This week Parliament's debating chamber was knee-deep in bills. We have a quick run-through of the 14 different wanna-be laws it debated.
We noted on Tuesday that it was likely to be a busy old week in Parliament - it was. The Debating Chamber was knee deep in Bills. Not literally thank goodness, but figuratively and electronically.
It's often surprising just how many different topics the House can touch on in a week. MPs rostered on for House duty can hop-scotch across subjects like a tour of the dewey decimal system.
Many bills debated this week were in the 'worthy but unexciting' category, though both controversial and fascinating topics lay amongst them. But the more boring and less controversial a bill is, the faster it moves; which helps account for the week's workload.
Here is what the House touched on in this week's debates:
The Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill was read a first time and referred to the Social Services Committee, which very unusually was given a longer working time. Typically committees get about 6 months to hear evidence and report back on a bill. But this bill is getting ten months - the better to make sure that any members of the disabled community that want to contribute, can.
The Electoral Amendment Bill was more contentious. It includes changes to donation limits before public transparency kicks in, and extends the periods kiwis can live overseas and still vote. It was read a first time and referred to the Justice Committee.
The Data and Statistics Bill passed its third reading and will now become law. It's an modernisation of the rules for government collection and use of data.
The Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill was read a first time and also referred to the Justice Committee. It desires to reduce pressure on the family court by introducing Associates to ease judges workloads.
The Local Government Electoral Legislation Bill was read a first time and referred to the Governance and Administration Committee. It's an omnibus bill, which means it makes adjustments to multiple pieces of legislation and deals with numerous issues. Basically it's difficulty to summarise.
The Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill is also contentious. This bill rolls back some restrictions that were put on judges' sentencing freedom a few years ago by a National-Act coalition government. It finished its committee stage, which leaves just debate. …