Urgent Debates Declined — Use of Urgency

Members, I’ve received a letter from Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi about seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the use of urgency. An urgent debate can only be held about a particular case of recent occurrence. An accumulation of information or a series of leads does not constitute a particular case of recent occurrence—Speakers’ rulings 221/2 and 221/3. More importantly, it is the House that decides whether urgency will be held. While Ministers may move a motion for urgency, Standing Order 58 requires the House to agree before urgency can be held. Urgent debates are not a mechanism for debating decisions of the House. The proper forum for that is the Standing Orders Committee. The application is therefore declined.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just in relation to that ruling, by my count, the Government has put 16 bills through urgency and one item of Government business not through urgency. So, recognising your point about the accumulation, there has to be a point at which we’re able to debate whether it’s appropriate for a ratio of 16 urgent items to one to go through the House, because the Government has the majority and is, essentially, railroading the House. We’re at the point now where they can’t argue that just because there was an election means that they can overturn parliamentary democracy.

Well, I think there are a couple of points. The first thing is all Governments have a majority—that’s just a fact of the way the Westminster system works. All Governments, from time to time, use urgency, and, as I have just ruled—just ruled—it is a matter for the House. Now, the public will make a decision about how they view these things, but that is a calculation for the Government.

💬 Hon James Shaw: So it’s OK to use urgency for the next three days—

Sorry, if you want to stand and take a point of order to debate the ruling, then go for your life.

Point of order.

💬 SPEAKER: In the meantime, point of order, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

The point is, of the 16 bills that have come through this House, a large proportion are affecting communities who are made up of tangata whenua, who are denied the right to come in and be part of an open, transparent select committee, an open, transparent consultation. This is affecting Māori more than anyone else in Aotearoa, which is why we have put this request for an urgent debate.

I appreciate the fact that you have taken the opportunity to make the point, but it is not relevant to decisions of the House. So urgency is a matter for the House to determine, and if the motion is put today, the House will vote on that and the outcome of that will determine whether we have urgency or not.