When the new week of Parliament began on Tuesday, before the MPs got down into the grit and weeds of debating legislation they had something else to agree on.
Well two things really. The first was an amicable round of congratulations for New Zealand’s Commonwealth games competitors.
But then for something a little different, they also agreed to appoint two more masters for themselves. Two assistant speakers for the exhausting term of office of – a week.
And so David Bennett (N) and Greg O’Connor [L] have found themselves unexpectedly elevated, albeit temporarily.
Speaker Trevor Mallard listens to MPs Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
Just how many Speakers are there at Parliament?
Parliament has a Speaker, just one. They are the MP appointed by their fellow MPs to run Parliament: the landlord, the interpreter of rules, the disciplinarian, the ‘minister’ responsible for the various Officers of Parliament (although not actually directing them).
Being Speaker is a very busy job that goes well beyond the chamber.
But Parliament’s debating chamber can’t function without a chairperson presiding so relying on a single person would be unwise. Also it’s just far too much work for a single person.
So there is always also a Deputy Speaker who can step in and wield the same powers as the boss.
But that’s not enough either. The two senior speakers are busy enough that they need help with the grunt work of managing the many hours of debates.
Also, the chairing of a debating stage called the Committee of the Whole House can only be done by a more junior speaker. And the Committee stage is not time limited so presiding officers need to be able to take turns.
So further speakers are also required. Usually two more – called Assistant Speakers. They spend a fair bit of time managing debates in the House, leaving the Speaker and Deputy more time for admin and meetings.
An unexpected speaker drought
Early in 2022 a third Assistant Speaker was appointed to provide more leeway in case of Covid and the Flu. That was National MP Ian McKelvie. The other two are Jacqui Dean (N) and Jenny Salesa (L).
But this week unexpectedly all three Assistant Speakers were ruled out. One is on leave, one is travelling to Fiji with the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, and the third has Covid.
Two speakers is not vaguely enough to be going on with – especially in a week with many hours of Committee Stage in the House – so for this week Parliament has a grand total of seven presiding officers: A Speaker, a Deputy Speaker, and five Assistant Speakers. It is likely there have never been so many before.
