Kiwiblog

This really annoys me. Not that Lindsay Tisch is to be nominated Deputy Speaker, but that I only found about it by listening to the audio/video (thanks Scoop) of John Key’s press conference.

It wasn’t in the official media release, but John Key announced it early on at his press conference. Now there were 30 or so journalists in the room, so why didn’t a single one of them actually report it? Hell why attend the press conference, if all you are going to do is write stories based on the press releases, and overlook any new material from the actual press conference.

Anyway it looks like Lockwood for Speaker and Lindsay Tisch for Deputy. There are two Assistant Speakers, with one traditionally being from the Opposition – presumably Ross Robertson. I’d guess Eric Roy may be the other Assistant Speaker.

It hasn’t been a tradition, but it would be nice if the Deputy Speaker (rather than the Assistant) was from the Opposition. Clem Simich did very well as Deputy Speaker.

I’ll put some video up later today,, but for now here are four stories on retiring MPs

1. Katherine Rich
2. Clem Simich
3. Margaret Wilson
4. Mark Blumsky

While totally respecting her decision, I am still really sad and cut up about Katherine leaving. Katherine would have been a superb Minister and she is just one of the neatest people you can ever get to meet. I have absolutely no desire to work in Parliament again, but if I did I would want to work for Katherine if she had stayed on.

Katherine, Clem and Mark are all from the socially liberal “wing” of National. National’s strength is that blend of conservatism and liberalism. There is a healthy acceptance that National needs both. The “liberals” don’t want to turn National into a conservative free zone, and neither do conservatives want to have National without its blend of liberalism.

The challenge for classical liberals like myself is to make sure the liberal wing is not so small as to be ineffective or invisible. But luckily both the 2005 and the likely 2008 intakes have or had reasonable proportions of “social liberals”.

NZPA reports that Clem Simich is retiring after 16 years in Parliament.

Clem is hugely respected by pretty much all MPs for his fairness and manner as Deputy Speaker. He makes what can be a very tough job look easy.

I also remember with regret that his proposal (or the proposal from the Select Committee he chaired) to move the Beehive back and extend Parliament House to its intended full size never got implemented. That would have allowed Bowen House to be let go on and get Parliament back onto one site.

Clem’s low key style often led people to under-estimate him. However I recall working with him a bit on the 2001/02 boundary changes and Clem was just a mine of information. Where I had to look up polling place results, Clem could just point to an area and talk authoritatively on how good or bad that area was for National and Labour.

I also recall being the the huge party in the Grand Hall at Parliament to celebrate the passing of the Civil Unions Act and Clem was one of only a handful of National MPs to vote for it. So many people were going up to him and thanking him for his support, and he got huge cheers when he spoke to the crowd.

His retirement is an inevitable part of National’s ongoing renewal, so this means only 45 MPs standing for re-election, which means there could be quite a big intake in 2008 on current polls.