National trying to halt MP’s social media ban bill – but it’s not just their call

Saturday, 16 May 2026

National is attempting to delay Parliament's debate on Catherine Wedd's Social Media Bill scheduled for Wednesday.

The Government requires cross-party agreement to move Wedd's bill down Parliament's Order Paper.

Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March accused Stanford of “overstepping” parliamentary process by announcing the bill’s delay, without seeking agreement from other parties.

The National party is now taking collective responsibility for trying to stop Parliament from voting on a bill to ban children from social media.

It comes after Stuff reported concerns from other parliamentarians about whether the Minister in charge of the government work on the issue had authority to stall a members bill.

Education Minister Erica Stanford’s office announced the bill was going to be “paused” on Friday. That announcement may have been premature because the minister had no power to decide when Parliament would debate this bill.

To stop Parliament voting on the bill next week, the Government is relying on Opposition MPs agreeing to an 11th hour change to Parliament’s agenda. Their support is not guaranteed.

National Party backbencher Catherine Wedd introduced the Social Media (Age-Restricted Users) Bill last year as her own member’s bill. It is not Government policy.

Her bill has slowly made its way up Parliament’s Order Paper, and should, finally, be debated for the first time on Wednesday - that is, unless National gets its way.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Stanford said the bill was being put “on hold” and “is being deprioritised”.

The spokesperson said it was being stalled because it had been “moved down the Order Paper”. But Stuff confirmed the bill has not yet moved down the Order Paper.

Instead, National was trying to get it moved down the agenda - but that will require agreement from a cross-party parliamentary committee which meets late on Tuesday afternoon, the day before the bill is set to be debated.

MPs on that committee told Stuff on Friday that no one from National has asked them to make this change to next week’s agenda.

On Friday, Stanford’s office said: “The Government is undertaking a wider programme of work in this area and Wedd’s bill is on hold for the moment. We are continuing to work through the process and will have more to say soon.”

The spokesperson said Stanford was not available for an interview, but on Saturday, following publication of this story a National party statement was provided.

“National is committed to banning social media for under 16s,” it said.

“As the Government is progressing work to prevent social media and online harm which is broader than Catherine Wedd’s Member’s Bill, National is seeking to delay its introduction.

“Catherine supports this decision and has written to the Business Committee seeking agreement.”

Stanford relying on Opposition to ‘deprioritise’ social media bill

Because this is a member’s bill and not a Government bill, ministers cannot decide to delay it.

Dr David Wilson, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, said on Friday there remained “a reasonable prospect” that Parliament would debate Wedd’s social media bill on Wednesday as it was the third member’s bill on the agenda.

He said Parliament’s business committee would need to agree to change that. The business committee, chaired by Speaker Gerry Brownlee, must make decisions with near unanimity.

Ricardo Menéndez March, a Green MP on the committee, said Stanford’s comments were “overstepping” Parliament’s process.

“We haven’t been consulted about this, and we need to discuss this at caucus. Due to the near unanimity requirement, it does feel rushed for the minister to be making a definitive announcement,” he said.

He also questioned why the minister was “making the call” on behalf of another MP.

Kieran McAnulty, a Labour MP on the committee, said it was “highly unusual” for Stanford to be saying when another member’s bill would be debated.

“As far as I’m aware, the Business Committee has not received a request. Now, if it does, it appears that request has come at the direction of the minister,” he said.

However, he said Labour would likely support Wedd - as long as it was her, and not someone else, making the request to delay the debate.

“This is highly unusual, and you don't often get ministers talking about a member's bill. But, at the end of the day, if the business committee receives a request from Catherine Wedd, we will support it… we have to take it at face value,” McAnulty said.

As noted above, on Saturday, after this story was published, National said Wedd had now written to the committee seeking a delay.

Stanford working on her own bill, says ban won’t be a ‘silver bullet’

Wedd declined to be interviewed on Friday, but said in a statement that her bill was being “put on hold” while Stanford worked on her own bill.

“This bill is aiming to be introduced this year.

“I’m very happy the minister is progressing this work to ban social media for under 16s,” Wedd said.

On Wednesday, Parliament debated a select committee report which called for a social media ban for under 16s. It also recommended other law changes, such as banning “nudify” AI apps, to protect young people online.

During the debate, Stanford said a ban was no “silver bullet”. But she said it would help change how people used social media.

“It takes time, but it does change social norms. But it is not the silver bullet on its own, because, I’ll tell you what, the social media giants would love a ban because, as you know, children can try and get around it.

“That’s why it is so very important to have a strong regulator that changes their behaviours. That is going to be the key,” she said.

The ACT and Green parties have voiced serious concerns about bans, and the ACT Party cautioned against setting up a new regulator. NZ First also said it wouldn’t support Wedd’s bill in its current form.

Labour has said it would support National to increase social media regulation.

Australia banned children from social media last year, and other countries, including the UK, France and Spain, are now looking to do the same.