It looks like Parliament will be sitting again tomorrow – whoopee – although the MPs who turn up will be socially distanced rather than sitting virtually.
Who made the decision seems to be a matter for conjecture. Thomas Coughlan, reporting in the NZ Herald, noted the ACT Party announcement that Parliament will return to sit this week in socially distanced form.
But that was news to speaker Trevor Mallard who, along with many MPs this morning, found out about Act’s plans via press release.
Act leader David Seymour said he “welcomed the parliamentary business committee decision that a socially distanced Parliament will go ahead next week”.
Mallard, however, said Parliament’s business committee had not actually decided anything when it met on Friday night. Rather, it had not decided to delay Parliament or progress with another plan. Continue reading “MPs (socially distanced) will be back in Parliament tomorrow – meanwhile Ministers have been appointing and spending”