From 4 to 11 October 2002

Committee meetings

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

Reports presented

(available at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/cgi-bin/select-reports)

No reports were presented.

Bills referred to select committees

No bills were referred.

Committee notes

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

Commerce (Clare Sutherland, SC-Commerce@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee did not meet this week due to urgency in the House. At its next meeting, on 17 October, the committee will continue its consideration of the Consumer Protection (Definition of Goods and Services) Bill and the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, and consider the 2002/03 Estimates for Vote Energy and Vote Economic, Industry and Regional Development.

Finance and Expenditure (Fay Paterson, SC-FE@parliament.govt.nz)

Due to urgency in the House, the meeting scheduled for this week did not occur. Next week, the committee will be meeting on Wednesday, 16 October, in Room G.001, Parliament House, to consider the 2002/03 Estimates for Vote State-Owned Enterprises and Vote Finance, the Fiscal Strategy Report and the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update. The meeting will be open to the public between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm for hearing of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates, Maori Organisations, Taxpayer Compliance and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. Submissions on the bill that were to be heard this week will be heard at a later date.

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

This week the committee continued its consideration of the Climate Change Response Bill. Next week the committee will begin its examination of the 2002/03 Estimates. The committee will be hearing evidence on Vote Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vote Immigration.

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

The committee did not meet this week due to urgency in the House. Next week the committee will meet to hear evidence from Hon Judith Tizard on the 2002/03 Estimates for Vote Arts, Culture and Heritage.

The committee will also hear evidence from InternetNZ on the inquiry into the Operation of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 and related issues.

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

The committee met on Wednesday, 9 October to hear a submitter on the Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill, and Supplementary Order Paper 148. It also continued its consideration of its inquiry into the adverse effects on women as a result of treatment by Dr Graham Parry.

The committee is inviting public submissions on its inquiry into the proposal to establish a trans-Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic products. The closing date for submissions is 13 November 2002. Further information is available at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/programme/committees/submissions/hettanq.html.

At its next meeting on Wednesday, 16 October, the committee will receive a briefing from the Ministry of Health on the National Ethics Advisory Committee. This briefing will be open to the public from 10.10 am to 11.10 am in Room G.006, Parliament House.

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

The committee did not meet this week due to urgency in the House. It next meets on Wednesday, 16 October, to continue its consideration of the Retirement Villages Bill. From 11.30 am it will meet with members of the Joint Committee on Human Rights from the United Kingdom. The main purpose of the committee's visit is to gather information for its inquiry into whether there is a case for establishing an independent human rights commission for England and Wales or for the United Kingdom as a whole.

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

The committee did not meet this week as the House was in urgency. The committee will next meet on Wednesday, 16 October from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm to consider the 2002/03 Estimates. This includes a hearing of evidence for Vote Police from the New Zealand Police (attended by the Police Commissioner) from 9.00 am to 10.00 am. The committee will also conduct three hearings of evidence (Manukau City Council from 10.30 am to 11.30 am, the New Zealand Institute of Environmental Health from 11.30 am to 12.00 pm and Nelson East residents from 12.00 pm - 12.15 pm) on the Land Transport (Street and Illegal Drag Racing) Amendment Bill.

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

The committee did not meet this week due to urgency in the House. The committee will next meet on the evening of Monday, 14 October, to hear evidence from the Minister of Energy on the 2002/03 Estimates for Vote Energy - Energy Efficiency and Conservation and the Minister for the Environment on Vote Environment. The committee will also meet on Thursday, 17 October, and Friday, 18 October, to further consider the Local Government Bill.

Maori Affairs (Julian Kersey, SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz)

The Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill was referred to the committee on 3 October. The committee is required to report to the House by 19 December 2002. The aim of the bill is to give effect to a Deed of Settlement between the Crown and Ngati Ruanui in respect of the Ngati Ruanui historical claims under the Treaty of Waitangi. The Deed of Settlement also records the acknowledgments and the apology given by the Crown to Ngati Ruanui. The committee is calling for submissions with a deadline of 1 November 2002. Information on making a submission is provided below.

The committee is currently calling for submissions on the Maori Purposes Bill (No 2). The deadline is Friday, 25 October 2002. The Maori Purposes Bill (No 2), as introduced, has three major components. It amends:

- the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 to give the Waitangi Tribunal express power to replace members for reasons of illness or other circumstances that prevent them from carrying out their duties. The amendment will also clarify the position as to changes of Tribunal membership in three inquiries: the Wellington Tenths Inquiry (Wai 145), the Hauraki Inquiry (Wai 686) and the Kaipara Inquiry (Wai 674).

- the Broadcasting Act 1989 to reflect a Cabinet decision in 2000 to transfer the responsibility for Maori broadcasting policy and Te Reo Whakapuaki (Te Mangai Paho) from the Minister of Broadcasting to the Minister of Maori Affairs.

- the Maori Land Amendment and Maori Land Claims Adjustment Act 1926 to increase the number of fishing licenses available to members of Ngati Tuwharetoa for Lake Taupo, from 50 to 200.

Copies of the bills can be purchased from Bennetts Government Bookshops.

The committee requires 20 copies of each submission. Those wishing to include any information of a private or personal nature in a submission should first discuss this with the clerk of the committee, as submissions are usually released to the public by the committee. Those wishing to appear before the committee to speak to their submissions should state this clearly and provide a daytime telephone contact number. For further guidance on making a submission, our publication Making a Submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee can be found on our web site at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz.

Submissions should be addressed to Julian Kersey, Clerk of the Committee, Maori Affairs Committee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. Contact for further details: Mahara Okeroa (Chairperson) on (04) 471 9999 or Julian Kersey on (04) 471 9043 or SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz.

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

The committee will meet on Thursday, 17 October, to further consider the 2002/03 Estimates and commence the 2001/02 financial reviews with a hearing of evidence on the 2001/02 financial review of the Ministry of Fisheries. The hearing will be open to the public in Room G.010, Parliament House, from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm.

Regulations Review (Michael Wilkinson, SC-RR@parliament.govt.nz )

The committee met on Wednesday, 9 October, and continued its regular scrutiny of new government regulations. It also considered the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill. The committee will next meet on Wednesday, 16 October.

Transport and Industrial Relations (Lyn Main, SC-TI@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met briefly on Thursday, 10 October, to consider the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill, and will continue this consideration at its next meeting on Thursday, 17 October.

Closing dates for submissions

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

Finance and Expenditure

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill (8 November 2002)

Government Administration

Inquiry into the weathertightness of buildings in New Zealand (21 October 2002)

Government Superannuation Fund Amendment Bill (No 2) (21 October 2002)

Health

Inquiry into the proposal to establish a trans-Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic products (13 November 2002)

Law and Order

Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill (29 November 2002)

Maori Affairs

Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) (25 October 2002)

Primary Production

Hop Industry Restructuring Bill (11 November 2002)

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:

Ethan Tucker

Parliamentary Officer (Select Committees)

ethan.tucker@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 11 October 2002

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