As an Opposition MP, the only chance Mrs Dean gets to change the law comes through the members’ Bill ballot and, coincidentally enough, her Bill was drawn from the biscuit tin as a parting gift the same week as the long-serving National MP announced that she would retire at the next election.
Five months later — and you might think that is a long time, but considering the snail’s pace progression of members’ Bills in recent years, that is a cracking speed — the Increased Penalties for Breach of Biosecurity Bill is set to have its day in the parliamentary sun on Wednesday.
It does not take a great deal of brain power to work out what the Bill would do if it became law ... the fines for those auditioning for a role on Border Patrol by attempting to bring unwanted flora or fauna in to New Zealand will be upped substantially.
If you lie about having something on the specified list of exempted goods in your possession — behaviour which will almost certainly guarantee you consideration for a TV appearance — the fine for doing so will be upped from $400 to $1000.
Double down and erroneously declare that the stuff still isn’t yours after having been asked by officials about those things and the fine will hike from $1000 to $2000, and you can start asking the director to please film you from your best side.
The legislation is based on the premise that a fine is a deterrent to criminal activity, but there is substantial criminological research — as well as 12 seasons of Border Patrol — which suggest that even such hefty percentage increases in penalties won’t stop someone who really wants to bring bulbs or bananas in to New Zealand.
Where Mrs Dean’s proposed law change might have some teeth though is its proposed amendment to the Immigration Act: immigration officers can already vary or cancel a would-be visitor’s visa, but she hopes to specifically add breaching biosecurity rules to the list of reasons why a person can be sent back to whence they came.
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor has had to deal with plenty of incursions of unwanted nasties and it is understood he would welcome anything which might prevent another pest scare happening.
As an aside, some might be wondering if being an assistant Speaker — as she is — is in any way an impediment to Mrs Dean championing a Bill.
The answer, the bible that is McGee’s Parliamentary Process in New Zealand suggests, is no.
While it does not often happen, the Speaker is allowed to take charge of a local or private bill, but another MP has to move the stages of the Bill on their behalf.
The deputy and assistant Speakers are allowed to take part in debates, but whether it is proper to do so or not is a matter for their judgement.
Common practice — and common sense — dictates that a presiding officer is not to speak in a debate over which they have been officiating, so assuming that process is followed, Mrs Dean is in the clear for another demonstration of her abiding concern for conservation issues.
While Mrs Dean is off to the races on Wednesday, Taieri Labour MP Ingrid Leary is a late scratching after withdrawing the Protection of Journalists’ Sources Bill from the order paper.
Strictly speaking, although in Ms Leary’s name, the Bill — which had already passed its first reading — was not ‘‘hers’’.
Former Dunedin South MP Clare Curran developed the first draft of the Bill, which was then passed on to Louisa Wall, who was substituted by Ginny Anderson at first reading, before Ms Leary inherited the Bill after Ms Wall left Parliament.
Essentially, if enacted, the Bill would have created a new kind of privilege, a legal concept which permits certain people to do certain things ... to give one relevant example, allowing journalists to report something said in Parliament or in a court.
At question was whether this proposed new privilege created a conflict or inconsistency with other accepted privileges, and whether those problems meant the hoped-for law change would actually achieve what its many backers hoped it would.
Ms Leary intends to try again, but in the meantime she is still in the running so far as the ballot is concerned: she has the Community Trusts (Investment Transparency) Amendment Bill ready and waiting to go.
Again, this one is self-explanatory: if drawn and passed, it would tighten up financial reporting requirements for community trusts.
However, it needs to surface above 63 other proposed Bills, which include Southland National MP Joseph Mooney’s Crimes (Offence of Failing to Report Child Harm) Amendment Bill, Te Tai Tonga Labour MP Rino Tirikatene’s Electoral (Equal Protection of Maori Seats) Amendment Bill; Dunedin Labour list MP Rachel Brooking’s Local Government (Port Companies Accountability) Amendment Bill; Invercargill National MP Penny Simmonds’ Medicines (Exemption for Authorised Prescribers) Amendment Bill, and Dunedin National list MP Michael Woodhouse’s Public Finance (Spending Transparency) Amendment Bill.
Digging In
A busy week for Dunedin Labour MP David Clark (who as a minister does not get to advance a member’s Bill), who got to launch Te Rautaki Matihiko mo Aotearoa — the Digital Strategy for Aotearoa on Wednesday, and then on Thursday got to play with the big boys’ toys on the new Dunedin Hospital site.
On other trips to inspect the site, Dr Clark has had to defer to Health Minister Andrew Little when given the chance to play with the crane, but this time he had free rein to lend construction crews a hand.
