I am sure you will all be shocked to learn that I understand we are about to go into urgency, again, for the sixth parliamentary week in a row. As I said in my post on this last week, urgency has been used by all governments, but it certainly feels like it has been far more often. David Farrar has given us his spin, but if we look at the actual percentage of hours spent in urgency, it is revealing as to just how much time has been spent in urgency this term.
In addition what these figures do not show is the percentage of bills that have not been referred to a select committee under National. There has been an excessive use of urgency this term, and a greater use under previous National led governments. Such excessive use is inevitably going to lead to bad law, and it is anti-democratic. The use needs to be reviewed.
Posted in Urgency and National. |
I grew up in Dunedin. We didn’t really have exposure to Rugby League, apart from the odd Australian game on the telly. My brother reckons that I thought ‘dummy half’ was an actual player. It seemed like an odd game- no lineouts, all that kicking. But over the years that all changed- particularly through the Kiwi teams of the 1980s and early 90s. The Tamatis, Mark Graham, James Leuluai, Clayton Friend, the list goes on.
However international rugby league has been through some strange times since then. Something about the structure of the game means it is the poor relation to club play, right across the world. Sometimes watching the Kiwis in the early years of this decade you had to wonder if they were that into it. It felt like the selectors were scanning Sydney nightclubs for big guys who’s grandmothers once considered a trip to New Zealand to offer them a spot in the team. There have been internal squabbles and massive barnies between countries. At times it looked like the whole thing might fall over.
It feels a bit better lately. In terms of the Kiwis Stephen Kearney looks like he is instilling some pride and unity in the team. It helps that we won the World Cup of course. In terms of competitions, we now have yet another format for international league. Kicking off in the UK this weekend is the four nations, with us, Australia, England and France. It feels like it should be us and the Aussies in the final. A good guide to form will be this Sunday morning at 8am when we meet the Kangaroos in pool play ( if you can call it pool play with four teams). When you scan the team lists the Aussies look like they should be all over us, and they were last time we met. But the memory of that World Cup win is not too far away.
So, get yourself some brekkie tomorrow morning, look out for your expat friends in the stands in London, and cheers on the lads, including that dummy-half fella, he’s everywhere man.
Posted in Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
Speech to IPA/IPS
Last week I participated in a seminar series being run by the Institute of Public Administration and the Institute of Policy Studies on future challenges for the public service. It was a good experience to look a fair way ahead and put forward some ideas and challenges. I have had some good feedback on the speech, and I am continuing to develop the ideas, so I welcome any comment.
Two caveats-first, obviously these are my personal views only. Second, I have left out my story about starting at MFAT. That is reserved for those who come along to these sorts of events!
Posted in Public Services. |
Citizens of New Zealand, this is your Minister of Education. No support for primary schools to deliver science, art or PE next year. What would we want with primary school pupils who can understand science anyway? Listen to the interview in the link. It is enough to make you weep.
Posted in Education. |
Dear readers, Parliament is now in urgency. That would be the fifth Parliamentary week in a row that we have gone into urgency. Perhaps its time to rename urgency as normalcy if this is the approach National is going to take.
In all seriousness, while there is a place for urgency, and (before the right begin to howl) all governments have used it, this is getting beyond a joke. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the complex the hearings on the Emissions Trading Bill are taking place from 9am to 9pm each day, with some submitters given only a few hours notice of needing to submit and then being given a very short time to state their cases. Concerns are being raised from those on all sides of the debate. It appears from media reports that National even tried to get the committee to agree to having all 184 people who wanted to submit in public put through in one day.
Lest anyone think these issues are ‘beltway’, the excessive use of urgency and the rushed select committee processes should be of concern to all New Zealanders. Apart from being anti-democratic, they open the door for bad and poorly considered law. There will necessarily be simple drafting errors but more than that Select Committees are either not getting a say or not getting enough time to properly scruitinise the Bills.
Earlier this year National put through the bill creating national standards for literacy and numeracy without a select committee process. In other words without giving parents, teachers, experts in the field the chance to have a say. Inevitably Anne Tolley has now had to delay the whole process to try to deal with issues that have come up since the Bill was passed. These could have been dealt with in a Committee. We all know about the ramming through of the Auckland governance legislation without any public process. There are numerous other examples.
As an MP I expect, and I am happy, to work hard and do some long hours. But whether I support the laws being passed by National or not, I want to know that I am part of upholding our democracy and making good law. That is being put at risk.
Posted in Consultation, Climate Change and Democracy. |
