Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) - New Zealand Parliament

3682 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 16 May 2009
Hon DARREN HUGHES (Senior Whip—Labour): I raise a point of order, Mr
Chairperson. I have two points of order to raise with you. First, regarding the status of
the motion that I moved, you will have to give a decision on whether the question would
be put. Second, in respect of the Minister in charge of the bill not wanting to consider
the bill that is in urgency before the Committee at the present time, when we return to
this part we will be at the point after my closure motion. That is my first point of order.
My second point of order relates to the time factor in which the Minister in charge of
the bill wants to postpone consideration of this part. We will need to know what time
we are going to come back to that, in order to consider it, because we have other parts
ahead to debate. If we get ourselves into a position where we have finished those parts
and have to report progress, the opportunity for this part to be voted on by the
Committee and for the amendments to be considered by the Committee will not come. I
am presuming it is not a catch-all, so that the Minister can delay for consideration just
this part for another day—whatever that might mean.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South): I have now had time to
consider Standing Order 293 as far as (4)(a) and (4)(b). I was under the impression that
the Minister was not specific on his delay, and therefore the effect of what he has done
is to put this right down to the bottom before the preliminary clauses. So we will do the
other 27 or 28 parts, unless they get similarly deferred, and then we will come back to
this at the end before we deal with the preliminary clauses—probably on Thursday or
Friday, maybe.
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker): We have a very interesting position
here. I cannot remember the Committee being in this gymnastic position before. It is a
very unusual twist and I think that people who are listening to this will be unaware that
there are other circumstances outside this Chamber that are driving this and the
timeliness of it. But, firstly, to the simple point: the situation, as I understand it, is that
the Hon Darren Hughes has moved a closure motion, at which point I was about to
consider whether we should put it. Then enter stage right the Hon Rodney Hide, who
says that he wants to exercise his authority as the member in charge of the bill to have
the consideration of this part or provision postponed. That is his right; there is no
argument about it. At the moment that occurs, it then freezes everything on this part; it
is simply sealed in an envelope and pushed to one side. So we do not deal with the
closure motion from this point; the whole lot is locked up and is moved.
We then go to Standing Order 293(4)(a), the part I would rely on here, which states:
“any postponed clause or part is taken when all other clauses or parts have been dealt
with, other than preliminary clauses that are considered together,”. It seems to me that
the Standing Order is saying to us that we are now reorganising things so that this part,
which is in the name of Shane Jones, now moves right to the back of the queue and we
now start on the next part that we have for consideration. At the point we reopen it, will
be the time we then consider—I suspect I will get some advice from the Clerk on this—
the motion moved by the Hon Darren Hughes.
Hon Trevor Mallard: Right at the end, just before the preliminary clause.
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker): That is correct. If the Clerk advises me
differently on that I will come back to you but that is as I see it at that point.
New Part 5 postponed.
New Part 12 Paid Parental Leave Entitlement
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South): This new part will be
vigorously debated by Labour members. There has been one of the sneakiest attempts I
have ever seen to strip the working women of Auckland—and, for that matter, in a
minor way, the men as well—of their right to paid parental leave. This Government is