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A Bill which makes offending against Police and Corrections Officers an aggravating factor at sentencing passed its first reading in Parliament today.

The Minister of Police and Corrections, Judith Collins, told Parliament that the current law did not require a judge to take a law enforcement officer’s status into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing. Instead, it is left to the discretion of the sentencing judge.

Justice Minister Simon Power today announced the appointment of Dinu Harry and reappointment of Rodger Finlay to the board of Public Trust.

State Owned Enterprises Minister Simon Power today announced 18 new appointments and 11 reappointments across 12 SOEs and one airport company.

“I’m pleased to be making a range of strong new appointments in this round, but I also want to acknowledge the retirement of Airways Corporation chair Con Anastasiou.

“Mr Anastasiou, who is retiring at the end of July, has served on the Airways board since 2000 and has led the company with considerable success as chair since January 2005. I thank him for his dedicated service over that time.”

The Government is putting proposals to further protect children from assault, neglect and ill-treatment on a faster track than was originally intended, Justice Minister Simon Power said today.

Cabinet yesterday signed off the proposals which will strengthen the Crimes Act via the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2), which will be introduced to Parliament today.

The bill will:

Thank you for inviting me to speak today.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the staff of the Canterbury Community Law Centre for their dedication, resilience, and hard work following February’s devastating earthquake.

With their premises red-stickered, not to mention what they were dealing with at home, they were quick to establish themselves in Recovery Centres, helping people get access to emergency Red Cross grants.

Within days they had also set up outreaches in Ashburton, Timaru, and Greymouth.

Justice Minister Simon Power today confirmed one new appointment and two reappointments to the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

The appointments were last week subject to a conscience vote in Parliament, and the warrants were finalised today by the Minister of Justice and the Governor-General.

Dr Tangimoana Habib has been appointed as a member, Reverend Patricia Allan has been reappointed as a member, and Professor Dame Linda Holloway has been reappointed as chair of the committee, each for terms of three years.

New Zealand and Australian inventors and patent attorneys are being invited to have their say to simplify the rules for the patent attorney profession.

Calling for comments on a discussion paper proposing a single body to regulate patent attorneys in both countries, New Zealand Commerce Minister Simon Power and Australian Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said it was important that government regulations took into account the needs of the patent attorneys and innovators who use them.

Parliament today unanimously passed a bill that plugs gaps that were exposed by the finance company collapses of recent years.

The Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Bill requires all corporate trustees, including those for non-restricted KiwiSaver schemes, to be licensed, along with certain statutory supervisors, including those for retirement villages.

Commerce Minister Simon Power has confirmed that the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) will be up and running on 1 May, after the bill to establish it was passed by a unanimous vote in Parliament today.

The Financial Markets (Regulators and KiwiSaver) Bill establishes the new single market conduct regulator, which will take over the functions of the Securities Commission and Government Actuary which are being disestablished, and consolidates other regulatory functions fragmented across the Ministry of Economic Development.

A bill which fundamentally reforms the legal aid system passed its final reading in Parliament today.

The Legal Services Bill is part of the Government’s response to Dame Margaret Bazley’s report on the legal aid system which identified system-wide failings and called for urgent action to rebuild trust and confidence in legal aid.

“The new legislation is aimed at improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of legal aid for the people who use it, and for the taxpayers who pay for it,” Justice Minister Simon Power said.

The Government has introduced legislation to tighten juror privacy, safety, and security.

Justice Minister Simon Power today introduced the Juries Amendment Bill, which includes a provision to remove the addresses of potential jurors from jury panel lists.

The bill also addresses other concerns regarding who can serve on juries.

The move on juror addresses comes after convicted murderer George Baker wrote to a juror whose name he saw on a list while he was representing himself in a trial.

Commerce Minister Simon Power today announced a high-powered board to run the soon-to-be established Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

The FMA, which is expected to be up and running early next month, will be the single market conduct regulator for New Zealand’s financial markets.

The FMA is designed to restore the confidence of mum and dad investors in the financial markets by actively and consistently enforcing financial laws.

Commerce Minister Simon Power today announced the makeup of the soon-to-be established External Reporting Board (XRB).

The XRB supersedes the Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB) but will have a much broader range of powers. It will be responsible for all aspects of financial reporting, and for accounting and auditing standards-setting. It will begin on 1 July.

Members of the board are: Simon Carey, Neil Cherry, Annabel Cotton, Michele Embling, Graeme Mitchell, Ralph Simpson, and Ken Warren.

Commerce Minister Simon Power today welcomed the Commerce Select Committee’s report on the Auditor Regulation and External Reporting Bill.

The bill establishes a new licensing regime for major audits, such as the audits of banks, insurance companies, and companies listed on the stock exchange. It will not impact on audits of small and medium-size companies and non-profit entities.

Financial advisers affected by February’s earthquake will have more time to fully comply with the financial adviser regime, Cabinet has decided.

Commerce Minister Simon Power said new regulations made under the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act will provide relief for advisers who have their place of business in the Canterbury region.

Cabinet has approved further regulations under the Financial Advisers Act 2008, Commerce Minister Simon Power announced today.

The regulations are designed to simplify implementation of the new financial adviser regime by providing greater certainty for industry as to the scope and obligations of the Financial Advisers Act, and will help minimise unnecessary compliance costs.

They provide technical detail in several areas. Specifically, they provide:

Commerce Minister Simon Power today announced Cabinet’s decisions on the comprehensive review of securities law.

The next step in the process will be the release of an exposure draft of the new legislation later this year.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise our securities law and I'm determined to get it right," Mr Power said.

“Ongoing input from investors and industry is vital to ensure the changes we make can last for the next 30 years.

The Government's $50 offender levy has reached its first-year target of $2 million nearly five months earlier than expected, Justice Minister Simon Power said today.

Since July last year, all convicted offenders have been required to pay a $50 levy at the time of sentencing, regardless of the crime they commit. The levy is collected after reparation and before fines, and is in addition to any sentence or court order.

The money is used to fund eight additional entitlements and services for victims of serious crime.

Justice Minister Simon Power today called for public submissions on a discussion document which reviews parts of the bail system.

The document, Bail in New Zealand: Reviewing Aspects of the Bail System, seeks the public’s views on a series of preliminary proposals by the Government.

“When this Government came into office we were focused on securing public safety, which is why we immediately reversed Labour’s 2007 changes which made it easier for people to get bail,” Mr Power said.

Justice Minister Simon Power today officially opened the Wellington Public Defence Service for the Wellington, Lower Hutt and Porirua courts, including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The PDS provides a high-quality in-house legal aid service, through the use of salaried staff rather than contracted lawyers.

“The opening of Wellington’s PDS is significant because it is the first branch to open outside the Auckland region,” Mr Power said.

Good afternoon.

I’d like to acknowledge fellow MPs and members of the judiciary and the legal profession for being here today to mark the opening of the Public Defence Service in the Wellington region.

This PDS branch will service district courts in Wellington, Porirua, and Lower Hutt, as well as the higher courts, including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

It is also from this location that the Public Defender for the southern region will ultimately lead the expansion of the PDS into the South Island.

Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland and New Zealand Minister of Justice Simon Power today said reforms to ensure Trans-Tasman legal disputes can be resolved more effectively and at lower cost are close to completion.

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) is meeting today in Wellington to discuss progress on a number of issues of mutual concern.

Justice Minister Simon Power will tomorrow host a meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) in Wellington.

The meeting, to take place at Parliament, will start at 1pm tomorrow and finish at noon on Saturday. Mr Power will host an official dinner tomorrow night.

SCAG is comprised of the Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, its states and territories, and New Zealand's Minister of Justice. Norfolk Island has observer status at SCAG meetings.

Commerce Minister Simon Power today welcomed the report-back by the Commerce Select Committee on legislation to establish the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and to improve governance of KiwiSaver schemes.

The Financial Markets (Regulators and KiwiSaver) Bill makes changes to the functions, duties and powers of regulatory bodies in order to restore investor confidence in New Zealand's financial markets. It establishes the FMA by consolidating the functions fragmented across the Securities Commission, and parts of the Ministry of Economic Development.