Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded to:

the introduction and passing through all stages of the Resource Management (Duration of Consents) Amendment Bill;

the first reading and referral to a select committee of the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) and the Arms Bill;

the remaining stages of the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill and the Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill;

the first reading and referral to a select committee of the Crimes Amendment Bill and the Public Works Amendment Bill;

the second reading and committee stage of the Electoral Amendment Bill;

the passing through all stages of the Climate Change Response (2050 Target and Other Matters) Amendment Bill;

the remaining stages of the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill;

the recommittal and reconsideration in the committee of the whole House of the Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill to consider Amendment Paper 472; and

the introduction of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill.

As I think most people know, the Government does not like moving urgency—

Chlöe Swarbrick: Ha, ha!

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, we don’t, but it is a necessary evil in some scenarios, and it is well justified in all of these cases.

The Resource Management (Duration of Consents) Amendment Bill is being introduced and passed today as part of the Government’s resource management changes to address resource consents that will expire before the enactment of the Government’s planning replacement regime, which will take effect, pending Environment Committee progress, mid - next year.

The Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill is a Government priority to improve grocery sector competition and to add some finesses to the fast-track regime, which is generally working well.

There’s a range of first readings that the Government is keen to send off to select committee so they can start their considerations this side of Christmas—the Arms Bill and the Emergency Management Bill (No 2), obviously.

The Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill is having its remaining stages passed before Christmas. There is some legally imposed time pressure on that to get that passed.

The Public Works Amendment Bill is another bill that we’d like to send to a select committee this side of Christmas.

The Electoral Amendment Bill has been well signalled, and it’s important that these changes can be put in place for the next election, which will be at some point in 2026.

The Climate Change Response (2050 Target and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is also being passed this week to allow the Minister of Climate Change more time to set an emissions target.

The Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has, again, been well signalled, and the Government wishes to have its remaining stages passed this week so it can take effect early next year to make sure we can reduce compliance cost while ensuring we facilitate greater foreign investment into New Zealand.

The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill—

Tangi Utikere: What’s wrong with that one?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, I think Mr Utikere knows what’s wrong with that one. The bill itself is fine—I think it’s actually widely supported—but due to a snafu during the—

Tangi Utikere: A snafu?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, I think that’s the polite way of putting it—

Grant McCallum: Technical term.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: It’s a technical term. There was a snafu during the late-night voting on the bill. My understanding is that there was an amendment accepted from the member who’s in the chair currently that is not in line with Government intentions, so the intention is to send the bill back to the committee of the whole House stage for Amendment Paper 472, I think, so that we can fix up that little error, and, of course, we’ll get that into law probably next week, I would say.

The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill is an important piece of legislation—yet another first reading we’d like to get away this side of Christmas.

The reality is that the New Zealand Parliament does not sit for very long, and we need these hours in order to advance Government business. It’s not something we do lightly, and something I try to avoid as much as possible.

Hon Rachel Brooking: Just every other week?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, Ms Brooking, it’s a busy Government with a busy agenda, and I’d just point out to the member—I was going to say, “What goes around comes around”, but that’s too negative. All Governments use urgency, as the members well know. I see Sir Geoffrey Palmer was in the media this week saying that this Government was an abuser of urgency, which I found slightly rich from the man who put the House into urgency for roughly 20 percent of the time when he was Leader of the House before the 1987 to 1990 period, when he was Deputy Prime Minister, when that Government spent around 30 percent of its time in urgency—but, anyway, with those kind of little backhanders at Sir Geoffrey Palmer, I commend the urgency motion to the House.