Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 20 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3513. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National): Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to speak during the second reading of the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill. First of all I would like to commend the Minister of Justice the Hon Amy Adams for progressing this bill. Even though our country has robust domestic law arrangements and enforcement and has low levels of corruption we still need to keep working on becoming more immune from domestic and transnationally generated organised crime. I would also like to thank the members of the Law and Order Committee and the officials who guided us through this process. The committee received 20 written submissions and heard 11 orally. There were changes recommended to the bill that appear to be accepted by all the members.The previous speaker Jacinda Ardern raised the issue of facilitation payments an issue that came up during the discussion of this bill. It was debated at length and the members of the Opposition also agreed that if we do not have this provision then we are taking away opportunities from New Zealand businesses that are dealing in those areas. These are minor payments and it has been particularly worded so that a facilitation payment is not included as a bribe in this bill because these payments are very small in nature for an action that is within the scope of an official’s ordinary duties and that does not involve a decision about awarding new business or continuing existing business. One of the examples that was given during the select committee was that in some countries to move a file from one desk to another desk sometimes you have to give some facilitation payment to officials. That is not a huge amount. It is token money that is paid and it makes the work easy for businesses to deal with such situations. If they do not pay then those files keep sitting on the first desk and do not move to the next level.So that was the reason and we had a very good discussion and Opposition members also participated in this. The member who was speaking before me was not present at the select committee. She does not have any idea of what discussions we had at the select committee so I want to clarify that and let her know that this discussion took place and all the members agreed that we do not want to put New Zealand businesses at a disadvantage and we want to make sure that they are on a level playing field.Another issue that came up which was also discussed at length was the commencement date of the bill. Originally it was proposed that the bill should be implemented on 1 January 2016 but the banks and the New Zealand Bankers’ Association came and suggested that it would be very hard on them to implement the software upgrade so that the provisions in this bill could be implemented. I think it was a very reasonable call. The committee considered that and the commencement date was moved to 12 months after the date of assent of the Governor-General. These are some of the issues that were raised during the select committee.Another issue that I would like to touch on discussed at the select committee and raised by the banks was that individual names in prescribed transaction reports should be removed. It was proposed that the name of the employee from the bank who had conducted that transaction should be made public or known to the police. But banks were very hesitant about this clause and they did not agree to it. This was amended. We made a change and removed the requirement that the individual employee be named in the prescribed transaction report. This information is not necessary for intelligence purposes and can be requested by the New Zealand Police if necessary. If there is a reason for it then the police can ask the bank for the name of the person who has completed that transaction.Another issue that I would like to discuss today is some of the issues that were raised by the Privacy Commissioner during their submission and considered in the select committee. A special provision as the Minister mentioned was omitted during the process but it had already been discussed in Cabinet that the Commissioner of Police before entering any agreement with international agencies or renewing the existing agreement has to have a discussion with the Privacy Commissioner so that they are satisfied with the provisions of the agreement. This is all because we want to keep it transparent. This Government is working so that we have world-class laws and transparent laws available so that there is ease of doing business.There were requests for certain types of transactions to be exempted from the prescribed transaction reporting requirement and to extend the maximum time of the period of submission of such reports and the date of commencement. There is uncertainty as to which reporting entities involved in international wire transfers will be required to make a prescribed transaction report. Also there were concerns that the penalty for failing to report prescribed transactions was too high.One of the major priorities of this National-led Government is to make communities safer for New Zealanders. We are working hard to prevent people from becoming involved in organised crime. This bill aims to strengthen the law to combat organised crime and corruption. We are committed to being part of tackling this global problem and protecting the country from threats posed by international and domestic criminal networks. Once again I would like to mention a few points about how this bill will achieve our purposes. It implements a proposal containing an all-of-Government response to organised crime which was reported in August 2011 when the Government released an all-of-Government response to organised crime. It was realised that even though New Zealand has got a strong legislative framework in practice to obstruct organised crime a number of amendments are required to address gaps in the law that are reflected in this omnibus bill. The bill will ensure that law enforcement agencies are able to quickly and effectively respond to new challenges.We all want to maintain New Zealand’s reputation as a fair and transparent country. People from more than 200 different ethnicities live in New Zealand and our country ensures that everyone is treated fairly. This bill will improve New Zealand’s ability to cooperate with international partners to disrupt organised crime and enhance New Zealand’s compliance with a number of international conventions including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the United Nations Protocol to Prevent Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children.One of the significant challenges for us is to reduce the use of cannabis and methamphetamines which leads to physical as well as mental ill health. I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Police for helping us in tackling this problem through their recent implementation of the Organised Crime Strategy and the Methamphetamine Control Strategy in coordination with the Customs Service. Apart from reducing drug-related harm especially to vulnerable populations like youth we are also focusing on issues like robberies theft and fraud. This will help in raising awareness especially in young ones of the potential harm that these drugs could cause. We want to be able to reduce people’s desire for illegal and illegally sourced goods and services that further increase the risk involved with offending. The penalty for bribery and corruption types of offences under the Secret Commissions Act 1910 will increase from a maximum of 2 years’ imprisonment to a maximum of 7 years’ imprisonment. I commend this bill to the House.