NEWS ON POLICY
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A MATTER OF OPINION The Auckland Reforms IN POLITICS Clark's Elysian Field Musical Chairs On breathing through the nose PROGRESS OF LEGISLATION Bills Introduced /Awaiting First Reading more... Corrections (Contract Management in Prison) Amendment Bill Bills Before Select Committees more... Bills Passed Third Reading more... Acts Assented more... Regulations more... SELECT COMMITTEE HEARINGS more... Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee LEGISLATION IN THE WINGS more... IN OTHER NEWS Fast Forward Fund more... IN CONSULTATION more... |
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| A MATTER OF OPINION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Auckland ReformsThe task with which the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance was charged was rendered easily enough. Taking into account global, economic and political change expected over the coming century, the Commission was to investigate and report on local government arrangements that would maximise the current and future well-being of the region and its communities, and the region's contribution to wider national objectives. Behind that stilted injunction though, was a mare's nest of expectations and vested political interests that made the task difficult if not impossible. One thing was certain from the outset, whatever the Commissioners came up with was never going to please everybody. The yardsticks against which the Commission's findings will now be judged will vary. There will be those for whom local democracy will be the gauge. Others will be concerned with the efficiency of regional infrastructure planning. Many more will be concerned about the implications for rates and whether there will be any meaningful rigour applied to the management and application of other people's money. But whatever benchmarks the toiling punters will apply, there will be little commonality with those applied by some local bodies and local body politicians. The prerogatives that are the adjunct of current arrangement will provide a compelling incentive for those who wish to preserve the status quo. But the status quo in Auckland is unsustainable, as it is in many other municipalities. Fragmentation, inefficiency, lack of capacity where it counts, fudged accountabilities and a passion for aptly-named 'vanity projects' are endemic features of local government. Nor have matters been helped by the array of legislative responsibilities that have been lobbed at local bodies by central government with none of the cash to fund them. Where Auckland is concerned radical action was needed. On its face at least, that's what the Royal Commission has delivered. Recommending that the ARC and seven local authorities be scrapped in favour of a single Auckland Council, the Commission has laid the groundwork for a single, integrated regional rating system and planning framework. The vertical integration of all water and waste water services under Watercare Services - balanced by a social pricing obligation - is another welcome innovation and one long-delayed by council and institutional rivalries. So too is the reconstitution of the current Auckland Regional Transport Authority to manage all arterial roads and public transport planning, and procurement. Less helpful and perhaps more of a problem for central Government are the six or so local councils intended to manage local matters and provide a conduit for local representation. In this the Commission has not gone far enough. Whilst doing away with 'mayors' in favour of chairpersons, might reduce some more subtle incentives behind organisational growth, the large catchments involved pose questions about what is likely to be different. Minister for Ratepayers, Rodney Hide and his National Party partners may well feel that more needs to be done. The Government will now need to decide whether it's 'go' or 'whoa', but aside from some tweaking at the edges, its hands are pretty much tied. The need to progress changes in time for the next local body elections will be another pragmatic driver determinative of the political outcome. Apart from the odd Mayor, only the PSA is likely to attempt to stem the tide. Given public expectations, it will be a faint hope.
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| IN POLITICS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clark's Elysian FieldYesterday, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed the Rt Hon Helen Clark to a four-year term as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme ("UNDP"). The position will require General Assembly ratification, but in the absence of last minute political ruction the result is a foregone one. The role is well suited to Clark's abilities and interests. A natural technocrat and federalist Clark will take to her new role like the proverbial duck to water, and the international relationships she has forged will stand her in good stead. The UNDP operates both national and local development programmes in 166 countries. It administers the Millennium Development Goals, the headline goal of which is reducing poverty by half by 2015, and its brief includes democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, environment, energy and HIV/AIDS. Clark will be the third New Zealander in the past decade appointed to head a multi-lateral organisation. Rt Hon Mike Moore (the man she toppled as Labour leader in 1993) served as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and Rt Hon Sir Donald McKinnon just finished two terms as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. Clark will no doubt join Moore and Sir Don as a member of the Order of New Zealand. Musical ChairsClark's resignation from Parliament will see a by-election in the Mt Albert electorate, which Clark currently holds with a 10,351 vote majority. Labour list MP, Paul Twyford, is tipped as a possible candidate, as is Auckland lawyer Helen White. Interest in the seat is high among Labour list MPs and hopefuls, though, and we expect a robust selection process. Regardless who contests the seat, the by-election result will be interesting. Clark commanded a high personal loyalty in her electorate and one which has belied the gradual, but very real, gentrification of the area. Whilst National is not bullish enough about the change to expect a decisive swing to the right, its polling suggests a shock awaiting Labour when the votes are counted. Assuming Twyford is successful in negotiating the selection and election processes, his list position will fall vacant and the the next on Labour's list will enter Parliament in his stead. This would see former cabinet minister and defeated MP for West Coast-Tasman, Damien O'Connor back in the fray and Judith Tizard as next in line for taking a seat once other list MP and soon-to-be busy-with-other-things Michael Cullen follows Clark out of the House. On breathing through the noseLabour's tendency to say too much on too many things in its fight to stay in the public eye has detracted from its capacity to make a telling hit when the chance is offered and is costing it dearly. As a prime case, Nick's Smith's deft handling of the RMA reform process to date has not been mirrored in his management of changes to ACC's governance. It is a measure of the difficulty Labour is facing with its political strategy that some hard questions posed to Smith during Question Time have sunk with barely a ripple on the surface of the media pond. The same fluffing of opportunities has been evident in Labour's simultaneous attempts to both cuddle and castigate the Māori Party, a schizophrenic strategy that has cemented rather than eroded the increasingly effective working relationship that has developed with National. This is a time for Labour to follow Keith Holyoake's injunction to breathe through the nose. Labour's leadership knows what National knows - that the Government's polling is holding strong. No amount of opportunistic sniping will dent that. The road ahead for Labour is difficult, but it will not be until brand-meisters Clark and Cullen depart the House that Labour's identity and strategy can be re-formed.
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Bills Introduced / First ReadingCorrections (Contract Management in Prison) Amendment Bill The Bill aims to amend the Corrections Act 2004 to allow competitive tendering for contracts by private sector organisations to manage prisons. The policy aim is to open prison management to contractors to provide an opportunity for innovation and change in the way in which prisons in New Zealand are operated. Providing for prisons to be run effectively and efficiently by contract managers also enables the Government to look for cost savings in the overall delivery of prison services. Insolvency Amendment Bill The Insolvency Amendment Bill amends the Insolvency Act 2006 to address a small number of issues that have arisen since enactment. The Bill preserves the integrity of the new “no asset procedure” by preventing discharge of fraudulent debts, and preventing the discharge of bankruptcy by restoring the Official Assignee’s ability to recover gifts made by a person prior to bankruptcy. The Bill amends the public register provisions to ensure that a public record of people who have been discharged from the no asset procedure is available for an appropriate period, and providing for permanent public records where a person has had multiple insolvency events. Bills Before Select CommitteesBuilding Amendment Bill (No 2) Submissions have now been called for on the Unit Titles Bill. Open for submissions
Submissions closed
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Fast Forward Fund Work on a replacement for the previous Government's Fast Forward Fund is well progressed and will feature in the 2009 budget. The expectations are that the new fund will maintain the focus on industry-led projects, but with a different capital structure. The new fund will also keep Fast Forward's increase in investment in primary sector research and development. Regional Fuel Taxes ScrappedOn 16 March the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, announced an overhaul of transport funding nationwide. Gone are transport tax structures instituted by the previous Labour Government. Regional fuel taxes (imposed by regional councils) are gone, leaving some councils questioning their ability to pay for transport projects. The scrapping of regional fuel taxes heralds a new transport funding regime, in which small and regular increases in the national fuel excise and road user charges contribute to the National Land Transport Fund. The first increase of three cents per litre is expected on 1 October 2009. The Land Transport fund will pay for local projects, although the New Zealand Transport Agency said that it will consider urgent funding bids for projects already underway. Projects such as Ferry Wharf and Penlink in Auckland will need the Land Transport Fund in the normal way, leaving councils concerned. The future of Wellington's Transmission Gully is also up in the air. The Government emphasised that the electrification of Auckland's rail will continue with direct Crown funding. KiwiRail will own the rolling stock. However, the Government also emphasised that the upcoming report of the Royal Commission on Auckland's Governance, due at the end of the month, will affect Auckland's future transport projects in the region. The Government will spend $1 billion per annum on state highways over the next decade. Joyce also announced seven roads of national significance which will receive priority work:
While the plans will complete many important roads and fast, Watching Brief cannot help wondering whether the plans are bold enough. Key and Joyce's transport announcements focus almost exclusively on road transport. There is no consideration of how we can move large volumes of freight around New Zealand quickly and cost-effectively. A real transport plan needs to consider rail and the country's chronically-unattended coastal shipping. Technical Advisory Group on WaterEnvironment Minister Nick Smith is considering the appointment of a further Technical Advisory Committee to advise on freshwater allocation and management. The work will be undertaken as part of the second stage of the Government's RMA reform programme. The mechanism for getting this stage of the work underway is understood to have been problematic for Smith, whose first preference for water to be addressed as part of the brief exercised by the Sustainable Land use Forum came under fire. This is one to watch. High country in High CourtThis week Fish and Game is testing the scope of high country pastoral leases in the High Court at Wellington. Fish and Game asked the court for a declaration as to whether or not high country lessees enjoy exclusive occupancy of runholds. Research in 2007 finding that high country leases granted rights only over pasture sparked the hearing. The research found that the leases did not grant an interest in the soil nor exclusive possession. The Crown and the High Country Accord oppose the declaration. A declaration in Fish and Game's favour would have radical implications for the high country and the access enjoyed by recreational users, with runholders potentially unable to deny the public access. It could see many more high country runholders join the land tenure review process, which almost half the South Island's high country runs have not yet joined. The case comes in a week when the Government reiterated its policy of closer co-operation with high country runholders, including support for such practices and burn offs of vegetation cover. The Government's public statements mean an appeal (or possibly even a legislative change) is likely if Fish and Game obtains its declaration. Justice Simon France is expected to deliver a reserved judgment in New Zealand Fish and Game Council v Attorney-General after Easter. Expect further coverage in Watching Brief. Overseas Investment RulesThe Minister of Finance, Bill English, announced recently that the Government will review the rules for foreign direct investment into New Zealand. The review aims to make overseas investment faster and simpler. There are three broad themes to the review:
The Minister for Land Information, Richard Worth, will lead the review. Dr Worth's involvement suggests that Government's real interest in the review is land. English confirmed in the House on 25 March that the terms of reference for the review were deliberately wide so that all land could be considered, irrespective of whether land was currently considered "sensitive" or not. Cabinet aims to consider the review's recommendations by 30 June 2009, after which any statutory and legislative changes will emerge. Please click here for the full terms of reference fro the review. Waste MinimisationThe Ministry for the Environment has released a discussion paper on waste minimisation. The paper seeks public feedback on proposal for implementation of the Waste Minimsation Act 2008. Five topic areas are under consideration:
Among the priority products under early consideration are:
Submissions close at 5.00 pm on Friday 15 May 2009. Electronic submissions may be forwarded using electronic submission form available. Click here for the discussion document. The consultation process will be supported by workshops around the country, as follows:
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© Russell McVeagh 2005. All rights reserved.