Select Committee Business
From 2 March to 9 March 2001
Committee meetings
There were 10 meetings this week, six of which were outside Wellington. As the House is adjourned, it is easier for committees to get away for hearings in other centres.

Reports presented (1)
Regulations Review
„h Complaint relating to the Meat (Residues) Regulations 1996 (I. 16C)

Bills referred to select committees
No bills were referred to committees this week.

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

Commerce (Alan Witcombe, SC-Commerce@parliament.govt.nz)
Next week the committee will hear evidence on the Electricity Industry Bill on Tuesday, 13 March. On Thursday, 15 March, it will hear evidence on the 1999/2000 financial reviews of Solid Energy, Radio New Zealand and New Zealand on Air.

Education and Science (Louise Gardiner, SC-ES@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee did not meet this week. Next week it will be conducting the financial reviews of the Specialist Education Services and the New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research Limited. These hearings will be open to the public, and will be conducted in room G.011, Parliament House, from 10 am to 11 am and 11 am to 12 noon respectively.

Finance and Expenditure (Tim Cooper, SC-FE@parliament.govt.nz)
This week the committee gave further consideration to the 2001 Budget Policy Statement. The deadline for the committee's report on this statement is Tuesday, 13 March. The committee heard evidence again on the financial review of the Public Trust Office. It also received a further briefing on the New Zealand Superannuation Bill.

Next week the committee will hear from Dr Don Brash, Governor of the Reserve Bank, about his March 2001 Monetary Policy Statement, before hearing evidence on the financial review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. It will hear evidence on the Government Superannuation Fund Amendment Bill and consider further the financial review of the Public Trust Office.

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (David Sanders, SC-FD@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee did not meet this week. There will not be a normal meeting next week as the committee is travelling to Auckland to observe the Tasmanex 2001 Naval exercise.

Government Administration (Lesley Ferguson, SC-GA@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee is to meet at the Millennium Hotel in Christchurch on Thursday, 15 March, to hear evidence on the inquiry into New Zealand¡¦s adoption laws and the Civil Defence Emergency Management Bill. The committee also meets at the Lakeside Convention Centre in Auckland on Friday, 16 March, to continue hearing evidence on these items of business.

Justice and Electoral (Wendy Proffitt, SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz)
This week the committee travelled north to Whakatane and Auckland to hear submissions on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill and the Local Electoral Bill. The former bill would allow Maori electors to choose whether to vote in a Maori constituency or a general one at Bay of Plenty Regional Council elections. The latter bill would modernise the law governing local elections to take account of new technology and to allow for local choice of electoral systems and voting methods.

Submissions on the Victims¡¦ Rights Bill and Supplementary Order Paper No 112 close next week. On Wednesday, the committee will continue to hear submissions on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill and the Local Electoral Bill, and will be considering the Local Elections (Single Transferable Vote Option) Bill.

Law and Order (Tracey Rayner, SC-LO@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee did not meet this week. Next week the committee will hear evidence on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 6) and Supplementary Order Paper No 85 from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm.

Local Government and Environment (David Bagnall, SC-LGE@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee met all day on Wednesday. First, the committee considered the Local Government (Elected Member Remuneration and Trading Enterprises) Amendment Bill, and heard a submission on the bill from Local Government New Zealand. The committee then considered the Hawke's Bay Endowment Land Empowering Bill, the financial review of the Environmental Risk Management Authority, the petition of Rosemary Godwin relating to asbestos contamination in East Tamaki and the Resource Management Amendment Bill.

Next Wednesday the committee travels to Napier to hear submissions on the Hawke's Bay Endowment Land Empowering Bill, a local bill. Submitters will include the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Napier City Council (the two local authorities promoting the bill), the Napier Leaseholders Association Incorporated, the Westshore Residents and Development Association and the Napier Leaseholders Mutual Benefit Company Limited.

Maori Affairs (Marcus Ganley, SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee travelled to Dunedin this week to hear evidence on the Tutae-ka-Wetoweto Forest Bill. Submitters included Ngai Tahu, Rakiura Maori Land Trust, Public Access New Zealand and the Tutae Ka Wetoweto Action Committee.

Next week the committee will hear evidence from the Secretary for Education, as part of its inquiry into the mainstreaming of services to Maori. It will then hear evidence from the Maori Trustee, as part of its inquiry in the performance and operations of the Maori Trustee.

Officers of Parliament (Fay Paterson, SC-OP@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee considered the alterations to the appropriations for 2000/01 and the draft budgets for the forthcoming financial year for the Audit Office, the Office of the Ombudsmen and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment at a meeting held on 1 March. Consideration of these items is set to continue at a meeting next week on 15 March.

Primary Production (Bob Bunch, SC-PP@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee is currently in Winton conducting a site visit and hearing evidence on its inquiry into sustainable forestry management. It will meet on 15 March in Wellington to consider the 1999/2000 financial review of Asure New Zealand and the inquiry into organic agriculture. The committee will also hear evidence on the Foreign Fishing Crew Wages and Repatriation Bond Bill.

Regulations Review (Fiona McLean, SC-RR@parliament.govt.nz )
The committee did not meet this week. It will next meet on Wednesday, 14 March, and will be hearing evidence on its inquiry into regulation-making powers that authorise international treaties to override any provisions of New Zealand enactments. The committee may consider any matter relating to regulations and report on it to the House. Evidence will be heard from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm and the meeting is open to the public.

The committee this week presented a report on its investigation into a complaint relating to the Meat (Residues) Regulations 1996. The complaint, from Colby Corporation Limited, was about regulation 8(3), administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (the ministry). Regulation 8(3) provides that an animal may not be presented for slaughter if it has had an unlicensed animal remedy administered to it, unless the Director-General (the chief executive of the ministry) has approved the presentation of that animal or of animals of its kind.

In giving evidence to the committee, the complainant claimed that regulation 8(3) in effect prevented the use of unlicensed animal remedies in New Zealand, because it requires all stock treated with an unlicensed animal remedy to be condemned, irrespective of the remedy¡¦s effects, residues or safety. The complainant was also concerned that the ministry targeted Fertex, an unlicensed animal remedy used to treat facial eczema, because it was easily traceable. It was suggested to the committee that animals approved for slaughter had often been treated with other unlicensed animal remedies that were not detected. The committee also considered evidence from the ministry and from Federated Farmers of New Zealand.

The committee concluded that the regulations did not breach any of the grounds set out in Standing Order 382(2). The committee¡¦s role is limited to scrutinising the implementation of the policy behind regulations, and reporting to the House where it considers that regulations transgress the grounds set out in Standing Order 382(2). In terms of its jurisdiction, the committee did not consider it was appropriate to make any finding about the manner in which the ministry was applying the regulation.

This complaint raised two issues that the committee drew to the attention of the Government as they were beyond the jurisdiction of the committee to consider. First, it appeared that the real difficulty facing the complainant was that Fertex had not yet been licensed as an animal remedy. The complainant seemed to be under the impression that, because of contradictory requirements, it was not possible to apply for a licence from the Animal Remedies Board. Secondly, the complainant raised the issue of whether the requirements imposed by regulation 8(3) were enforced consistently by the ministry. It may be that an animal is condemned at slaughter only where there is visual evidence that it has been treated with an animal remedy.

Transport and Industrial Relations (Lyn Main, SC-TI@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee, at its meeting on 7 March, heard evidence on the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill and the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill (No 2). It will continue hearing evidence on these two bills at its meeting on Wednesday, 14 March 2001.

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

Education and Science
Education Amendment Bill (No 2) (14 March 2001)

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
International Treaties Bill (31 March 2001)

Government Administration
Cigarettes (Fire Safety) Bill (31 March 2001)
Statutes Amendment Bill (31 March 2001)

Health
Medical Practitioners (Foreign Qualified Medical Practitioners) Amendment Bill (31 March 2001)
Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill (23 April 2001)

Justice and Electoral
Victims¡¦ Rights Bill and Supplementary Order Paper No 112 (12 March 2001)

Local Government and Environment
Inquiry into the role of local government in meeting New Zealand¡¦s climate change target (15 March 2001)
Auckland Aotea Centre Empowering Amendment Bill (2 April 2001)
Taranaki Regional Council Empowering Bill (2 April 2001)

Primary Production
Fisheries (Remedial Issues) Amendment Bill (19 March 2001)

Transport and Industrial Relations
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Bill (23 March 2001)
Civil Aviation Amendment Bill (No 2) (9 March 2001)

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, 9 March 2001

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