Today is the first member’s day since budget day on May 30 and the bill that everyone has been waiting for (or trying to delay) a second reading of will finally be back in the chamber.
That’s David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill.
But that will be the dessert course today and there are a number of other things to plough through first.
Question Time - 2pm
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford answers a question in the House Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
The most popular (and loudest) event at Parliament is Questions for Oral Answer (a.k.a. Question Time). Maybe it’s the rapid volleys of quips and retorts or maybe only because it’s over quickly.
Usually lasting about an hour Question Time consists of 12 oral questions to Ministers which are lodged in the morning. Opposition questions will try to show Government failings while questions from MPs on the government side are usually softer so a Minister can boast a bit.
Supplementary questions (follow-ups) are usual but at the discretion of the Speaker who can award or remove them as they like.
Watch it live on Parliament's website here.
Taupatupatu Whānui - The General Debate 3pm(ish)
Leader of the National Party Simon Bridges during the general debate. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
What:
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Twelve speeches of up to five minutes in length. Bigger parties get more speeches.
Why:
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The general debate is so MPs can bring up issues that specific debates on legislation don’t cover, making it a wide-ranging debate. Sometimes each party coordinates their talking points but they don’t have to. There’s fewer rules generally and it can be both raucous and entertaining.
Members’ Day 4pm(ish) - 10pm
Photo: Supplied / Office of the Clerk
On alternate Wednesdays, the bills debated are local, or private or member’s bills (by MPs who are not ministers). Members’ bills get a shorter first debate, so quite a few can get rattled through. Unlike government bills there’s often suspense as to whether these bills will survive or be voted down. Many of NZ’s most culturally significant changes have come from a member’s bill. Oh, and no-one ‘decides’ which members bills will get debated. They are selected from a ballot, and debated in order, furthest progressed goes first, newest last.
The bills up for debate today are:
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Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill - Third reading. This bill relates to contracts for people contracted by one organisation but managed by another.
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KiwiSaver (Foster Parents Opting in for Children in their Care) Amendment Bill - Second reading cont’d. A bill title change has been recommended for this one.
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End of Life Choice Bill - Second reading. This is the bill that has thousands of people on the edge of their seats. It creates a mechanism that would enable terminally ill people to choose to legally end their lives. There will be extra speeches allowed for this: eight speeches of up to 10 minutes in length and 12 speeches of 5 minutes.
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Companies (Clarification of Dividend Rules in Companies) Amendment Bill - Second reading debate which will consist of 12 speeches of up to 10 minutes in length.
House adjourns - 10pm
The House sits from 2pm on scheduled sitting days with a dinner break at 6pm until 7:30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It then resumes sitting until 10pm.
You can see how much the House gets done each sitting day by going here: Daily progress in the House
Photo: New Zealand Parliament
