Wednesday, October 17, 2007



Member's Day

Today is a Member's Day, and looking at the Order paper, there's an awful lot of local business to get through. Fortunately, this tends to go quickly, and I have it from a fairly reliable source that the kibble will be out of the way by 17:30, allowing the House to get on with the real business of finishing off the committee stage of Sue Kedgley's Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Bill. This has been slowly working its way through the system, with the supposedly new and friendly National Party fighting it every step of the way (they are a faithful representative of employer interests, as always), but it looks like it'll be done tonight, allowing a third reading next member's day. The other major business will be the second reading of Doug Woolerton's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill, which is expected to fail. Beyond that, the House has a pile of second readings to get through, as the bills sent to committee over the past two years finally make it back. These are all expected to fail, but it will take time, so there's little chance of seeing a ballot anytime soon.