Another batch of Member's Bills currently in the ballot. Previous batches are indexed here:
Oaths and Declarations (Upholding the Treaty of Waitangi) Amendment Bill (Te Ururoa Flavell): would allow anyone making an oath or declaration to add the words "Ka whakaūngia e au te Tiriti o Waitangi" or "I will uphold the Treaty of Waitangi" without affecting the validity of their declaration. I would prefer to see more modern and relevant declarations, which reflected modern New Zealand society rather than British feudalism - and this is a good start.
Plain Language Bill (Chris Hipkins): would require all government agencies to write all of their public documents in "plain language", defined as "language that the intended readers can easily understand and use after 1 reading because it is clear, concise, and well-organised, and follows recognised guidelines of plain language writing". It is based on the US Plain Writing Act of 2010
Wild Animal Control (Increased Fines and Sentences of Imprisonment) Amendment Bill (Ian McKelvie): Updates the penalties for illegally hunting wild animals in contravention of regulations from a $500 fine to a $5000 one, and allows imprisonment for subsequent offences. The original penalties were set in 1979, and have effectively been reduced by inflation. Like many of National's "Member's bills", this should really be a government bill, but is being run as a Member's Bill to spam the ballot and reduce the chances of opposition bills being drawn.
As usual, I'll have more bills as I acquire them.
