Select Committee Business - 7 to 14 May 2004

From 7 May 2004 to 14 May 2004

Committee meetings

Nineteen committee meetings were held this week, eighteen in the parliamentary complex and one in Auckland.

Reports presented

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

Commerce

- Petition 2002/108 of Roslyn Hiini and 3108 others

Education and Science

- 2002/03 financial review of Tertiary Education Commission

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

- Petition 1999/0199 of Peter Wallace Drummond

Health

- 2002/03 financial review of the Otago District Health Board

- 2002/03 financial review of the Taranaki District Health Board

- Petition 2002/43 of Karl Andersen and 60,088 others and Petition 2002/29

of Royston Hughes and 952 others

Local Government and Environment

- Wellington City Council (Te Aro Reclamation) Amendment Bill (43-2)

Maori Affairs

- 2002/03 financial review of Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi (Te Mangai Paho)

Primary Production

- 2002/03 financial review of AgriQuality New Zealand Limited

- 2002/03 financial review of Asure New Zealand Limited

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 to consider the 2002/03 financial review of Industry New Zealand. It also furthered its consideration of the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill.

The committee next meets on 20 May to further its consideration of the 2002/03 financial review of Industry New Zealand and the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill.

Education and Science (Kirstin Lambert, SC-ES@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met on 12 May, when it heard evidence on the Education (Export Education Levy) Amendment Bill, and further considered the 2002/03 financial review of the Tertiary Education Commission. It also considered the Petition of Jill Hounsell and 2268 others, and the Petition of Fleur Fitzsimons and Andrew Kirton.

The committee presented its report on the 2002/03 financial review of the Tertiary Education Commission. This report can be viewed at:

http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/CommitteeReport/

The committee next meets on 19 May, to hear evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of New Zealand Teachers Council. This will be open to the public from 10.15 am to 11.15 am. It will also further consider the Education (Export Education Levy) Amendment Bill.

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

The committee met this week to consider the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill, and meet with the Business and Parliamentary Trust, and Mr Steffen Kampeter MP from the Federal Republic of Germany.

The committee is scheduled to next meet on 19 May to consider the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill

The committee is currently calling for submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates, Venture Capital and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the recently introduced Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 210. Closing date for submissions on the bill and SOP are 21 May and 4 June 2004 respectively.

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

On 11 May the committee considered both the Maori Fisheries Bill and the Seabed and Foreshore Bill. The committee will continue consideration on both bills on 18 May, and on the Maori Fisheries Bill on 20 May.

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

The committee met this week to hear evidence on a petition of Trevor Cullen in respect of a war disability pension. The committee completed its consideration of the petition of Peter Wallace Drummond in relation to a Customs classification dispute. The committee also continued its inquiry into New Zealand's relationship with Tonga.

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

This week the committee heard evidence on the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill. The committee will further consider this bill, the Building Bill, and the Statutes Amendment (No 4) Bill at its next meeting on 20 May. The committee also plans to present to the House its report on the petition of Dr George Paterson Barton Vaitoa Sa and 100,000 others to repeal the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 at this meeting. The presentation will take place in the Galleria of Parliament House from 12 noon to 12.30 pm and will be open to the public.

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

This week the committee continued its consideration of several items of business and made further progress in its consideration of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill.

The committee presented its final two financial review reports for 2002/03, on the Otago District Health Board and the Taranaki District Health Board.

The committee also reported on the petitions of Karl Andersen and 60,088 others and Royston Hughes and 952 others. These petitions both relate to funding for ambulance services in New Zealand. The petition of Karl Andersen and 60,088 others requests that the House of Representatives take action to address the adequacy of funding for crewing on ambulances. The petition of Royston Hughes and 952 others requests that the 24-hour ambulance service based in Marton be reinstated.

The committee supports, in principle, double crewing of ambulances as an operational standard. The committee also notes in its report that:

- the model where volunteers work with trained crew members is an effective way to supplement ambulance crew numbers

- other volunteers such as fire personnel should be included in ambulance crews

- professional development for ambulance officers should be a high priority.

The committee is concerned that a review of the funding of ambulance services by the Ministry of Health has been delayed. The committee considers this review should resolve many of the funding issues that relate to both these petitions.

All three reports can be viewed at: http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Content/SelectCommitteeReports/

Next Wednesday the committee will receive a briefing on Mobile Surgical Services, which provides elective day surgery in rural communities. This will be open to the public from 10.00 am to 10.30 am, in room G.002, Parliament House.

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

The committee met on 12 May to consider the Sex Offenders Registry Bill, the Care of Children Bill, and the Parole (Extended Supervision) and Sentencing Amendment Bill.

The committee next meets on 19 May, when it will consider the Care of Children Bill, the Parole (Extended Supervision) and Sentencing Amendment Bill, and the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill.

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

The committee met this week where it continued consideration of the Police Complaints Authority (Conditional Name Protection) Amendment Bill, the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, and the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). It also heard evidence from the New Zealand Police and the petitioner on the petition of Ross Edward Nichol and 1133 others, which requests that the House of Representatives urge the Government to reverse the decision which has been made by the New Zealand Police to replace the existing four wheel drive crucial to the rural community of Lawrence with a two wheel drive vehicle unsuited to meeting local needs and conditions.

Next week the committee will hear more evidence on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). This will be from open to the public from 9.30 am to 11.45 am, in Room G.005, Parliament House. The committee will also continue to consider the Ross Edward Nichol petition, and will begin to examine an international treaty, the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts, Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.

The committee is calling for submissions on the Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill. The bill amends section 128A of the Crimes Act 1961, and inserts a new section 129B into the Act, to provide a specific statutory position relating to consent in cases of drug-facilitated rape, by including under matters that do not constitute consent to sexual connection the fact that a person is prevented from physically resisting by an intoxicating, anaesthetic, controlled or illegal substance, or hypnotic drug.

Mr Gallagher, Chairperson of the committee said: "The Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill is a member's bill in the name of Dianne Yates. The bill addresses specific sections of the Crimes Act that have also been addressed in the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2), which is a government bill already before us. Given the clear overlap between the two bills it is our intention to consider them together. We have already called for submissions on the government bill. We are now calling for submissions on the Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill to ensure that those who know about this member's bill, but may not have known about the government bill, have a chance to have their say."

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 ( (04) 470 6591 or

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

SC-LO@parliament.govt.nz

Local Government and Environment (Beth Watson, SC-LGE@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met twice this week to hear evidence on the Local Government Law Reform Bill (No 3) and Supplementary Order Paper No 203. The committee also considered the inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and subsequent actions taken.

The committee is scheduled to meet next on 20 May to further consider the inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and subsequent actions taken, the 2002/03 financial review of ERMA and the Local Government Law Reform Bill (No 3).

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

The committee met this week to consider both the Meat Board Restructuring Bill, and the Fisheries Amendment Bill No 3. The committee also heard submissions on the latter. The committee's next meeting is on 20 May when it will give further consideration to the Meat Board Restructuring Bill and continue hearing evidence on the Fisheries Amendment Bill No 3.

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

This week the committee heard evidence on its inquiry into affirmative resolution procedures. The committee also considered the joint scheme for the regulation of therapeutic products. Next week it will continue with its scrutiny of new government regulations.

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

The committee met on 13 May to continue hearing evidence on the Social Security (Long-term Residential Care) Amendment Bill. The committee will meet next on 20 May to continue hearing evidence on this bill.

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

The committee met in Auckland this week to hear submissions on the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill.

Further submissions on the Auckland bill were heard later in the week in Wellington.

The committee also considered the Railways Bill and heard further evidence on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill.

Next week the committee will meet on 19 May to consider the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill. This meeting will not be open to the public.

On 20 May the committee will meet in Room G.007 to consider the Railways Bill and then will be open to the public from 10.00 am to 12.50 pm to hear further evidence on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill.

Closing dates for submissions

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

Finance and Expenditure

- Taxation (Annual Rates, Venture Capital and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (21 May 2004)

- Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 210 (4 June 2004)

Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation

- Foreshore and Seabed Bill (2 August 2004)

Law and Order

- Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill (9 June 2004)

Social Services

- Charities Bill (3 June 2004)

- New Zealand Superannuation Amendment Bill (2 July 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
louise.sparrer@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 14 May 2004

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