MANA in Parliament, 16-18 April 2013

MANA in Parliament, 16-18 April 2013

Posted on April 25, 2013 by admin in Mana in Parliament

Government bills up this week

  • The third and final reading of the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill was held this week. In addition to the issues raised in the last MANA panui about how it will allow for more mining and in more places including our national parks, the Bill has also been roundly criticised for the fact that it will criminalise those who actively protest against mining. The government introduced an amendment that outlaws any activities which interfere with the operations of mining or which damage a structure or ship used for mining purposes. This effectively means that anyone even blocking the path of a mining truck or ship can be arrested and charged and is a huge slap in the face for those in Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou who successfully defended their waters against oil drilling – and indeed for anyone and everyone interested in protecting the environment for future generations. And the government did it in the most underhand of ways; tabling the amendment after the public select committee process. MANA opposed the Bill all the way, and instead supports the call for a ban on mining and fracking and the cancellation of all oil exploration permits. We need to be investing in developing a sustainable future, including sustainable employment, and preparing for the post-carbon world to come.
  • Also up this week was the second reading of the Legal Assistance (Sustainability) Amendment Bill. Yet again the government is seeking to limit people’s access to justice by cutting access to legal aid – and all in the name of making cost savings. How is the denial of justice and having more people unnecessarily in the system a cost saving to the nation or to our collective future? The law profession itself has condemned the Bill as a cost making measure that will take up court time and resources as more people are forced to defend themselves. MANA is currently working on developing a comprehensive justice policy which includes increased access to and increased funding of legal aid. MANA continued to oppose the Bill.
  • MANA also continued to oppose the Immigration Amendment Bill at its second reading this week. Supposedly introduced to enhance the government’s ability to deter people smuggling, the Human Rights Commission has rightly pointed out that the Bill is actually about imposing discriminatory conditions on refugees by introducing a detention regime that will apply only to them.

Members’ bill

  • First up on Wednesday was the third and final reading of the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. What this means is that whenever either of these days fall on a weekend in the future, we still get a public holiday on the Monday. Yay, thank you Dr David Clark MP!
  • And second up was the historic third and final reading of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill enabling same-sex couples to marry. Supporters filled the gallery to witness the occasion, with lines extending down to Lambton Quay, and joined together to sing Pō Karekareana as the votes were taken. The MP in charge of the Bill, Louisa Wall, acknowledged the overflowing gallery and used her time to thank all those who worked on the campaign. She also acknowledged the leadership shown by particular MPs and party leaders including Hone. While the Bill passed by a large majority, 77 to 44, it was a gruelling campaign. Our small office alone received hundreds of anti-gay marriage phone calls and letters in just the last week so we can only imagine what Louisa and her staff had to cope with. Ngā mihi aroha for standing up Louisa, you’d make a great MANA MP!

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment: moratorium on the commercial fishing of longfin eels

Adding significant weight to the petition of the group Manaaki Tuna asking people to support their call for a moratorium on the commercial fishing of longfin eels, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has also recommended that the commercial fishing of longfin eels be stopped. In her report released this week, Dr Jan Wright found that the longfin eel is on a slow path to extinction and that the Ministry of Primary Industries and DOC have failed to adequately protect them. While there are other factors that put the survival of longfin eels at risk, such as logging and the resulting increased sedimentation in rivers along with the building of damns and culverts, a moratorium on the commercial fishing of the eels is the most immediate way to reverse their decline. The report is an excellent read and can be downloaded or ordered from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment website, www.pce.parliament.nz. And don’t forget to sign the petition at www.longfineel.co.nz/petition/ and help ensure the survival of our native tuna into the future.

Feed the Kids Bill

  • The countdown is on for the first reading of Hone’s Feed the Kids Bill in Parliament. It’s expected to come up on Wednesday 5 June, giving us six more weeks to get at least 61 MPs to vote in favour of it. With the support of Labour, Greens, Māori Party, NZ First, and Independent Brendan Horan, we’ve got 60 votes and need just one more to get the Bill passed at first reading and sent to a parliamentary select committee for further consideration. Our goal is to get all MPs in Parliament to acknowledge that 80,000 kids going to school hungry each week deserves attention, and that food programmes in schools is a plausible solution.
  • A whole host of organisations have come together to support the Bill, including: Child Poverty Action Group; Poverty Action Waikato; Auckland Action Against Poverty; Every Child Counts; Barnardos; Save the Children; Unicef NZ; Plunket; IHC; Māori Women’s Welfare League; Women’s Refuge; CTU Rūnanga; church groups including Caritas Aotearoa NZ, Methodist Church, Anglican Church, and the Salvation Army; education unions including NZEI, PPTA, and the NZ Principals’ Federation; health organisations including the NZ Nurses’ Organisation and Te ORA, the Māori Medical Practitioners’ Association.
  • These organisations are due to launch a community campaign in support of the bill on Wednesday 1 May and have started a Facebook page for the campaign. Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCampaignForFoodInSchoolsNz and share with your on-line friends.
  • And we’re thrilled that two new groups have joined up in support of the Bill – The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, and kapa haka champions Te Waka Huia. Tēnā kōrua, ngā mihi nunui.

MANA’s Big Breakfast event

This week also saw MANA host a Big Breakfast event for around 2000 school students to build support for the Feed the Kids Bill. Held at the Otara Leisure Centre, the event was a resounding success thanks to the huge organisational effort involved – including the food companies, participating schools, performers, celebrities, supporting organisations, the Leisure Centre staff, local police, the local community board, bus company Kiwi Coach Charters, Māori wardens, Kia Aroha College student volunteers, and of course a small army of MANA members from in and around Otara and all over the motu. Making 2500 packed lunches and transporting them to the venue in carloads in just 4 hours the night before was no mean feat! The kids had a ball – breakfast served by a host of celebrities from Shortland Street and the Warriors development squad, icon Lucy Lawless, and even Bob the Builder and Ben Ten, followed by an energetic line-up of performers including the JGeeks, Deelicious, rapper Tyree, and MCs Sela and Pua from Niu FM. They each left with a Feed the Kids stamped lunch bag, chanting “feed the kids” as they walked to their buses. They so got what the Bill is all about. A huge mihi to them and their whānau and schools for supporting this important kaupapa. The TV programme Pūkana filmed one of their shows there, so keep an eye out for it – and the MANA website, www.mana.net.nz, for photos.

The Facebook link above also has a number of photos of the event.