Normally MPs sit on select committees in the morning and in the House from question time at 2pm. But on Thursdays it’s a shorter day and finishes at dinner time.
*MPs have to be at Parliament for sitting days. The Order Paper lists what they plan to work on but it can change, so below is a outline of what we think MPs will focus on.
Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Medicinal Cannabis - second reading
What:
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The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill. The Minister of Health, David Clark is in charge of this bill.
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This Bill amends the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 to introduce an exception and a statutory defence for terminally ill people to possess and use illicit cannabis or possess a cannabis ‘utensil’.
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It also creates a regulation-making power to set standards for cannabis products, and removes cannabidiol (CBD) from the list of controlled drugs.
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This bill was the Government’s compromise response to a member’s bill in the name of Chloe Swarbrick that failed to pass its first reading early this Parliament.
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A second reading is where a bill returns to the House after hearings at a Select Committee. This bill received 1,786 submissions, overwhelmingly in favour of legalising medicinal cannabis.
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The Select Committee’s report back to the House is not unanimous but does include a number of proposed changes, particularly to follow advice from the Ministry of Health.
What did the MPs say?
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At the Bill’s first reading, Labour’s Jenny Salesa said:
“We have examples of people who have spoken really strongly about the use of medicinal cannabis. Helen Kelly is one such example of a person who lived so bravely, so openly, with terminal illness, and she devoted the last part of her life to campaigning for her fellow New Zealanders to make their lives better. She felt for ordinary people for whom medicinal cannabis might make a real difference.”
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National’s Dr Shane Reti said:
“That's going to need a lot of work to have my support to this and for our support, but we're certainly ready to have the dialogue in this whole discussion. We're not afraid of the dialogue and the discussion around medicinal cannabis, but it needs a lot of work.”
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Rules for the Reserve Bank
What:
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Technical name: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Monetary Policy) Amendment Bill in the name of the Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
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It amends the objectives that the Reserve Bank has to consider in setting monetary policy to include ‘consideration of maximum sustainable employment alongside price stability in monetary policy decision making’. It also formalises a ‘monetary policy committee’ to make decisions on monetary policy.
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A second reading brings a bill back from Select Committee, often with proposed changes. The report on this bill includes suggested amendments.
Why:
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The Reserve Bank controls a few small levers for influencing the national economy and has rules about how it uses them. This bill adjusts those rules.
Who said what?
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During the bill’s first reading, its sponsor Grant Robertson said:
“It is a very important part of our financial framework in New Zealand, but after 30 years with much change it is time to make sure that we create a resilient and sustainable and productive economy, and make sure that every part of our apparatus fits with that.”
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National’s shadow finance spokesperson Amy Adams said:
“So my question again remains what is the problem we are trying to solve? How do we think this solution will solve it? Why have we differed from the very purpose clause that the Minister is introducing? And why have we not followed the international example which reflects that whole basket of economic conditions that the Reserve Bank has already taken into account?”
