Legal Update: What’s passed through Parliament?

April 2012 | March 2012 | February 2012 | October 2011 | September 2011 | August 2011

April 2012

from Nicola Shirlaw

Follow the links below to go direct to the following sections:

News| Announced | Introduced | Submissions Requested | Repoted back | Passed

Monthly Legislation Update table

This table summarises the progress of sector-related legislation through the parliamentary process for the current month and is updated monthly.

> View the table

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News

Vulnerability Report

The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) has released its 12th Vulnerability Report.

This highlights the increased demand for welfare services from social service and community agencies.  Called “Community Organisations Filling the Gaps” the report finds that community agencies are under increasing pressure to literally “fill the gaps” stemming from welfare and housing reforms.

Changes to Housing New Zealand policies , for example, appear to be creating hardship and have seen an increase in demand for emergency housing.  Similarly, while the number of people receiving benefits has decreased, there is an increase in the number of people seeking assistance from foodbanks and soup kitchens.

The report also finds agencies are dealing with families facing increasingly complex and serious problems, but resourcing for agencies is not keeping up with demand.

NZCCSS is calling for “extended two-way conversations” between the Government and the community sector.

> Read the full report

Poverty in NZ a ‘growth industry”

Waikato University social Scientist, Professor Darrin Hodgetts recently described poverty as New Zealand’s “biggest growth industry”.

Poverty in New Zealand is growing at three times the OECD average.  At the same time New Zealand has moved from being one of the most equitable countries in terms of income distribution to one of the worst.  Currentl, the richest 1% of New Zealanders own three times more than the richest 50%.

Sadly, none of this is new news, and echoes much of what groups such as the Child Poverty Action Group has been saying for some time.

Professor Hodgetts is currently involved in the Auckland-based Family 100 study.  The study is working with 100 families and their social workers. It is hoped that recording their experiences and their contacts with agencies will provide useful information to help those working with vulnerable families.

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Announced

New funding for youth mental health services

The Government has announced additional funding for mental health services for young people aged 12 -19 years.  The announcement was made by the Prime Minister, indicating a strong commitment to the improvement of mental health services.

Areas to receive new or additional funding include:

• Improving school-based health services.  Additional funding will be provided over the next four years to employ a nurse in every decile 3 secondary school (currently nurses are only funded for decile 1 and 2 schools), and trained youth workers to work with low decile schools.
• E-therapy service.  E-therapy will be an online service providing “interactive computer-administered therapy” for young people experiencing anxiety and depression disorders.  The service will be available 24 hours/day and overcomes barriers to treatment such as distance from mental health services, waiting times and privacy.   The service, similar to the “Beating the Blues” treatment programme currently available to adults, is expected to begin in 2013.
• Making mental health services “youth-friendly”.   Funding will be available to improve the youth-friendliness of existing mental health resources by making use of, for example, Facebook and Smartphone technology. This will be supported by a Social Media Innovations Fund assisting providers of youth services to use social media to help young people experiencing mental illness.  This fund will be public-private partnership.
• Additional funding for NGOs and Whanau Ora.  The government is establishing a new contestable fund for NGOs to provide better information to young people and their families.  In addition, a two year trial through the Whanau ora programme will fund two providers to work with 40 Maori and Pacific young people and their whanau/aiga.

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Introduced

Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months Paid Leave) Amendment Bill | Lobbying Disclosure Bill

Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months Paid Leave) Amendment Bill

The Members’ Bill ballot on 5 April was certainly an interesting one.  There were over 50 Bills in the ballot for three spots, and although Parliament has been in recess since the ballot, two of the three drawn have received considerable attention.

The first of these is Labour MP Sue Moroney’s Bill to extend paid parental leave from 14 weeks to 26 weeks.  Under the Bill, leave would be extended by four weeks per year over a period of three years.

There is probably very little left to say about the substance of this Bill that has not already been said.  In summary, there appears to be general agreement that increasing paid parental leave is a good thing.

But the debate has become more about whether we can afford it, and what we think about the Government’s intention to veto the Bill

Shortly after the Bill was drawn, United Future MP Peter Dunne said he would support it.  This meant, that together with the votes of Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First, the Maori Party and Mana, the Bill was likely to go to select committee and, most likely, to become law.

Finance Minister Bill English (and acting Prime Minister at this time) almost immediately announced the Government would veto the Bill.  It was estimated extending parental leave would cost an additional $150 million a year, and the Government was not prepared to increase its borrowing at a time when they are endeavouring to reduce the deficit.

The power to veto a Bill, or an amendment to legislation, on financial grounds has been available to any Government for many years.  It was last affirmed in New Zealand in the Public Finance Act 1996, and provides the veto can be used if an opposition Bill would have “more than a minor impact” on a government’s fiscal position.

For many of us this may be the first time we have been aware of the right to veto, but apparently it has been used several times since 1996.  However, it is usually used by a Government to block an opposition amendment to a Bill.  This time it will be used to block an entire Bill that appears to have the support of the majority of Parliament.

The difficulty facing the Government is that although it has every right to veto a Bill deemed to have an impact on government spending, it cannot exercise that veto until the Bill’s third reading.  This means the Government, unless it has the votes to do so, cannot prevent the Bill from being debated in Parliament and being referred to select committee for public submissions.

The Bill is likely to have its first reading in Parlaiment in July.  This is an interesting debate going on at many different levels.

Lobbying Disclosure Bill

The second Members’ Bill drawn from the ballot on 5 April that is also attracting much attention and discussion is Green MP Holly Walker’s Lobbying Disclosure Bill.

The Bill will require all lobbyists to be registered on a register administered by the Auditor-General.  Lobbyists will also be required to file quarterly returns to the Auditor-General. Information in the returns, such as who lobbyists are working for, meeting with and what they  are lobbying about will be publicly available.

The Prime Minister has announced National are likely to support the Bill at least to its first reading, which would allow the Bill to be referred to select committee.  New Zealand is one of only a few countries not to have some form of disclosure system for lobbying activities.

Lobbyists and the extent of their influence has been a hot topic of late, with the SkyCity pokies for convention centre deal causing much discussion.

Check out the blog post  Government seems to have a dollar each way on pokie machines

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Submissions requested

Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill | Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill | MMP Review

Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill

This Government Bill establishes a new “framework” for setting the salaries and allowances of MPs and Ministers.

Key changes introduced by the Bill include:

• Travel and accommodation entitlements of MPs and Ministers will be set by the independent Remuneration Authority (instead of the Speaker or the Government Minister responsible for Ministerial services).
• Statutory requirement that all MPs disclose travel and accommodation costs quarterly.
• The amount that MPs absent from the House can have deducted from their salary will increase from $10 a day to 0.2% of their salary (about $270 a day on current figures).

Submissions to the Government Administration Committee close on 18 May 2012.

Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Submissions to this Bill have already closed, but that is precisely why we thought this deserved a mention.

This Government Bill, introducing National’s welfare reforms, had its first reading in the House on 27 March.  It was then referred to select committee with a closing date for submissions of the 13th April.  Given that this period included the Easter holiday weekend this gave just 11 working days for individuals and groups to make submissions on this Bill.

11 days is a very short—it could be argued disgracefully short—period for a Bill affecting so many New Zealanders.  Groups such as the National Council of Women pointed out it is impossible for organisations wanting to consult before making a submission.   A similar point was made by the Child Poverty Action Group, who in an open letter to the Minister of Social Development, asked for the submission period to be extended.

Perhaps miraculously, the committee did in the end receive 82 submissions, and 34 of these wish to be heard orally.

The report of the Social Services committee considering the Bill is due 31 May.

MMP Review

There is still time to make an oline or written submission to the MMP review (although the date for those wanting to make a submission in person has now closed).

The review follows the referendum on the voting system at last year’s election, where a majority of voters voted to retain MMP.

The review is considering a number of aspects of MMP including the curernt 5% threshold, whether party lists should be “open” allowing voters to change the ranking of a party’s candidates or “closed”, and whether candidates should be able to stand for an electorate seat and be on a party list.

Submissions to the review close 31 May 2012.

> Get information about the review and find out how to make a submission

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Reported back

Crown Entities Reform Bill

The Crown Entities Reform Bill is an “omnibus Bill”—a Bill that makes changes to a number of different pieces of legislation.

Two important features of this Bill are the disestablishment of both the Mental Health Commission and the Charities Commission.

The Mental Health Commission will be disestablished on 30 June 2012.   A new position of Mental Health Commissioner will be established within the Health and Disability Commissioner’s office, and this office will also take over the monitoring and advocacy functions for mental health and addiction services.

This change is part of Government’s Health Crown Entity Change Project, tasked with reviewing the number of Crown entities, as part of the Government’s wider programme of state sector reform.

Some concern was raised at select committee that the proposed functions of the new Mental Health Commissioner were not as broad as those of the Commission, and that a stand-alone office may be needed for the important roles of mental health advocacy and monitoring of services, but the committee recommended the Bill be passed.

The Bill also provides for the disestablishment of the Charities Commission.

Almost all the functions of the Charities Commission will be transferred to the Department of Internal Affairs, except for the Charities Register.  The registration and deregistration of charities will be administered by an independent board of three people.  The Board will be supported by DIA, but will be independent from the Minister.

The Labour and Green MPs on the select committee opposed the disestablishment of the Charities Commission , arguing—not unreasonably—that no changes should be made until the review of the Charities Act (likely to occur within this parliamentary term) is completed.  They also expressed concern that moving the functions of the Commission to DIA would compromise the independence of the functions of the Commission.  This concern was shared by many who made submissions to the committee.

In light of the inadequate submission process for the Government’s welfare legislation, the select committee report’s comments on the  progress of this Bill makes interesting reading.

The committee acknowledges there has been a high level of confusion around the submission process.  The Bill was introduced at the end of the last Parliament, and when submissions were first called for there was no closing date.  Until the Bill was reinstated into the current Parliament it did not appear as an item of business, and some parties were not aware submissions were being called for.  The committee was able to obtain a brief extension period.

> Read the Select Committee’s Report

> Also read Tina’s latest blog post Why do we have a Charities Commission?

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Passed

Search and Surveillance Bill

The Search and Surveillance Bill passed its final reading in Parliament last month.  Controversial from the outset, this Bill based on a recommendations from a 2007 Law Commission report updates and clarifies the law on the powers of the Police and other agencies to carry out search and surveillance operations.

The Bill was first introduced in 2009.  The Justice and Electoral committee heard public submissions on the Bill, but in 2010 sent the Bill back for redrafting.  The committee was concerned the Bill had insufficient restrictions on agencies conducting search and surveillance operations and provided insufficient protections for human rights.

Cabinet recommended a number of changes and in late 2010 the returned to select committee for a second, this time brief, submission period.  The committee reported back to Parliament recommending the Bill be passed but it languished on the Order Paper for more than a year.

It languished for so long it forced the passing, under urgency last year, of the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill. That Bill was passed as a temporary measure to allow evidence in the Urewera trial, ruled by the Supreme Court to have been unlawfully obtained, to be “restrospectively validated” so that and other trials could be moved forward.

There are many people who will never like, approve or support any laws of this nature.  In its final stage the Search and Surveillance Bill was opposed by all opposition parties.  It is a shame that if it had to pass at all it was handled so badly at all stages.

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March 2012

from Nicola Shirlaw

Follow the links below to go direct to the following sections:

News| Announced | Introduced | Submissions Requested

Monthly Legislation Update table

This table summarises the progress of sector-related legislation through the parliamentary process for the current month and is updated monthly.

> View the table

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News

Payroll giving systems advice for employers

A new website has been set up to make it easier for employers to provide payroll giving schemes in their workplace.

The website, established by the snappily entitled Payroll Giving Early Adopters Group, provides information from employers already operating successful payroll giving schemes.  The information is aimed at both large and small employers.  Guides for both employers and employees, as well as clubs, charities and community organisations, can be downloaded from the site.

February 2012

from Nicola Shirlaw

We last reported at the end of the 49th Parliament back in October 2011 before the General Election last November.

The new Parliament has resumed and the following summarises recent activity.

Bills carried over from the last Parliament

After every election the new Parliament can reinstate, or carry over, unfinished business from the previous Parliament.  Many of the Bills we have been following last year have been reinstated, and some are now currently before a select committee.

Just because a Bill is reinstated, however, doesn’t mean it will be dealt with any faster.

The Public Health Bill, for example, was introduced by the 2005-2008 Labour Government.  It was reinstated on the Order Paper after the 2008 election, and has been reinstated again into this Parliament.  To what end we can but wonder.

Follow the links below to go direct to the following sections:

News| Announced | Introduced | Submissions Requested | Reported back

Monthly Legislation Update table

This table summarises the progress of sector-related legislation through the parliamentary process for the current month and is updated monthly.

> View the table

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News from Parliament

Funding for support services for MPs | Extended sitting hours | Ministerial Portfolios and select committee membership

Funding for support services for MPs

Staffing and services funding for MPs has usually been less of a controversial issue than MPs salaries and allowances, but the recent announcement that Parliamentary Services may not fund a note taker for Green MP Mojo Mathers  has brought this issue to the fore.

Mathers is New Zealand’s first profoundly deaf MP, and since her election Parliamentary Services has been working with the Green Party to provide her with appropriate support.   Technical equipment at her seat in the House allowing her to receive an electronic transcript of all that is said has been provided, but it became apparent this week funding did not extend to paying a staff person to write the transcript.

Speaker Lockwood Smith has said providing funding for an additional staff member is beyond the appropriations budget, and it was suggested the money should come out of Mathers’ own support budget, rather than incur an additional taxpayer-funded expense.

But Smith may have misjudged the public mood on this one.

It seems likely the taxpayer is much happier to fund a notetaker for Mathers than it is to continue, for example,to fund the travel of retired MPs.

This doesn’t even have to be a disability issue.  Some MPs have always cost more than others.  MPs with young children, for example, receive a travel subsidy for those children not available to MPs without, and MPs who live in geographically large electorates, or some distance from the nearest airport, have higher travel costs.

The Green Party is understood to be seeking a legal opinion on this, but it’s a shame they had to.  Funding every MP to do the job they were elected to do shouldn’t be a difficult issue.

Extended sitting hours

A review of Standing Orders late last year (Standing Orders are the rules under which Parliament and select committees operate) means Parliament can now sit for longer periods without having to go into urgency.

Usual sitting hours are 2.00 – 6.00 pm and 7.30 – 10.00 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 2.00 – 6.00 pm on Thursdays.

Under new rules the House can sit for an extra four hours/week (or longer if the Business committee, made up of members of all parties agree).

This will allow Parliament to more easily progress an always full legislative programme.

It doesn’t mean, however, that Bills will necessarily be rushed, as they can be under urgency.

Bills considered during an extended session will only be able to progress through one stage.

Rules surrounding urgency have also been tightened.

For example, a Minister wanting to go into urgency to fast-track a Bill will have to give reasons why urgency is required.

> Read the full report of the review of Standing Orders

Ministerial Portfolios and select committee membership

Before Christmas, the Government announced the Ministerial List, i.e. which Ministers would be responsible for which portfolios.

MPs from each of National’s three support parties (the Maori Party, United Future and ACT) hold some portfolios but, as with the last government, will be Ministers outside Cabinet.

> Read the full list of Ministerial responsibilities

Select committee membership, and who will chair each of Parliament’s 18 select committees has also been decided and is also available.

> Read the full list of select committee members

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Announced

Increase in minimum wage

The Government has announced an increase in the minimum wage

• The minimum wage will increase from $13.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour
• The training and new entrants wage will increase from $10.40 per hour to $10.80 per hour

The increases will take effect from 1 April 2012.

> Get more information

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Introduced

Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill | Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill

Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill

This Members’ Bill (David Clark, Labour) was drawn from the ballot last week.

The Bill provides that in years when Waitangi Day and/or Anzac Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the following Monday.  This is usually referred to as “Mondayising”

There are currently 11 public holidays;.  These are days where employees receive a paid “day off” (different entitlements apply to employers required to work on a public holiday).  The different public holidays all behave, and are treated, differently:

• Some holidays are “fixed”, for example, Labour Day is always the fourth Monday in October, and Good Friday and Easter Monday are always, well, on  a Friday and Monday.  This means that although the date may change these holidays never fall on a weekend day.
• Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and the day after, are protected and can be “Mondayised”.  This means that if, for example, Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a Saturday and Sunday, the public holidays are observed on 27 and 28 December.
• Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are observed on the day they fall.  So, if for example, Waitangi Day falls on a Saturday, employees not working that day have no entitlement to payment and no paid day off.

In 2011, New Zealand employees were particularly short-changed.  Waitangi Day was on a Sunday, and Anzac Day and Easter Monday fell on the same day, meaning there were in effect only nine public holidays last year.

The Government has received advice from the Department of Labour that Mondayising Waitingi or Anzac day would cost employers and the economy $200 million/holiday.

National have yet to decide their position on the Bill, but it could pass even without their support.  United Future MP, Peter Dunne, has said he will support the Bill.  His vote plus the votes of all opposition parties would at least see the Bill through to select committee.

Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill

This Government Bill, introduced at the end of the last Parliament in the name of the Prime Minister, establishes a new “framework” for setting the salaries and allowances of MPs and Ministers.

Funding and payment of MPs has long been a controversial issue and criticisms have particularly focussed on the perception that as the foxes were in charge of the henhouse, the system was inherently unfair.

Changes introduced by the Bill include:

• travel and accommodation entitlements of MPs and Ministers will be set by the independent Remuneration Authority (instead of the Speaker or the Government Minister responsible for Ministerial services).
• the current voluntary disclosure of MPs travel and accommodation spending will become a statutory requirement.
• the amount that MPs absent from the House can have deducted from their salary will increase from $10.00 a day to 0.2% of their salary (about $270.00 day on current figures).

The Government hopes to have the Bill both passed and in force by the end of 2012.

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Submissions requested

Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill | Consumer Law Reform Bill | Electronic Identity Verification Bill | Law Commission Proposals for Alternative Trial Processes | MMP Review

Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill

Under current laws, agencies holding personal information can only share or disclose that information if they have reasonable grounds to believe disclosure is necessary to prevent a “serious and imminent threat” to the health or safety of an individual or the public.

This new Government Bill lowers this threshold.

The requirement that a threat is “imminent” will be removed, meaning agencies may share information if they believe there is a serious threat to safety.

The Bill will allow, for example, social workers, the Police, health workers and other service providers to more freely share information.

Justice Minister Judith Collins believes the Bill will, in particular, provide increased protection for vulnerable children and young people.

Submissions to the Justice and Electoral committee close 23 March 2012.

Consumer Law Reform Bill

The Consumer Law Reform Bill, a Government Bill, is what is known as an “omnibus Bill” – a Bill that introduces a number of reforms to a number of existing laws.

This Bill incorporates ten different Acts including the Consumer Guarantees Act, the Fair Trading Act and the Weights and Measures Act and is the first significant change to consumer laws in almost 20 years.

Current technology enabling online shopping and selling sites such as TradeMe was never envisaged by existing laws, and the new Bill will provide some protections.

For example, currently goods brought through an online auction are not covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act as it excludes goods bought at auction.

Under the new Bill sales by professional sellers by online auction will be covered.

Submissions to the Commerce Committee close on 29 March 2012

Electronic Identity Verification Bill

The Electronic Identity Verification Bill, a Government Bill, is intended to make it easier for people to access online services from government agencies.

Currently people using online services have to provide a number of documents as evidence of their identity, and these must be provided separately to each agency.

This Bill enhances the operation of the igovt identity verification service (currently operating in a limited form for online ordering of certificates and copies of records from the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry) and gives people the choice of verifying their identity through the internet.

The service works in combination with the igovt log-on service, which allows people to use one log-on to access secure online services across multiple government agencies.

Government agencies using the online identification service will also continue to accept documentary evidence of identity if people choose.

Submissions to the Government Administration Committee close 30 March 2012.

Law Commission Proposals for Alternative Trial Processes

The Law Commission has been asked by the Government to review both trial and pre-trial processes to see if they can be improved to become fairer and more efficient.

The Commission has prepared a consultation document and is seeking public feedback on a number of reforms including:

• limiting the role of the parties to the case and their lawyers and allowing the judge to more actively control trial proceedings.
• creating specialist sexual violence courts.  These would be used for sexual violence cases where the offender pleads guilty.  It is suggested specialist courts may be more able to address the causes of offending and develop programmes for sexual violence offenders.
• the possibility of providing a process for resolving some sexual violence cases outside the criminal justice system.  Currently only a small number of sexual violence offences are reported to the Police.  Victims are often reluctant to be part of a criminal trial – an alternative process could still see an offender held to account.

Submissions to the Law Commission close on 27 April 2012.

The Commission is trialling a new consultation format.

> Read about how to make a submission to the Law Commission

MMP review

With the majority of voters voting to retain MMP in last year’s referendum, the Electoral Commission is now undertaking the promised review of how MMP works.

The Electoral Referendum Act, passed by the previous Parliament, sets out the issues the Commission must consider as part of the review.

These include:

• What threshold, or percentage of the vote, parties have to reach to qualify for list seats in parliament.  Currently the threshold is 5%.  The Royal Commission on the Electoral System, who recommended in 1986 that New Zealand adopt MMP, suggested a threshold of 4% but this was raised to 5%.
• Who should decide the order of candidates on a party list.  Currently party lists are set by the parties.  One option is that lists are open, meaning that voters can alter the ranking of candidates.
• What happens when parties win more electorate seats than their share of the party vote would otherwise entitle them to.  Currently this causes an “overhang”, meaning there are additional seats in Parliament. (In both 2008 and 2011 the Maori Party won more seats than their share of the party vote – making a 122 seat Parliament in 2008 and a 121 seat parliament in 2011).
• Should a person be able to stand as a candidate for an electorate seat and also be on a party list.  This may be the aspect of MMP most disliked by the general public.  The perception that candidates rejected by the voters can still enter Parliament rankles many.

The issues of Maori representation and the Maori seats, and the size of Parliament (the number of MPs) are NOT part of this review.

Read about how to make a submission

The initial period of consultation closes 31 May 2012.

After this date a series of public hearings will be held around the country (people wanting to present a submission at one of these hearings must send their submission by 5 April).

The Commission will then release a proposals paper, with another period of public submissions.  A final report will be presented to Parliament in October.

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Reported back

Spending Cap (People’s Veto) Bill

This Bill, introduced in the last Parliament, by Rodney Hide in his role of Minister of Regulatory Reform, was designed to limit increases in government spending.   (Under their 2008 confidence and supply agreement with ACT, National had agreed to support such a Bill to select committee.)

The Bill aimed to limit, or “cap”, the annual increase in core Crown expenditure, by linking it to the rate of inflation and the rate of population growth.

Secondly, it introduced a requirement that if in any one year a government wanted to increase spending above the “cap”, they could only do so if a majority of voters in a binding referendum supported an increase.

The Finance and Expenditure committee have recommended the Bill not be passed.  The Government have agreed, as part of the 2011 confidence and supply agreement between National and ACT, to introduce legislation to limit growth in core Crown operating spending, rendering this Bill redundant.

October 2011

Farewell to the 49th Parliament

from Nicola Shirlaw

The 49th Parliament is now at an end.  The House rose on 6th October and was officially dissolved on 20th October.

It is expected the new Parliament will sit sometime in December, but this of course depends on how long it takes to form a government after the election on November 26th.

This Parliament has passed 293 Government Bills (and just two Members’ Bills), sat for 266 days, received 1046 select committee reports and passed 30 urgency motions.

It has also sat through trying times—the collapse and rescue of South Canterbury Finance, the Canterbury earthquakes, the Pike River coal mining disaster and the ongoing environmental effects of the oil leaks from the Rena oil spill.  Not to mention a global financial crisis that appears in no hurry to abate.

Whatever the result of this election, we know already the next Parliament will look different—18 sitting MPs have retired, and, with the retirement of long-standing MP Jim Anderton, so too has the Progressive Party.

Follow the links below to go direct to the following sections:

Announced | Introduced | Submissions Requested | Reported back | Passed | News

Monthly Legislation Update table

This table summarises the progress of sector-related legislation through the parliamentary process for the current month and is updated monthly.

> View the table

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Announced

Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update | Alternative court processes for child victims

Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update

Since 1994, and now part of the Public Finance Act, governments are required to provide a public statement of their precise financial position at the beginning of an election campaign.

This allows all political parties to have access to the same information during the election campaign, and prevents surprises for incoming governments.

Fortunately for the current government this means this year’s Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) was released on Tuesday—just two days after the World Cup final, while most New Zealanders’ minds were elsewhere.

To be fair, it is not all bad news.

Unemployment is forecast to drop to 4.9% by 2013 (it is currently 6.5%), and New Zealand is on track to return to surplus by 2015.  However, Treasury has also indicated there is a high risk the economy could worsen.

New Zealand’s overall indebtedness is likely to rise from 70% of GDP to 80% over the next five years (mainly due to the investment required to rebuild Christchurch) and estimates of the cost of the Canterbury earthquake continue to rise.

It is also difficult to know whether current estimates of economic growth and recovery are accurate. My local newspaper provided a helpful little table comparing Treasury estimates from the 2008 PREFU forecasts with what actually happened.  For example, in 2008 it was estimated that economic growth would be at 3.3% by 2011 (it is 1.5%), and the deficit forecast for 2011 was $2.4 billion—much less that the $18.4 billion deficit we currently face.

Whether the figures provided this week turn out to be any more accurate than the 2008 forecasts, it is inarguable that the economy will be a big, if not the big, election issue.

Alternative court processes for child victims

Cabinet has approved a series of reforms changing the way child witnesses are treated in criminal proceedings.

The reforms are based, in part, on research from the Auckland University of Technology that found that more than 70% of child witnesses did not understand a question they were asked in court and that 30% of children cried while giving evidence.

The reforms proposed are extensive but include:

• Giving all child witnesses the automatic right to a support person while giving evidence
• Developing a new model, using specialists trained in language comprehension of children, to improve questioning of child complainants in court
• Introducing a presumption that children under 12 will give evidence by video recording or CCTV

The reforms will be included in the Evidence Amendment Bill, expected to be introduced early 2012.

> Read a copy of the Cabinet paper here

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Introduced

Child Support Amendment Bill | Human Right Amendment Bill | Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing and Remedial Matters) Bill | Victims of Crime Reform Bill

Child Support Amendment Bill

This Government Bill, introduced in the last sitting week of Parliament, introduces changes to the child support calculation formula.

The current formula recognises shared care only if a liable parent has care for at least 40% of nights/year.  The Bill introduces a new formula recognising shared care at 28% of nights and gives IRD the discretion to recognise significant day-time care (as well as nights) when assessing shared care.

The new formula will also consider the total income of both parents, and take into account revised estimates of the current costs of raising children.  These will vary depending on the number and the age of children, and the total income of both parents (and will include a cap on the amount of child support payable.

If passed by the next Parliament, the new child support formula would apply from 1 April 2013.

Human Rights Amendment Bill

This Government Bill establishes the new position of full-time Disability Commissioner, responsible for the promotion and protection of the rights of disabled peoples.  The new Commissioner will be part of the Human Rights Commission.

The Bill also makes changes to the composition of the Commission, replacing, for example the current combination of full and part-time Commissioners to full-time Commissioners only, and provided there must be Commissioners appointed to lead specified priority areas.  These include race relations, equal employment opportunities and disability rights.

The Bill was introduced after the House rose for the final time and so has not had its first reading or been referred to select committee.

Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing and Remedial Matters) Bill

Also a Government Bill, this Bill introduces a number of changes from the Making Tax Easier consultation in 2010 and changes to KiwiSaver announced in this year’s Budget.

Changes to current rules include:

• Allowing taxpayers to submit and store all tax returns electronically.  This means businesses will no longer be required to keep hard copy records (provided electronic files can be accessed).
• Increasing KiwiSaver contributions for employers and employees. The minimum employee contribution rate will increase from 2% to 3%, as will the employer contribution rate.  Increases will take effect from 1 April 2013.
• Requiring taxpayers who do not have to file a tax return but still choose to, to file returns for the previous four tax years as well.  Currently many individual taxpayers do not have to file tax returns, but an increasing number of people are.  Inland Revenue believes taxpayers are “cherry-picking” – filing tax returns in years where PAYE has been over-deducted from their salary and not in years where it has been under-deducted (unbelievable….).  Requiring taxpayers to also file for previous years will allow Inland Revenue to off-set over-deductions of PAYE.

The Bill has been referred to the Finance and Expenditure committee but was not reported back before the end of the parliamentary term.

Victims of Crime Reform Bill

One of a number of Bills introduced this month by retiring Justice Minister Simon Power—surely one of the busiest Ministers of this Parliament—this Bill aims to make the justice system “more responsive to the needs of victims”.

The Bill will give victims of serious offences the automatic right to read their victim impact statement in court, and more choice about what is included in the statement, including attaching drawings and photographs.

The Bill also makes changes to the Victim Notification System by widening the victims entitled to receive notice through the system, and increasing the information made available.

This Bill has been referred to the Justice and Electoral committee.

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Submissions requested

Review of Family Court | Green Paper for Vulnerable Children

Review of Family Court

Submissions can still be made to the Government’s discussion document on the recent review of the Family Court.

The discussion document, together with the feedback received, will form part of the Government’s proposals to reform the Family Court.

> Read  copy of the discussion document

Submissions close on 29 February 2012. Either email to familycourtreview@justice.govt.nz

or post to:

Review of the Family Court
Ministry of Justice
DX SX10088
Wellington

People who have used Family Court services also have the opportunity to complete an online questionnaire about their experiences. This information will also form part of the review.

> Access the questionnaire

Green Paper for Vulnerable Children

A reminder that submissions can still be made to the Government’s Green Paper for Vulnerable Children.

> Read or download a copy of the Paper

This includes information about how to make a submission.

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Passed

Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill | Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill | …and not passed

Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill

This Government Bill gives effect to the recent settlement of the long-running dispute over the payment of disability workers on sleep-over shifts.

The Bill was introduced under urgency in late September and referred to the Health committee for consideration.

The Government was anxious to pass the Bill before the House rose, so the committee was given a very short period to receive submissions and report back (although did manage to hear three oral submissions and consider five written in this time period) and the Bill was passed through all stages on 6 October.

The new law applies to those employees in the health and disability sector who are required to be at their workplace overnight, who are allowed to sleep but who also must be available to carry out duties during the night as required.

Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill

In last month’s of Legal Update we wrote about the introduction of this highly controversial Government Bill.

> Read previous story

Introduced under urgency, the Bill was the Government’s response to a recent Supreme Court decision ruling that evidence gained from secret filming during the Urewera investigations was illegally obtained, and that up to 40 pending trials could be similarly affected.

Government support parties ACT and United Future agreed to support the Bill only through its first reading if the Government agreed to refer the Bill to select committee for a, albeit brief, period of public submissions. Their support beyond this however was not guaranteed.

In the end, to gain sufficient support to pass the Bill the Government had to make several changes.

The most significant of these was the removal of the retrospective parts of the Bill (that would have made some previous video surveillance lawful) but also had to agree that all authorised video surveillance under the Bill will be subject to protections of the Bill of Rights Act, and the Bill will only last for six months, rather than a year as first proposed.

This will still give the new Parliament time to revive the Search and Surveillance Bill (reported back from select committee in 2010 but yet to be passed).

A  good example of the checks on government an MMP parliament can provide.

And not passed…..

A quick glance at the Legislation Update table will show you that many Bills are still waiting to pass through all or some of their stages, (and that is just the Bills that Law Scene has been following; there are many more).

What happens to these Bills?

Bills, and other parliamentary business, not finished or passed before Parliament is dissolved, lapse.  It is then up to the next Parliament to decided what Bills and other matters from the previous Parliament will be “reinstated” and continue their passage through select committee and the House.

Usually Bills are reinstated, but a new Government could use this as an opportunity to get rid of Bills they don’t support.

> Read a list of all the unfinished business from this Parliament

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News

Gift Duty | One in four young voters not enrolled

Gift Duty

For many years people giving “gifts” of more than $27,000 a year were liable to pay gift duty, essentially a tax payable to Inland Revenue.

Many gifts, for example, donations to charitable trusts, were exempt from gift duty.

Last year the Government announced gift duty would be abolished from 1 October 2011, as the costs of compliance were high compared to the revenue gained.

At the time Labour criticised the removal of gift duty as a “tax cut by stealth for the wealthiest New Zealanders”.

One in four young voters not enrolled

The Electoral Enrolment Centre has expressed concern that over 26% of young people aged 18-24 years are still not enrolled to vote.

Youth enrolment often lags behind other age groups but the number of young people enrolled continues to decline.  Currently only 73.4% 18-24 year olds are enrolled, compared to 76% at the same point before the 2008 election.

In some electorates the figures are very sobering.  Just 44.7% of young people are enrolled in Auckland Central and 49.9% in Dunedin.

The Electoral Commission has received some criticism for not allowing online registration, believing this would encourage young people to enrol, but this was not possible for this election.

Printed electoral rolls closed this week, but it is still possible to enrol up until the 25 November, the day before the election.

Voters not on the printed roll have to make a “special declaration vote” which involves filling out an additional form at a polling booth when they go to vote.

> Find information about enrolment

The Mana Party would like to see the voting age lowered to include young people aged 16 and 17.

Current enrolment figures would make you wonder if this would be worth it, but Mana’s plan that such a move would be accompanied by the introduction of civics education into the school curriculum is probably the missing link whether or not the voting age is lowered.

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September 2011

from Nicola Shirlaw

Where does the time go? There are just two sitting weeks left before this Parliament rises for the last time, and nine weeks before the election on 26 November.

Follow the links below to go direct to the following sections:

Announced | Introduced | Submissions Requested | Passed | News

Monthly Legislation Update table

This table summarises the progress of sector-related legislation through the parliamentary process for the current month and is updated monthly.

> View the table

Announced

New child abuse hotline for teachers | Government to run Rugby World Cup

New child abuse hotline for teachers

The Government has introduced a new service intended to make it easier for teachers to contact Child Youth and Family to report suspected child abuse.

The package, called “Education Assist”, includes a dedicated phone line and online contact team, and a “feedback loop” from the CYF contact centre to schools after reports of abuse have been made.

Both teachers unions, the NZEI and the PPTA have welcomed the dedicated phone line, although the NZEI have questioned whether two staff will be sufficient to manage it.

Education Assist recognises the role schools play in reporting and dealing with incidents of abuse.

After the police and health professionals, teachers are the largest group reporting suspected child abuse cases to CYF.

Government to run Rugby World Cup

After the widely-reported transport and overcrowding problems on the opening night of the Rugby World Cup, the Government announced it would use its special powers under the Rugby World Cup 2011 Act (that pretty much allow the government to do anything it likes) to take control of parts of Auckland’s waterfront during the tournament.

This announcement shifted responsibility from the Auckland Council to the government for the remainder of the Cup.

Running a partyzone…isn’t this just what you want your Government to be spending its time on?

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Introduced

Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill

It is probably fitting that in these last days of the current Parliament, the Government is using urgency to introduce and pass controversial legislation.

You may remember the Government used its first sitting weeks in late 2008 to pass under urgency a Bill allowing small businesses to employ new employees under a 90-day trial period. If nothing else then, there is a certain symmetry to the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill being rushed through the House.

A recent Supreme Court ruling found that evidence gained from secret filming in the Urewera case was unlawfully obtained and that police had exceeded their legal authority (the ruling meant that charges were dropped against 13 of the people charged after the 2007 raids).

After receiving advice from the Crown Law Office that the Court’s decision could affect up to 40 pending trials—also relying on evidence obtained through covert filming—the Government announced the introduction of this Bill.

The Bill will, in effect, suspend the effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling, retrospectively “validate” evidence already obtained though covert filming, and allow the other trials to move forward.

The Bill will be introduced under urgency, with the support of ACT and United Future on 27 September.  It will then be referred to the Justice and Electoral committee for a (very) brief period of public submissions, and the Committee will report back on 3 October.

This will allow the Bill to be passed before the House rises on 6 October.

The Bill is intended to be temporary only, as the Government plans to pass the Search and Surveillance Bill in 2012.

Which begs the question as to why it has not been passed already? The Bill came back from select committee in November last year, and had it been passed all of this could have been avoided.  Even the Supreme Court was critical of the Government’s delay.

At the time of writing, support for the Bill beyond select committee appears uncertain.

Some commentators have suggested that, if the Government is unable to secure the numbers to pass the Bill after its brief appearance at select committee, Labour may support the Bill in its final stages.  This would prevent National turning their lack of support into a law and order election issue.

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Submissions requested

Review of Family Court | Green Paper for Vulnerable Children | Spending Cap (People’s Veto) Bill

Review of Family Court

In April, the Government announced a review of the Family Court.

In particular, the Government was concerned at the increasing expenditure of the Court (from $83.9million in 2005 to $137million in 2010), even though applications to the Court had remained about the same, and believed there was little evidence to show that increased expenditure had led to improved outcomes.

The Government has released a discussion document on issues raised by the review and is seeking public feedback.

The discussion document, together with the feedback received, will form part of the Government’s proposals to reform the Family Court.

A copy of the discussion document is available through the Ministry of Justice website.

The period for making submissions is a long one—they close on 29 February 2012.

Email to familycourtreview@justice.govt.nz or post to Review of the Family Court, Ministry of Justice, DX SX10088, Wellington.

People who have used Family Court services can also complete an online questionnaire about their experiences. The information from this will also form part of the review.

> Access the link to the  questionnaire

Green Paper for Vulnerable Children

A reminder that submissions can still be made to the Government’s Green Paper for Vulnerable Children.

> Read or download a copy of the Paper ( including information about how to make a submission)

Spending Cap (People’s Veto) Bill

Rodney’s revenge?  His last hurrah?

This Bill, introduced by Rodney Hide as Minister of Regulatory Reform, is designed to limit increases in government spending.

The Bill aims to limit, or cap, the annual increase in core Crown expenditure, by linking it to the rate of inflation and the rate of population growth.

Secondly, it introduces a requirement that if in any one year a government wants to increase spending above the “cap”, they must obtain the support of a majority of voters in a binding referendum.

Hide argues it has been easier for this and previous Governments to increase spending, rather than reprioritise and seek efficiencies and that has seen, for example, government expenses increase from 28.8% of GDP in 2004 to a projected 36% in 2011.

He believes the Bill would lead to (and I quote) “government objectives being delivered through a state sector that takes up a smaller share of the economy….to allow a lower tax burden…supporting higher economic growth.”  Vintage ACT…

The confidence and supply agreement between National and ACT after the last election, provides for this Bill (formerly called the Taxpayer Rights Bill) to be referred to select committee as a Government Bill.  Which it has.

Submissions to the Finance and Expenditure committee close 20 October 2011.  National has not undertaken to support the Bill beyond select committee.

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Reported back

Alcohol Reform Bill

The Justice and Electoral committee has reported back on this Bill, and has recommended it be passed, with amendments.

The Bill is the Government’s response to the 2010 Law Commission report on alcohol use in New Zealand, and its objectives included reducing excessive drinking and improving the way local communities could be involved in local alcohol licensing applications.

The Bill introduces a number of reforms, including a split drinking age: 18 years for alcohol purchases from on-licence premises (bars and restaurants) and 20 years for alcohol purchases from off-licences.

The Law Commission had recommended the drinking age be increased to 20 years across the board and this was supported by many who made submissions to the select committee, but the committee has recommended the split drinking age be retained.

Changes to the Bill recommended by select committee include specifically prohibiting convenience stores from selling alcohol, and limiting alcohol display in supermarkets to a single “non-prominent” part of the premises.

Critics of the Bill—and there are many—argue the Bill does not do enough to address the excessive drinking culture of New Zealand, and ignores, for example, advertising, sponsorship and introducing minimum pricing for alcohol.

The Justice Minister intends to establish an “expert forum” to consider whether further restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship are required.

At the time of writing it is unlikely the Bill will pass before the election.

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Passed

Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) | Child and Family Protection Bill

Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2)

This Government Bill passed this month.  It creates a new offence of failing to protect a child or vulnerable adult (a person in care for reasons of age or disability) from the risk of death, grievous bodily harm or sexual assault.  A person over 18 years could be found liable under this offence if

• They are a member of the same household as the victim (or very closely associated with the household) or a staff member at the hospital or institution where the victim lives AND
• They are aware the victim is at risk and fail to take steps to protect them.

In other words, if a person living in the same household (or a frequent visitor to that household) knows that a child or vulnerable adult at that house is at risk of abuse, they must take reasonable steps to protect them.

The penalty for ill-treating or neglecting a child is increased from five to ten years.

Child and Family Protection Bill

The Child and Family Protection Bill—a Government Bill introduced in 2009—has passed, but not in its original form. In its final stages, the Bill was divided into three separate Bills:

• Domestic Violence Amendment Bill
• Care of Children Amendment Bill
• Adoption Amendment Bill

The purpose and intent of the legislation remains the same: to provide greater protections to children and young people affected by domestic violence.

The Bill tightens some procedures to ensure, for example, that a child under a protection order will continue to be protected if they live at home after they turn 17.

It also clarifies that when a protected person dies, their children will remain protected without the need for an additional order.

The Bill passed with the unanimous support of Parliament

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News

Update: Disability workers on sleep-over shifts | Update: Canterbury Earthquake

Update: Disability workers on sleep-over shifts

The very long-running dispute about payment for disability workers on “sleep-over” shifts appears to have finally been resolved.

You will remember that the issue at the centre of this dispute was whether workers on sleep-over shifts were “working” for every hour of that shift.

The worker at the centre of the original employment claim received an allowance of $34.00/shift, but argued he should be paid at least the minimum wage for every hour he was required to be at work.

The Employment Court and the Court of Appeal agreed, but successive appeals by residential care providers had delayed resolution of the dispute.

Care providers consistently maintained that under current funding arrangements with the Government they were unable to pay workers at that rate, and IHC had recently been granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

After having earlier appeared unwilling to provide additional funding, the Government has reached an agreement under which disability support workers will be paid the minimum wage for sleepover shifts from Christmas 2012.

Under the agreement, over 5,500 workers on sleep-over shifts will receive $55 million in backpay, plus an ongoing $47.5 million a year from Christmas 2012.

Sleepover pay will increase in three steps to reach the full minimum wage of $13.00 an hour at that date.

The Government will pay the first two increases, but only fund the increase to the full minimum wage from July 2013.

IHC and other affected residential care providers will carry the extra cost of paying the full rate from Christmas, and will pay the balance of the backpay owing to affected workers.

Update: Canterbury Earthquake

I hesitate every time I think about writing about—or even mentioning—the Christchurch earthquakes in this Legal Update.

I imagine that if you don’t live in Christchurch, you’re completely over hearing about Christchurch residents and businesses and the myriad of problems they face (if it is any consolation we are pretty over it ourselves, and we frequently ask what it was that we talked about before February).

This story, however, confirms what was predicted immediately after the earthquake—that this was a civil disaster that wasn’t just going to affect Christchurch, but would affect us all.

Revised EQC estimates released last month showed the Commission had increased its Canterbury earthquake liability from $3.1 billion to $7.1 billion.

This completely exhausts the $6 billion Natural Disaster Fund the Commission had built up, and leaves the government to pay the rest. It also means EQC has no reserves should there be another natural disaster in any part of the country, so the Government would have to meet the first $1.5 billion of any further earthquakes before reinsurance starts to contribute.

With the Government currently underwriting both the EQC and Christchurch-based insurance company AMI (the largest residential insurer in Canterbury whose earthquake claims exceed their reinsurance cover), I imagine the Government has more than their fingers crossed!

I was on holiday in the Netherlands when this story came out—it was the only news about New Zealand we saw reported while we were away (although the Dutch don’t play rugby…)

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August 2011

from Nicola Shirlaw

Go direct to:

Announced | Submissions Requested | Reported back | News

Announced

A Constitutional Review for New Zealand | Possible changes to KiwiSaver | Review of the Privacy Act | Select Committee Inquiry into milk pricing | New telephone services announced | No valedictory speech from Hide

A Constitutional Review for New Zealand

In December last year the Government announced it would begin a constitutional review.  (The review had been promised as part of National’s confidence and supply agreement with the Maori Party, signed after the 2008 election.) Issues to be covered by the review include

• Whether we should have a written constitution
• The role of the Treaty of Waitangi within our constitutional and legal framework
• The length of the electoral term; whether it should be longer and should the term be “fixed” (to prevent Prime Ministers calling early or “snap” elections)
• Issues around Maori representation including the Maori electoral option (whereby voters can choose to be on the General or Maori electoral role), and Maori seats in Parliament and on local government

The review will also cover a couple of old chestnut—the size of Parliament (whether we should have more or less MPs) and electoral integrity legislation.

But there is also a notable omission.  It seems very odd that a review of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements will not include a debate about republicanism, or whether we want to retain our current system whereby the Queen is our Head of State.

The Government has announced the membership of the Constitutional Advisory Panel responsible for the public consultation part of the review.

Public consultation will begin in 2012, (to leave a clear path for the electoral referendum in November this year) and the Panel will report to the Government in September 2013 identifying areas of “broad public consensus.”

The Government will then have six months to consider whether any changes are required.  (Changes on any of the issues covered in the review these will either require cross-party agreement or the support of the majority of voters in a referendum.)

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Possible Changes to KiwiSaver

The Government has announced it is considering making changes to KiwiSaver that would see all employees who do not already have a KiwiSaver account automatically enrolled in the scheme.

Currently automatic enrolment applies only to people starting a new job.

The Government does not want to make KiwiSaver compulsory, so opt-out provisions (whereby employees who are automatically enrolled, but who do not want to participate can opt-out) will continue.

The Government has said any changes to the scheme are likely to be announced before the election in November.

This announcement has led the Employers and Manufacturers Association to call for a bi-partisan policy on KiwiSaver, in the hope that whichever parties are in government, changes to the scheme can be kept to a minimum.

They have not come out against KiwiSaver or changes to it but note that each time changes are made these impact on employers, as they are responsible for at least part of the scheme’s administration as well as making employer contributions.

Review of the Privacy Act

The Law Commission has just released the last of its four-stage review of the Privacy Act.  The Commission believes the main principles of the Act “remain sound” but is recommending a number of changes to the Act to improve its operation.

These include improving the complaints process and giving the Privacy Commissioner the power to make decisions on complaints about a person’s right to access their own personal information and amending the Act to allow some sharing of personal information between government agencies (within specified safeguards) to deal with problems such as child abuse.

The Commission is also recommending a “Do Not Call Register”.  This allows people to register that they do not want to receive telemarketing calls.   (A similar register in the United States has over 20 million people registered.)

The report has been tabled in Parliament and the Government will now consider its response to this and the reports for the two previous stages of the review.  Legislation will be passed to enact those recommendations accepted by the Government.

The Law Commission’s website has copies of the reports and an excellent section answering common questions about the Act and their recommendations for reform.

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Select Committee Inquiry into milk pricing

The Government has announced a select committee inquiry into milk pricing.

The Terms of Reference have yet to be announced, but are likely to include the factors driving milk pricing, and whether there is a competitive market for milk in New Zealand.  Lianne Dalzell, chair of the Commerce Committee, hopes the committee hearings and the report will be completed before the election in November.

Currently, the price of milk is effectively set by default. Fonterra collects 90% of raw milk, so the price it pays its farmers each year affects both the wholesale and retail markets.

An inter-departmental inquiry into raw milk prices is likely to be completed soon, but the obvious advantage to a select committee inquiry is that it will provide an opportunity for all people, from farmers all the way to the person buying their milk at the supermarket, to have a say on what has become a very hot topic.

The Commerce Commission had been considering a formal investigation into milk pricing but announced last week it did not have the scope under the Commerce Act to conduct such an inquiry.

New telephone services announced

The Government has announced new telephone and communications services for the deaf, blind, speech and hearing impaired communities. The new services will include “captioned telephony” which allows people to read live captions of telephone conversations.

The National Foundation for the Deaf, welcoming the announcement describe captioned telephony as a phone service as “close to real-time phone conversation as modern technology can allow”.

The new service will be introduced from the end of 2011 and will run as part of the Telephone Relay Service.  The Service will also allow relay calls from cell-phones.

No valedictory speech from Hide

Rodney Hide has announced be will not be giving a valedictory speech, traditionally given by retiring MPs, at the end of this Parliament.

Hide has said that as he is not retiring, but has been “pushed”, there will be no speech.

This seems rather a shame, because whatever you may think of Rodney Hide and his politics, he has without doubt been a colourful figure in New Zealand politics over the last 15 years.

Valedictory speeches over the year have ranged from the truly odd to the truly inspirational, but the most interesting thing about the ones I have watched is they are often the first time an MP is really themselves—not bound by party loyalties and policies—and it can be their finest moment.

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Submissions requested

Green Paper for Vulnerable Children

The Green Paper is a discussion document forming the basis of an eight-month consultation period on suggested changes to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

A number of ideas, actions and solutions are outlined in the Paper together with questions on areas the Government would like feedback on, but consultation is not limited to those questions or those ideas.

The Green Paper has been met with general support, but many groups believe the discussion initiated by the Paper has to be accompanied with addressing the wider issue of child poverty.

It is hard to imagine how outcomes for our most vulnerable children can be improved without addressing that nearly 20% of New Zealand children live in poverty.

The primary teachers’ union, NZEI, has also expressed some concerns about the possible introduction of mandatory reporting of child abuse.  The union is not opposed to mandatory reporting but say it needs to be accompanied by clear guidelines, and assurances that reports will be followed up.

> Read or download the Green Paper on the Childrens’ Action Plan website.

The consultation period is now open.  Information about how to make a submission can also be found on the same website.  Submissions close 28 February 2012

Reported back

Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2)

This Bill is what is known as an “omnibus Bill”, a single Bill that contains amendments to a number of different Acts.

Within this omnibus Bill is an amendment to the Charities Act 2005.

Currently there is uncertainty about the circumstances in which amateur sport can be considered charitable, and this doubt makes some charitable organisations reluctant to find sports organisations.

The Government Administration committee, which has considered this Bill, recommends the Charities Act be amended to clarify that amateur sport for its own sake is not charitable, but that it can be charitable if it is the means to achieve one of the four chartable purposes as defined in the Act.

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News

Tax credits for charitable donations | Update—Consumer Finance Summit | Copyright (Infringement File Sharing) Amendment Act

Tax credits for charitable donations

Inland Revenue issued what it calls a “Revenue Alert” earlier this month, warning about incorrect claims for tax credits on charitable donations.

Tax credits can be claimed for any charitable donation over $5.00, but the donation must be made “voluntarily, and provide no material benefit or advantage in return.”

Inland Revenue is aware of situations where tax credits are being claimed incorrectly and warn these could amount to fraud.

They give two examples of incorrect claims they have received.

The first is where a person gives money to a charity, but on the understanding the charity will use the money to buy goods and services from them.  That person then claims a donation tax credit on that money.  However, because they are receiving a benefit from their “donation” (the opportunity to sell goods and services to the charity) this is not a true gift or donation.

The second example is where a charity passes money raised in a fundraising activity to a person closely connected to the charity.  That person then “donates” the money to the charity and claims a tax credit for the “donation”. As the money donated back to the charity never belonged to the donor in the first place, it cannot be considered a donation, and tax credits cannot be claimed.

Inland Revenue say that if such arrangements did amount to fraud this could result in prosecution, but at the very least incorrect payments would have to be recovered and penalties imposed.

IRD doesn’t believe these practices are widespread, and are mainly being used by small local charities unaware of their tax obligations.

For more information contact Inland Revenue or visit their website

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Update—Consumer Finance Summit

Consumer Finance is suddenly a topic that is everywhere, and providing it leads to real change, this can only be a good thing.

The Government’s Consumer Finance Summit will meet to discuss whether the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act need to be amended to provide more protection to consumers, or whether this can be achieved through voluntary initiatives.

Also, as part of the Government’s proposal to review consumer credit laws, the Law Commission is currently reviewing the Credit (Repossession) Act and in particular is considering proposals to ban the repossession of some personal and essential items.

The Commission is considering whether the law needs to specifically state that certain items, such as passports and eftpos cards, can never be taken, whether “tools of trade”, children’s belongings and medical items should be protected and whether in certain cases repossession would require the Court’s consent.

The Commission is also seeking feedback from lenders on how current laws work for them.  The Commission is working with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs on the review.

And although National MP Sam Lotu-liga’s Member’s Bill, the Moneylenders (Licensing and Regulation) Bill has yet to be introduced to the House, it is gaining support.

Lotu-liga’s Bill introduces responsible lending provisions, including requiring the courts to consider the financial literacy and mental health of borrowers when deciding whether a loan should be enforceable, define contracts where interest rates are over 48% as “oppressive”, and require all moneylenders to be licensed and to put up a $20,000 “good behaviour bond”.

Update—Copyright (Infringement File Sharing) Amendment Act

This new law, controversially and at times farcically, rushed through Parliament earlier this year came into force on September 1.

The Act introduces a “three-strikes” regime to deter illegal file-sharing, allows internet service providers to send warning notices to customers infringing copyright, and could see a six-month suspension of internet accounts of repeat offenders.

Critics of the new law—and there are many—believe the Government has not done enough to publicise and explain the new law and that large organisations with a large number of users,  such as universities, schools  libraries, and even cafes, are particularly at risk.

One of the problems it has always seemed with this law is that most of us don’t understand it, but ignorance is not going to protect us either.