Business Statement

Next week in the House, priority will be given to the Appropriation (2004/05 Financial Review) Bill, the remaining stages of the Judicature Amendment Bill (No 3), the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, the Criminal Procedures Bill, the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting Amendment Bill, and the first reading of the Local Government Law Reform Bill.

As previously indicated, the third reading of the New Zealand Sign Language Bill is set down for Thursday. I understand there may be a Privileges Committee report available for debate that day, and as it would normally take priority I will be discussing with the other parties the seeking of leave to ensure that the New Zealand Sign Language Bill is taken first. There should be time on Thursday to deal both with that bill and with the Privileges Committee report. On Thursday the House will sit at the ringing of the bell due to the official luncheon in honour of His Excellency Mr Wen Jiabao, Premier of the People’s Republic of China.

I am not sure whether I heard correctly, but did the Leader of the House indicate that the Privileges Committee report would be dealt with by the House next Thursday?

My understanding is that the report will be tabled on Wednesday. If that is the case, then under the Standing Orders it takes priority as the first item of business on Thursday. As the member will be aware, the Business Committee has already set down the New Zealand Sign Language Bill for Thursday, and people will be coming to the House for that occasion. So if that is the case, I will be talking with the parties about whether we could take the Privileges Committee report after the New Zealand Sign Language Bill. I am not expecting that the luncheon will delay the start of the House too much on Thursday next week.

Could the Leader of the House indicate to us whether, if we were to agree to those proposals, he would also seek leave for the House to continue its business until the report of the Privileges Committee was fully debated. So, rather than breaking on Thursday at 6 o’clock—if it comes to that, and it may well do—we would continue to debate the report through to its closure, in order that the debate on a Privileges Committee report is not broken by a 3-week adjournment.

I will consider that matter, but we will just work through the timetable. I doubt, for example, that the New Zealand Sign Language Bill will take the full 2 hours of debate, given the experience of that bill so far in the House.