An electric car of the company Tesla is charged at a charging station on a parking lot in Cologne, Germany, in June 2023. Photo: Horst Galuschka / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP
Parliament has another busy week planned this week. This week, like most weeks so far this Parliament, will be run almost entirely under the rules of urgency. Those rules speed up debate on legislation and allow the government to skip the stage where the public get to offer opinion and advice.
Regardless, the plan is that some bills will receive just a first reading this week and be sent to committee - a rare sight recently.
For politics followers who want to better judge when to cheer or to moan, here is a run down on what will be debated and when.
Tuesday and Wednesday will operate under urgency. Some of Thursday is expected to include urgency too, but with a break so the government doesn’t have to also debate on Thursday morning.
Road User Charges for electric cars
The Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill will receive a first reading.
The previous government sought to encourage the adoption of electric cars by exempting them from Road User Charges (usually paid by vehicles that don’t use petrol and the inherent excise).
This bill removes that exemption from fully electric cars and PHEVs (plug-in hybrids). PHEVs will end up paying the excise on their petrol and then also a Road User Charge.
These changes have been announced as kicking in on April 1st 2024, but the Bill enabling them is set to go to select committee with an instruction - presumably that instruction will be for a very fast turn-around.
Expect debate on this bill from the opposition as zeroing in on how disincentivising electric vehicles is a boon for climate change, or from the government as it being fair and not favouring the rich.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Legal Services Amendment Repeal Bill
When individuals convicted of a crime are sentenced they are allowed to provide the judge with a section 27 report that provides the court with context for themselves and their offending. Funding for those reports has been publicly available.
The Legal Services Amendment Repeal Bill would remove that funding. The reports are still permissible but would need to be privately funded.
The bill was debated through first and second readings under urgency last week (skipping select committee), and is set to be completed on Tuesday evening (or Wednesday morning).
Expect debate on whether this removes a legal boondoggle, or will make access to fair sentencing a privilege for the wealthy.
Photo: 123RF
Big company invoice treatments
The Business Payments Practice Repeal Bill isn't available to peruse yet. It will repeal this bill passed into law last July, legislation that sought to force large companies to reveal how fast they paid their bills.
Expect debate over whether this makes life harder for subcontractors, or removes costly ineffectual paperwork from business.
This bill will be debated through all stages under urgency (skipping skip the select committee stage, where the public are invited to offer opinion and advice).
The Fuel Tax bye-bye
The Land Transport Management (Repeal of Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill does exactly what it says on the cover. It will remove the specific extra fuel tax that was levied in Auckland to fund Auckland-specific projects.
This bill will be debated through all stages under urgency, and will also not include a select committee stage.
Expect debate around whether the tax was fair and its use wasteful, or what projects will now not go ahead without it, and how much Auckland rates might rise instead.
A Norinco 5-point-56, a mock of the M16 rifle, which is now illegal. Photo: RNZ / Ana Tovey
Firearms Prohibition Orders
The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill is not available for perusal yet. The government announced what it intends from it a few days ago.
The current law (from 2022) allows court to impose a Firearms Protection Order on people who have:
- specified offences under the Arms Act 1983 that disqualify a person from holding a firearms licence
- a serious violent offence as defined in section 86A of the Sentencing Act 2002
- an offence under section 98A of the Crimes Act 1961, which relates to participation in an organised criminal group
- specified offences under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002.
It appears that the intent might be to strengthen the focus on those affiliated with organised criminal groups, and possibly to allow warrantless searches (something the National Party argued for.
This Bill will receive a first reading and be referred to select committee.
Fast-track consenting & gang patches
If they get to it, on Thursday afternoon we may see a first reading debate of an as-yet untabled Fast-track consenting bill. Its intentions were announced here.
And it seems unlikely, but just in case, there is also the possibility for a first reading of a Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill, which would enact the government’s tough-on-gangs ideas.
The final newbies - almost
The two new Labour MPs Reuben Davidson (Christchurch East) and Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) are scheduled to give their maiden speeches on Thursday at 5:30pm.
They were originally to be the last of the new bunch, but the tragic death of Fa'anānā Efeso Collins will mean there is one more yet to come.
