Latest news with #urgency
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Space, spies, stalking, and extra sittings
National MP Judith Collins speaking during the initial Privileges Committee debate regarding the Te Pāti Māori protest haka. Photo: VNP/Phil Smith The House took urgency on Tuesday evening which extended Tuesday's sitting until lunchtime Wednesday, then it returned on Thursday morning - that time as an extended sitting. As a result, most select committees are not meeting this week. Some have had to cancel their plans or squeeze some work in at lunchtime. With a few exceptions - and excepting bills that committees are given special permission to consider outside normal rules - Select Committees and the House cannot sit at the same time. Spare a thought for submitters and those who schedule them, who have had their plans upended again by urgency. The opposition did ask the Leader of the House last Thursday whether there would be urgency this week but was told to "wait and see". Last minute reveals of urgency are not unusual. Extended sittings (like Thursday morning) are signposted a week or two in advance, but usually little warning is given for urgency. Tuesday's urgency was aimed at two bills - one relating to space and the other about international crime cooperation. The Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Amendment Bill isn't so much about space as it is about the ground bases for satellites or other extra-terrestrial objects. The Minister for Space, Judith Collins was the bill's sponsor. "This bill introduces a new authorisation regime for ground-based space infrastructure. Until now, these activities have not been subject to a dedicated regulatory framework." The reason for the bill, revealed in the second reading debate, upped the interest. "During the past five years, there have been several deceptive efforts by foreign actors to establish and/or use ground-based space infrastructure in New Zealand to harm our national security. They have deliberately disguised their affiliations to foreign militaries and misrepresented their intentions. To date, these risks have been managed through non-regulatory measures, including relying on the goodwill of ground-based infrastructure operators. These measures are no longer enough." That sounds like the pitch for a thriller just begging to be written. This was a bill that the parties largely agreed on. They even agreed that urgency was reasonable, but opposition speakers complained about the push-push pace of urgency after the Committee Stage, as governing-party MPs worked to abbreviate what Labour's Rachel Brooking called "very civil, thoughtful debates." The pace really started to drag once the Budapest Convention and Related Matters Legislation Amendment Bill was the focus. Its sponsor, Minister of Justice, Paul Goldsmith said the bill "aligns New Zealand's laws with the requirements of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention. The Budapest Convention is the first binding international treaty on cyber-crime, and it aligns members' national laws relating to computer-related offences, improves investigative techniques, and streamlines evidence sharing." Labour supported the bill but played hardball in the Committee Stage, concerned about the possibility of the convention leading to New Zealand accidentally helping countries that don't share our values control their citizens. Duncan Webb put it like this. "We need to be vigilant that we are not being unwittingly used to further either political ends or to allow a foreign state to pursue a proceeding against something that might be a crime in a foreign nation, but it certainly isn't a crime in New Zealand and shouldn't be something for which criminal sanction follows." The opposition made the Committee Stage of the Budapest bill last through most of the rest of Wednesday. The government's original plan was to pass it through all remaining stages, but late on Wednesday evening, they abandoned it after the Committee Stage and moved on to their other priorities. The Budapest Convention Bill was left with just a third reading to complete. Those were not the only interesting bills under discussion this week. Three other bills are of particular interest, relating to Health, Secondary Legislation, and Stalking. Tuesday saw the first reading of the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill which will now be considered by the Health Select Committee. Among its measures, that bill enacts health targets, and also alters or removes Māori consultation and obligations from the health administration. The Minister of Health, Simeon Brown described his bill succinctly. "This bill is about cutting through bureaucracy, restoring accountability, and most importantly, putting patients first." Opposition MPs had numerous gripes including this one from Dr. Tracey McLellan, regarding bringing Health New Zealand under the public service obligation for staff neutrality. "That is a chilling thing to do. Frontline health workers who have a professional obligation, an ethical and a legal obligation to call out things that they see in their professional practice. It is not political, it is professional, and they should not, in any way, shape, or form, have this hanging over them, this concept of-the misuse of-public service neutrality." Also on Tuesday, the Legislation Amendment Bill had a first reading and now heads to the Justice Committee for public feedback. The Legislation Amendment Bill has been in development for a few years, and among its aims are making secondary legislation (e.g. regulations) more easily accessible and more likely to be pruned once obsolete. Secondary legislation includes all of the various kinds of laws that don't come directly from a piece of legislation but from power that legislation delegates to ministers, ministries, agencies, councils etc. There is much more secondary legislation than primary legislation but it isn't as easy to search or access. Primary legislation is all stored on a legislation website managed by the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO); currently secondary legislation is not. In debate, Labour's Camilla Belich observed that, "the main big change will be the single point of access that it will allow to secondary legislation. The point of the work that we do is to try and make sure that when either primary legislation or secondary legislation has an impact on people's lives, they have access to that. It shouldn't be something which is hidden away and it shouldn't be something which is difficult to find." Don't confuse the Legislation Amendment Bill with ACT's Regulatory Standards Bill which is also going through parliament and which appears to be trying to do something rather different. The Regulatory Standards Bill has influenced the shape of the Legislation Amendment Bill though, which Opposition MPs were unhappy with in debate, despite supporting the wider effort. The Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill had its second reading late on Wednesday. It creates a new offence specific to stalking and harassment and the myriad forms that these can take. It includes indirect harassment like undermining reputation, opportunities or relationships. The bill itself is a fascinating read as an example of how much cleverness is required to effectively draft law for crime that is, by definition, quite nebulous. Policy staff at Justice and legal drafters at PCO may have taken to heart the idiom 'to catch a criminal, you have to think like one'. National minister Erica Stanford outlined changes made to the bill as a result of public feedback to the Select Committee. "To be convicted of the new offence, the prosecution will need to prove the person engaged in a pattern of behaviour towards their victim. The committee recommended a broader definition for the pattern of behaviour. The offence will now require two specified acts within two years, rather than three specified acts within one year. This broadens the pattern of behaviour by capturing fewer acts across a longer time frame. I agree that this change will better address strategies such as anniversary-based stalking..." "A further recommendation made by the committee was to add doxing to the list of "specified act". Doxing is the publication of personal information such as addresses or contact details, including whether a stalker claims to be their victim. It encourages third parties to contact, threaten, and intimidate the victim…" "The committee also added two further important amendments to the bill. Firstly, to allow the courts to order the destruction of intimate visual to allow a court to make restraining [orders], firearm prohibition [orders], and Harmful Digital Communications Act orders, where a defendant is discharged without convictions." There are other bills of note on the Order Paper that the government would have hoped to progress, but progress this week has been slow. Opposition MPs have taken their time working through bills in the committee of the whole House, whether they support them or not. This will likely annoy the government, but thoroughly testing bills is the job of all MPs in the House. That sluggish pace meant the second reading of the Parliament Bill also slipped down the Order Paper (along with the third reading of the Budapest Convention Bill). One bill the House may reach is worth noting. The Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill would be a second espionage-related bill for the week. This one hopes to plug gaps in the law around things like treason, espionage and even incitement to mutiny. *RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Enjoy our articles or podcast at RNZ. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
This Week in Mets: New York should care about every upgrade at trade deadline
'How we see the world matters — but knowing how the world sees us also matters.' — 'The Mountain in the Sea,' Ray Nayler After a frustrating loss Saturday, Brandon Nimmo was asked about whether the New York Mets' 'sense of urgency' had been heightened over the last month. Nimmo provided the usual answer to that question — that there is always a sense of urgency — before adding some crucial evidence. Advertisement 'The guys that have been here and the guys that were here last year know we made the playoffs by one game,' Nimmo said. 'So one game can decide whether we get into the playoffs or we don't. It doesn't mean we're not going to lose. But every day there is urgency to try to win.' Indeed, in the wild-card era, no franchise knows the importance of one single game quite like the Mets. Six times in the last 27 seasons, whether the Mets qualified for the postseason came down to just one game (1998, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2024). In two other seasons (2000 and 2022), the Mets missed out on winning the division by one game. So in 30 percent of their seasons over more than a quarter century, one out of 162 has meant a whole hell of a lot to the Mets. And that's something that should weigh on David Stearns' mind between now and July 31. It can be disarming and maybe even a little disconcerting to see the projected WAR through the end of the season on our most recent Trade Deadline Big Board. No player was projected to be worth as many as two wins the rest of the way. The best player you can get at this deadline is likely to make a difference of only a game or two. And yet, that game or two might mean a lot, especially in the National League, where the stratified playoff system leads to a cascading series of races. First, there's the most important one: merely qualifying for the postseason. The Mets are in a good position, though not nearly as sturdy as it appeared a month ago. Sunday's win pushed New York four games clear of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, who sit tied for seventh in the NL. The Mets' playoff odds are 84.3 percent — very good but not guaranteed. (The 2021 San Diego Padres were at 93.2 percent on this date; they did not play in October.) Second, there's the race for the division, where the Mets sit a half game behind the Philadelphia Phillies. Their odds for winning the division are 43.6 percent. Though winning the National League East has not led to postseason success yet under the new format, it still remains the preferred path. (Yes, NL division winners are 1-8 in their opening series in the three years of the revised format, with last year's Los Angeles Dodgers the lone exception. However, AL division winners are 7-2 in their opening series, so the NL's issues appear fluky.) Advertisement Back in the spring, Stearns emphasized the importance of winning the division and getting a first-round bye. 'I think the first-round bye is a big deal,' he said. 'I know it hasn't always proven that way in this new playoff format. I think over time, we get into a 10-, 15-year stretch of this, and we will see that being a big deal.' And that gets to the next important postseason race in the NL: for a first-round bye. In the three seasons of the revised format, the Dodgers have been the No. 1 seed, the East winner No. 2 and the Central winner No. 3, relegated to a Wild Card Series. Well, right now, the Central hosts the top two teams in the NL in the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers. Even if the Mets win the division, the bye is far from guaranteed. And playing in the Wild Card Series could be critically taxing to a pitching staff such as New York's. (The Mets have just an 18.4 percent chance of earning a bye right now.) Finally, there's the race for home-field advantage. Teams don't always go all out for the No. 1 seed (in part because the weakness of the NL Central has often made the Division Series opponent for the NL's No. 1 seed tougher on paper). But the Mets should want home-field advantage as much as ever: They play significantly better at home than on the road. They've played exactly 50 games at home and on the road this season, and they're 12 games better at Citi Field. Put another way, New York plays at a 110-win pace in Queens and a 71-win pace everywhere else. And getting the No. 1 seed would mean not having to beat both other division winners in the NL postseason, which would appear a stouter task in 2025 than in any of the last three years. Every day, there is urgency to win, and every day there should be urgency to get better — even for just one game. Advertisement The Mets avoided a sweep by Cincinnati with a win in their last at-bat Sunday. New York is 56-44 and a half game behind the Phillies for first place in the National League East. The Los Angeles Angels took two of three in Philadelphia to remain on the periphery of the American League wild-card race. They're 49-50 and four games back of the final playoff spot. The Giants were swept in Toronto and have lost five straight. San Francisco has dropped to 52-48, six games out in the National League West and 2 1/2 behind the final playoff spot. vs. Los Angeles (AL) RHP Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.39 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.34 ERA) RHP Frankie Montas (2-1, 5.03) vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.88) LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 2.45) vs. RHP Carson Fulmer (0-0, 7.11) at San Francisco RHP Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48) vs. RHP Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08) LHP David Peterson (6-4, 2.90) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (9-4, 2.92) RHP Kodai Senga vs. RHP Hayden Birdsong (4-3, 4.11) Red = 60-day IL Orange = 15-day IL Blue = 10-day IL • Though Pete Alonso didn't start Sunday's game because of a right hand contusion, he did enter in the seventh inning to continue his consecutive games streak. Alonso is expected to start Monday. • Starling Marte won't be back as quickly as initially hoped. He's taken batting practice, though, and should return by the end of July. • Jesse Winker will be shut down about another week before he starts baseball activities, likely pushing a return into August. • José Butto is on a minor-league rehab assignment and should return to the bullpen this week. • Dedniel Núñez did have Tommy John surgery and is out this season and likely all of next. • Max Kranick will go under the knife this month for elbow surgery. It will be either flexor repair surgery or Tommy John surgery. Either knocks him out for this season, but Tommy John surgery will keep him out all of next year as well. Advertisement Triple A: Syracuse vs. Omaha (Kansas City) Double A: Binghamton at Reading (Philadelphia) High A: Brooklyn at Greensboro (Pittsburgh) Single A: St. Lucie vs. Daytona (Cincinnati) • Francisco Alvarez will be back Monday • Can the Mets fix their bullpen at the trade deadline? • Storylines to watch early in the second half, focused on the deadline • Why did it take Francisco Lindor so long to make the All-Star Game with the Mets? • On David Wright's 'unbreakable bond' with Mets fans • David Wright's five best moments with the Mets • Keith Law's draft report card for the NL East Ray Nayler's science-fiction novel about contact with a hyperintelligent species of octopus didn't quite do it for me, although not for the reasons I expected. I sometimes dismiss sci-fi works because they focus too much on action rather than on world-building or developing a consistent thesis. 'The Mountain in the Sea' is excellent at building a world and hammering a thesis on consciousness. And as I was getting to the end of it, I found myself thinking, 'You know, could have used just a little more action.' David Wright is the Mets' franchise leader in sacrifice flies with 65 in his career. However, the single-season major-league record for sac flies (19) is held by a different person with their jersey retired in Queens. Who is it? (I'll reply to the correct answer in the comments.)
Entrepreneur
09-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Your Time Is a Weapon. Use It or Waste It.
The difference between being busy and being lethal is knowing what's worth your minutes and being bold enough to protect them. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Humans haven't figured out how to create more time. The people who win? They protect it like their life depends on it. Because it does. Time is your sharpest weapon. You either use it to cut through the noise, or you let it dull itself with distractions. If you're not lethal with your time, you'll lose it. Simple as that. Related: Time Is Money — Here's How to Leverage It to Add Value to a Product I talk about urgency a lot I talk about urgency all the time. Not just in business. In life. Urgency isn't panic. Urgency is respect. It's knowing time is limited and treating it like gold. When you move with urgency, you cut the fluff. You get to the point. You stop dragging things out that don't need to be dragged. The fastest way to kill momentum? Move slow. The fastest way to build momentum? Move now. People always say life is short. I don't believe that. I believe life is long. The question is not how fast you can fill your calendar. The question is how well you can fill your life. I love to work. But I had to learn the hard way. I love to work, but over the years, I've learned there's a difference between being busy and being lethal. That's a hard pill to swallow. People love to seem busy. That's not bad. It's human. But the faster you can learn what's not worth your time (and actually be okay with that decision), the more unstoppable you become. Busy people are usually just disorganized people in disguise. You can be busy doing the wrong things for years and still end up nowhere. Being busy is easy. Being intentional is hard. Busy fills your calendar. Intention fills your life. Busy says yes to everything. Intention says yes to what matters. Busy burns you out. Intention builds you up. I had to learn that busyness is a trap. It's loud. It's addictive. It makes you feel like you're winning when you're actually just treading water. Being intentional is uncomfortable because it forces you to choose. Busy people say they don't have time. Intentional people know exactly where their time is going. Related: 10 Simple Ways to Escape Busyness and Enjoy Free Time Fatherhood changed everything When I became a dad, my life got a whole new point. It wasn't about the next company. It wasn't about the next deal. It wasn't about stacking more to-dos. It was about family. It was about being present. Being a dad made me lethal with my time. When you realize your kid's only going to be that age once, you get real clear on what matters. I don't waste minutes anymore. I don't have minutes to waste. Faith brought it all into focus As a Christian, I know I don't control my timeline at the end of the day. God's in charge of that. Not me. But I do get to choose where that time goes. I don't want to waste it. I don't want to miss what matters. I had to learn to sharpen my time like a blade. Ruthless. Precise. Non-negotiable. You don't need more hours. You need sharper decisions. Your time sets the tone When I was building my companies early in my real estate career, I used to take every call. Every meeting. Every coffee. I thought being available made me valuable. It didn't. It made me exhausted. People respect your time when you respect your time. And theirs. Your calendar is your property. Treat it like that. If you're loose with your time, you'll attract people who are loose with your time. If you're lethal with your time, you'll attract people who value time. You set the tone. You build the boundary. You decide what's worth it. Related: The Most Successful Founders Take Retreats — Here's Why You Should, Too The power of no You can't master your time if you're afraid to say no. You're not being mean. You're being honest. Here's a rule: If it's not a "heck yes," it's a no. You don't need to apologize for it. You don't need to explain it. I've missed out on things I didn't need to be at. I've skipped calls that didn't move the needle. I've walked away from opportunities that weren't aligned. Saying no is how you say yes to what matters. Related: Why Rejection is the Best Thing for Every Entrepreneur to Hear Time doesn't wait Time is not waiting for you to get organized. It's not waiting for you to feel ready. Guess what? Perfect never shows up. You have to move now. You have to decide now. Time is your most unforgiving currency. You can spend it, but you can't earn it back. When you start treating your minutes like money, you get very clear. Very fast. On what's worth it and what's not. Be a time assassin Do you want to win? You have to become a time assassin. Cut the fluff. Cut the overthinking. Cut the dead meetings. Optimize the pointless tasks. Move fast. Decide fast. Focus fast. When I got lethal with my time, I made more room for what actually mattered. More room for building. More room for thinking. More room for living. And the best part? I made more room for them. My family. My why. You don't need to fill your calendar to feel valuable. You need to own your calendar to build value. Your time is either building your future or it's bleeding into someone else's. Be lethal with it. Every minute counts. Especially the ones you spend at home.
New York Times
03-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
Pochettino likens Pulisic to USA's Messi, addresses stars passing on Gold Cup
U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino said this week he hopes to instill in his team the type of urgency and desire to play for the national team that exists in other countries. Speaking on the Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard podcast, Pochettino cited some of the biggest names he has coached — Argentine legend Lionel Messi, French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian star Neymar — as examples of top players who remain 'desperate' to play for their respective national teams. Advertisement 'The people need to prioritize the national team,' Pochettino said. 'We were talking about Argentine players, or Brazilian players or English players or Spanish players, they are desperate. Even Messi, even Neymar, even Mbappé for France, these guys are desperate to go to the national team. For them, when they go, they don't see if it's a friendly game, if it's an official game, it's a World Cup, it doesn't matter, because the possibility to defend one time more your flag, your shirt. It's about to feel proud. And that is the responsibility to us to translate.' The comments are striking after Christian Pulisic made the decision, in conjunction with U.S. Soccer, to skip this summer's Gold Cup. Citing his heavy workload with AC Milan and the U.S. — Pulisic is one of just 10 outfield players in the top five European leagues to appear in 50 games in each of the past two seasons — Pulisic felt he needed the rest in order to be healthy for next summer's World Cup. Donovan compared Pulisic to Messi in that he has the most eyeballs on him of any American player and asked how the staff could handle competing in the tournament this summer without Pulisic. Pochettino praised his team's top player and said he does not question Pulisic's commitment to the group or the country. 'I think Christian in the last year showed a great quality,' Pochettino said. 'He's performing in Europe, also he's performing with the national team. He's a very talented player that can help us to win. You say people compare Messi with Christian Pulisic. I don't want to be disrespectful with Messi or Pulisic, but I think in this country, Pulisic should be our Messi, because he's an iconic player, the kids on the street for sure if you ask one soccer player in this country, it's Pulisic. 'We have very good communication with our players. Christian is a very nice guy, is very committed to the national team and he wants to help and of course is desperate to play in the World Cup and arrive in the best condition. All these conversations that we were taking with the players, I think that was the best decision to help him because every player are in different circumstances, and even if I want Christian here or another player here – Antonee (Robinson, injured Fulham left back) or like this – I think no one or another teammate is going to see badly about if I'm saying that, because I think … sometimes you need to put the interest in the medium and long term than in the present. Advertisement 'Because for me after the March camp, if I say, 'OK I don't care about [anything], I want to win tomorrow,' [there] is [a] consequence after, because I think we are all preparing and focused on the World Cup. And sometimes we need to be open and flexible in some decisions. When we talk about these types of decisions for us, it was a tough decision … It was our decision in the end, because if you say you need to come — you cannot force the player to come — but I think I need to be fair and say it was a collective decision to try to find the best for the national team and the best for the player.' 'We are building something and always when you are building something, always there are up and downs in this period. It's true that we are a little bit disappointed. We were really excited after January. not because of the two (games) … but how the players, how the team showed the responsibility that we wanted to translate. Then with all the circumstances in March, it didn't help us to show that.' The Gold Cup was meant to be an important team-building month for the U.S. under Pochettino, his first extended camp with the U.S. since taking over after last summer's Copa América failure. Now it takes on new meaning as Pochettino evaluates his wider national team pool. That being said, Pochettino insisted the goal was still to win. Ultimately, even without Pulisic and other starters — Robinson, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna are also missing the tournament via injury or FIFA Club World Cup duty — the tournament serves as a step toward next summer's World Cup. That is true for MLS players trying to break into the squad, but also for others, including World Cup starter Matt Turner. Pochettino said on the podcast he told Turner that the goalkeeper had to start finding minutes in order to be ready for the World Cup. Advertisement 'We are very open,' Pochettino said. 'We don't have fears to talk with the player. Sometimes it's painful because you need to tell some players: 'Look, you need to play.' At the moment OK, so far it's good, because we are checking your character, your personality, your capacity to be a leader, the leadership that you have, but at some point to be a leader you need to compete.' Pochettino also praised players like Diego Luna, who have started to show they bring value to the squad simply with their mentality and approach. Pochettino noted that Luna didn't want to come out of the game after being elbowed in the nose during a January-camp friendly, then bloodied and taped up, assisted on a goal. Asked about who the leaders are on the team, Pochettino alluded to giving everyone a chance to prove their role — whether as a squad player, a starter or a leader. 'When we arrived in October I think the picture changed in the national team. In the way that we like to translate the message and the way that we are open to give the opportunity to all the players to step up and show the character,' Pochettino said. 'Because we don't want to assume that because four years ago someone was captain now should be the captain, because the circumstance changed. I think we are very open and giving the opportunity to the group and the players that are involved to say, 'Come on, show me.' For me, it's a natural process. Sometimes some players can surprise you and can step up. 'The most important thing is to see in a spontaneous way who will step up when things are wrong, when the stress is there, when the pressure is there, who is going to say 'Hey, I am here.'' There is, of course, an enormous amount of pressure on the team to perform in next summer's tournament. The U.S. advance to the knockout round in the 2022 World Cup with one of the youngest squads in the world. The belief that the payoff would come in 2026. Struggles in last summer's Copa América, where the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage, and in this spring's Concacaf Nations League, where it lost to Panama and Canada, have upped the stakes. 'I feel the responsibility. We all feel the responsibility,' Pochettino said. 'Knowing that it's soccer or football, it's about the joy, it's about not to put too much pressure on the players, because the players need to perform. … But yes of course it's a massive pressure. The mentality and the culture of this country is to win. Advertisement 'The size of this country puts you in a position that you need to deliver. You need to show that you are brave, that you are a winner, but not talking like I am now. It's easy to talk. The most important is go and to show. Show on the pitch when you need to defend your flag there, fighting and being a team, that is a moment to say, 'Yes we have quality, I am a good player, but now it's about to defend your country.''
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
What did the House get up to during Budget urgency?
A number of bills were debated in urgency over the weekend. Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox Parliament sat for two extra days last week for an especially long and jam-packed edition of Budget urgency. It's pretty much routine for governments to adjourn the Budget debate and move to urgency once all the parties have given at least one speech. The purpose of Budget urgency is to progress legislation directly related to the Budget, but unrelated bills usually get thrown into the mix as well. On Thursday afternoon the House heard from Finance Minister Nicola Willis, Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick, Act leader David Seymour, New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones, and Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris. After that, Leader of the House Chris Bishop adjourned the Budget debate with just under six hours remaining and asked the House to accord urgency, so that 12 bills could progress through 30 stages of debate. By the time urgency was lifted and MPs finally got to go home at midnight on Saturday evening, there had been nine first readings, five second readings, two completed committee stages, and two third readings. For more on why the government's urgency plan was so unsuccessful read The House's story Government urgency plans slow to a crawl . Exactly which bills did MPs spend most of their weekend debating? David Seymour's contentious Regulatory Standards Bill is one of the government's flagship 'cutting red tape' bills. Seymour and his party have long been proponents of reforming New Zealand's regulatory system in the name of lifting productivity and reducing regulatory burden. Specifically, this bill would create principles of responsible regulation that future lawmakers would have to adhere to, as well as a Regulatory Standards Board, which would be in charge of examining current and future legislation against those principles. During the bill's first reading on Friday afternoon, Seymour told the House: "If you want to tax someone, take their property, and restrict their livelihood, you can, but you'll actually have to show why it's in the public interest. The bill demands you show your working." Labour's Duncan Webb called the bill "a cherry-picked right wing neoliberal agenda" that, ironically, lacked a regulatory impact statement. The Regulatory Standards Bill was referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee and is open for public submissions until 23 June. You may have heard the Building and Construction (Small Stand-alone Dwellings) Amendment Bill being referred to as the Granny Flat Bill. The proposed legislation is another deregulation-oriented bill. If passed, Chris Penk's bill would allow stand-alone dwellings (up to 70m2) to be built without requiring building consents, as long as they adhere to certain requirements. The bill is now with the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and is also open for public submissions until 23 June. The Public Finance Amendment Bill is, while not explicitly a budget bill, it is certainly budget-adjacent. Broadly speaking, it aims to promote increased transparency of government in its management of public finances, and also seeks to improve the practical functionality of the Public Finance Act. It was referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee after its first reading late on Saturday night and is open for submissions until 7 July. The last bill to be sent to select committee during budget urgency was the Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill. The bill's purpose is to increase the efficiency of the courts and by extension the police and corrections systems. Being an omnibus bill, it does this by amending several justice-related laws and making technical changes to the running of court proceedings. All parties except Te Pāti Māori supported the bill at first reading before it was sent to the Justice Committee, which will report back to the House by 23 September. The Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill (No 2) was agreed by the House and, pending Royal Assent, gives legal effect to budget announcements. Specifically, it changes KiwiSaver (increasing employer and employee contribution rates but reducing government contribution from 50 to 25 cents per dollar earned, capped at $260.72), increases the Working for Families abatement threshold, and brings in income testing for the initial year of the Best Start scheme. The other bill that is all but law is Louise Upstons' Social Assistance Legislation (Accommodation Supplement and Income-related Rent) Amendment Bill. The bill aims to ensure households are treated more equitably when calculating housing subsidies, and perhaps more notably, it seeks to mitigate the double subsidisation of housing subsidies, which in the context of accommodation, is a term for when a boarder and the person receiving board payments are both claiming accommodation subsidies for the same accommodation costs. When the House adjourned at midnight on Saturday evening, MPs were halfway through the debate on the first reading of the Legal Services (Distribution of Special Fund) Amendment Bill, which they will likely resume when they come back for the next sitting block, which commences on 3 June. *RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
