Old Parliament hands big load over to new

By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor

In a short ceremony yesterday, the current Parliament was formally dissolved, leaving a truckload of legislation to be carried over for debate and passage in the next session.

Some 94 bills were still in front of the House when Prime Minister Helen Clark called an early election last week.

A standard motion was passed allowing them to be carried over to the new Parliament to avoid their being wiped from the order paper.

They vary from the heavyweight - the Government's comprehensive rewrite of workplace safety laws - to the purely local - the Rodney District Council (PENLINK Toll Road) Empowering Bill, for example.

The list includes the following bills:

* Construction Contracts Bill - designed to offer subcontractors in the construction industry some protection from corporate collapses.

* Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill, which would allow people to conceal minor convictions if they keep a clean record for 10 years.

* Climate Change Response Bill - enabling legislation to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions .

* Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill - rewrites occupational health and safety laws and imposes tougher fines on employers who do not comply.

* Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill - bans the cloning of human embryos; has been before a select committee since 1997.

* Land Transport (Street and Illegal Drag Racing) Amendment Bill - designed to curb the antics of "boy racers".

* Local Government Bill - intended to improve local bodies' consultation with Maori and allow councils to exercise powers of general competence to act in the interests of their community, including matters such as economic development.

* Maori Television Service Bill - sets up legislative framework for the new, state-funded Maori television channel.

* Motor Vehicle Sales Bill - proposes compulsory registration for "all persons carrying on the business of motor vehicle trading". That includes car market operators, importers, wholesalers and car auctioneers.

* Prostitution Reform Bill - decriminalises soliciting for sex, aims to raise safe-sex standards in the industry, clamps down on pimps and prohibits anyone paying for sex with a "child under 18".

* Securities Markets and Institutions Bill - beefs up the enforcement role of the Securities Commission and Takeovers Panel, and strengthens the disclosure regime for listed companies.

* Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Bill (Abolition of Restrictions) Amendment Bill - stalled attempt to allow shops greater flexibility in Easter trading hours.

* Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill - bans smoking in bars, restaurants and casinos except in designated areas with separate ventilation systems. The bill also bans smoking on school grounds and introduces tougher penalties for selling tobacco to children.

* Television New Zealand Bill - turns TVNZ from a state-owned enterprise into a Crown-owned company so it can fulfil new, non-commercial, public charter requirements.

* Terrorism (Bombings and Financing) Bill - controversial post-September 11 measure rewriting the definition of a "terrorist" under New Zealand law.

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