It was a frantic week in the corridors of Parliament, with press-conferences and stake-outs. There was also a lot of action inside the chamber. But the media and the public's attention was elsewhere.
On Tuesday during Question Time David Parker summed up the situation in answering a question from Johnathan Young about gas supplies.
"I suspect I could say 'Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.' today and it wouldn't be reported, but I know that the Speaker wouldn't approve of that and I like to take questions seriously."
David Parker in the House in late 2017. Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
While the corridors of Parliament thrummed with intrigue over the Jami-Lee Ross and Simon Bridges affair, there was a whole separate world quietly going on behind it.
Even when the debating chamber got testy it was unheeded.
During Wednesday morning's extended sitting Assistant Speaker Adrian Rurawhe threw ACT leader David Seymour out of the chamber for refusing to follow instructions. He even threatened to "name" him, a very serious matter - but it passed without notice.
And there was a lot happening inside the chamber. Parliament powered through business like the Little Engine that Could - and even spent an extra morning (Wednesday) debating to get more done.
Among the bills that got consideration this week were a number you might want to know about.
- The Commerce Amendment Bill got a second reading, ending the slow part of a bill’s life (Select Committee hearings), and so is now potentially just days away from becoming law. The law introduces a competition studies regime, increases regulation of airports if required, and updates the alternative enforcement mechanisms available to the Commerce Commission. This is the law that the Government has said it will first use to investigate petrol prices.
- The Equal Pay Amendment Bill got a first debate and headed off to Select Committee. So they’ll be asking for public feedback on that soon - ready your pens. It clarifies how a pay claim can become a gender related equal pay claim and provides a process for parties to bargain with each other directly.
- The Education Amendment Bill slogged its way through the Committee of the Whole House - where the opposition can slow it to a crawl - and then the very next day also achieved a third and final reading. So it now only requires the royal assent. Among other things this bill officially ends National Standards.
- Also, the House began the progress of the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill which plans to make big changes to the oversight of justice outcomes in New Zealand. It will create a new independent body called the Criminal Cases Review Commission with the job of reviewing both convictions and sentences and deciding whether to refer them to the appeal court.
- The CPTPP passed its second debate. That's the bill enabling the trade agreement that used to be the TPPA before the USA dropped out.
See how much can happen when you're not watching? And that's not all. On Wednesday there was a Members Day and one bill with strong public interest re-entered the House after languishing in Select Committee for more than a year.
The Consumers' Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill has been around for a while. It is now in the name of Green MP Gareth Hughes (who I think might be the third Green MP with their name on a version of it). The Bill was introduced in the name of Steffan Browning who is no longer an MP.
Steffan Browning (whose food labeling bill has lived on beyond him) delivering his valedictory address to Parliament in 2017. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
The debate on Wednesday night was over an radically different bill to the one the House sent to Select Committee last April. The purpose of a Select Committee in the life of a bill is to ask for public and official advice to help them make it the best written law it can - whether they agree with it or not.
Select Committee’s often propose amendments to bills, sometimes quite a lot of amendments. This time they pretty much rewrote the bill from scratch. Food origin labeling turns out to be a tricky beast and finding a good way to do it has taken a lot of thought.
The bill came back with support from across Parliament and now looks almost certain to become law sometime soon. Get those labels ready.
