NEW ZEALAND
THIRD READING: NEW ZEALAND beliefs and values of Te Ao Māori (Māoridom): the notion of connectedness with the natural world, and human beings as part of it.” Mr James Shaw, MP (Co-Leader, Green Party) added: “Ko au ko te awa; ko te awa ko au - I am the river; the river is me. Obviously, this is such a deeply spiritual and cultural notion to Māori and to the people of the Whanganui River that this Bill gives such recognition to … It means that the river itself has the right not to be polluted. It has the right not to be degraded. It has the right not to be overdrawn before it can replenish itself.” Dr Shane Reti, MP (National) explained: “today we have heard this Bill called revolutionary and unique, and I want to call it extraordinary. I want to extend on the concept of personhood that the member James Shaw just talked about, because here today we recognise a river and its catchment as a legal entity, a legal person - Te Awa Tupua, under the framework of Te Pā Auroa nā Te Awa Tupua.” The Bill passed with unanimous support and received the Royal assent on 20 March 2017. Education (Update) Amendment Bill The Education (Update) Amendment Bill passed its Third Reading on 11 May 2017. The latter stages of this Bill were significant because, despite strong political disagreement about the Bill’s content, cross-party agreement was reached for an innovative approach to debating it. The Bill, first introduced in September 2016, amends the Education Act 1989, inserting several new parts into the Act. As introduced, the main provisions: provide for the Minister of Education to issue a statement of National Education and Learning Priorities; enable education providers to provide distance education through the establishment of communities of online learning; enable a new entrant to be enrolled in a school on the first day of the term closest to the child’s fifth birthday; make changes to the roles and responsibilities of school boards and to ministerial powers; introduce new planning and reporting processes for schools; strengthen the legal framework for managing teacher competency; repeal the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975 and transfer its provisions to the Act in a modernised form, with some changes;
and disestablish Careers New Zealand and transfer its functions to the Tertiary Education Commission. The Business Committee agreed prior to the Committee of the whole House that the debate on the Bill would be arranged by theme rather than by part, as is currently the convention. The debate was divided into five key themes - principles and central management; communities of online learning; boards of trustees and management of schools; establishment of, and types of schools; and miscellaneous provisions - with clauses allocated between them accordingly. The sitting of 12 April 2017 was extended into the next day to enable the debate in the Committee of the whole House to take place. At the beginning of the debate, the Chairperson, Hon. Trevor Mallard, MP (Labour) explained to Members: “There [will be] no limit on the number of calls per Member, except for the fact that the normal arrangements apply, whereby Members cannot have more than two calls at one time.” The change in procedure was made with the aim of encouraging shorter, more meaningful interactions between Members of the Committee and the Minister in the Chair. Ms Tracy Martin, MP (New Zealand First)
commented on the change: “This has been a really great process so far. It has probably been the most respectful [the Minister of Education] and I have been to each other for a long time.” The Chairperson was the sole determiner of the length of debate on each theme, with all questions put at the end of the whole debate on the Bill. The new approach to the Committee of the whole House received widespread support from across the House. Mr Chris Hipkins, MP (Labour) said: “Can I thank all Members of the House for agreeing to trial this new approach to the Committee stage. I hope that this will result in a more logical debate and some better scrutiny of the legislation put before the House. I look forward to some interchange with the Minister during this debate as well.” Ms Catherine Delahunty, MP (Green Party) echoed his praise by saying she really appreciated “the process where we are having a direct dialogue and talking about these things together, because we do not get much opportunity.” Similarly, the Chairperson, Hon. Trevor Mallard, MP (Labour) concluded: “It has been a high-quality debate.” The Bill passed with 62 votes to 56.
The Parliamentarian | 2017: Issue Two | 173