Urgency

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

I move, That urgency be accorded the introduction and passing of the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme Bill, the second reading and remaining stages of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill, the introduction and first reading of the Biosecurity Amendment Bill, and the second reading of the Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill.

The first bill that we intend to deal with under urgency today is the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme Bill, and that is because of the commercial sensitivity that could exist around the issue of the guarantee of retail deposits in New Zealand. This provision has been widely supported in the past as being good for the economy in these difficult times, and it is important that the legislation is passed through the House in a continuum so that commercial interests may be best protected through this mechanism. The Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill is a measure that is very much awaited by many people in New Zealand who have projects that may well contribute to economic growth. Therefore, having the legislation in place well and truly before 1 October is a good idea. The Biosecurity Amendment Bill, to be introduced today, has similar aspects to it. It is important that we get that bill referred to a select committee for due consideration promptly. We want to make progress on the Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Bill, because this is the time of year when many young people are planning their futures, and they need to know exactly how that loan regime will be put in place.

I also say that it is not widely known that the House sits for only 17 hours a week. When we take out question time, the general debate, and, quite often, the overrun of question time, or special debates such as were requested today, we get to the situation whereby between now and Christmas the scheduled sitting days available to the House are such that we have just 115-odd hours available for the passing of legislation. That means that from time to time the Government needs to seek extended hours, which is exactly what is being sought here through the provision of urgency.