18 October 2019

The National Party believes in freedom of speech and will continue to argue for the right to use footage from Parliament on an ongoing basis, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says.

“To achieve this outcome, we have agreed that it is in the interest of good parliamentary order for the issues surrounding the use of Parliament Television, as in Appendix D of the Standing Orders, to be modernised as quickly as possible.

“The Speaker, in his capacity as Chair of the Standing Orders Committee, has indicated the work of the Standing Orders Committee would progress more quickly and effectively if the videos deemed to be advertising were taken down.

“We have agreed to that action and are encouraged by the timeline for resolution of these matters which should be concluded by early-November.

“National will remove the videos by 5pm today.”

ends

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