Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Associate Minister of Energy) Link to this
I move, That the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill be now read a second time. In doing so, I again thank the chairperson of the Commerce Committee, Katherine Rich, and the members of the committee, especially Maryan Street, for the work they have done on considering the bill, including hearing and responding to comments received on it. I particularly thank Hazel Armstrong, barrister and solicitor, for her independent report on the relationships in the plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying industry, and all those who made submissions to the Commerce Committee. Their considerable time and careful work has helped to improve this bill.
The bill will repeal and replace the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 1976. Formerly, the bill made up Parts 5 to 8 of the Energy Safety Review Bill as it was introduced, but it was separated from that bill at the select committee stage to allow more detailed consideration of a number of issues raised in submissions from the plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying sectors. The bill sits alongside the Energy Safety Review Bill, the second reading of which we have just been debating, as part of a package to enhance the safe delivery and use of electricity and gas and to deliver good health outcomes arising from plumbing and drainlaying.
The initial driver for the bill was the review of the occupational regulation of gasfitters, alongside the similar review of the regulation of electrical workers under the Energy Safety Review Bill. It was a logical extension to also address the occupational regulation of plumbers and drainlayers, as they are covered by the same Act and registration board. Also, for the most part, gasfitters are also plumbers and often work alongside, or in conjunction with, electrical workers. Broadly, the two bills between them introduce consistent regimes for these sectors based on the registration of workers, competency-based licensing, updated procedures for addressing complaints against workers, and updated enforcement provisions.
During the select committee process it became evident that the industry was raising a number of issues about how the current regime is working. I particularly thank the committee for taking the extra time to work through these difficult issues with key industry stakeholders, and to think about how these might be addressed in this bill and be reflected in the Energy Safety Review Bill. The particular amendments proposed from this process include providing greater clarity about the respective roles of the industry training organisation and the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board, requiring more accountability from that board, and providing greater ministerial control and oversight of the activities of the board. The report prepared by Hazel Armstrong earlier this year, at the request of the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, Minister for Tertiary Education, provided an independent view on the relationships between the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board and the Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying Industry Training Organisation. Overall, the report makes many recommendations, and those relating to the Energy Safety Review Bill were considered by the select committee.
As with electrical workers, the bill retains a dual registration and licensing system that plays a key role in consumer protection. Consumers and their families need assurance that plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying work is performed competently and safely. Registration recognises a practitioner’s initial obtainment of competence. Licences will be issued on the basis of a practitioner safely completing relevant competence programmes. This ensures that the competence of these tradespeople is up to date with any developments in the industry. This arrangement is also supported by the addition of limited certificates for trainees, who need to be recognised while training but who have not yet reached full competency.
The bill improves access to the registers of licensed workers to enable the public to easily recognise a licensed worker. The bill also allows the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board to delegate some of its registration and licensing powers to the Electrical Workers Registration Board. For example, gasfitters should be more easily able to gain the competence and registration needed to do the particular electrical work needed to install the increasing number of gas appliances that need mains electricity supply or that incorporate electronic controls, rather than having to call in another tradesperson. This has to be beneficial for consumers. Many people these days who have gas appliances need an electronically capable person in order to have the servicing done properly.
This flexibility is accompanied by stronger accountabilities imposed on the board. The board will be required to follow guiding principles set down in the legislation; to consult with stakeholders; to obtain the Minister’s approval for registration classes and notices relating to registration standards, terms, and conditions; and to report outcomes in an annual report. A particular requirement that directs the board to consider whether it should keep the existing classes of registration has been added to the bill. The board must consult with industry representatives and interested parties in this process.
There is currently a special exemption for gasfitting in large industrial installations that is based on the recognition of “an approved person in charge”. This arrangement is to be replaced by an exemption that will allow the person in charge of the premises to authorise a person to supervise the work on large gas installations. This recognises the need for competent workers, but also recognises that in large plants such as gas-fired power stations, the nature of this competency is very different from that required by gasfitters working on consumer and commercial premises. What is required in a home or a business may well be very different from the skills required in a large power station, for example.
The bill also proposes some changes to the appointments to the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board. There will continue to be two plumbers, two gasfitters, and two drainlayers appointed, with one of each required to hold at least a current practising licence. Also, one of the board appointments must have experience in relevant tertiary or vocational education, and two must be consumer representatives. These changes ensure that up-to-date industry knowledge is available to the board.
During the development of this bill the opportunity was taken to make small amendments to the legislation that did not involve major policy changes. For example, the definitions of gasfitting and sanitary plumbing have been updated and better reflect modern practices. When we read the current Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act we see that there are some quite archaic terms in it that probably do not reflect modern practice, and it was seen to be the time to update some of these things.
The bill also provides for a review of the operation of this legislation 3 years from the date of its commencement. Following that review a report will be provided to the Minister of building and housing. It will also be presented to the House.
I am very pleased to support this bill. It will improve the occupational regulation of plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying and the operation of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board. Plumbers, gasfitters, and drainlayers have made an excellent contribution to health outcomes for New Zealand. The improvements that this bill introduces will ensure that such contributions continue. The bill will provide greater assurance of safety to consumers wanting to get gas work undertaken. It will also make it easier for tradespeople to gain competencies that are relevant to their particular tasks.
It is hoped that these amendments will help attract more people into the plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying industries, as these trades are very important to New Zealand’s social and economic well-being. The bill was developed—contrary to what we heard previously—with substantial industry involvement, and I again thank the Commerce Committee for its excellent work. There have been some teething problems, but hopefully we have ironed most of them out, and I look forward to the Committee stage of this bill. The amended bill comes back with the unanimous support of the select committee, and I commend the bill to the House. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.
KATHERINE RICH (National) Link to this
I am delighted to stand in the House today on the second reading of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill. First, I acknowledge that the National Party will now be supporting this bill. We did not support the Energy Safety Review Bill in the first reading, because we had some very serious concerns about the drafting of it. It was not so much that it was a dog’s breakfast; I would prefer to say that it was overly ambitious in terms of what was trying to be achieved in one bill.
I also thank the Minister in charge of the bill, the Hon Harry Duynhoven, for his patience with the Commerce Committee and his desire, I think, to reach a genuine solution for the industry. Sometimes select committees have seen Ministers who just want to push a bill through, come hell or high water, without genuine change. But in this instance we saw that there was a genuine desire to make improvements. It was not related to the political process, but, I think, to a desire to do the best for plumbers, gasfitters, and drainlayers—and, in the original bill, electrical workers, as well.
What the committee did first was to strip out the electrical side of things, and that matter was discussed at the first reading by my colleague Chris Auchinvole. The intention was that the Energy Safety Review Bill deal with just the simpler issues, so that they could come back to the House earlier. It is a shame that that was a bit unnecessary, because we are having second readings for both bills here today. But the aim was to have the electrical workers part of the original legislation come back to the House a bit earlier.
So we split the original bill into two bills. The first bill dealt with the issues relating to electrical workers. This Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill has a more compact set of objectives. This area had its own complexity, because there were real concerns about the situation in New Zealand for plumbers, in particular. It is fair to say that plumbers were not well served by the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board. In fact, the relationship between the board and the industry training organisation was nothing short of dysfunctional. We did agree with the firing of that board, because it was important to have a new broom sweeping clean. We were a bit unsure, though, as to how Mr Philip Routhan was able to make the jump from the previous board into his new role, but, as a result of our questioning at the select committee, we have been told that that matter is under a separate review. This side of the House will be watching the process of that review very carefully, because we are aware that there are concerns about that appointment, not just on this side of the House but also among other parties within the House.
. It seems that the relationship between the new Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board and the industry training organisation should be improved as a result of changes that are made here, but also as a result of changes made by the select committee as a whole. The members of the select committee felt it was important that it be clear there was more consultation between the board and the industry when it came to things like the designations of classes of workers. There needed to be consultation so that if classes were going to change, those involved in the industry had a greater say.
It was an absolute disgrace that the situation overseen by the previous board saw a 90 percent failure rate of students sitting their plumbing exams. What is most disgraceful is the impact of this on the lives of those young men—and I am sure they are mainly men; I hope there might be a few women plumbers—who are trying to get through their apprenticeships, only to sit a mismatched exam that saw only 11 percent or so pass. Our concern in the National Party was the question of what happened to all those young people. Did they reach a certain point in their career where they could go no further? That mismatch between the training and the exam was totally unacceptable. I hope that the changes made here ensure that the system is one that can not only serve our nation as a whole to ensure safety and competence but serve those young people who have a desire to go into these trades where we do really need more people, full stop.
One of the wins for the National Party was the agreement to return from a solely licensing situation to a dual system of licensing and registration. Although officials felt there was some degree of tidiness in moving to a solely licensing regime, one major fact was overlooked. Many people in trades see their registration as the pinnacle of their qualifications, and the top of their career. One of the things that was not taken into account by those who were pushing for a solely licence-based regime was the amount of self-esteem and positive thoughts that many of those involved with plumbing and electrical work have about their registration. I know that the Minister Harry Duynhoven trained as an electrician and is deeply proud of the fact that he is a registered electrician. People such as the Minister would have been sent into the ether, because they would not have an up-to-date licence to be able to practice—albeit that there is a great degree of pride and self-esteem associated with that initial qualification. So I am proud that we have saved that part of things for those tradespeople who came to the select committee and said that this was something that was really important to them and they wanted kept.
There are also some good changes to the licensing regime itself. In the original Energy Safety Review Bill it was suggested that plumbers would need to renew their licences every 2 years. Two years is a very short space of time, and the committee members felt it was important to extend that out to 5 years. We all understand the importance of competence; we all want to know when we hire a plumber, and he or she comes into our home, that that person is competent. But on the flip side of that, we do not want plumbers in the situation where they are continually having to relicense; there are compliance costs and frustration associated with a 2-year-licensing regime. I think that this change is a win, also.
This bill introduces a greater amount of ministerial control. I usually argue strongly against that, and, in fact, in the long term I would like to see self-determination for a lot of our trades. But in this instance, where there was poor leadership from the board and we saw the shocking situation of 90 percent of our young people sitting their plumbing exams fail, it was demonstrated that self-determination was not an option. In that circumstance we needed the Minister to have greater ability to ensure consistency, continuity, and a certain standard of service. I am glad that the board is now required to undertake more consultation with the industry on a regular basis. From the National Party’s perspective it is a win to see more people involved in the industry on that board. It is only as a result of those changes that the National Party is now in a position to support this legislation.
It is a fine example of how the select committee process can work within Parliament. We have now come to a situation where there is agreement from both the major parties. I would like to thank those members on the committee, and also, in particular, Evelyn Cole from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, who, as an official, worked very thoroughly to assist us through a process of additional consultation.
MARYAN STREET (Labour) Link to this
I rise to speak, with some relief, to the second reading of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill. I echo many of the comments of the previous speaker, Katherine Rich, the chairperson of the Commerce Committee. A number of concerns were held in common across the select committee table. Those concerns were not the prerogative of the National Party only; they were held in common around that table regarding some of the key issues in the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill.
When I looked at the work of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board—which I did by pulling out the last 10 years of annual reports and looking at what they had done with regard to passing young apprentices and admitting them to registration—I was appalled that the pass rate had become so low in recent years. Katherine Rich mentioned the figure of 11 percent as being the pass rate in recent times. That situation led to all sorts of questions.
I commend Hazel Armstrong and record the select committee’s thanks to her for the report she wrote investigating what turned out to be a very dysfunctional relationship between the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board and the Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying Industry Training Organisation. It was apparent that all was not well, and it was quite difficult to get to the bottom of it. I am satisfied that Hazel Armstrong did get to the bottom of it, and the work she has done will stand young plumbers, gasfitters, and drainlayers in good stead in the future.
This Labour-led Government has put a lot of resources into apprenticeships. We have been very proud of our policy and our achievements in attracting young people into apprenticeships across trades training. We hold that particular policy dear because it is about the future of young people. To come across the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board denying access to these trades and, at the end of these apprenticeships, denying access to registration for hundreds of young people—mostly to young men, but also to some young women—was an absolute travesty. I am very pleased with the results that have come from Hazel Armstrong’s report, and with the changes that have been made to the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board. That was a critical issue.
I also want to repeat what I said a few minutes ago in relation to the Energy Safety Review Bill, for the benefit of anybody who was not there and did not hear it the first time. I reiterate the importance that we attached as a select committee to the dual process of registration and licensing. Registration equals a ticket with which these young people identify—not only young people but older people who are registered tradespeople. Registration is a point of identification for them. But the licensing system is also important for making sure that ongoing competence can be attested to. That point is critical, because in the area of plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying there are issues of public health at stake. It is absolutely critical for the maintenance of public health that we have competent and licensed—in an ongoing way—practitioners who are laying drains, who are plumbing buildings, and who are fitting gas appliances so that the inhabitants of houses, public buildings, and public spaces are safe.
So plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying go to the heart of public health provision. Registration and licensing, in line with the same provisions that we have just approved for electricians in the second reading of the Energy Safety Review Bill, should be applied—and will be applied—through the changes that the select committee has made to the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Bill.
There were common concerns across the Commerce Committee that the right process should be in place, that in this instance there should be a close degree of ministerial scrutiny of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board, and that there be some substantial changes that allow the access of young people to these trades—and an ongoing career in these trades—to be facilitated. That is what this bill does.
I add my congratulations to those of Katherine Rich to the officials who worked on this legislation with us. We needed to pick our way through it quite carefully, but there was no doubt that the committee was as one over the provisions needed in order to get these young people where they want to be and to provide New Zealand with the skills—the ongoing skills—that it needs in order to have a transformational economy. I commend the second reading of the bill to the House. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.