Source: Radio New Zealand
VNP/Louis Collins
Parliament’s final weeks of the year began with Scrutiny Week, and while bellicose exchanges dominated headlines, much examination took place in relatively calmer hearings.
Coverage of Parliament’s biannual scrutiny weeks is often dominated by the more theatrical moments of verbal sparring between ministers and opposition MPs.
But in the hearings where ministers are absent, leaving only ministry officials and committee MPs present, the lack of a minister-vs-opposition dynamic allows for a more inquisitive and constructive dialogue.
One such example last week was the annual review hearing of the Ministry of Justice, which carried a noticeably calmer, more focused tone.
There is considerable crossover between membership of the Justice Committee and the MPs who you might call ‘practitioners of the committee of the whole House stage’; those their parties often rely on to dissect the finer details of legislation. Among them is Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who this week dissected annual report numbers with justice officials and went deep into the data on Māori representation in the justice system. The exchange between Xu-Nan and officials was hardly dramatic, but it demonstrated the scrutiny process unfolding in real time.
With less temptation for political tit-for-tat MPs have more room for MPs to really probe the data. Labour MP Duncan Webb used his time to probe the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime and the financial numbers coming from its work. It was a lengthy exchange that, appropriately for a former senior law practitioner, felt like a gentle but revealing courtroom cross-examination.
“Is there any concern around the costs that have been incurred by members of that group?” Webb asked Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite.
VNP/Louis Collins
“The group is doing its work. They’re busy and they’re producing quite a lot of advice for ministers. As part of that they’re running quite a lot of engagements,” Kibblewhite replied.
Webb: “What’s the audit check when people put claims in for days worked that the days were worked?”
Kibblewhite: “We would take a member’s claim for days worked on face value.”
Webb: “It’s just, I mean, in terms of the chair, he claimed for 154 days between February and July 25, meaning he worked five days a week in one or two days every weekend and took none of the six public holidays in that period. Does that raise any concern?”
Kibblewhite: “Look, I think this is a pretty passionate undertaking for the chair, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he did work very long days and hours on it.”
This tangent of inquiry continued for some time, with Webb interrogating the costs incurred by both the chair and the advisory group, ranging from salaries to events, including a $3,000 lunch that Justice officials could offer little detail about.
The full exchange took a number of minutes and while fascinating and instructive was not brimming with classic newsy soundbytes. It is likely that scrutiny done well seldom is.
Of course governing-party MPs have the opportunity to ask questions too. Much like in Question Time, some are patsy questions, but in a room without ministers they can take on a different tone. Less jumping in the ring with your colleague, and more rhetorical prompts (but always answered). Questions are aimed at countering Opposition narratives or drawing out positives that officials have not raised.
Following Webb’s probing, National MP Carl Bates offered a gentle counterweight by drawing attention to positive feedback he had received from one of his constituents in Whanganui.
“I got an email the other day from one retailer on the Quay,” Bates said. “I’m interested if the sentiment she shared with me is similar to the sentiment you’re hearing from these meetings across the country. She said, ‘I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by the amount of work happening behind the scenes to support victims of retail crime, as well as the stronger measures being put in place to hold offenders accountable. It’s encouraging to see that meaningful changes are underway and that positive progress is being made.’
VNP/Louis Collins
In his reply, Kibblewhite said that they had no detailed surveys, so was cautious not to agree or disagree, but said that the group had been productive and had produced much advice for the Minister.
While the quotable moments extracted for news coverage from Scrutiny Week are often the hostile ones; these more audibly tedious, prescriptive hearings likely tell us far more about how our public entities performed over the past year.
To listen to The House’s coverage from scrutiny week, click the link near the top of the page.
*RNZ’s The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament’s Office of the Clerk.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
