On Friday afternoon the Regulatory Standards Bill was passed through the first of three readings and votes in Parliament, which are required for it to become law. It will now be considered by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
The Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament.
The bill is part of the National and ACT party's coalition agreement and would establish a benchmark for what the Act Party calls "good regulation" through a set of regulatory principles that legislation would be measured against.
Minister for Regulation David Seymour said the bill will help New Zealand get its mojo back.
"This bill is a crucial piece of legislation for improving the long term quality of regulation in our country and ultimately allowing New Zealanders to live longer, happier, healthier and wealthier lives."
The Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) demands that politicians show their workings, he said.
"This bill turns the explanation from politicians 'because we said so' into 'because here is the justification according to a set of principles.'"
But Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer warned Māori to be wary of the bill and mobilise to protect the Treaty of Waitangi.
Speaking in the chamber, Ngarewa-Packer said her fiery speech in Parliament was for whānau Māori throughout Aotearoa.
The Treaty Principles Bill tried to rewrite the Treaty Principles while the RSB was trying to replace them, Ngarewa-Packer said.
"If you look through the whole 37 pages, which I encourage that you don't, the silence on the impact for Te Tiriti is on purpose. The bill promotes equal treatment before the law but it opens the door [for] government to attack every Māori equity initiative.
"It weaponises future governments to challenge Treaty focussed laws, it refers to individual rights over collective rights of tino rangatiratanga. It deliberately cuts through who we are as people."
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (file photo) Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The bill was part of a "deregulation agenda" to increase the corporate exploitation of Aotearoa, she said.
Ngarewa-Packer called on people to show their opposition to the bill by submitting to the Select Committee in a similar way to the Treaty Principles Bill, which she said was so overwhelming the committee's systems had crashed.
- Parliament agrees to add all Treaty Principles submissions to public record
- The House: The summer of 300,000 submissions
"How many times do we have to show them what we're made of?
"The Treaty Principles Bill was just a warm-up," she said.
Last week the Waitangi Tribunal recommended the Crown halt the advancement of the Regulatory Standards Bill to allow for meaningful consultation with Māori.
The claim to the tribunal was brought by Toitū te Tiriti, who have campaigned on social media to raise awareness of the bill. About 18,000 people had signed on as claimants.
Lawyer Tania Waikato, who represents the group, told the tribunal the bill would make it impossible for legislation adhering to the Treaty to be accepted by the government.
The bill will be considered by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
