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Posts Tagged ‘Private Members Bills’

Today’s Members’ bill ballot

Posted by on June 28th, 2012

Today at midday there will be a ballot for members’ bills. There are four places available on the Order Paper after the House managed to get through quite a few first readings yesterday. Labour has 33 bills out of 65 in the ballot, so our chances are looking good.

Members Day is one of the few opportunities opposition and backbench MPs get to set the agenda and debate the issues that we really care about. I’m really pleased my Labour colleagues have embraced this opportunity and all put something up for consideration (my colleague Lianne Dalziel had her Bill drawn in the last ballot and is presently working on a replacement).

You can see the full list of bills in today’s ballot after the break. I’ll post the results just after midday.

Update: The following Bills have been drawn from the ballot. Congratulations to these MPs: 

  • Overseas Investment (Restriction on Foreign Ownership of Land) Amendment Bill (Russel Norman)
  • Habeas Corpus Amendment Bill (Chris Auchinvole)
  • Local Government (Salary Moderation) Amendment Bill (Annette King)
  • Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill (Todd McClay)

(more…)

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Filed under: legislation, members' bills, Members' Day, parliament
3 Comments

Transparency around lobbying important

Posted by on June 20th, 2011

I don’t think New Zealand politicians have anything to fear from more open and transparent rules around the activities of lobbyists. The lobbyists I’ve come into contact with in my short time as an MP have been decent people and shouldn’t have anything to fear from a more transparent system either. In fact, the natural suspicion that the secrecy around their current activity arouses would be reduced, potentially leaving them better off in the long run.

I’m pleased the Labour Party has decided to support the Private Members Bill introduced by Sue Kedgley at First Reading, should it be drawn from the ballot. The Bill does two main things. First, it establishes a Register of Lobbyists, to be administered by the Auditor General. Second, it requires the Auditor General to establish a Lobbyist’s Code of Conduct and ensure that it is enforced.

I’ve had a chance to have a quick read through Sue’s Bill and I think it’s a good start, although I’m concerned that it may go wider than necessary. For example, as I read it under the current wording of the Bill, a plumber who makes an appointment to see their local MP to complain that the registration fees imposed by their professional body are too high would technically be deemed to be a lobbyist and therefore be required to register as one or be in breach of the law. I think that’s going a bit far.

New Zealanders are fortunate that we have a form of government that is incredibly open and accessible. Anyone can make an appointment to see their local MP and I’d hate to see any moves to regulate professional lobbyists compromise that. But that’s a question of detail and I’m sure it can be worked through at select committee, should the Bill make it that far. This is certainly a debate worth having.

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Filed under: democracy, parliament
5 Comments

Ethical Investment Bill goes down

Posted by on August 4th, 2010

Well, my first private members Bill is over. The Ethical Investment (Crown Financial Institutions) Bill was voted down 63-58 tonight. Supporting it were Labour, Progressives, Greens, Maori and United, against National and ACT. Check out the debate here if you are interested.

It was not a great surprise that National and ACT opposed the bill, but disappointing all the same. The Bill sought to have clear and consistent criteria for ethical investment in the legislation that govern our major investment funds such as the Super Fund and ACC. The criteria are based on international norms and treaties and emphasise the importance of investing in organisations that have good governance, treat their stakeholders fairly and uphold human rights and good labour standards. From an environmental standpoint the organisations that are invested in should be conscious of their ecological footprint and should not be harmful to resources such as air, water and land.

The opposition was based on the fact that some good progress has been made in ethical investment policies and that “the market” would deal with the issues. I thought this was an opportunity to move from a passive approach to ethical and sustainable investment to a positive one that could re-inforce our image as an environmentally and socially conscious country on the world stage.

Anyway it was an interesting process to go through, and I am the wiser for it. Pleased to extend the support for the Bill across the House, and have agreed with other parties to keep working on the issue.

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Filed under: economy, environment, finance, human rights, labour
22 Comments

Are you a nimby, a yimfy or a banana?

Posted by on June 7th, 2010

The latest Listener has a timely article about electricity generation. In it they quote Massey’s Ralph Sims who argues there are three types of response to the electricity generation challenge, the nimbys (not in my backyard), the yimfys (yes in my front yard) and the bananas (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone). Which are you?

Over the next few weeks the electricity generation challenge is going to get quite a bit of air time in Parliament. Next Wednesday my private members’ bill will be read for a first time. It would prevent electricity generators building new generation plants that use non-renewable energy sources like gas and coal, unless they were essential for security of supply. And soon Gerry Brownlee’s Electricity Industry Bill will be reported back from select committee.

There is no doubt working out how to deliver enough electricity to meet future demand is a major challenge. The Listener quotes Institute of Professional Engineers projections that show our electricity demand will grow from 42,000 GWh in 2009 (itself a 7% growth on 2002 figures) to 55,000 GWh in 2025. That’s a lot of new power plants. Or is it?

Over the next few days I’m going to do a series of posts canvassing alternatives to building a bunch of extra gas-fired power plants. First, we can do a lot more to increase energy efficiency, including a heap of stuff that will give consumers more control over how much power they produce. Second, we can spread new generation more evenly through a lot more localised production. Third, we can promote renewable generation much more than we have in recent decades.

I firmly believe New Zealand can be a world leader in this area. We used to produce a much greater proportion of our electricity from renewable sources. In the last 25 years or so we’ve allowed the non-renewables sector to absorb most of the growth. That has to change. We can show the world what a truly sustainable approach to electricity generation (and consumption) can look like.

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Filed under: climate change, Energy, environment, infrastructure
44 Comments

Renewable energy the way to go

Posted by on May 6th, 2010

This morning my Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill was drawn from the ballot. The Bill would prevent the construction of further non-renewable electricity generation, except where essential for security of electricity supply. New Zealand is fortunate that a large proportion of our electricity generation comes from renewable sources such as wind and hydro. There really is no excuse to keep relying on fossil fuels that aren’t renewable and are bad for the environment.

Over the past two decades the majority of our growth in demand for electricity has been met by the development of non-renewable electricity generation. That’s just not sustainable. The First Reading of my Bill will provide all parties in Parliament with the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to tackling the challenge of climate change in a meaningful way.

Renewable energy is the way of the future. In the medium to longer term, as the price of fossil fuels continues to rise, it will be cheaper and it will also be more secure. I hope that the reinstatement of a restriction on new thermal generation will be the first of a series of steps New Zealand takes to promote greater use of renewable energy and enhanced energy efficiency.

The National government removed the restriction on new thermal generation put in place by the last Labour administration. That was the wrong thing to do. They did it under Urgency and nobody got to make submissions and present evidence, either for or against the change. My Bill gives them an opportunity to remedy that injustice. By supporting it to Select Committee the National govt would be saying that they do respect the democratic process and that they are willing to listen to alternative arguments.

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Filed under: climate change, Energy
37 Comments

Members’ bills ballot today

Posted by on November 19th, 2009

There are two spaces on the Order Paper:

1

Adams

Amy

Fair Trading (Soliciting on Behalf of Charities) Amendment Bill

2

Anderton

Hon Jim

Electoral (Disqualification of Sitting Members in By-Elections) Bill

3

Blue

Dr Jackie

Consumer Guarantees Amendment Bill

4

Boscawen

John

KiwiSaver (Contribution Flexibility) Amendment Bill

5

Choudhary

Dr Ashraf

Code of Airline Consumer Rights Bill

6

Clendon

David

Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill

7

Cosgrove

Hon Clayton

Christchurch International Airport Protection Bill

8

Delahunty

Catherine

Human Rights (Disability Commissioner) Amendment Bill

9

Douglas

Hon Sir Roger

Tariff Act Repeal Bill

10

Dyson

Hon Ruth

Resource Management (Requiring Authorities) Amendment Bill

11

Fenton

Darien

Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill

12

Fitzsimons

Jeanette

Smart Meters (Consumer Choice) Bill

13

Flavell

Te Ururoa

Education (K?hanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Maori, and Early Childhood Standards) Amendment Bill

14

Garrett

David

Victims’ Rights (Victim Impact Statements) Amendment Bill

15

Gilmore

Aaron

Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Break Fees Disclosure) Amendment Bill

16

Graham

Dr Kennedy

Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill

17

Hague

Kevin

Fisheries (Precautionary Approach) Amendment Bill

18

Hayes

John

Obsolete Acts Repeal Bill

19

Henare

Hon Tau

Employment Relations (Workers’ Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill

20

Hipkins

Chris

Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill

21

Huo

Raymond

Local Government (Auckland Council) (Asian Advisory Board) Amendment Bill

22

Katene

Rahui

Goods and Services Tax (Exemption of Healthy Food) Amendment Bill

23

Kedgley

Sue

Consumer’s Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill

24

Lees-Galloway

Iain

Smoke-free Environments (Removing Tobacco Displays) Amendment Bill

25

Locke

Keith

Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

26

McClay

Todd

Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill

27

Moroney

Sue

Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months Paid Leave) Amendment Bill

28

Norman

Dr Russel

Local Electoral Amendment Bill

29

Quinn

Paul

Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill

30

Ririnui

Hon Mita

Electoral (Entrenchment of M?ori Representation) Amendment Bill

31

Robertson

HV Ross

Members of Parliament (Code of Ethical Conduct) Bill

32

Turei

Metiria

Crown Minerals (Protection of Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill

33

Twyford

Phil

Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill

34

Upston

Louise

Education (Children of Board Members and Former Pupils) Amendment Bill

35

Woodhouse

Michael

New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Change of Electoral System for District Health Boards) Amendment Bill

 

UPDATE: As already noted in the comments, the winners are:

 

1. Amy Adams: Fair Trading (Soliciting on Behalf of Charities) Amendment Bill

26. Todd McClay: Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill

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Filed under: parliament
18 Comments

Renewable energy the way to go

Posted by on November 9th, 2009

Last night’s Sunday programme on TV1 had a couple of really interesting items on Denmark’s drive towards renewable energy. According to the report they now generate 20 percent of their electricity from wind farms and aim to increase that to 50 percent in coming years. In the interim, there is protest internally about the fact that the majority of their electricity comes from fossil fuels, coal in particular but also imported nuclear energy.

It was a timely reminder of how lucky we are to have such an abundance of renewable energy here in New Zealand. The majority of our electricity already comes from renewable sources, mostly hydro but also increasingly wind. There’s no reason that we shouldn’t be striving to generate all of our electricity from renewable sources. It will take time, but we can get there.

Sadly, one of the first things that National/ACT/Maori Party government did was repeal the Electricity (Renewable Preference) Act, which placed a restriction on further thermal electricity generation unless it was necessary for security of supply (ie. To make sure the lights don’t go out). It was another giant leap backwards from the new government.

I’ve put a new Private Members Bill in the ballot that would re-impose a similar restriction on new fossil-fuelled electricity. I hope enough parties in parliament will vote to send it to a Select Committee so that the issue can get an airing. There are costs involved, without doubt, but renewable energy is the way of the future.

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Filed under: climate change, Energy
6 Comments