Growing discontent
The number of MPs increased from 80 in 1965 to 99 in 1993. Government powers increased at the same time. The actions of successive governments between 1975 and the early 1990s gave rise to public discontent. Many people saw these governments as unresponsive to the people, and challenged the dominance of the two big parties.
Reform of Parliament
In 1985 the Labour government reformed Parliament and modernised its procedure. Parliament now sat for longer sessions throughout the year. The Parliamentary Service Act 1985 gave the speaker more power to run Parliament. It also created the Parliamentary Service to provide administrative support and the Office of the Clerk to provide procedural and legal advice, and reporting and select-committee assistance. For the first time, MPs received funding for secretaries and offices in their electorates.
Bellamy’s
A long-standing parliamentary institution, which followed British tradition, was a catering service for MPs called Bellamy’s. From the earliest days of the New Zealand Parliament, this provided food and – at times controversially – liquor. Entry to Bellamy’s was restricted. Journalist Tom Scott described the bar in the early 1970s: ‘Thin partitions segregated the various castes. At the far end messengers got a bare wooden floor. Next door the press got stained lino. The Members and Guests and Members Only bars graduated to greasy carpet flecked with cigarette burns.’1
Select committee changes
From the 1960s select committees began to play a larger role, dealing more with legislation. From the 1970s they became more open to the public and the media, and from 1979 they handled nearly all legislation. In 1985 a new select committee system was created to promote accountability and a greater separation of Parliament from government. Thirteen ‘subject’ committees were created, and ministers were required to appear before committees relevant to their portfolio areas.
Electoral reform
Labour appointed a royal commission to consider electoral reform, which in 1986 recommended adoption of the mixed-member proportional representation system (MMP). In a 1993 referendum, 53.9% of voters supported the adoption of MMP. Around this time, a number of small parties were formed.
MMP
With the introduction of MMP in 1996, the number of MPs was increased from 99 to 120 (60 general electorate seats, five Māori electorate seats, and 55 party list seats to ensure proportionality of representation). Parliament’s standing orders were modified to deal with the developing multi-party environment. Speaking time, question time and membership of select committees were allocated to parties according to their numbers in the House.
Voting changes
MMP spelled the end of some long-standing voting practices. Once, all voting was by ‘divisions’ – MPs had to be present in the chamber and went into the Ayes or Noes lobby to cast their votes. This practice was retained only for personal or conscience votes. Pairing, an arrangement to cancel the vote of one MP from a party if an MP from the opposing party was absent, could no longer work with many parties. It was replaced by proxy voting: MPs could cast a vote even if they were not present in the chamber, enabling them to attend to other business. The speaker’s right to a casting vote (the deciding vote in case of a tied vote) was also dropped.
The traditional annual sessions were replaced by three-year sessions corresponding to the electoral cycle. An annual sitting programme, spread through the year with regular adjournments, was adopted. A business committee with a representative of each party was created to plan the business of the House.