Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded the first reading and referral to select committee of the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill and to the Climate Change Response (Auction Price) Amendment Bill.

Both bills were introduced on Friday morning, so they’ve been public for four days, but technically they’d have to sit longer on the floor of the House before being read a first time, but for the move to urgency. The urgency is needed to bring them above the line on the Order Paper so that they can be considered now and sent to select committee earlier than would otherwise occur. I’ll summarise the reason as to why we believe urgency’s justified, but both bills have to be passed by a certain date, as the Ministers will explain in more detail.

The Māori wards legislation, from the Government’s perspective, needs to be passed by 22 February, and the Climate Change Response (Auction Price) Amendment Bill by mid-March, and we think it’s desirable that both of these pieces of legislation go to select committee, albeit for a truncated period. Urgency, if it’s agreed, won’t continue until tomorrow morning so that select committees running tomorrow won’t be interfered with. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Point of order, Mr Speaker. If I could just ask, the Minister said that the bills need to be passed by a certain date. I understand that an urgency motion should give some reasons why it is necessary for the bill to be passed early. The Minister’s given the date by which he’d like it to be passed, but he hasn’t explained why that is.

I’m happy to elucidate a little bit more. In respect of Māori wards, if Māori wards are to be in place in a date and time for the local government elections next year, that creates effectively a cascade of dates backwards, and in respect of the climate change auction prices, that’s necessary so that by the time the first auction under the revised emissions trading rules takes place, there is a reserve price able to be put in place. At the moment, the legislation doesn’t allow an auction reserve and this legislation is necessary to put that in place before the first auction.