Urgent Debates Declined — Judith Collins—Resignation as Minister and Inquiry into Compliance with Cabinet Manual

I have received a letter from the Hon Phil Goff seeking to debate under Standing Order 389 the decision by the Prime Minister to consider the deployment of troops against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria forces in Iraq. In order for an urgent debate to be held, there must be a particular case of recent occurrence. The Government has not yet made a decision about the deployment of troops to Iraq. An absence of action on the part of the Government cannot be a particular case of recent occurrence. If a decision is made in the future to deploy troops, there are likely to be opportunities to debate it at that time. The application is, therefore, declined.

I have also received an application from Phil Twyford seeking to debate the Government’s decision to sell a large number of New Zealand’s State houses. The member bases his application on media reports of the Government’s ideas for reform of State housing and plans to sell some of the country’s State houses. The urgent debate procedure is a means of debating matters that have occurred, not what might or might not occur. An urgent debate cannot be granted on the basis of media speculation. A particular case of recent occurrence occurs at the point in time when a decision is publicly announced. The House is currently considering a motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. This is a wide-ranging debate. This provides the opportunity to debate ideas for reform. This application is therefore also declined.

I have further received an application from Dr Megan Woods on the decision by the Prime Minister to accept the resignation of Judith Collins as a Minister and to initiate an inquiry into allegations that as Minister of Police Ms Collins acted inappropriately to undermine the then Director of the Serious Fraud Office. This is a case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility because this is the first sitting of the House at which the matter could be raised. However, not every resignation of a Minister will occasion an urgent debate. Ms Collins was a Minister in the previous Government and an independent inquiry into the allegations regarding her has been set up under the Inquiries Act 2013. While the House has before it a debate as wide-ranging as the Address in Reply debate, the bar for the acceptance of an urgent debate is somewhat higher. Members can address issues related to Ms Collins’ resignation in that debate. The time to consider any wider issues is when the inquiry reports. This application is therefore also declined.