This week Parliament activity is dominated by the expected transition to a new Speaker, with the incumbent Trevor Mallard months ago having signalled his intention to resign.
Parliament can’t meet without a Speaker, as this role is the head of the legislative branch. So this week has a Speaker-sized hole in the middle, around which other regular parliamentary business is to be conducted.
Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Today’s regular parliamentary sitting day extends into Wednesday morning. At the conclusion of the extended sitting, around midday tomorrow, the Speaker is expected to resign.
When the House resumes at 2pm tomorrow afternoon, initially there will be no Speaker, so the Clerk of the House then has to conduct an election for the Speaker, and no further business can be conducted by Parliament until a Speaker has been elected.
“So that election will take place. If it is contested it'll be via a roll call vote. If it's not contested, you know - someone that assumes the role with the unanimous support of parliament. I'm not quite sure how that will transpire, at this point,” the Government’s Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins explained.
“The Labour Party will be supporting the current deputy speaker Adrian Rurawhe to become the Speaker. We expect he will be elected to that role.
“The Parliament adjourns after the election of the Speaker, because the Speaker-elect at that point has to be confirmed by the Governor-General; so it’s a warranted role, they’ve got to go up and get their credentials from the Governor-General, and they don’t formally assume the role of Speaker until that’s taken place. So that means that Parliament won’t then sit on Wednesday afternoon and evening while those formalities take place.”
Assuming the Governor-General has given their credentials, the new Speaker will return to the House when it resumes at 2pm on Thursday in order to present their credentials back to the House.
“Then Parliament sits as normal for Thursday afternoon,” Hipkins said, adding that the first item of business that day would be the election of a new deputy Speaker.
“The Labour Party will be nominating Greg O’Connor to be the deputy Speaker. He served as a temporary assistant Speaker for us a few weeks back when we were short of presiding officers. He’s well experienced as a select committee chair, and I think he’ll get a good degree of support across the House. I think he’s got a manner which will lend itself well to being a presiding officer.”
