Chairman of Committees (New Zealand)

The Chairman of Committees was an elected position of the New Zealand House of Representatives. The role existed between 1854 and 1992. The roles of the Chairman of Committees were to deputise for the Speaker, and to chair the House when it was in committee. The role is now carried out by the Deputy Speaker.

Establishment

The position was established during the first session of the 1st New Zealand Parliament. Parliament first convened on 24 May 1854,^[1] and on 21 June of that year, Auckland lawyer Frederick Merriman was elected as its first Chairman of Committees.^[2]

Role

The chief role of the Chairman of Committees was to chair the House when it was in committee (i.e., considering a bill at committee stage).

Historically, the Speaker of the House of Representatives chaired the House of representatives, and the Chairmen of Committees presided in the absence of the Speaker, or when the Speaker requested this. These arrangements were based on the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.^[3] Until 1992, the Chairman of Committees was known as the Deputy Speaker only when presiding over the House. That year, the position of Deputy Speaker was made a permanent role, where the appointee is a full deputy for the purposes of the Standing Orders. The first Deputy Speaker was appointed on 10 November 1992.^[4] The role of Chairman of Committees was discontinued.^[5]

The Chairman of Committees ceased to hold office on the dissolution of Parliament, but was remunerated until the next Parliament first met, when it then had a chance to elect another Member of Parliament for this office.^{[5] [6]}

Notes

1. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 68.
2. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 151.
3. ^ McLintock 1966.
4. ^ "Speaker of the House of Representatives". New Zealand Parliament. http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/AboutParl/HowPWorks/PPNZ/5/d/e/00HOOOCPPNZ_41-Chapter-4-Speaker-of-the-House-of-Representatives.htm. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Members’ Conditions Of Service". New Zealand Parliament. http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/AboutParl/HowPWorks/PPNZ/2/a/c/00HOOOCPPNZ_31-Chapter-3-Members-Conditions-of-Service.htm. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 
6. ^ "Speaker of House of Representatives and Chairman of Committees". Knowledge Basket New Zealand. http://legislation.knowledge-basket.co.nz/gpacts/reprint/text/1998/se/006se17.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 

References

• A. H. McLintock, ed (1966). "Meeting of Parliament". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand (updated 22 April 2009 ed.). Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/government-parliament/10. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 
• Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1949. Wellington: Govt. Printer.