Progress of the Bill and Amendment 583. For those of you wondering where things sit, here’s a brief summary.
1) The Education and Training (System Reform) Bill passed its second reading on 13th May, after the Select Committee had reported on the 4th of May.
2) On the 19th of May, the Minister of Education introduced Amendment 583 – too late for any public consultation, and without any notice or prior consultation.
3) Since then, the Bill has been sitting in the Committee of the Whole House. The Greens have introduced a whole host of amendment papers, which I believe have slowed down the progress of the Bill, so that in the sitting of parliament last week, it did not progress past the Committee Stage.
4) It’s on the draft Order Papers for tomorrow as still being in the Committee phase. I don’t think it will leave that stage until all the Amendment Papers have been discussed/voted on. But I expect them to try and make that happen this week. Parliament sits Tues-Thurs, however Thursday is Budget Day so that may constrain things. However, this evening I was informed by one MP that they think it will go to 3rd reading on Wednesday afternoon.
5) Once it gets to its 3rd reading, when the Clerk introduces it, any Member can bring a motion to dismiss, which is not debated – only voted on – and this can be to dismiss the entire Bill, or just a specific amendment/part. It can be entirely dismissed, or sent back to the Select Committee. The Minister in charge can also dismiss the Amendment herself (which we are trying to encourage through the National MPs, though this is unlikely). Other Members bringing a motion can only happen at this juncture – once the Member in charge (Erica Stanford) stands up to speak to the Bill for its 3rd reading, it’s too late.
6) At the second reading, the votes were whipped – ie by party. So Greens/Labour/Te Pati M?ori and Independents voted against the Bill (55 votes) and National/NZ First/ACT voted for it (68 votes). So, we need 7 of those votes to go the other way. NZ First holds 8, ACT holds 11. Nationals will not cross the floor (actually they can’t), so unless Erica Stanford dismisses it herself, they will vote for it. The Opposition don’t have enough votes to carry a motion to dismiss. But if NZ First or ACT were to move to dismiss and Labour/Greens etc supported, then it would happen.
7) If the Bill does not pass its 3rd reading this week, then the next sitting of the House is not until 23rd June.
Note: I’m not a parliamentarian so if any of you are more knowledgeable than me and can add to or correct any points, let me know. Like many of you, I’ve been getting something of a crash course this past week, beyond what I previously understood.
