Select Committee Business

From 19 March to 26 March 2004

Committee meetings

Fourteen committee meetings were held this week, 13 in the parliamentary complex and one in Christchurch.

Reports presented

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

Commerce

2002/03 financial review of New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Limited

2002/03 financial review of Solid Energy New Zealand Limited

Education and Science

State Sector Amendment Bill (No 3) (100-2)

Finance and Expenditure

Supplementary Order Paper 195 (relating to the Income Tax Bill)

Government Administration

Petition 2002/85 of Michael Francis-Roberson

Local Government and Environment

Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill (96-2)

Officers of Parliament

Alterations to the 2003/04 appropriations for Vote Audit, Vote Ombudsmen and Vote

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and the 2004/05 draft budgets for

the Auditor-General, the Office of the Ombudsmen, and the Parliamentary

Commissioner for the Environment (I.15C)

Primary Production

2002/03 financial review of Quotable Value Limited (Valuation New Zealand Limited)

Privileges

Draft agreement on policing functions within the parliamentary precincts (I.17E)

Committee notes

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

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

The committee met on 25 March to consider and hear evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. It also considered the 2002/03 financial reviews of Television New Zealand and Radio New Zealand.

The committee will not meet next week.

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

The committee considered further the financial reviews of the New Zealand Forest Research Institute and Industrial Research Limited. It also started hearing evidence on 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 March 2004 Monetary Policy Statement and Supplementary Order Paper 195 on the Income Tax Bill, referred by the House on 18 March 2004.

The committee is also inviting submissions on the Public Finance (State Sector Management) Bill and Supplementary Order Paper 183.

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

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

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

The committee does not intend to meet next week.

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

The committee met on 23 March to consider the Maori Fisheries Bill. It will hear submissions on the bill on 30 March.

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

This week the committee considered the Building and Architects Bills. The committee will further consider these items at its next meeting on 1 April. In regard to the committee's other work, submissions are still being called for on the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) with a closing date of 2 April 2004 and the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill with a closing date of 30 April 2004.

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

This week the committee heard evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of the Otago District Health Board. It also heard further evidence on its inquiry into the health effects of Agent Orange. The committee will have only a short meeting next week to continue consideration of a number of items of business.

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

The committee met on 24 March to consider the Care of Children Bill, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill, and the Judicial Matters Bill.

The committee's next meeting will be on 29 March, when it will consider the Care of Children Bill and the Judicial Matters Bill.

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

The committee met this week where it considered a petition and took care of some general business matters. The committee is not meeting next week.

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

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 to:

Tracey Rayner

Clerk of Committee

Law and Order Committee Secretariat

Parliament House

WELLINGTON

Local Government and Environment (Peter Hurndell, SC-LGE@parliament.govt.nz)

The committee met this week to continue with the inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and the subsequent actions taken.

The committee does not intend to meet next week.

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

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

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

The committee met on 25 March to complete hearing of evidence on the Meat Board Restructuring Bill and hear further evidence on the 2002/03 financial review of AgriQuality Limited. The report date for this financial review is now 10 May.

Next week the committee will consider further the Meat Board Restructuring Bill and the 2002/03 Financial review of ASURE New Zealand Limited.

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

The committee will next meet on 31 March to continue its scrutiny of new Government regulations.

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

The committee heard evidence from the Associate Minister for Social Development (CYF) and the Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services on the waiting list of unallocated cases of potential child abuse. The committee also considered a petition. The committee does not intend to meet next week.

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

The committee met on 25 March at the Antarctic Centre in Christchurch to hear submissions on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill..

The committee will meet next week to consider Petition 1999/231 of Ross Sutherland and 584 others concerning Paraparaumu Airport.

The committee will meet again on 8 April to consider the 2002/03 financial reviews of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, and the Civil Aviation Authority. This will be followed by consideration of the Railways Bill and the Sutherland petition. The meeting will be open to the public from 11.00 am to 12.50 pm to hear further submissions 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

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

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

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

Government Administration

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

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

Justice and Electoral

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

Law and Order

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

Social Services

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

General

You can find further information about select committees on our website at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz. If you require additional information or have any feedback on the contents, please contact:

Louise Sparrer

Senior Parliamentary Officer

louise.sparrer@parliament.govt.nz

Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 26 March 2004

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