When I was young I had the dubious distinction of playing in a brass band, a quaint and deafening musical genre from another century. Among my favourite marches was a jaunty piece of fin de siècle by Czech composer, Julius Fucik, titled the Entry of the Gladiators.
The title depicts the grand entry of the “we who are about to die, salute you” crowd, all muscled and sharply armed.
These days you’re more likely to hear the music at a circus rather than at the circus maximus.
Part of the Gladiator Mosaic, displayed at the Galleria Borghese. c. 320 AD. The Ø symbol marks a gladiator killed in combat Photo: public domain
That music is perfect for Parliament this week because the full cast of combatants has arrived back in the centre ring of the colosseum (to mix our metaphors).
The arrival of many Auckland-based MPs who have been stuck in lock-down for the last two sitting blocks doesn’t actually change very much about how Parliament has been running, at least on the Government legislation side of the fence.
It will be nice to see fresh faces though, and the previously present MPs will be relieved to have others to share the debating duties.
But business has not much slowed in the meantime.
Select Committees have been meeting remotely for months (with all MPs participating) and plowing through their work at a prodigious rate.
Government legislation has been moving through the House at a good clip - possibly speeded a little by the reduced numbers of experienced opposition MPs to help slow down committee stages.
What has been different is members' days.
Wednesday this week is a members’ day and will enjoy the return to the order paper of a number of member’s bills that have been on hold (or more officially not available for debate) because their sponsoring MPs have been unavailable to front them. No MP wants their member’s bill to face the other gladiators without them there to help the defence.
And so there are some interesting bills this week (some bills or MPs freshly re-arrived).
- The New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income (Fair Residency) Amendment Bill is back for third and final reading with National MP Andrew Bayly at the helm. That bill will slowly double the residency requirement for receipt of NZ superannuation.
- Todd Muller’s Sunscreen (Product Safety Standard) Bill has a second reading. Spoiler Alert: the name of that bill entirely gives away the plot.
- And Louisa Wall’s Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised posting of Intimate Visuals Recording) Amendment Bill will be up for a second reading. This bill makes sharing what is sometimes referred to as ‘revenge porn’ a more chargeable offence because the onus of proof for consent goes onto the sharer.
The important question to consider while following those debates is this.
If that jaunty brass band march is the theme for The Entry of the Gladiators, what do you play for the re-entry? The same thing but twice as fast, or half speed, or backwards or something else entirely?
