Desperate first-day deal with National
The prime minister stands by the concessions the Government gave National during a facepalm moment on the first day in the House as Labour avoided a vote on its nomination for Speaker, Trevor Mallard.
Both Jacinda Ardern and Leader of the House Chris Hipkins said they had the numbers to make Mallard the Speaker of the House, but they wanted him elected unopposed, which wouldn’t have happened if they had had a vote.
Instead the Government had to cave to the Opposition’s demands after National declared it had an ‘‘assumed majority’’ and would force a vote.
That meant National got its wish for more MPs on select committees – Hipkins did a deal with National’s shadow Leader of the House Simon Bridges to increase the number from 96 to 109.
National and Labour have been clashing for days over the Government’s plans to cut opposition MPs out of select committees.
A proposal to reduce the number to 96 would have meant 11 National MPs would miss out, which National said undermined their ability to hold the Government to account.
Seeing an opportunity to force Hipkins’ hand, Bridges threatened a vote, which Hipkins wasn’t expecting.
While the Government had the numbers, it would have been a close vote as a number of MPs had been absent for their swearing in ceremony earlier in the day.
Hipkins said all the MPs who weren’t in the House for their swearing in and the Speaker vote had approved leave from Parliament.
He said it would have been a ‘‘courtesy’’ for Bridges to tell him ahead of Tuesday that National planned to oppose the Speaker nomination.
In future, he planned to get a specific assurance from National on similar matters, saying he would have preferred to avoid such ‘‘silly games’’.
Hipkins said New Zealanders deserved better than what played out in the House but it was important to get on with business, rather than ‘‘antics’’ like those seen yesterday.
National had been pushing in recent days for 120 seats on select committees and when Bridges could see the ‘‘situation evolving and who was away’’ from Parliament he decided to bring it to Hipkins’ attention right as the Speaker nomination was being heard.
"It was a disorganised Government that we saw today that didn’t know its numbers, which meant we were able to get what we thought was important and what is important for New Zealanders,’’ Bridges said. ‘‘I hope the new Government has learnt a lesson and will pick up its act.’’
Ardern said she could only control the way the Government conducted itself in the House, not the Opposition. She maintains Labour didn’t ‘‘buckle’’ on select committee numbers and there was always going to be a conversation about how many MPs they had – however, the deal has now been done.
HOW IT PLAYED OUT
The shambles began when Labour MP Ruth Dyson rose to nominate Mallard for the Speaker role.
Bridges immediately raised a point of order asking for clarification about whether absent MPs, who hadn’t been sworn in yesterday morning, had a vote on the Speaker role.
As the House took a break to work out the order, Bridges taunted the Government with shouts of ‘‘where’s Winston when you need him?’’.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade Minister David Parker have both already left for Apec in Vietnam, and several other Government MPs, including Labour’s Poto Williams and Priyanca Radhakrishnan and the Greens’ Gareth Hughes, were also absent.
That meant National could ‘‘assume the majority’’, leader Bill English said.
During the commotion in the House, it became apparent National’s nomination for deputy speaker, Anne Tolley, could end up as Speaker.
‘‘It was always possible but we came to an agreement,’’ English said.
Along with the additional MPs National will also get five chairs and five deputies on select committees as part of the deal.
A number of National MPs have already been vocal on social media about the Government not doing the numbers and almost losing their own as Speaker of the House.
After Hipkins and Bridges did the deal and shook on it in the House normality resumed and Mallard was appointed unopposed.