Even in a sitting block of only one week a lot goes on in Parliament, this one just finished having its share of surprises, routine stuff and signs of a changing culture around scrutiny at committee level.
So much lawmaking has happened in a short time this year at Parliament that it's possible for us to forget some of the huge amount of legislation passed under urgency in recent months. The four week sitting block across February and March, the first since 2018, may have finally done our heads in. But whether for long or short blocks, The House is here to help. Here's a wrap of our week's episodes in the audio available below:
There was some surprise support from the opposite side of the chamber for Green MP Teanau Tuiono's Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill as it passed its first reading, 10 April 2024. Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
At Parliament, some of the most interesting and unexpected debates occur on Members’ Days. Those alternate Wednesdays when the House debates bills put forward by backbenchers - rather than ministers from the government. There was genuine surprise when the ACT and New Zealand First parties voted for Green Party MP Tuiono's Member's Bill at its first reading. Meanwhile, a fascinating debate illuminating philosphical divides in the Parliament during the first reading of soon-to-retire Green MP James Shaw's Member's Bill seeking to amend the Bill of Rights Act 1990 to provide for the right to a sustainable environment.
Among the list of submitters and subjects for this week’s select committee hearings at Parliament, the Auditor-General’s office featured often. The Auditor-General is one of the three Officers of Parliament, entities who have a particular job to hold the government to account. The Auditor-General has a busy working relationship with Parliament that is set to deepen with the new provisions for extra scrutiny of government that stem from the last Parliament's Standing Orders review.
The Speaker has begun steering ministerial answers away from outright attacks on the previous government, and towards answers. Of course this is something the previous government also did. The road to positivity for new governments is long and difficult. But this week's Question Time exchanges found Gerry Brownlee inviting MPs asking questions to experience "a think-on-your-feet moment".
Also this week, first readings and referral to the Māori Affairs Committee of Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill and Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill, while the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill was read a second time.
