PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
JURISDICTION NAME NEW ZEALAND
REFERENDA PROPOSAL TO DECIDE ON NEW ZEALAND FLAG DISCUSSED
New Zealand Flag Referenda On 12 March 2015, the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Bill English MP (National) introduced the New Zealand Flag Referendum Bill for its first reading. He reiterated the government’s “commitment to hold a binding referendum on the New Zealand flag well before the 2017 general election.” He said that should New Zealanders vote in favour of a new flag, “the Bill provides for this to become the official flag of New Zealand by amending the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981.”
Mr English explained the government’s intention to hold a two-stage postal ballot that “begins with a vote on alternative flag designs and concludes with a clear choice between the current New Zealand flag and the most preferred alternative design.” Mr Jono Naylor MP (National) spoke in favour of the Bill, saying: “The current flag was put in place in 1902, so it probably is a good time for us to stop and ponder the future of our flag in New Zealand.” Fellow National Member Ms Joanne Hayes MP added: “We need a flag that tells the world that we are Aotearoa New Zealand.” Hon. Maurice Williamson MP (National) described the difference between the Australian and New Zealand flags. “They have got white stars; we have got red ones. They have got a bigger [star], but it’s hardly that much of a difference.” Dr Kennedy Graham MP
(Green) added that the current flag “simply serves to sow confusion as to our separate identities.”
The Co-Leader of the Māori
Party, Ms Marama Fox MP, expressed her desire for a flag that represents her “duality of nationhood”, and Mr James Shaw MP (Green) highlighted the fact that “twelve percent of [the] population identifies as Māori, but [the] current flag ignores the indigenous people of this land.” Opposing the Bill, Hon. Phil
Goff MP (Labour) said: “Two percent of New Zealanders think that changing the flag is an important issue.” He suggested that a single referendum could be held “at the same time as the general election, to save the $26 million the government is spending.” Also opposing the Bill, Mr Denis O’Rourke MP (New Zealand First), stated his preference for the current flag saying “Everybody knows it. Everybody respects it.” The Bill passed its first reading
by 76 votes to 43, and was referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for public submissions.
Legislating against MPs’ Pay Increase
Under existing legislation, the independent Remuneration Authority used certain criteria (for example, the need to achieve fairness for both the Member and for the taxpayer) to determine the salaries of MPs. The House sat under
urgency on 17 March to pass the Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill through all stages to revoke a recent determination of the authority and change the criteria
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for setting salary rises. Urgency was used to ensure that MPs did not receive a backdated 3.56% salary increase that was due to be paid the following week. At its third reading, Minister
for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Michael Woodhouse MP (National) said that the Bill “is the government’s response to the most recent determination of the Remuneration Authority, […] The government considers this increase to be disproportionate to the salary movements in the wider public sector and unfair to taxpayers. The Bill limits the Remuneration Authority consideration to applying the wage growth in the public sector, as measured by the quarterly employment survey, to MPs’ remuneration.”
Speaking in support of the Bill, the Deputy Leader of Labour, Hon. Annette King MP noted in the first reading: “Using this measure means the remuneration of Members of Parliament will increase in line with the average public sector salary.” Mr Grant Robertson MP
(Labour) said in the second reading: “I think the government needs to explain very carefully to us why it is limiting this to the public sector. If we looked across the economy more broadly, then I would have more comfort.” Ms Tracey Martin MP
(Deputy Leader, New Zealand First) asked: “Are we sure that the quarterly employment survey is the thing that we should be working on?”
At the Committee of the whole
House stage, the Green Party did not win sufficient support for an amendment that would have revoked the pay increase but allowed time for further consideration of the criteria used by the Remuneration Authority. In the third reading, Green
Party Co-Leader Ms Metiria Turei MP said: “We are opposing this legislation because it does not do what the government says it wants it to do […] The purpose of the legislation […] is to constrain public sector pay.” The Bill passed by 106 votes to 14.
Changes to Paid Parental Leave Legislation The Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill, a Member’s Bill in the name of Ms Sue Moroney MP (Labour) was negatived in its third reading on 25 February 2015 when the voting was tied at 60 votes in favour and 60 against. The Bill as introduced would have extended paid parental leave from 14 to 26 weeks in staged increases. Under the Standing Orders, any Member other than a Minister may propose a Bill for inclusion in the ballot. The Standing Orders prescribe the rules around the priority of Member’s Bills on the order paper. Introduced in 2012, Ms
Moroney’s Bill passed its second reading on 28 February 2014 by 61 votes to 60. However, sitting under urgency on 15 May, the House passed government legislation to extend paid parental
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