Select Committee Business

From 27 February to 5 March 2004

Committee meetings

Fifteen committee meetings were held this week, all in the parliamentary complex with one committee holding part of the meeting in Auckland.

Reports presented

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

Finance and Expenditure

- Budget Policy Statement 2004

Justice and Electoral

- 2002/03 financial review of the Abortion Supervisory Committee and petition 2002/74

of Robert James Kavanagh and 1841 others

Transport and Industrial Relations

- 2002/03 financial review of the Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited and the

New Zealand Railways Corporation

- 2002/03 financial review of the Land Transport Safety Authority of New Zealand

- 2002/03 financial review of the Maritime Safety Authority of New Zealand

- 2002/03 financial review of Transfund New Zealand

- 2002/03 financial review of Transit New Zealand

- 2002/03 financial review of the Accident Compensation Corporation

Primary Production

- Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium Extension) Amendment Bill (97-2)

Bills referred to select committees

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill was referred to the Government Administration Committee with a report due 30 June 2004.

The Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) was referred to the Law and Order Committee with a report due 1 September 2004.

Changes in committee membership

Commerce Committee

Hon Damian O'Connor replaced Darren Hughes

Education and Science Committee

Helen Duncan replaced Jill Pettis

Justice and Electoral Committee

Lianne Dalziel replaced Mita Ririnui

Local Government and Environment Committee

Dave Hereora replaced Hon Damian O'Connor

Officers of Parliament Committee

Darren Hughes replaced Hon David Benson-Pope

Privileges Committee

Hon Mark Burton replaced Lianne Dalziel

Regulations Review Committee

Lianne Dalziel replaced Russell Fairbrother

Social Services Committee

Hon Judith Tizard replaced Hon Rick Barker

Standing Orders Committee

Jill Pettis replaced Hon David Benson-Pope

Transport and Industrial Relations Committee

Helen Duncan replaced Hon Judith Tizard

Lianne Dalziel replaced Dave Hereora

Committee notes

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

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

This week the committee met on 4 March to consider and hear evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of Genesis Power Limited. The committee also continued with its consideration of the 2002/03 financial review of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund.

Evidence on the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill was heard in Auckland this week at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Auckland. The committee will not meet next week.

Education and Science (Graham Hill, SC-ES@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee appointed Lynne Pillay as its Deputy Chairperson to replace Jill Pettis who is no longer a committee member. The committee heard evidence on the financial reviews of 3 Crown Research Institutes: Learning Media Limited, New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited and Industrial Research Limited. The committee also considered the State Sector Amendment Bill (No 3). The committee will not meet next week.

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

The committee did not meet this week and is not scheduled to meet next week. The committee is inviting submissions on the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill and Supplementary Order Paper 183.

The aim of the bill is to clarify the law relating to the public service including amending the Public Finance Act 1989 and the State Sector Act 1988, repealing the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994, and enacting a new Crown Entities Act.

The Supplementary Order Paper 183 covers a number of consequential amendments to Crown entities legislation before Parliament at the time the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill was drafted.

Copies can be purchased from Bennetts Government Bookshops, or viewed on www.treasury.govt.nz/pfssm/#documents (pdf file). The closing date for submissions is Friday, 2 April 2004.

Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation (Miles Reay, SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz,)

The subcommittee met on 4 March to consider the Maori Fisheries Bill.

The committee is inviting submissions on this bill, which implements agreements made in the Deed of Settlement, and referred to in the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Act 1992. The bill also provides for the development of iwi interests in fisheries and fishing "in a manner that is ultimately of benefit to all Maori'. To achieve this, the bill provides for the establishment of a framework for the allocation and distribution of assets. The committee is to also consider the effect of the application of the proposed right of first refusal to settlement quota on the ability of iwi to sell parcels of quota and companies.

Copies of the Bill can be purchased from Bennetts Government Bookshops. Submissions close on 15 March 2004.

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

The committee met on Thursday to hear evidence on the Architects Bill and the Building Bill, and to further consider the Border Security Bill and the petition to repeal the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982.

As part of the committee's consideration of provisions relating to dams in the Building Bill, it will visit dams operated by Meredian Energy in the Waitaki region on 9 March.

The committee is calling for submissions on two bills, the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) and the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill.

The annual statutes amendment bill seeks to make miscellaneous amendments to 20 different Acts. It is an omnibus bill and provides for unrelated and non-controversial amendments to Acts already in force. Submissions close on Friday, 2 April 2004.

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill aims to amend the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 to address changes that have occurred in the nature and scale of offending, particularly in relation to the distribution of child pornography on the Internet. The bill also clarifies aspects of existing classification criteria and makes changes designed to improve the practical operation of the Act. Submissions close on Friday 30 April 2004.

Copies of both bills can be purchased at Bennetts Government Bookshops.

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

This week the committee heard evidence on the financial review of the Taranaki District Health Board. The committee also heard responses to allegations made previously during its inquiry into the health effects of Agent Orange.

The committee will meet for a full day on Wednesday next week. In the morning, it will hear evidence from the Counties Manukau District Health Board on its financial review for 2002/03. This will be open to the public from 10.30 am to 12 noon in room G.002, Parliament House. In the afternoon, the committee will continue its consideration of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill.

It will also hear further evidence on the petition of Debbie and Tim Short, which requests that Parliament urge the Government to amend the Government Breast Screening Programme to include women aged from 40 years to 70 years. This will be open to the public from 3.30 pm to 4.00 pm.

The committee will also hear evidence from the Ministry of Health on the petition of Judy Goulden, which requests that the House of Representatives urge the Government to stop the implementation of Primary Health Organisations. This will be open to the public from 4.15 pm to 4.45 pm.

Justice and Electoral (Angela Van Dam, SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on 3 March to hear evidence on the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill. It also considered the 2002/03 financial review of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, the Care of Children Bill, the Judicial Matters Bill, its inquiry into the 2002 General Election, and petition 2002/55 of Lynley Jane Hood, Don Brash and 807 others.

The committee will meet next on 10 March to hear evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of the Legal Services Agency, and to continue its consideration of the Care of Children Bill, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill, and the Judicial Matters Bill. The meeting will be open to the public from 9.15 am to 10.30 am for the hearing of evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of the Legal Services Agency.

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

The committee met this week where it continued consideration of the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill and heard evidence on the Police Complaints Authority (Conditional Name Protection) Amendment Bill. The committee is not meeting next week, but is taking part in a week-long committee exchange with the Parliament of Australia, and will be visiting the state parliaments of Western Australia and New South Wales and the federal parliament in Canberra, as well as various government and state agencies.

The committee is calling for submissions on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). The closing date for submissions is 14 April 2004. The bill is the first review of sexual crimes contained in the Crimes Act 1961 and aims to update the law to reflect more recent changes in criminal behaviour and social attitudes towards sexual matters. The main amendments aim to ensure that:

- all sexual offences (with the exception of rape, which is a male-against-female offence only and is retained in the new bill) are expressed and applied in a sex-neutral manner

- the law's coverage for vulnerable groups is strengthened, including provisions relating to sexual offences against children, which are to be simplified into three groupings so they overlap and close a loophole that allows some offenders to escape conviction when the precise age of the child cannot be established

- offences based on "sexual intercourse' are extended to cover "sexual connection', as currently defined for the crime of "sexual violation'

- it will not be a defence to argue that the young person consented

- the penalties for sexual offending are set at an appropriate level

- a statutory basis for drug rape prosecutions is provided for

- the bill facilitates New Zealand's compliance with the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Copies of the bill 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. 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 as follows:

Tracey Rayner

Clerk of Committee

Law and Order Committee Secretariat

Parliament House

WELLINGTON

Contact for further details:

Martin Gallagher (Chairperson) on ƒv (04) 470 6591 or

Tracey Rayner (Committee Clerk) on ƒv (04) 471 9530 or

SC-LO@parliament.govt.nz

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

The committee met on 4 March to consider the Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill.

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

The committee met on 4 March to consider the financial review of the Maori broadcasting funding agency, Te Mangai Paho. The committee will not meet next week.

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

The committee reported on the Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium Extension) Amendment Bill on 1 March.

The committee also met on 4 March to hear evidence on the 2002/03 financial reviews of AgriQuality New Zealand Limited and Quotable Value Limited as well as consider the 2002/03 financial review of ASURE New Zealand Limited.

The committee next meets on 18 March.

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

This week the committee discussed the regulation-making powers in the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill with officials from the Ministry of Economic Development. The committee will next meet on 17 March to continue its scrutiny of new Government regulations.

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

The committee did not meet this week and will not meet next week.

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

The committee met on 4 March in room G.003 to hear the first submissions on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill. The committee also further considered Petition 1999/231 of Ross Sutherland and 584 others regarding Paraparaumu Airport and reported the 2002/03 financial review of the Accident Compensation Corporation.

The committee will not meet next week but will resume consideration of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill, the Railways Bill and the Sutherland petition at its meeting on 18 March. The schedule of meetings will indicate when the meeting is open to the public. The schedule of meetings is available on the website.

Closing dates for submissions

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

Finance and Expenditure

- Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill (2 April 2004)

Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation

- Maori Fisheries Bill (15 March 2004)

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

- Inquiry into New Zealand's relationship with Tonga (28 March 2004)

Government Administration

- Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) (2 April 2004)

- Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill (30 April 2004)

Justice and Electoral

- Parole (Extended Supervision) and Sentencing Amendment Bill (2 April 2004)

Law and Order

- Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) (14 April 2004)

Primary Production

- Meat Board Restructuring Bill (15 March 2004)

Social Services

- Social Security (Long-term Residential Care) Amendment Bill (23 April 2004)

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:

Louise Sparrer

Senior Parliamentary Officer

at louise.sparrer@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 5 March 2004

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