New laws affecting you
Plastic bag ban, petrol tax, rental insulation, KiwiSaver age changes from July 1
Yesteday 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 the law changes will affect you.
Plastic bag ban
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.
Petrol tax hike
A 3 cent per litre tax increase has upped the price of petrol.
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, based on a person driving a medium-sized car 14,000km a year.
New rental requirements
Tenants can seek up to $4000 in compensation from their landlords if their homes are not properly insulated.
Landlords have to install ceiling and underfloor insulation wherever possible. Wall insulation, however, is not compulsory.
KiwiSaver changes
More than 500,000 New Zealanders will be able to join KiwiSaver due to law changes.
About 2.9 million people already belong to the retirement savings scheme, but until now, over-65-yearolds 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 them 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.
Family Violence Act
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. 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.
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, 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.
Paid parental leave
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.
ACC ride incentives
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.
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. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
International visitor levy
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.
Other law changes
Rates rebate for pensioners kicks
■ in
■ Changes to NZ Post’s rates and service