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Engage-in-Brief: November 2024

Author

Holly Bennett
November 01, 2024

The Parliament Bill and why you should care!

Kia ora

Nau mai, welcome to Engage-in-brief for November 2024!

Parliament sat for two weeks last month, but it still managed to get through a lot of business. Alongside a special debate on local and constituency issues, a wide range of legislation was progressed. Among the progression of legislation was an unexpected turn of events; when the Education and Workforce Select Committee reported back to the House on the Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill, it said the bill shouldn't progress through a second reading. However when it came time to vote, members from New Zealand First voted in favour of the bill, giving it the votes it needed to pass! The bill will now go through the Committee of the Whole House stage before its third reading, and we’ll just have to wait and see whether it will pass the next stages.  

The main focus of this month’s Engage-in-Brief pānui is a bill which makes some big changes to some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of Parliament. While you might not see anything different during Question Time or to the Government’s post-Cabinet press conferences, the changes are more significant than you might realise at first! Keep reading to find out more about the Parliament Bill, and to pick up some tips for making your next trip to Parliament run smoothly.

Mauri ora!

Check out some of the latest announcements in politics over the past few weeks below. You can click the images to read more and remember to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to see these updates as they happen!

If you’re a regular reader of Engage-in-Brief, you’ll know the difference between Parliament and the Government and that while governments and members of Parliament come and go, the parliamentary agencies that support Parliament’s functions remain constant.  But the funding for those agencies, the Office of the Clerk and the Parliamentary Service, is set by the government — which means that funding for the Legislature, whose job is to scrutinise the Executive, is determined by the Executive itself! This presents a risk — unlikely though it is — that an unscrupulous government could choose to defund Parliament to prevent scrutiny of its activities.So one of the major changes the The Parliament Bill proposes is to alter the funding model for the parliamentary agencies by shifting funding approval to the House of Representatives (AKA all the MPs) instead of the executive (AKA all the MPs in government).

The changes are not a case of MPs or the Government giving itself more money, they will enable the parliamentary agencies to better support the critical work of the Legislature and a more effective Parliament. Another proposed change is to allow Parliament’s security team to exercise limited powers of search, seizure, and detention within the parliamentary precincts, and in limited circumstances, parliamentary meetings held outside of the parliamentary precincts or at an electorate and community office. New Zealanders enjoy a high level of access to our Parliament, and Parliament’s security staff are responsible for keeping everyone safe while on the parliamentary precincts, these changes will mean the parliamentary security team will have similar powers to court security officers. There are also a number of other changes proposed which you can read in full here.

Submissions close at 11.59pm on Wednesday, 06 November, so if you’ve got some feedback or a good idea about how Parliament’s legislative framework can be improved, now’s the time to have your say.

Parliamentary Security

When visiting the parliamentary precinct, whether you’re going to meet with an MP, participate in proceedings, or take a tour, you’ll first need to pass through security screening in the Beehive lobby. It’s a bit like going to the airport! You’ll need to remove everything from your pockets, get your bags scanned, and walk through a metal detector. If you’re planning on watching the House from the public galleries, you’ll also need to go through a second security screening before going into the Debating Chamber.

It’s a good idea to build some extra time into your plans to allow for this (especially on a sitting day), so it’s always best to arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment.

Parliament Bill Committee

Sometimes Parliament sets up specialised committees, usually to deal with a specific topic or piece of legislation that doesn’t easily fall under the subject areas of the permanent Select Committees. Chaired by Rt Hon Adrian Rurawhe, the Parliament Bill Committee is one of these, established to consider the Parliament Bill and related business. The committee’s other members are:

  • Hon Scott Simpson (Deputy Chair)

  • Andy Foster

  • Mariameno Kapa-Kingi

  • Dana Kirkpatrick

  • Cameron Luxton

  • Ricardo Menéndez March

  • Hon Dr Duncan Webb

You'll be able to watch hearings on the Bill on November 7 and 14, in-person or at the Parliament website.

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