Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill

A very quick call to say that the title of this Act—that is, the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Act 2019—is the best suited title because it clarifies the principal Act that it amends. We know this is amending the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act 2008. So because the amendment actually goes into that Act, the funding Act 2008, it makes sense that the title contains these terms—that is, the “Auckland Regional Amenities Funding” and “Amendment Act 2019”—because 2019 is when the work on this legislation started.

We know that the Auckland regional amenities get funding through the board that is set up through that legislation—I would refer to that to be the principal Act. Then, obviously, they have to report, they have to prepare their financial statements, to declare their financial position because of that funding that is received. So I believe that the amendment, which is going into the principal Act, which is to change the reporting standard to bring it in line with the Charities Act 2005 and also to change the reporting of the Auckland Regional Amenities Board, according to the amenities board Act 2008—changing that, it makes sense that we have the title of this legislation as it is; that is, the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Act 2019. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I’m sorry, this hadn’t occurred to me until just now, and I’m sure the member has an answer for it. Because I wasn’t on the Governance and Administration Committee, I didn’t actually get into the detail of this bill. I’m sorry—I might have drifted off. But it’s the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Act 2019, but we’re now in 2020. I know it’s a small point, and I just missed it. I would appreciate it if the member could just clarify that for me. I do understand that the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act, where it goes back to—was it the 2008 Act which provided that funding for those specified amenities? So I wouldn’t have been surprised if that had been in the Act title and things like that. But that 2019 date, I’ve just gone: oh, what’s that 2019 date about? I’m sure it’s only a very short and small explanation, but I would just appreciate, given that it’s 2020, whether you could explain to me why it says the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Act 2019 instead of the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Act 2020. So if the member could explain that. Thank you.

Because the work on this bill started in 2019, and it was referred to the Governance and Administration Committee in September 2019. Officially, it was in, and we started working on this bill in 2019, so that’s why the title includes 2019. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a short contribution just wanting to check with the title. A significant component of this bill is actually about the funding mechanism and the preparation of financial statements. Perhaps the title could be broadened to include that kind of aspect of the provisions of this bill—that it’s not just about the funding mechanism; that it’s also about the financial statements and it’s also about the requirement to report. I would see that there would be some value in including that within the title. I’d like to ask the member in the chair, Dr Parmjeet Parmar, if she had considered that. I think that’s all I need to make a contribution on for this clause. Thank you.

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2 Commencement