This Member's bill reverses the exclusion of port companies and their subsidiaries from certain rules that apply to council-controlled organisations under the Local Government Act 2002. It is still before Parliament.
A member's bill that would make council-owned port companies follow more of the public-accountability rules that apply to other council-controlled organisations (CCOs) — the arms-length companies councils use to run services. Ports are currently exempt from several of these. The bill would bring them under obligations such as releasing official information on request and acting as a "good employer" with regard to social, environmental and Māori interests.
It's a member's bill from Labour MP Lemauga Lydia Sosene, drawing on concerns about transparency and safety at council-owned ports. In practice, ports would face disclosure duties under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act and "good employer", environmental and Māori-relationship obligations. Supporters, including rail and maritime unions, say it would lift accountability and worker safety; critics say added obligations could raise costs or reduce ports' commercial flexibility.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.