Secondary Legislation Confirmation Bill

on behalf of the Leader of the House: I move, That the Secondary Legislation Confirmation Bill be reported to the House by 29 November 2024.

Those in favour will say Aye, to the contrary No.

Hon Members: Party vote. [Interruption]

Can I just ask the House, as we’ve had a party vote called for, to hear that vote in absolute silence.

Point of order, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I was just waiting for the conclusion of that vote. When the first vote took place, a member had her vote cast on her behalf when she was still occupying her seat in the Chamber. I’m just seeking your guidance on that, please.

Well, I’ve got to say that the whole exercise was somewhat unruly, with people all over the place in all directions. The whip’s word, when a vote is cast, is taken as being their bond. Whether a person is in the House or not, a whip has their proxy. No proxies were inappropriately cast. I appreciate what the member is saying but, at the present time, I’m not going to do anything about that, because there was such a huge amount of kerfuffle going on as members were leaving the House. It was very hard for the whip to have seen who was here and who wasn’t. But I just want to assure the House that all votes were appropriately cast.

I declare the House in committee for further consideration of the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill.