Today is the Winter Solstice and the weather may be downright bleak, but there’s a quiet sense of urgency in the House.
The Government is looking to get a bunch of bills processed before Parliament adjourns for a three-week break from the week after next.
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Two of the bills - one dealing with anti-competitive conduct by big supermarket chains, the other providing for a fourth round of Covid-19 vaccination - are set to move through their second reading, committee stage and third readings this week.
The Medicines Amendment Bill (No 2) proposes to insert a new clause into the Medicines Act 1981 to provide ongoing population protection against Covid-19; it also seeks to provide the Director-General of Health with adaptable processes for dealing with medicines and medical devices as the pandemic evolves.
“This bill deals with the fourth dose of the vaccine. So, in order to allow New Zealanders to exercise the choice to have a fourth dose of the vaccine, we need a minor amendment of the Medicines Act,” said the Government’s Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins.
“Our Medicines Act is pretty out of date. A lot of countries are already offering fourth doses without the need for legislative change. Unfortunately in New Zealand, because of the nature of our antiquated Medicines legislation we have to have a minor amendment through parliament to allow for that.”
The current public health challenge with Covid-19 vaccination, as opposed to one-off type vaccines - is because it’s an ongoing thing.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re always going to be doing this, but for now, our best shot, or our best option is to give people the chance to get a fourth dose,” Hipkins said, adding that it is not compulsory.
Vaccination against Covid has been found to reduce the possibility of people getting severely ill from the virus.
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On this day, when daylight hours are shortest and the cold is in their bones, people can be forgiven for going through the motions. It's somehow reassuring that MPs might be getting something useful done.
Another bill on the cards this week, after a shortened select committee process because of the degree of urgency around it, is the Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill.
The Bill seeks to introduce new provisions into the Commerce Act 1986 that address the restrictive or exclusive use of covenants by major grocery retailers on land, or in leases, that limit the number of sites available to grocery competitors. Under these new provisions covenants would be limited to covenants in which a 'designated grocery retailer' has an interest.
“We do need to see more competition. We’ve got a duopoly. It’s controlled largely by two conglomerates, and I think we want to see more real, genuine competition," Hipkins explained.
“There’s clear evidence produced by the Commerce Commission that New Zealanders are paying too much for their groceries, and greater competition will help with that.”
Among other bills at their business end this week, the Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Bill is scheduled to have its committee stage and possibly third reading.
Also, there are to be first readings of the Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill and the Companies (Levies) Amendment Bill.
