As expected, the government has just moved urgency for the passage of the ETS in order to get it into place before the end of the year. They have a case for urgency here, and the bill got a select committee phase, though National turned it into a joke.
But while moving urgency, Brownlee also in the list of legislation made two separate mentions of "the introduction and passing of a government bill". That means he intends to ram not one but two bills through all stages by the end of the week, with no select committee hearings and no public oversight. This may in fact be actually urgent legislation. Unfortunately, thanks to Brownlee, we just don't know, as he wouldn't even say what those bills were. He clearly knows, because he has made space in the urgency motion for them. But we the public - and indeed the MPs which will be eventually debating them - are not allowed to.
This is a mockery of the democratic process. But its another fine example of how Brownlee is dragging our parliament back to the 80's and the era of the Douglas blitzkrieg.
