Local column – A busy week in Parliament
It was a very interesting week in Parliament with conscience votes on the Alcohol Reform Bill and the Marriage Amendment Bill.
Conscience votes are when MPs vote on an individual basis, rather than along party lines.
The Marriage Amendment Bill is a Members’ bill which follows a slightly different process from Government bills.
First, any Member of Parliament, who is not a Minister, can formulate a policy idea and present it to their party caucus for approval.
Once this has been signed off by their caucus, it is formally drafted into a bill. This bill is then placed into a ballot alongside about 70 other bills, where it can be selected through luck of the draw.
Once a bill has been selected through the ballot, it then moves through the various debating processes of Parliament. As it proceeds, it frees up space for another bill to be drawn, and the cycle begins again.
After carefully listening to local feedback and considering my own personal views, I chose to vote against the Marriage Amendment Bill.
My feeling is that the Otaki electorate is generally conservative, and I’m also pretty conservative on social issues.
I have absolutely nothing against gay members of society, but my personal view is that marriage is between a man and a woman.
The bill passed its first reading and will now be considered in depth by a Select Committee. I’m sure there will be ongoing interest as it progresses through Parliament.
On the purchase age for alcohol, which is a Government bill, my first preference was for a split purchase age, meaning 18 year olds would still be able to drink in pubs and restaurants, but the age limit would have been 20 years to buy alcohol at bottle stores and supermarkets.
However, this proposal did not receive Parliament’s support and was dropped.
In the second round of proposals I voted to keep the current age of 18. This is the age at which you can vote, stand for Parliament, get married and serve your country in war.
We clearly have a problem with binge drinking in our community and this can cause a lot of harm. At the same time though, we don’t want to punish the majority of people who consume alcohol sensibly.
It’s worth noting that the purchase age is just one part of the Alcohol Reform Bill, and there are other stricter measures which will reduce the harm caused by alcohol in our society.
When bills such as the Marriage Amendment Bill and the Alcohol Reform Bill are put to a conscience vote, as the MP representing the Ōtaki electorate I form my position based on views of my electorate, and my own personal views.
In both cases, I listened carefully to feedback from my constituents. My offices in Paraparaumu and Levin received a number of calls and emails on this issue, and I received a lot of feedback in person from local people. Thanks for this.