The Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament, with opposition parties fiercely rejecting the legislation and warning it undermines human rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The bill, part of the National and ACT parties’ coalition agreement, has faced strong backlash throughout the year. More than 156,000 people signed a petition opposing it.
Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick told Parliament the bill lacks public support.
“Regular New Zealanders decided to overwhelmingly oppose this legislation,” she said.
ACT Party Leader and Minister for Regulation David Seymour defended the bill, calling it vital for New Zealand’s economic future.
“This bill is a crucial piece of legislation for improving the long-term quality of regulation in our country and ultimately, allowing New Zealanders to live longer, happier, healthier and wealthier lives.”
Swarbrick argued the bill primarily benefits overseas corporations.
“We hear very clearly that what this legislation does is provide a framework for multinational corporations to be compensated by the people of this country when this Parliament decides curtail their supposed right to destroy our shared environment, our climate, or to incur on our human rights.”
Absence of Te Tiriti o Waitangi
A key point of contention is the bill’s failure to reference Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Earlier this year, the Waitangi Tribunal proposed an urgent one-day hearing into the legislation after Professor Margaret Mutu said the Crown’s actions suggest Te Tiriti is being treated as “optional, rather than foundational” to Aotearoa’s constitutional framework.
Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rāwiri Waititi said the legislation opens the door to corporate exploitation and erodes the country’s founding principles.
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the first and the last line of defense against corporate exploitation in Aotearoa. This bill, in the sham select committee process to ram it through the house, is proof that true democracy doesn’t exist in this country.”
Little support for the bill
I te pānuitanga tuarua o te pire waeture, ko te kaha whakahē tērā e rongo whānuitia ana ki te whare.
Ko tā te mema pāremata o Reipa, tā Peeni Henare, kua kaha kitea te tokomaha o Aotearoa e whakahē ana i te pire, engari rā ka turi tonu ngā taringa o te kāwanatanga.
“How is it that over 98 percent of those who submitted on this bill opposed this bill. And yet the government continues to push on with its legislation, the agenda of which the Regulatory Standards Bill is one of those.”
Ka mutu, i ara ake te pātai mō te āhua o te kuhunga atu o te pire ki rō Pāremata.
“When you rush things under urgency, nobody gets to see the bill; members don’t even get to see the bill until it’s tabled in the house. Well, we don’t get to see it, that means the people of this country don’t get to see it. And that side of the house wants to talk about good law-making,” te kī a Henare.
