Parliamentary Procedure

SITTINGS AND BUSINESS

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Northern Suburbs) (10:32): I move:

That standing and sessional orders be so far suspended as to provide that government business has precedence over Private Members Business Bills and Private Members Business Other Motions on Thursday 7 July and that any private members' business set down for that day be set down for consideration on Thursday 28 July.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:33): I will make some comments in relation to this procedure. What this procedure does is take private members' time out for one day of sitting, which happens to be today. The nonsense of this is that last night the house got up at 6 o'clock. The house could have easily sat through until later in the evening and dealt with the speeches in reply to the estimates committees and not denied the house the private members' day today. It was only for the convenience of the government that it suspended the house last night at 6 o'clock and then is going to use its numbers to take away private members' time today.

I simply make the point to the house that we got up at 6 o'clock last night. We could have easily sat through until 10, 11 or midnight and finished the debate so that private members could have continued today, or got the debate to the point where private members could be held this morning and then the debate completed this afternoon. The opposition was always in agreement that the debate would be completed this week—that was never in question—but it is unfortunate that the private members' time is going to be taken away today when the house got up at 6 o'clock. At the end of the day, we accept that the vote is going to go through, but I make the point to the house that next year I think we can do it better.

Motion carried.