First quarter polls little satisfaction for Labour
ACC, partial privatisation and now the Auckland convention centre may well be staple political fodder for the Opposition, but first quarter polling shows little dent in National’s support.
Even John Key, who as front man for asset sales could be expected to have taken a hit, continues to enjoy support that, although diminished, remains well above his rivals.
For all that this may be disappointing for Labour, the process of political erosion is a gradual one and it is the little things – particularly a succession of them – that will undermine public confidence and ultimately support.
This continues to sustain Labour in its attack and goes some way at least to explaining the self congratulation that accompanied Sue Moroney’s sally on paid parental leave.
With a price tag at more than $150 million, Moroney’s Bill was never going to survive the financial veto. Given that, the longer-term productivity gains that research suggests might come with the Bill could only be a fig leaf for what was otherwise a naked political nudge. And no doubt there will be many in Labour’s caucus perfectly happy with Moroney’s success painting the Government as mean to women and babies.
Quite how this squares with Shearer’s March dismissal of the Party’s political gimmickry, though, is unanswered. It’s unclear too how the politically generated heat over Key’s involvement in the convention centre issue will be received particularly as – so far at least - the polls suggest that the public is looking for something more from Labour than political opportunism.
But opposition is opposition and Labour will take heart from National’s apparent defensiveness and hesitancy is advancing its political program. Over time, Labour strategists reason, it will tell.
However, all of this assumes quite a lot, not least of which that at this stage in the electoral cycle it is the Government that is Labour’s biggest threat. April’s Roy Morgan tells a different story. With the Greens recording 17% support against Labour’s still relatively unchanged 30%, the direction and leadership of the Opposition bloc is far from Labour’s to command. This does little for Labour’s political management or appeal in 2014.
On the cusp of becoming a significant and sustainable political force, the Green Party has, for now at least, cemented the support of those who drifted from Labour’s left. This presents a real issue for Labour, which from its past experience of having to manage business in concert with the Greens would far prefer to govern alone.
Whether Labour’s lost ground can be regained, or indeed whether Shearer’s tentative focus on the political centre will incline him to compromise to his left are open questions. Also open is whether the Greens can transcend the amalgam of socialism and New Age disgruntlement from which it sprung to cement a stronger position towards the centre.
That may is probably too long a bow. The upshot though is of a strong bloc to Shearer’s left that, if highlighted intelligently by the Government, will be hard to market to a public focused above all on political stability.
Shearer delivers second installment of vision – “a country that works for you”
Yesterday, at the Nelson Chamber of Commerce, Labour leader David Shearer delivered the second of his flagship policy speeches. Like the first, it was long on imagery, social sensibility, and the plight of the Kiwi battler, but again fell short on specifics.
This time out though, the bones of some policies did feature on Shearer’s list of “things I’m interested in”. The Living Wage was one; a supposed counter to the drain of skilled workers to Australia, casualisation and flagging productivity. Innovation and R&D got an outing, as well as the idea of tracking young school leavers as part of Labour’s none-toostartling priority to get every young person under 20 into skills training, education or employment.
There could be no doubting Shearer’s commitment to a green and happy land and the importance of that “vision thing” in a leader should not be under-estimated. But the tale of how we’re going to reach Shearer’s uplands is still to be told. Reading between the lines of his comments to date, though, the change agenda is a familiar one: more government not less, and income redistribution.
Report on Single Economic Market Outcomes released
The Minister of Commerce, Craig Foss, met with the Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer last week, following the release of the half-yearly report of the Trans-Tasman Outcomes Implementation Group (TTOIG) on progress towards a Trans-Tasman Single Economic Market (SEM).
The TTOIG is jointly chaired by the Australian Treasury and the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development and also comprises senior officials from other relevant agencies. It was established in August 2009 by former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, for the purpose of accelerating the creation of a SEM.
Of the 28 outcomes identified by the TTOIG, most of the short-term outcomes are now achieved and attention is shifting towards achieving the medium term outcomes by the end of 2014. The outcomes relate to coordinating the approaches of Australia and New Zealand in the following areas:
- insolvency law;
- consumer law;
- intellectual property law;
- personal property securities law;
- insurance regulation;
- corporations law;
- business reporting policy;
- competition law;
- financial services policy; and
- financial reporting policy.
The full report, and more information on progress towards each of these outcome areas, can be viewed here.
Joint issues paper from Productivity Commissions of Australia and New Zealand
Earlier this month, the Australian and New Zealand Productivity Commissions released an issues paper to assist individuals and organisations to prepare submissions for their inaugural joint study on options for further integrating the Australian and New Zealand economies.
The two Commissions have been asked to advise the Australian and New Zealand governments on the opportunities, costs and benefits of further economic integration, and to look at ways of boosting the productivity of these economies by reducing the regulatory burden on business, increasing competition and encouraging closer economic cooperation.
The issues paper outlines:
- the scope of the study;
- the Commissions’ procedures; and
- particular matters about which the Commissions are seeking comment and information, for example dealing with adjustment issues and identifying possible areas for future integration.
Each topic includes specific focus questions to help guide submitters, but participants should not feel restricted to commenting only on matters raised in the issues paper.
The Commissions will release a draft report in early September, with a final report to be delivered to the two Governments by 1 December, ahead of a meeting of the Prime Ministers in early 2013. This joint government meeting will appropriately coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Closer Economic Relations free trade agreement between Australia and New Zealand.
Submissions on the issues paper are due by 31 May 2012. The issues paper can be accessed here.
Christchurch Central Development Unit established to manage rebuild
A new unit tasked with overseeing the rebuild of central Christchurch has been established as part of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. The Christchurch City Council will remain the consenting authority for the rebuild.
The Christchurch Central Development Unit will be responsible for ensuring that the rebuild is carried out consistently with the vision set out in the Central City Plan, prepared by the Council following a consultative process and submitted to the Government in December last year. Its first task will be preparing, within in the next 100 days, a blueprint to provide clear directions for the implementation of this plan. The CCDU will collaborate with the Council and consult with key landowners, banks, insurers, investors and the Christchurch community, to develop the blueprint.
The CCDU will be headed by CERA's Operations Manager, Warwick Isaacs, who is currently responsible for CBD access, building deconstruction, and the Cashel Mall restart.
Labour's paid parental leave Bill to receive Government veto
Labour MP Sue Moroney's Bill to increase paid parental leave from 14 weeks to six months is a Member's Bill, pulled from the ballot held on 5 April. The Bill's anticipated financial cost has led Finance Minister Bill English to warn he will use the Government's power of financial veto to prevent the Bill becoming law.
The Government's financial veto is provided for in the Standing Orders, and seeks to balance the Government's right to govern and control Crown expenditure on a micro level, with Parliament's control of taxation and overall spending on a macro level. All taxes must be authorised by Parliament, and the Government must also have the annual Budget approved by Parliament, or else the Government will lose "supply" and the Governor-General will sack it. However, the Standing Orders allow the Government to control the detail of the Budget and veto particular financial proposals. The check on this power is that the Government must still keep enough MPs happy with its overall financial choices in order to pass the Budget.
In 2005 the Government's financial veto replaced a provision in the Constitution Act 1986 which provided that the House could not pass any Bill to appropriate public money or impose a charge on public revenue unless the Crown recommended it. The Standing Orders now allow any MP to propose a Bill, but risk a Government veto while the Bill awaits third reading. To exercise the veto the Government must issue a certificate stating that the Bill would have "more than a minor impact on the Government's fiscal aggregates if it became law", and include details.
The veto may be necessary if the United Future leader Peter Dunne votes for the Bill (along with Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First, the Māori Party and Mana). The Bill could then be discussed in a Select Committee and debated in the House before the veto can be exercised. Dunne could vote for the Bill without breaching his confidence and supply agreement with National.
FMA calls for submissions on exemption reviews
The Financial Markets Authority is seeking submissions from the public to assist its review of certain class exemption notices which will expire before the end of the year.
The FMA has the power to grant exemptions from various provisions of the Securities Act 1978, Financial Reporting Act 1993, Securities Markets Act 1988, Financial Advisers Act 2008 and regulations made under those Acts. When deciding whether to exercise its power of exemption, the FMA balances the objective of facilitating the development of New Zealand's capital markets against the need to ensure investors are fully informed.
The FMA will be reviewing the 44 class exemption notices that will expire between June and November 2012 (of which 42 provide exemptions from provisions of the Securities Act 1978 and two provide exemptions from provisions of the Financial Reporting Act for overseas issuers).
Although the Financial Markets Conduct Bill may address some of issues currently dealt with under these exemptions, since the Bill has only recently been introduced and the new legislation, once enacted, is likely to take some time to settle, class exemption notices will still be necessary in the transitional period.
Submissions on the consultation paper are due by 7 May. A copy of the consultation paper can be viewed here.
FMA publishes revised draft guidance on financial product disclosure
The Financial Markets Authority has released a revised draft of its guidance note for financial product disclosure. The document incorporates feedback from the FMA's first round of consultation on how to prepare and present prospectuses and investment statements. Feedback is now sought on the revised draft, so that a final version of the guidance note can be released by the FMA by the end of May 2012.
Submissions on the consultation paper are due by 10 May. More information on the first guidance note can be found here. A copy of the consultation paper on the revised draft can be viewed here.
Government consultation on updating the emissions trading scheme
The Government has released a consultation document setting out proposed changes to New Zealand's emissions trading scheme.
The announcement follows the 2011 mandatory review of the ETS, carried out by an independent panel led by David Caygill. The panel made recommendations to the Government on how the ETS should evolve over the next five years. In particular, the panel called for:
- a gradual transition to full obligations in the short term;
- increasing certainty for businesses about when they will face the full cost of their emissions;
- changing aspects of how forestry is treated, especially in pre-1990 forestry; and
- consistency with developments on the international front.
The consultation document builds upon many of the panel's recommendations and incorporates some of the negotiated issues from the Durban Kyoto meeting in December 2011.
Key proposals in the consultation document include:
- more gradually phasing out the 'transition measures' put in place for business;
- introducing the long-awaited offsetting for pre-1990 forest landowners, and reviewing the level of compensation being provided;
- introducing more explicit powers for the Government to auction New Zealand Units (ie carbon credits) within an overall cap and restricting the use of overseas units in the ETS;
- providing for a maximum three-year postponement of the agriculture sector’s inclusion (subject to a 2014 review);
- providing a power for quantitative restrictions on the use of international units; and
- providing a power to extend, if necessary, the fixed price beyond 2015 to align with any price ceiling in Australia once the Australian scheme moves to flexible pricing.
-
These latter proposals are intended to encourage market participants to buy New Zealand units at auction to ensure there is no excessive overseas purchasing, and to help New Zealand avoid possible market volatility (being the world's only trading scheme outside the much larger European market).
Submissions on the consultation paper are due by 11 May 2012. You can view the consultation paper here.
Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson and Associate Finance Minister Jonathan Coleman have approved the new recommendation of the Overseas Investment Office to grant consent to the application by the Shanghai Pengxin group to purchase the 16 Crafar farms.
The OIO had earlier recommended that the bid by Shanghai Pengxin be granted consent, and the Ministers did so. However, the consent was set aside by the High Court in February in a judicial review by a consortium of New Zealand investors interested in purchasing the farms. For a summary of the judicial review, click here.
Although the High Court set aside the original decision, the consortium lost one of its arguments regarding whether the overseas investors need business experience and acumen specific to dairy farming. The consortium has appealed that issue but it is now unclear whether the Ministers' approval will mean the appeal is abandoned or able to be urgently progressed before the sale is settled.
Four New Zealand-Indonesia agreements signed
The Prime Minister and Trade Minister Tim Groser have been in Indonesia this week and announced four new agreements between Indonesia and New Zealand that aim to complement and strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
The four agreements are in the areas of agriculture, environment, labour and geothermal energy and sit alongside the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Briefly, the agreements relate to:
- Geothermal - ensures continued cooperation in the geothermal energy and aims to provide opportunities for New Zealand business to assist energy development in Indonesia.
- Agriculture - New Zealand's agricultural expertise will be used to train technicians, farmers, and ministry officials.
- Labour and Environment - creates opportunities for the promotion of New Zealand's environmental protection technology and services in Indonesia and recognises that labour and environmental regulations should not be weakened to encourage trade or investment.
Outside of these four agreements, the Prime Minister highlighted other areas where New Zealand and Indonesia could work together, such as food security and air services.
The Government also announced that it will appoint another Trade Commissioner to the region.
Further information can be accessed here. An address made by John Key to the New Zealand Indonesia Business Seminar can be accessed here.
Takeovers Panel issues guidance for applying for Takeovers Code exemptions
The Takeovers Panel has issued guidance on its powers under section 45 of the Takeovers Act 1993 to exempt any person, or class of persons, transactions, or offers, from having to comply with any provision of the Takeovers Code.
The guidance note makes clear that the Panel will only grant exemptions from provisions of the Takeovers Code which include a compliance element to them, and only where the Code's provisions do not appropriately deal with a particular situation or where strict application of the Code would have unintended consequences.
The guidance note also covers some of the practical aspects that must be considered when applying for an exemption, for example how much it will cost, how long processing the application is likely to take, and what information should be included in an application for an exemption.
The full guidance note can be found here.
Productivity Commission reports on housing affordability
The Productivity Commission has released its final report on housing affordability in New Zealand. It is the first final report to be released by the Commission (its final report on international freight transport services is also due this month). The report includes a number of recommendations for making housing more affordable, including:
- releasing new land for residential development in high demand areas such as Auckland and Christchurch, to address the pressure on land prices;
- Councils taking a less constrained approach to urban planning;
- reviewing regulatory processes to speed up and simplify consent processes; and
- reconsidering current social housing reforms to ensure that the social housing sector has appropriate assistance to scale up to the extent required in a relatively short space of time.
The recommendations will now be presented to the Government for consideration. A copy of the final report can be found here.
Auditor-General decides to inquire into ACC's governance
Auditor-General Lyn Provost announced earlier this month that she will undertake an inquiry into ACC's governance, focusing particularly on ACC's management of conflicts of interest, its legal compliance, and the communications between ACC's Board members and clients and staff. The inquiry will also look into how matters relating to the ACC claimant Ms Pullar were dealt with by the Board.
The Auditor-General will not investigate aspects of ACC's governance that will be covered in separate investigations being carried out by the Privacy Commissioner and the Board of ACC which will examine ACC's privacy policies and its practices for keeping information secure.
The Auditor-General's inquiry is being carried out under section 18(1) of the Public Audit Act 2001. The Auditor-General expects to publish a report on the findings in 2-3 months, if the inquiry is relatively contained, or within 6-12 months, if the inquiry turns out to be more complex. More information about the inquiry can be found here.
Illegal Contracts (Unlawful Limitation on Regulators' Powers) Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Hon Lianne Dalziel (Labour Party)
This Bill was developed by Lianne Dalziel in 2009, in response to the settlement offer made to investors in the ING Diversified Yield Fund (DYF) and the ING Regular Income Fund (RIF), but has only just been drawn from the ballot of Members' Bills. It would add a provision to the Illegal Contracts Act 1970 to prohibit "any provision in any contract [that] purports to oust or to limit the power of a regulator to award any remedy or distribute any proceeds of a settlement or order of the court to any individual". The Bill would change the law retrospectively, deeming this prohibition to have come into force on 10 July 2009.
Lobbying Disclosure Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Holly Walker (Green Party)
The Bill aims to enhance trust in the integrity and impartiality of democracy and political decision making. It would:
- require lobbyists to be registered with the Auditor-General and file quarterly returns of their lobbying activities involving Ministers, MPs and their staff; and
- regulate lobbyists under a code of conduct to be developed and enforced by the Auditor-General.
The Bill has borrowed heavily from the Canadian Lobbying Act 1985. The Bill's definitions are broad and include lobbying undertaken by an organisation's own employees as well as by consultant lobbyists, and lobbying undertaken by a range of organisations, including not-for-profits and trade unions. However the Bill would not cover unpaid lobbyists.
Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months' Paid Leave) Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Sue Moroney (Labour Party)
This Bill would amend the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 to extend the duration of paid parental leave to 18 weeks from 1 April 2012, 22 weeks from 1 April 2013, and 26 weeks from 1 April 2014. It is currently set at 14 weeks. See Labour's paid parental leave Bill to receive Government veto for more discussion.
Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Government
Member in charge: Hon Judith Collins
This Bill would extend, for the third time, the application of the Prisoners' and Victims' Claims Act 2005. Labour originally passed that Act with the Greens, who only supported the Act if it had an expiry date (or 'sunset clause'). Part of the deal struck with the Greens was to create an independent prisoners' complaints authority, which has never been done. However, as the make-up of Parliament has changed over the years the Act has twice been extended beyond the original expiry date. The current Government has proposed a permanent amendment to the Act that would further erode the rights of prisoners, in the Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (Redirecting Prisoner Compensation) Amendment Bill. However, that Bill will not be passed before the Act is set to expire on 30 June 2012, so this Bill would extend the Act another year, to 30 June 2013.
Bills Awaiting First Reading
Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill
Building Amendment Bill (No 4)
Child Support Amendment Bill
Citizenship Amendment Bill
Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill
Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill
Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill
Domestic Violence Reform Bill
Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill
Geneva Conventions (Third Protocol-Red Crystal Emblem) Amendment Bill
Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill (No 2)
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill
Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill
Human Rights Amendment Bill
Illegal Contracts (Unlawful Limitation on Regulators' Powers) Amendment Bill
International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill
Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill
Lobbying Disclosure Bill
Local Electoral Amendment Bill
Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill
New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Amendment Bill
Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapu o Ngāti Porou Bill
Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months' Paid Leave) Amendment Bill
Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill
Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (Redirecting Prisoner Compensation) Amendment Bill
Register of Pecuniary Interests of Judges Bill
Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Waitaki Easter Trading) Amendment Bill
Standards and Accreditation Bill
Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill
Bills before Select Committee
Open for submissions
Bill |
Select Committee |
Submissions close (2012) |
Report due (2012) |
Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill |
Primary Production |
24 April |
1 June |
Financial Markets Conduct Bill |
Commerce |
26 April |
7 September |
Game Animal Council Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
20 April |
1 September |
Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill |
Government Administration |
18 May |
28 September |
South Taranaki District Council (Cold Creek Rural Water Supply) Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
3 May |
21 September |
Submissions not yet called
Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing, and Remedial Matters) Bill
Submissions closed
Bill |
Select Committee |
Report due (2012) |
Consumer Law Reform Bill |
Commerce |
9 August |
Corrections Amendment Bill |
Law and Order |
28 August |
Defence Amendment Bill |
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade |
6 September |
Electronic Identity Verification Bill |
Government Administration |
29 June |
Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
15 May |
Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
28 August |
Legal Assistance (Sustainability) Amendment Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
6 July |
Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
31 July |
Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill |
Māori Affairs |
8 September |
Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
8 September |
Marine Reserves Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
14 December |
Marine Reserves (Consultation with Stakeholders) Amendment Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
14 December |
Medicines Amendment Bill |
Health |
2 July |
Mixed Ownership Model Bill |
Finance and Expenditure |
16 July |
Natural Health Products Bill |
Health |
30 May |
Ngai Tāmanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
16 August |
Ngāti Mākino Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
16 August |
Ngāti Manuhiri Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
18 September |
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
18 September |
Non-Bank Deposit Takers Bill |
Finance and Expenditure |
1 June |
Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
15 June |
Regulatory Standards Bill |
Commerce |
30 July |
Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
18 September |
Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill |
Social Services |
31 May |
Statutes Amendment Bill (No 3) |
Government Administration |
16 August |
Victims of Crime Reform Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
3 July |
Bills Awaiting Second Reading
Bills that have recently been reported back to the House from a Select Committee are in bold and the Select Committee reports on these Bills are linked.
Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill
Arms Amendment Bill (No 3)
Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill
Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill
Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6)
Commerce Commission (International Co-operation, and Fees) Bill
Consumer Guarantees Amendment Bill
Crown Entities Reform Bill
Employment Relations (Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks) Amendment Bill
Food Bill
Housing Corporation Amendment Bill
Identity Information Confirmation Bill
Inquiries Bill
Insolvency Practitioners Bill
Juries (Jury Service and Protection of Particulars of Jury List Information) Amendment Bill
Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Bill
Legislation Bill
Māori Trustee and Māori Development Amendment Bill
Patent Attorneys Bill
Patents Bill
Public Health Bill
Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill
Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill
Social Assistance (Living Alone Payments) Amendment Bill
Social Security Amendment Bill (No 3)
Spending Cap (People's Veto) Bill
Taxation (Income-sharing Tax Credit) Bill
Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill
Trustee Amendment Bill
Bills Awaiting Third Reading
Airports (Cost Recovery for Processing of International Travellers) Bill
Alcohol Reform Bill
Appropriation (2010/11 Financial Review) Bill
Biosecurity Law Reform Bill
Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill
Cultural Property (Protection in Armed Conflict) Bill
Employment Relations (Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill
Fair Trading (Soliciting on Behalf of Charities) Amendment Bill
Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2)
Regulatory Reform Bill*
Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill*
Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill
Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill
Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill
* = these Bills will have their third readings together, as cognate Bills.
Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill
Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Act 2012
This Act repeals the Military Manoeuvres Act 1915, to reflect changes in military tactics and organisation to take into account the fact that technology, rather than weight of numbers, is now the deciding factor in military engagement.
Ngāti Manawa Claims Settlement Act 2012
Ngāti Pāhauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Act 2012
Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Act 2012
Ngāti Whare Claims Settlement Act 2012
These Acts give effect to historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements between the Crown and Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Pāhauwera.
Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Act 2012
This Act gives effect to a deed of settlement signed between the Crown and Ngāti Maniapoto in November 2011. It extends the co-governance framework over the Waikato and Waipa rivers established by the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 to the Upper Waipa River, and allows Ngāti Maniapoto to participate in that unified co-governance framework.
Search and Surveillance Act 2012
This Act modernises and condenses the laws found in over 69 different Acts relating to search, surveillance, and seizure. It provides legislative powers to enable law enforcement agencies to extract electronic information and use surveillance devices and establishes a new declaratory order regime which allows enforcement officers to ask the court to examine the new technique, device, or activity for its reasonableness prior to using it to investigate criminal activity.
The Search and Surveillance Powers Bill was amended by SOP 12, which made a number of technical and drafting amendments and updated the Bill (which was reported back in 2010) to make the following enactments subject to the new surveillance legislation:
- the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (Clause 191A);
- the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Clauses 201A to 201F);
- the Electricity Industry Act 2010 (Clause 221);
- the Financial Markets Authority Act 2011 (Clause 225AA);
- the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (Clause 240C); and
- the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.
Student Loan Scheme Amendment Act 2012
This Act introduces measures to increase student loan repayment levels by:
- reducing the repayment holiday for borrowers who go overseas from three years to one year, and requiring them to apply for the repayment holiday and provide a contact person at the same time;
- removing the ability for New Zealand-based borrowers to offset losses against their income to reduce their liability for student loan purposes; and
- ensuring that Inland Revenue receives from StudyLink details of a borrower’s alternative contact person. Borrowers must now provide this information when applying for a loan.
Building (Dam Safety) Amendment Regulations 2012
Canterbury Earthquake (Earthquake Commission Act) Order 2012
Coroners (Salaries and Superannuation) Determination 2012
Customs Export Prohibition (Toothfish) Amendment Order 2012
Customs Import Prohibition (Toothfish) Amendment Order 2012
Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act (Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited and SR 1 Limited) Regulations 2012
Judicial Salaries, Allowances, and Superannuation (Court Martial Appeal Court and Court Martial) Determination 2012
Local Government Elected Members (2011/12) (Certain Local Authorities) Determination 2011 Amendment Determination (No 2) 2012
Ombudsmen Act (Schedule 1- Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited) Order 2012
Public Finance (Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited) Order 2012
The House is in the second week of a three week adjournment. When it gathers again on Tuesday 1 May, the Government will look to progress a number of Bills on the order paper including the Appropriation (2010/11 Financial Review) Bill and the Regulatory Reform Bill. The Social Services Select Committee members will meet this week to hear submissions on the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill.
Government Administration Committee
The Committee this week began hearing submissions on the Electronic Identity Verification Bill. Internet NZ supports the Bill especially the opt-in nature of the service and the provisions allowing reports from the Privacy Commissioner. Internet NZ raised three further points:
- The standards determined by the agency's CEO and the agency's uses of the information should be published online.
- There should be mandatory reporting of unauthorised access to the database.
- When a person opts-out of the service, all information should be deleted.
Assistant Privacy Commissioner Katrine Evans stated that privacy should be the foundation of the service to ensure its successful implementation. She submitted that people should be able to opt-in and out of the service, be able to choose what information is retained in the database and choose what agencies have access to that information. It was further stated that rules relating to disclosure should be strict and the penalties for breaching the Bill should be strong enough to ensure security of information.
Justice and Electoral Committee
The Committee heard submissions on the Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill this week. Submitters raised a number of points in their discussion of the Bill:
- Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff submitted that information sharing has both a good and bad side and the Bill gives certainty about what can be shared, for what purpose which will save Parliamentary time.
- The National Council of Women submitted that the Bill should not impose conditions contrary to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
- The Children's Commissioner submitted that the Bill does not go far enough to allow proper responses where children are at risk and require intervention of multiple agencies.
- The New Zealand Law Society submitted that individuals often hold information that could lead to earlier prevention of harm to children and therefore limiting the Bill to agencies does not serve this goal. The Waves Trust also submitted on this point, stating that it might affect children's welfare if non-government, contracted service providers are not able to share information.
The Committee also continued to hear submissions on the Victims of Crime Reform Bill. The Sensible Sentencing Trust submitted that it was generally supportive of changes to support victims but the Bill falls short in many areas. SST advocates:
- reintroducing bail bonds, ie placing responsibility on the offender by allowing the return of the bond to the offender if bail was not breached;
- removing the word 'impact' from victim impact statements;
- allowing the victim to opt-out of using victim impact statements; and
- abolishing parole for violent offenders.
Gilbert Elliot (Sophie Elliot's father) submitted that the criminal justice process is difficult for victims due to legal concepts and the fact that life imprisonment does not mean life because of parole conditions. He also submitted that victims do not have a right to express themselves which breaches s 14 NZBORA (freedom of expression). He also commented that the criminal justice process is centred around the offender, not the victim.
Bill English on public sector reform
On 11 April 2012, Finance Minister Hon Bill English gave his annual address to the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ). The Minister’s speech focused primarily on the 10 results expected of the public sector over the next three to five years, as announced by the Prime Minister on 15 March. The Minister also drew upon the following three themes to characterise the Government's attitude to reform and culture change in the public sector:
- Accountability: Specifying and tracking outcomes and making this the responsibility of individual ministers and chief executives. This has also been referred to as 'benchmarking' or putting into practice the maxim 'you cannot manage what you do not measure.
- Less generalisation, more tailoring: Identifying particular results to break a habit of generalisation. For example, knowing the identity of every 18 year old without NCEA Level 2, in order to take a more targeted and tailored approach to individuals and the social challenges they face. This has also been referred to as 'targeted social policy'.
- Evidence based decision making: Ensuring an awareness of relevant data and of what achieves results in order to focus public sector decision-making processes. This is also a topic on which the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, has written.
In terms of future reforms, English indicated that the Government intends to do the following:
- Remove structural barriers thought to obstruct these largely cultural reforms: For example, the State Sector and Public Finance Acts will be amended later this year as these Acts, originally intended to ensure transparency and financial accountability in the public sector, may inadvertently restrict structural and financial collaboration between agencies.
- Further inter-department and inter-Ministerial cooperation in respect of child welfare and youth in the 15-20 year age bracket.
- Signal the parameters of reform in advance and with extensive consultation: The Minister explained that the Government’s approach to reform will remain “considered change over time”. While the proposed Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry for Primary Industries have met the threshold for structural reform, the Minister expects no trail of so-called “super ministries” to be formed.
The Minister also noted successes already achieved in the defence sector (with savings of approximately $100m expected in the year to June 2012), in the justice sector, and with respect to the central agencies’ ability to better monitor, evaluate and manage all-of-government capability.
Who |
What |
By when… (2012) |
Biosecurity New Zealand |
Draft IHS for Zoo Rodents from Australia, the European Union and USA |
14 May |
Department of Conservation |
Proposed interim extension of the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary |
27 April |
Ministry of Economic Development |
Review of the fee that may be charged by Internet Protocol Address Providers |
30 April |
Electricity Authority |
Voluntary consultation guidelines for proposed changes to distributors’ tariff structures |
9 May |
FTR manager consultation – draft FTR allocation plan |
15 May |
Asset Commissioning and Testing Issues |
15 May |
Mandatory population of new fields in the registry |
15 May |
Clearing manager – draft FTR prudentials methodology |
22 May |
Ministry for the Environment |
Consultation document: Updating the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme |
11 May |
Financial Markets Authority |
Consultation paper: Class exemption review |
7 May |
Second consultation: Guidance note on effective disclosure |
10 May |
New Zealand Food Safety Authority |
Proposals to Amend (No. 2) the New Zealand (Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) Food Standards 2011 |
18 June |
Future Controls on Printing Reduced Size Legend |
18 May |
Proposed Animal Products (Regulated Control Scheme - Dairy Export Quota Products) Notice 2012 |
14 May |
Inland Revenue Department |
Income tax – whether residual land is part of an undertaking or scheme of development or division of land |
11 May |
Productivity Commission |
Issues Paper - Strengthening economic relations between Australia and New Zealand |
31 May |
Standards New Zealand - Joint Draft Standards |
Personal eye protection |
18 June |
Plugs and socket-outlets for household and similar purposes |
18 June |
Luminaires |
15 June |
Electromagnetic compatibility - testing and measurements techniques |
14 May |
Code of practice for handling combustible dusts |
24 May |
Connecting devices for low-voltage circuits for household and similar purposes |
24 May |
NZ Transport Agency |
High-risk intersections guide |
14 May |
Traffic Control Device Manual Part 9 Railway Level Crossings |
16 May |
Who |
What |
By when… (2012) |
Biosecurity New Zealand |
Draft IHS for Pig Semen Import Health Standard 25 April 2012 |
25 April |
Draft IHS for Animal Fibres |
11 May |
Department of Conservation |
Kauri National Park proposal |
tbc |
Canterbury draft guidelines for aircraft access |
Ongoing |
Kaikoura sperm whale tourism review |
27 April |
New listing of the threatened status of New Zealand frogs, reptiles, bats and birds |
5 June |
Ministry of Consumer Affairs |
Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill Exposure Draft |
11 May |
Ministry of Economic Development |
Business consultation on regulatory reform |
31 December |
Electricity Authority |
Wholesale Market Information – WAG Discussion Paper |
7 May |
Food Standards Australia New Zealand |
Bacteriophage Preparation P100 as a Processing Aid |
27 April |
Packaging Size for Phytosterol-enriched Milk |
7 May |
Primary Production & Processing Standard for Minor Meat Species & Wild Game |
21 May |
Primary Production & Processing Standard for Horticulture |
21 May |
Proposed Future Regulation of Nutritive Substances and Novel Foods |
21 May |
Inland Revenue Department |
Income tax - look-through companies: interest deductibility |
5 May |
GST: treatment of transitional services supplied as part of the sale of a business |
25 April |
Department of Labour |
Support Adventure Website and Guidance Tool |
30 April |
Consultation on Hazardous Substances in Workplaces |
21 May |
Law Commission |
Review of the Judicature Act 1908 |
27 April |
Alternative Trial Processes |
27 April |
NZX |
Fonterra Shareholders' Market - consultation memorandum and Draft Rules |
28 April |
Main Board / Debt Market Listing Rules - consultation memorandum and Draft Rules |
30 May |
Standards New Zealand - Joint Draft Standards |
Electromagnetic compatibility - limits |
14 May |
Recessed luminaire barriers |
17 May |
Electrical equipment in mines and quarries |
15 May |
Electrical portable outlet devices |
15 May |
Collection, storage, transport and treatment of used electrical and electronic equipment |
15 May |
Remote control systems for mining equipment |
10 May |
Audio, video and similar electronic apparatus |
24 April |
LP Gas fuel systems for vehicle engines |
21 May |
Standards New Zealand - New Zealand Draft Standards |
Chemical preservation of round and sawn timber |
9 May |
NZ Transport Agency |
Pilot specification for calcined bauxite |
30 April |
High-risk intersections guide |
14 May |
ZESPRI Group Ltd |
Industry Recovery Discussion Paper |
tbc |
