He started Parliament today with the Speaker's ruling and he dropped some pretty strong hints that he thinks that 21 days without pay for Debbie and Rawiri over that haka is too much.
He called the punishment very 'severe' and unprecedented because up til now, the harshest punishment has been 3 days, not 21 days.
He pointed out that the punishment was only carried by a narrow majority on the Privileges Committee - and that going through with the punishment as it stands will deprive the Māori Party of their ability to vote in the House for several sitting days, and that Parliament does not have to go through with it.
He told them that - he said, you don't have to go through with it, Parliament can change the punishment.
Now, I can't say I agree with them on this for one simple reason, and that is deterrence.
Whatever the punishment is going to end up being, it has to be harsh enough to stop the Māori Party doing this again - or at least try to stop them doing this again - because this is a strategy from them.
We need to see this stuff for what it is. This isn't like Julie Anne Genter losing her rag in Parliament in the heat of the moment, apologizing, and then ending up with just a censure and perhaps never doing it again.
The Māori Party break the rules deliberately. This is their strategy, so you can assume that they will keep on doing it.
And the reason they keep on doing it is because it gets them attention.
Attention for wearing sneakers in the house, attention for wearing a cowboy hat in the house, attention for doing a haka in the house, attention for not turning up to the Privileges Committee, attention for leaking the recommendations of the Privileges Committee - the list just goes on.
They say this is about tikanga - but it's not about tikanga. Sneakers are not tikanga.
This is about breaking rules for attention - it's a PR strategy.
3 days without pay is not going to deter them. To be honest, I don't even know that 21 days without pay will deter them, but it surely has a better chance of doing it.
And for the record, a 21-day suspension is not that wild in the UK, where our Parliament derives from.
Just in the last two years, three MPs in the UK have copped suspensions of 30 days or more. In 2019, one guy was suspended for six months.
Now I don't know that we will ever get order back into Parliament the way things have gone in the last few months, but if we don't try, we definitely won't.
So in that context, 21 days doesn't seem overly harsh.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show HERE - where this article was sourced.
11 comments:
It should be remembered that TPM are anti democracy, which they say is colonial. Their antics are not only to get attention (which is what the Maori radical movement always has been about) but also to undermine the Parliamentary system itself. Anyone who plays along with them is just as guilty as they are.
Spare the rod and spoil the child. These provocative clowns have been allowed to turn parliament into a bigger circus than normal.
quote 'It sounds like Gerry Brownlee thinks that the Māori Party punishment is too harsh.'
If this is true, jabba and national are fools, tpm will forever 'ride' the benches without repercussions-much like THEIR PUBLIC seems to be able to do.
Maybe not. To consider: the aim might be to set up a period of constant disruption until the 2026 election. Sean Plunket expressed the view that TPM's intimidation will be repeated A carefully planned strategy could now be in train.
Brownlee has it seems become a disappointment. These people need to be curtailed with some prejudice because it is an attention stunt. If he cannot step on it he is passed his use by date.
We have seen that the Speaker is clearly not up to the job, so for God's sake shove him to the back band benches and put someone in post who will have the guts to do what is necessary to restore order to the House. The man's pathetic attempts to impede Brook's take down of the Opposition's idiocy was another indication that we need new management in the House. The TPM 'punishment' is lenient so if that gets reduced it will say so much about our Parliament.
You're absolutely correct 💯
This is our parliament that TPM are fouling. The speaker is clearly struggling in his position, but that should NOT be at the detriment of parliament order. Personally I believe the suspension days should be Parliamentary sitting days.
However I would be delighted if the standards of dress and decorum reverted to when ties for men were mandatory because that ruling alone would bring more consistency.
Yes change the punishment....lets add something rather than take away. Upon return....they have to re-swear allegiance to the crown because right now they are not keeping any of their promises.
Well said as and I agree they should have to re- swear allegiance
Brownlee is a wet bus ticket and his statements prove it.
Why have a privileges committee sit and agree on a punishment only to have the knees cut out from underneath them by the speaker?
Very senior MPs sat on that committee, TPM had every opportunity to plead their case and refused.
Kick the sods out and dock their pay. As for Brownlee, get a new speaker, he’s out of his depth.
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