Urgency

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) Link to this

I move, That urgency be accorded the second reading and passing through its remaining stages of the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill; the introduction and passing of a Government bill; the passing through their remaining stages of the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill, the Border (Customs, Excise, and Tariff) Processing Bill, and the Taxation (Consequential Rate Alignment and Remedial Matters) Bill, and any bills into which any of those bills may be divided; the introduction and passing of a Government bill; and the passing through of their remaining stages of the Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill, the Remuneration Authority Amendment Bill, and the Biosecurity Amendment Bill, and any bills into which any of those bills may be divided.

This is a time of year when the legislative programme starts to cramp up quite considerably. There are a number of crucial dates that the Government needs to have legislation aligned for; the first of these is 1 January next year. In fact, if the emissions trading scheme amendment is not passed in good time, then the current emissions trading scheme provisions will prevail. We believe they would be bad for the economy. Therefore, we are making the amendments today.

The other bills, in some cases, deal with the sorts of general arrangements that the prison service may have to make over the Christmas period, and also with the way it might progress in the long term. Getting clarity about that will be useful. The Taxation (Consequential Rate Alignment and Remedial Matters) Bill deals with issues like pensions, superannuation rates, and various other things, and it is important that the House also deals with that bill well before the questioned time. No one, I am sure, will be surprised that the Government wishes to put in place legislation that makes it clear that the Remuneration Authority can take consideration of the general economic conditions when it is making its determinations. The Biosecurity Amendment Bill is a bill that should be passed in a timely fashion, in order that we can further protect New Zealand’s borders. For those reasons, the Government has taken urgency today.