Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded the introduction and first reading of the Support for Children in Hardship Bill and its referral to a select committee; the introduction and passing of the Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill and any bills into which it may be divided; the introduction and passing of the Telecommunications (Development Levy) Amendment Bill; the introduction and passing of the KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill; and the introduction and passing of the Border Processing (Arrivals and Departures) Levy Bill and any bills into which it may be divided. The Government is moving to take urgency on these bills because they are all part of a package of moves that has been signalled today in Budget 2015.

The Support for Children in Hardship Bill legislates for most of the changes that have been mentioned in the Budget. This bill will go to a select committee for consideration so that it can be effective from 1 April 2016. Also, it must be in effect by February 2016—so we have got a short amount of time for a select committee to consider it—to enable the 2016 annual adjustment to reflect those benefit rate increases stated today.

The Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill is urgent because the Ministry of Social Development needs to be able to purchase more social housing places. The bill allows for more flexible contracting with community housing providers, which the ministry needs in order to be able to enter into contracts to purchase 300 social housing places in Auckland as soon as possible.

The Telecommunications (Development Levy) Amendment Bill provides certainty to the telecommunications industry. It allows the Government to get on with rolling out the Rural Broadband Initiative extensions, which it cannot do until it has a legislative mandate and funding. The bill does not increase or change the operation of the levy; it simply extends the current levy amount out to later years. The intention to extend the levy has previously been well signalled.

The KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill proposes to remove the $1,000 KiwiSaver kick-start contribution paid to all new enrolees in the KiwiSaver scheme, effective from 2 p.m. today. Therefore, urgency is required to give effect to the proposal and to provide clarity to new enrolees in the KiwiSaver scheme.

The Border Processing (Arrivals and Departures) Levy Bill is being introduced because demand for border clearance services is increasing due to the number of airline and cruise ship passengers arriving in and departing from New Zealand. This is expected to grow by some 3.5 percent annually for the foreseeable future, and we simply need to have the users of the services that we provide to protect our borders paying for them. This bill requires Customs and Excise Act and Biosecurity Act changes because they do not currently provide the facility to collect that levy. Urgency is necessary to allow for a period of consultation on the design post the passing of the bill, which is the process that needs to be used. Thank you.