PolicyDotNet

State Opening of Parliament
Tuesday, 9 December 2008 at 11 am
On this occasion the Governor-General comes to Parliament House to tell the members of Parliament the Governments reasons for bringing Parliament together to meet.

By custom, the Governor-General does not enter the Houses own Chamber (a tradition followed for over 300 years as a reaction to an occasion when a King of England entered the Chamber of the House of Commons in an attempt to arrest some members of Parliament). The ceremony is therefore held in the Legislative Council Chamber, the chamber in which the upper house used to meet until its abolition on 1 January 1951.

The Governor-General will (after taking his seat on the Throne) send a messenger, known as Black Rod (so called because of the staff which he carries) to the House to summon members to the Council Chamber.

On reaching the Houses Chamber, the door is shut so that Black Rod must knock on the Chamber door. When he has been admitted he gives the House His Excellencys message and the House, led by the Serjeant-at-Arms (with the Mace) and the Speaker, march in procession to the Council Chamber.

When the members have assembled in the Council Chamber, the Governor-General informs them of the Governments reasons for calling Parliament to meet at this time. This is known as the Speech from the Throne. The Speech is a statement of the issues that the Government wishes members to consider. It usually contains a reference to important bills that the Government intends to introduce.

At the conclusion of the Speech, His Excellency presents a copy of it to the Speaker and departs. When the Vice-Regal party has left, the members follow the Speaker back to their Chamber in procession to carry on with their business.

When the House resumes, the Speaker reports the Speech from the Throne to the House. Over subsequent days the House will debate the issues set out in the Speech, in the Address in Reply debate.

Parliament opening and swearing in.

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Questions to Ministers
Hon PHIL GOFF to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers, if so, why?
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister of Finance: Has the Minister seen any reports of government spending commitments which have no funding set aside to pay for them?
Hon CHRIS CARTER to the Minister of Education: What representations did the Minister make to her Cabinet colleagues in the light of her commitment that teachers would not be included in provisions of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill?
AMY ADAMS to the Minister for ACC: What advice has he received on increased costs for ACC over the term of this Parliament and when was he first advised of these?
Hon PHIL GOFF to the Prime Minister: Does his Confidence and Supply Agreement with the ACT party imply that he is suspicious of climate change and not even sure it is a problem, or that he is a firm believer in climate change and always has been?
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Prime Minister: When does his Government expect to pass an amendment to the ETS legislation delaying its implementation as agreed to in the National ACT confidence and supply agreement?
JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Housing: What reports has he seen on the status of New Zealands housing stock?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN to the Leader of the House: Is it Government policy that no bill will be referred to a select committee if it was National Party policy for the General Election 2008?
JOHN BOSCAWEN to the Minister of Justice: On what date is the Government planning to repeal the Electoral Finance Act and introduce new electoral law?
Hon JIM ANDERTON to the Minister of Agriculture: Is he aware of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Briefing For Incoming Ministers that states, The agriculture, food and forestry industries are the core of our economy, major determinants of our employment and social well being and key drivers of our land, water and biological resource use; and if so, how many times was the word agriculture used in the Speech from The Throne?
TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister of Māori Affairs: Kua tau ngā whakaaro o te Minita ki te arotahi o Te Puni Kōkiri mō te pūmanawa nohopuku Māori?
Translation: Is the Minister satisfied with the focus of Te Puni Kōkiri on Māori Potential?
AARON GILMORE to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Will the Government be moving to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs?