Televised Opening of Parliament
For those who do not get Sky Digital (Channel 54) you can view the opening (today and tomorrow) at R2. Has just started.
UPDATE: Commissioners have just walked in. Rod Donald’s empty seat is very noticeable.
In theory any three Judges of the High Court or higher can be sent as Commissioners. However they have sent the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal and the High Court Chief Justice.
UPDATE2: Those who affirmed (I think), not swore are Barker, Barnett, Beyer, Benson-Pope, Blumsky, Brash, Burton, Carter C, Chadwick, Clark, Cullen, Dalziel, Donnelly, Dyson, Fairbrother, Fenton, Fitzsimons, Gosche, Guy, Harawira, Hereora, Hide, Hobbs, Hodgson, Horomia, Kedgley, King A, King C, Key, Locke, Mackey, Maharey, Mahuta, Mallard, Moroney, Okeroa, Pillay, Power, Ririnui, Street, Swain, Tizard, Turia, Turei, Williamson, Wilson, Yates
Those who swore the oath on the bible were Anderton, Ardern, Auchinvole, Bennett D, Bennet P, Blue, Borrows, Bradford, Brown, Brownlee, Carter D, Carter C, Choudary, Clarkson, Coleman, Collins, Connell, Copeland, Cosgrove, Cunliffe, Dean, Dunne, Duynhoven, English, Field, Finlayson, Flavell, Foss, Gallagher, Goff, Goodhew, Goudie, Groser, Hartley, Hawkins, Hayes, Heatley, Henare, Hutchison, Hughes, Jones, Laban, Mapp, Mark, McCully, O’Connor, Paraone, Parker, Peachey, Peters, Pettis, Rich, Robertson, Roy E, Roy H, Ryall, Samuels, Sharples, Simich, Smith L, Smith N, Stewart, te Heuheu, Tisch, Tremain, Tolley, Turner, Wagner, Wilkinson, Woolerton, Worth,
Choudary swore on the Koran, Almost all Maori MPs swore in Maori, Harawira affirmed in Maori and I think tried to add in a reference to the Treaty of Waitangi and had to do it again. Sharples did much the same thing and also had to repeat. Looks like Sutton was missing. Turia just had to repeat it also. I think they know the Clerk will force them to do it again – this way they get to claim they swore to the Treaty but still get sworn in. Wong missing also.
It was hard to keep up so the list above is not authoritative. The rough stats are that 47 MPs affirmed, 71 swore an oath. The % affirming for each party are Labour 65%, National 15%, NZ First 14%, Greens 80%, Maori 50%, ACT 50% and 0% for United Future and Progressive.
Very quick Speaker election – around three seconds. Wilson nominated herself, no-one else nominated, and she was declared elected. She has made brief mention of Rod Donald’s service to the House.
UPDATE3: Speeches congratulating Wilson. Brash recalls she helped him get Reserve Bank job and they used to be on an Auckland unemployment committee together, along with Helen Clark. Finally a moment’s silence for Rod Donald.
November 7th, 2005 at 2:51 pm
Good stuff, Channel R2 – keep up the great coverage!
November 7th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Tim Groser swore on a Bible? I thought he was Muslim?
November 7th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
He is only technically a Muslim, in his own words.
November 7th, 2005 at 3:42 pm
Oh, the joys of countries and religions which require conversion in order to marry…
November 7th, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Seems poor ole Jim Sutton was complying with the speed limits this time, and unless it was Pansy Wong no-one wanted to engross him in conversation.
November 7th, 2005 at 4:51 pm
Presumably have had other Jewish MPs since Julius Vogel (and may have so now). As individuals, have they chosen to swear on the Torah, the Christian bible or affirm?
November 7th, 2005 at 5:03 pm
Can this be viewed anywhere else? (the R2 seems to only be a live stream which, of course, is no longer live)
Cheers
November 7th, 2005 at 6:47 pm
heheh i was in Parliament watching (but only on their TV ‘cos you weren’t allowed into the chamber) – Steve Chadwick forgot to sign her name after she was sworn in and Don Brash laughed at her
November 7th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
Chris, my understanding was that members of the Jewish faith always affirmed (however, I welcome enlightenment from someone Jewish if I’m wrong).
November 8th, 2005 at 9:16 am
Oaths may be taken while holding a copy of the Bible, New Testament, or Old Testament (Oaths and Declarations Act 1957, s 3). As they can swear on the Old Testament, perhaps members of the Jewish faith would elect to use this? (I don’t know, just throwing this out there as a possibility).
November 8th, 2005 at 10:35 am
Or perhaps oaths could just be sworn, without any holy book. Hand up, I solemnly swear, etc. But traditions are just for their own sake, surely. I married my wife in a catholic church, despite being an atheist. It was charmingly quaint, and naturally I didn’t feel any particular awe before God. The solemnity of marriage was enough to scare me, without superstitious cares being needed to frighten me into being faithful. Surely the solemnity of making promises to tens of thousands of constituents bears a similar level of weight.
November 9th, 2005 at 10:54 am
Jim Sutton is at a WTO meeting in Geneva, saving the world trading system, and the Nats generously offered a pair to ensure this could happen. No need for snarky comments…