In The House

Government Bills:

The House will go into Urgency to debate the following bills:

Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Amendment Bill Committee Stages, Third Reading

This Bill will make a number of changes to the ACC Scheme, in an effort to contain some of the costs that have soared over recent years. These are relatively minor in nature:

• Will require that a person’s injury-related hearing loss must reach a 6% threshold before cover will be considered.
• Reinstates a 3-part test which existed prior to 2008 relating to cover for disease, infection or gradual injury. Will remove the onus on ACC to prove that a claimant does not have cover.
• Reduces the payment to those incapacitated under the age of 18 (i.e have not had the opportunity to work) from 100% of the minimum wage to 80% of the minimum wage based on a 40 hour week. This amounts to $400 before tax a week.
• Reduces vocational independence threshold of capacity to thirty hours from thirty-five. This will result in a saving as up until now ACC has covered rehabilitation until they are ready to work for thirty-five hours a week. The thirty hour threshold for full-time work will bring ACC into line with MSD, IRD and Stats NZ.
• Disentitlement for those who intentionally cause injury to themselves, except where this is as a result of some mental injury.
• Allows ACC to apply to the District Court to wholly or in part deny entitlements to previously imprisoned offenders who suffered injury in carrying out the offence for which they were imprisoned. This will only occur when it is deemed to be “repugnant to justice” for offenders to receive entitlements. The Minister can also exercise his/her discretion in other “exceptional” circumstances.

The Bill also:

• Extends out the final date for fully funding the residual claims liabilities, the Work and Earner’s Accounts and the Motor Vehicle Account from 2014 to 2019, in recognition that the original date set in 1998 is unlikely to be met.
• Allows for further adjustments of employer levies to take into account safety audits, through higher or lower levies, no-claims bonuses etc.

The Bill also makes changes to how entitlements are calculated and paid. ACT has agreed to support this Bill following discussions with the Government on a proposal to open the ACC Work Account to competition, in line with ACT’s policy, and National Party policy from 2005.

ACT to: Support

Children, Young Persons, and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill

Committee Stages, Third Reading

This Bill will extend Youth Court jurisdiction to 12 & 13yr olds; and introduce the “Fresh-Start” programme. Will give the Youth Court the power to give young offenders (12-16yrs) in military-style training for three months. This will be a residential programme. To be followed by six months supervision. Allows for electronic monitoring in limited cases. It is aimed at the 40 most serious young offenders, in an attempt to turn them from a life of crime.

ACT to: Support

Judicial Matters Bill

Committee Stages, Third Reading

This Bill passed first reading under the last Labour Government, and has now been brought to second reading by Minister Finlayson. The Bill will amend the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 to provide for the appointment of a Deputy Judicial Conduct Commissioner and to provide that the Judicial Conduct Commissioner, in addition to existing remedies, may decide to take no further action on a complaint. The Bill will also increase the number of Associate Judges of the High Court from six to nine.

ACT to: Support

Student Loan Scheme (Exemptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill

Second Reading, Committee Stages, Third Reading

This Bill will enact a number of minor amendments, the major changes being:

• Extending interest free student loans to borrowers present in a Realm country (dependencies or free association nations) – Niue, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Ross Dependency, for 183 or more days to encourage borrowers from these countries to return home from abroad (in the same way it is meant to do for other New Zealanders).
• Extending student loans to New Zealanders on a formal overseas exchange. This has been an anomaly for a number of years, which some candidates I am aware of were asked about during the campaign.
• Allow the Commissioner of the IRD to increase from 10 cents in the dollar to 15 cents in the dollar repayments deducted from those who have failed to make the correct payments and have an overdue amount.

ACT to: Support

Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

First Reading

This Bill is effectively a Government adopted version of the Member’s Bill Tauranga MP Simon Bridges drafted to increase the penalty for wilful ill-treatment of an animal from 3 to 5 years imprisonment. This is a sensible move - recently there have been a series of high-profile incidents involving serious acts of animal cruelty, but more importantly the Bill will ameliorate the low-level sentencing options currently available to judges.

ACT to: Support

Legislation this week – ADDENDUM

Inquiries Bill

Second Reading

A non-controversial Bill allowing for two different types of inquiry (public, and government) – but both still bound by the same rules in terms of requirement to produce evidence, compulsion of witnesses to take an oath, and protection of inquirers by way of immunity. Public inquiries would be appointed by the Governor-General, and reports would be tabled in Parliament. Smaller and more immediate issues requiring a quick answer from the government will take the form of a government inquiry, appointed by and answering directly to the Minister responsible. The appointment of these inquiries would be notified in the Gazette.

ACT to: Support

Trans-Tasman Proceedings Bill

First Reading

This Bill implements the agreement between

New Zealand and Australian Trans-Tasman Court Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement, signed 24 July 2008. The Bill will simplify and improve the process for civil disputes with a trans-Tasman element, establishing a New Zealand limb of a new Trans-Tasman regime (Australiawill soon be introducing a corresponding Bill). This is another step toward a single economic market (SEM).

ACT to: Support

Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Bill

First Reading

This Bill will require all trustees of debt and participatory securities to be licensed by the Securities Commission. It also increases the Commission’s powers to oversee and direct trustees and imposes offences and penalties if trustees fail to meet their obligations. It is hoped that, following the collapse of a large number of finance companies in recent years, these measures will ensure that trustees are suitably qualified and have appropriate processes in place to protect the interests of investors.

ACT to: Support