Parliament’s to do list: Tuesday 9 April 2019

Gun law reform will continue at pace this week with the Bill likely to be passed by Thursday.

A couple of new bills that would cap wheel clamping fees at $100 and encourage responsible lending will have first readings.

The usual parliamentary features will remain though with question time scheduled for each day just after 2pm and the general debate on Wednesday.

Today's plan is below.

Question time - 2pm

Up to 12 questions to Ministers from opposition and government party MPs.

It’s one of the fastest moving parts of the House lasting around an hour; question time usually involves some hard questions, witty interjections, and a little bit of boasting from Ministers answering patsy questions (softer queries from their own party’s backbenches).

Gun law reform - second reading

What:

• Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Bill

• Restricts access to assault rifles and MSSAs, associated parts, and large-capacity magazines.

• Bans the parts of prohibited firearms or any part that can enable a weapon to be fired as a semi-automatic or fully automatic firearm.

• Allows for a small number of tightly controlled exemptions for professional animal cullers, licensed firearms dealers and bona fide collectors including museums, and for film and theatre companies.

• Introduces a number of new offences. Offences will include possessing, using, presenting, supplying, selling, manufacturing, and assembling a banned firearm. The offences attract penalties ranging from up to three years' imprisonment to 10 years' imprisonment depending on the nature and seriousness of the offence.

• Allows for an amnesty for returning firearms to licenced dealers or police by 30 September 2019 and a buy back scheme.

Who:

• Minister of Police Stuart Nash is in charge of this bill. At its first reading he said “the most critical weakness in our firearms law is that too many people have legal access to too many semi-automatic firearms capable of causing significant harm.”

Why:

• The Government pledged to reform the country’s gun laws following a terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch last month.

• The process has been much faster than would normally happen for a bill, a move that has drawn both criticism and support.

• At a select committee last week Police demonstrated to MPs how the gunman was able to buy his guns and magazines legally with his category A gun licence, and then bring them together to create an illegal and deadly combination. Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Clement said the Bill will make it more difficult to convert one type of firearm into another and stop the avoidance of stricter firearms classifications via minor modifications.

Winter Energy Payments - committee stage

What:

• The Social Security (Winter Energy Payment) Amendment Bill

• This bill makes sure that social security legislation allows the payment of the Winter Energy Payments that the government has planned for this year. A drafting flaw meant some weren't covered by the earlier legislation.

• Payments are planned for the 22-week period starting on 1 May 2019 and will be automatically paid to many beneficiaries and pensioners.

Who:

• Social Development Minister, Carmel Sepuloni is the minister in charge.

Wheel clamping fee cap - first reading

What:

• The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill

• Sets a maximum wheel clamping fee of $100.

• This is meant for parking breaches on private property and not on a road that is under the control of an “enforcement authority” e.g. a state highway or local government road.

• A fine of up to $3000 for an individual and up to $15,000 for a body corporate that charges a fee over the maximum amount or doesn’t remove a clamp when they’re meant to.

• Bills sometimes have a regulatory impact assessment which helps the Government make sure the bill will meet New Zealand’s legal obligations, e.g. that it is consistent with the Bill of Rights Act 1990 or Treaty of Waitangi or other obligations. The RIA for this bill can be found here.

Who:

• Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi is in charge of this bill.

Why:

• This summed up in the Bill quite nicely: “There is no specific legislation regulating wheel clamping as a method of parking enforcement. Rules governing parking rights and enforcement on private land are unclear and seldom tested in the courts. This has meant that motorists are often charged unreasonable fees for the release of their vehicle, and that wheel clamping is often the subject of complaints from motorists. As the law is not clear on the exact charges that are reasonable, motorists are unlikely to understand in what circumstances they might successfully dispute a fee. Consequently, there are few incentives for wheel clamp operators to charge reasonable fees. Voluntary industry initiatives have not been effective in changing behaviour across the industry.”

Protecting consumers from bad loans - first reading

What:

• Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill

• Strengthen requirements to lend responsibly, to help reduce harm to vulnerable consumers from problem debt.

• The Bill will limit the accumulation of interest and fees on high-cost loans to 100% of the original loan principal, over the life of the loan but only for loans with an annualised interest rate of 50% or more

• A ‘fit and proper’ test for directors and top executives of lenders (finance company, mobile trader or bank) offering consumer credit contracts (mortgage, credit card, cash loan to a private individual) in order for the lender to register on the Financial Service Providers Register.

• Punishments for lenders who breach their responsibilities will also be strengthened

• The Bill also aims to prevent creditors taking advantage of people for whom English is a second language by requiring creditors to disclose key contract information in the language they advertise in e.g. if a company advertises in Samoan it cannot only put key information about the contract in English particularly if the company suspects the debtor would understand the contract details if it was written in Samoan but would struggle to understand it in English.

Who:

• Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi is in charge of this bill.

Why:

• A review identified ongoing issues in the credit market and significant harm to vulnerable consumers from problem debt including excessive cost on some loan agreements, irresponsible lending, unreasonable fees and irresponsible debt collection practices.

Tidying up ACC - third reading

What:

• The Accident Compensation Amendment Bill

• This bill aims to tidy up inconsistencies between different pieces of legislation and keep the regulations up to date and relevant.

• It will make several changes including allowing surviving spouses to receive up to five years of weekly compensation regardless of age, and disestablishing the Accident Compensation Appeal Authority, which hears cases under the 1972 and 1982 Accident Compensation legislation.

• A third stage is the final debate before a bill is approved as law.

Who:

• The Minister for ACC Iain Lees-Galloway

Check how much the House of Representatives work through each day on Parliament’s website.