Behind the scenes a group of Justice officials has been raking over the ashes of Labour's Electoral Finance Act. Their task: to come up with something to put in its place.
An initial discussion paper has come and gone, as has a closed-doors session with assorted legal savants. A formal proposal document is expected for public consultation later this month.
However, whilst the attempt has been made to restore a level of public and multi-partite consultation to electoral law, it remains a Government measure. It is also a politicians' measure, at least to the extent that the options floated have been discussed with the parliamentary parties in the interests of building a consensus.
There's nothing wrong with that, in fact it's smart. But with input from the rest of us being limited to a fairly standard consultation process, the impression left is that ours will not be the views that prevail.
Perhaps we ought not to be surprised. In Labour's original legislation the engagement of the public in the political process - at least that outside the activities of a political party - was unequivocally frowned upon. For Labour it was third parties. For the current Government it's 'parallel campaigners'. Both parties, it seems, share a common perspective that the people that need to be guarded against are not the parties themselves, but you and me.
This solipsistic view of the political process is one of the reasons the last Royal Commission on electoral reform recommended that any further reviews ought to be undertaken at arm's length from politicians. Anything else, it suggested, would lead to perverse results.
And so it has. There is little in what has been discussed to date that puts the onus on incumbent politicians to comport themselves in ways that place them - and others - beyond reproach.
Of course that is not the main focus of the present reform process. Much of it is about campaigning that is beyond the control of politicians. Fair enough. But the omission is still apparent and has become more so in the face of the conviction of erstwhile Mangere MP Taito Phillip Field, and the venal, if not corrupt, approach to MP's allowances apparent in the UK.
One attempt to fill the gap has come from Labour's Ross Robertson. Robertson has tabled a Member's Bill aimed at establishing a declaratory Code of Ethical Conduct for MPs. His suggested principles of ethical conduct may be high-minded and the sanctions unclear, but they at least have the virtue of reminding us all that it is not just third parties who we have to fear.
What happens next is anyone's guess. The fact that Robertson met a conspicuous lack of success in trying to persuade the Standing Orders Committee to adopt the Code doesn't augur well. But with public sensitivities heightened by media beat-ups of our own allowances 'scandal', as well as the coda provided by Field's conviction and Russel Norman's fear of corporate lobbyists, the Bill's time may well have come. There is unlikely to be a better opportunity, unless Justice Minister Hon Simon Power decides to make it his own.
Dismissing the possibility of reserved Māori seats on the new Auckland Council, National has missed an opportunity not only to give the lie to those who would brand it as red-necked, but also to deliver a palpable win to a necessary political ally.
Of course, the calculation involved more than just weighing the benefits of cosying up to one constituency versus another. Principle was also at stake and that is whether there should there be race-based political representation at any level of New Zealand democracy.
The Royal Commission on the Electoral System, which examined the pros and cons of the MMP system in 1986, considered that point and said 'no'. The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance did the same in 2008 and said 'yes'. However, those two different conclusions rested on very different assumptions about the basis upon which political representatives were selected. The Royal Commission on the Electoral System based its position on the advent of proportional representation. Absent that, the calculation is very different and so is the principle.
It was a calculation that National apparently failed to make which, given its traditional elevation of pragmatism above all else, will to some be as disappointing as it will unsurprising.
But if it wasn't principle then what were the pragmatics? National didn't need to deliver to Hide. He was hardly going to step away from a Government relationship and his abandonment of the Local Government portfolio may well have amounted to political suicide, particularly given the fact that the outcome of the Auckland reforms is a ball which is seen to be very much in his court.
You could say equally that National didn't need to give way to the Māori Party. But if the intelligent Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia don't get their way here they will need to get it elsewhere. National will be guilty of a serious misjudgement if it thinks that it can pacify its political partner, with the sort of lip-service that has too long characterised ruling party approaches to Māori policy.
If that was the calculation then National has got it wrong. There aren't many who will desert it for a liberal stance on Māori, and the Party may well find the absence of those that do a welcome liberation as it attempts to re-establish itself in New Zealand's middle-ground. Also, it is the Māori Party, not ACT, which National is more likely to need over the longer term.
Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill
Type of Bill: Government Bill
Member in charge: Hon Dr Wayne Mapp
This Bill repeals the Carter Observatory Act 1933, which states that the Carter Observatory functions as the national astronomical observatory of New Zealand and establishes a board to manage the Observatory. The Observatory no longer performs this function so the board will be dissolved and its assets and liabilities will be vested in the Wellington City Council (which has been managing the Observatory since 2007).
Child and Family Protection Bill
Type of Bill: Government Bill
Member in charge: Hon Simon Power
This Bill will change the way the Family Court deals with child victims of domestic violence to give those children greater protection and make other changes in the family law area. This Bill is part of National's measures to protect victims of domestic violence, along with the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill (currently awaiting second reading). It is also said to contain the last legislative amendments required to bring New Zealand in line with the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Climate Change (Government Vehicle Procurement) Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Dr Kenney Graham
This Bill would require the State sector to purchase or lease only energy efficient passenger vehicles.
Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Charles Chauvel
This Bill would, amongst other things, amend the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 to allow regulations to be made that place a limit on the annual interest rates that can be charged in consumer credit contracts. Under the Bill a creditor would also need a reasonable belief that a debtor is able to repay a credit contract, or else it would be oppressive under the Act and could therefore be "re-opened" by the courts.
Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Member's Bill
Member in charge: Hon Sir Roger Douglas
The Bill would ensure that no student is compelled to join a students' association. Having to join a students' association is said to interfere with the right to freedom of association.
Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Government Bill
Member in charge: Hon Anne Tolley
This Bill introduces new governance arrangements for polytechnics, including reducing the size of their councils to only eight members (with the Minister of Tertiary Education appointing four of these) and placing new duties on polytechnic council members. It will also change the powers of the Crown to intervene in a polytechnic when it is at risk. The Bill will also establish a pilot "tertiary high school courses" at the Manukau Institute of Technology as part of National's measures to up-skill youth.
Bills To Select Committees
Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill
Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill
Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill
Open for submissions
Bill |
Select committee |
Submissions close (2009) |
Report due (2009) |
Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill |
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade |
10 September |
28 January 2010 |
Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
31 August |
19 October |
Inquiries Bill |
Government Administration |
18 September |
28 January 2010 |
Limitation Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
4 September |
4 February 2010 |
Search and Surveillance Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
18 September |
4 February 2010 |
Sustainable Biofuel Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
11 September |
29 January 2010 |
Submissions not yet called
Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill
Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill
Marine Reserves (Consultation with Stakeholders) Amendment Bill
Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Bill
Submissions closed
Bill |
Select committee |
Report due (2009) |
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Bill |
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade |
15 September |
Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) |
Primary Production |
21 September |
Arms Amendment Bill (No 3) |
Law and Order |
26 February 2010 |
Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill |
Law and Order |
26 September |
Children, Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill |
Social Services |
27 November |
Education Amendment Bill |
Education and Science |
28 August |
Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
4 September |
Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill |
Transport and Industrial Relations |
10 September |
Legal Services Amendment Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
2 October |
Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill |
Auckland Governance Legislation |
4 September |
Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement (Regional Agreements) Amendment Bill |
Māori Affairs |
30 September |
Marine Reserves Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
30 December 2010 |
Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill |
Commerce |
30 December |
Patents Bill |
Commerce |
5 November |
Privacy (Cross-border Information) Amendment Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
1 October |
Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
30 March 2010 |
Public Works (Offer Back and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill |
Local Government and Environment |
17 December |
Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill |
Commerce |
24 December |
Regulatory Improvement Bill |
Commerce |
12 November |
Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill |
Primary Production |
10 September |
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill |
Social Services |
5 October |
Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill |
Justice and Electoral |
1 November |
Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill |
Social Services |
30 June 2010 |
Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill |
Law and Order |
30 September |
Social Assistance (Payment of New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans Pension Overseas) Amendment Bill |
Social Services |
30 September |
Taxation (Consequential Rate Alignment and Remedial Matters) Bill |
Finance and Expenditure |
16 November |
Trade Marks (International Treaties and Enforcement) Amendment Bill |
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade |
7 October |
Unit Titles Bill |
Social Services |
5 September |
Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill |
Transport and Industrial Relations |
10 September |
Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill |
Māori Affairs |
31 December |
Te Rā o Matariki Bill / Matariki Day Bill
Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill
Social Security (Benefit Review and Appeal Reform) Amendment Bill
Bills Awaiting Second Reading
Bills that have recently been reported back to the House from a Select Committee are in bold and the Select Committee reports on these Bills are linked.
Children, Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6)
Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill (Report of the Justice and Electoral Committee)
Cultural Property (Protection in Armed Conflict) Bill
Dog Control Amendment Bill (No 2)
Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill
Electricity (Continuance of Supply) Amendment Bill
Gangs and Organised Crime Bill
Judicial Matters Bill
Māori Trustee and Māori Development Amendment Bill
Oaths Modernisation Bill
Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill (Report of the Local Government and Environment Committee)
Public Health Bill
Rail Network Bill
Regulatory Responsibility Bill
Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill (Report of the Local Government and Environment Committee)
Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill
Serious Fraud Office (Abolition and Transitional Provisions) Bill
Settlement Systems, Futures, and Emissions Units Bill
Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill
Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill
Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill
Trustee Amendment Bill
Waka Umanga (Māori Corporations) Bill
Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill
Bills Awaiting Third Reading
Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill
Cultural Property (Protection in Armed Conflict) Bill
Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2)
Immigration Bill
Insolvency Amendment Bill
Taxation (International Taxation, Life Insurance, and Remedial Matters) Bill
Eden Park Trust Amendment Bill
None
Animal Welfare (Records and Statistics) Amendment Regulations 2009
Biosecurity (Small Scale Organism Management) Amendment Order 2009
Deposit Takers (Non-trustee Entities Risk Management) Exemption Notice 2009
Excise and Excise-equivalent Duties (Motor Spirits) Amendment Order 2009
Hawke's Bay Airport Bylaws Approval Order 2009
Land Information New Zealand (Fees and Charges) Amendment Regulations 2009
Road User Charges (Rates) Order 2009
Securities Act (Equity Partners Infrastructure Company No. 1 Limited) Exemption Notice 2009
Takeovers Code (Life Pharmacy Limited) Exemption Notice 2009
United Nations Sanctions (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Amendment Regulations 2009
This week the House will pass the Budget by concluding the Estimates Debate and passing the Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill and an Imprest Supply Bill. The House will also send the Infrastructure Bill, the Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill and the newly introduced Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill to Select Committee. The Taxation (International Taxation, Life Insurance, and Remedial Matters) Bill may also be passed.
The House will not be sitting next week.
It has been a quiet fortnight for most Committees, with the House not sitting the week before last. Most have been meeting in private to consider various Bills.
Commerce Committee
The Committee has been hearing submissions on the Patents Bill, including on its implications for Māori.
Finance and Expenditure Committee
The Committee has heard submissions from the Treasury and from the Accounting Standards Review Board in response to the Auditor-General's Report on Setting Financial Reporting Standards for the Public Sector.
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
The Committee has been hearing submissions on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Bill, including from the Securities Industry Association, ASB and Sky City.
Health Committee
Last week the Committee was briefed by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, President of the Law Commission, on the regulatory framework for the supply and sale of liquor.
Justice and Electoral Committee
The Committee heard the petition of Kristine Hayward, Margaret Sale and 1,305 others.
Local Government and Environment Committee
Last week the Committee was briefed by the Assistant Auditor-General on the Auditor-General's Report on Local Government: Results of the 2007/08 audits. It also heard the petitions of Grant Gillon, Todd McClay and 1,074 others.
Primary Production Committee
The Committee has been on the annual joint committee exchange programme to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament.
Bill English on Public-Private Partnerships
Infrastructure Minister Bill English spoke to the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development on 12 August. He stated that PPPs are an option that the Government is looking at, as a matter of value-for-money and not as a matter of ideology. There would be no ideological knee-jerk against PPPs, but "private sector involvement will happen only where it makes sense, period." He also stated that "The Government wants to see as much private sector expertise and discipline used as possible" given his belief that "The private sector generally remains better at assessing and managing risks than the public sector."
English singled out prisons as an example where PPPs are on the table, as the Department of Corrections has been instructed to investigate alternative procurement methods. "We’re happy to proceed with [a PPP] if the case stacks up. We expect to be in a position to make decisions about that early next year." Corrections Minister Judith Collins later issued a press release confirming that she is considering "a range of opportunities for more private sector participation in prisons, including construction, designing, financing, building, maintaining and operating facilities."
English also stated that the initial National Infrastructure Plan will be released early next year, but cautioned against high expectations of the first Plan and emphasised that its purpose and development will be ongoing.
Electricity Market Review Report
The Technical Advisory Group on the Electricity Market Review reported back its findings on 12 August. Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee noted upon the Report's release that its primary goal "... is to tackle the steep price increase to the consumer power bill over the last 10 years, and to examine ways to reduce vulnerability in dry years." Ideas put forward by the Group's report include reforming the governance of electricity (with a new Electricity Market Authority being established to replace the Electricity Commission), allowing lines companies to once again enter into the electricity retail market, compensating consumers during years where electricity must be conserved and increasing competition in electricity wholesale markets by reallocating SOE generator-retailers' assets.
The Group's report can be found here. Submissions close 16 September 2009.
Commerce Committee to Inquire into Finance Company Failures
The Commerce Select Committee will conduct an inquiry into finance company failures. The inquiry aims to not duplicate other work under way regarding the legal frameworks that govern the finance company sector, but to focus on the gaps in current work programmes. The Committee will focus on four broad areas:
- ensuring investors are well-informed about investment proposals;
- ensuring investors understand the implications of a moratorium proposal before voting;
- ensuring advance actions can be taken to reduce the chances of failure; and
- ensuring adequate measures or redress exist when failures occur.
Since the announcement the Committee Chair Lianne Dalziel has emphasised that the Committee cannot resolve matters that are still subject to inquiries by the Commerce Commission, the Securities Commission, the National Enforcement Unit, the Serious Fraud Office and the police. She has said that the Committee wants to hear what attracted people to particular investments, what their influences were, what they understood about the investment and what advice they received.
The full terms of reference can be found here.
Select Committee Reports on Phase II RMA Reforms
The Local Government and Environment Committee has reported back the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill. The Committee's key recommendations include the following:
- Retaining provisions that limit the involvement of trade competitors in planning processes, and that can impose potential penalties on them.
- Retaining the original Bill's changes to the notification provisions to a presumption of non-notification, unless effects are more than minor.
- Reinstating the ability to appeal plans, plan changes and policy statements on the merits, rather than being limited to points of law.
Click here to view a fuller summary of the Committee's report in Russell McVeagh's RMA Reform Report.
Health Ministerial Review Group Reports Back
The Health Ministerial Review Group's report entitled "Meeting the Challenge" has been released. The Group was established to address how the quality and performance of the public health system could be improved. The Group's recommendations are focussed around changes to culture and processes, and changes to structure and aimed at reducing waste and bureaucracy, improving safety and quality and enhancing clinical and financial viability. Implementing the recommendations would see the size and functions of the Ministry of Health reduced and the back office functions of DHBs consolidated, so that more funding can be shifted to front-line services. Minister of Health Tony Ryall has said that any savings would be re-invested in health with the total health budget remaining unchanged. Cabinet will consider the report over the next few months.
The report can be found here.
Multi-party Banking Inquiry Underway
The Opposition parties' banking inquiry will go ahead with the support of staff and experts funded from within the existing parliamentary resources of the Labour, Green and the Progressive parties. David Preston (an independent consultant) has been appointed to advise the group, and
Professor John Quiggin (University of Queensland) and Professor Tim Hazledine (Auckland University) have been appointed to peer review the inquiry's work. Earlier this month the Speaker re-considered his initial decision and granted the inquiry permission to use meeting rooms in the Beehive, which are said to be "on neutral parliamentary territory".
Public submissions close on 31 August, with public hearings scheduled for the following week. Submissions can be made here.
2020 Emissions Target Update
Following on from the Government's announcement of a 2020 emission target of a 10-20% reduction on 1990 levels, the Cabinet briefing from the Office of the Minister of Climate Change on the decision has been released. The briefing recommended a target of between 12-20% to balance New Zealand's climate change responsibilities with the impact on its international competitiveness in the export market, and domestic economy. Far from being a leader in emissions reduction, the report recommended that New Zealand should be able to protect its economic interests where a more ambitious international target was not agreed.
The major issue for the National Government is the effect on New Zealand's "clean, green image" in the international community. Within a week of the Bonn Conference concluding, this issue had already emerged. A media release from the head of the UN Climate Change Panel slamming New Zealand's target as un-ambitious indicates the difficult balance between New Zealand's domestic and international obligations.
With international negotiations on climate change not beginning until December at the Copenhagen summit, the Government has more time to finalise New Zealand's emissions target.
Productivity Taskforce Appointed
The 2025 Taskforce has been established by Minister of Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide to investigate the reasons for New Zealand's decline in productivity and recommend ways to improve productivity and close the income gap with Australia. The taskforce is a result of the confidence and supply agreement between National and ACT. The taskforce is due to present an initial report in November and then ongoing progress reports. The members are:
- Dr Don Brash (Chair);
- Hon David Caygill;
- Jeremy Moon (Icebreaker);
- Judith Sloan (Australian Productivity Commission); and
- Dr Bryce Wilkinson (Capital Economics).
This is a separate taskforce to the Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce, which is also a result of the confidence and supply agreement between National and ACT. That Taskforce provides advice on the Regulatory Responsibility Bill and is expected to release a report in September.
Who |
What |
By when… (2009) |
Department of Conservation |
Te Araroa Oriwa Ridge Proposal |
18 September |
Ministry of Economic Development |
Improving Electricity Market Performance |
16 September |
Ministry of Economic Development (and Ministry of Culture and
Heritage) |
Digital Futures: Planning for Digital Television and New Uses |
30 September |
Electricity Commission |
Payment in Same Day Cleared Funds |
7 September |
New Zealand Food Safety Authority |
Codex Strategy |
18 September |
Meat at Stalls Draft Food Safety Programme |
28 September |
Ministry of Health |
GP2GP Patient Records Transfer |
4 September |
Rural Hospital Medicine Training |
7 September |
Inland Revenue Department |
“Cost price” of motor vehicles |
25 September |
Extension of time applications from taxpayers without tax agents |
25 September |
Department of Labour |
Breastfeeding Code of Practice |
7 September |
Multi-party Banking Inquiry |
Multi-party Banking Inquiry |
31 August |
Standards New Zealand |
Interior lighting: safe movement |
1 October |
Pharmacy Services Standard |
7 October |
Takeovers Panel |
Rule 16(b) Class Exemption |
2 October |
Ministry of Transport |
Safer Journeys – a road safety strategy to 2020 |
2 October |
Who |
What |
By when… (2009) |
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
Review of the 2002 SILNA forests policy and implementation package |
25 September |
Biosecurity New Zealand |
Draft import risk analysis: Equine germplasm from Australia, Canada, the European Union and the USA |
4 September |
Draft import risk analysis: White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) from Australia |
4 September |
Draft import risk analysis: Table grapes (vitis vinifera) from China |
7 September |
Commerce Commission |
Information disclosure requirements for the suppliers of regulated electricity lines, gas pipelines and specified airport services (under Part 4 of the Commerce Act) |
4 September |
Guide to regulatory decision making for the telecommunications sector (Telecommunications Act 2001) |
18 September |
Department of Conservation |
Review of Dusky Dolphin management in Kaikoura |
31 August |
Review of Kahurangi National Park Management Plan |
4 September |
Draft aircraft guidelines for the St James Conservation Area |
14 September |
Lichens and freshwater invertebrates |
30 September |
Draft Guidelines for Aircraft Access - Canterbury Conservancy |
Unknown |
Ministry of Economic Development |
Draft social housing strategy |
31 August |
Electricity Commission |
Property rights for load management |
4 September |
Ministry of Fisheries |
North Island west coast Finfish plan |
14 October |
Māori commercial aquaculture settlement |
Not yet set |
New Zealand Food Safety Authority |
Slaughter and Dressing of Pigs |
28 August |
Poultry: Hygiene and Sanitation |
28 August |
Data Protection for Agricultural Compounds |
12 September |
Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds: Food Standards 2009 |
28 September |
Food Standards Australia New Zealand |
Primary production and processing standard for seed sprouts |
26 August |
Inland Revenue Department |
The binding rulings system: legislative issues |
28 August |
Meaning of "building" in the depreciation provisions |
11 September |
Department of Labour |
Code of employment practice on infant feeding |
7 September |
Law Commission |
TalkPrivacy |
11 September |
"Alcohol In Our Lives" Issues Paper |
30 October |
Maritime New Zealand |
Review of maritime qualifications and operational limits |
31 August |
Te Puni Kokiri |
National Māori flag consultation |
28 August |
Standards New Zealand |
Methods of testing child restraints |
28 August |
Overhead line design |
31 August |
Fire sprinkler systems for houses |
1 September |
Safety, protective and occupational footwear |
1 September |
Essential safety requirements for electrical equipment |
7 September |
Specific requirements for electrical safety regulatory applications |
7 September |
General rules for use of the regulatory compliance mark |
7 September |
Specific requirements for electromagnetic compatibility regulatory applications |
7 September |
Specific requirements for radio apparatus regulatory applications |
7 September |
Polyethylene compounds for pressure pipes and fittings |
11 September |
Safety of toys |
15 September |
Business continuity management |
21 September |
New Zealand Transport Agency |
Tolling the Tauranga Eastern Link |
11 September |
