Opening of Parliament ceremonies on 8 Part Two

Monday, 8 December 2008 at 2 pm
Opening

This is the day on which Parliament is formally opened. The Governor-General sends Commissioners to the House to declare Parliament open on his behalf.

The Commissioners are usually senior Judges.

The Clerk of the House will read the document from the Governor-General that authorises the Commissioners to act for the Governor-General. The Commissioners will then declare Parliament open and leave the Chamber.
Swearing-in

The first essential activity for members once Parliament has been opened is for them to be sworn in. By law, no member may sit or vote in the House before taking the Oath of Allegiance or making an Affirmation of Allegiance to the Crown.

The Clerk of the House is authorised by the Governor-General to administer the oath or the affirmation to members on the opening day. The Clerk will read this authority to the House and will then invite members to come to the left of the Speakers Chair, in alphabetical order, to take the oath or affirmation. The terms of the oath and the affirmation are prescribed in the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957. Members may swear or affirm in English or in Māori.

After each member has taken the oath or made the affirmation, the member goes to the other side of the Chamber and signs an official register that provides evidence that they are entitled to sit and vote in the House.
Election of Speaker

Once members have been sworn in, they must elect someone to chair the meetings of the House. This person is known as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Clerk presides over the House for the election of a Speaker and calls for nominations. Members nominate themselves.

There is no debate on the election of a Speaker. If only one member is nominated, that member is automatically elected. If two members are nominated the matter is decided by a personal vote. For this purpose the bells are rung for seven minutes and members vote in the voting lobbies for each candidate. Abstentions are permitted, but not proxy votes.

If three or more members are nominated the Clerk asks each member (in alphabetical order) to declare for whom the member votes. Abstentions are permitted, but not proxy votes. If a candidate for election obtains more than half the votes cast, that person is elected. Otherwise, the lowest polling candidate drops out until there are only two candidates remaining. At that point the matter is decided by a personal vote.

Category:

News & Politics

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• NZ
• parliament

[UlsterBankPLC]

God Save Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of ALL New Zealand!

[TheCmlChannel]

@forfaraway1

Exactly the point, if MPs in New Zealand are to take their seats they must owe allegiance to the Queen of New Zealand, who took an oath of the People of New Zealand at her coronation in 1953.

[tnakai1971jp]

@peacebuntou

Is it not the taboo?

[peacebuntou]

@tnakai1971jp in layman's terms Australians originated from convicts and as such don't owe any such allegiance to the crown as opposed to NZ its origins were more of a holiday destination compared to the penal colonies of Australia :P

[tnakai1971jp]

I am a humble uneducated Japanese so I would like to ask a question if I may. I hear that Australia is not so pro-Britain but New Zealand is. I wonder what led to this distinct difference between the two former colonies which are next to each other.

[forfaraway1]

Dont swear oaths. they bind you.

[Nosmos]

I kept expecting someone to shout something out in protest like Dennis Skinner does in our Parliament!!!!