Labour had cause for celebration after three of four members' bills drawn from the ballot today were from its MPs - all from current or former leaders Andrew Little, David Cunliffe and David Shearer.
The ballot decides which bills are considered by Parliament.
Bills from opposition members normally have a low chance of proceeding past the first reading, however one drawn today in the name of Mr Little may have had the numbers.
Mr Little's Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) is a second effort to bring in minimum standards for rental housing.
Its predecessor narrowly failed to advance after its first reading in March, on a vote of 60 to 60, with National and Act opposed.
NZ First leader Winston's Peters by-election victory in Northland now means the legislation would have the numbers if the Greens, NZ First, the Maori Party and United Future support it again.
However, before question time today Mr Carter said there was a problem, and he believed Mr Little's bill should never have been allowed in the ballot.
That was because it was the same in substance as the bill that had been voted down in March - not allowed under the rules, Mr Carter said.
"If the first reading of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) is reached in the current calendar year, I will then rule the bill out of order. However, if it is reached later than that, it will not trigger the prohibition...and will be in order.
"In future, bills that are the same in substance as ones read or defeated in the same calendar year will not be permitted into the ballot."
After question time, Labour's chief whip Chris Hipkins said Mr Little's office had sought the advice of the Clerk's Office before submitting the bill, and was assured it met all requirements.
The bill had been in the ballot for four months, and it was only now that any objection was raised, Mr Hipkins said.
Mr Carter refused to review his decision, saying it was a "very fair" way forward after an unprecedented situation.
Another members' bill drawn today was one from National MP Dr Jian Yang that would stop child sex offenders from changing their name.
Dr Yang's Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration (Preventing Name Change by Child Sex Offenders) Amendment Bill would prevent people convicted of a child sex offence from changing their name.
"I believe many people will remember the case of Henry Te Rito Miki, a convicted child sex offender who managed to obtain work at several schools after his release from prison. A contributing factor in this case was how easy it was for him to be able to change his name lawfully, and adopt numerous aliases," Dr Yang said.
On Twitter, lawyer and blogger Graeme Edgeler has pointed out what he believes to be an error in Dr Yang's bill.
The draft explanatory note on the bill states that a child sex offender is a person convicted of a "relevant offence" - as defined in section 107B of the Parole Act 2002.
That section defines relevant offence as including robbery, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, wounding with intent, and discharging a firearm with intent.
Asked whether there was a definition issue, Dr Yang said that, as happened with any members bill, his bill would be thoroughly examined.
"And if necessary we would amend any relevant drafting issues."
Mr Cunliffe's Education (Restoration of Democracy to University Councils) Amendment Bill would repeal changes to the Education Act which reduced university council sizes from between 12 to 20 members to between 8 to 12 and removed guaranteed student representation.
The recent changes to the make-up of councils by Tertiary Minister Steven Joyce were strongly opposed by Universities NZ and student unions, who viewed it as an effort to exert more Government control on how universities functioned.
Mr Shearer's Electricity Transparency Bill would amend the Electricity Industry Act 2010 to require that every electricity bill sent to domestic consumers includes a list itemising and attaching a percentage to the different components comprising the bill.
