Yes to public attendance records for Parliament

The Post reports:

Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee is eyeing a tightening of attendance and dress standards in Parliament, following new te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara’s maiden speech which ended with Parliament suspended for disorder. …

Brownlee said he intended to go to Parliament’s Business Committee on changes to Parliament’s attendance records, dress standards and leave provisions.

I am all in favour of this. As I understand it, there is already a record of attendance. However they are not made public and Parliament doesn’t come under the OIA.

MPs do come and go from the House during the day, so one can’t have a record of who is in attendance for every minute. And in fact, you don’t want all 120 MPs in the House for every bill.

However question time is a key aspect of the House where Ministers are held to account. I think a public attendance record for question time would be a useful accountability tool.

If particular MPs or even entire parties simply never turn up to the House, we have a right to know.