Latest news with #AmendmentBill
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Going For Growth With More Overseas Investment
Associate Minister of Finance Associate Finance Minister David Seymour welcomes the introduction of legislation to make it easier for New Zealand businesses to receive new investment, grow and pay higher wages. The Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has been introduced to the House. 'New Zealand has been turning away opportunities for growth for too long. Having one of the most restrictive foreign investment regimes in the OECD means we've paid the price in lost opportunities, lower productivity, and stagnant wages. This Bill is about reversing that,' says Mr Seymour. 'In 2023, New Zealand's stock of foreign direct investment sat at just 39% of GDP, far below the OECD average of 52%. Investors are looking elsewhere, so we're showing them why New Zealand is the best place to bring their ideas and capital. 'International investment is critical to ensuring economic growth. It provides access to capital and technology that grows New Zealand businesses, enhances productivity, and supports high paying jobs. 'New Zealand's productivity growth has closely tracked the amount of capital workers have had to work with. Our capital-to-labour ratio has seen very little growth in the last 10 years, averaging approximately 0.7 per cent in measured sectors annually. That's compared to growth in the capital-to-labour ratio in measured sectors of around 2.2 percent in the previous 10 years. Unsurprisingly, productivity growth averaged 1.4 percent a year between 1993 and 2013, but only 0.2 percent between 2013 and 2023. 'The Bill will consolidate and simplify the screening process for less sensitive assets, introducing a modified national interest test that will enable the regulator to triage low-risk transactions, replacing the existing benefit to New Zealand test and investor test. If a national interest risk is identified, the regulator and relevant Minister will have a range of tools to manage this, including through imposing conditions or blocking the transaction. The current screening requirements will stay in place for investments in farmland and fishing quota. 'For all investments aside from residential land, farmland and fishing quota, decisions must be made in 15 days, unless the application could be contrary to New Zealand's national interest. In contrast, the current timeframe in the Regulations for the benefit test is 70 days, and the average time taken for decisions to be made is 30 days for this test,' says Mr Seymour. 'High-value investments, such as significant business assets, existing forestry and non-farmland, account for around $14 billion of gross investment each year. We're removing the barriers for these investments so that number can grow. 'The Ministerial Directive Letter will be updated to provide guidance on which assets should undergo further scrutiny and which risks may be contrary to New Zealand's national interest. This guidance will provide a degree of certainty to investors and support a flexible regime which is responsive to new and emerging risks. 'The updated system brings New Zealand up to speed with other advanced economies. They benefit from the flow of money and the ideas that come with overseas investment. If we are going to raise wages, we can't afford to ignore the simple fact that our competitors gain money and know-how from outside their borders. 'These reforms cut compliance costs, reduce processing times, and restore confidence that New Zealand is open for business. The Bill will be passed by the end of the year and the new regime implemented by early 2026. A new Ministerial Directive Letter will come into force at the same time.'
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Employment Bill Clarifies Modern Grey Areas
BusinessNZ supports the introduction of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, saying the changes will have a positive impact across New Zealand's economy. Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard says the Bill should provide more certainty, particularly around contract-based work. "In clarifying the employee-contractor distinction through the previously announced gateway test, the Amendment Bill will simplify chosen working arrangements for all parties involved. "The personal grievance process is being simplified, preventing the likelihood of rewarding poor employee behaviour. A system that increasingly fines employers for trying to deal with poor performance or serious misconduct including theft, fraud and even violence, is one that clearly needs fixing. "It also makes sense to tidy up the 30-day rule introduced under the previous Government, which saw new employees automatically classed as union members if there is a collective agreement, for the first 30 days - whether they wanted to or not. "In reality, the 30-day rule is a compliance headache for employers and employees alike, and is something that BusinessNZ has argued should be removed. "The issues being addressed in this Amendment Bill have been flagged as a drag on productivity and flexibility by businesses. The BusinessNZ Network has been advocating for these changes for some time, and it's encouraging to see that Minister van Velden is listening to business owners' concerns during what remains a difficult time to be operating. "BusinessNZ looks forward to working further with the Minister on workplace issues to improve our economy and make New Zealand an even better place to be."
Scoop
14-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Putting Patients First: Government To Refocus Health System On Outcomes
Minister of Health The Government will introduce legislation to ensure the health system is more accountable, more efficient, and focused on delivering better outcomes for patients, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. 'After years of bureaucracy and confusion, the health system lost its focus. The previous government scrapped health targets, centralised decision-making with no accountability, while every single health target went backwards meaning patients waiting longer for the care they need,' Mr Brown says. 'This Government is focused on delivery – getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.' Cabinet has approved a suite of amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, designed to strengthen the performance of Health New Zealand and ensure a clearer, more accountable system. 'These changes are about improving health outcomes by making sure the system is focused on delivery, not bogged down in doing the same thing twice. That means better care for patients through a more connected, transparent, and effective health system,' Mr Brown says. 'The previous Government's reforms created a bloated system where no one was truly accountable for delivery. We're changing that,' Mr Brown says. 'We're putting health targets into law so every part of the system is focused on delivering faster care, shorter wait times, higher immunisation rates, and real results.' The current legislation is too focused on bureaucracy rather than patients, with multiple charters and plans creating confusion and fragmentation. These reforms repeal the health sector principles and health charter – cutting needless bureaucracy – while requiring each population strategy to give effect to the Government's health targets. Mr Brown says infrastructure delivery was one of the most serious failings under the previous Government. 'Too many builds were delayed, blown out, or never even started. We're addressing this by establishing a dedicated infrastructure committee and embedding infrastructure as a core function of Health New Zealand. This means the board can focus on lifting system performance where it matters most: for patients.' The Minister is also confirming changes to strengthen the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) and clarify the role of iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). 'Local IMPBs will continue to engage with their communities but will now provide advice directly to HMAC. That advice will then support decisions made by the Minister and the Health NZ board. 'These changes are about one thing – putting patients back at the centre. We're rebuilding a health system that delivers real outcomes, not just organisational charts.' The Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks. Notes: Key changes include: Establishing a new statutory purpose to ensure all patients have access to timely, quality healthcare. Legislated health targets to lock in accountability and ensure New Zealand's health system is measured and managed. Requiring all health strategies give effect to these targets. Stronger governance and financial oversight within Health New Zealand. Making the delivery of health infrastructure a core legislated function of Health New Zealand. Establishing a permanent infrastructure committee to carry out functions related delivery of physical health infrastructure by Health New Zealand. The Director-General of Health (or delegate) able to attend Health New Zealand board meetings to support monitoring. Ensuring simplified board appointment rules that select the best person for the job, based on skills and delivery. Clarifying public service integrity rules apply to the Health New Zealand board, CEO, and staff so patients know they're held to the highest standards. Removing audit requirements for the NZ Health Plan, aligning with other Crown entity requirements. Repealing the Health Charter and Sector Principles to reduce red tape and make things clearer for everyone. Enhancing the role of the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) to provide advice to the Minister and the board of Health New Zealand, that will be taken into account at the national level. Clarifying and streamlining iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). IMPBs focus will shift away from local service design and delivery, to engaging with communities on local perspectives and Māori health outcomes. This legislation supports the Government's wider Health Delivery Plan – including reinstated health targets, a record $16.68 billion in funding, faster access to primary care, improved infrastructure delivery, and the recruitment and training of more frontline doctors and nurses.
Agriland
11-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Another 40,000ha of NZ sheep and beef farms sold for forestry
Almost 40,000ha of sheep and beef farms in New Zealand has been sold for conversion to forestry in the past eight months, according to a new report. The independent research released by Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) shows that sales of beef and sheep farms, particularly for carbon farming, are continuing 'at an alarming rate'. Of particular concern, the farm organisation said is a significant shift towards productive land being sold. The research by Orme and Associates shows a further 38,921ha has been confirmed as sold since the last report in September 2024. Revised confirmed sales in 2023 now total 29,518ha and in 2024 now 30,483ha – that figure is expected to rise as further sales are confirmed. The report shows that sales through Overseas Investment Office approvals and to carbon-only forestry entities continue to dominate. Forestry The total amount of whole sheep and beef farms sold since January 1, 2017 is now more than 300,000ha. B+LNZ's conservative estimate is that more than two million stock units have been lost to afforestation over the past 8 years. New Zealand's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay yesterday (Tuesday, June 10) introduced long-awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale farm-to-forestry conversions 'For too long, productive sheep and beef farms have been replaced by pine trees in the race for carbon credits. That ends under this government,' McClay said. 'The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme – Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill will restrict wholesale conversions of farmland to exotic forestry by stopping LUC (Land Use Classification) 1-5 land from entering the ETS and capping new ETS registrations on LUC 6 land. 'It will also protect farmers' ability to diversify – allowing up to 25%of a farm to go into trees, while stopping the kind of blanket ETS planting that's been gutting rural communities in places like the East Coast, Wairarapa, the King Country, and Southland,' the minister added. The bill proposes time-limited transitional exemptions in rare cases for people who were in the process of afforestation prior to these changes originally being announced on December 4, 2024. The legislation is now before parliament and is to come into force October 2025. Farms Kate Acland, B+LNZ chair, said that the updated whole farm sales figures reinforce the need for action. 'While we appreciate the government's announcement this week about legislation being introduced to restrict wholesale conversions based on land use classes, the numbers show whole-farm sales for conversion to forestry for carbon credits are continuing at pace. 'Anecdotally we're still hearing of a significant number of farms being sold this year, despite the government announcing the limits last year. 'We're concerned that some sales are continuing on the basis of intent to purchase land before the limits were announced. We urgently need the government to tighten the criteria around proof of intent to purchase,' she said. Acland also highlighted the trend of land traditionally well-suited for pastoral farming being increasingly purchased for conversion. 'B+LNZ is not anti-forestry. In particular, we strongly support the integration of trees within farms, which we believe is a better approach. 'Farmers know their land and can plant the right trees in the right places, without affecting overall levels of production. 'Instead, we're seeing blanket pines replacing sustainable food production. 'We're also hearing significant concerns from neighbouring farmers about the impacts of a lack of pest and fire risk management around recently converted areas of land,' Acland said.
Scoop
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Free Speech Union Warns Stalking And Harassment Bill Risks Abuse, Changes Make It Worse
The Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill suffers from the common fault of slogan laws with good intentions, without realism about the risks of misuse. The announced expansion of what is considered a 'specified act' goes in the wrong direction, says Stephen Franks, Council Member of the Free Speech Union. 'We've already seen the broad and vague terminology in the Harmful Digital Communications Act being used to silence legitimate dissent many times. This Bill is likely to be similarly abused. 'Truth should be a defense for 'damaging, or undermining [a person's] reputation, opportunities, or relationships'. That would save the centuries-long principle that protects the public interest in learning home truths about powerful people and wrongdoers. It is not enough to say the Bill lets you argue that truth is for a proper purpose. We know that courts have not held that telling the truth is presumptively a proper purpose. 'The broad definition of 'specified acts' as inducing fear or distress, combined with the low threshold for establishing a 'pattern of behaviour', already leaves wide scope for misuse against legitimate surveillance, and dissent. Likewise, the inclusion of 'contacting or communicating with a person' is vague and has the potential to be weaponised. 'By prioritising the term 'fear or distress' without a clear objective override, the Bill raises similar issues to 'hate speech' legislation. The law does not recognise that some people ought to be ashamed ('distressed') by exposure of their own conduct. 'The Government's decision to increase the timeframe for establishing a 'pattern of behaviour' from contact twice over 12 to 24 months also widens the net, making it more likely that isolated or infrequent expressions of dissent could be criminalised. 'We submitted our concerns in February, urging the Justice Select Committee to narrow their definitions, to clarify 'specified acts', and to provide better defences that would let the courts protect free speech. We call on the Minister of Justice to protect Kiwis' speech rights as well as victims of stalking and harassment.'
