The proposal comes after Parliament’s Business Committee, the cross-party committee that decides the running of Parliament, met today in light of the national state of emergency declared this morning.
“This an unprecedented storm which is affecting people and property across much of the North Island,” the Leader of the House Grant Robertson said.
“Government Ministers and MPs from all political parties will be focussed on assisting their communities with the response so the Government is proposing to postpone this week’s sitting programme.”
Such a proposal requires the “consensus” of the committee, meaning most parties, including the largest two, must support it.
After the motion on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty will deliver a statement on the declaration of a state of national emergency, followed by questions and answers.
Robertson will then move a motion for Parliament to adjourn until next Tuesday.
That week will follow the original plan for this week, meaning the House will begin with the Prime Minister’s statement and debate. Wednesday will be the first day of oral questions. Select committees can continue to meet this week if they are able to do so remotely.
Earlier, National leader Christopher Luxon, walking into his weekly caucus meeting, said Parliament would be “suspended” for the week - getting ahead of the decision, which has not yet been made.
“We need to be here to do our job, it’s obvious under a state of emergency that’s not possible and Parliament will be suspended this afternoon,” Luxon said.
Parliament is currently set to return from the summer recess on Tuesday. On Monday, the Business Committee met to discuss rearranging the sitting calendar to accommodate the storms lashing the North Island.
Despite pleas from some parties to bring back the virtual hybrid Parliament of the Covid era, the committee determined that Parliament would return as normal, but with an altered sitting calendar, taking into account the fact that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and many MPs would be stranded in Auckland.
A tweet from Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer suggested her party was unhappy with the decision to return to Parliament, blaming it on the National Party.
“[W]e could not get agreement from National to do Parliament virtually. All parties must agree,” she wrote in a tweet.
The Business Committee operates using consensus. All parties don’t necessarily have to agree, but there must be consensus among them. There is no numerical definition of consensus on the committee.
Luxon said that National’s position was “we should be here doing our job and with respect to Parliament this week’s events have superseded it”.
“Our view is we should be here in person where we can do business here,” Luxon said.
