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I
was astonished to read this item, all of
which I have reproduced below, in today’s issue of the New Zealand Herald, published in Auckland. With
its list of new legislative action, which gives every appearance of an active
government ready to move into so many disparate corners of national life, it
made wonder what the hell’s wrong with our Canadian
set-up, that, in comparison, seems to be endlessly embroiled in pointless, and
often needless, argument about which direction to follow.
New Zealand's massive day of change: What you need to know
1 Jul, 2019
11:19am
8
minutes to read
Here's what
you need to know about how today's law changes will affect you.
Today has been marked with
significant law changes for Kiwis including a plastic bag ban, a new petrol
tax, rental home insulation expectations, KiwiSaver age changes, and others.
Here's what you need to
know about how today's law changes will affect you.
Plastic bag ban
From today, new regulations
have banned New Zealand businesses from providing single-use plastic shopping
bags to customers.
The Government has
signalled it will take an initially gentler tack with retailers flouting the
new law.
The rules apply to any type
of plastic less than 70 microns in thickness, that's new or un-used, has carry handles,
is provided for carrying sold goods, and is made of bio-based materials like
starch.
The law also covers bags
made of plastics that are degradable, biodegradable or oxo-degradable.
The ministry has said it
doesn't have any targets to prosecute businesses that flout the laws — but it
has promised breaches will be enforced.
There have been warnings
that retailers could face six-figure fines, although a court would need to
determine a penalty if a prosecution was successful.
Shop owners
cannot provide customers with single-use plastic bags. Photo / 123RF
However, the ministry has
pointed out it wants to focus more on working with businesses to encourage
compliance.
In the event that someone
contacts the ministry to tell them about a breach, officers would contact the
business and work with them to find out why they hadn't stopped giving out
banned bags.
The ministry also plans to
begin random retail precinct audits to assess levels of compliance and advise
retailers where changes are required.
Sage said the six-month
phase-in period had given retailers time to make the switch, and as at the end
of last year, supermarkets were no longer offering single-use bags.
Petrol tax hike
A 3 cent per litre tax
increase by the Government has been initiated today.
This is the second of three
annual increases by the Government, and for Aucklanders it comes on top of a
11.5 cent additional increase last year.
Automobile Association
spokesman Mark Stockdale said the latest tax increase would cost the average
motorist $45 more a year. This was based on a person driving a medium-sized car
14,000km a year.
"You might not notice
it on a weekly basis when you're filling up, but it's another increase in the
price of fuel and it is not going to drop - it's fixed.
"It means that the
total tax motorists are paying now amounts to about $1.09c a litre, including
GST. Or if you live in Auckland, about $1.20 litre. So that's actually more
than half the price is now tax with the latest increase."
The price hikes were
designed to fund large infrastructure projects in the city, and for some
Aucklanders the progress in the last year had not been as fast as hoped.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff defended the rate of progress, saying funding from the regional fuel tax had directly contributed to eight infrastructure projects in the past year.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff defended the rate of progress, saying funding from the regional fuel tax had directly contributed to eight infrastructure projects in the past year.
They included arterial
roads in South Auckland, the Eastern Busway which links Panmure and Pakuranga
and will later be extended to Botany, and upgrades to the Auckland Airport
route.
Other projects which had
been given regional fuel tax funding in the past year included the downtown
ferry terminal upgrade, road safety improvements, 52km of new walkways and
cycleways, and purchases of properties to allow for the construction of the
Mill Rd corridor.
New rental requirements
From today, tenants can
seek up to $4000 in compensation from their landlords if their homes are not
properly insulated.
Landlords are required to
install ceiling and underfloor insulation wherever possible. Wall insulation,
however, is not compulsory.
According to information on
the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) website, any
landlords who still don't comply after paying the penalty, may face
"further action".
Landlords who have
installed new insulation since 2016 should already meet the 2008 Building Code
and, as such, won't need to do install more insulation.
The number of landlords who
will be stung by fines for not properly insulating their rental homes appears
to be very low, according to a group representing property owners and
investors.
Landlords must
provide tenants with proper insulation. Photo / Andrew Warner
But the Green Party says
there are still likely "tens of thousands" of rental properties not
properly insulated.
A report from the New
Zealand Property Investors' Federation (NZPIF) showed that 96 per cent of the
1325 members the group surveyed have met the insulation deadline.
The new rules are the first
step in wider changes under the Healthy Homes Standards that will come into
effect in 2021.
KiwiSaver changes
More than 500,000 New
Zealanders will be able to join KiwiSaver due to law changes from today.
About 2.9 million people
already belong to the retirement savings scheme, but until now,
over-65-year-olds had been locked out of joining.
There are 747,900 people
aged 65 and over in New Zealand, according to Statistics New Zealand and
research by the Commission for Financial Capability shows nearly one in three
(29 per cent) of over-65-year-olds are already in KiwiSaver.
That leaves 531,009 who
will be able to join.
However, Claire Matthews, a
KiwiSaver expert at Massey University, said she expected only a small number of
over-65s to sign up.
The other change from
Monday is that new members will no longer be locked in to the scheme for five
years.
Members between the ages of
60 to 64 (inclusive) who enrol on or after July 1, 2019 will be able to
withdraw their KiwiSaver funds at 65.
But they will also miss out
on getting the government contribution for a minimum of five years.
Family Violence Act
From today, the Family
Violence Act 2018 replaces the Domestic Violence Act 1995 with a stronger focus
on the safety of victims, and how the system responds.
The term domestic violence
is replaced with family violence - to reflect that violence happens in a range
of intimate and family relationships.
The definition is also
expanded to include coercive or controlling behaviour.
The term
domestic violence is replaced with family violence - to reflect that violence
happens in a range of intimate and family relationships. Photo / 123RF
And new factors can be
taken into account by decision-makers like police - including abuse of pets,
dowry abuse and withholding care.
The process for applying
for a protection order will be simpler, and there are measures to improve
collaboration between agencies.
Oranga Tamariki model
Oranga Tamariki is set to
see the biggest shake-up since its inception in 2017, as The Children, Young
Persons, and Their Families Legislation Act comes into full force today. .
Under the law, the ministry
must provide a practical commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and offer support
to young adults leaving state care until their 25th birthday.
Significant changes to the
Youth Justice System also take effect today, which include the introduction of
17-year-olds into youth court.
Children's Commissioner
Andrew Becroft told RNZ the changes were significant and desperately needed.
He said the legislation
changed state care from its old ambulance at the bottom of the cliff model, to
a far more proactive and supportive model.
Paid parental leave increases
Paid parental leave
payments will also rise for some people by $20 a week to $585. Paid leave was
lifted to 22 weeks last year, and will rise again next year to 26 weeks.
"This is for us all
trying to give families more time with their newborns, which is so critical in
those early weeks of a child's life," said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
yesterday.
ACC ride incentives
From today, the Government
has launched a two-year pilot of the Ride Forever cash-back incentive.
The programme provides
motorcycle riders with extensive on-road coaching, and cash back once they have
completed it.
ACC's chief customer
officer Emma Powell says riders who have been through the programme are 23 per
cent less likely to have an ACC claim (to June 2018).
In a move designed to improve
the skills of motorcyclists, the corporation is proposing a rebate of $100
(valid for two years to a total of $200) for those who complete the ACC's Ride
Forever motorcycle coaching course.
From today, the
government has launched a two-year pilot of the Ride Forever Cash-back
incentive. Photo / 123RF
Powell says the rebate is
designed to encourage the higher-risk riders to take part to reduce dangers to
them on the road.
International visitor levy fees
From today, most
international visitors entering New Zealand will be charged a levy of $35 that
will be invested in sustainable tourism and conservation projects.
But the industry wants to
ensure that the $80m a year from the international visitor levy goes towards
worthy projects, otherwise it will just be seen as an unnecessary tax grab.
The Government wants a law
change in place so foreign visitors will start paying the levy and an
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) fee of between $9 and $12.50 by the second
half of this year.
Most foreign visitors - but
not citizens of Australia and several Pacific nations, or ship and air crew -
will have to pay the $35 levy.
The ETA will mean that
visitors from countries that have a visa-waiver agreement with New Zealand -
including the UK, USA and European countries - will also have to pay an
additional fee and go online to get permission to travel here before arriving.
Other law changes
·
Rates rebate for pensioners kicks in.
·
Changes to NZ Post’s rates and service.
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