Just three more days in the political year ‒ officially

Monday, 16 December 2024

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The Government will continue its law-making spree in the coming days before blowing the final whistle on the political year.

But the Labour Party is suggesting the Government will extend the political year beyond Wednesday, requiring overtime play.

Parliament held extended sessions last week after the Government declared “urgency”, extending sitting hours and permitting the speedy passing of law.

Beginning at 2pm Tuesday, MPs remained at Parliament until 10pm. From 9am on Wednesday and Thursday, they debated law until midnight. Unusually, the House also sat for eight hours on Friday.

“It's the traditional end of year urgency. There's always a bit of a bout of it before the end of the year, as we want to get things done and dusted by the by Christmas,” said Chris Bishop, the Leader of the House.

The list of legislation passed into law last week included: an amendment to smokefree laws that will ban disposable vapes, a law to prevent the killing of greyhounds as the racing industry is shuttered, a residential tenancies amendment bill that changes tenancy rules and creates “pet bonds”, the redux of the Three Strikes law, and the repeal of the Therapeutic Products Act.

Much debated, during a lengthy committee stage, was the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which the Government expects to pass into law in the coming week.

Amid what Bishop said was more than 10 hours of fast-track debate, Speaker Gerry Brownlee overruled the Clerk of the House, David Wilson, who had ruled a Government amendment to the legislation to include the list of 149 fast-track applications contravened Parliament’s rules.

Labour then declared it had lost confidence in the Speaker.

Bishop said he was “pretty satisfied with the amount of progress we're able to make last week”.

“Fast-track has been through a very thorough process … I was down there myself for many, many hours answering questions and working it through.

“It's had a very robust and very thorough process. And it will get its third reading this week coming and be into law by Christmas, which is a good feeling and a good way to round off the year.”

Such urgent lawmaking can also be an opportunity for the Opposition to demonstrate their lack of support for the Government’s work by dragging out the process, filling every possible speaking slot in the debates.

Labour MP Kieran McAnulty, the shadow leader of the House, said the Opposition had to use every opportunity to scrutinise a bill, propose amendments, through debate that was relevant and not repetitious.

He said the use of urgency wasn’t unusual but the Opposition was not pleased with the fast-track amendment coming through under urgency.

“Given the number of amendments Government had to do through the Committee stage, we're not confident that they won't have to then come back and either recommit the bill or an amendment bill to fix up some drafting errors.”

Bishop said the coming week should be more relaxed, as so much had already been done. The House would not sit under urgency, he said.

The Government plans to introduce resource management amendments, the Gene Technology Bill, a water reforms bill, an offshore renewable energy bill, and a broadcast amendment bill that will allow advertisements on television on Sunday mornings.

Wednesday would be a members’ day, to make up for other such days missed earlier in the year, before Parliament would adjourn for the year. On Wednesday evening, the press gallery holds its annual party to close out the year.

While Bishop said the plan was to be done by 6pm Wednesday, McAnulty suggested the Government might call urgency again.

“There's a chance that they might try and pull a swiftly and squeeze a little bit out of it, but we'll just have to wait and see,” he said.

“So they do pull urgency, we will do what we always do, and give it a good crack … if they’re going to take the piss, then we won’t let them.”