Speaker’s Rulings — Speaker—Ministerial Responsibility for Vote Parliamentary Service

On 1 December Ron Mark sought a considered ruling on whether the Speaker is a member of the Government for the purpose of appropriations to the Parliamentary Service. The request arose from my ruling on 29 November when I did not permit an urgent debate on the plan for a new parliamentary building on the basis that an urgent debate is a way of holding the Government accountable for an action for which it is responsible, and the Speaker is not part of the Government. Subsequently, I have received a letter from the Rt Hon Winston Peters on the matter.

The Speaker is deemed to be the “responsible Minister” for a number of agencies, including the Office of the Clerk, the Parliamentary Service, and the three Offices of Parliament, for the purposes of the Public Finance Act 1989. That does not make the Speaker a member of the Government, however. Instead it is to provide some oversight of, and accountability for, the activities of agencies that form part of the legislative, rather than executive, branch.

The only way to become a Minister is to be appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. I refer members to chapter 2 of the Cabinet Manual. The Speaker, on the other hand, is elected directly by the House as its spokesperson and presiding officer.

The purpose of an urgent debate is to hold the Government accountable for an action for which it is responsible, according to Speaker’s ruling 207/2. The Speaker is not part of the Government and, in recognition of the special position of the Speaker as presiding officer, cannot take part in debate or answer oral questions in the House. I draw members’ attention to Speaker’s ruling 215/7, which states that a second call in an urgent debate always goes to a Minister so that the Minister speaking for the Government has an extra period to respond. There can be no question of the Speaker, elected by the House to speak for it, ever speaking for the Government.

The proposal for the new parliamentary building has not yet been finalised, and there is no appropriation to fund it. There will be ways to scrutinise the proposal if it receives Cabinet approval. The funding for the building project would be contained in the Estimates for Vote Parliamentary Service and could be examined in the House and select committee during the Estimates process. The proposed building will also continue to be discussed at the Parliamentary Service Commission, of which New Zealand First is a member. However, the urgent debate procedure is not available to debate matters for which the Speaker is responsible.