Urgent Debates Declined — COVID-19 Mandate Protest, Wellington—Speaker’s Response

I have received a letter from Brooke van Velden seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 my response to the protests at Parliament. An urgent debate may only be held if the matter involves the ministerial or administrative responsibility of the Government—Standing Order 399(2)(b). The Speaker is not a member of the Government, and the actions of the Speaker cannot be the subject of an urgent debate. For members who want to look closely at this matter, Speaker Carter gave an extensive ruling on the point, on 6 December 2016. I refer the member to that ruling and to Speakers’ ruling 201/6, which states that an urgent debate “is not [the] vehicle for addressing matters that are the responsibility of the Speaker”. The application is declined.