The House: Bills this week
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RNZ / Diego Opatowski
After a week off, MPs are back in the capital for a two-week sitting block, in which a smorgasbord of bills are scheduled to be debated. To make up time, there is another extended sitting on Thursday morning from 9 am (earlier than the normal 2pm start).
Parliament's agenda this week is a hodgepodge of bills at different stages in their legislative journey. Let's start with the new bills.
The first bit of Government business up for the week is the Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Bill, which the House got its first go at debating last week, before the first reading was interrupted with five speeches still remaining.
Regulatory Systems Amendment Bills are omnibus bills, which means they amend a suite of relevant legislation rather than just a single Act.
They are a way for government agencies (in this case, Internal Affairs) to make small technical changes to regulatory systems that those agencies oversee. For Internal Affairs, these include things like gambling; births, deaths and marriages; and censorship of objective material.
The bill has the tentative support of the opposition Labour and Green parties, with Te Pāti Māori yet to speak on the bill.
The Antisocial Road Use Legislation Amendment Bill aims to discourage road users from participating in, as the name of the bill suggests, 'antisocial' conduct while operating a vehicle. This could include intimidating convoys, boy-racer meet-ups, fleeing from police, or dirt-bike gatherings, which are apparently becoming more common. Tuesday's first reading is the first chance the public gets to hear what MPs have to say about it.
The final first reading of the week is the Constitution Amendment Bill, which is the less contentious bill relating to elections in recent weeks.
This bill follows a recommendation from both the Electoral Commission and the Justice Committee (from their inquiry into the 2023 General Election), to remove the '28 day rule' - the period in which Ministers of the Crown can continue to remain in office even after they cease to be MPs (at the close of polling day). In the unlikely event of a delayed return of the writ (the official election results), this change would allow continuity of Government.
The Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Bill is back in the House after being examined by the Transport and Infrastructure Committee for just shy of three months.
It seeks to simplify the process whereby the Crown, local authorities, and network utility operators acquire land for 'critical' infrastructure projects that fall under either Schedule 2 of the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024, or the list of Roads of National Significance.
During the first reading, Labour cautiously lent its support to the Bill, while the Greens and Te Pāti Māori voted against it, citing concerns about Māori and other land owners potentially having fewer rights to appeal an acquisition.
The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill that intends to improve the collection of revenue from goods crossing our borders.
It would replace the current fee-based regime with a levy payment system. Customs Minister Casey Costello said the change would "provide a more balanced approach that reflects the risks and costs that classes of levy payers create". Being quite an esoteric, technical change, it's relatively uncontroversial.
The second reading debate of the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill will pick up from where it left off, with nine speeches remaining.
The bill addresses gaps in criminal law concerning foreign interference intended to harm New Zealand. Spy novel ideas like treason, and inciting mutiny or espionage-all on behalf of foreign actors-would be introduced as new offences.
Only the Green Party voted against the Bill at its first reading, although Te Pāti Māori were absent for the vote.
The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill is the second of the government's three-phased approach to replacing the Resource Management Act.
This Bill would make changes in the areas of infrastructure and energy, housing growth, farming and the primary sector, natural hazards and emergencies, seeking to streamline consenting and investment.
Wellingtonians in particular may also be interested to hear that it streamlines the listing and delisting of heritage buildings. In fact, the Minister in Charge of the Bill, Chris Bishop, said an amendment paper would be put forward during the committee stage this week that would specifically make the demolition of the Gordon Wilson Flats on The Terrace a permitted activity.
While the RMA was well-intentioned, most MPs agree that over time it became unfit for purpose. Opinion diverges over what to replace it with (this being the second attempt in two Parliaments).
Labour supported this bill to committee, albeit with reservations. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori reckon this isn't the right approach to RMA reform - expect opposition filibustering practitioners to try and drag this one out.
The Local Government (Water Services) Amendment Bill will resume its committee stage this week. The Bill is part of the scrapping of the sixth Labour Government's Three Waters policy, and sets up a new regulatory framework for water services delivery.
All three opposition parties are against the bill, with the House still yet to debate parts 4 and 5.
Interestingly, the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill is collaborative in that it was introduced by the previous government, and continued by the current one. It aims to promote the restoration of the Hauraki Gulf, which has been facing recent ecological decline.
Te Pāti Māori did not support the Bill at its second reading.
The Privacy Amendment Bill reaches the end of its legislative journey on Thursday, with nine speeches to go in its third and final reading. It has unanimous support.
It seeks to improve public transparency regarding the gathering of private information, notably requiring agencies to notify someone when it collects their personal information indirectly.
The Leader of the House's office also intends to get to the third reading of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill this week following Tuesday evening's committee stage, which they hope will be completed before the House adjourns.
RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, its legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
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