Phil Smith

New Zealand

Editor at Radio New Zealand (RNZ)

Editor at The House Podcast

Journalist. Editor of The House - RNZ's Parliament report.

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Articles

Shouting out, singing in: Rockquest at Parliament

4 days ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Last Wednesday at Parliament was unusually fraught. The House was under urgency and debating whether to walk back pay equity legislation and rework wildlife protection law to ease infrastructure projects. By the time the House reached its dinner break, a change of energy was more than welcome. Luckily, in the room next door (the old upper chamber), a function was launching the nationwide school-age performing arts event that began life as the Smokefree Rockquest.
Pay equity amendment puzzles

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

The government has walked back pay equity legislation and killed 33 incomplete settlement cases, in a surprise bill debated under urgency this week. Debate over the bill included not just the bill's intent, but also why it was being passed in haste, and why it was happening now. When the initial plan for Parliament's week was released by the government, it was to pass legislation under urgency all week. But the list of bills up for debate looked scanty.
MPs give pope a tardy but honest obituary

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Parliament is sitting again after a three week hiatus. It's pretty normal that when MPs return after a break there is a backlog of things for them to deal with. This week was no exception, with incoming reports, petitions, bills, urgent debate requests - even the resignation of an MP. Numerous events that might have deserved a motion from the House missed out.
Democratic guardrails: Is NZ safe from authoritarianism?

2 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Benevolent democracy is not guaranteed. Nations can easily backslide down 'Despot Boulevard', eroding rights and freedoms, the rule of law or democracy itself. The easy slide towards authoritarianism seems to have been particularly strong recently. Freedom House rankings between 2005 and 2021 show more countries have declined than have improved, every year but one. Sometimes, twice as many. It's worrying to watch.
Democratic guardrails: Is NZ safe from authoritarianism?

2 weeks ago | radionz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Benevolent democracy is not guaranteed. Nations can easily backslide down 'Despot Boulevard', eroding rights and freedoms, the rule of law or democracy itself. The easy slide towards authoritarianism seems to have been particularly strong recently. Freedom House rankings between 2005 and 2021 show more countries have declined than have improved, every year but one. Sometimes, twice as many. It's worrying to watch.
The House: A Question Time scavenger hunt

1 month ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

"Arguments, inferences, imputations, epithets, ironical expressions, or expressions of opinion." It could be a lost verse from the Rodgers and Hammerstein song which lists "a few of my favourite things". In fact it's a partial list of things that questions during Parliament's Question Time cannot include. There are also some must-haves, and separate requirements for answers.
Behind the door at a parliamentary privilege hearing

1 month ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Parliament's Privileges Committee has been a major source of news over the last few weeks. The committee is Parliament's own ersatz court, where a cross-party group of senior MPs consider whether their colleagues (or even non-MPs), may have broken Parliament's internal rules - something called a breach of privilege. This week's stories involved a stoush between Te Pāti Māori and the Privileges Committee, over how a privileges hearing should be conducted.
The parliamentary processes behind the missing submissions story

1 month ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Parliament belatedly agreed https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/557081/parliament-agrees-to-add-all-treaty-principles-submissions-to-public-record unanimously to allow all submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill to be added to the parliamentary record].
Threats without consequences: Parliament's 'schoolyard stupidity'

1 month ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

In Parliament, ignoring the Speaker, talking over them, or questioning their rulings are all serious offences - called "highly disorderly". Any of these offences have led to many MPs being ordered to apologise, leave the Chamber for the day, or 'named' (with their pay docked). This Parliament, those offences - along with using points of order and patsy questions (and their answers), as vehicles for attacks on the opposition, or on individual MPs - have become a daily commonplace.
The House: Urgency gives and urgency takes away

1 month ago | rnz.co.nz | Phil Smith

Parliament had some interesting select committee hearings scheduled this week. But when MPs got down to business on Tuesday the committee hearings schedule largely went out the window when the House voted to invoke urgency. Urgency allows the government to move bills through the House more quickly, by enabling longer days of debating with no stand-down period between each of a bill's stages of consideration.