Urgent Debates Declined — Lebanon—Recent Developments

I have received a letter from Keith Locke seeking an urgent debate on recent developments in Lebanon, the efforts being made to evacuate New Zealanders from Lebanon, and the impact of the unrest in Lebanon on the New Zealand economy. An application for an urgent debate must identify a particular case of recent occurrence that involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government. A request to the British Government that it include New Zealanders in its evacuation planning does involve ministerial responsibility, but such a request does not in itself give grounds for an urgent debate. I remind members that in lodging an urgent debate application they must be specific about the particular matter they wish to have debated and that the matter must involve ministerial responsibility.