The final thing Parliament did before adjourning was agree rules changes for the next Parliament. We discuss them with senior clerks David Wilson and Gabor Hellyer.
The final thing Parliament did before it adjourned for the election was agree some alterations to Parliament's rules that will apply to the next Parliament. These are changes that the parties and the clerks have been working on since last year.
They even asked for ideas from the public, and while many suggestions don't come to fruition, there are some quite big shifts - especially around how Parliament keeps an eye on governments.
For some insight into the new rules, I sat down with David Wilson, Clerk of The House of Representatives, (who runs Parliament's Secretariat), and Gabor Hellyer, Principal Committee Clerk, (who administered the special committee that sweated over the new rules).
The Clerk of the House, David Wilson makes his submission to the Standing Orders Committee.
A regular rejig
New Zealand's Parliament considers which of its rules (Standing Orders) could be improved at the end of each three-year term of Parliament. Any changes it agrees apply to the following parliament. David Wilson says that while New Zealand is not the only Parliament that changes its rules, we do it more regularly than many.
"Some do it only when there's a crisis or some obvious problem that needs fixing. Ours is kind of baked into our cycle and it always happens. And it doesn't necessarily indicate anything's wrong, but it is really part of the culture now that they will always be reviewed, and I guess a feeling that can always be improved."
Parliament even asks the public for feedback on its rules. To get some first-hand experience on submitting to a select committee, I made a submission to the standing orders committee. It was surprisingly easy, unexpectedly enjoyable, and actually resulted in some change.
My suggestions were small fry though. Most ideas come from folk with a much better finger on the pulse. The most substantial list of proposed improvements tends to come from the Clerk of the House, whose staff see how things work at the closest quarters (administering the committees, the House and the process of legislation). The various political parties often make submissions, as well as MPs, and Select Committees (which are themselves cross-party groups). Also knowledgeable insiders (e.g. the Parliamentary Counsel's Office), knowledgeable outsiders (e.g. The Law Commission, law professors or retired MPs like Geoffrey Palmer). And of course John Q. Public.
The changes…