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Opinion by Barry Soper
Barry Soper is Newstalk ZB's senior political correspondent
Parliament by remote control. That's the prospect facing politicians as they today vote for what they call a "sessional order", which has never been used before. It essentially suspends the normal rules governing Parliament and hands the power to the Business Committee.
It'll mean many MPs can work fromhome and their staff are likely to be allowed to do likewise.
The committee, headed by Speaker Trevor Mallard, will be able to decide when and if Parliament sits.
It's all aimed at keeping them at a safe distance from each other, or as Jacinda Ardern would have it, at spitting distance.
They'll still be able to ask questions of each other, again keeping their distance in electronic form. Chances are this will be the order of the day, getting across the line and changing the face of Parliament until this damn virus is brought under control.
The order today is actually a guard against the Prime Minister getting carried away by using her considerable powers under the Epidemic Preparedness Act.
An explanation of the Act says in a few circumstances the powers conferred on the Government or officials to deal with an emergency are regarded as so extreme that some parliamentary control is desirable to ensure that they are not abused.
Let loose without that control, Ardern (or any other PM) could for example stop movement between the South and North Islands or even isolate a suburb if the outbreak's bad enough.
She hasn't needed to use the Act yet because the tougher than expected measures they put into place over the weekend have been implemented without the need to invoke it.
It shouldn't come as any surprise that the Government's about to go further with the spitting distance rule, like Australia, which is now banning indoor crowds of more than a hundred people while 500 can still get together outside. Not as bad as Austria's ban on gatherings of more than five, but it' would have a massive effect on the hospitality business, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, not to mention religious congregations including funerals and weddings.
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The new normal is mind boggling, leaving us all shell shocked after less than a week that feels like a year.
But clearly there's even worse to come, with Winston Peters telling Kiwis travelling abroad, and there are around 80,000 of them, to come home before it's too late.
Reading between the lines doesn't bear thinking about. Does it mean the borders will be shut down completely? If that happens there'll be no flights into or out of the country and Kiwis abroad will be grounded.
Ardern tells us to keep calm, don't panic, be prepared. For what?
