Members’ Bills

Two brand new MPs had their bills drawn from the ballot today. Good fortune for both of them.

Tamaki MP Simon O’Connor had the Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill, which is embedded below.

Joint Family Homes Repeal Private Member’s Bill

The bill was previously in the name of Rangitata MP Jo Goodhew. As she is now a Minister, she can’t sponsor it. The bill looks to be uncontroversial. Stuff notes:

The Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill will abolish a 1964 law protecting the family home.

O’Connor said the Law Commission had recommended scrapping the old law which ”afforded the family home protection against the winds of financial adversity” because the law was unused as the same protections were afforded in more recent legislation.

”The Matrimonial (Property) Act made it very clear spouses and partners have the ability to get joint ownership of things.”

Dunedin North MP David Clark also had selected the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill, which was previously in the name of Grant Robertson.

I don’t have a copy of the bill yet, but it proposes that if ANZAC Day and Waitangi Day fall on a weekend, they be Mondayised.

I don’t think it is a particularly important issue, and it was ridicolous when people called for an urgent law change last year because both days were at weekends. However as I noted at the time, I’m not against a change and think the bill should be supported, even though it does impose some small extra costs on businesses.

The additional wage cost is around 0.11%, so not huge. In return for some certainity around the number of days off, I think it is worthwhile.

UPDATE: The bill (when it was in the name of Grant Robertson) is on the web here. The key clause is:

 if either of the public holidays … falls on a Saturday or Sunday and the day would otherwise be a working day for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on that day … and (if) the day would not otherwise be a working day for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on the following Monday

That is sensible, so it does not disadvantage those who do work on weekends.