A number of petitions including one on voluntary euthanasia were presented when Parliament resumed at 2pm.
At the start of proceedings Speaker David Carter made a ruling on the Chair of the House in committee’s ability to end debate. Mr Carter said the chair had to take care to ensure all MPs had a chance to contribute, but the Chair was the sole judge of relevance and may terminate a speech but not a debate.
A debate could end in a number of ways and the Chair must carefully exercise their powers, but once a vote had begun it could not be interrupted.
Petitions were received asking:
The House of Representatives investigate fully public attitudes towards the introduction of legislation which would permit medically-assisted dying in the event of a terminal illness or an irreversible condition which makes life unbearable;
The House ask the Minister for State Owned Enterprises to put a moratorium on all future Landcorp-managed or owned dairy conversions to help responsible farmers, and to restore the water quality of our lakes and rivers.
The Financial Markets Authority’s Statement of Performance Expectations 2015-2016 was presented.
As were the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s reports on Water quality in New Zealand: Land use and nutrient pollution and Managing water quality: Examining the 2014 National Policy Statement
The Interim report on the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill by the Local Government and Environment Committee was presented.
The Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill was introduced.
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