Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2)
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NATHAN GUY (National) : Thank you, Madam Assistant Speaker. Congratulations on your recent appointment as Assistant Speaker, and I wish you well for your upcoming trip. I will make just a small contribution on the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2). This bill went to the Government Administration Committee in September last year, and there are 14 Acts amended in it. I will make a small contribution to what I think are very, very important parts of this bill.
In particular, when we are talking about Part 6, which amends the Fisheries Act 1996, I want to highlight how the permit moratorium is currently not subject to the quota management system. At the moment the moratorium could actually lift part way through the fishing year, which ends or starts on 1 October. Currently there could be a lot of fish caught in the small period leading up to 1 October so, in essence, there is a good amendment to ensure the system is in place and that the fishing stock is sustainable.
The other contribution I will make is on Part 14 of the bill, which amends the Veterinarians Act 2005. This will, in effect, give the Veterinary Council more power, which is very important. In this House we probably do not appreciate the good job that veterinarians do around the country. Currently we have a shortage of veterinarians in New Zealand, and the Labour Government is having to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to attract them into New Zealand because we are not training enough of them. Government representatives are over at recruitment expos in the United Kingdom, trying to attract veterinarians into the country.
The significant point in this amendment is that the Veterinary Council will have more powers. In essence, it will be a bit like a warrant of fitness regime. It will streamline the process when veterinarians are between graduation and registering and that is very, very good. But I come back to the significant point. Although the primary sector—particularly the dairy sector—is booming, we have a shortage of male veterinary students who are needed to deal with the big bovine animals. Currently there is a higher proportion of females coming through that course at Massey University.
This is a 14-Act amendment bill that is supported by the National Party, and we recognise the good work that the Government Administration Committee did under the very hard-working chair, Shane Ardern.