What did the House get up to during Budget urgency?

Parliament sat for two extra days last week for an especially long and jam-packed edition of Budget urgency.

It's pretty much routine for governments to adjourn the Budget debate and move to urgency once all the parties have given at least one speech. The purpose of Budget urgency is to progress legislation directly related to the Budget, but unrelated bills usually get thrown into the mix as well.

On Thursday afternoon the House heard from Finance Minister Nicola Willis, Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick, Act leader David Seymour, New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones, and Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris.

After that, Leader of the House Chris Bishop adjourned the Budget debate with just under six hours remaining and asked the House to accord urgency, so that 12 bills could progress through 30 stages of debate.

By the time urgency was lifted and MPs finally got to go home at midnight on Saturday evening, there had been nine first readings, five second readings, two completed committee stages, and two third readings. For more on why the government's urgency plan was so unsuccessful read The House's story Government urgency plans slow to a crawl.

Exactly which bills did MPs spend most of their weekend debating?

Regulatory Standards: Open for submission

David Seymour's contentious Regulatory Standards Bill is one of the government's flagship 'cutting red tape' bills. Seymour and his party have long been proponents of reforming New Zealand's regulatory system in the name of lifting productivity and reducing regulatory burden. Specifically, this bill would create principles of responsible regulation that future lawmakers would have to adhere to, as well as a Regulatory Standards Board, which would be in charge of examining current and future legislation against those principles.

During the bill's first reading on Friday afternoon, Seymour told the House: "If you want to tax someone, take their property, and restrict their livelihood, you can, but you'll actually have to show why it's in the public interest. The bill demands you show your working."

Labour's Duncan Webb called the bill "a cherry-picked right wing neoliberal agenda" that, ironically, lacked a regulatory impact statement.

The Regulatory Standards Bill was referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee and is open for public submissions until 23 June.

Granny flats: Open for submission

You may have heard the Building and Construction (Small Stand-alone Dwellings) Amendment Bill being referred to as the Granny Flat Bill. The proposed legislation is another deregulation-oriented bill.

If passed, Chris Penk's bill would allow stand-alone dwellings (up to 70m2) to be built without requiring building consents, as long as they adhere to certain requirements.

The bill is now with the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and is also open for public submissions until 23 June.

Public finance: Open for submission

The Public Finance Amendment Bill is, while not explicitly a budget bill, it is certainly budget-adjacent. Broadly speaking, it aims to promote increased transparency of government in its management of public finances, and also seeks to improve the practical functionality of the Public Finance Act.

It was referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee after its first reading late on Saturday night and is open for submissions until 7 July.

Efficient courts: Open for submission

The last bill to be sent to select committee during budget urgency was the Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill. The bill's purpose is to increase the efficiency of the courts and by extension the police and corrections systems. Being an omnibus bill, it does this by amending several justice-related laws and making technical changes to the running of court proceedings.

All parties except Te Pāti Māori supported the bill at first reading before it was sent to the Justice Committee, which will report back to the House by 23 September.

Tax changes: Passed

The Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill (No 2) was agreed by the House and, pending Royal Assent, gives legal effect to budget announcements.

Specifically, it changes KiwiSaver (increasing employer and employee contribution rates but reducing government contribution from 50 to 25 cents per dollar earned, capped at $260.72), increases the Working for Families abatement threshold, and brings in income testing for the initial year of the Best Start scheme.

Double-dip accommodation supplements: Passed

The other bill that is all but law is Louise Upstons' Social Assistance Legislation (Accommodation Supplement and Income-related Rent) Amendment Bill.

The bill aims to ensure households are treated more equitably when calculating housing subsidies, and perhaps more notably, it seeks to mitigate the double subsidisation of housing subsidies, which in the context of accommodation, is a term for when a boarder and the person receiving board payments are both claiming accommodation subsidies for the same accommodation costs.

All the bills debated under budget urgency

• The Appropriation (2024/25 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, covering changes to the 2024-2025 budget, had its first reading.
• The Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill (No 2) went through all stages and is pending Royal Assent.
• The Regulatory Standards Bill was read a first time and referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee for consideration.
• The Building and Construction (Small Stand-alone Dwellings) Amendment Bill was read a first time and referred to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee for consideration.
• The Social Assistance Legislation (Accommodation Supplement and Income-related Rent) Amendment Bill went through all stages and is pending Royal Assent.
• The Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Bill received its first and second readings.
• The Rates Rebate Amendment Bill received its first and second readings.
• The Invest New Zealand Bill received its first and second readings.
• The Public Finance Amendment Bill received its first reading and was referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee for consideration.
• The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill received its first reading and was referred to the Justice Committee for consideration.

When the House adjourned at midnight on Saturday evening, MPs were halfway through the debate on the first reading of the Legal Services (Distribution of Special Fund) Amendment Bill, which they will likely resume when they come back for the next sitting block, which commences on 3 June.

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