This is edition 2025/79 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Welcome back. It's 2025 and 20 years since I started writing about politics and anything else that took my fancy. Thank to my VIP members for making this site what it is today. In July we will be having a 20th birthday celebration. Stay tuned for more announcements.
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. Enough of the Games, Enough of the Indulgence
Liam Hehir
- 🇳🇿 Order = Freedom: In a political community, order is the condition of freedom, not its enemy. Protest and dissent should be within bounds of mutual respect and acceptance.
- 👏 Te Pāti Māori's Disruption: What began as protest haka has escalated into a sustained rejection of parliamentary rules and order.
- 📜 Declining Accountability: Te Pāti Māori rejected accountability, dismissed parliamentary processes, and engaged in performance over constructive debate.
- 📰 Breaching Confidentiality: The party violated committee trust by publishing a confidential draft report, then downplayed their responsibility with a weak apology.
- 🚫 Rejecting Parliamentary Discipline: Their actions are a studied rejection of the norms that make parliamentary deliberation possible. Parliament is not a theatre; it's where self-government happens.
- ⚖️ Meaningful Consequences Needed: Traditional sanctions like suspension, censure, or fines risk becoming part of the performance if not meaningful. A different approach is needed.
- 🔄 Suspending Participation: Consider suspending Te Pāti Māori from the Business Committee, a key body that ensures Parliament functions through consensus and cooperation.
- 🏛️ Engagement & Cooperation: To participate in the Business Committee, a party must accept the rules of engagement. Rejecting them while wanting influence is contradictory.
- 🔒 No Vindictive Act: Suspending participation wouldn't silence Te Pāti Māori but would affirm Parliament’s need for mutual respect and shared norms.
- 🏛️ A Broader Message: This approach applies not just to Te Pāti Māori but to any party rejecting parliamentary order and civil discourse.
- 🚫 No Excuses for Disorder: Excusing disruptive behavior now forfeits the right to lecture others about civility, respect, or democratic values.
- ⚖️ Speaker's Responsibility: Speaker Gerry Brownlee should enforce parliamentary rules firmly, or step aside for someone who can. His past indulgence in bending the rules led to this crisis.
- 👎 Leadership Deficiency: The House needs a Speaker who understands the importance of maintaining dignity, not someone who mistakes gruffness for gravitas.
