Member's Day

Today is a Member's Day, and one which could have some fireworks. First up we have the Sullivan Birth Certificate Bill, a Private Bill aimed at correcting a historic injustice. While it will be good to see it pass, people shouldn't have to go through the expensive process of sponsoring private legislation to fix these problems, and hopefully Parliament will be able to come up with a better solution in the future.

Following that there is the third reading of Mark Mitchell's petty Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill and then the committee stage of Te Ururoa Flavell's Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill. The latter promises to be firey - the bill was gutted in select committee, with the collaboration of its useless sponsor, and turned into a vehicle for promoting pokies. But Labour and the Greens have filed over a dozen amendments to restore the bill and strengthen its provisions. The question is whether the Maori Party will vote for what their bill was originally trying to achieve, or defend the pokie barons against restrictions...

if the House moves quickly it may make some further progress on Moana Mackey's Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill, but I doubt it.