Rules cover Ross’ case
MP Jami-Lee Ross’ admission to a mental health unit could spark a by-election though declaring the seat vacant would take at least six months and require a series of medical assessments.
On Friday, Ross said he would not quit Parliament, despite saying earlier he would resign and then contest a by-election in his Auckland seat of Botany as an independent. Later he pledged to stay on in Parliament, saying the National Party had ‘‘changed the rules’’ by lifting the bedsheets on him so much that he wouldn’t be able to fight a by-election.
Under the Electoral Act there is a process for Parliament’s Speaker to follow when an MP is hospitalised for mental health reasons. Speaker Trevor Mallard said on Sunday he had not been officially notified of any hospitalisation. By law, the Speaker should be notified as soon as possible if a MP is subject to a compulsory mental health treatment order. It is not clear if this is the case with Ross. ‘‘I haven’t heard anything officially. If I do I will seek advice both legal and medical,’’ Mallard said.
understands that the process for declaring a seat vacant for reasons of mental disorder takes at least six months and a series of medical assessments.
The process requires that the Speaker is informed by the medical professionals involved.
The Speaker must then seek an assessment from the directorgeneral of health and a medical professional confirming that the MP is ‘‘mentally disordered’’.
If after six months they found the MP was still ‘‘mentally disordered’’, there would be a byelection.
Last week, four women came forward to media to allege they have been either bullied by Ross or had consensual but threatening sexual relationships with him. Ross accepted that he had affairs with the women but disputed aspects of the story. The National Party caucus has expelled him and usually Ross would be automatically be recognised as an independent MP by the Speaker.
If he officially told the Speaker he was an independent, the new ‘‘waka jumping’’ law would mean he would have to leave Parliament. That would need to happen if Ross was to seek new parliamentary funding as the leader of his own party. National could still use the ‘‘waka jumping’’ law. That would involve writing a specific letter to the Speaker.