in addition to the work that was already proposed we're also going to be replacing the caretakers' and storage block. We're committed to creating jobs and building better infrastructure which will help to set the country up for the longer term. Our investment in schools is yet another way the Government's making progress to make sure that New Zealand is the best place in the world to be a child.
2. Question No. 2—Local GovernmentSIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of Local GovernmentQuestion No. 2—Local Government2. SIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of Local Government: Will she commit to making changes if the Three Waters Working Group on Representation Governance and Accountability recommends that the governance structure should include more local representation; if not why not?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister of Local Government: The working group are due to report to me on 28 February 2022. I can commit to listening carefully to what they say but obviously I have not received their report and therefore cannot go any further in those commitments.Simon Court: Will she commit to making any changes to the three waters delivery model proposed by the Communities 4 Local Democracy campaign which represents over 1.3 million New Zealanders who have rejected her three waters proposal?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Minister when I met with the Communities 4 Local Democracy mayors in December last year I invited them to present their views to the working group for consideration and they've done so and I understand that the working group is considering their proposals alongside a range of other options.Simon Court: When will she start listening and give local communities a say on the future of their water assets?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Minister the Minister has been listening and talking with local government bodies communities for the last four years on these matters and what she has heard from communities is that they want safe drinking water they want to make sure their drinking water does not kill people they want to make sure that there aren't sewage pipes breaking out or boiled water notices all around New Zealand. In short: they want a water supply that they deserve and that's what this Government will deliver.