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Budget Measures (Financial Support for Newborn Children) Bill (Consistent) (Section 19(1)) [2014] NZBORARp 12 (29 April 2014)
Last Updated: 24 March 2019
Budget Measures (Financial Support for Newborn Children) Bill
29 April 2014
Hon Christopher Finlayson QC, Attorney-General
Legal Advice
Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990:
Budget Measures (Financial Support for Newborn Children) Bill
- We
have considered whether the Budget Measures (Financial Support for
Newborn
Children) Bill (PCO 18350/1.0) (‘the Bill’) is
consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill
of
Rights Act 1990 (‘the Bill of Rights Act’). We understand that the
Bill will be considered by the Cabinet Legislation
Committee at its meeting on
Wednesday, 7 May 2014.
- We
understand that the Bill may be subject to further amendments before it is
submitted to the Cabinet Legislation Committee. We will
provide you with further
advice if necessary.
- The
Bill is an omnibus Bill that is designed to implement fiscal measures that were
part of the Budget 2014 announcement in line with
the Budget Policy Statement
2014. The Bill implements the following measures that are intended to provide
increased targeted support
for working parents with new born children:
- Part 1
of the Bill will become the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment
Bill to amend the Parental Leave and Employment
Protection Act 1987. It will
increase paid parental leave to 18 weeks in two stages.
- Part 2
of the Bill will become the Income Tax Act 2007 Amendment Bill to amend the
Income Tax Act 2007. It will increase the Parental
Tax Credit to $220 per week,
for the first 20 weeks following birth, for lower and middle income working
families.
- Part 2
of the Bill will also change the abatement formula for the Parental Tax Credit.
The change will mean that the Parental Tax
Credit amount will reduce faster as
families’ income increases.
Discrimination based on employment, sex and marital
status
- The
Bill benefits working parents with new born children. We considered whether the
Bill could give rise to issues of discrimination
under section 19(1) of the Bill
of Rights Act, namely freedom from discrimination on the grounds of employment,
sex, and marital
status.
- The
Bill increases existing terms of paid parental leave and the amount of tax
credits. It does not materially alter the eligibility
of those schemes. Having
regard to the degree of deference that is appropriately allowed to the
government in dealing with complex
social policy issues, we consider that the
Bill does not introduce discrimination that is so unreasonable as to be
considered "unjustified"
in terms of section 5 of the Bill of Rights
Act.
Differential treatment based on income status
- The
Bill introduces an abatement rate for the Parental Tax Credit which reduces the
tax credit amount faster as income increases.
We considered whether such scheme
that differentiates on the basis of income amounts to discrimination under
section 19(1) of the
Bill of Rights Act.7.The rights concerned under section
19(1) of the Bill of Rights Act is based on the prohibited grounds of
discrimination
set out in section 21 of the Human Rights Act 1993. Income level
of a person is not one of the prohibited grounds and as such, we
conclude that
it does not amount to discrimination under section 19(1) of the Bill of Rights
Act.
Conclusion
8.We have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights
and freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.
Tania Warburton
Acting Chief Legal Counsel Office of Legal Counsel
Disclaimer
In addition to the general disclaimer for all documents on this website,
please note the following: This advice was prepared to assist
the
Attorney-General to determine whether a report should be made to Parliament
under s 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
in relation to the Measures
(Financial Support for Newborn Children) Bill. It should not be used or acted
upon for any other purpose.
The advice does no more than assess whether the Bill
complies with the minimum guarantees contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights
Act. The release of this advice should not be taken to indicate that the
Attorney-General agrees with all aspects of it, nor does
its release constitute
a general waiver of legal professional privilege in respect of this or any other
matter. Whilst care has been
taken to ensure that this document is an accurate
reproduction of the advice provided to the Attorney-General, neither the
Ministry
of Justice nor the Crown Law Office accepts any liability for any
errors or omissions.
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