Weekly Select Committee News
SELECT COMMITTEE BUSINESS
20 April 2000 to 28 April
2000
Committee meetings
There were two committee
meetings this week, both in the parliamentary
complex.
Reports presented
No reports were presented
this week.
Bills referred to select committees
No bills
were referred this week.
Committee notes
(for further
information on an item, please contact the committee staff
noted in brackets)
Education and Science (Clare
Sullivan, Malcolm McNamara)
Next week the committee will
conduct the financial reviews of the New Zealand
Qualifications Authority and the Special Education
Service.
The committee is accepting submissions on the Education Amendment Bill and the Inquiry into Reading in New Zealand, with closing dates as set out below.
Employment
and Accident Insurance (Marie Alexander)
On 27 April the
committee started its hearings of submissions on the
Employment Relations Bill with a submission from the NZ
Council of Trade Unions, accompanied by numerous supporters.
The committee will continue hearing submissions through May,
and is likely to travel to other main centres to hear
submissions.
Justice and Electoral (Jayne Wallis, Andrew
Fieldsend, Fiona McLean)
A subcommittee is conducting an
inquiry into matters relating to the State visit of the
President of China to New Zealand in 1999. The terms of
reference for the inquiry are:
To examine the handling of demonstrations held during the State Visit of the President of China to New Zealand in 1999, and the impact of those events on the civil liberties and fundamental rights of New Zealanders. In particular,
assessing whether
there are enough protections for peaceful and lawful
protest; and
assessing whether the powers of
government pertaining to the maintenance of public order are
appropriate; and
assessing the procedures for the exercise of those powers.
The subcommittee is meeting in Christchurch on Monday, 1 May 2000 to hear evidence on the inquiry. Witnesses representing the Police, the former Government, and protesters are among those giving evidence.
The hearing will be at the Parkroyal Christchurch and will be open to the public from 11.00 am.
Local Government and Environment (David Bagnall,
Malcolm McNamara)
On 3 May, the committee will conduct
the financial review of the Environmental Risk Management
Authority (ERMA). The authority is responsible for
assessing, monitoring and reviewing hazardous substances and
new organisms. The committee will then hear evidence on the
Resource Management Amendment Bill from Local Government New
Zealand. This organisation represents the 86 local
authorities in New Zealand, although a number of councils
have also made separate submissions.
MMP Review (Louise
Sparrer)
The terms of reference for the MMP Review
Committee are to consider:
(a) the effect of sections 35
and 36 of the Electoral Act 1993 (relating to the division
of New Zealand into general electorates) on the operation of
the electoral system,
(b) the provisions of the Electoral
Act 1993 dealing with Mori representation,
(c)
whether there should be a further referendum on changes to
the electoral system,
(d) the appropriate number of
members of Parliament, taking into account the results of
the 1999 citizens initiated referendum on that issue,
(e)
the extent to which party lists have resulted in better
representation of women,
(f) the effectiveness of the
current electoral system with respect to the representation
of the tangata whenua and ethnic minorities, and
(g) any
other matter relating to the electoral system.
The committee must report finally before 1 June 2002 and include in its report a statement indicating:
(a) whether, in its
view, there should be changes to sections 35 and 36 of the
Electoral Act 1993,
(b) whether, in its view, there
should be changes to the provisions of the Electoral Act
1993 dealing with Mori representation,
(c)
whether, in its view, there should be a further referendum
on changes to the electoral system, and if so, the nature of
the proposals to be put to voters and the timing of such a
referendum,
(d) what, in its view, is the appropriate
number of members of Parliament,
(e) what changes, if
any, might be made to the electoral system to further
enhance the representation of women,
(f) what changes,
if any, might be made to the electoral system with respect
to the representation of tangata whenua and ethnic
minorities, and
(g) what other changes, if any, should be
made to the electoral system.
The membership of the committee is as follows: Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt (Chairperson), Hon Peter Dunne, (Deputy Chairperson), Georgina Beyer, Chris Carter, Rod Donald, Stephen Franks, Grant Gillon, Hon Tony Ryall, and Rt Hon Jenny Shipley.
The committee is calling for submissions on the review as set out below.
Primary
Production (Bob Bunch, April Bennett)
The committee held
an all day meeting on 27 April. The morning was taken up
primarily with briefings on various issues that the
committee is considering. ENZA, the apple marketing
company, briefed the committee on its decision to juice
export quality braeburn apples rather than to put them on
the market. This was followed by briefings on organic
agriculture from Bio-Gro New Zealand Limited and the Organic
Products Export Group. The third briefing was from Mr Kent
Thomas on new fishing technology designed to avoid by-catch
of non-targeted fishing species. The committee also
considered the 1998/99 financial review of Terralink New
Zealand Limited.
In the afternoon, the committeeconsidered the Fisheries Amendment Bill (No.2) and the Dairy Industry Amendment Bill. The committee then heard evidence on the latter bill from the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association and the New Zealand Dairy Board. Hearings on the Dairy Industry Amendment Bill will conclude on 4 May and hearings on the Fisheries Amendment Bill (No.2) will commence on the same day.
Social Services (Tim Cooper,
Louise Gardiner)
The committee has invited Hon Steve
Maharey to appear on Wednesday, 3 May, to give a briefing on
his vision and intentions for the social services sector.
He may highlight areas of significant potential change
within his portfolio. The committee will consider the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Children Bill.
Closing dates for submissions
Committees are
receiving submissions on the following items with the
closing date shown. Twenty copies of submissions are
required.
Education and Science
Education Amendment
Bill (8 May 2000)
Inquiry into reading in New Zealand (22
May 2000)
Employment and Accident Insurance
Employment
Relations Bill (3 May 2000)
Finance and
Expenditure
Public Audit Bill (12 May 2000)
Taxation
(FBT, SSCWT and Remedial Matters) Bill (12 May
2000)
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Inquiry into
the role of human rights in foreign policy (16 June
2000)
Inquiry into New Zealand’s economic and trade
relationship with Australia (16 June 2000)
Health
Nurse
Maude Association Bill (28 April 2000)
Justice and
Electoral
Habeas Corpus Bill (19 May 2000)
Local
Government and Environment
Hazardous Substances and New
Organisms Amendment Bill (No.2) (8 May 2000)
MMP
Review
Review of MMP and other aspects of the electoral
system (31 July 2000)
Maori Affairs
Te Ture Whenua
Maori Amendment Bill (28 April 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, 28 April 2000