Another batch of Member's Bills currently in the ballot. Previous batches are indexed here:
Children’s Commissioner (Reporting on Legislation) Amendment Bill (Rajen Prasad): This would require the Children's Commissioner to report to the Minister on any legislation likely to impact adversely on the welfare of children or be inconsistent with obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (which has been incorporated into NZ law as a schedule to the Children's Commissioner Act 2003, and which the Children's Commissioner is already responsible for upholding). The Minister must then bring this report to the attention of the House. We have a similar scheme already for human rights, and one for children's rights seems appropriate.
Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill (Roger Douglas): This bill would amend the Education Act 1989 to make school boards of trustees (rather than the government) responsible for employing and paying teachers. The goal is to destroy the PPTA and the current national pay scale for teachers. The effect would be to introduce significant pay disparities between rich and poor schools, allowing the former to pillage resources from the latter, and to entrench socioeconomic disparities in education (which are a key driver of social inequality). ACT's gluesniffers think this is a great idea (after all, they don't send their kids to poor schools, and every dollar saved from the education budget is one they can give tot he rich in tax cuts). The parents of New Zealand may feel rather differently.
Land Transport (Give way to Buses) Bill (Gareth Hughes): This would require urban drivers to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops. Similar laws are in force in much of Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, and parts of the USA and Australia.
As usual, I'll have more bills as I acquire them.
