Results of Members’ bills ballot, Thursday 23 July 2015

The four bills drawn are all from Labour MPs. They are:

1. Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave and Work Contact Hours) Amendment Bill Sue Moroney
2. Education (Charter Schools Curriculum) Amendment Bill Hon Phil Goff
3. Social Workers Registration (Mandatory Registration) Amendment Bill Carmel Sepuloni
4. Official Information (Parliamentary Under-Secretaries) Amendment Bill Adrian Rurawhe

Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave and Work Contact Hours) Amendment Bill

This bill extends paid parental leave to 26 weeks and adds provisions around work contact hours, where working parents are entitled to the flexibility of returning to work for a certain amount of time during the parental leave period without losing their entitlement to paid parental leave.

Note that the Government has already increased the duration of leave from 14 weeks to 18 weeks. This bill is unlikely to progress unless United Future support it.

Education (Charter Schools Curriculum) Amendment Bill

This Bill would requiring partnership schools kura hourua (“charter schools”) to teach the NZ curriculum.

This undermines the whole idea of charter schools having flexibility (like private schools) and is unlikely to be supported.

Social Workers Registration (Mandatory Registration) Amendment Bill

This Bill implements recommendations made to the Minister for Social Development by the Social Workers Registration Board to provide for the current voluntary system of registration for practising social workers to become a mandatory system.

I think this bill is worth supporting at least through first reading.

Official Information (Parliamentary Under-Secretaries) Amendment Bill

This Bill would ensure that information held by Parliamentary Under-Secretaries in their official capacity is official information, and subject to the Official Information Act 1982.

I support this bill and think it should be passed.