Select Committee Weekly News - To 8 September
SELECT COMMITTEE BUSINESS
From 1 September to 8 September
2000
Committee meetings
There were 21 committee
meetings, many of which were of subcommittees.
Reports presented (1)
Law and Order
Petition 1999/52
of Frank Louis Miessen and 4 others
Bills referred to
select committees
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council
(Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill was referred to the
Local Government and Environment Committee.
Committee
notes
(for further information on an item, please contact
the committee staff noted in brackets)
Commerce (Alan
Witcombe, SC-Commerce@parliament.govt.nz)
At its meeting
on Thursday, 7 September, the committee met with members of
the Standing Committee on Civil Law of the Parliament of
Sweden. Then the committee heard evidence on the Business
Law Reform Bill from the New Zealand Law Society and the
Financial Services Federation, and gave further
consideration to the Commerce Amendment Bill and SOP No 37.
Education and Science (Claire Sullivan,
SC-ES@parliament.govt.nz)
The subcommittee is currently
in Auckland visiting primary schools on the inquiry into
reading in New Zealand.
Finance and Expenditure (Graham
Hill, SC-FE@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee met on 6
September to receive a briefing from a delegation from the
United Kingdom, consider further the Taxation (Annual Rates,
GST and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and hear evidence on
the Public Audit Bill. At its next meeting on 13 September
the committee will hear more evidence on the Public Audit
Bill.
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (David Sanders,
SC-FD@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee received a
briefing from a delegation of parliamentarians from the
United Kingdom. The rest of the meeting was spent hearing
evidence on the inquiry into the role of human rights in
foreign policy. Submissions were presented by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Te Puni Kokiri, and Save the
Children.
Next week the committee will be briefed by the Minister for Trade Negotiations on the Closer Economic Partnership treaty with Singapore (10.30 am to 11.15 am). Then the committee will hear a submission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the inquiry into New Zealand's economic and trade relationship with Australia.
Government Administration (Fiona McLean,
SC-GA@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee met to consider
the Gaming Law Reform Bill, the Casino Control (Poll Demand)
Amendment Bill and the Films, Videos, and Publications
Classification (Prohibition of Child Pornography) Amendment
Bill.
Next week the committee will meet to continue its consideration of the Gaming Law Reform Bill and the Films, Videos and Publications Classification (Prohibition of Child Pornography) Amendment Bill.
Health (Nick Aldous,
SC-Health@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee is currently
considering the New Zealand Public Health and Disability
Bill. The bill makes major changes to the public health and
disability sector. Copies of the bill are available from
Bennetts Government Bookshops. The closing date for
submissions to the committee on the bill is 22 September.
It is expected that the committee will commence hearing oral
submissions from late September.
Justice and Electoral
(Tracey Conlon, SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz)
At its meeting
on Wednesday, 7 September, the committee considered the
Matrimonial Property Amendment Bill and Supplementary Order
Paper No 25, the Legal Services Bill, and the Inquiry into
the 1999 General Election. The subcommittee met on Thursday,
8 September, to continue its consideration of the inquiry
into matters relating to the visit of the President of China
to New Zealand in September 1999.
The committee will meet again next Wednesday to further consider its examination of the Legal Services Bill and the Matrimonial Property Amendment Bill and Supplementary Order Paper No 25.
Law and Order (Wendy Proffitt,
SC-LO@parliament.govt.nz)
This week the committee heard
evidence from the Law Commission on the Habeas Corpus Bill,
a member's bill. It also considered the Crimes Amendment
Bill (No 6), Arms Amendment Bill (No 2) and Undercover
Agents Exemption Bill.
Next week the committee will again consider the Crimes Amendment (No 6), Arms Amendment (No 2) and Undercover Agents Exemption Bills.
Local Government
and Environment (David Bagnall,
SC-LGE@parliament.govt.nz)
On Wednesday the committee
considered the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms
Amendment Bill (No 2). The House has since extended the
deadline for the committee's report on the bill from 11
September to 18 September. The committee will consider the
bill further next week.
Submissions were heard on the Resource Management Amendment Bill and Resource Management (Costs) Amendment Bill. The committee heard evidence from the New Zealand Archaeological Association on Wednesday, and on Thursday a subcommittee heard a number of submissions. These included Campaign for a Better City, Barry Rumball, Genesis Power Limited, Southern Environmental Association (Wellington), Pacific Ecologic Limited and the Wellington Botanical Society. The committee will consider the bills next Wednesday.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill was referred to the committee. It is a local bill in the name of Mita Ririnui. The committee has not yet set a closing date for submissions.
Maori Affairs (Kia Paranihi,
SC-MA@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee has now completed
public hearings on the Te Ture Whenua Maori Amendment (Maori
Land Amendment) Bill and will begin its consideration of the
many issues raised by submitters next week. Included among
the key issues are;
the processes through which
land alienation might be decided
the provision
of access to Maori-owned land-locked land
the
voting rights of incorporated owners of land included in a
Maori incorporation under Te Ture Whenua Maori Act
1993
mandate and representation for Maori
groupings, governance and management of trusts and
incorporations.
MMP Review (Louise Sparrer,
SC-MMP@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee will commence
public hearings on MMP at its next meeting on 14 September.
The hearings will take place in the Legislative Council
Chamber at Parliament from 8.00am to 10.30am. Those
appearing on Thursday are the political parties that have
made submissions to the committee. The order of appearance
is United New Zealand Party, the New Zealand National Party,
the New Zealand Labour Party, the Green Party, the Alliance
and the ACT New Zealand Party.
Officers of Parliament
(Adrian Carpinter, SC-OP@parliament.govt.nz)
The
committee met on Thursday, 7 September, to consider various
items. These included the budget of the Office of the
Ombudsmen for investigation and resolution of complaints
about government administration and the budget of the Audit
Office for an information technology capital proposal. The
committee is also reviewing the Code of practice for
provision of assistance by the Controller and
Auditor-General to select committees and members of
Parliament.
Primary Production (Bob Bunch,
SC-PP@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee heard evidence on
its inquiry into organic agriculture in New Zealand on
Thursday, 7 September, in Palmerston North. Submissions
from the Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University,
AgResearch and a number of organic farmers were heard.
The committee will be further considering its inquiry into the sale of the Property Services Division of Terralink New Zealand Limited to its former employees on 14 and 21 September 2000.
Social Services (Tim Cooper,
SC-SS@parliament.govt.nz)
This week the committee heard
evidence on Petition 1999/8 of Warren Desmond Heap, on the
issue of shared parenting and family law legislation. The
petitioners request a review of this legislation to better
protect the rights of children and fathers. The committee
also received a briefing on the Social Welfare (Transitional
Provisions) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to provide for
New Zealand's international social security agreements to
include mutual assistance provisions for the recovery of
social security debts of either country. Next week the
committee will begin to consider the Student Loan Scheme
Amendment Bill. This bill aims to give effect to the
Government's intention not to charge interest on student
loans for full-time, full-year students and low-income,
part-time students while they are studying.
Standing
Orders (Ailsa Salt)
This committee has now been
established. Committee members are Rick Barker, John
Carter, Hon Dr Michael Cullen, Rod Donald, Hon Peter Dunne,
Grant Gillon, Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt (Chairperson), Ron Mark,
Hon Richard Prebble (Deputy Chairperson) and Hon Roger
Sowry.
Transport and Industrial Relations (Lyn Main,
SC-TI@parliament.govt.nz)
The committee has three
petitions before it requesting the construction of the
Transmission Gully Road. The committee, as part of its
consideration of these petitions, visited the Transmission
Gully area on Wednesday 6 September. Officials from Transit
New Zealand briefed the committee on the proposed route
during the visit.
At its next meeting on Wednesday, 13 September, the committee is hearing evidence from petitioners on their petition requesting that the provision of seats on school buses be compulsory so that students are not standing on school buses. The committee is also hearing evidence on petitions requesting that safety belts on school buses be provided.
Closing dates for submissions on
bills
Committees are receiving submission on the
following bills with the closing date
shown:
Commerce
Chartered Professional Engineers of New
Zealand Bill (27 October 2000)
Supplementary Order Paper
(SOP) No 37 relating to the Commerce Amendment Bill (15
September 2000)
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
New
Zealand Nuclear Free Zone Extension Bill (2 October
2000)
Government Administration
Casino Control (Poll
Demand) Amendment Bill (23 September 2000)
Health
New
Zealand Public Health and Disability Bill (22 September
2000)
Social Services
Children, Young Persons, and
Their Families Amendment Bill (No 3) (20 October
2000)
Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (8 September
2000)
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:
Carol Rankin,
Senior Parliamentary
Officer
at carol.rankin@parliament.govt.nz
Compiled in the Select Committee Office, Office of the Clerk, 8 September 2000