Members of the 52nd Parliament have been sworn in and Labour MP Trevor Mallard elected as Speaker.
After Royal Commissioners called the Parliament together, MPs were sworn-in in alphabetical order running from Amy Adams
to Lawrence Yule. There were no major glitches.
Trevor Mallard was nominated by Speaker, there was some delay while National MPs queried about whether all MPs had been
sworn in and whether they could vote. Both David Parker and Winston Peters were not present. There were a number of
discussions and there were no other nominations and Mallard was duly elected.
In one change of tradition Mallard feigned no pretence at reluctance at the appointment and was not dragged to the chair
in pantomime fashion.
Mallard said feigning reluctance would have possibly been a breach of privilege and thanked the Opposition for not
forcing his Labour colleagues to express confidence in him. He said he would ensure there was free speech in the House
and protect the Opposition’s ability to hold the Government to account.
Mallard said some aspects of Parliament needed to be modernised and made more family friendly. After speeches of
congratulations, the House adjourned.
Tomorrow morning the Governor-General will deliver the Government’s Speech from the Throne outlining its programme for
this Parliament. The House will then sit at 2pm to begin business.