Tuesday was a long day at Parliament but among the many bills discussed was one that clearly showed it is always worth making a submission to a select committee; because, and this might surprise you - they do actually listen.
The Bill was the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill - a name so long and difficult that the MPs debating it made a game of attempting to enunciate it successfully.
The Bill arises from the Christchurch mosque attacks and, to borrow National MP (and the Committee Chair who managed the process) Barbara Kuriger’s description; it would grant “the chief censor the power to make swift, time limited, interim classification assessments that can have legal effect for up to 20 working days.”
Photo: Daniil Melnikov/123RF
This was a second reading, when the House considers changes recommended by the select committee - changes they suggest after hearing public feedback.
The committee hadn't been overwhelmed with a slew of opinions; there were 163 written submission, including 22 that also spoke with the committee. But, says the Deputy Chair, Labour MP Tangi Utikere, those submitters identified concerns.
“The majority of those concerns were around the filter provision and so I do want to acknowledge the Minister, the Hon Jan Tinetti, for working closely with the select committee. I found it to be a very collegial opportunity for members of the select committee alongside the responsible Minister and what we have in front of us is a testament to that.”
Before Jan Tinetti was Minister of Internal Affairs she had committee experience as Deputy Chair of the Education and Workforce Committee Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
This was an issue the Minister in Charge of the Bill, Jan Tinetti had particularly drawn to the committee’s attention in the First Reading.
“I had reservations about the way that the filtering provisions in the Bill had been drafted, but I wanted them to go through to select committee to see what submitters were presenting… It became clear to me from the select committee submissions that there was a high level of concern around the filtering provisions and how they would work.
"So both select committee and Cabinet agreed to my recommendations to remove new sections 119L to 119O and all references to the electronic filter, including the regulations in the bill.” - Jan Tinetti
At the first reading the National Party had opposed the Bill. But now with it pared back to its core aim and without the element that they and submitters were worried about, that changed.
“I just want to, at this point, acknowledge Minister Tinetti, because I always admire a Minister that sees a problem in a bill and makes some changes to do something about it. As the Minister said, the filter was causing a huge problem. We were concerned about it. We can now support this bill.
"We couldn't support this bill in the first reading because people were really concerned about the filter and that actually came through in the select committee process from the majority of the submitters that were concerned about it.” - Barbara Kuriger
National MP Barbara Kuriger in the House Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
One of the reasons MPs seem to genuinely enjoy their work on Select Committees is because in those rooms MPs often get to put aside the politicking and concentrate on the main task - making the best legislation possible.
“Thank you to the previous member, my colleague Barbara Kuriger for your support and for the National Party's support. When I came into this house a year ago—today, actually, was my first day here—it was very much around how do I be constructive and how do we work together for the betterment of New Zealand. Hearing those conversations that we've just had, hearing Melissa Lee's critique and work, and hearing the hard work of the select committee very much shows me how we can work together and make our nation a better place.” - Glen Bennett, Labour
