Patch 2024.03

March 2024 proposals

Bills would change taxes, support and KiwiSaver, expand gang and firearms powers, protect pay discussions, charge EVs, overhaul insurance, and offer postnatal and remote-court choices.

• Proposal to change tax and support rules — Would set 2023–24 income tax rates and change tax, KiwiSaver, and child support rules.
• Proposal to give Police more gang powers — Would ban gang insignia in public places and give Police new powers to disrupt gang gatherings and crime.
• Proposal to protect pay discussions — Would stop employers penalising workers for discussing or sharing their own pay rates.
• Insurance contract rules would be overhauled — This proposal would bring insurance rules together and change how consumers and businesses must describe risks to insurers.
• Proposal to charge light EVs for road use — Would move light electric vehicles into road-user charges, with a two-month transition and a possible lower rate for plug-in hybrids.
• Mothers could choose three-day postnatal stays — This proposal would give mothers up to 72 hours of funded postnatal care and require advice about that choice.
• Proposal to widen firearms prohibition orders — It would allow firearms prohibition orders for a wider group of people whose behaviour poses a high risk of violence.
• Proposal to protect family-violence evidence — Would give Family Court parties and witnesses more options for giving evidence in less stressful ways.
• Proposal to allow more remote court participation — Would make it easier for people to take part in court proceedings remotely.
• Forestry regulation changes proposal dropped — This dropped proposal would have changed forestry rules to reduce duplication, fix gaps and errors, and lower administrative work.
• More overseas travel details for offenders — This proposal would require registered child sex offenders to give Police overseas addresses, travel dates and intended country of residence.
• Proposal to remove EV salary-package tax — Would remove fringe benefit tax on zero-emission vehicles provided to staff through salary packages for five years.
• Proposal to increase slavery-offence penalties — Would increase penalties for dealing in slaves and related offences, including offences involving people under 18.
• Proposal to abolish ratepayer rolls dropped — This dropped proposal would have removed extra local-election voting rights linked to owning properties in different areas.
• Proposal to remove GST from food dropped — This dropped proposal would have removed GST from all food and non-alcoholic drinks bought by consumers.
• Proposal to change ACC tax dropped — This dropped proposal would have taxed some delayed ACC lump sums as if paid in the correct earlier years.
• Proposal to change EU trade agreement laws — Would change New Zealand law relating to the European Union free trade agreement.
• Proposal to lower local voting age dropped — This dropped proposal would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections and polls, but not parliamentary elections.
• Proposal to speed major project approvals — Would create a faster approval process for infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.
• Proposal to remove payment-practice reporting — Would repeal public reporting of large entities’ business payment practices and remove their related compliance duties.
• Ngāti Hei settlement proposal continues — This proposal would put parts of the Crown’s settlement agreement with Ngāti Hei into law, including an apology and statements.
• Ō-Rākau site ownership would change — This proposal would let Maniapoto, Raukawa and Waikato jointly exercise ownership rights over the Ō-Rākau site.
• Ngāti Paoa settlement proposal continues — This proposal would put parts of the Crown’s settlement agreement with Ngāti Paoa into law, including an apology and statements.
• Ngāti Tara Tokanui settlement continues — This proposal would put parts of the Crown’s settlement agreement with Ngāti Tara Tokanui into law.
• Proposal to confirm past government spending — Would confirm certain government spending that exceeded existing parliamentary approvals during 2022–23.