INL March 1 2019 Digital Edition

12
MARCH 1, 2019
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The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999)
ISSUE 410 | March1, 2019
Terrorists must be
brought to justice
The dastardly attack in
Pulwama District of
Jammu & Kashmir in
India on February 14,
2019 has shocked the world
with most leaders condemning
this extreme act of terrorism.
More than 40 soldiers of the
Central Reserve Police were
killed, many others injured in
this incident, responsibility
for which has been claimed
by Jaish e-Muhammed (JeM),
a terrorist organisation that is
guilty of many acts of terrorism
in the past.
India’s Resolve
India’s Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has promised a
‘jaw-breaking response.’
“The event will keep 'inspiring
us relentlessly to uproot the
very base of terrorism'. It will
fortify our resolve. We shall
have to take up this challenge
facing our country, forgetting
all barriers of casteism,
communalism, regionalism and
other difference, so that, our
steps against terror are firmer,
stronger and more decisive" he
said.
How long can India continue
to a victim of terrorists and
extremists and how long can
Pakistan continue to ask for ‘real
evidence’ of the involvement
of terrorist groups bred on its
soil. How long can the world
Cautious approach to
new taxes essential
community watch in silence?
Strong condemnation
The New Zealand Parliament
unanimously passed a motion
on Thursday, February 21, 2019
moved by Foreign Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister
Winston Peters.
‘‘I move the motion that this
House condemns February
14 act of terrorism on Indian
CRPF leading to large loss of
life. We express solidarity with
the Government of India at this
difficult time as well as offer
our deep sympathies to those
affected,’’ he said.
While such expression of
solidarity by world leaders is
reassuring, justice should be
served with the perpetrators
brought before courts and
stand trial for their crime.
The Economist quoted Indian
officials as saying that they
are scarcely the only ones to
complain of Pakistani perfidy.
Indeed, some Pakistanis join
them in questioning the sincerity
of Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan.
“Would you care to order an
inquiry independent of how
we respond to Delhi about how
Jaish continues to recruit and
train people for jihad, and runs
camps?” tweeted Ayesha Siddiqa,
a London-based scholar.
The New Zealand
government is saddled
with a raft of recommendations
by the
Tax Working Group released
on February 21, 2019. The
Group, led by former Finance
Minister Sir Michael Cullen
has suggested widening the tax
net to include Capital Gains,
Environment, Retirement
Savings and Charities. Changes
to the threshold of Personal
Income Tax, is perhaps the only
marginal relief in the Draconian
measures proposed.
New Zealand is a highly taxed
nation and further burdens will
not only hit the common people
but also provide a backlash
to the Coalition Government.
While there could be justification
of a Capital Gains Tax,
in so far as it ‘attacks’ whose
who make undue profit on
property sales for investment,
there is no reason to consider
the same punitive measures on
hardworking New Zealanders.
Counterproductive and nasty
The Working Group’s proposals
will be counterproductive
and nasty.
But we hope that the Labour
government will exercise
restraint and act responsibly.
New Zealand First Leader and
Deputy Prime Minister Winston
Peters has said that any Capital
Gains Tax proposal is off the
table, an opinion, reflected by
other MPs from his Party.
Although the Greens have
embraced the proposals,
without the support of NZ
First, there is no chance of
the proposals going through
Parliament.
The National Party has already
vowed that it will repeal
the Capital Gains Tax if they are
voted to power in Election 2020.
Besides, harsh taxes will be
antithetical to the government’s
‘Wellbeing Budget’ that is
awaited with anxiety on May
30, 2019.
We hope that Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern and her Finance
Minister Grant Robertson will
tread carefully and do not face
public wrath.
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Daniela Maoate-Cox
Last fortnight, an early
morning bust-up between
Labour Party MPs and
National MPs meant that
some of the public missed out on
participating in a parliamentary
process.
In a nutshell, the Finance and
Expenditure Select Committee
was scheduled to meet at 8 am
on Wednesday to begin hearing
submissions on the Budget Policy
Statement 2019 and end at 2 pm
after discussing a taxation bill.
But one of the Labour
MPs called in sick and their
replacement did not make it to
the meeting in time for it to go
ahead without needing National
MPs to make up the numbers (in
an unusual move the National
MPs stayed outside the Committee
Room).
The entire day’s worth of
meetings had to be cancelled and
submitters who had turned up
to speak (some travelling from
outside Wellington) were not able
to do so.
So whose fault is it?
Depends.
Mini-Version of the House
Select Committees are like a
mini version of the House.
Each Committee (there are
12 subject Committees and five
specialist ones) has a mix of MPs
roughly equal to the number of
seats each Party has in the House.
For example, National being the
biggest would have more people
from its Party on a Committee
than Labour.
But Labour has more friends
in the House (being partnered
with New Zealand First and the
Green Party) so it is unlikely to be
outvoted on the important stuff.
There are some Committees
where membership is split evenly.
The Finance and Expenditure
Committee has six Labour MPs,
one NZ First, one ACT, and five
National MPs.
Range of tasks
Committees can do a range
of things including examining
bills, international treaties and
petitions, asking for briefings
from officials so they can educate
themselves, conducting inquiries
and also review government
departments.
As far as accessing Parliament
goes, Select Committees are a
main point of contact for people
to come and speak directly to
MPs; perhaps to speak on a bill or
a petition.
It is rare to get a group of
cross-Party MPs in a room to
listen to you otherwise.
Once a Committee has reviewed
submissions, advice, and evidence
it writes a report which it sends
back to the House. For a bill, the
report might summarise views
from Parties and submitters and
also suggest amendments (which
are usually adopted).
Compared to the combative
nature of question time, Select
Committees are a nice part of
Parliament. MPs are generally
collaborative, bringing ideas to
the table in their role as Members
Rose Renton (centre) submits to a Committee about medicinal cannabis. Her son was the first
New Zealander to be treated with medicinal cammabidoil oil Elixinol. (Photo: VNP/Phil Smith)
Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee
Michael Wood. (Photo: VNP/Phil Smith)
of Parliament instead of members
of parties.
None of this can happen if
people do not turn up to the table
though and that is where things
went sour this week.
The Quorum
Select Committees can’t start
their meeting unless half of the
Committee members are there
and within ten minutes of the
start time.
The Finance and Expenditure
Committee has 13 members; so,
seven were needed for it to go
ahead. There is no specification
on which Party those members
must be from.
Where the blame lie depends
on whether MPs should be Parliamentarians
or politicians first.
Parliament and government
are intertwined but different and
in many instances an MP’s job
is to make sure the Government
is acting responsibly and to kick
them into gear if they are not (in
formal terms this is called ‘holding
the Government to account’).
Labour has agreements with
New Zealand First and the Greens
to govern together but that does
not mean every MP in those
Parties is part of the Government.
Only those with ministerial
positions are.
Keeping government under
check
Everyone else, whether in a
governing Party or in opposition,
has the job of keeping the Government
in check and scrutinising
legislation; part of which includes
the Select Committee process
meaning that both sides of the
House are responsible for making
a Committee work.
But sometimes the blood of
a Party is thicker than that of a
Select Committee and the alternative
view is that Parties who say
they are good enough to govern
a country should have members
who are able to organise themselves
properly.
Most of the time they are
organised enough to be in the
right room at the right time to
hear people speak.
The type of people speaking to
a Committee vary from top bosses
who are used to fronting the media
and spieling off performance
reports, like Ministry of Health or
Defence Force bosses - to others
who have taken time off work,
paid for travel, and spent weeks
preparing a speech on an issue
that’s often personal (like euthanasia
or medicinal cannabis).
The Select Committee Process
The setting of a Select Committee
can be unfamiliar and
intimidating with MPs, officials,
other members of the public,
and media fixing their gaze on
a submitter so the meetings are
largely treated with respect.
That said, it does not mean the
voices of those submitters will
not be heard at all. Submissions
to a Select Committee are made
in writing first with an option for
the submitter to say they’d like to
speak in person. The Committee
reads all the submissions and
invites some submitters to meet
with them in person for further
discussion.
Submitters have also spoken to
the Committee via teleconference
or video-call and over the past
year some sessions have been
live-streamed on Parliament’s
Facebook page.
Those missed the hearing
Among those who missed
submitting on Wednesday was
the Minister of Finance Grant
Robertson, Chief Executive of the
Pike River Recovery Agency Dave
Gawn, and ActionStation Director
Laura O’Connell Rapira who was
appearing “on behalf of around
8000 New Zealanders” calling for
full funding for sexual violence
support and prevention agencies.
Some Committee members
met informally with submitters
to hear their views and its Chair
Michael Wood wrote a letter of
apology to those who missed out.
Public submissions made to
Committees can be found here.
Bills and petitions that you can
submit on can be found here.
A full list of all the select Committees
can be found here.
Daniela Maoate-Cox is the
House journalist representing
Radio New Zealand. The above
article and pictures have been
reproduced under an arrangement
with www.rnz.co.nz