Parliament finished its current sitting block with a week chock full of business.
Among all the action three bills were agreed and are set to become law, and five bills were newly arrived, initially debated and now await public feedback.
Here they are: The three new laws and the five new bills.
First the new laws: agreed bills awaiting the signatures necessary to become Acts of the Crown.
These hefty tomes are not actually legal volumes, they are actually early volumes of the New Zealand Hansard (the record of parliamentary debates) shelved around the Debating chamber Lobbies like an extra layer of insulation. But they have even more dusty charm and aged weight than the many of Acts that share those corridors. Photo: © VNP / Phil Smith
Drinking water
The Water Services Bill sets out standards for the provision of drinking water and creates a new agency to oversee them - Taumata Arowai. The Water Services Bill is one part of the Government’s broad Three Waters programme - which aims to reform, restructure and finance the repair of water infrastructure around the country.
Counter-Terrorism
The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill rewrites terrorism laws to make prosecution possible earlier, more easily and for more activities. It’s an interesting bill to read.
It redefines terrorism and gets more specific about what constitutes related crimes including: funding, planning, traveling overseas for, or training for an act of terrorism.
Social security - subsequent child
The third new law is the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal Bill. This bill is pretty simple and yet difficult to explain. It was contentious in Parliament because it reverses a change the previous National-led Government made to social security law.
That change meant that someone on the sole parent benefit who had another child could not ‘restart the clock’ on when they were expected to begin finding work (usually when the youngest child turned three). Instead, that expectation would occur when the ‘subsequent’ child turned one.
The new Bill returns the work expectation to the youngest child turning three, regardless of whether the parent was already on that benefit when they were born.
National saw the increased expectation as a way out of poverty, Labour saw the expectation as punishing the poor for having children.
The new bills...
There were also five bills this week that passed a first reading and have now been sent to various select committees who have or will soon ask for public feedback on them. You can find the pages to offer submissions here.
The first two are Covid related bills and both are omnibus bills - meaning they change multiple laws, but for one policy objective.
New Zealand’s parliament doesn’t allow bills to include unconnected provisions. A bill can have only one policy intent. So both of these bills relate to Covid but because one is about managing the impacts of Covid and the other is about government powers to manage Covid itself they need separate bills.
COVID-19 management
The COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill has a very short report back time so if you want to make submissions you will need to act quickly.
The focus of the Bill is dealing with flow-on effects from Covid lockdowns. Things like people not being able to access properties or sign documents in person.
Commercial tenants and landlords are the most likely to want to submit on this bill because it makes changes to the “Property Law Act 2007 to:
- support commercial tenants and landlords to come to agreements to adjust the rent (including outgoings) due under their leases, so that the parties share the financial burden of the COVID-19 response, enabling more businesses to remain solvent through the COVID-19 epidemic; and
- provide a way to resolve disputes if no agreement can be reached.”
COVID-19 health response
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No 2) also has a shorter select committee period (but not as short as the previous bill).
This Bill is more about Government powers and orders. It has new rules and powers related to MIQs, MIQ charges and Covid testing.
It also significantly increases the penalties and fines for breaches of Covid orders. The penalties move from $300 to $1000; the fines from $1000 to $12,000.
Civil aviation
The Civil Aviation Bill aims to replace the Civil Aviation Act (which is now 30 years old), and the Airport Authorities Act (aged a rugged 45). Presumably a fair bit has changed in air traffic in that time and this bill is not particularly controversial.
The new planned law includes rules on remote piloting or even autonomous aircraft, rules on security, on drug and alcohol use, and on emissions.
Electricity industry
The Electricity Industry Amendment Bill is also not particularly controversial except for one provision. The Bill updates industry rules and tries to increase competition and prevent self-dealing.
The more controversial aspect is the creation of a new consumer advocacy agency paid for by a levy on the industry.
Matariki
Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill creates a new public holiday for Matariki. This would become the first new public holiday New Zealand has introduced since Waitangi Day in the 1970s.
This bill is written in both Te Reo and English and usefully includes a schedule of exactly when Matariki will fall for the next couple of decades.
Crucially it notes that the first observance will be on June 24th, 2022.
To match the language of the Bill, the Minister in charge Kiri Allan, also gave her entire first reading speech in Te Reo.
