Question Time is show time for MPs behaving badly

It might not have a primetime slot, but Parliament’s Question Time can be one hell of a show. The average person might look on in bemusement but MPs quizzed by Stuff from both sides of the House agree that the circus is crucial for democracy and holding the Government to account through probing and fact finding.

The majority of them did not wish to be named because they wanted to speak freely – to openly criticise the Speaker would be breaking the rules of the House. The Speaker was also not able to comment.

Question Time’s usual hullabaloo is punctuated every now and then by MPs being forced to leave the parliamentary debating chamber, usually resulting in a few headlines and even some footage on the news. The incidents can be quite entertaining, but expulsion is a serious matter.

If the Speaker makes a ruling on a particular point of order and that is ignored or challenged, it raises a red flag to the Speaker, who will ask the MP to withdraw and apologise.

An MP can be asked to leave the House for continuing the challenge.

Depending on the seriousness of the offence, this can be for an hour or a day. And if an MP is also ‘‘named’’ – a formal suspension and censure from Parliament – it will result in an MP’s pay being docked.

The MPs agree getting ejected from the House is serious, but sometimes passion for an issue can affect an MP’s ‘‘performance’’.

Getting kicked out should not be worn as a badge of victory, says one MP.

‘‘The serial offenders who are repeatedly kicked out for misconduct should be looked down upon rather than applauded.’’

According to the Parliamentary Library records (since 1984) Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters tops the list of the 132 MPs and has been asked to leave on 54 occasions.

He is less likely to withdraw and apologise and more likely to take the punishment and, on many occasions, has pushed the Speaker to the line, without actually crossing it. Notably, the data shows current Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, who had a reputation for being fiery in the House, was ejected 37 times.

Nelson MP Nick Smith is the next-highest-ranked rule-breaker, and has been asked to leave the House 32 times in the past 35 years.

One MP said the first time he got kicked out, he was angry but after a period realised it had no consequence at all. Now he had enough self-restraint to ‘‘sit down and shut up’’.

Another MP said most politicians understood a level of decorum and respect was required and debating an issue, not the person was necessary to protect the dignity of the institution.

‘‘If we slag each other the whole time, what confidence do the public have in this important institution of democracy?’’

Reputations are made or lost in the House, so a good performance in Question Time is a chance for MPs to get runs on the board.

Former Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran went on personal leave from Parliament last year after a horror question over her email use.

Most recently, former Housing Minister Phil Twyford can attest to this after being on the receiving end of constant grillings from National’s Judith Collins.

One MP explained that Question Time was a fundamentally important part of the democratic system and where ministers who were not clever enough were exposed. ‘‘If you can’t give straight answers, then you are clearly not on top of your brief and you become unstuck.’’

However, the Opposition is not currently pinning down ministers. Instead of asking direct questions, they are lacing lines of inquiry with innuendo and statements that do not address an issue. This makes it easier for a minister to get out of answering a question.

Another MP compared Question Time to the ultimate TV show, with many MPs putting on an act for dramatic effect.

This had particularly increased since it was televised and probably had an impact on the way MPs were behaving, he said.

‘‘The art of debate in the Question Time is really diminishing.’’

MPs use Question Time to repeat catchphrases and get their messages into the average voter’s consciousness, which has resulted in a lack of depth to debates and the loss of spontaneity and humour that once filled the chamber.

Lockwood Smith, who was speaker from November 2008 to February 2013, has been hailed by MPs Stuff spoke to, as one of the most fair and reasonable.

‘‘I made sure there was no possibility to be seen favouring my party. Once you are elected speaker, you are Parliament’s person . . . to me the Speaker had an important role as a guardian of the quality of our democracy.’’

Kicking MPs out of the House was a serious offence and he tried to avoid it.

‘‘In many ways I considered it a failure on my part if things got to that point.’’

Being asked to leave the House was not good for an MP’s reputation, so he believed they would not be deliberately trying to do so.

Nick Smith claimed he was still baffled by his removal from Parliament last week and it was not something he nor other MPs takes lightly.

He was asked to leave after he refused to withdraw and apologise during a point-of-order spat during Question Time, where he questioned the Speaker’s ruling.

Being asked to leave was fine, providing the MP was properly holding the Government to account, trying to make the minister answer questions, he says.

‘‘I feel strongly about Parliament being the place to hold the Government to account. If there has ever been an occasion where I have used a swear word or brought up a person rather the issue, I would be embarrassed.’’

He believed the four times he was asked to leave by Mallard this year were all for important points of scrutiny. Smith claimed Peters gets away with ‘‘blue murder’’ and is the only reason Mallard is the Speaker.

‘‘Trevor Mallard is running continuous interference with all sorts of spurious points of order, particularly from Winston Peters.’’

The Speaker has his favourites and his enemies, and dishes out judgments accordingly, Smith said.

‘‘In my view, if Parliament is running smoothly and the Government is not under pressure, the Speaker does not run much interference but if you start putting a minister under a bit of pressure, he is more than happy to create distractions to reduce the pressure.’’