The Select Committee stage of one of New Zealand’s most contentious Bills of Parliament began on Monday. As the hearing of public submissions progresses I look at why this is not a good Bill of Parliament to pass.
The Regulatory Standards Bill, which is being championed by A.C.T. leader David Seymour as an attempt to encourage transparency and cap bureaucratic reach, is anything but. The Bill of Parliament, which has attracted 83,000 submissions – the very vast majority of which are against – is currently before the Select Committee where the Government is finding out just how bad people think it is.
I submitted against the Bill. In doing so, I cited an article by Dame Anne Salmond who set down a strong 9-point case against it proceeding. I also noted the concerns of a local Labour M.P., Dr Duncan Webb, who pointed out that it seemed to be prioritizing property rights over more common human rights. Dr Webb noted that in doing so it overlooked the common human rights of all human beings around the planet – rights to freedom of association, speech and dissent.
Dr Webb went one further though and explained the constitutional overreach being achieved by this Bill of Parliament – it has been designed to supercede, or sit over top of existing agencies and legal mechanisms that already do what this very legislation is trying to achieve. This raises some serious questions:
- Why?
- What is the Minister trying to achieve by championing legislation that is rendered moot by agencies and legal mechanisms already in place?
- Who actually gains from this?
Mr Seymour’s aggressive defence of this Bill of Parliament borders on the abrasive, which will not only not help his cause, but may turn people against it.
But the biggest reason for this Bill of Parliament being completely wrong is…
It has been to Parliament 3 times already under other names – a brief timeline below shows the history of failure of the Regulatory Standards Bill’s predecessors:
2006: The Regulatory Responsibility Bill failed at the Select Committee stage in Parliament
2009: A Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce is created under the Government of then Prime Minister John Key
2011: Another Bill of Parliament introduced by A.C.T., as the Regulatory Standards Bill, by then Minister for Regulatory Reform, Rodney Hide. Attempting to build on the prior Bill, it failed to pass the First Reading
2017: Labour-led Coalition of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern elected; Regulatory Standards Bill lapses
2021: A.C.T. leader David Seymour introduces a Members Bill
Ask yourself why this one deserves to pass any more than its predecessors. Ask yourself why a Bill of Parliament that even national security specialists are not sure is safe, should pass Parliament?
Leftist Kiwi Writes 