Parties at odds over committee structure

The standing orders committee, which included National, recommended the numbers be reduced to 96.

National and Labour are exchanging blows over Labour’s plans to cut Opposition MPs out of select committees, after National’s leader Bill English threatened his party would use its size to frustrate Government progress.

Now National has accused Labour of eroding democratic rights, and attempting to limit the scrutiny of its Government by changing the number of committee seats to 96, meaning 11 National MPs will miss out.

The committees are a crucial step in the legislative process.

When a bill passes its first reading it goes to the appropriate select committee to be scrutinised.

The committees are made up of small groups of MPs, who hear public submissions on proposed laws, and make recommendations before legislation is read for a second and third time.

The committees also consider public petitions.

The move to have 96 select committee seats comes after English last week warned the Government to expect ‘‘tension’’ and ‘‘pressure’’ in Parliament, and through the select committee process where National would have a strong presence.

‘‘And that is going to make a difference to how everything runs – it’s not our job to make this place run for an incoming Government that is a minority,’’ he said.

National shadow leader of the House Simon Bridges said the Government was now trying to cut the number of opposition MPs from committees because it was short on numbers itself.

‘‘The role of the Opposition is to hold the Government to account, to scrutinise its actions and to advocate for the views of the people they are elected to represent,’’ Bridges said.

‘‘But rather than fronting up to that scrutiny, Labour is now saying it wants to allow fewer elected representatives to carry out that vital function – that’s undemocratic.’’

Traditionally, the number of positions on select committees had matched the number of MPs in Parliament, he said.

Labour has not yet responded to requests for comment but the party’s Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins, told NZME the number of

96 was settled upon because that was the recommendation from the standing orders committee.

Earlier this year, the standing orders committee, which included National, recommended the number of select committee places be reduced to 96.

The committee met in March to consider different options for the makeup of the subject select committees. It recommended the

96-member option, saying 84 was not enough and, while the 108-seat model would ‘‘essentially maintain current arrangements’’, due to the number of subject committees being reduced from 13 to 12, committees were ‘‘generally larger than is necessary for them to be effective, and some members have too many committee commitments’’.

‘‘And ultimately Bill English was out there on Friday saying the National Opposition was going to use the select committee process to grind the Government’s legislation to a halt,’’ Hipkins said.

‘‘It would be fair to say we are not of a mind to increase the numbers on select committee in order to make it easier for them to do that.’’

But Bridges said the move would not hold the Government to account, as Labour had said it wanted to do before the election.

‘‘Reducing the level of oversight is not increasing accountability. It does the opposite...

‘‘The Government must let parliamentary structures fully reflect the decisions of voters and allow its ideas to be tested – that’s in the interests of all New Zealanders,’’ he said.