Select Committee Business

From 30 April to 7 May 2004

Committee meetings

Sixteen committee meetings were held this week, 14 in the parliamentary complex, one in Christchurch and one in Dunedin.

Reports presented

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

Commerce

Petition 2002/103 of Judy Attenberger and 909 others

Petition 2002/104 of Teresa Brown and 1108 others

Education and Science

2002/03 financial review of Career Services

2002/03 financial review of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority

Health

2002/03 financial review of Hawke's Bay District Health Board

Inquiry into hospital-acquired infection

Justice and Electoral

Judicial Matters Bill (71-2)

2002/03 financial review of the Legal Services Agency

Law and Order

Police Complaints Authority (Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct) Amendment Bill (114-2)

Local Government and Environment

2002/03 financial review of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority

Transport and Industrial Relations

Petition 1999/231 of Ross Sutherland and 584 others (I.13A)

Bills referred to select committees

The Foreshore and Seabed Bill was referred to the Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation Committee with a report due 5 November 2004.

The Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill was referred to the Law and Order Committee with a report due 4 November 2004.

The New Zealand Superannuation Amendment Bill was referred to the Social Services Committee with a report due 3 November 2004.

Changes in committee membership

Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation Committee

Hon Ken Shirley replaced Hon Richard Prebble (SO 187(2)).

Committee notes

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

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

The committee met this week to further its consideration of the 2002/03 financial review of Industry New Zealand. Two petitions regarding shop trading hours were also considered. In the afternoon the committee furthered its consideration of the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill. The briefing from TVNZ about its accountability to parliament was postponed.

The committee’s next meeting is on 13 May, when it will consider the 2002/03 financial review of Industry New Zealand. This will be open to the public from 10.05 am to 11.15 am. It will also further its consideration of the Electricity and Gas Industries Bill.

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

The committee met in Lincoln on 5 May when it visited two Crown Research Institutes: Crop & Food Research and Landcare Research.

On 6 May the committee presented its report on the 2002/03 financial reviews of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and Career Services. These reports can be viewed at:

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

The committee next meets on 12 May, to hear evidence on the Education (Export Education Levy) Amendment Bill. This will be open to the public from 10.00am to 11.45am. It will also consider the 2002/03 financial review of the Tertiary Education Commission, and the following two petitions:

Petition of Jill Hounsell and 2268 others, requesting that the House review and reverse cuts in special needs support for individual children in the Nelson region.

Petition of Fleur Fitzsimons and Andrew Kirton, requesting that the House note that 30,456 tertiary students and other members of New Zealand communities have signed a petition on matters related to student allowances.

These matters include adjusting the allowances parental income limit for inflation since 1992, instituting a system of a living allowance for all tertiary students and setting the level of the student living allowance equal to that of the unemployment benefit.

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

The committee met this week to consider the Taxation (Annual Rates, Venture Capital, and Miscellaneous Provisions) and the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bills.

The committee is scheduled to meet next week on 12 May to further 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.

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

On 3 and 4 May the Committee heard final submissions on the Maori Fisheries Bill in Wellington. The committee will commence consideration on May 11.

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

The committee met this week to hear evidence on its inquiry into New Zealand’s relationship with Latin America. The committee also gave further consideration to its inquiry into its relationship with Tonga and the petition of Wallace Drummond. Next week the committee will continue considering the Tonga inquiry. The committee will also hear evidence on the petition of Trevor Cullen and further consider the petition of Wallace Drummond.

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

This week the committee considered the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill and the Building Bill, and heard evidence on the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4). The committee also further considered the petition of Dr George Paterson Barton Vaitoa Sa and 100,000 others to repeal the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982. The committee next meets on 13 May to hear evidence on the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill. The hearing 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 two reports, on its financial review of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board for 2002/03 and on its inquiry into hospital-acquired infection. The latter report follows a report released in June 2003 by the Controller and Auditor-General on the management of hospital-acquired infection in public hospitals. The Controller and Auditor-General’s report comprehensively examined infection control procedures in New Zealand public hospitals and made 39 recommendations about how to improve such procedures.

The committee has closely followed the implementation of its recommendations by the Ministry of Health and individual District Health Boards. The report makes several recommendations:

higher priority should be given by the Ministry of Health to establishing a national surveillance programme for hospital-acquired infection

the Ministry of Health should set and enforce nationwide standards that apply to the collection of data on hospital-acquired infection rates and hospital-acquired bloodstream infection rates

the public should be able to easily access regularly updated information on infections through a Ministry of Health website.

The committee supports initiatives already undertaken by the Ministry of Health and the District Health Boards and will monitor further work in this area.

Both reports can be viewed at:

http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Content/SelectCommitteeReports/

Next week the committee will continue consideration on its remaining financial reviews, and further progress consideration of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill.

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

The committee met on 5 May to consider the 2002/03 financial review of the Legal Services Agency, the Care of Children Bill, and the Parole (Extended Supervision) and Sentencing Amendment Bill. The committee also heard evidence on the Care of Children Bill from the Principal Family Court Judge, specifically in relation to the openness of the Family Court.

At the committee’s next meeting on12 May it will consider the Care of Children Bill, the Sex Offenders Registry Bill, and the Parole (Extended Supervision) and Sentencing Amendment Bill.

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

The committee met this week to hear evidence from the Commonwealth Press Union on the Police Complaints Authority (Conditional Name Protection) Amendment Bill. It also considered the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2), where the New Zealand Drug Rape Trust gave a presentation to the committee on drug-assisted drug sexual assault, and then gave a submission on the bill.

The committee will meet next week to continue consideration of the Police Complaints Authority (Conditional Name Protection) Amendment Bill, the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, and will hear evidence on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). This will be open to the public from 12.00pm to 1.00pm. It will also hold a hearing of evidence with the New Zealand Police 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. This will be open to the public from 11.00am to 11.30am. Hearings for both the petition and the bill will be in Room G.003 Parliament House. The committee will also 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 presented its report on 3 May on the Police Complaints Authority (Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct) Amendment Bill. A copy of the report can be viewed at

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

The committee met this week to consider the Wellington City Council (Te Aro Reclamation Amendment) Bill, the financial review of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and 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 13 May to further consider the inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and subsequent actions taken.

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

On 6 May the committee considered its financial review of the Maori Broadcasting Funding Agency Te Mângai Pâho.

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

The committee met this week to consider the Meat Board Restructuring Bill, consider and hear submissions on Part 3 of the Fisheries Amendment Bill and consider 2002/03 financial reviews of AgriQuality Limited and ASURE New Zealand Limited. The committee’s next meeting is on 13 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 considered the regulation making powers in the Public Finance (State Sector) Management Bill. Next week the committee will conduct a hearing of evidence, which is open to the public, on its inquiry into affirmative resolution procedures.

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

The committee met on 6 May to start hearing evidence on the Social Security (Long-term Residential Care) Amendment Bill. The committee will next meet on 13 May to continue hearing evidence on the Social Security (Long-term Residential Care) Amendment Bill.

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

On 4 May the committee reported Petition 1999/231 of Ross Sutherland and 584 others to the House. The petition concerned Paraparaumu Airport that was sold by the Crown in 1995 and requested that the Government legislate to safeguard the long-term viability of Paraparaumu Airport as a full operational facility. The committee’s full findings can be found in its report, available as Report I.13A from Bennetts Government Bookshop and on the parliamentary website:

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

The committee concluded that:

Despite evidence that the airport was of strategic and national importance it was sold without any legal impediment to its sale, for non-airport purposes, in part or in total.
The price was set and agreed as if the airport must be retained and was therefore substantially below what it actually should have been if sold unencumbered – thus denying the taxpayers of New Zealand substantial capital return.

The interests of former owners of the land were known not to be adequately protected by the Public Works Act and subsequent sales of airport land have given rise to unfortunate controversy between the representatives of former owners and Paraparaumu Airport Limited.

Mâori interests were investigated by the ministry at the time of sale. It was wrongly assumed that the interests of former Mâori owners would be protected through s40 of the Public Works Act on the disposal of any surplus land.

Retrieving adequate paper records of this entire transaction was an arduous and difficult process. There is a very significant problem in making a sound judgement if adequate records are not kept. The paper trail on this entire process was woefully inadequate.

The evaluation stage of the tender process was seriously flawed and did not take sufficient account of the important public interest considerations relating to the airport.

The ‘government processes’ fell way below the standard that should be expected of an asset sale of this type.

For further information please contact:

Hon Mark Gosche, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. 027 270 9054

Meetings: The committee will meet in Auckland on 10 May at the Airport Centra Hotel, Scott’s Room, to hear submissions on the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill. The meeting will be open to the public from 9.50 am to 5.20 pm.

Further submissions on the Auckland bill will be heard in Wellington on 12 May from 3.45 pm to approximately 5.00 pm in committee room G.003.

On 13 May the committee meets in G.011 to hear further submissions on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill. This will be open to the public from 11.00 am to 12.45 pm.

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)

Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation

Foreshore and Seabed Bill (closing date not yet determined)

Law and Order

Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill (closing date not yet determined)

Local Government and Environment

Local Government Law Reform Bill (No 3) (7 May 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

ph: 471 9569, fax: 499 0486, or at louise.sparrer@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 7 May 2004

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