Members Sworn

Ko ahau ko Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira, ka ōati kia piripono me te tino āmene atu ki te Tiriti o Waitangi; kia pono, kia aro nui aku mahi kia ahu whakamua ai ngā tika o ngā iwi o Te Tai Tokerau; kia whakapaua e ahau aku kaha—

[I, Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira, swear to be loyal to the Treaty of Waitangi and to concur with it; that my work be valid and highly focused on advancing the rights of the Northland tribes; that I expend my efforts—]

That is not the affirmation required by law. Hone Harawira will now leave the Chamber, and return to this Chamber on a sitting day when he is prepared to make his affirmation according to the law of this land. Hone Harawira will now leave the Chamber. [Interruption] The member will now leave the Chamber.

Hone Harawira withdrew from the Chamber.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: I ask visitors, please, to respect this Parliament. I ask visitors, please, to respect this House.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Sorry—does Trevor Mallard want to complete his point of order?

💬 Hon TREVOR MALLARD: My point of order was to seek the leave of the House in order for Hone Harawira to make another attempt at taking the oath of the House, so that he could represent his people. It appears that that is not universally supported.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Does the Hon Bill English wish to speak?

Just speaking to the point of order, the Chamber has the right to control its proceedings. You, Mr Speaker, are our representative. Changes in the proceedings are generally accepted by the Chamber when permission is granted, and I think it is important the Chamber support you in asserting your authority. If people choose to disregard your authority, then they lose the privilege of coming into this Chamber, which is representative of the people of New Zealand—a privilege not to be taken lightly.

I thank honourable members for their constructive points of order. Members, so that you are aware, what has taken place is Hone Harawira was advised prior to his taking the affirmation that the law of New Zealand, of this country, required the affirmation to be taken in a certain way. Our Standing Order 12(e) makes it clear that members must “take the oath or make the affirmation required by law”. The Oaths and Declarations Act of 1957 provides for the making of an affirmation in te reo Māori in a form set out in the regulations made pursuant to section 30A—the Oaths and Declarations (Māori Language) Regulations of 2004. So, members, I want you to be aware that, as Speaker, I did not make this decision lightly. There has been a tendency in recent times to abuse our law. It is not just a custom in this House; it is the law of this country. Hone Harawira was advised of the need to comply with the law. He chose not to.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. When I made my affirmation, I was asked to repeat it—I was given that opportunity—because I also had mentioned Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I am not sure why that was not allowed in this case.

The member raises a perfectly reasonable point of order. The practice that the member herself admits to doing is actually breaking the law. For members to set that kind of example in this place is unacceptable. We must all remember that we, as members, are not above the law. Had I not made it clear to Hone Harawira prior to his seeking to make his affirmation, I would not have taken this course of action. But the law was made very clear to Hone Harawira. He is welcome to come back, on the next sitting day of the House, when he is prepared to make his affirmation in accordance with the law.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is in relation to this afternoon’s events. I suspect that the relevant Standing Order is Standing Order 80(1): “The Speaker maintains order and decorum in the House.” During the events that have just occurred, you attempted on two occasions to control what was going on in the gallery. That interruption continued, and your interventions were ignored. I want to know what redress you now have, on behalf of the House, to ensure that this sort of activity does not continue. The reason I raise the point is that, in effect, what has occurred has been a defiance of your authority as Speaker, and a defiance, therefore, of the privileges of this Chamber. I do not think it is a good sign to allow that to go unremarked upon.

If it is all right, I will make the comment that I was going to make otherwise, and that was that I did attempt to take the call in order to seek leave, in fact, for Mr Harawira to take the affirmation again now. That, of course, was interrupted, and in the circumstances I will not proceed with it today. I think it is also fair to say that I have more experience than any other member in what happens to people who interrupt the proceedings of Parliament from the gallery. I served time in Wellington Central Police Station, and spent time in the then Magistrate’s Court, I think, and the High Court of New Zealand, as a result of it. I do want to reinforce—on that particular occasion it was a matter of principle, as far as I was concerned—that the Speaker’s right to make instructions asking people not to interrupt the House is one that is clear in both the rules of this Parliament and the law of the land.

I seek leave for Mr Hone Harawira to be given another opportunity now to take the affirmation.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is objection.

I appreciate the point made by the Hon Peter Dunne. I appreciate it very much, because it is a very serious matter when members of the public disobey the orders of the Speaker in this place. The Speaker must be obeyed in this place. I regretted very much interrupting a waiata. A waiata is such a fundamental part of the culture of this country, and I regretted very much having to seek to interrupt a waiata, but, in the circumstances, abuse of the law of this country cannot be celebrated, either. That is why I sought to interrupt the waiata. Had the affirmation been taken correctly, I would not have interrupted that waiata, because it is also very much a core part of our country that I respect very much. I would just ask those who remain in the gallery now please to understand the importance of respecting the rules of this place. I know that it has been suggested that I should, but I will not ask for the visitors gallery on my right to be cleared, because I feel very bad that I did interrupt a waiata. But I just ask visitors please to respect the rules of this place. They are very important for the freedom of all New Zealanders.