Kiwiblog

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that “the mixed ownership programme will be good for…the economy as a whole; if so, will it be good for the economy as a whole if these mixed ownership companies then sell New Zealand electricity generating assets into foreign ownership?
2. LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister of Transport: What important transport projects are underway in the Waikato region?
3. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement, in his answer to Oral Question No 8 yesterday, that the current account deficit is forecast in the PREFU to deteriorate by “about just under $5 billion over the next 4 years”?
4. SIMON O’CONNOR to the Minister of Justice: What initiatives is the Government planning in the justice system to help reduce drug and alcohol related offending?
5. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: What current account deficit, in dollars, was projected in the pre-election fiscal update by the Treasury for 2012 and for 2016; and does he agree with Hon Steven Joyce’s answer in Oral Question No 8 yesterday, that “the pre-election update last year forecast the current account deficit to widen by about just under $5 billion over the next 4 years”?
6. IAN McKELVIE to the Minister for Primary Industries: Has he received the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into Foreign Charter Vessels?
7. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Local Government: Does he have confidence in the financial management of Auckland City Council?
8. DARIEN FENTON to the Minister of Labour: What action, if any, does the Government intend to take in respect of industrial action currently occurring in New Zealand?
9. MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology: What recent progress has the Government made to improve New Zealanders’ access to broadband?
10. GARETH HUGHES to the Minister of Transport: Will he commit to holding a Royal Commission or a Commission of Inquiry into the Government’s response to the grounding of the Rena?
11. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: What duties if any, does he believe he has to protect the Broadcasting Commission, also known as NZ On Air, and broadcasters from political interference?
12. SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister for the Environment: What action has the Government taken to assist local councils to deal with the possible contamination of residential and community properties in Moanataiari?

Today there are five questions from National, four questions from Labour, two from the Greens, and one from NZ First.

Patsy of the day goes to Q4 - What initiatives is the Government planning in the justice system to help reduce drug and alcohol related offending?

Labour are asking about current account deficit twice, industrial action and NZ on Air again.

Greens are on asset sales and Rena. NZ First is on confidence in the financial management of the Auckland City Council. That could be a short question and answer as no such entity exists any longer.

Government Notices of Motion (no debate as agreed by Business Committee)

1. to approve the Misuse of Drugs (Classification of Tapentadol) Order 2011 (makes Tapentadol a Class B3 drug)
2. to appoint as members of the Parliamentary Service Commission: Michael Woodhouse, Chris Hipkins, Metiria Turei, Barbara Stewart, Te Ururoa Flavell, and Hone Harawira.
3. to make the Abortion Supervisory Committee, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Air New Zealand Limited be public organisations for the purposes of the Standing Orders.

Government Bills 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm

1. Search and Surveillance Bill – second reading
2. Game Animal Council Bill – first reading
3. Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill – second reading
4. Building Amendment Bill (No 3) – committee stage

The Search and Surveillance Bill was introduced in July 2009 and aims to implement the Government’s decisions on the legislative reform of search and surveillance powers”, based on the Law Commission’s report, “Search and Surveillance Powers”. It amends 69 different Acts and was supported at first reading by all parties except the Green Party.

The select committee did an interim report in August 2010 and a final report in November 2010. There was considerable opposition to the bill as originally drafted, such as by Tech Liberty.  Significant changes were made by the select committee with the Greens noting “They generally restrict search and surveillance powers more than the original bill, and improve accountability provisions”.  However they still oppose the bill, especially the provisions for Examination and Production Orders. Labour also opposes those two provisions.

The Game Animal Council Bill was introduced in October 2011. It aims to deliver on the Government’s confidence and supply agreement with the United Future Party to proceed with the establishment of a Big Game Hunting Council as part of a national wild game management strategy with a view to it becoming a statutory authority. The primary purpose of establishing such a council is to improve the management of deer, tahr, chamois, and wild pig, including the improvement of opportunities to hunt those animals.

The Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill was introduced in December 2010 and aims to replace the land valuation basis for setting rents for pastoral leases with a property-earning-capacity basis for setting rents for pastoral leases. It was supported at first reading by National, Greens, ACT, Maori and United and opposed by Labour.  Labour opposed the bill at select committee saying it “severely compromises the property rights of the land owner, the Crown, to negotiate a fair return on the full value of the land”.

The Building Amendment Bill (No 3) was introduced in October 2010 and aims to implement policy decisions from the 2009 Building Act review. It was passed on a voice vote at first reading but the select committee reports that Labour and Greens will now oppose the bill as they see the building reforms as being done piecemeal.

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his recent statements?
2. SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: What will be the main focus of Budget 2012?
3. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: Does he believe it is his responsibility, if it is his intention to sell strategic assets, to obtain the best possible price; if not, why not?
4. HONE HARAWIRA to the Minister for Social Development: Does she agree with the comment in today’s New Zealand Herald that she is stripping away the rights of beneficiaries that she herself had as a sole parent; if not, why not?
5. Hon PHIL GOFF to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does he support proposals to make redundant 63 people in policy and diplomatic positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; if so, why?
6. SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister for Social Development: How do the Government’s recently announced welfare reforms balance obligations with incentives?
7. GARETH HUGHES to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does he stand by his statement that he is “not aware of any reason to justify a moratorium” on fracking in New Zealand?
8. MARK MITCHELL to the Minister for Economic Development: What reports has he received demonstrating New Zealand’s improved export performance?
9. Hon NANAIA MAHUTA to the Minister of Education: Does she have confidence in her Ministry?
10. ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Social Development: What response has she had to the Government’s Green Paper for Vulnerable Children?
11. JAN LOGIE to the Minister of Corrections: Does she agree with the finding of the Chief Ombudsman that “transgender prisoners are particularly vulnerable to abuse and/or sexual assault”?
12. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: Does he stand by his primary answer to Oral Question No 11 on Wednesday, 15 February 2012?

Patsy of the day goes to Q8 - What reports has he received demonstrating New Zealand’s improved export performance?

Labour are asking the PM a general question on his recent statements, MFAT restructuring, Education (presumably the teacher sex offender case) and NZ on Air.

Greens are on fracking and trans-gender prisoners. Winston is on revenue from asset sales and Hone on welfare reform. Fascinating that only Mana is asking questions on welfare reform today.

General Debate 3 pm – 4 pm

Private and Local Bills 4 pm – 6 pm and 7.30 pm – 10 pm 

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. MAGGIE BARRY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on Government debt?
2. METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement in relation to the Government’s welfare reforms announced yesterday that “…there are plenty of jobs out there for people if they look really hard”; if so, why?
3. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
4. MIKE SABIN to the Minister for Social Development: What changes has the Government recently announced for those on welfare?
5. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Is it his normal practice to “guess” when determining the business case for selling billions of dollars’ worth of assets?
6. Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Health: What improvements have there been in the National Health Targets?
7. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by her statement “There are jobs”?
8. ALFRED NGARO to the Minister of Justice: What progress has been made on the MMP review triggered by the referendum at last year’s election?
9. Hon MARYAN STREET to the Minister of Health: How much funding for district health boards in the 2011-12 Budget was new money for additional services and cost of living adjustments, and how much was the result of reprioritisation of funding which had been maintained from previous budgets?
10. KATRINA SHANKS to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: What progress has recently been made towards the completion of historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements?
11. BARBARA STEWART to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the proposal by Pharmac to limit diabetic New Zealanders’ access to subsidised glucose-testing equipment?
12. JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development: Does she agree with the statement in her Cabinet paper that “Evidence shows that support for beneficiaries to undertake study, such as the Training Incentive Allowance, can be effective in increasing the time participants spend off benefits.”?

Today there are five questions from National, four questions from Labour, two from the Greens, and one from NZ First. Amazingly the NZ First question is not from Winston, but from Barbara Stewart – a first for this Parliament.

Patsy of the day goes to Q10 - What progress has recently been made towards the completion of historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements?

David Shearer is doing the standard Does PM have confidence in all Ministers question, which could go anywhere. Might be about the paedophile teacher inquiry though. Labour also on asset sales, jobs, and health funding.

Greens are on welfare for both questions. NZ First is on Pharmac.

Address in Reply Debate 3 pm – 4.30 pm 

This should conclude today with around 1.5 hours remaining of the debate.

Government Bills 4.30 pm – 6.00 pm and 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm)

1. Medicines Amendment Bill – first reading
2. Corrections Amendment Bill – first reading
3. Building Amendment Bill (No 3) – second reading
4. Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill – second reading
5. Search and Surveillance Bill – second reading

The Medicines Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2011 and aims to modernise Medicines Act 1981.

The Corrections Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2011 and  to remove “barriers” to managing prisoners in a manner that is safe, secure, humane, effective, and efficient. It deals with drug testing, strip searching, prison health care, delegation of powers, and prison work.

The Building Amendment Bill (No 3) was introduced in October 2010 and aims to implement policy decisions from the 2009 Building Act review. It was passed on a voice vote at first reading but the select committee reports that Labour and Greens will now oppose the bill as they see the building reforms as being done piecemeal.

The Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill was introduced in December 2010 and aims to replace the land valuation basis for setting rents for pastoral leases with a property-earning-capacity basis for setting rents for pastoral leases. It was supported at first reading by National, Greens, ACT, Maori and United and opposed by Labour.  Labour opposed the bill at select committee saying it “severely compromises the property rights of the land owner, the Crown, to negotiate a fair return on the full value of the land”.

The Search and Surveillance Bill was introduced in July 2009 and aims to implement the Government’s decisions on the legislative reform of search and surveillance powers”, based on the Law Commission’s report, “Search and Surveillance Powers”. It amends 69 different Acts and was supported at first reading by all parties except the Green Party.

The select committee did an interim report in August 2010 and a final report in November 2010. There was considerable opposition to the bill as originally drafted, such as by Tech Liberty.  Significant changes were made by the select committee with the Greens noting “They generally restrict search and surveillance powers more than the original bill, and improve accountability provisions”.  However they still oppose the bill, especially the provisions for Examination and Production Orders. Labour also opposes those two provisions.

The Herald on Sunday editorial:

In the big grey building on the hill in Wellington are 121 MPs – one for every 36,600 New Zealanders.

That’s almost a record (they had to redo the seating plan to fit in such numbers) and it’s a big increase on the 99 MPs who represented us in 1996, before the introduction of MMP.

The last Parliament had 122 MPs, so in fact it has dropped. And worth mentioning that the population growth since 1996 means that even without MMP, we would be up to 109 MPs. In another decade or so Parliament under MMP will be smaller than what it would have been if we had continued with FPP.

Do we need so many MPs? Well, Australia’s House of Representatives contains 150 MPS – one for every 152,300 Ockers.

The HoS is not comparing apples with apples. With no second chamber our backbench MPs on select committees do the work which upper houses often do. Also with no state governments, the national parliament and government is responsible for all laws and policies. So what is the total number of legislators in Australia.

• Federal – 150 + 76 = 226
• NSW = 93 + 42 = 135
• Victoria = 88 + 40 = 128
• Queensland = 89
• WA = 59 + 36 = 95
• SA = 47 + 22 = 69
• Tasmania = 25 + 15 = 40
• ACT = 17
• NT = 25

The total number of legislators in Australia is 824. That is one for every 27,700 Australians – a considerably higher ratio than in New Zealand.

The truth may be unpopular but for a country of its size, New Zealand has one of the smaller Parliaments in the world. I researched around 50 different countries for a submission on this a few years back.

Does MMP need so many politicians? No, it would work perfectly well if we went back to 99 MPs – 63 in general electorates, seven in Maori electorates, and 29 list MPs to bring specialist expertise and proportionality.

Another incorrect statement. In 1999 Labour would have had an overhang under a 70/29 Parliament creating a disproportional result. Again in 2002 Labour would have had an overhang.  And such overhangs would be inevitable in the future. A 70/29 split doesn’t produce proportional results when the winning party wins a lot of the electorate seats.

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Has he had time to read and digest the judgement of Justice Miller regarding the Crafar farm deal; if so, does he stand by his comments made in the House yesterday?
2. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister for Land Information: Does he believe he and the Government have conducted themselves competently and appropriately in relation to the decision to approve the purchase of the Crafar farms by a foreign buyer; if not, what did they do wrong?
3. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Finance: What reports has the Government issued on the economy?
4. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Does she have confidence that Work and Income meets their own “case management approach” expectations?
5. JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development: Does she have concerns that changes to the eligibility for the Training Incentive Allowance are causing single parent beneficiaries to consider working in the sex industry?
6. Dr CAM CALDER to the Minister of Health: What improvements have there been to services for patients as a result of greater collaboration between District Health Boards?
7. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Does he still intend to sell 49 per cent of the four State-owned energy companies?
8. JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Local Government: What analysis has he received on rate increases across New Zealand’s 78 councils following the enactment of new local government legislation since 2002?
9. Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Does he stand by the part of his statement of 27 January, announcing the extension of the red zone offer to retirement villages, that letters of offer would be sent to each resident and CERA would work with village owners as quickly as possible to ensure the residents are assisted; if not, why not?
10. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister for Land Information: Did Overseas Investment Office officials meet with Chinese political consul Cheng Lei late last year; if so, did they discuss Shanghai Pengxin’s bid for the Crafar farms?
11. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: What is the name of the documentary which was withheld in the papers released publicly by NZ On Air titled “Records of decisions made at working group meeting”?
12. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister for Economic Development: What progress has he made declaring the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover a major event under the Major Events Management Act 2007?

Today there are four questions from National, five questions from Labour, two from the Greens, and one from NZ First.

No prize for patsy of the day, as for once National is using one of their questions to have a go at Labour, specifically the scalping activities of Trevor Mallard. Q12 will be fun.

The Crafar farm court ruling is the main issue, with Labour and NZ First asking questions on it. The decision is a godsend for them.

Welfare is likely to be another big issue with Labour and Greens looking to ask questions about the woman who says she considered prostitution to pay for her childcare.

Address in Reply Debate 3 pm – 6 pm 

Maiden speeches for new National MPs are from 4.30 pm to 6 pm, being North Shore MP Maggie Barry, Rangitikei MP Ian McKelvie, Rodney MP Mark Mitchell, Tamaki MP Simon O’Connor, Coromandel MP Scott Simpson, and List MP Dr Jian Yang.

Around 4.5 hours remaining of the debate.

Government Bills 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm (and Friday 9 am  1 pm)

1. Ngai Tāmanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill – first reading
2. Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill - first reading
3. Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Whare Claims Settlement Bill - second reading
4. Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Bill - second reading
5. Ngati Pahauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Bill - second reading
6. Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill - second reading
7. Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) – second reading and all remaining stages
8. Statutes Amendment Bill (No 3) - first reading

Nothing terribly controversial here. However some of the speeches on the treaty settlement bills can be very interesting, as you learn a lot of NZ history on some of them.

One of the more significant changes to Standing Orders was the ability for the House to sit with extended sitting hours, hence reducing the frequency a Government may have to resort to urgency.

The Government can extend the hours by passage of a motion which will see Parliament sit from 9 am to 1 pm on Wednesday or Thursday morning.

If the Government wishes to extend hours beyond this, it needs to get approval from the Business Committee. The Business Committee consists of:

• The Speaker (Chair)
• The Leader and Deputy Leader of the House
• The ACT Leader, United Future, NZ First and Mana Leaders
• A Green Co-leader
• The Labour and National Senior Whips
• The Maori Party, Green and NZ First Whips
• The Shadow Leader of the House

The Business Committee can only decide something if there is unanimity or near-unanimity which means agreement has been given on behalf of the overwhelming majority of members of Parliament.

The Speaker decides that exact threshold. I would suggest that it requires more than National and Labour agreeing but doesn’t give every small party a veto.

Now the good thing is that the new standing orders are working as intended, and the Business Committee is taking a constructive approach to extending hours when there is a need. They have agreed to extend the House hours this week so the the partiHouse meets Thursday evening and Friday morning until 1 pm. The reason is to progress six Treaty settlement bills through their first and second readings and a couple of omnibus bills.

Each settlement demands legislation, the total number of settlements that Parliament will need to legislate in the coming years is around 60 to settle historical claims (assuming National reach its target of settling claims by 2014). This would represent a large proportion of House time so it makes sense to deal with them in extra hours. This removes the need for urgency, and doesn’t cut into the rest of the House’s programme.

So good to see the parties working together to avoid urgency, but allow the Government to progress its legislative agenda.

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
2. TODD McCLAY to the Minister for Economic Development:What evidence has he seen of businesses having the confidence to invest in large capital projects in New Zealand?
3. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all the answers he gave to Oral Question No 6 yesterday?
4. TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister for Social Development:E pēhea te Minita e mōhio ai kei te piki te ora o ngā tamariki i roto i ngā ringaringa o Child, Youth and Family?
   • Translation: How will she ensure that children are not made more vulnerable than when they went into the care of Child, Youth and Family?
5. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: What is Treasury’s projection for New Zealand’s current account balance for the next four years?
6. NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: What reports has she received about early childhood education enrolments in 2011?
7. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Will he give an assurance that New Zealand’s armed forces will not be used in any possible military intervention in Syria in violation of the United Nations Charter?
8. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Local Government: What reports, if any, has he received on labour costs in the local government sector as compared to central government and the private sector?
9. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Corrections: Does she have confidence in her Chief Executive and his staff?
10. Dr JACKIE BLUE to the Minister for Courts: What initiatives are underway to assist court staff to improve the collection of outstanding fines?
11. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: What advice and reports, if any, has he received about the Rt Hon John Key’s electorate chair Stephen McElrea’s potential conflict of interest in his role as a board member of New Zealand On Air?
12. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What announcements has she made regarding the igovt scheme, and making it easier for people to verify their identities to government agencies?

Today there are five patsies from National, four questions from Labour, one from the Greens, one from the Maori Party and one from NZ First. The  prize for most grovelling patsy question of the day goes  to Q11 - What announcements has she made regarding the igovt scheme, and making it easier for people to verify their identities to government agencies?

Labour are trying on a generic Does PM have confidence in all Ministers question which could mean a scandal unearthed, or well anything. Robertson continues on the Radio Live issue, Parker focuses on the current account deficit and Curran continues at NZ on Air.

The Greens are asking their sole question on Syria. Sigh.

The Maori Party are asking about CYF and Winston has left Whanau Ora and is askign about Corrections.

Maiden speeches for new Green MPs are from 4.15 pm to 6 pm, being List MPs Mojo Mathers, Denise Roche, Julie Anne Genter, Jan Logie, Ste an Browning, Eugenie Sage and Holly Walker.

7.5 hours remaining of the debate.

Government Bills 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm

1. National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill - third reading
2. Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill – committee stage
3. Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – committee stage
4. Medicines Amendment Bill – first reading
5. Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill – committee stage

The National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill was introduced in December 2010 and seeks to to establish a National Animal Identification and Tracing system in New Zealand. It was passed by a voice vote on first reading, and on second reading was supported by all parties except ACT.

The Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill was introduced in October 2010 and seeks to to reform the tax treatment of gains of New Zealand residents from income interests in overseas entities and gains of foreign residents from interests in New Zealand companies. It passed its first and second readings on a voice vote.

The Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill was introduced in September 2010 and seeks to enable border agencies to share information, change the thresholds and processes for administrative and petty offence provisions of the Customs and Excise Act. It passed its first and second reading on voice votes.

The Medicines Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2011 and aims to modernise Medicines Act 1981.

The Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2010 and seeks to ensure that an offence  committed against a Police officer or prison officer acting in the course of his or her duty is taken into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing. It was supported by all parties bar the Maori Party at first reading, and passed second reading on a voice vote. The Government has indicated they will support a Labour amendment to include other emergency service operators in the bill.

Parliament has announced:

• A draft version of speeches made by members of Parliament, called the Draft Transcript, is now published to the Parliament website within 2½ hours of members’ speeches being delivered in the House.
• The final version (subject to minor correction), called the Daily Debates, is now published to the Parliament website debate by debate—you no longer have to wait for the whole of the day’s proceedings to be ready for publishing. When the Daily Debate is published, the Draft Transcript is removed.

This is a great step forward. To be able to see a transcript of speeches within 150 minutes will be very helpful for scrutinizing what MPs say. Combined with the In The House service which gets videos onto You Tube within an hour or so, and we have excellent transparency.

The next step is select committees – eventually I’d like them to be reported to the same detail as the House is. But a first step would be to broadcast the public sessions of select committees and make them available by webcast and on digital TV.

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. JOHN HAYES to the Minister of Finance: What progress is being made in rebalancing New Zealand’s economy towards paying our way in the world?
2. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement made with regard to the revenue from asset sales “I don’t know the exact number that they have in their books today”?
3. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister for Land Information: Did New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with China influence his decision to approve the sale of the Crafar farms to the Shanghai Pengxin Group?
4. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister responsible for Whānau Ora in fulfilling the objectives set out in the Relationship Accord and Confidence and Supply Agreement between his party and the Māori Party dated 11 December 2011?
5. ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Social Development: What reports has she received about proposed welfare reform in other jurisdictions?
6. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “the PM’s Hour” on Radio Live on 30 September 2011 was an “election free zone”; if so, why?
7. Dr CAM CALDER to the Minister of Justice: What are her priorities in regard to bail laws over the coming three years?
8. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he have confidence in The Treasury?
9. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY to the Minister of Health: What is the total cost of legal action spent to date by his Ministry to oppose the claim that family members have the right to be paid to care for adult disabled children?
10. CHARLES CHAUVEL to the Minister of Justice: Do fire-fighters, ambulance officers, and the small number of other types of first responders legally required to attend and assist in accident and emergency situations deserve the same level of legal protection from assault as police and prison officers when they are carrying out their duties; if not, why not?
11. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister for Racing: What announcements has he made relating to safety on racecourses?
12. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: Does he believe that appointing the Rt Hon John Key’s electorate chair Stephen McElrea to the board of NZ On Air was appropriate?

So today there are four patsies from National, five questions from Labour, two from the Greens and one from NZ First. The  prize for most grovelling patsy question of the day goes  to Q11 - What announcements has he made relating to safety on racecourses?

Labour are focusing on asset sales, Radio Live, and NZ on Air. All issues from last week, they are trying to keep alive.

The Greens are asking about the Crafar farms and disabled care giving. The one of the Crafar farms could be interesting as they are trying to tie it into the China FTA, in which case Labour will be the target of their attack, not National.

Winston is on Whanau Ora again, but with a more detailed question to the PM, so he may make better progress today.

Maiden speeches for Labour MPs are from 5 pm to 6 pm, being Dunedin North MP Dr David Clark, List MP Andrew Little, Wigram MP Dr Megan Woods, and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene

10.5 hours remaining of the debate.

Government Bills 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm

1. Road User Charges Bill – third reading (continued)
2. National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill - third reading
3. Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill – committee stage
4. Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – committee stage
5. Medicines Amendment Bill – first reading

The Road User Charges Bill was introduced in November 2010 and seeks to reform the road user charge system for users of diesel vehicles. It was opposed by Labour at first reading but supported at second reading, after select committee hearings.

The National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill was introduced in December 2010 and seeks to to establish a National Animal Identification and Tracing system in New Zealand. It was passed by a voice vote on first reading, and on second reading was supported by all parties except ACT.

The Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill was introduced in October 2010 and seeks to to reform the tax treatment of gains of New Zealand residents from income interests in overseas entities and gains of foreign residents from interests in New Zealand companies. It passed its first and second readings on a voice vote.

The Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill was introduced in September 2010 and seeks to enable border agencies to share information, change the thresholds and processes for administrative and petty offence provisions of the Customs and Excise Act. It passed its first and second reading on voice votes.

The Medicines Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2011 and aims to modernise Medicines Act 1981.

In my Herald column I look at the first week of question time. I praise Winston first:

Winston is back in Parliament, and had a good first week in the House. His chosen issue of wasteful spending under the whanau ora programme is a good one for him (and one I approve of). Labour and Greens are reluctant to go there, as they worry that they may be seen as being against the aims of whanau ora, which is seeking to improve the lives of whanau.

But also note:

There has been a fascinating series of exchanges between the Speaker and Peters. Peters complains that the PM has not answered his question, and the Speaker points out it is totally unreasonable to expect the PM to be able to answer a supplementary question on details of a small grant, when the primary question did not refer to the grant in question. Despite being told this on Tuesday and Wednesday, Peters persisted with this approach, and again on Thursday got the same reply from the PM. If he is smart, he will take the advice of Mr Speaker, and start providing details of the alleged wasteful spending in the primary question. But maybe secrecy is so ingrained with him, he can’t bear to reveal his target in advance.

I also look at the Greens and Labour.

Former ACT MP Heather Roy used to include in her weekly newsletter a list of upcoming bills likely to be voted on.

Each bill would have a large tick or a cross next to it, to indicate how ACT planned to vote on it, along with a sentence or two explaining why.

It strikes me that this would be a good feature on Red Alert. The Whips could do it after caucus every Tuesday, and it would let people know which bills are non-controversial and which ones are contentious. It would also let Labour indicate briefly why they are voting for or against, and maybe even highlight the aspects they want changed (if appropriate).

Ideally all parties in Parliament should do this – to be open and transparent on which bills they plan to support or oppose, and why. Maybe Frog Blog could do it also?

The quarterly disclosures are out for MPs and Ministers.

Top Ministers in terms of internal costs were:

1. PM $121,884
2. Judith Collins $74,138
3. Pita Sharples $72,473
4. Steven Joyce $62,223
5. Tariana Turia $57,260

Worth remembering that expenses are to some degree a reflection of activity and location. Also affected by whether their ministerial home is owned or rented.

Total ministerial expenses for Q4 2011 were $1.16m plus $0.32m overseas travel for $1.48m. The year before in Q4 2010 it was $1.13m plus $0.86m overseas travel for $1.99m total. Obviously with the election, less travel.

Top MPs were:

1. Hone Harawira $54,961
2. Phil Goff $32,566
3. Rahui Katene $29,436
4. Kevin Hague $28,763
5. David Cunliffe $28,040

The total MPs expenses for the quarter were $3.15m. For Q4 2010, it was $1.80m. I guess the election saw a lot of taxpayer funded travel.

Danya Levy at Stuff reports:

Opposition parties are outraged National is using the members’ bill ballot to advance laws updating old statutes which could be put through Parliament as government legislation.

Oh what a beat up by Labour and NZ First. Almost every members’ bill ever put up by a Government MP could be put through as government legislation in theory. But it is good for backbench MPs to gain experience of being in charge of a bill, and more importantly often law reform can occur quicker through the members ballot.

Labour and NZ First say their democratic right to progress their own legislation is being hampered by frivolous legislation.

The irony, after Labour fucked over the Greens and all other opposition MPs in 2008 2011 by fillibustering the VSM bill all year blocking all other members legislation. The hypocrisy as always is immense.

I mean Labour even fucked over their own private bill on behalf of the Royal Society of NZ, with their filibustering. Again, what effing hypocrites.

And Labour and NZ First are effectively arguing that National backbench MPs should not have the democratic right to enter bills into the members ballot. They are just sour because a National MP won one of the two spots.

Let us look at how many members (not Ministers) had bills in the last ballot from each party.

• National just 9 bills from 35 backbench MPs
• Labour had 15 bills from 34 MPs – so not even half their MPs bothered to submit a bill and they complain they are not winning the ballot
• Greens had 14 bills from 14 MPs – excellent
• NZ First had 1 bill from 8 MPs – again what hypocrisy complaining when someone else wins
• Maori Party – 1 bill from 1 backbench MP
• Mana Party – no bills from 1 MP

So maybe Labour and NZ First would be better spent submitting more bills to the ballot, rather than whining that National MPs are entering in bills they don’t like.

A member’s bill by National’s new MP for Tamaki Simon O’Connor was one of two to be drawn from the ballot yesterday.

The Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill seeks to abolish a 1964 law protecting the family home.

O’Connor said the Law Commission recommended scrapping the old law which “afforded the family home protection against the winds of financial adversity” because it was unused as the same protections were afforded in more recent legislation.

Asked why he had taken up the cause, O’Connor said there was a number of bills the Government had suggested its MPs look at adopting in their names.

“This one was suggested to me and I was happy to put my name to it.”

This has been the practice for Government MPs for as long as I can recall. Not all members bills are like this, but many are. In this particular case, this bill has been on the ballot for around two years – previously under the name of Jo Goodhew.

The Law Commission actually recommended in 2001 (off memory) that this law be repealed. The reality is that it is highly unlikely to ever be deemed a high enough priority by Cabinet to be given legislative priority. Hence a members bill means the law actually gets repealed.

Note again – the law was recommended for repeal in 2001.

Labour’s shadow leader of the House, Trevor Mallard, said it was “outrageous”.

“That sort of bill can be progressed through a statutes amendment bill or omnibus bill, where there is no argument about it.”

It was an unnecessary use of parliamentary time to do something that would have happened anyway, he said.

A simple question then. Why did Labour not repeal the law in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008?

“Someone who just signs on the dotted line to introduce legislation is effectively saying ‘at the moment there’s nothing more important in my electorate that this’.

“I feel quite sad for him.”

Trevor shows how he is a dinosaur of the past, who should stay there. First of all List MPs get to submit members bills also. Secondly, Very few members bills relate to an MPs electorate.

NZ First leader Winston Peters said it was an inappropriate use of the members’ bill process.

“This is just a device where (National) has used private members’ facilities to prosecute government policy.”

It blocked up the ballot, which limits MPs to one bill each, by increasing the number of National bills.

This comes from the leader of the party who submitted only one bill out of 8 MPs. Stop being a whining loser and go submit more bills into the next ballot if you want to improve your chances of winning.

Think if National adopted Labour’s tactics? They could filibuster a members’ bill all year long, so there are no more members ballots in 2012. That would really give them something to complain about. Yet, it would be exactly what Labour did in 2008 2011.

Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm

1. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement in the House yesterday, in answer to Oral Question No 2, that his Government is selling assets because “New Zealanders want less debt, more productive assets, and an economy that is going to function, not a load more debt”?
2. PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Economic Development: What progress is the Government making in implementing its economic growth agenda?
3. PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Transport: Does the Government consider it important for its transport spending to be cost-effective and provide a good return on investment?
4. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: What, according to the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit, was the average total shareholder return of Genesis, Meridian, Mighty River Power and Solid Energy over the last five years and how does that compare to the average cost of borrowing to the Government right now?
5. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Local Government: What reports has he received on how much rates increased nationally in the decade since the Local Government Act 2002 and how does this compare to the previous decade?
6. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister for the Environment: Does he stand by his statement made in the House yesterday in relation to the grounding of the Rena that “the statute sets down very clearly that I as Minister for the Environment should not be encouraging or discouraging a proper, independent decision by Environment Bay of Plenty as to whether they should or should not take a prosecution”?
7. KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI to the Minister of Broadcasting: What recent announcements has the Government made on progress towards digital switchover?
8. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he still have confidence in all his Ministers?
9. Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: How many written comments were received on the draft Recovery Plan for the Christchurch CBD and is it his intention to consider them all before making a decision on the draft Recovery Plan for the CBD, in accordance with the process set out on the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s website?
10. MELISSA LEE to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What recent steps have there been to promote New Zealand citizenship as a successful settlement pathway for migrants?
11. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: Does he stand by the Prime Minister’s statement in relation to the appointment of the Prime Minister’s electorate chairman Stephen McElrea to the NZ On Air board that “if you look at the vast array of appointments we make, I think the balance is about right”?
12. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY to the Minister of Education: Will she rule out implementing Treasury’s advice to increase class sizes in schools?

Address in Reply Debate 3 pm – 6 pm 

Includes NZ First MP maiden speeches

Government Bills 7.30 pm – 10 pm

1. National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill Third reading
2. Road User Charges Bill Third reading
3. Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill Interrupted debate on second reading
4. Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill First reading
5. Consumer Law Reform Bill First reading

Again nothing terribly exciting. However No 6 on the order paper is the second reading of the Search and Surveillance Bill, which has lots to get excited about. I doubt they will get to it until next week though.

I’ll generally list the next five bills on the order paper. This does not indicate that I think they will get through five bills per day. That would be quite rare. However they did get through three bills yesterday, and part-way through a fourth.

Thanks to the Whips Office for a schedule of maiden speeches. Generally maiden and valedictory speeches are amongst the best in Parliament as you get to hear what motivates MPs, and their backgrounds. One can tune into them on Parliament TV.

The schedule at present is:

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Tracey Martin 4.30 pm
Andrew Williams 4.45 pm
Richard Prosser 5.00 pm
Brendan Horan 5.15 pm
Denis O’Rourke 5.30 pm
Asenati Lole-Taylor 5.45 pm

Thursday, 9 February 2011

Mike Sabin 5.45 pm

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Labour Party members (David Clark, Andrew Little, Rino Tirikatene, Megan Woods) from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Green Party members (Steffan Browning, Julie Anne Genter, Jan Logie, Mojo Mathers, Denise Roche, Eugenie Sage, Holly Walker) from 4.15 pm to 6.00 pm

Thursday, 16 February 2012

National Party members (Maggie Barry, Ian McKelvie, Mark Mitchell, Simon O’Connor, Scott Simpson, Jian Yang) from 4.00 pm

1. SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: What are the Government’s priorities for the economy in its second term?
2. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “National will deliver a strong, stable government – and build a stronger economy with less debt and more jobs”?
3. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: What steps, if any, has he taken to ensure that should the Government sell 49 percent of Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy, “New Zealand investors will be at the front of the queue for shareholding, and that there will be widespread and substantial New Zealand share ownership”?
4. NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: What reports has she received on the 2011 NCEA results?
5. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
6. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister for the Environment:What is the estimated total cost for the clean up after the grounding of the Rena?
7. PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister for Social Development: What progress has been made on the Government’s Green Paper for vulnerable children?
8. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the decisions of all of his Ministers who were involved in the process for the sale of the Crafar farms?
9. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister for Primary Industries: What is the purpose of the Government’s recently announced proposed changes to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001?
10. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What has the Government publicly said in response to the attack by Syrian forces on its own citizens in Homs, and how does it see the crisis there being resolved?
11. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Has she read the Children’s Commissioner’s newsletter Children and poverty: moving beyond rhetoric?
12. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Customs: What recent reports has he received about SmartGate?

So we have five patsies from National.  Labour have four questions – Shearer, Robertson, Parker and Ardern – their “top four”. Shearer focusing on the economy (sensible), Robertson on the Rena, Parker on the Crafar farms and Jacinda on child poverty. The crafar question likely to be the most vigorous.

The Greens have two questions – on SOE part-sales and Syria. God knows why they are wasting a question on Syria (it is an important issue, but our influence is zero on it).

The 12th question is NZ First and of course asked by Winston. His is the general do you have confidence in all your Ministers which can go anywhere. He may have an alleged scandal to drop, but more likely will focus on the Maori Party Ministers and National.

After question time, the address in reply debate continues for another 16 hours. If the House adjourns it, then the the top five bills on the order paper are:

1. National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill Committee stage
2. Road User Charges Bill Committee stage
3. Electronic Identity Verification Bill First reading
4. Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill Second reading
5. Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill  First Reading

Nothing terribly exciting there off memory.

Vernon Small at Stuff reports:

Labour is slashing its parliamentary staff numbers, after its poor election result sliced an estimated $700,000 off its funding.

As part of the cost-cutting the number of press secretaries working for the 34 MPs has been cut from five to three; one fewer than the press team that works exclusively for Prime Minister John Key.

There will also be likely job losses in other areas, but these are yet to be finalised, as Labour looks for savings to cover what is understood to be a 20 per cent fall in funding from $3.5m before the election to about $2.8m now.

My sympathies go out to those who lose their jobs. One of the things I hated about working at Parliament was seeing some good friends lose their jobs after elections or leadership changes.

I’ve run the numbers through Excel to calculate funding changes. Each party gets funded a certain amount for its leaders office and research unit. This is based on how many MPs you have, and how many are not Ministers. I call this the central funding.

Also each MP gets individual funding depending on if they are an electorate MP, List MP, or their electorate is over a certain size. The current funding is:

• Leadership – $100,000/party and $64,320/MP
• Party/Research – $22,000/MP not in the Executive
• MP – $105,192/seat over 20k sq kms or if Maori seat over 10k sq kms
• MP – $64,260/other electorate seats
• MP – $40,932/List MP

In theory the MPs funding is for them to spend, but in reality the party leadership can also direct how that is spent, and it can all be pooled together. So for example Trevor Mallard can exceed his $64,260 if the Labour Leadership agree to cover it, but vice versa if Trevor spends say $20,000 under his budget then that Labour Leadership can spend it on say policy brochures or staff.

The total funding per party (including MPs funding) is:

• National $7,166,76o (was $6,957,704)
• Labour $5,103,512 (was 6,061,724)
• Greens $1,881,016 (was $1,245,268)
• NZ First $1,118,016
• Maori $504,965 (was $724,260)
• Mana $291,512
• ACT $186,260 (was $630,948)
• United Future $186,260 (was $186,260)
• Total $16,438,812 (was $16,056,744)

That’s a $950,000 drop for Labour, which does hurt. Greens gain $650,000 and NZ First gains $1.1m.

The average funding per MP can be interesting:

1. Mana $291,512
2. ACT/United $186,260
3. Maori $168,321
4. Labour 150,103
5. NZ First $139,752
6. Greens $134,395
7. National $121,471

National is lower as there is no leadership funding for MPs who are Ministers. Mana does very nicely thank you very much.

Note that while political staff are hired out of the funding, each MP is also entitled to two (list) or three (electorate) executive assistants to work in their parliamentary and out of parliament offices.

Parliament Today reports on the Select Committees established by the House. Always interesting to see which ones have a Government majority.

• Commerce – Nat 5/9 – Nat majority
• Education & Science – Nat 5/10 – tied
• Finance & Expenditure – Nat 6/11 – Nat majority
• Foreign Affairs – Nat 4/7 – Nat majority
• Govt Admin – Nat 3/6 – tied
• Health – Nat 5/10 – tied
• Justice & Electoral – Nat 5/9 – Nat majority
• Law & Order – Nat 5/9 – Nat majority
• Local Govt & Environment – Nat 6/12 – tied
• Maori Affairs – Nat 5/12, Nat+Maori 6/12 – National minority, Govt tied
• Primary Production – Nat 4/7 – Nat majority
• Regulations Review – Nat 3/5 – Nat majority
• Social Services – Nat 6/11 – Nat majority
• Transport & Industrial Relations – Nat 5/9 – Nat majority

From a Government point of view, these are much tidier than in the previous Government. Only one committee can pass things against National’s will, and that is Maori Affairs. Four further committees are tied (if all opposition parties vote together) and nine committees have a clear majority.

• Sat 10 Dec – Publication of final results
• Sun 11 Dec – confidence and supply agreement with Maori Party, confirmation of majority
• Mon 12 Dec – PM announces Ministers and portfolios
• Tue 13 Dec – Labour elects Leader and Deputy (and maybe Whips)
• Wed 14 Dec – PM and Ministers sworn in and warranted by Governor-General and 1st Cabinet meeting
• Tue 20 Dec – 50th Parliament convenes for swearing in of MPs and election of Speaker
• Wed 21 Dec – Speech from the Throne

The Herald did a story yesterday based on my analysis, and said it showed there was little diversity in Parliament and the average MP was a straight, European man from the North Island aged in his 50s.

In fact only 10% of MPs are straight, European men from the North Island aged in his 50s. Five average characteristics do not make one overall average.

With the exception of gender, I think Parliament does quite well on the diversity stakes, as is shown above. I have excluded age from this comparison as I don’t think anyone really thinks that Parliament should have 21 MPs aged in their 20s and 20 MPs aged over 65.

Note the comparisons are to the adult (15+ or 18+) population.

On gender, there is a serious imbalance. Later on, we’ll look at the breakdown by party.

Ethnicity is very interesting. Maori are the most over-represented ethnicity followed by European. Pacific are slightly under-repreented and it is Asian New Zealanders who are the most under-represented.

Geographically Auckland and provincial cities are pretty spot on. However Wellington and Christchurch are over-represented at the expense of those who live outside a city.

The North Island v South Island balance is almost spot on.

The number of gay/lesbian MPs is also pretty proportional. There is no definite prevalance rate for gay and lesbian adults, but 5% is generally regarded as in the ballpark. In times past 10% was often cited, but this is now thought to be too high.

So as I said overall, I think Parliament does quite well on the diversity front. Now let us look at the breakdowns for the four main parties.

In terms of gender, the Greens are broadly balanced (their rules require it), Labour and NZ First have a 2:1 ratio for men to women and National a 3:1 ratio. National does need to select more women in winnable seats or in winnable list spots.

13% of the adult population is Maori, and 10% of National’s caucus if of Maori descent, 18% of Labour’s and around a quarter of the Greens and NZ First.

5% of National’s caucus is Asian, as is 3% of Labour’s. No Green or NZ First Asian MPs.

9% of Labour’s caucus are Pacific, 13% of NZ First’s and 3% of National’s.

In terms of geography, NZ First is very Auckland dominated, and the Greens relatively light.

Labour and the Greens both have heavy Wellington biases with three times as many MPs from Wellington, as you would expect from the population. Conversely NZ First has no Wellington MPs and National only 5% from Wellington.

The Greens do badly in provincial cities. In rural areas (outside cities), National is the only party with proportional representation. Labour and NZ First have less than half what the population share is.

Based on island, the Greens are out of kilter with only 62% in the North Island where 74% of the population live.

By sexuality, National’s rainbow representation is just 2%, Labour’s is 12% and the Greens at 15%. NZ First have none (known).

Finally, there are some interesting age patterns. National’s most common age is in the 40s. Labour’s most common is 50s, Greens also 50s and NZ First 60s. Labour have a lot in the 30s also.In terms of median ages it looks like NZ First is the oldest and Greens the youngest.

I’ve done an initial analysis of the demographics of the 50th New Zealand Parliament. This is based on initial results and is assuming Brendon Burns retains Christchurch Central, and hence Raymond Huo is not elected. I can update for final results.

The information is taken from public sources. Sometimes I have had to guess an age, where it is not documented. Happy to update with any corrections, if any details are wrong. Sexuality is of course based purely on public status. Only those who are openly gay or lesbian are classified as such, and all others are classified “straight”.

Gender

• 83 Males, 69%
• 38 Females, 31%

Ethnicity

• 90 European, 74%
• 21 Maori, 17%
• 6 Pacific, 5%
• 4 Asian, 3%

Age

• 2 20s, 2%
• 14 30s, 12%
• 37 40s, 31%
• 48 50s, 40%
• 19 60s, 16%
• 1 70s, 1%

Area

• 41 Auckland, 34%
• 16 Wellington, 13%
• 14 Christchurch, 12%
• 22 Provincial Cities, 18%
• 28 Rural, 23%

Islands

• 90 North Island, 74%
• 31 South Island, 26%

Sexuality

• 114 “Straight”, 94%
• 4 Gay, 3%
• 3 Lesbian, 2%

I was disappointed the number of women in Parliament has dropped. But apart from that, overall Parliament looks pretty diverse and not too distant from what NZ as a whole is.

UPDATE: Two minor errors corrected.

The Standing Orders Committee has just reported back a review of the standing orders that govern Parliament. This are of interest to few people, but are highly important. They are the rules of our Parliament.

The full report is 110 pages. I’ve yet to read it all, but on first browse it looks to include some significant enhancement. I hope the House and the Government adopt the recommendations. A brief summary include:

• The Clerk to record and publish attendance of MPs
• A new form of legislation called a revision bill that has no debate at first and third reading but does have a select committee hearing and a second reading debate
• an inquiry into how Parliament should respond to future national emergencies
• the ability to deduce an MPs pay if they are suspended from the House
• an extension of privilege to include broadcasting of the House etc
• A Bill of Rights analysis to be supplied not just at first reading but also for substantive SOPs amending bills. This is something I have advocated several times.
• Provision for extended sitting hours without going into urgency by sitting on either a Wednesday or Thursday morning, if necessary. Again something I have strongly advocated, as it should reduce the need for urgency so much.
• Also provision for extended sitting hours on a Thursday evening and Friday morning, but only if the Business Committee agrees, which means basically the Opposition consents to it.
• Ministers moving urgency in future will need to state the reason for the urgency. Good.
• Uncorrected transcripts of Parliament to be placed on website within three hours. Excellent initiative.
• Clark’s Office working towards a public fully searchable database of text and video of Parliament. This will replace the printed weekly Hansard.
• An MP not giving the correct oath will be required by standing orders to immediately withdraw from the House. They also note that most of the committee support a review of the oath. I agree with both clamping down on improper oaths, but also changing the oath.
• Business Committee determinations to be published on the Parliament website. These proposals give a lot more power to the Business Committee, so this is good. The BC needs near-unanimous consent to make decisions, so it is about encouraging parties to work together more.
• A requirement for an MP intending to talk about an issue before the courts to notify the Speaker in advance
• Proposed members bills will now be recognised before they are drawn from the ballot, and be available of the Parliament website, which may help the MP proposing it to gain support for it. Sensible.

There are some areas where they could have gone further, but overall I think the proposals would make Parliament significantly better, and I hope that they are adopted.

A large number of MPs elected in 2008 are retiring at the 2011 election, or have already retired. By party I make it:

ACT

• David Garrett (left 2010)
• Roger Douglas
• Rodney Hide
• Heather Roy
• Hilary Calvert

Greens

• Jeanette Fitzsimons (left 2010)
• Sue Bradford (left 2009)
• Sue Kedgley
• Keith Locke

Labour

• Helen Clark (left 2009)
• Michael Cullen (left 2009)
• Winnie Laban (left 2010
• Darren Hughes (left 2011)
• Ashraf Choudhary
• George Hawkins
• Pete Hodgson
• Lynne Pillay
• Mita Ririnui

National

• Richard Worth (left 2009)
• Pansy Wong (left 2011)
• John Carter (left 2011)
• Sandra Goudie
• Wayne Mapp
• Simon Power
• Georgina te Heuheu

Progressive

• Jim Anderton

So that is 25 MPs elected at 2008 and one MP who came in in 2010, who will not be standing in the 2011 election.

On top of that a number of incumbent MPs may fail to be re-elected, so the turnover may increase even more.

Can you name this future MP? A hint – the photo is only a few years old!