Committees of the New Zealand House of Representatives are subsets of the New Zealand House of Representatives which deal with specific tasks delegated to them by the House. The functions of committees include scrutinising draft legislation (bills), conducting inquiries into subjects within their expertise, receiving public comment on matters before them, and overseeing the operation of the public service (including, for some committees, the operation of Parliament).[1]
Since the 1960s select committees have taken an increasingly powerful role, dealing with more bills. From the 1970s they became more open to the public and the media, and from 1979 they handled nearly all legislation.[2] The present system, with permanent committees for designated subject matters, was implemented in 1985, in order to promote accountability and a greater separation of Parliament from government.[2] The strengthening of the committee system was in response to concerns that legislation was being forced through, without receiving due examination and revision. Today, public meetings of select committees are livestreamed online.
Each new Parliament appoints a number of select committees, which remain largely unchanged between parliaments. Committees for the 54rd Parliament are established by Standing Order 185.[3] If a bill passes its first reading, it is referred to a select committee for scrutiny. Which committee receives the bill is determined by the member responsible for the bill, subject to the agreement of the House, and the referral motion is not a debatable motion in the House.[4] By default, committees have six months to consider legislation although this can be varied on a case-by-case basis.
Committees can call for submissions from the public, thereby meaning that there is a degree of public consultation before a parliamentary bill proceeds into law. They may recommend amendments to a bill and they may recommend bills are divided into two or more bills. Committees may ask other committees for their opinion on legislation. Committees' recommendations on bills are reported back to the House and voted on at the bill's second reading.[5] The version of the bill approved by the select committee is then scrutinised by the committee of the whole House.
Select committees are sometimes referred to as the "engine room" of Parliament.[6][7][8] Most (but not all) committees are chaired by MPs from government parties and have government majorities. There have been calls for increased independence of select committees from the likes of former Green MP Sue Kedgley in 2012 and ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour in 2021 by providing greater opportunities for opposition chairs and opposition majorities on committees.[7][9]
Types of select committees
There are two main types of select committees:
Subject committees – established to oversee government actions and policy in a specified subject area, as well as examining bills in detail. Subject committees are empowered to hold the Government to account, with ministers presenting evidence and answering questions as necessary. The committees may recommend amendments to a bill when they report back to the House and such recommendations are voted on at the second reading.[10] There are currently twelve such committees.
Specialist committees – established to oversee the procedures of the House itself. There are currently six such committees.
The House may also create additional select committees to conduct investigations into specific matters.[3] This may be to consider specific legislation without adding to a subject select committee's work programme (for example, the Pae Ora Legislation Committee for the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill in 2021–22), to consider legislation that spans more than one subject select committee's remit (for example, the Abortion Legislation Committee for the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2019–20), or to undertake a particular review (for example, the Epidemic Response Committee in 2020).
Of the specialist committees, the Business Committee has an important role in relation to other committees because it decides the membership of subject select committees.
Composition
Each committee consists of between five and twelve MPs. Political parties are generally represented approximately in similar proportions as they are represented in the House as a whole.[11] Membership of committees is determined by the Business Committee at the beginning of each parliament. Attempts are made to allocate MPs into committees for subject areas those MPs have experience in. Each committee has its own chairperson and deputy chairperson who are elected by the committee. MPs may be members of more than one select committee. Cabinet ministers do not sit on committees generally, though there are some exceptions (usually for specialist committees). Some ministers outside Cabinet are required to sit on subject committees to ensure that the governing parties can fill all their allocated places.
Membership of the Business Committee itself is determined by the Speaker (who chairs) and political party leaders.
List of committees in the 54th Parliament
Committees of the 54th Parliament
Committee
Subject(s)
Chairperson
Government/Opposition divide
Subject Committees
Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee
Business development, tourism, Crown minerals, commerce, consumer protection and trading standards, research, science, innovation, intellectual property, broadcasting, communications, and information technology.[12]
Economic and fiscal policy, taxation, revenue, banking and finance, superannuation, insurance, Government expenditure and financial performance, and public audit.[15]
Parliamentary and legislative services, Prime Minister and Cabinet, State services, statistics, internal affairs, civil defence and emergency management, and local government.[17]
Social development, social housing, income support, women, children, young people, seniors, Pacific peoples, ethnic communities, arts, culture and heritage, sport and recreation, voluntary sector.[22]
Each year it recommends when Parliament meets and when matters are debated (the order of business). It decides who the members of select committees are. It also determines if Parliament meets for extended periods of time (extended settings).[24]
Focuses on the rights and freedoms that allow the House of Representatives to do its work and make laws free from outside interference.[26]
TBD
TBD
Regulations Review Committee
To keep New Zealand running efficiently, law making powers are often given to bodies that are not Parliament. These bodies make rules about common things like ACC fees, industry standards and civil defence responses that can have a nationwide impact. The Committee makes sure that all these rules have been made fairly and are used consistently.[27]
The procedure of legislation passing through Parliament requires the House to form itself into a "Committee of the whole House" following a second reading, allowing for the bill to be debated clause-by-clause or part-by-part by all Members. This committee sees the Deputy Speaker or Assistant Speakers presiding over it.[29]
