New Zealand Legislative Council

The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand from 1853 to 1950. It became known as the general Legislative Council when provincial legislative councils were legislated for a few years later.

Establishment

With the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, the existing Legislative Council was disestablished and a similar appointed body was established, effective from 1853. The new Legislative Council was constituted as the upper house of the General Assembly (or "Parliament"), which did not actually meet until 24 May 1854, 16 months after the Constitution Act had come into force.

The Legislative Council was intended to act as a revising chamber, scrutinising and amending bills which had been passed by the House of Representatives. It could not initiate bills, and was prohibited from amending money bills (legislation relating to finance and expenditure). The model for the Legislative Council's role was the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.

Membership

Appointment and tenure

The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 provided for councillors to be appointed for life terms by the governor. As the power of the governor over New Zealand politics gradually decreased, it became the convention that appointments were made on the recommendation of the premier (later prime minister), meaning that councillors were essentially selected by the government of the day.

However, the life term of councillors meant that the Legislative Council always lagged behind the House of Representatives—premiers were frequently hampered in their activities by a Legislative Council appointed by their predecessors. In 1891, life membership was replaced by a seven-year term by the new Liberal Party government of John Ballance. While many Liberals apparently favoured outright abolition, it offered minimal political benefit for a ruling government, and such a radical move would have unnecessarily provoked fears about the new administration. Instead, term limits were introduced primarily for practical reasons, as Ballance's conservative predecessor, Harry Atkinson, had stacked the Council with seven conservatives shortly before leaving office. Ballance had considerable difficulty in achieving his reform of the Council, with major clashes occurring between him and the Governor, the Earl of Onslow, who had approved the seven appointments. Ballance's victory is seen as establishing an important precedent in the relationship between governor and prime minister.

The structure of the Legislative Council prior to 1891 was therefore similar to that of the Canadian Senate (which continues as an appointed upper house, although senators are no longer appointed to life terms, and must retire at the age of 75).

The style "The Honourable" could be retained from 1894 by a councillor with not less than ten years service if recommended by the governor. This privilege was extended to one member, William Montgomery, in 1906; and a further eleven members in 1951 after abolition of the Council.

Number of members

It was specified in the Constitution Act 1852 that the Council would consist of at least ten members. Although not actually a part of the Act, instructions were issued that the number of members should not exceed fifteen. One member was to be selected as speaker of the Legislative Council, corresponding roughly to the position of speaker of the House of Representatives. A quorum of five members was established.

The first appointments to the Legislative Council were made in 1853, when thirteen members were called to the upper house. They were John Salmon, William Swainson and Frederick Whitaker on 26 May 1853; Mathew Richmond on 23 June 1853; and on 31 December 1853 Edmund Bellairs, George Cutfield, William Kenny, John Yeeden Lloyd, Ralph Richardson, Henry Seymour, Henry St. Hill, Henry Petre and John Watts-Russell. Gradually, the maximum number of members was raised, and the limit was eventually abolished. The Council reached a peak of 53 members in 1885 and 1950.

Extent of representation

The Legislative Council was generally less representative of the New Zealand public than was the House of Representatives. Women were not eligible to serve as councillors before 1941, and only five were appointed. Māori were slightly better represented. The first two Māori councillors were appointed in 1872, not long after the creation of the Māori electorates in the House; Mōkena Kōhere and Wi Tako Ngātata. A convention was established that there should always be Māori representation on the Council. But the stacking has been seen as assisting the Liberal Government, which "might not have survived but for this assistance ... [which] provided a useful unifying influence in the critical early years" and "identified with dramatic clarity the reactionary class enemy ... and acted as a convenient brake on the radicals [who] were asked to settle for moderate measures."

Proposals for election

A number of proposals were made that the Legislative Council should be elected, not appointed. When responsible government had been granted at the beginning of the 2nd Parliament, the governor, Thomas Gore Browne, was given sufficient authority to make the Legislative Council elected, but no action was taken. In 1914, a reform proposal to establish a 42 or 43 member council elected by proportional representation for six years was introduced by the Liberals, but postponed due to World War I. In 1920 it was no longer favoured by the Reform government then in power. But the 1914 Act "remained like a sword of Damocles suspended above the nominated upper house, available at will or whim to any succeeding government".

Abolition

By the middle of the 20th century, the Legislative Council was increasingly seen as ineffectual and obsolete. It made little difference to the legislative process, rarely criticising bills sent to it by the House. Some favoured its reform, while others favoured its abolition. Among the latter was Sidney Holland, leader of the National Party, which was in opposition to the Labour government.

Holland introduced a private member's bill in August 1947 to abolish the Council. The bill was defeated by government MPs, partly on the claim that New Zealand needed to first adopt the Statute of Westminster 1931, otherwise it could not repeal the part of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 that established the Council.

Proposed reestablishment

Support for bicameralism is not completely absent, and there have been occasional proposals for a new upper house or Senate. In 1990, the National government of Jim Bolger proposed an elected Senate, an idea advanced partly as an alternative to New Zealand's electoral reform process.

Unicameralists in New Zealand, like former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, argued that the country is a small and relatively homogeneous unitary state, and hence does not need the same arrangements as federal states like Australia or Canada. In addition, Peter Dunne, then also a Labour MP, argued that other political reforms in New Zealand such as the strengthening of the select committee system, and the introduction of proportional representation, provided adequate checks and balances, which would simply be duplicated by a second chamber.

Legislative Council Chamber

thumb|The Legislative Council Chamber in 2011, pictured before the speech from the throne

The Legislative Council Chamber remains the location of the speech from the throne—as following the British tradition, the sovereign (or a representative) does not enter the elected House. The usher of the Black Rod summons the members of the House of Representatives to attend the Opening of Parliament in the Legislative Council Chamber, where a speech is read usually by the governor-general. It is also used for some select committee meetings, as well as meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and other official functions.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Sound: the end of the Legislative Council | NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online
Legislative Council Act, 1891
Legislative Council Act, 1914
Legislative Council Abolition Act, 1950