Taming Question Time is not easy but this week the Speaker has attempted to reign in the use of Points of Order to make out of order points.
MPs' jobs are tough. But probably the toughest regular hour for any MP is presiding over all the other MPs during a rambunctious Question Time. It's akin to a relieving teacher managing a class of manic, grandstanding, fourth-formers on a wet, windy Friday afternoon when everyone just wants to be somewhere else.
Gerry Brownlee has been settling into the role of Speaker of Parliament and finding his rhythm. Every Speaker's approach is different and Brownlee tends towards hands-off, often commenting after questions and answers play out, rather than intervening.
Brownlee does however intervene once a dodgy question becomes a dodgy tactic. This week that was patsy questions from the Government side, plainly arranged as opportunities to attack the opposition (a no-no).
A New Ruling
The week began with the Speaker making a rare set-piece ruling, attempting to reign in another bugbear, the use of Points of Order to make out-of-order points.
"Members-this may be helpful for the member-a number of members have raised with me the issue of too frequent a use of the point of order process to raise trivial points of order. In future, when a member raises a point of order, I expect them to indicate the rule or practice of the House that they think has been breached. Raising a point of order without doing so will be considered disorderly. Of course, members may continue to use points of order to draw my attention to their wish to exercise a right given by Standing Orders, such as to seek leave, to make a personal explanation, or to move a motion."
Points of Order serve many purposes, but most often draw the Speaker's attention to a possible breach of the rules. They are an essential part of the mechanism, but are often misused and can get petty, irrelevant, disruptive, or can forget to mention the rule at issue.
Doffing kid gloves
As the Speaker intimated there have been complaints. In the House those complaints have particularly been about the Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters.
He has a reputation for using a pointed point of order to make a sharp point. In this Parliament that reputation hasn't been much added to.
Interpolations from Peters into the flow of debate have been frequent, but less pointed and (as MPs have noted), more often 'out of order' than 'point of order'.
Last week the Speaker acknowledged the House wanted him to doff his kid gloves. …