UPDATED Saturday 11am: Parliament is expected to remain in urgency until at least midnight tonight as it races to pass legislation ahead of the Christmas break.David Cunliffe nearly lost his voice, Trevor Mallard called Tau Henare "a chocolate-covere
UPDATED Saturday 11am: Parliament is expected to remain in urgency until at least midnight tonight as it races to pass legislation ahead of the Christmas break.
David Cunliffe nearly lost his voice, Trevor Mallard called Tau Henare "a chocolate-covered banana" and there were claims of shambolic management as Parliament today slogged its way through a raft of bills under urgency with the prospect of an unusual Saturday sitting ahead.
The Government called urgency yesterday to progress 11 bills it wants dealt with before the summer recess, meaning the House sits from 9am to midnight.
That usually ensures bad-tempered confrontations and an argument yesterday got the session off to a bad start.
Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee suggested Labour MPs didn't want to do any extra work even though they would soon be enjoying an eight-week recess.
Shadow Leader of the House Darren Hughes accused him of pious hypocrisy.
"Incompetent management by the National Government has reduced Parliament to an end-of-year shambles," said Mr Hughes.
"Gerry Brownlee is showing bad faith toward Labour, which co-operated with the Government earlier in the year so that a last-minute legislative rush could be avoided."
Mr Brownlee said Labour MPs had short memories, producing details of urgency called by the previous government from 2000 to 2009.
And he fired up Labour MPs again by repeating "it is disappointing that the Opposition is expressing such outrage at having to work a few extra hours prior to the summer break".
Labour MPs extracted revenge by pulling apart numerous clauses in a complicated company tax bill which they said should never have been pushed through under urgency.
Eventually Labour withdrew support for the bill because Revenue Minister Peter Dunne had put some extra measures in it which by-passed the select committee process.
Mr Dunne said everyone involved in company tax knew exactly what was going on, the measures had been announced in the May budget and if Labour hadn't studied the amendments, that was their problem.
Labour's revenue spokesman Stuart Nash called it "flagrant abuse...National had the opportunity to pass this bill by consensus but they blew it".
The chances of consensus on anything weren't looking good.
