Political Roundup is entirely subscriber-funded. The ethos behind this public service is to help foster a robust and informed public debate, with a great diversity of perspectives. If you appreciate what we are doing in providing non-partisan analysis and information about politics, economy, and society, please consider helping us keep going, by donating via Victoria University of Wellington’s fundraising page here: https://bit.ly/VUWDemocracyProject
Political Roundup: Trevor Mallard’s petty fiefdom
Is Parliament just the fiefdom of Trevor Mallard and his colleagues? That’s the impression the public might take from yesterday’s news that the Speaker of Parliament is issuing trespass notices to political opponents who visited the protest in March on the lawns of Parliament.
Speaker Mallard has the absolute right to decide who can and can’t visit Parliamentary grounds. However, in arbitrarily trespassing selected political figures, he brings both himself and the institution of Parliament into yet more disrepute. In particular, the decision to threaten New Zealand First leader Winston Peters with arrest if he visits Parliament makes a further mockery of how authorities have dealt with dissent. A sense of pettiness now pervades Mallard and those that defend him.
Parliament already has a bad rap. Poll after poll shows confidence in and respect for the institution has been declining in recent times.
One of the big problems is that Parliament and politicians are seen as out of touch, elite, and aloof. To get a better understanding of the problem, in 2018 Parliament actually commissioned a Colmar Brunton survey into how the public feels about Parliament. The results were so bad they were buried.
Here’s what New Zealanders think of Parliament:
- 21% “feel a sense of ownership of Parliament”
- 16% “feel connected to Parliament”
- 13% “would speak highly of Parliament”
- 7% “would speak highly of MPs”
- 27% trusted Parliament, compared to 29% who expressed distrust, and 41% who declared trust in the “civil service”
- 60% “believe big business and vocal minorities are the ones who influence Parliament”
- 37% “feel there’s no point in trying to influence Parliament as nothing will change”
These results are a real problem for an institution that is constitutionally regarded as the “people’s place”. And Mallard’s actions over the protest, and attempts to punish those people who attended the protest just reinforce the notion that Parliament is actually just the fiefdom of elites.
The big problem for Mallard in sending out trespass orders to figures who came to observe the protest is that it is entirely arbitrary and issued without justification. Over the course of the weeks of the protest, the site was visited by dozens, if not hundreds, of journalists, politicians, academics, public servants, and so forth.
I was one of these – visiting as an academic researcher of politics and political commentator. Like many others, I wasn’t there to support the protest in any way but to observe and try to understand what was occurring. In my case, I made it clear that I opposed the politics of those protesting.
To what extent Winston Peters was opposed to the protesters is less clear. But there has been no attempt for Speaker Mallard to explain why Peters is being legally banned from the place. Was he considered part of the protest? Or in some way encouraging it? We don’t know.
It seems unlikely that other observers at the protest such as media and academics will be trespassed, because that would surely create an immense fightback by all those who value democratic principles. But in lieu of such public figures – or even just neutral members of the public – being trespassed, Mallard needs to explain such inconsistencies. At the moment it looks as if he is simply targeting those that he doesn’t like.
If the criteria is that anyone who visited and was perceived to show support for an illegal occupation should be banned then there will be many current and former MPs, – especially Māori MPs from Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori – who would end up with quite a stack of trespass orders. That’s the problem with denying access to basic human and democratic rights to score political points – own goals are inevitable in the end.
Being the representative of Parliament, and the Labour Party who keeps him in the role, Mallard’s actions also reflect on the rest of the politicians in the institution. Those who stand by his decisions on this issue will have to also bear responsibility for them. And those that don’t will need to make their opposition clear.
As with all of Mallard’s other missteps over managing the protest, this one also seems destined to backfire. Not only will his actions reinforce the sense of persecution of the actual protesters, who felt conspiracies and the heavy hand of the state, but it will boost the political chances of Winston Peters in his attempted electoral comeback.
Peters is now well placed to enter the upcoming Tauranga by-election, and potentially do very well. By-elections can throw up some odd surprises, as voters don’t feel constrained to vote with the same degree of seriousness as in general elections. A large proportion of locals might well want to use a vote for Peters as a protest vote against the Government, or even just a slap in the face of Mallard for being dictatorial. And given that National appears to have chosen a weak and uninspiring candidate, anything could happen.
Of course, a surprise win by Peters would make Mallard’s trespass order somewhat moot and embarrassing, as the Speaker would have to rescind it to allow a triumphant Peters to take up his elected place.
Regardless of this unlikely scenario, there seems a good chance that Mallard will be forced to rescind the trespass notices, and stop sending out more. His survival as Speaker might depend on it. Certainly, if wiser heads around him, such as the Prime Minister, care about how the public feels about the institution of Parliament, or even about the Labour Party, then Mallard’s overreach will soon be put on notice.
Further reading on Mallard’s trespassing of Winston Peters
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Winston Peters heading to court over decision to trespass him from Parliament
Claire Trevett (Herald): Has Speaker Trevor Mallard’s bid to trespass Winston Peters backfired on him? (paywalled)
Herald: Convoy protest fallout: ‘Truncated freedoms’ – Winston Peters says he will win in court against Speaker Trevor Mallard
Jason Walls (Newstalk): Mallard’s revenge – Is banning Winston from Parliament a step too far?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk): I’ve got to agree with Winston Peters, I think Trevor Mallard has lost the plot
RNZ: Winston Peters plans to ‘take on’ Speaker over trespass notice
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk): It’s a rare day, but I agree with Winston Peters
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Winston Peters says ‘dictatorial behaviour’ behind Speaker Trevor Mallard’s ‘blunderbuss of an act’ to trespass him from Parliament
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Winston Peters trespassed: Jacinda Ardern pushes back on Trevor Mallard’s call
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): It is completely unacceptable for Jacinda and the Greens to pass the buck on Mallard over grotesque abuse of power
Tess McClure (Guardian): NZ’s former deputy PM banned from parliament for visiting anti-vaccine-mandate protest
Tini Molyneux (Māori TV): Winston Peters defiant despite Parliament trespass
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Parties meet to discuss trespass notices for protesters
Anna Whyte (1News): Winston Peters thought trespass notice ‘had to be a joke’
John Weekes and Claire Trevett (Herald): PM steps in over Winston Peters’ trespass issue, urges Speaker to talk to other political parties
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Anti-mandate protest: Lawyer says trespassing former MP Matt King from Parliament is ‘absolutely outrageous’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to Trevor Mallard about trespass decisions
Liam Hehir (Patreon): Trevor Mallard and the role of prudence in public life (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Mallard delegates Parliament trespasses of Peters, others
1News: Joking Seymour tells Speaker he hopes ‘you don’t trespass me’
Top 20 reads today
1) Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Labour suffers dramatic fall as National cracks 40 pct
2) Amelia Wade (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll finds most Kiwis don’t think Government has done enough to manage cost of living
3) Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern drops as preferred Prime Minister as National’s Christopher Luxon rises
4) Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Slim majority of voters support Jacinda Ardern running for Prime Minister again in 2023
5) Roy Morgan: NZ Vote: Potential National/Act NZ (47.5%) coalition retains a clear lead over Labour/Greens (44%) in April
6) Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Majority of Kiwis want GST removed from food
7) Steven Cowan: Is Labour on its way out?
8) Michael Neilson (Herald): Green Party co-leaders say no changes afoot after scrapping male rule, adding Māori requirement
9) Tova O’Brien (Today FM): Election predictions – Scenario No.2: What if the Labour Party loses
10) Liam Dann (Herald): Wage growth soars as unemployment holds steady at record low
11) Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): Jacinda Ardern continues to forge a more US-friendly foreign policy
12) Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Wealth inequality debate is really an argument over land
13) Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Property industry in the wealth tax firing line (paywalled)
14) Bernard Hickey: Why the young need an even higher debt ceiling
15) Todd Niall (Stuff): $2b on cycle lanes might be what it takes to achieve Auckland’s climate goal
16) Murray Jones (BusinessDesk): Taxing decisions for top charities
17) James Perry (Māori TV): Questions over Louisa Wall’s Pacific role
18) Thomas Manch (Stuff): ‘Small minority’ of Parliament protesters likely to carry out extremist violence, intelligence agencies warned
19) RNZ: Unsustainable housing market poses risk to economy – Reserve Bank
20) Don Brash: Our constitution is being changed before our eyes
