Inside Pint of Order, Parliament's new in-house bar

For many decades New Zealand's Parliament was described as akin to a boozy gentlemen's club that happened to pass laws. That is also how its history reads.

There are many stories. My favourite is that of early MP Edward Jerningham Wakefield, who was locked in an upstairs room in an attempt to keep him sober enough to vote with his captors, as he had agreed. The opposing camp - plotting against him (since he held the deciding vote) - lowered whisky into his confines via the chimney. Eventually, released in time to vote, he staggered to the chamber where, to everyone's surprise, he voted against his allies and with the suppliers of the whisky.

Or how about the MP who, drunk enough to mistake harbour navigation lights for street lamps, reeled down the docks and into the sea, nearly drowning. Or the prime minister who, it is said, was so reliably drunk, that his staff regularly let down the tires on his car to prevent him driving home.

In a 1871 session of Parliament, which lasted just 60 days, the MPs got through fifty dozen bottles of champagne, a hogshead and seventy-two bottles of claret, four casks of sherry, a cask of port and four cases of wine. And that accounting doesn't even include the beer.

In the 1980s, Geoffrey Palmer's parliamentary reforms began professionalising Parliament, taking the "party" out of the Party system. The slow arrival of female MPs may also have helped kill the boys' club feel. Moves from recent Speakers have pushed the institution not just away from booze, but towards a family-friendly vibe.

The change in tone and expectation is such that there was barely a ripple in the glass when Parliament's in-house bar closed last year to make more room in the Beehive for ministerial offices.

This week a replacement bar was formally opened. Pint of Order is located in Parliament House, having been cleverly cobbled together from a run of storage rooms and odds and ends spaces. It is much smaller than the former version, but cute and cosy, like a speakeasy from the US prohibition era. It is not open to the public unless you're someone's guest.

Back in the day, liquor cabinets were prominent features in an MP's office but they are now rare. Once, tipsy MPs were not uncommon in evening sittings. Once, snap elections were announced in a heady miasma. None of those are now commonplace.

One strong reminder of Parliament's unusual relationship with alcohol is displayed in the new bar: a framed picture shows the first 'proper' bill to be passed by a newly independent parliament, straight after being released from the clutches of colonial governorship. And what was the bill for? Allowing Parliament to circumvent the liquor laws. It's a pretty short piece of legislation, as you can see below.

See also this story from Jamie Tahana for The House.

*RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Find our articles and podcast at RNZ.