Select committee business From 28 February to 7 March 2003 Committee meetings

There were 17 committee meetings, all in the parliamentary complex.

Reports presented (available at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/CommitteeReport)

Commerce Rotorua District (Easter Sunday Shop Trading) Bill (9-1) 2001/02 financial review of Mighty River Power Limited

Finance and Expenditure Budget Policy Statement 2003 (I.3A)

Government Administration Inquiry into the operation of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 and related issues (I.5A)

Health 2001/02 financial review of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board Visit to Australia 1to 5 December 2002 (I.6B)

Law and Order 2001/02 financial review of the Department for Courts 2001/02 financial review of the Department of Corrections 2001/02 financial review of the New Zealand Police 2001/02 financial review of the Serious Fraud Office

Local Government and Environment 2001/02 financial review of the Department of Conservation 2001/02 financial review of the Ministry for the Environment 2001/02 financial review of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

Maori Affairs Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) (205-2)
Bills referred to select committees

The Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill was referred to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee.

The Status of Redundancy Payments Bill was referred to the Commerce Committee.

Changes in committee membership

Rodney Hide replaced Hon Richard Prebble on the Commerce Committee.

Committee notes (for further information on an item, please contact the committee staff noted in italics)

Commerce (Michelle Malyon, SC-Commerce@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on Thursday, 6 March when it considered the 2001/02 financial review of Mighty River Power, which has now been reported. The committee also considered the petition of John Dickson and the Anglican (Diocese of Christchurch) Church Property Trust Bill. It also had a briefing from officials on New Zealand on Air, which was open to the public.

The committee next meets on Thursday, 20 March to hear evidence on the financial review of Radio New Zealand Limited, which will be held in public, and further its consideration of the financial reviews of Television New Zealand and the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited.

Education and Science (Angela Van Dam, SC-ES@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on Wednesday, 5 March and heard evidence on the 2001/02 financial review of the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited. The committee considered the 2001/02 financial reviews of Early Childhood Development and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. It also heard evidence on the inquiry into teacher education from:

New Zealand School Trustees Association New Zealand Educational Institute New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women New Zealand Childcare Association

The committee will not meet next week.

Finance and Expenditure (Peter Hurndell, SC-FE@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met this week to consider the Income Tax Bill and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill. The committee is not scheduled to meet next week.

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (David Sanders, SC-FD@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met this week to hear evidence on a petition from Damien and George Nepata, who are seeking compensation from injuries received while serving in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). The NZDF also made a submission. The committee began consideration of the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Bill.

Government Administration (Lesley Ferguson, SC-GA@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met this week to consider its inquiry into the weathertightness of buildings and the 2001/02 financial review of the Building Industry Authority. The committee is to continue consideration of these items when it next meets on Thursday, 20 March.

On Wednesday, 5 March the committee presented its report on its inquiry into the operation of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 and related issues. The inquiry examined certain legal challenges to the operation of the Act by recent Court of Appeal decisions. In particular, the committee noted that the effect of the Court of Appeal’s Living Word decision has been to cut back the powers of the government censors to the point where it had become unclear whether the censorship net could reach matters of nudity, offensive language, invasion of privacy (covert filming), mental illness, sexual orientation, the sexual transmission of HIV or hate speech. This is regardless of whether such publications may cause harm; that is, be injurious to the public good.

In addition, the Court of Appeal held in its Living Word decision that the application of section 3(1) of the Act, which defines an objectionable publication, was restricted to those publications that only dealt with the activity of a sexual, violent, or criminal nature, rather than to those publications that conveyed an attitude or opinion. The committee found it disturbing that the effect of that decision had been that the censors could not touch, inter alia, computer image files and photographs of naked children.

Another key part of the inquiry was the findings on how best to control the amount of objectionable material, particularly child pornography, now available via the Internet. The committee concluded that the only effective way to police objectionable material from outside New Zealand is to place obligations on Internet service providers that operate in New Zealand. The committee has recommended to the Government that, in partnership with service providers, it develop a voluntary code of practice for these providers.

In addition to its recommendation for a code of practice, the committee has recommended that responsibility for the education of Internet users, particularly parents, caregivers, children, schools and libraries, on what is considered to be the ‘safe’ use of the Internet, be a government function.

The committee also supported the search and seizure powers of the Department of Internal Affairs inspectors of publications to make search warrants available for the investigation of possession (of objectionable material) offences. The committee expressed its support for more severe penalties for the possession and supply of objectionable material, particularly child pornography.

Health (Catherine Parkin, SC-Health@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on Monday and Wednesday this week. On Monday it continued to hear evidence on the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill. On Wednesday it concluded hearing evidence on this bill, as well as continuing consideration of the Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Bill and Supplementary Order Paper 148. The date by which the committee must report this bill has been extended to 4 April 2003.

On Thursday the committee presented its reports on the 2001/02 financial review of the Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board, and the committee’s visit to Australia from 1 to 5 December 2002.

Next week on Wednesday the committee will continue consideration of the Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Bill and Supplementary Order Paper 148, and the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill. It will also have a briefing on the proposed reclassification of methamphetamine. This will be from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm, in Room G.002 Parliament House, and will be open to the public.

The committee is inviting submissions on the Health Screening Programmes (Amendment) Bill, which will close on Friday, 11 April. For more information on this bill and on how to make a submission, please refer to www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Programme/Committees/Submissions/hehspb.htm.

Justice and Electoral (Louise Sparrer, SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz)

This week the committee continued considering the Retirement Villages Bill. It will continue consideration of this bill next week, along with the Clean Slate Bill and the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill.

Law and Order (Tracey Rayner, SC-LO@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on Wednesday, 5 March to further consider the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill and hear an oral supplementary submission on the bill from the Police Association, which was represented by Mr Greg O’Connor, President, and Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Arnerich.

The committee will not meet next week while the House is adjourned. Its next meeting will be on Wednesday, 19 March from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm. On that day the committee will further consider the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill, hearing a late oral submission from the Sensible Sentencing Trust from 9.00 am to 9.45 am. Representatives from the trust have yet to be confirmed. It will also conduct a hearing of evidence (by teleconference) on the petition of Jenny Marshall and 261 others, which requests that ‘young people be held accountable for damage caused by graffiti’. The hearing of evidence is from the petitioners.

Local Government and Environment (Marie Alexander, SC-LGE@parliament.govt.nz)

Last week the committee presented its reports on the 2001/02 financial reviews of the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for the Environment and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. These reports can be found on the website. On 13 March the committee will meet from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm, and will hear submissions on the Marine Reserves Bill from 12.00 noon onwards. The meeting will be in Room G.002, Parliament House and will be open to the public from 12.00 noon to 12.30 pm and 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm.

Maori Affairs (Miles Reay, SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on Thursday, March 6 to consider the Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust Empowering Bill, and to hear evidence on the inquiry into the Crown Forestry Rental Trust. The committee will next meet on Thursday, 20 March to further consider the Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust Empowering Bill.

Primary Production (Bob Bunch, SC-PP@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met once this week on Thursday, 6 March. It considered the Wine Bill and its inquiry into the administration and management of the scampi fishery.

The committee will not meet next week, but the following week will meet from Monday, 17 March to Thursday, 20 March on the inquiry into the administration and management of the scampi fishery.

Social Services (Graham Hill, SC-SS@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on 6 March to be briefed by the Ministry of Social Development on the New Zealand Living Standards 2000 Report, to consider further the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and to hear evidence from John Robert Tonson on his three petitions about the rights of children and the actions of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Service in proceedings before the Family Court. The committee will not meet next week while the House is adjourned.

Transport and Industrial Relations (Kath Henderson, SC-TI@parliament.govt.nz)

This week the committee began hearing submissions on the Land Transport Management Bill and Road Traffic Reduction Bill. The committee will meet in Auckland on Thursday, 13 March at the Copthorne Hotel, 196 Quay Street Auckland, from 9.30 am to 1.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 7.20 pm, to hear further submissions on the bills. The meeting will be open to the public during the hearing of submissions.

Closing dates for submissions Committees are receiving submissions on the following items with the closing date shown:

Commerce Consumer Credit Bill (3 April 2003) Status of Redundancy Payments Bill (17 April 2003)

Finance and Expenditure Income Tax Bill (24 April 2003)

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into New Zealand’s political, diplomatic, trade and cultural relationship with Latin American countries (21 March 2003) Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill (21 March 2003) Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill (21 March 2003)

Health Health (Screening Programmes) Amendment Bill (11 April 2003)

Justice and Electoral Inquiry into the 2002 General Election (17 March 2003) Supreme Court Bill (28 March 2003)

Law and Order Independent Police Complaints Authority Amendment Bill (9 April 2003) Telecommunications (Interceptions Capability) Bill (9 April 2003)

Local Government and Environment Wellington City Empowering and Amendment Bill (31 March 2003)

Transport and Industrial Relations Holidays Bill (30 May 2003) Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill (6 June 2003)

General

You can find further information about select committees on our website at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz. If you require additional information or have any feedback on the contents, please contact:

Carol Rankin Senior Parliamentary Officer ph: 471 9534, fax: 499 0486, or at carol.rankin@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 7 March 2003

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