19 Mar 2015

New bills drawn from members' ballot

3:10 pm on 19 March 2015

Three new bills have been drawn from the members' ballot and will be considered by Parliament.

The first, in the name of Labour MP Meka Whatiri, would amend the Environmental Protection Authority Act to make protecting the environment a goal of the authority.

"The current law has a glaring omission and we are committed to ensuring that such protections are at the forefront of environmental practices," Ms Whatiri said.

The second, in the name of New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin, would repeal the New Zealand International Convention Centre Act.

That would effectively remove the gambling concessions that the SkyCity casino operator received from the Government as part of its deal to build the convention centre in Auckland.

Under a deal struck in 2013, SkyCity agreed to build a $402 million centre in return for an extra 230 gaming machines and 40 tables.

The third bill was sponsored by New Zealand First's Fletcher Tabuteau, and would stop foreign investors from suing New Zealand if it made laws that they thought would affect their business under the Trans Pacific Partnership.

The three bills will be debated on an upcoming members' day in Parliament.

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