Parliament’s year is rapidly nearing an end, and the Government has this week been focused on completion of three fairly major pieces of legislation.
Eugenie Sage stands by the rationale behind a controversial clause in the Water Services Entities Bill. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
The Water Services Entities Bill was recommitted to the Committee of the Whole House in order to fix a mistake that’s been well canvassed by national media.
The entrenchment of an anti-privatisation clause in the Government’s Three Waters legislation was subsequently flagged as departing from convention that entrenchment only be used for constitutional issues.
The MP who proposed the clause, Eugenie Sage of the Green Party, stands by the argument for it.
“This was about entrenching one clause in the Bill, not the whole Bill as some people seem who have written to me seem to think. It was one clause, and it reinforces the Green Party’s commitment to public ownership of key Three Waters assets: the provision of drinking eater, waste water and storm water,” Sage explained.
“We would have preferred that it wasn't debated under urgency, but as members of the National Party well know, the committee stages are the only stages where you can table and have amendments voted on. The Standing Orders indeed provide for entrenchment, provided the same majority in the House pass the provision as the SOP (Supplementary Order Paper) was seeking to entrench. That happened.”
National MP Paul Goldsmith Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Another bill making its way through the House towards completion is the Electoral Amendment Bill which lowers the public disclosure thresholds for donations and contributions to political parties.
The Opposition is dead against this Bill, and National’s Paul Goldsmith said he’d come up with a couple of good reasons why reducing the thresholds is problematic, leaving people with a stark pair of choices.
“Either New Zealanders can volunteer to give money to parties that they support, or the alternative proposition is that the State seizes that money and gives it to political parties in order for them to campaign. And the fundamental direction of this bill and the Government policy is to move more and more of the funding of political parties away from voluntary donations to compulsory acquisition by the State of money to give to political parties.”
Labour’s Emily Henderson pointed out the need for transparency in the democratic system could barely be more paramount right now.
“We want this bill in place because we are concerned that numbers of people—especially over the last couple of years—have begun to lose faith in democracy. We are aware of surveys—for example, in 2021 by Victoria University of Wellington, as the Minister said—which show that 70 percent of the population do not trust the way in which parties are funded. They feel that the people paying for us may also be paying us to do their bidding. We know that that is not so, but the thought that they could consider that that is a possibility: we have to act,” she said.
Labour MP Dr Emily Henderson speaks in Parliament. Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
The Bill would also temporarily extend the eligibility period for voters living away from New Zealand to six years for citizens and four years for permanent residents (from three years and twelve months respectively) in acknowledgement of Covid disruptions which some MPs noted have affected their own family.
There was more reflection about things that affect their own family as MPs debated the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill which significantly limits the number of retailers able to sell smoked tobacco products; and aims to prevent young people from taking up smoking by prohibiting the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born since 2009, among other things.
During the second reading of the Bill, more than one MP revealed childhood memories of being routinely exposed to cigarette smoking, like National’s Maureen Pugh.
“I grew up in a house where both of my parents smoked, and I clearly remember the family trips in the car. For those who don't know, sometimes it rains a bit on the West Coast, and when you go on a drive you've got the windows up, and so driving around in the car with two smokers still makes my eyes water. I can also remember spending quite a lot of time with my grandparents when I was much younger, and they too were very heavy smokers. Sometimes it was almost difficult to see across the room because of the amount of tobacco smoke,” Pugh said before colleague Penny Simmonds recounted her own similar experience.
National MP Maureen Pugh dons an apron at a Parliament Outreach BBQ at Westport's Tai Poutini Polytechnic, 28 November 2022. Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
However, like the ACT Party, the National Party does not support the Bill, as they say they have issues with its priorities and timing.
Time meanwhile is quickly ticking, but these three Bills are likely to complete their passage through the House before the Parliament year concludes some time next week.
