week six Flashcards
what are the 4 types of bills
government bills, members bills, local bills and private bills
every statute begins life as?
a bill
what is a government bill
the most common type of bill, originating within the political executive.
It starts at the top and then is passed down to the relevant ministries to put something together and they pass it back up to the minister. A pool of bills is made from which the Cabinet Legislation Committee considers the proposals and assigns priorities. This list is submitted to Cabinet who confirms this priority order via a vote and the governments legislative program is born.
what group of lawyers helps the government and member of the house draft bills
the Parliamentary Counsel Office
why is there internal scrutiny within cabinet of proposed bills
so that government draft bills are introduced into parliament more refined, allowing them to be pushed through faster since Parliament has limited time
what is a members bill
they are introduced into Parliament by independent members of parliament, usually from a non-majority party.
the priority of their introduction is assigned based on ballot (random chance).
members bills are much less likely to be seriously considered under a single party majority government, but under MMP a particular members bill might be able to get a majority without the major party
how is the priority of members bills assigned
by ballot
how is the priority of government bills assigned
Cabinet Legislation Committee considers the proposals and assigns priorities, which Cabinet then votes on to confirm
what two examples of members bills did we look at
the End of Life Choice Bill and the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill
the voting on the End of Life Choice Bill was an example of?
participatory government
what was the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill addressing
introduced by Sue Bradford (Greens) and known as the ‘anti-smacking’ bill
what change to the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill got National on board
a limitation was introduced that Police wouldn’t prosecute where it was super insignificant (e.g. small tap in the supermarket) - this is political compromise
what are local and private bills compared to members and government bills
bills of a narrower effect
what is a local bill
an answer to a localised issue intending to only have effect in one region or locality e.g. validating something done at a local government level
they are not a local government issue because they seek to do something a local council doesn’t have authority to do (something they cannot do through the machinery that already exists)
a local bill will be promoted by a particular local authority who has to give notice (publicise the subject matter to those who will be effected by it)
if the bill passes its first reading, it will be referred to the local government and environment committee rather than a select committee
why are local bills not just done by the local government
because a local bill seeks to do something that cannot be done through the machinery that already exists (no authority)
who introduces a local bill into Parliament
it has to be introduced by a member of parliament putting it through the house
who promotes a local bill and what are they obliged to do
it will be promoted by a particular authority and they must give notice of the subject matter to those who will be effected.
where will a local bill be referred if its passes its first reading rather than a select committee
it is referred to the local government and environment committee
what are private bills
the least common type of bills, these seek to secure some special benefit or right to an individual or organisation.
they are the opposite of ad hominin legislation.
there are similar constitutional issues because parliament should make general laws and things to do with individuals are generally handled by the judiciary.
a parliamentarian promoter gets it into parliament but the promoter themselves face additional hurdles to get it passed because they need to show that legislation is the only appropriate remedy for their issue (they can’t fix it elsewhere) and that there is something unfair/unjust about the application of the general law as it is.
what are private bills the opposite of
ad hominin legislation
what are the constitutional issues with private bills
Parliament should make general laws and generally individuals should be handled by the judiciary
what does the parliamentarian do for the person (promoter) wanting a private bill passed
they just get it into parliament
what does the promoter (person themselves) have to prove to show why they should be given the private bill
that legislation is the only appropriate remedy for their issue (they can’t fix it elsewhere) and that there is something unfair/unjust about the application of the general law.
what is the first step of a bill becoming a statute
introduction and first reading - clerk announces the bill has been introduced after the Leader of the House informs them of the introduction by 1pm on a parliamentary sitting day - now it is part of the business of parliament
the copy has an explanatory note attached. there is a short debate and then a vote.
what is the second step of a bill becomming a statute
select committee process - the public has the greatest input.
the particular committee reflects its subject matter. there are 12 subject matter committees (e.g. health, justice) and an additional 5 specialist committees (e.g. Regulations Review Committee and Standing Orders Committee).
Parliament can also create ad hoc committees.
members sit on the committees and arrange for the calling of public submissions.
they vote among themselves whether to put amendments in and prepare a report to parliament.
what situations are the select committee processes not used for?
for bills relating to the parliamentary function of raising money or where a bill is progressed through the legislature process under urgency
do government ministers sit on committees?
yes
the select committee is designed to be _____. to achieve this it takes public submissions and recommendations from the law commission
neutral
what happens at the second reading and committee of the whole house
2 hour debate and 10 minute speeches by relevant members and there is vote again in principle on the bill.
if it passes it moves to the committee of the whole house who the next day moves to looking at the provisions and whether they bring about the aims or objectives. the bill is debated part by part and amendments can be made by a vote based on a motion. if a motion for an amendment fails they just move on.
what happens in the third reading and royal assent
the bill is now in its final stages. there is a 2 hour debate with 10 minute speeches and a final vote is put which is now ‘should the bill come into law?’
if the bill passes this vote there can be no more substantive changes, only typographical/formatting errors can be changed. if there are to be other substantive changes it will have to go back to the committee of the whole house.
the clerk then makes a fair copy (that is clean) and the Attorney-General checks it and gives it to the Prime Minister who puts it before the Governor General for assent.
what happens to the bill after it has passed the 3rd reading and has been given to the clerk
they make a fair copy and the Attorney General checks this, hands it on to the Prime Minister and then puts it before the Governor General for assent
can substantive changes be made after the 3rd reading vote
no, only typographical/formatting errors. if they want to make substantive changes it will have to go back to the committee of the whole house.
is the Governor General legally binding to give the Royal Assent
no, but they are constitutionally bound and has yet to decline to do so
bills passed under urgency are usually what type of bill
government bills
how does the process of passing a bill under urgency begin
it begins with a government minister, who puts the motion to the house that it be passed with urgency. this must pass with a bare majority and the government minister has to provide a general reason of why urgency is required. where they intend to move to extraordinary urgency the reason must be even more apparent
what notable stage is excluded where a bill is to be passed under urgency or extraordinary urgency
no select committee stage which means there is no opportunity for public submissions or detailed amendment revision
what do Standing Orders require in terms of breaks for bills passed under urgency
sleep break - midnight to 9am
lunch - 1-2pm
dinner - 6-7pm
what do Standing Orders require in terms of breaks for pills passed under extraordinary urgency
they can work all through the night, they only break from 8-9am and have very short lunch and dinner breaks
what may dealing with law under a matter of urgency compromise
making good law through a throughly considered process
what are 3 examples of bills passed under urgency
- where a government makes a final scramble before an election to finish their legislative programme
- policing (constable’s oath validation) amendment bill
- Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill
what was done in the urgent Policing (Constable’s Oaths Validation) Amendment Bill
it fixed an error where officers were sworn in by the wrong person than was designated under the 2008 police act. this could’ve had huge implications for these officers’ ability to arrest, charge etc.
this bill retrospectively said they were sworn in effectively for those past 5 years.
this was a minor procedural error and therefore the solution was simple and justified.
what did the Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill introduce
S20 - gave police extensive powers of warrantless search on all sorts of premises with the exception of private dwellings.
they could search a private dwelling without a warrant if they had reasonable belief people were gathering in contravention of Covid-19 protocols.
the act gave very broad powers to the Director General of Health.
there was no other realistic choice - the law just had to be made quickly here
what is the argument against urgency
efficiency isn’t the most important aspect of creating law - efficient law isn’t the same as good law.
the regular slow process allows for consultation for well-thought out law
its biggest implication is the removal of the select committee stage, which gets rid of people’s ability to be heard
what is general political accountibility
through debate, questioning and rhetoric in the debating chamber the executive can be critiqued and this can be watched publicly on Parliament TV
how are government ministers accountable
they are accountable to Parliament both individually as ministers with particular portfolios and ministries beneath them and secondly they are collectively accountable with the other ministers in Cabinet acting as a unified political executive
why does Cabinet have collective responsibility
they have this to parliament because they act collectively - confidence, confidentiality and unanimity are important.
cabinet must maintain the confidence of?
the house - the majority on the things that matter
supply - a governments ability through Parliament to approve the appropriation of money and its expenditure
confidence - a confidence vote
if a government failed a confidence vote, what would they have to do and what would happen after
they would have to resign because if they can’t get money through resources the government is useless.
the governor general would dissolve the government and a general election would be held if the parties couldn’t get together a government
supply and confidence agreements are made my minor parties, what are they agreeing to do?
vote with their majority party on supply (money) and confidence issues.
by convention, cabinet must act?
unanimously
all government ministers must defend and back what which body does
cabinet
because of the doctrine of collective responsibility, cabinet ministers are all responsible for anything who does
Cabinet
how are ministers individually responsible to parliament
for both their actions and the staff beneath them in their ministries etc.
what is the debate around a minister resigning when something bad happens (themselves or in one of their ministries)
them resigning is a form of political accountability but not of constitutional accountability because that would be to do the things necessary to fix the problem.
where they have no knowledge of it they should show accountability by making things better. ministers should only resign where they have a personal connection to what has gone wrong.
