7 May 2012

In this edition:

MATTER OF OPINION

Something rotten...
The language is arcane. “Cable”, “not sensitive” “cleared”.  If you’ve ever received an email from someone at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the words will have stood out from the banalities of arranging a coffee or deciding what movie to see. more...

IN THE NEWS Pre-Budget announcements Proposed changes to the Public Finance Act New government share offers website launched Productivity Commission releases final report on international freight services Alcohol Reform Bill to be progressed through final stages MED chief executive to head super ministry Rival bidders lodge second appeal against Crafar Farms sale MED calls for greater accountability from larger New Zealand charities Law Commission releases final report on the Credit Repossession Act 1997 First official snapshot of New Zealand's food and beverage industry

PROGRESS OF LEGISLATION New Bills Bills Awaiting First Reading Bills before Select Committee Open for submissions Submissions not yet called Submissions closed Bills Awaiting Second Reading Bills Awaiting Third Reading Bills Awaiting Assent Regulations IN THE WEEK AHEAD IN COMMITTEE IN CONSULTATION New Current

The language is arcane.  “Cable”, “not sensitive” “cleared”.  If you’ve ever received an email from someone at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the words will have stood out from the banalities of arranging a coffee or deciding what movie to see. 

With it there’s a sense of something else – an implied vetting by a patrician Under-Secretary, the hovering potential for redaction.  Whatever it is, it is pre-email and atavistic, redolent of teleprinters, India ink, Windsor knots, polished shoes, Suez and, above all, discretion.

Privy to the nation’s secrets – trade and otherwise – and with at least a passing familiarity with the secrets of others, the Foreign Office is one of the most senior in the public sector pantheon.  Not for nothing has it recruited to itself the gifted and the multi-degreed.  Not for nothing either that it has been for many years the preferred scouting ground for the public sector’s chief executives and mandarins.

The reported leaking of two Cabinet documents dealing with restructuring of the Ministry suggests that things at the Ministry are not what they once were.  Labour’s Phil Goff gets it at least half right when he described events as astonishing in the face of the Ministry’s reputation as one of the most non-partisan and professional under both National and Labour.

But, unable to resist taking the short-term political point, he glosses over a more significant problem, attributing indiscretion within the Ministry as a sign of staff disillusionment, demoralisation and anger in the face of what he describes as a botched restructuring. 

That attribution may be correct.  But if the Ministry is, in fact, the source of the leaks it’s also indicative of something far more worrying.  The person or persons concerned may seek to rationalise passing on confidential documents as some sort of “greater good” issue, but there can be no getting away from the fundamental dishonesty, stupidity and ultimately self-serving nature of the action.

But it is not only a question of individual ethics.  The Ministry’s visibility extends well beyond our borders.  It is our face to the world.  And while it has not been immune to leakage or self-serving behaviour, the profile of the current problem and its handling by Government and Opposition alike will not be lost on our trading partners, hoped-for trading partners and nominal allies.

This brings another apparent atavism into the mix – trustworthiness.  And even if the leak has come from other than the Ministry, the public handling of reform by those who should know better will certainly have eroded international confidence in the Ministry in the first instance and the government (small ‘g’) beyond that.

The State Services Commission is now investigating the leak and it is to be hoped that both the inquiry and its follow-through reflect appropriate rigour.

But the Commission - and the major political parties - need also to concern themselves with what the leak says about the culture of the public sector and its future, when Ministers may be better placed to rely on the discretion of consultants than its nominal servants.

In a pre-Budget speech to Business New Zealand last week, Prime Minister John Key reiterated that the Government is on track to return to an operating surplus in 2014/15.  Mr Key said that the Government will be "taking the same moderate and balanced approach it has to its three previous Budgets" and that in particular Budget 2012 will be based on the following Government priorities:

• responsibly managing the Government’s finances;
• building a more productive and competitive economy;
• delivering better public services; and
• supporting the rebuilding of Christchurch.

In terms of specific areas of spending, Mr Key indicated that:

• Spending on health and education will increase overall, although savings will also be made within these areas. The savings will be reinvested back into frontline services.
• Spending on science and innovation will increase.
• There will be some spending in order to support beneficiaries into work; these costs are expected to be recouped over the forecast period through a lower welfare roll.

Mr Key also announced that spending on tertiary education will be rebalanced and that savings in this area will be reinvested into improving university teaching and research. 
 
In a separate announcement, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce announced that:

• the compulsory student loan repayment rate will be increased from 10 to 12 percent of income above $19,084 per annum;
• the 10% discount for voluntary repayments will be cancelled; and
• student allowances will be limited to four years of study and a four year freeze will be put on the parental income threshold for eligibility to student allowances.

Mr Joyce's announcement is the first substantive announcement to be made by the Government in the lead-up to Budget 2012.  More official announcements on specific policy areas can be expected to be made over the next few weeks leading up to Finance Minister Bill English's delivery of the Budget on 24 May 2012.

More information about Budget 2012 can also be found in the Finance and Expenditure Committee's report on the Budget Policy Statement 2012.  The Report was released last month and can be found here.

Finance Minister Bill English has announced the Government's intention to make changes to the Public Finance Act 1989 in order to increase the transparency around how government spending decisions can affect the wider economy and future generations.

The Government is proposing to introduce additional principles into Part 2 of the Act (which currently focuses on principles of responsible fiscal management) to require Ministers to consider the long-term implications of fiscal policy decisions.

Specifically, the proposed changes would require governments to:

• consider the impact of their fiscal strategy on the broader economy, in particular interest rates and exchange rates;
• set out their priorities for revenue, spending and the balance sheet, rather than focus narrowly on debt as is currently the case;
• take into account the impact of fiscal policy decisions on future generations; and
• report on the successes and failures of past fiscal policy.

The Government is also proposing to add, as a new principle of responsible fiscal management, a spending limit based on the rate of growth in inflation and population.  This proposal was set out in the National-ACT Confidence and Supply Agreement.  Spending on natural disasters, finance charges, the unemployment benefit and asset impairments would be excluded from this limit. Under this proposal, if a government decided to temporarily exceed the limit it would have to clearly explain its reasons and how it intends to ensure future spending stays within the limit.

The Government intends to consult other political parties on a number of proposals to change the Act and expects that a Bill setting out these proposals will be introduced to Parliament around the middle of the year.

Mr English's announcement can be accessed here.

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Tony Ryall, has announced the Government has launched a new website to provide the public with information about the Government's mixed ownership programme.

The website, www.governmentshareoffers.govt.nz, provides information about the Government's proposal to sell to the public up to 49% of shares in Genesis Power Limited, Meridian Energy Limited, Mighty River Power Limited, Solid Energy New Zealand Limited and a stake in Air New Zealand Limited.

Mr Ryall announced that the Government is on track to initiate the first share offer, for Mighty River Power Limited, later this year, market conditions permitting.

The announcement of the launch of the website carried with it a disclaimer that no money is currently being sought and no applications for shares will be accepted until after the Government has released an investment statement containing specific information about the relevant share offer.

The Productivity Commission has released its final report on its inquiry into international freight transport services.

The Report contains the following key recommendations:

• Changing the current governance and ownership arrangements for council-controlled port companies to encourage a more commercial focus, for example by aligning the statutory objective of these companies with that for state-owned enterprises, and legislating to preclude councillors and council staff from being directors of port and airport companies.
• Increasing coordination of investment in freight infrastructure and avoiding excessive direction by central government.
• Lifting workplace productivity by encouraging a shift towards a "hybrid model of unionism" based on high quality union leadership.  Recommendations for reforming the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 (which applies to unions) may arise out of the Law Commission's review of this Act, expected to be released at the end of the year.
• Removing current exemptions for shipping companies from the Commerce Act 1986 to outlaw any agreements between shipping lines that fix prices and/or limit capacity unless the Commerce Commission judges that their public benefits outweigh any anti-competitive detriments.
• Giving the Ministry of Transport a new function to carry out independent comparative assessments of the financial performance of port companies.
• Improving the gathering and dissemination of information on freight in New Zealand to enhance the decision-making of freight organisations, help stakeholders monitor performance, and assist policy-makers in designing and evaluating policies and regulations.

The full report can be found here.

Justice Minister Judith Collins has announced the Government is now ready to progress the Alcohol Reform Bill through its remaining stages in Parliament.  The Bill was introduced to Parliament in November 2010 and was reported back from Parliament’s Justice and Electoral Committee in August 2011.  It passed its second reading in September 2011.

Ms Collins said that issues arising from the Select Committee's recommendations had since been addressed by the Government and the Bill is now ready to be progressed through its remaining stages and enacted.

The Bill includes the following proposals:

• Increasing the alcohol purchasing age to 20 years for off-licence retailers such as liquor stores, supermarkets and grocery stores.  The purchasing age for on-licences such as restaurants, bars and clubs will remain unchanged at 18 years.
• Setting licence fees according to risk factors such as the type and capacity of the venue, its trading hours, and the previous conduct of a licensee.  Low-risk premises will pay the lowest fees.
• Tightening restrictions on the types of premises that can sell alcohol and when they can sell it.  Dairies and convenience stores will not be able to sell alcohol, and there will be national maximum hours for alcohol sales.
• Tightening restrictions on the irresponsible promotion of alcohol.
• Making the supply of alcohol to under-18-year-olds in an irresponsible manner, or without the express consent of a parent or guardian, offences for which liability carries a fine of up to $2000.
• Empowering local authorities to be able to set conditions on licences and giving them greater scope for objecting to alcohol licence applications through local alcohol policies.

The reforms in the Bill will be implemented in three stages, to provide enough time to set up new licensing and enforcement systems.  Most of the changes are expected to come into effect 6 and 12 months after royal assent.  The split purchase age proposal outlined above will be considered as a conscience vote during the committee of the whole House stage of the Bill's progression.

More information about the Bill can be found here.

The chief executive of the Ministry of Economic Development, David Smol, has been named interim chief executive of the merged super ministry that will be known as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The merger will bring together the functions of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and most of the functions of the Department of Labour and Department of Building and Housing.

The Government confirmed last month that the super ministry will be established on 1 July 2012.

The Sir Michael Fay-led consortium of New Zealand investors has lodged a fresh appeal against the Government’s latest approval of Shanghai Pengxin's application to purchase the 16 Crafar farms.

The consortium, known as the Crafar Farms Independent Purchase Group, is appealing the decision of Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson and Associate Finance Minister Jonathan Coleman to approve the application “on the grounds that Shanghai Pengxin fails the test of business experience and acumen relevant to the overseas investment”.  

The grounds for appeal are the same as those already lodged by the consortium with the Court of Appeal in February over the Government's original approval of the sale.  The second appeal has been lodged in order to challenge the latest decision by the Government confirming its original approval.  The two appeal proceedings are technically separate but the consortium is looking into merging them so that they are heard together in the Court of Appeal as they concern the same grounds.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss last month released a discussion paper on registered charities, entitled Auditing and Assurance for Larger Registered Charities.  The discussion paper contains proposals that are aimed at increasing the transparency and accountability of New Zealand's larger charities.

Registered charities are currently required to include financial statements when they lodge their annual return with the Charities Commission but there is no requirement for those statements to be independently audited or reviewed.  The discussion paper proposes charities that spend over $300,000 a year should have their financial statements audited, and charities spending between $200,000 and $300,000 should be required to complete an audit or assurance engagement.

The discussion paper can be viewed here. The Ministry of Economic Development is seeking submissions on the proposals set out in its discussion paper. Submissions are due by 20 July 2012.

On 30 April 2012 the Law Commission released its final report following its review of the Credit Repossession Act 1997.  The Commission recommends the Act be repealed and that provisions covering the repossession and sale of goods be incorporated into the Government’s proposed amendments to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 that form part of the Consumer Law Reform Bill currently before the Commerce Committee.

The Commission also recommends changes that would:

• ensure that consumers entering credit contracts are explicitly told when repossession could occur and which goods could be repossessed; and
• prohibit the repossession of certain goods such as bedding, washing machines, portable heaters, passports and identity documents.

The full report can be found here.

The Ministry of Economic Development has released a report, Industry Snapshot, as one step in its five-year comprehensive review of New Zealand's food and beverage industry (known as the Food and Beverage Information Project).  

The Report shows that 75 per cent of the top 64 food industry firms by turnover are owned by New Zealanders.  The majority of foreign ownership is held by Japan, Australia and the US.  The Report highlights the strengths of New Zealand's industry but also outlines opportunities for New Zealand to increase its exporting competitiveness.

The Report can be found here.

Immigration Amendment Bill
Type of Bill: Government
Member in charge: Hon Nathan Guy
This Bill is aimed at deterring people-smuggling into New Zealand and would enable officials to issue group warrants against mass arrivals of illegal migrants.  A group warrant would allow for the mandatory detention of an illegal migrant (other than an unaccompanied minor) who arrived as part of a mass group for an initial period of up to six months.  The Bill would also amend the existing review processes applicable to refugee and protection claims and allow for regulations to be made that would suspend the processing of such claims.

Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill
Child Support Amendment Bill
Citizenship Amendment Bill
Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill
Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill
Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill
Domestic Violence Reform Bill
Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill
Geneva Conventions (Third Protocol-Red Crystal Emblem) Amendment Bill
Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill (No 2)
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill
Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill
Human Rights Amendment Bill
Illegal Contracts (Unlawful Limitation on Regulators' Powers) Amendment Bill
International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill
Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill
Lobbying Disclosure Bill
Local Electoral Amendment Bill
Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill
New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Amendment Bill
Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapu o Ngāti Porou Bill
Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months' Paid Leave) Amendment Bill
Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (Redirecting Prisoner Compensation) Amendment Bill
Register of Pecuniary Interests of Judges Bill
Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Waitaki Easter Trading) Amendment Bill
Standards and Accreditation Bill
Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill

Open for submissions

Bill	Select Committee	Submissions close (2012)	Report due (2012)
Building Amendment Bill (No 4)	Local Government and Environment	11 June	1 September
Game Animal Council Bill	Local Government and Environment	20 April	1 September
Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill	Government Administration	18 May	28 September
Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill	Justice and Electoral	11 May	11 June
South Taranaki District Council (Cold Creek Rural Water Supply) Bill	Local Government and Environment	3 May	21 September

 

Submissions not yet called

Immigration Amendment Bill
Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing, and Remedial Matters) Bill

Submissions closed

Bill	Select Committee	Report due (2012)
Consumer Law Reform Bill	Commerce	9 August
Corrections Amendment Bill	Law and Order	28 August
Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill	Primary Production	1 June
Defence Amendment Bill	Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade	6 September
Electronic Identity Verification Bill	Government Administration	29 June
Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill	Local Government and Environment	15 May
Financial Markets Conduct Bill	Commerce	7 September
Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill	Local Government and Environment	28 August
Legal Assistance (Sustainability) Amendment Bill	Justice and Electoral	6 July
Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill	Local Government and Environment	31 July
Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill	Māori Affairs	8 September
Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	8 September
Marine Reserves Bill	Local Government and Environment	14 December
Marine Reserves (Consultation with Stakeholders) Amendment Bill	Local Government and Environment	14 December
Medicines Amendment Bill	Health	2 July
Mixed Ownership Model Bill	Finance and Expenditure	16 July
Natural Health Products Bill	Health	31 July
Ngai Tāmanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	16 August
Ngāti Mākino Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	16 August
Ngāti Manuhiri Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	8 September
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	8 September
Non-Bank Deposit Takers Bill	Finance and Expenditure	1 June
Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill	Justice and Electoral	15 June
Regulatory Standards Bill	Commerce	30 July
Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill	Māori Affairs	8 September
Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill	Social Services	31 May
Statutes Amendment Bill (No 3)	Government Administration	16 August
Victims of Crime Reform Bill	Justice and Electoral	3 July

Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill
Arms Amendment Bill (No 3)
Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill
Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill
Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6)
Consumer Guarantees Amendment Bill
Crown Entities Reform Bill
Employment Relations (Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks) Amendment Bill
Food Bill
Housing Corporation Amendment Bill
Identity Information Confirmation Bill
Inquiries Bill
Insolvency Practitioners Bill
Juries (Jury Service and Protection of Particulars of Jury List Information) Amendment Bill
Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Bill
Legislation Bill
Māori Trustee and Māori Development Amendment Bill
Patent Attorneys Bill
Patents Bill
Public Health Bill
Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill
Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill
Social Assistance (Living Alone Payments) Amendment Bill
Social Security Amendment Bill (No 3)
Spending Cap (People's Veto) Bill
Taxation (Income-sharing Tax Credit) Bill
Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill
Trustee Amendment Bill

Airports (Cost Recovery for Processing of International Travellers) Bill
Alcohol Reform Bill
Biosecurity Law Reform Bill
Commerce Commission (International Co-operation, and Fees) Bill
Cultural Property (Protection in Armed Conflict) Bill
Employment Relations (Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill
Fair Trading (Soliciting on Behalf of Charities) Amendment Bill
Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2)
Regulatory Reform Bill*
Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill*
Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill
Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill

* = these Bills will have their third readings together, as cognate Bills.

Appropriation (2010/11 Financial Review) Bill
Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill
Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill
Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill

Auditor Regulations 2012
Customs and Excise (Rules of Origin for Australian Goods—ANZCERTA Article 3) Amendment Regulations 2012
Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Amendment Regulations 2012
Electricity Industry (Participants and Roles) Regulations 2012
Financial Advisers (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2012
Parliamentary Annuities Determination 2012
Tax Administration (Information Sharing with Ministry of Social Development) Order 2012

The House is sitting this week and is likely to progress a number of Bills through the first reading stage, including the International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill and the Child Support Amendment Bill.  This Wednesday is a Members' Day.

The House will be in recess next week and sitting the following week (Budget Week).  Finance Minister Bill English will announce the Budget on Thursday 24 May.  We will be releasing a special Budget edition of Watching Brief.

Finance and Expenditure Committee
The Committee heard a number of submissions opposed to the Mixed Ownership Bill, including the following:

• Richard Goldsborough, on behalf of the Ohariu Citizens' Select Committee, submitted that as energy companies are already owned by "Mums and Dads", the Government does not have a mandate to pass the legislation and that effort should instead be focused on reducing private debt.
• Les Howard, the Acting Secretary of Grey Power (Temuka), expressed concern that the domestic consumers are subsidising the electricity industry and that people will suffer if the Bill passes and the price of power goes up.  
• A number of individual submitters also opposed the Bill based on concerns that it would disadvantage those New Zealanders who cannot afford shares, lead to higher electricity prices, and that it does not adequately address the issue of New Zealand Government debt.

Primary Production Committee
The Committee heard submissions on the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill.  Submissions included the following:
Fonterra’s Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said Fonterra broadly supports the Bill in principle.  In contrast to the Shareholders' Council, the Chairman said from the Board's perspective, milk price oversight is unnecessary as a robust process for price setting is already in place.

Simon Cooper, the Chairman of the Chairman of the Shareholders’ Council, said the Council was concerned about the following aspects of the Bill:

• its milk price oversight regime;
• its share valuation provision;
• the revocation of trading amongst farmers; and
• its restriction on Fonterra in relation to the operation of the fund.
• The last two concerns relate to clause 109 of the Bill, for which the Council proposed an amendment. 

Dr John Penno (Chief Executive of Synlait) and Steven Smith (Chief Executive of Open Country Dairy) made submissions on behalf of Synlait, Miraka Limited and Open Country Dairy.  The three companies were concerned the Bill would squeeze competition by entrenching Fonterra’s ability to pay a significantly inflated price for milk relative to commodity prices.  Dr Penno called for amendments to the Bill requiring Fonterra to set milk prices via a codified manual based on the actual commodity business.

Andrew Hoggard for Federated Farmers also called for the methodology for setting milk prices to be codified in legislation.  Mr Hoggard emphasised that if TAF goes through then there should be limits on the number of shares that non-farmers may own and on the percentage of shares that a single entity may own, and t these protections should be legislated rather than relying on using the company's constitution.  Similarly, Leonie Guiney, on behalf of individual private farm owners, emphasised the need for investment interests of cooperative members to remain subordinate to the members' primary production interests.

Social Services Committee
The Committee heard submissions on the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill last month.  The Bill would reform support, obligations and services for 16-17 year olds and 16-18 year old parents and extend work availability expectations to a wider group of beneficiaries in the sole parent, widow, woman alone and spouse/partner of benefit recipient categories.

A number of submitters were dissatisfied with the Bill's short public consultation time as well as opposed the content of the Bill:

• The Women's Health Action Trust and the Auckland Women's Centre made submissions opposing the Bill due to concerns about the effect it would have for women in particular.  WHAT objected to proposals to change eligibility requirements, the use of private service providers, and the inter-agency sharing of personal information.
• Andrew Butler and Tim Miller (on behalf of the New Zealand Law Society), and Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, expressed their concerns about the information sharing provisions of the Bill.  It was recommended in both submissions that Parliament wait until after the Privacy Information Sharing Bill (currently before the Justice and Electoral Committee) has passed in order to avoid potentially conflicting information sharing regimes under each Act.
• Andrew Butler also expressed concern tthe Bill would impose a compulsory income management scheme without evidence to demonstrate that it is accurate to assume that young people might need assistance to manage money.

Representatives from the Salvation Army and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions both called for a move away from a punitive regime focusing on welfare dependency and towards government investment in taking people out of poverty and improving the opportunities available to beneficiaries.

Who	What	By when… (2012)
Auckland Council (on behalf of the Upper North Island Strategic Alliance)	RFP for technical study on upper North Island ports	16 May
Department of Conservation	Kaikoura sperm whale tourism review	11 May
	Draft Conservation Services Programme Annual Plan 2012/13	5 June
Ministry of Economic Development	Discussion paper -  Auditing and Assurance for Larger Registered Charities	20 July
Electricity Authority	Part 10 implementation: Proposed Guideline for Metering Equipment Providers	12 June
Ministry of Fisheries	No in season increase in FLA3 TAC for 2012	N/A
Food Standards Australia New Zealand	Ethyl Lauroyl Arginate as a Food Additive in Sausages	15 May
	Hydrogen Peroxide as a Processing Aid	5 June
	Companion Dogs in Outdoor Dining Areas	13 June
Inland Revenue Department	Do the historic depreciation rates continue to apply to grandparented structures acquired before 1 April 2005?	1 June
Department of Labour	Review of the Health and Safety in Employment (Petroleum Exploration and Extraction) Regulations 1999.	1 June
Law Commission	Review of the Evidence Act 2006	1 June
Standards New Zealand - Joint Draft Standards	Geographic information - Encoding	15 June
	Requirements for records in electronic office environments	8 June
	Information technology - Security techniques	4 June
	Management systems for recordkeeping	4 June
	Safety of toys	4 June
	Electromagnetic compatibility - Voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations immunity tests	25 May
	Electromagnetic compatibility - Limits	16 May
NZ Transport Agency	Proposed changes to agricultural vehicle rules	25 May

Who	What	By when… (2012)
Biosecurity New Zealand	Draft IHS for Zoo Rodents from Australia, the European Union and USA	14 May
	Draft IHS for Animal Fibres	11 May
Department of Conservation	Kauri National Park proposal	tbc
	Canterbury draft guidelines for aircraft access	Ongoing
	New listing of the threatened status of New Zealand frogs, reptiles, bats and birds	5 June
Ministry of Consumer Affairs	Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill Exposure Draft	11 May
Ministry of Economic Development	Business consultation on regulatory reform	31 December
Electricity Authority	Voluntary consultation guidelines for proposed changes to distributors’ tariff structures	9 May
	FTR manager consultation – draft FTR allocation plan	15 May
	Asset Commissioning and Testing Issues	15 May
	Mandatory population of new fields in the registry	15 May
	Clearing manager – draft FTR prudentials methodology	22 May
Ministry for the Environment	Consultation document: Updating the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme	11 May
Financial Markets Authority	Second consultation: Guidance note on effective disclosure	10 May
New Zealand Food Safety Authority	Proposals to Amend (No. 2) the New Zealand (Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) Food Standards 2011	18 June
	Future Controls on Printing Reduced Size Legend	18 May
	Proposed Animal Products (Regulated Control Scheme - Dairy Export Quota Products) Notice 2012	14 May
Food Standards Australia New Zealand	Proposed Future Regulation of Nutritive Substances and Novel Foods	21 May
	Primary Production & Processing Standard for Minor Meat Species & Wild Game	21 May
	Primary Production & Processing Standard for Horticulture	21 May
Inland Revenue Department	Income tax – whether residual land is part of an undertaking or scheme of development or division of land	11 May
Department of Labour	Consultation on Hazardous Substances in Workplaces	21 May
Productivity Commission	Issues Paper - Strengthening economic relations between Australia and New Zealand	31 May
NZX	Main Board / Debt Market Listing Rules - consultation memorandum and Draft Rules	30 May
Standards New Zealand - Joint Draft Standards	Electromagnetic compatibility - limits	14 May
	Recessed luminaire barriers	17 May
	Electrical equipment in mines and quarries	15 May
	Electrical portable outlet devices	15 May
	Collection, storage, transport and treatment of used electrical and electronic equipment	15 May
	Remote control systems for mining equipment	10 May
	LP Gas fuel systems for vehicle engines	21 May
	Personal eye protection	18 June
	Plugs and socket-outlets for household and similar purposes	18 June
	Luminaires	15 June
	Electromagnetic compatibility - unbalance, immunity test	14 May
	Code of practice for handling combustible dusts	24 May
	Connecting devices for low-voltage circuits for household and similar purposes	24 May
Standards New Zealand - New Zealand Draft Standards	Chemical preservation of round and sawn timber	9 May
NZ Transport Agency	High-risk intersections guide	14 May
	Traffic Control Device Manual Part 9 Railway Level Crossings	16 May
ZESPRI Group Ltd	Industry Recovery Discussion Paper	tbc

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