Select Committee Business

From 27 June to 4 July 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)

Finance and Expenditure

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Energy

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Revenue

Bills referred to select committees

The Care of Children Bill was referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee.

The Immigration Amendment Bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee with a report due by 25 August 2003.

The Border Security Bill was referred to the Government Administration Committee.

Committee notes

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

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

The committee met on Wednesday, 2 July to consider the 2003/04 Estimates of Appropriation for Vote Education, Vote Education Review Office, and Vote Research, Science and Technology.

The committee will next meet on Wednesday, 23 July.

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

The committee met this week to consider the Taxation (Annual Rates, GST, Trans-Tasman Imputations and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the 2003/04 Estimates of Appropriations for Vote State-Owned Enterprises.

Next week the committee will meet on Tuesday, 8 July to further consider the 2003/04 Estimates of Appropriations for Vote Immigration, Vote State-Owned Enterprises, and Vote Finance, along with the Fiscal Strategy Report and the Economic and Fiscal Update. The committee will also consider the Income Tax Bill. This meeting will be open to the public between 10.00 am and 10.45 am when the committee will hear evidence the 2003/04 Estimates of Appropriations for Vote Immigration.

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

The Border Security Bill was referred to the committee this week. The bill seeks to amend the Customs and Excise Act 1996 and the Immigration Act 1987 to enhance border security and to improve the information processes of the New Zealand Customs Service and the New Zealand Immigration Service. The bill also makes a number of amendments to the Act to strengthen controls in respect of persons unlawfully entering or existing New Zealand in remote locations. The amendments to the Immigration Act make provision for automated pre-boarding checks on passengers and crew travelling to New Zealand. The committee has called for submissions, with a closing date of 22 August 2003.

The committee next meets on Thursday, 24 July to hear evidence on the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Bill and to begin its consideration of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Site Empowering Bill. Submissions on this bill close on 18 July 2003.

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

This week the committee heard further evidence on its inquiry into the proposal for a trans-Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic products. The committee will meet next week to continue consideration of a number of items of business.

The committee is inviting public submissions on the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill and the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill. The committee is particularly interested in receiving submissions that consider the proposals contained in Supplementary Order Paper 80. The closing date for submissions is this Monday, 7 July 2003.

The committee is also inviting submissions on its inquiry into the health effects of Agent Orange on New Zealand defence personnel who served in the Vietnam War. The closing date for submissions is 21 July 2003.

Further information on these items of business is available at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Programme/Committees/Submissions/

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

This week the committee met on Wednesday, 2 and Thursday, 3 July to consider the 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Justice, Vote Parliamentary Counsel and Vote Attorney-General.

The committee will next meet on Wednesday, 16 July, when it will consider the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill, the Clean Slate Bill and the Supreme Court Bill. The meeting will be in Room G.003, Parliament House. It will be open to the public from 11.00 am to 12 noon for a hearing of evidence on the Supreme Court Bill from Ngati Porou (by videoconference) and from 12 noon to 1.00 pm for a hearing of evidence on the Supreme Court Bill from Sir Ivor Richardson (former President of the Court of Appeal).

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

The committee did not meet this week.

The committee is calling for submissions on two bills. The first is the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill. The bill aims to improve the effectiveness of the Department for Courts's fines and civil enforcement activities and contains various amendments to a number of statutes impacting on these activities. The powers of the Department for Courts to gather information about fines defaulters and enforce fines were significantly extended by the Summary Proceedings Amendment Act 1988. This bill makes further improvements in these areas by:

- extending the scope of information that the department can seek through information-matching programmes with, and requests for information from, other government departments

- clarifying certain statutory provisions to remove confusion and better reflect Parliament's original legislative intention

- extending additional protections to the public to ensure they are informed of their rights and responsibilities, and are not unduly penalised as a result of outstanding fines.

The other bill is the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Bill. This bill provides for the replacement of the Secondhand Dealers Act 1963 and the Pawnbrokers Act 1908 by legislation that:

- regulates secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers, and individuals acting as either directors or agents of secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers

- specifies record-keeping requirements for promoters of markets and fairs with respect to secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers operating at those markets and fairs, and requires promoters to allow the Police to inspect those records.

The reforms envisaged by the bill are aimed at making it harder for criminals to dispose of stolen goods through secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers, and to make it easier for the Police to recover stolen goods and solve property crimes.

Submissions for both bills close on 6 August 2003. 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 Committee, as submissions are usually released to the public. Those wishing to appear before the committee to speak to their submissions should state this clearly and provide a daytime telephone contact number. Submissions should be to Tracey Rayner, Clerk of Committee, Law and Order Committee Secretariat, Parliament House, Wellington.

The committee is not meeting next week.

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

The committee will next meet on Thursday, 17 July, to consider the inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and subsequent actions taken and the Forests Amendment Bill. The committee will also hear evidence on the Masterton District Council (Montfort Trimble Foundation) Bill. On Friday, 18 July, the committee will meet in Christchurch to hear submissions on the Christchurch City Council (Robert McDougall Gallery) Land Vesting Bill and to consider the Forests Amendment Bill.

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

The subcommittee considered the inquiry into the Crown Forestry Rental Trust on Tuesday, 1 July. The whole committee met on Thursday, 3 July to consider the Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill, and to consider the 2003/04 Estimates for Votes Treaty Negotiations and Vote Maori Affairs.

The subcommittee will next meet on Thursday, 10 July to further consider the inquiry into the Crown Forestry Rental Trust.

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

The committee met on 2, 3 and 4 July to consider the Estimates for Vote, Social Development, Vote Child, Youth and Family Services, Vote Housing, Vote Community and Voluntary Sector, Vote Employment and Vote Senior Citizens. The committee will meet next on 24 July to consider the Families Commission Bill.

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

The committee did not meet this week. It will meet for a full day on Thursday, 10 July. In the morning it will consider the Estimates for Vote ACC, Vote Labour and Vote Transport and will consider the Road Traffic Reduction Bill. From 2.00 pm the meeting will be open to the public as the committee begins hearing submissions on the Holidays Bill and the Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill.

Closing dates for submissions

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

Commerce

Inquiry into the New Zealand electricity industry (31 July 2003)

The Business Law Reform Bill (7 August 2003)

Finance and Expenditure

The Taxation (Annual Rates, GST, Trans-Tasman Imputation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (15 August 2003)

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Immigration Amendment Bill (21 July 2003)

Government Administration

The Auckland War Memorial Museum Site Empowering Bill (18 July 2003)

The Border Security Bill (22 August 2003)

Health

Inquiry into the exposure of New Zealand defence personnel to Agent Orange and other defoliant chemicals during the Vietnam War and any health effects of that exposure (21 July 2003)

Assisted Human Reproduction Bill (7 July 2003)

Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill (7 July 2003)

Justice and Electoral

Care of Children Bill (25 September 2003)

Law and Order

Courts and Criminal Matters Bill (6 August 2003)

The Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Bill (6 August 2003)

Local Government and Environment

Christchurch City Council (Robert McDougall Gallery) Land Vesting Bill (27 June 2003)

Wellington City Council (Te Aro Reclamation) Amendment Bill (31 July 2003)

Maori Affairs

Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill (30 June 2003)

Social Services

Families Commission Bill (11 July 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

at carol.rankin@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 4 July 2003

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