scholarly journals ‘Urgent’ legislation in the New Zealand House of Representatives and the bypassing of select committee scrutiny

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth McLeay ◽  
Claudia Geigringer ◽  
Polly Higbee
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
National Party ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
The Government

The day after the opening of the new Parliament in December 2008, the National Party minister and Leader of the House, Gerry Brownlee, moved a motion to accord urgency to certain aspects of business. This was passed by 63 votes to 52, with the Māori Party abstaining. It was resolved ‘that urgency be accorded the introduction and passing of Government bills dealing with taxation, employment relations, bail, education and sentencing’, and some other aspects of House business (New Zealand House of Representatives (NZHR), 2008). Although National had insufficient votes to govern on its own (58 in the 122-seat House) it knew that the House would approve the urgency motion because National had the support of three other parties, the Māori Party (five), the ACT party (five) and United Future (one), giving the government a secure majority so long as either ACT or the Māori Party voted for its bills and procedural motions. The above bills were not referred to select committees for public submissions and scrutiny. 

The Nigerian elections of 1983

Africa ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hart
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
The State ◽  
Presidential Candidate ◽  
National Party ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Conservative Coalition ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military

AbstractIn 1979 Nigeria's military government held the first general elections for fifteen years. The politicians then resumed power under a republican constitution. The National Party of Nigeria, a conservative coalition, narrowly won the elections from four other parties and virtually controlled the next elections in 1983. There were five election rounds: for the President, for nine-teen state governers, for the Senate, for the House of Representatives and for the state assemblies. Increases over the 1979 vote in the presidential round indicated some rigging. Results in the following rounds were incredible. The root cause was northern reluctance within the National Party to honour an agreement to a southern presidential candidate at the next elections in 1987 and southern competition for the 1987 nomination. After the elections the courts failed to redress the rigging and the President to purge corrupt Ministers. The military then overthrew the government and resumed control.

New Zealand coalition’s fortunes rest on 2019 moves

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Capital Gains ◽  
National Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government

Significance The coalition reaches this anniversary amid strong fiscal and economic prospects for New Zealand and with firm public support. Impacts The government’s social and environment initiatives are likely to concern businesses further. The National party will take some time to rebuild itself as an effective opposition. If Labour leads the government post-2020, new taxes could come including on the environment and capital gains.

scholarly journals Luck of the Draw? Private Members’ Bills and the Electoral Connection

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Williams ◽  
Indridi H. Indridason
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Random Selection ◽  
Electoral Connection ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Legislative Agenda ◽  
Parliamentary Systems ◽  
The Government ◽  
Selection Of

The legislative agenda in most parliamentary systems is controlled tightly by the government and bills offered by individual members of parliament have low rates of success. Yet, members of parliament (MPs) do seek to present (private) members’ bills even where the rate of adoption is very low. We argue that members’ bills serve as an electoral connection but also as an opportunity for MPs to signal competence to their co-partisans. To demonstrate the presence of an electoral connection we take advantage of the random selection of private members’ bills in the New Zealand House of Representatives and show that survey respondents approve more of electorate MPs whose bills were drawn on the ballot. In addition, we show that MPs respond to the incentives created by the voters and parties’ willingness to reward legislative effort and, consequently, that electorally vulnerable legislators are more likely to place members’ bills on the ballot.

scholarly journals Hobbit Laws

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
National Party ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Employment Rights

In 2010 the National Party-led government did a deal to keep the filming of The Hobbit in New Zealand. The deal involved amending the Employment Relations Act 2000 to exclude film workers from the definition of ‘employee’, and thus also from the protections of employment law. The amendment was rushed through under urgency, and protests and international criticism ensued. Ten years later, the Labour government is considering the Screen Industry Workers Bill. Rather than restoring employment rights to the workers in the film industry, it introduces a dangerous new precedent and continues to trade off human rights against commercial convenience.

scholarly journals "Strangers in the House": The Maori Language in Government and the Maori Language in Parliament 1840-1900

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 865
Author(s):  
Phil Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Treaty Of Waitangi ◽  
The Government ◽  
Adequate Provision ◽  
The Right

The Treaty of Waitangi conferred upon Her Majesty's new subjects "all the rights andprivileges of British subjects" and that included, in theory, the right to be represented in the infantgovernment. In practice, however, the right of Maori to vote in elections was not taken seriouslyuntil 1858 and the presence of formally elected members in the House of Representatives was not achieved until August 1868. When they did speak in 1868 the first four Maori members spoke inMaori, and no adequate provision was made for the translation of their words, or for the words ofother members to be translated for them. The proceedings of the House were not printed in Maoriand the Maori members' speeches were not translated except when it suited the government of theday.Over the next few decades after 1868 there was only an irregular compliance with the standingorders of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council that Bills and Acts be prepared inboth Maori and English for the better information of "Her Majesty's subjects of the Native Race".This study traces the extent of the use of the Maori language in the House and in the Council andpoints to a large number of extant Bills and Acts in Maori as well as to the large number whichhave not survived but which are referred to in the New Zealand parliamentary debates. These little-known texts deserve recognition as expressions of legislation in an indigenous tongue reflectingindigenous concerns but they have usually been disregarded in a European-dominated GeneralAssembly.

scholarly journals Tracking the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Bedggood
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Employment Contracts ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Union Leaders ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
A Site

This paper analyses the media coverage of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill in I he New Zealand Herald and the National Business Review which followed the Bill's passage into law. It considers the media as a 'site of struggle' through their publication of the attempts to influence the Government to change or retain measures, from contending perspectives of both businesses and trade union leaders. Their different views were strongly expressed in the initial reporting in the 'Working to Rules' series in the Business Herald which examined the new provisions for bargaining in the bill. The reports of the submissions to the Select Committee also covered diverse views from the community.The paper assesses the Government response to these viewpoints in terms of the modifications to the original Bill and compares the requirements for bargaining in the new law to those in the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (see Harbridge, 1993) with those in the Employment Relations Act (see Boxall 2001, Wilson 2001).

scholarly journals Pay Equity and Equal Employment Opportunity: Policy, Rhetoric and Reality in the 2004 New Zealand Labour Market

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prue Hyman
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Pay Equity ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Equal Pay ◽  
Pacific People ◽  
The Public ◽  
Equal Employment ◽  
The Government

Pay equity (here interpreted as equal pay for work of equal value) has long been official Labour Party policy, although never properly implemented. The recent Taskforce on Pay and Employment Equity in the Public Service, Public Education and Public Health proposes advances in those sectors. At the same time, Part Two of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill a First Reading Stage would have repealed the only possible, if disputed, legislative underpinning for equal pay for work of equal value in the public and private sectors. After submissions and lobbying, the government sensibly agreed to the Select Committee recommendation to withdraw this from the Bill. The HRC report "Framework for the Future: Equal Employment Opportunities in New Zealand" finds little progress in the employment position of people with disabilities, while the status of Pacific people in the New Zealand labour force is even worse than that of Maori- nor has gender equality yet been achieved. It argues that a lack of equal opportunity creates social tension while New Zealand is being held hack economically through talent being under-utilised. This paper will discuss these reports and developments, government policy and the realities in these areas in 2004 New Zealand.

New Zealand parties prepare for election fight

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
National Party ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Us Dollar ◽  
The Government

Significance Housing and infrastructure will be leading election issues: on January 29, Ardern’s Labour-led coalition government revealed that nearly half of a new 12-billion-dollar (7.8-billion-US-dollar) infrastructure package will go towards road construction. The announcement wrongfooted the opposition National Party, which had been campaigning on being the party of infrastructure and invested heavily in roads when in government before 2017. Impacts The government and public-sector bodies will increase their bond issuance programmes. The central bank will welcome more fiscal stimulus and will be under less pressure to cut interest rates in 2020. Neither Labour nor National is likely to campaign on tightening immigration: skilled migrants will help build infrastructure. The government-allied Green Party faces pressure from its supporters, as the government is investing in roads.

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