Select Committee Business

From 4 July to 11 July 2003

Committee meetings

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

Reports presented

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

Commerce

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Commerce

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Economic, Industry and Regional Development

Education and Science

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Education

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Education Review Office

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Research, Science and Technology

Finance and Expenditure

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote State-Owned Enterprises

- Fiscal Strategy Report, Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, and 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Finance

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Defence and Vote Defence Force

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Foreign Affairs and Trade

Government Administration

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Arts, Culture and Heritage, Vote Emergency Management, Vote Internal Affairs, Vote Ministerial Services, Vote National Archives, Vote Racing, Vote Sport and Recreation, Vote Tourism, Vote Office of the Clerk, Vote Ombudsmen, Vote Pacific Island Affairs, Vote Parliamentary Service, Vote Prime Minister and Cabinet, Vote State Services, Vote Statistics, Vote Women's Affairs and Vote Youth Affairs

Health

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Health

Justice and Electoral

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Attorney-General

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Justice

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Parliamentary Counsel

Local Government and Environment

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Conservation

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Environment

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Local Government

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

Maori Affairs

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Maori Affairs

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Treaty Negotiations

Social Services

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Community and Voluntary Sector

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Employment

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Housing

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Senior Citizens

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Social Development

- 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Child, Youth and Family

Committee notes

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

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

The committee met this week to consider the 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Immigration, Vote State-Owned Enterprises and Vote Finance; the Fiscal Strategy Report; and the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update. The committee also met to consider further the Income Tax Bill.

The committee presented the following reports: 2003/04 Estimates for Vote State-Owned Enterprises; and Fiscal Strategy Report, Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, and 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Finance. The reports may be found at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/CommitteeReport

The committee does not intend to meet next week.

Submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates, GST, Trans-Tasman Imputation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill are currently being received. The closing date for these is 15 August 2003. You can get more information at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/programme/committees/submissions/ and at http://www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/.

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

This week the committee met for a full day to further consider a number of items of business. It also presented its report on the 2003/04 Estimates for Vote Health. The committee will not meet next week.

The committee is inviting public 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 is 21 July 2003. Further information, including the terms of reference, is available at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Programme/Committees/Submissions/

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

The committee is not meeting this week. It is calling for submissions on the Care of Children Bill, and has set a closing date of 25 September for receipt of submissions.

The Care of Children Bill is intended to replace the Guardianship Act 1986 and its purpose is to modernise the law about guardianship and care of children. It also amends two Acts that deal with related matters. These are Family Courts' procedures (Family Proceedings Act 1980) and parental status (Status of Children Act 1969).

The main changes that the Care of Children Bill proposes to make are:

- establishing "welfare and best interests of the child' as the paramount principle

- children will be able to express a view on matters that affect them and these views are to be taken into account

- custody and access orders are to be replaced by parenting orders

- changes in guardianship laws such as termination, duties, powers and rights

- eligibility for parenting orders to include a wider range of near relatives

- restrictions on the publication of Family Court proceedings to be relaxed

- recognition of a birth mother's same sex de facto partner as a legal parent or guardian

- provisions relating to the status of children conceived as a result of certain artificial human reproduction procedures.

The committee's next meeting will be on 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 for hearings of evidence on the Supreme Court Bill from:

- Ngati Porou (by videoconference) from 11.00 am to 12 noon

- Sir Ivor Richardson (former President of the Court of Appeal) from 12 noon to 1.00 pm

- Sir Tipene O'Regan from 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm.

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

The committee did not meet this week. It next meets in Auckland on Wednesday 23 July, when it will hear from Auckland-based submitters on the Corrections Bill. This will be from 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm, at the Copthorne Harbour City Hotel, Quay Street, Auckland. The committee will also hear submissions on the Corrections Bill in Wellington, on Wednesday, 30 July.

Submissions on the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill and the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Bill close on 6 August 2003. Submissions should be sent to Tracey Rayner, Clerk of Committee, Law and Order Committee Secretariat, Parliament House, Wellington.

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

The subcommittee considered the inquiry into the Crown Forestry Rental Trust on Thursday, 10 July. It plans to meet again on Wednesday, 16 July.

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

The committee did not meet this week. Next Thursday, 17 July, it will hold an all-day meeting to give further consideration to its inquiry into the administration and management of the scampi fishery and three bills (Wine Bill, New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority Amendment Bill (No 2) and Misuse of Drugs (Industrial Hemp) Amendment) Bill).

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

The committee met on Thursday, 10 July to consider the 2003/04 Estimates for Vote ACC, Vote Labour and Vote Transport and heard further evidence on the petition of Ross Sutherland regarding Paraparaumu Airport. The committee then heard the first oral submissions on the Holidays Bill and the Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill.

The next meeting will be on the morning of Thursday, 24 July and will be open to the public when the committee continues hearing submissions on the Holidays Bill and Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm.

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)

Business Law Reform Bill (7 August 2003)

Finance and Expenditure

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

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

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)

Justice and Electoral

Care of Children Bill (25 September 2003)

Law and Order

Courts and Criminal Matters Bill (6 August 2003)

Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Bill (6 August 2003)

Local Government and Environment

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

carol.rankin@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 11 July 2003

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