Labour rebuked for Bishop snub
Parliament’s Speaker, Trevor Mallard, has reprimanded Labour MPS for their treatment of National Party MP Chris Bishop, after a testy parliamentary hearing about issues at managed isolation facilities.
At ameeting of the health select committee on Wednesday, Labour MPS routinely frustrated Bishop’s attempts to question officials on a failure to ensure managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) staff were getting fortnightly surveillance tests.
In the House yesterday, Mallard said he had watched a recording of the committee and the ability for the Opposition to ask questions was ‘‘not in compliance in the spirit’’ with parliamentary rules.
Because of this, Mallard said Bishop could have an additional four supplementary questions to pursue the issue with Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins in the House – effectively punishing Labour.
‘‘From my perspective, there was not adequate time for the Opposition to ask questions at that time. This was the first opportunity, frommy perspective, to at least partially remedy that,’’ Mallard said to reporters afterward.
‘‘It is a clear indication to select committee chairs that it is their job to provide the opportunity for officials to be held to account. That did not appear to occur yesterday.’’ He said he had a ‘‘very brief conversation’’ with two mps – but he would not say who – about how the committee played out.
Mallard said it was ‘‘not satisfactory’’ that 23 minutes of a 50-minute session was taken up by government officials, with little opportunity for mps to ask questions. ‘‘I think that ministers will now have a discussion with their own officials to make sure that they do not try and block questioning by taking all the time up in making statements.’’
Bishop said he welcomed the Speaker’s ruling, as it ‘‘rightly recognised the committee yesterday was sub-optimal’’.
‘‘Of course it does not deal with the wider issue of the way in which the health committee and committees more generally are scrutinising the Government.’’
He had yesterday sent a letter to Mallard calling for a reboot of the epidemic response committee which canvassed Covid-19 issues during the height of the pandemic ¯ O response.
At the Labour-dominated health committeemeeting on Wednesday, chairwoman Labour MP Dr Liz Craig directed MIQ officials to talk about the ‘‘basic science’’ behind how the managed isolation system had been set up.
Formore than 20 minutes during the opening of the session, Bloomfield canvassed the increased understanding that ‘‘airborne transmission’’ of the virus was a risk and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) deputy chief executive Megan Main detailed the ‘‘customer journey’’ that returnees have. But the committee’s direction clearly frustrated Bishop – who at one stage had his head in his hands – and other Opposition MPS, who sought to pursue more probing questions.
Tremain, under questioning from Bishop, confirmed a security guard who had tested positive for Covid-19 had his last known surveillance test as many as six months ago. But the MP’S attempts to ask further questions, and a request to extend the session to allow for further questions, were disrupted by Craig and Labour MP Ginny Andersen. Green Partymp Elizabeth Kerekere was also not allowed a question.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw yesterday said Kerekere was ‘‘obviously pretty frustrated about that’’ but the party was yet to decide whether it supported the call for a dedicated Covid-19 committee.
Select committees provide a key opportunity for MPS to scrutinise government officials, and are particularly valuable to Opposition MPS as they lack the access to officials which being in Government provides.