Energy Safety Review Bill

I rise with pleasure again to speak on this particular bill, because it deals very much with best practice. For best practice to occur, the regulations governing the supply and use of electricity, and health and safety in employment, are very much part of the requirements. Now that National has worked on the initial proposals in the bill and has progressed them to the present stage, we feel that the bill is able to fulfil its requirements. The amendments in the bill largely concern themselves with matters of health and safety—clause 56 deals with that—and the regulation of electrical workers.

I refer again to my opening comments, in which I mentioned the 2005 total of 38,333 electrical workers and 20,099 registered electricians. That is a lot of people who will be responding to the requirements of the bill. I think it is significant to recall that we have seen a little bit of equivocation on this matter. The initial bill removed the registration of plumbers and electricians, and I note the Minister’s response. It was kind of him to stand and take a call to explain that. But National argued the importance of keeping it, and got the bills changed.

This is a major win for all the relevant tradespeople. I too have had meetings and contact with tradespeople when putting this bill together. The present Government really showed a considerable turn-round towards submissions, and I was delighted to experience that. For many tradespeople, registration is the zenith of their career achievement, and deservedly so.

One can say only that best practice has to extend to the entire business of electricity provision, and health and safety is, as I emphasised earlier, particularly important. Another major feature of health and safety is the recording and notifying of accidents and serious harm. This has been allowed for in the bill so that the provision is in compliance with other parts of the Health and Safety in Employment Act.

The transfer of accident information is important, too. In other words, it is not sufficient simply to report an accident or serious harm; it has to be conveyed properly to the secretary. The secretary must then notify the particulars of an accident to the person who must be notified under section 17(3) of the Gas Act, if the secretary is of the opinion that that section applies to the accident. Also, if the secretary is of the opinion that section 17 of that Act applies to that accident, then he or she must also notify the person who must be notified of the particulars of the accident under the Electricity Act.

I think that what we are seeing is a very satisfactory conclusion to something emphasised throughout the select committee consideration by the submitters, and that is the safety aspect of their work. I remember talking to the submitters when they were referring to connecting electrical units with gas units, because often the two skills are combined. The Committee will have heard that we have some 38,000 electrical workers and 20,000 registered electricians, so not everyone who works in the electricity sector is a registered electrician. Similarly, there were concerns on the part of both the electrical industry and the gas industry that for the people who actually install equipment, there was no real requirement for them to be qualified.

The submissions included aspects of concern, which have now been addressed. I think we have reached a satisfactory arrangement so that it is the connecting of the same, not just the installation, that has to be overseen and properly authorised. As they said: “Where does the responsibility lie?”. There can be a big bang. It was good to be part of that select committee. Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson, for allowing me to take this slightly late call. I just wanted to respond to something the previous speaker, Chris Auchinvole, said. It is to do with Part 3 and the registration process, which my colleague is keen to take credit for. I think it is stretching things a little to say that it was a National Party intervention that caused this.

The first purpose of this bill, in the initial stage, was to simplify the registration and competence procedure surrounding trades. To that end the first bill was introduced with a single process called licensing. In the course of submissions it became very clear that there was a significant emotional attachment—in fact, it was more than an emotional attachment; identification—with registration. I have made this point in previous speeches, but it is worth saying again that the registration for electricians and other tradespeople, as we will see when we move on to later bills before us tonight, is as important to them as a doctor’s registration is to her or him. It is a very important rite of passage. It is an important milestone in their career. To that end, all parties around the select committee table agreed that it should be reinstated as registration and licensing—registration to recognise the gaining of the ticket, and licensing to ensure ongoing competence. When that was put as a possibility to the Minister, the Hon Harry Duynhoven, he agreed entirely that that was an appropriate thing to do, given the strength of feeling and given his own experience of that, as well.

So what was I think in the first instance an effort to simplify the procedure, became reinstated as a two-stage process for registration and for ongoing competence. So I could not let the previous speaker claim that the National Party has sua sponte made a huge improvement for electricians and the universe in this regard. Thank you.

Part 3 agreed to.

Part 4 Amendment to Ministry of Energy (Abolition) Act 1989

The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 76 in the name of the Hon Harry Duynhoven to Part 4 be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

Part 4 as amended agreed to.

Schedule 1

The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 76 in the name of the Hon Harry Duynhoven to schedule 1 be agreed to.

Amendments agreed to.

Schedule 1 as amended agreed to.

Clauses 1 and 2