Election of Speaker

Honourable members, the House must now proceed to choose a Speaker. Are there nominations?

I wish to nominate the Rt Hon David Carter for the office of Speaker.

I second the nomination of the Rt Hon David Carter for the office of Speaker.

I wish to nominate someone experienced, independent, and neutral: Ron Mark MP.

I wish to second the nomination of Ron Mark MP.

Are there any further members wishing to nominate others for election as Speaker? There being two members nominated, a personal vote must be held.

Honourable members of the House of Representatives, I am honoured that you have elected me as Speaker of the 51st Parliament. It is a privileged position and it is one that I understand far more now than I did when I was first elected Speaker nearly 2 years ago. When I spoke on that occasion I promised I would strive to make the transition to being Parliament’s man, to uphold the dignity of this House, and to preserve order in an unbiased manner. I reaffirm that commitment to you all today.

To members returning from the last Parliament, I especially acknowledge the courtesy you showed me over the last 2 years. I know that some of the decisions that I made would not have received total support from you, but those decisions, once made, were always accepted, and I think that this acknowledges the special role—the very special role—that the Speaker has in the New Zealand democratic system. It is also a demonstration of the respect that members have for the dignity of this House.

As I have learnt more of the role of Speaker and as I have become more conversant with the other democracies around the world, I see that ours is very special. It is recognised throughout the world as transparent, accountable, and relevant. It is a Parliament that I am very proud to serve. I intend to play my part in seeing that reputation enhanced.

As Speaker-Elect, I will obey the instruction and go to the Governor-General this afternoon. Again, thank you for this opportunity.

Mr Speaker-Elect, can I begin by being the first to offer you my congratulations on your election to the Chair. Not wanting to burst your bubble, Mr Speaker-Elect, because this is a very important day for you, can I simply note that there was less competition for you to become Speaker than there is to become the new leader of the Labour Party. For almost 2 years now you have managed the business of the House with authority and with confidence. I recall you were first elected as Speaker on 31 January last year. I spoke of your achievements to date at that time as a member of this House. I spoke of your career prior to entering Parliament, and your studies at St Bede’s College and, of course, Canterbury University.

Today I would like to share some of the lesser known facts about your time here in Parliament. When you are outside this Chamber I know that you have a love of running. That is fitting, as you will be running the show here, in the House, in a few days’ time. My staff tell me that you are often seen on Wellington’s waterfront before dawn out for a run. I am advised by a Deep Throat source in your office today that you considered doing just that this morning and go for a run but, sadly, you had forgotten to bring your shorts with you. I am also advised that you were not deterred by such a fact and considered that it was not an inhibitor for your going for a morning run. But members will take great confidence in that you are a person who listens to good advice and that in the end you decided to give it a miss.

What members may not be aware of is that you and your wife, Heather, who is present here today—and we acknowledge Heather—have a fierce rivalry and are known for entering the same races and events to see who can outrun the other. I would like to take this moment to pay tribute to you and your family, including your daughters Sophie, Laura, Isabella, and Morgan, who are all here today, and I want to personally acknowledge Isabella, who makes the finest fudge in the history of this country with the well-known recipe from Rangi Ruru Girls School. As all members of Parliament know, and those who have been sworn in for the very first time today will soon learn, the support of families is absolutely crucial. So it is wonderful that your family is gathered here in the Chamber today to see your election.

Mr Speaker-Elect, you come to this role with over 19 years’ experience as a member of this House, sitting on both sides of it as a Minister, as a member of the Opposition, and as the Government whip. I know that you will rule this House with a firm but fair hand. I wish to congratulate you on behalf of the National Party on your re-election and wish you all the very best for the years ahead.

Thank you, Mr Speaker-Elect. On behalf of the Labour Opposition, I too tender our congratulations on your reappointment to this important role. We in the Opposition do rely upon you to fairly apply the Standing Orders so that we can hold the Government to account, whilst you also have the obligation to, at one level, enable the Government to do its business in accordance with the Standing Orders.

I would say that, having regard to the change of balance in the House, we look forward to your accepting the 60th closure motion before you draw contentious legislation to an end. There will be contentious moments in this House. The business of Opposition and the business of Government are both very important roles. We are reliant upon you giving us a fair go. We are confident that you will and we look forward to your conduct of yourself over the next 3 years.

Congratulations, Mr Speaker-Elect, on your successful nomination for Speaker of this House. On behalf of the Green Party caucus I wish you well for your second stint at the beginning of this 51st Parliament. You come to the role with 19 years’ experience as a member of this House, a Minister, a member of the Opposition, and a Government whip. You bring to the House the wisdom of your time both in Parliament and outside Parliament. We wish you the very best in applying that wisdom and experience to this crucial role as the chairperson of this House.

As you are aware, one of the functions of this House, according to the text on this place, McGee, is to “scrutinise Government decisions and to receive genuine explanations from Ministers about the administration of their portfolios.” One of the ways the House achieves these functions is through question time, which you chair. McGee describes the process of holding the Government to account as the “quid pro quo for the authority they consider necessary to carry on governing the country,”. McGee goes on to say: “Many of the procedures of the House are designed specifically to enable the House to play its part in the scrutiny and control of the Government. These include questions addressed to Ministers, general and urgent debates, and select committees of members investigating matters of governmental responsibility and regulations made by the Government under powers delegated by Parliament. Everything the House does potentially gives it the opportunity to probe and criticise the actions of the Government.”

It would seem to me that in order for the Opposition to effectively do its duty—to effectively probe, scrutinise, and criticise the actions of the Government, which is our job—we need actual answers to questions in question time, the questions we pose to Ministers about their portfolios. To achieve that, the Green Party asks that you reconsider one of your rulings. The previous Speaker ruled that questions should be answered—straight questions deserve straight answers is what Dr Lockwood Smith said. You reinterpreted that ruling to say that they had only to be addressed, which is, of course, what the Standing Orders say, and I appreciate that the Standing Orders do say that. I would ask you to reconsider that ruling. I think that the ruling by Dr Smith that straight questions deserve straight answers made a big difference to this House.

As you are aware, there are very serious concerns currently about the Government’s application of the Official Information Act, including possibly illegal delaying activities, which are being investigated by the Chief Ombudsman, Beverley Wakem. The Official Information Act and question time are two of the key mechanisms available to the Opposition members of Parliament to seek explanations from Ministers and to hold them to account for the decisions that they make. I would argue that there is a real risk—a chilling risk—to our democracy if during question time Ministers are not required to answer straight questions.

This is a time of great pomp and ceremony today and tomorrow, and, of course, Lockwood Smith was a great lover of pomp and ceremony and introduced some elements of pomp and ceremony into this place. But Dr Smith was not only a great lover of pomp and ceremony; he was also a believer in parliamentary accountability, the idea that the Government of the day should be accountable to Parliament for its actions. That is what question time is all about. I think it is time we went back to his ruling that straight questions deserve straight answers. It made question time a better place; it made our Parliament a better place.

The pomp that Dr Smith introduced into Parliament remains but some of the content has faded because question time is weaker. Mr Speaker-Elect, I request that you revert to Dr Smith’s ruling. It was a good ruling. The role of the Speaker in our democracy is a sacred one. Once it was to protect Parliament against a monarch; these days it is more to protect Parliament and our democratic institutions against the Government of the day. I would ask that you enforce those rulings by Dr Smith.

Given we had a nominee ourselves, it would be churlish not to congratulate you, Mr Speaker-Elect, on your reappointment and to assure you that all of your judicious, considerate, independent, fair, and equitable decisions and rulings will have the support of New Zealand First.

Question time should not be an exercise that puts one in mind of pulling hens’ teeth; it should be an exercise where the truth prevails and where prevarication and organised deceit should not in the end triumph. That is what our view in New Zealand First is. We do wish to see a change in the way that question time occurs, for without it, outside of this Parliament, others will be seen to be more careful about the quality of our democracy than we have been. That is not to prejudge what you may have learnt in the last 2 years, but, certainly, we would be hoping that in the future someone who has done the research and the homework to come to Parliament to ask a Minister for an answer on a serious matter of public interest will have a chance of getting at the truth by the end of that exercise.

In the meantime, Mr Speaker-Elect, we wish you all the best.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana o Te Whare Pāremata. Tēnei te tū ake o Te Pāti Māori ki te mihi ki a koe kua eke anō rā ki tēnei o ngā taumata. I ngā rua tau kua hipa ko koe tērā i rongo nei i ngā take nui o te motu, i wetewetengia, i wānangahia i te tika me te pono o ngā kōrero e kōrerohia ake nei, e tēnā, e tēnā, ā, i tōna mutunga kai a koe te mana o Te Whare Pāremata. Me pēnei rawa te kōrero, tā Te Pāti Māori he tautoko i ngā whakatau ka puta i a koe nā runga i tērā mana, kia tika rā anō taku kōrero, ā māua tahi, ka whai i tērā tikanga.

Tuarua, kai te whai haere i te āhuatanga o te kōrero o te Pirimia me te mihi ki tō whānau kua tatū mai i tēnei rā, ō tamariki me tō hoa rangatira. He mahi uaua tēnei te noho nei i tawhiti mai o te whānau, kātahi ngā mahi nui ka kawea haerehia e tēnā, e tēnā. I tēnei rā, ko koe tēnā kua eke ki tēnei taumatu tiketike, anā, kai runga i a koe te hōnore, kai runga i tō whanau te hōnore. Koia nei te tautoko ake i ngā mihi nui ki a koe i tēnei rā, tēnā koe, tēnā koe, kia ora tātau katoa.

[Greetings to you, Mr Speaker of Parliament House. I of the Māori Party rise to congratulate you who have regained this mantle of distinguished Speaker once again. That was you in the past 2 years who presided over matters of huge significance to the nation by considering and deliberating over what was proper and valid in the points raised by that member and that one in regard to statements alluded to previously. At the end of it all, however, the authority of the House is in your hands. Allow me to say through that power thrust upon you, and provided that the point by me has been reached to my satisfaction and to that of my detractor, namely by us two jointly, the Māori Party will indeed endorse rulings issued by you and will adhere to that procedure.

Secondly, I align myself with the tenor of the Prime Minister’s address in terms of acknowledging your family who have arrived here today in respect of your wife and children. This living away and at some distance from the family is indeed a difficult thing, as well as the huge responsibilities that you must bear and carry out. Today it is indeed you who have reached this lofty summit. While the honour is yours it is upon your family also. I wholeheartedly endorse the huge accolades bestowed upon you. So well done and congratulations. My appreciation from us all and thank you.]

Mr Speaker-Elect, can I be amongst those to congratulate you on your re-election. I think I have probably known you longer than anyone in this House. Certainly, as you were the first of the St Bede’s College contingent in this place, it is great to see you back in this role. Over the last couple of years, you have noticeably grown, both in your confidence in terms of interpreting the role before you and in your treatment of members, and also in the judgments that you have applied. I am sure that, with the benefit of that experience, you will serve this House particularly well during the coming term.

One of the things that you lay claim to when you go to Government House is the rights and privileges of the House and its members. I think that they have been under some challenge in recent times, both in terms of what has gone on in this place but also in terms of some of the challenges that external agencies are posing. We look to you as—in your words—“Parliament’s man” to uphold the rights and privileges not just of the House as an institution but of its individual members as well to ensure that this is a true House of Representatives where members can conduct their business in a free and unfettered way. Mr Speaker-Elect, I have every confidence that you will continue to serve this House well and I am very pleased to have supported your re-election.

I rise on behalf of the ACT Party and my fellow Epsom electors to congratulate you, Mr Speaker-Elect, on your recent election. I know from having watched your performances on YouTube for many hours late at night that you will preside over the proceedings of this House with a judicious ear and a stern voice. Let me reiterate my congratulations to you with great anticipation of a successful parliamentary term. Thank you.

Can I thank members for their comments. The job is a challenge—I think that is acknowledged in the comments that have been made—but it is a challenge that I will strive to do my best at.

On the points raised particularly by the co-leader of the Green Party Dr Russel Norman, I will do my best, because I accept Lockwood Smith’s ruling that a straight question deserves a straight answer. What I do say to all members is that when they are asking their supplementary questions, if they can keep them short and ask a straight question, that will certainly make my job to assist a member to then get a straight answer considerably easier.

Ladies and gentlemen, as per your instruction I will proceed to Government House this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 12.35 p.m.