Two bills covering standards reform and organised crime have been sent to select committee with general support.
Following Question Time, Commerce Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Standards and Accreditation Bill would reform the standards regime and the agencies responsible for making them and accrediting them (such as Standards NZ and Telarc).
The current regime meant standards could become outdated and this needed to change, Mr Goldsmith said. The standards would still be set by independent experts and create robust standards
Labour’s Clayton Cosgrove said the bill in a different form was introduced by the Labour Government in 2008 and was canned by the National Government in 2012. There followed a series of reviews which ended in very similar legislation and was a waste of time.
Mr Cosgrove was concerned the new independent body setting standards would be embedded within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment would dilute the independence and quality of standards.
The bill was sent to the Commerce Committee with a March 31 report back on a voice vote
Justice Minister Amy Adams said organised crime was a global problem and New Zealand was not immune to it. This included money laundering, identity theft and people trafficking which this bill addressed.
TheOrganised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill gave NZ police and security organisations the powers to tackle organised crime and co-operate with international agencies.
Annette King said Labour would support the Bill to select committee as it would help in the fight against organised crime and ratify international agreements and conventions.
The bill was sent to the Law and Order Committee
MPs began the first reading debate on the Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill.
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