Business Statement

Thursday, 18 May is Budget day. As Minister of Finance, I will present the Wellbeing Budget 2023 to the House on that day. On Tuesday, the annual review debate will conclude with the appearance of the Minister of Agriculture, and the Appropriation (2021/22 Confirmation and Validation) Bill will complete its remaining stages.

Other legislation to be considered will include the second readings of the Business Payment Practices Bill, the Charities Amendment Bill, and the Health and Safety at Work (Health and Safety Representatives and Committees) Amendment Bill; the committee stage of the Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill, the Grocery Industry Competition Bill, and the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Bill; and the third reading of the Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. A couple of matters. Firstly, in respect of the annual review debate, which we are coming to the end of and for which both the Education and Workforce Committee and the Minister of Education have been before the committee of the whole House, I note with some disquiet that the annual report of Te Pūkenga, a $1.2 billion part of Vote Education, has still not been published. We will be encouraging the education select committee to, effectively, reopen the batting at the end of that annual review debate, but it is very difficult for this House to scrutinise annual reviews if they haven’t been tabled.

Secondly, it is Budget day—seven more sleeps for the Minister—next week. And so I trust that the Leader of the House will give the Business Committee, next week, at least some indication, for planning purposes, of the extent of urgency, noting that Budget urgency where bills are not referred to select committees carries with it some risk that those bills that are not time-sensitive will be sent to select committees for their consideration.

With respect to the first matter the member raises, he’s answered his own question about what he intends to do about that. With respect to the second matter, I thank the member for his advice. Obviously, we are a busy Government with an ambitious programme of work, and we will refer back to the member, as he suggests, in good time before Budget day.