The Week In Parliament for 8 May 2016
Opposition parties combine to give Labour's Healthy Homes Guarantee bill a first reading by 61 votes to 60. Minor parties honour formal agreements to vote with John Key's National government on issues of confidence and money supply, ending the Annual Review Debate by passing the Appropriation 2014-15 Bill by 63 to 58. But United Future's Peter Dunne votes against the Environment Canterbury transitional governance bill while the Maori Party crosses back to rejoin National and ACT. Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee reports on the TPPA, opening the way for debate in the chamber. Opposition uses questions to try to link the prime minister and his lawyer to IRD's decision not to proceed with an inquiry into foreign-owned trusts. Speaker and opposition clash over the length of questions and answers, New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, and his transport spokesman, Denis O'Rourke, ordered out of chamber. Former MPs Chris Laidlaw & Stephen Franks express opposing views on the Government's Resource Legislation Amendment Bill. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright also makes a submission on that bill to the Local Government and Environment Committee.
