Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
Member of Parliament for Northland
22 SEPTEMBER 2016

Bumbling Brownlee Misses the Point

Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee was questioned today on the cancellation of Parliament on Friday when Treaty of Waitangi Bills were to be heard.

Radio NZ asked: How many National Party MPs were going to be in Parliament for the treaty settlement bills on Friday?

Mr Brownlee: I can’t go into that because I am not the Whip and don’t have that information in front me, it would have been in the vicinity of sort of 40 odd.

Radio NZ: If there was 40 odd wouldn’t that give you the numbers?

Mr Brownlee said Radio NZ was missing the point.

Radio NZ: ... if you had 75 per cent of the MPs there – which I think is about 44 in National’s case, then you would have had the numbers.
Mr Brownlee: No, because there is a formula for how you cast your vote.

There is no formula and Mr Brownlee knows this.

Radio NZ persisted on the numbers: I don’t understand Mr Brownlee. If 75 per cent of MPs are going to be there then National certainly would have had the numbers, so I don’t understand how, this would have been passed in any case.

Brownlee: Once again you are missing a whole lot of nuances ... The reality was it was not a government decision to sit the House it was a Business Committee determination that the House should sit for this purpose. If we are going to have a parliament that functions in a more positive way and a way that is directed towards achieving, the Business Committee has to have authority to do these things.

Radio NZ: But doesn’t Parliament have to be flexible enough that when MPs find fault, for whatever reason, with legislation that it is able to react to this so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen?

On September 13, New Zealand First told National in an email that: “New Zealand First does not support this request for extra leave allocations.” (for Friday September 23).

It is clear that National had already started granting leave for its MPs.

It then relied on a voice vote only on Friday.

However, New Zealand First then requested a party vote to record its opposition to two bills.

That forced Mr Brownlee to cancel the Friday sittings to avoid the government the embarrassment of having to record a low muster of MPs for Treaty settlement bills.

For the official audio, go to: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201817099/government-blasts-winston-peters-over-derailing-settlements

ENDS

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