Standing Orders — Sessional

I move, That the House adopt the following procedures to facilitate the activities of the House and its committees during the current epidemic:

SPECIAL PROCEDURES DURING EPIDEMIC

1 Business Committee

The Business Committee may meet, and make determinations, by electronic means, including remote participation.

2 Assistant Speakers

Further to Standing Order 28, an Assistant Speaker may perform all duties and exercise the authority of the Speaker during an adjournment of the House, if both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are absent from duty (for whatever reason).

3 Giving notice of motion

(1) Further to Standing Order 98, a member who intends to give notice of a motion may lodge the notice with the Clerk in electronic form.

(2) A notice of motion lodged under paragraph (1) must—

(a) be lodged by 10am on a sitting day, and

(b) be signed by way of an electronic signature by a member.

4 Casting of proxy votes

(1) The Business Committee may determine that, for a specified period, the limit on proxy votes that may be cast by a party during a party vote is to be adjusted or waived.

(2) Standing Order 155 is read accordingly.

5 Special arrangements for select committee meetings

(1) The Speaker may approve special arrangements for select committees to meet and conduct business.

(2) Special arrangements for committees under paragraph (1)—

(a) may include meetings, or other forms of decision-making, by electronic means with remote participation:

(b) may apply for a specified period:

(c) may make different arrangements for a specified committee or committees.

(3) Standing Orders 190 to 194, 205(2), 208, and 210–214 are read in accordance with any special arrangements made under paragraph (1).

6 Lodging of oral questions

(1) Further to Standing Order 381, notice of an oral question may be lodged by a member with the Clerk in electronic form.

(2) A notice of an oral question lodged under paragraph (1) must be—

(a) signed by way of an electronic signature by the member or by another member on the member’s behalf, and

(b) lodged no later than 10.30 am on the day on which the question is to be asked.

7 Lodging of urgent questions

(1) Further to Standing Order 388, notice of an urgent question may be lodged by a member with the Clerk in electronic form.

(2) A notice of an oral question lodged under paragraph (1) must be signed by way of an electronic signature by the member or by another member on the member’s behalf.

8 Electronic signatures

In rules 3, 6 and 7, an electronic signature for this purpose must adequately identify the member and adequately indicate the member’s approval of the question.

The provisions outlined in this motion are about the House preparing itself for the possible effects of COVID-19, just as we are asking the rest of the country to prepare for those possible effects. And I want to acknowledge the cooperation that we have had across the House in putting this set of rules together. This motion proposes putting in place a sessional order that will become part of the House’s rules until the next election. It’s important to note that only minor administrative measures proposed come into effect immediately. The more serious measures would be triggered only if the situation developed in a way that means a significant number of MPs are unable to travel to Wellington to be physically present at Parliament.

These measures have been conceived in order to make sure that Parliament continues to function and that it continues to exercise scrutiny over the Government throughout any emergency, and that the Government can continue to report to the House and therefore put to the people of New Zealand any measures that it puts in place to deal with the effects of COVID-19. It may also be necessary if there is a need to pass urgent law changes, and so that the House can approve any necessary expenditure.

The most significant threat to Parliament being able to function would be MPs being away from Wellington for whatever reason in large numbers. Usually, a maximum of 25 percent of MPs from any one party can be away from the parliamentary precinct at any given time without affecting the proportionality of the votes cast in the House. Proposal number 4 gives the Business Committee the power to adjust or even remove the 25 percent limit. This would allow the House to continue to function with lower numbers of members and to maintain the balance of proportionality created at the last election.

It’s important to note that this power to make changes is exercised by the Business Committee and the Business Committee operates on near unanimity. So this is not a question of the Government or even a majority of Parliament adjusting these rules. Any adjustment would require near unanimity.

As the Leader of the House, I also want to undertake, as I did during the Business Statement, that if numbers in the House became severely depleted for any reason, the Government would not continue with a full legislative programme. The House would be left to focus upon scrutiny of the executive and passing any legislation that was necessary to deal with COVID-19 or any other urgent matter, and it’s likely that sitting hours could be reduced in order to effect that. The Business Committee already has the power to adjust the sitting programme if necessary.

Because the Business Committee is central to the decision-making process in this situation, these special procedures also need to allow it to meet remotely if that is necessary. Select committees would continue to have an essential role in holding the Government to account, and for this reason, proposal number 5 gives the Speaker the power to put in place special arrangements for select committees to meet and conduct their business, including allowing them to meet remotely. These arrangements can be varied according to the different circumstances of each committee. For example, committees could be given the authority to meet remotely if a number of its members were in self-isolation.

Proposal number 2 gives the Assistant Speakers the authority to exercise all of the powers of the Speaker and/or the Deputy Speaker if necessary. I’m sure we all hope that that won’t be required. But this is a plan for back-filling in the same way that many organisations and Government entities are planning up and down the country should key members of the organisations become unavailable.

Other changes are administrative—for example, allowing papers and notices of motion and questions to be lodged electronically. The Office of the Clerk and Parliamentary Service are putting in place a range of measures that will enable the House to function in an emergency. We all hope that these special procedures that we’re considering today won’t be necessary, but it’s essential that we hold them in reserve so that the Parliament is able to continue to exercise its critical democratic functions on behalf of the people of New Zealand in a case where they may be required.

I just acknowledge the comment that has been made by the Leader of the House in outlining the provisions that are being put in place today. He is right that it simply will enable the Parliament to continue its work at a time when New Zealand is facing a great deal of uncertainty, and the capacity for the whole 120 members of Parliament to turn up here to do that work may be impugned by some of the restrictions that could come as a result of the fight against this virus and its worst effects. It is pleasing that the near unanimity of the Business Committee is going to be the determiner of what will be the shape of any Parliament in any straitened circumstance.

Parliament is very important in a democracy like ours, and I very much appreciate the comment that the Leader of the House has made with regards to the legislative programme. While we wouldn’t want to see all of that stop—because it’s important for the rest of New Zealand that the confidence that they need to work through this is maintained by the way that we show from this place that life can go on—it is, none the less, prudent that we do have a provision that would let people participate from a distance.

I just want to make the point that we just a few moments ago granted leave to extend a report back on the financial reviews. The main reason why I thought that was necessary is because all of this, while it’s been brewing for some 60-odd days, has really crystallised as being a massive problem in the last 10 days. And in many cases, there will need to be upgrades of the hardware, essentially, that MPs have. I know that the Office of the Clerk and the Parliamentary Service Commission are working to ensure that that upgrade occurs as quickly as possible. But just in the event that there can’t be that type of remote activity in the next week, it was a prudent thing today, but I do appreciate the Speaker making the proper point that there is another usual way to do it, and in these unusual circumstances, I think the House did the right thing today.

So I conclude my remarks by saying that the National Party supports the decision to introduce these relatively straightforward changes to our Standing Orders for the remaining session of this Parliament. I think it will enable us as a Parliament to convey that confidence that New Zealanders will be looking for.

Motion agreed to.