Urgent Debates Declined — Youth Justice Facility—Government Efforts to End Protest

Members, I’ve received a letter from Willow-Jean Prime seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the Government’s efforts to end a protest at a youth justice residence. This is a particular case of recent occurrence for which there is ministerial responsibility. However, it does not reach the threshold of being urgent enough to warrant setting aside the business of the House today. The application is declined. Petitions have been—

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order.

SPEAKER: Point of order—well, I’m on my feet, so let me sit down and I’ll be able to do it.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Well, you’re moving on to something different now and I want to address the matter—

SPEAKER: No, I’ve done it.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: —you first raised.

SPEAKER: Yeah, that’s right.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: That’s why the point of order is appropriate now.

SPEAKER: Yeah, I know, but you don’t do it while I’m on my feet. I’m sorry to be pedantic but today is a day for getting everything right. The Rt Hon Winston Peters.

Well, then, Mr Speaker, a pause between announcements would be how you do that, but here’s the point—

SPEAKER: I’m sorry, can you start—

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —because they have communication with you—

SPEAKER: I’m sorry, I did not hear what the member just said. Can we have silence while there is a point of order being spoken.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I said a brief pause between each announcement, so that an appropriate point of order could be raised at the right time, would be proper, otherwise one has no opportunity to follow the Standing Orders and make a point of order at the right time.

SPEAKER: Well, look, I thank the member for again giving me instruction about how this job should be carried out. I resist offering similar advice to him.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Unlike others, we welcome all advice. Mr Speaker, just by way of inquiry, as the communication with you was somewhat private, was there an addendum from the Green Party thanking the movers of that legislation from 2018 that came to their help?

SPEAKER: Yeah, what’s the point of order, sorry?

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well, the point of order was: was there an addendum to their communication with you, thanking the party and the mover of the changed law in 2018 to revive the “waka hopping bill”, in gratitude for that interposition back then, that assisted them to be the first ones ever to use it?

Well, the member will know, of course, that the Electoral Act was amended in 2018 and is very prescriptive about the process from this point. So any material that would be of historic nature, apart from material relating directly to the concerns expressed by the Green Party leaders, is not something that I’ve been supplied.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: So they didn’t say “thank you”, then?

No, well, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, I’m sure that there’ll be appropriate thanks offered to you in due course.