Seedy underbelly revealed . . .

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Another politician saw his career ended through bad behaviour last week and final speeches by two prominent female MPs suggest the recent problems in Parliament are far from anything new.

Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway joined National's Andrew Faloon and Hamish Walker on the sacked list as the “Wellington virus” continued to take its toll.

Lees-Galloway destroyed his career through an affair with a staff member. Some would say the consensual relationship should not have cost him his job, but in reality the Prime Minister had no choice. By not acting she would have seemed weak by comparison with National's leader, who cut Falloon loose immediately she knew of his much more serious misdeameanours.

This burst of acivity, worthy of a soap opera, has revealed a seedy underbelly in Parliament also shown in the speeches by the two women.

Retiring Deputy Speaker Anne Tolley, who chaired a working group to create a code of conduct for Parliament, said everybody who worked there, or in electorate offices, had the right to feel safe and respected.

“It's a tough environment — we all understand that — but that's no excuse for some of the behaviour that we know takes place,” she said.

“I spoke with staff who were genuinely frightened to come to work at times. I spoke with MPs who were bullied by colleagues and tolerated sexual harassment as part of the job. None of them had any expectations that something could be done about such behaviour. Well, that is simply unacceptable.”

In her speech Tolley said they didn't quite finish their work, but did report back seven statements of expectation of behaviour to the Speaker; a final code will not appear until after the election.

Fellow retiring ex-Cabinet Minister Maggie Barry, who herself has been accused of bullying staff, said that while at its best Parliament delivered in a way the “team of five million” New Zealanders could be proud of, at its worst it could be frustrating, dehumanising and brutal. They had been reminded in recent weeks of the pressures that can take a heavy toll on MPs and their families.

During the general debate Christchurch East MP Poto Williams appealed for better behaviour, saying the public were tired of the way politicians were behaving.

It all points to an unacceptable situation, something that the new government after September's election should give some urgency to dealing with.