Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded the introduction and passing of the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill and the Immigration Amendment Bill; the passing through their remaining stages of the Dairy Industry Restructuring (Raw Milk Pricing Methods) Bill and the Regulatory Improvement Bill, and any bills into which any of those bills may be divided; the third reading of the Unit Titles Bill; and the first readings of the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill and the Commerce Commission (International Co-operation, and Fees) Bill.

The Government is moving to accord urgency for the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill to empower Government-appointed commissioners to provide the governance and leadership necessary to rapidly address longstanding, systemic institutional and governance issues within the Canterbury Regional Council, Environment Canterbury. It is responsible of the Government to provide certainty for Environment Canterbury councillors and staff; consequently, according urgency to this legislation is the most appropriate action.

The Dairy Industry Restructuring (Raw Milk Pricing Methods) Bill provides certainty and clarity regarding future pricing methods to be applied to regulated raw milk that Fonterra is obliged to provide to independent processors prior to the beginning of the 2010-11 dairy production season.

The Immigration Act 2009 Amendment Bill corrects errors in the drafting of the Immigration Act 2009, and it needs to be passed as soon as possible to allow necessary implementation work to be undertaken, and to ensure that the will of this House is not frustrated.

The Government’s intention is that a bill to improve the regulatory framework will be an annual occurrence, and as the current bill was not able to be passed last year, the Government would like to move to advance it so that the progress of regulatory reform becomes continuous.

The Unit Titles Bill should progress under urgency, as the review of the 38-year-old Unit Titles Act has been ongoing for the last 5 years, and this bill is a small but integral part of the package of solutions the Government is looking at for people who are living in leaky apartment bills. The Act is outdated, and is inadequate to deal with the creation and management of developments such as apartment blocks in today’s housing market.

Noting the Regulations Review Committee’s finding regarding the undesirability of the deferred commencement of the new section 92A that was part of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008, the Government would like to refer the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill to a select committee as soon as possible.

Finally, advancing the Commerce Commission (International Co-operation, and Fees) Bill is another step towards the fulfilment of a single economic market with Australia, as enunciated by the Prime Minister in his statement to Parliament at the beginning of the year.

Motion agreed to.