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CHAPTER 15

Motions and Amendments

HOUSE’S USUAL METHOD FOR CONSIDERING BUSINESSThe casual viewer of the House is most likely to catch it debating a matter; that is, discussing a particular subject by way of speeches from individual members. The habitual method by which the House proceeds with its business is to have a proposition for consideration placed before it by a member, to consider the proposition by discussing its pros and cons, and finally to decide whether a majority of the House agrees with it. There are other methods of proceeding that do not fall into this general pattern (including purely formal procedures such as the presentation of petitions and papers) and other ways of communicating information (such as the question procedure and making statements), but the overwhelming bulk of the House’s work is transacted through debates and decisions on proposals. For example, this is how the House considers legislation, both financial and general, during its passage; it is how it considers reports from its select committees, and how it gives instructions to itself, its committees or its members (for example, instructions to either adjourn or meet at a particular time). The process of debate and decision-making in the House is described in this and the following two chapters.

MOTIONSA proposition brought before the House for its consideration is called a motion. The Standing Orders and other rules of procedure regulate the proposing of motions to ensure that only one motion is under consideration by the House at any one time, and that particular types of motions are moved in the House at particular times in the parliamentary day.

A motion must be worded in a way that is suitable for it to become a resolution of the House. In general, motions are debatable and can be amended, but there are several exceptions to this pattern, as explained below. Many motions require a preliminary step to be taken before they can be brought before the House. This involves giving the House warning of a member’s intention to propose the motion—that is, giving notice of motion. Particular rules are set out for the form and contents of notices of motion, and motions moved in the House without notice are not exempt from these requirements. For example, the Speaker would not permit a motion with unparliamentary content.

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207Motions and Amendments

NOTICE OF MOTIONThe House requires notice to be given of a member’s intention to move most types of motion.1 In this way, members are informed of the text of the motion, which is printed on the Order Paper, and so are not required to make a snap judgement as to its merits. They can consider and research the implications of the motion before they are asked to agree to it.

Giving notice of motionA member gives a notice of motion by delivering a written copy of the motion, signed by the member concerned, to the Clerk.2 Such notices can be lodged only on a sitting day between 9 am and 10 am, although in practice a notice received earlier will be held and considered lodged at 9 am on the sitting day. There is no requirement for personal delivery by a member, and delivery is often effected by a staff member. The notice must be signed by the member giving it or by another member on that member’s behalf. A notice signed on behalf of a member by a person who is not a member of Parliament is not acceptable.

Form and content of noticesThe Speaker is responsible for vetting and accepting notices of motion, though in practice the process is undertaken by the Office of the Clerk. The rules for the form and content of notices of motion are set out in the Standing Orders. A notice is a proposed motion. If adopted by the House, it would express the House’s will or opinion on a subject. It must, therefore, be drafted in a form suitable for such an expression of will or opinion by the House.3 It must have an internal logic, even if one may disagree with the premises on which its conclusion is based. An entirely illogical and incoherent notice of motion is not permitted.

Only one issue may be raised for debate in each notice. The issue must be clearly indicated and supported only by such facts as are necessary to identify it.4 The inclusion of facts or supporting matter in the notice is limited to essentials. This is a reminder that the proper place to argue the case for the motion is in the subsequent debate, not in the motion itself. The “one issue” requirement is always difficult to police. A notice raising clearly disparate issues would be out of order. But there may be a number of facets to an issue, which makes any judgement on this requirement a question of degree.

All facts set out in a notice must be authenticated. This does not mean that they must be proved to be correct. The member must provide an extract from a newspaper, website or other source supporting the facts that are stated in the notice. If this is done, the assertion will be accepted as having been authenticated.5 Evidence submitted will be accepted at its face value as being submitted in good faith, and no further steps will be taken to examine its validity. If the evidence substantiates the statement of fact in the notice, it is accepted.6 The underlying truth or falsity of the statement is a matter to be canvassed in the subsequent debate on the subject.7 Not all assertions contained in notices are regarded as statements of fact requiring to be authenticated.8

A notice of motion should not contain any person’s name unless this is strictly necessary to render the motion intelligible.9 There is a similar rule regarding

1 SO 97. 2 SO 98(1). 3 SO 101(1). 4 SO 101(1). 5 (1979) 422 NZPD 179 Harrison. 6 (1982) 445 NZPD 1611 Harrison. 7 (1975) 400 NZPD 3912 Hunt (Acting Speaker). 8 (1981) 437 NZPD 319–320 Harrison. 9 SO 101(2)(b).


Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand208

the inclusion of the names of persons in parliamentary questions. The extent to which members involve named individuals in their proceedings is largely over to them, but the House requires that, in motions and questions at least, members not introduce the name of a person unless this can be shown to be essential to the point of the motion or question.

Notices of motion cannot contain anything that would not be permitted in the course of debate.10 Into this catch-all prohibition fall transgressions such as using unparliamentary expressions, and any other type of reference that would be ruled out of order if used in debate. It is specifically provided that a motion (and hence a notice of motion) cannot refer to a matter awaiting adjudication before any New Zealand court or suppressed by a court order, unless the Speaker decides otherwise.11 (See pp 233–236.)

Publication of noticesA notice of motion is given so that members of Parliament will know that the motion has been proposed. If a notice complies with the Standing Orders, copies of it are placed on the Table in the House when the House meets at 2 pm.12 Copies of each day’s notices are also made available in the Office of the Clerk at 2 pm. Once a notice has been made available at the Table it is set down as an order of the day for the next day on which the House sits.13

A notice of motion can be moved only after it has been published on the Order Paper,14 although the lodging of a notice of motion does not prevent a member seeking leave of the House for the motion to be considered “without notice” before it is published. Notices of motion are set out on the Order Paper according to whether they are Government notices of motion or Members’ notices of motion.

Government notices of motionAny notice of motion given by a Minister becomes a Government notice of motion regardless of whether its content is related to the Minister’s portfolio or delegated responsibilities.15 Government notices of motion remain on the Order Paper as Government orders of the day until dealt with or withdrawn. For a Government notice of motion that there is no intention to debate in the House, it is usual for the Office of the Clerk to arrange with the Minister who has given the notice a date on which it is to be withdrawn.

Whether and when Government notices of motion are dealt with depends upon the priority given to them by the Government in arranging its business on the Order Paper. Government notices of motion appear on the Order Paper below all other Government orders of the day until such time as the Leader of the House indicates that a notice of motion should be placed in a higher position.

Some Government notices relate to the sittings of the House or the management of the Government’s programme of business in the House. Others are of a congratulatory nature, similar to many Members’ notices. Occasionally a Government notice of motion will be given relating to an aspect of Government policy.16

10 SO 101(2)(a). 11 SO 115(1). 12 SO 99. 13 SO 99; (16 September 2004) 620 NZPD 15736 Hunt. 14 SO 97. 15 SO 3(1). 16 Examples occurred in 1985, when a Government notice of motion was lodged urging the New

Zealand Rugby Football Union not to accept an invitation for an All Black tour of South Africa (Order Paper, 28 March 1985); in 2000, when the Government gave a notice of motion asking the House to take note of a select committee report on the closer economic partnership agreement with Singapore (Order Paper, 7 November 2000); and in 2007, when a Minister moved a motion to endorse an increase in the Family Tax Credit ((27 March 2007) [2005–2008] 1 JHR 593–594).



Members’ notices of motionA Member’s notice of motion is a notice of motion lodged by a member who is not a Minister.17 Members’ notices of motion are placed on the Order Paper below Government notices of motion, and are kept there for only a limited time. Notices given by non-Ministers are removed from the Order Paper if the House has not considered them within one calendar week from the date of their first appearance on the Order Paper.18 This means that Members’ notices of motion appear on the Order Paper for three sitting days at most. An exception is made in the case of a notice for the disallowance of a disallowable instrument, if the notice is given by a member of the Regulations Review Committee. Such a notice is not struck off the Order Paper after a week but remains there to be dealt with while the statutory provisions for disallowance of disallowable instruments continue to run.19

While a high proportion of Government notices of motion are dealt with by the House, very few Members’ notices are. Those that are dealt with are considered because they fall into the category of non-controversial motions of condolence or congratulation that the House by leave permits to be moved. Members’ notices of motion, as Members’ orders of the day, have too low a priority in the House’s order of business to be reached in practice. However, many Members’ notices of motion are lodged despite the remote prospect that they will actually be reached, simply so they can appear on the Order Paper. This provides an official channel for publishing members’ congratulations or condolences.

Withdrawal of noticesA notice of motion can be withdrawn by the member who lodged it at any time before it is made available to members in the Chamber at 2 pm. In such a case copies of the notice are not distributed by the Office of the Clerk. As an order of the day, a notice of motion that has been given may subsequently be withdrawn by the member informing the Clerk.20 In any case, the member who gives a notice of motion is not obliged to move it when it is reached, and it disappears from the Order Paper if not moved by the member.

Giving notice about motions relating to stages of legislationThe passage of a bill through the House requires a sequence of motions to be moved at successive stages. Notices are not lodged for these motions, but members are pre-warned of them by other means. At the conclusion of each stage of a bill, the Speaker announces that the bill is set down for consideration of its next stage. Ordinarily the ensuing stage of consideration is set down for the “next sitting day”.21 This means that the next stage for the bill will be shown on the Order Paper for the following sitting day (although it will not necessarily be dealt with on that day), and reflects the important principle that legislation should normally proceed only one stage at a time through the House’s deliberative process.

Motions not requiring noticeThe general rule is that all motions require notice before they can be moved, but this is subject to any Standing Order or practice of the House to the contrary.22 There are numerous exceptions to the requirement for notice.

17 SO 3(1). 18 SO 100. 19 SO 321. See Chapter 28. 20 SO 74(1)(b). 21 This formula varies in some circumstances, for example if a bill is able to proceed through more

than one stage on a sitting day following the passing of an urgency motion, or in accordance with the Standing Orders or a determination of the Business Committee. A bill also is not set down for “the next sitting day” if it is subject to a stand-down period after introduction or following the report of a select committee.

22 SO 97.



In many instances the Standing Orders expressly allow particular motions to be proposed without notice, creating exceptions to the general rule. Examples include motions to suspend Standing Orders,23 for extended sitting hours,24 to accord urgency or extraordinary urgency,25 or to end debates (“closure motions”).26 In each of these cases, additional requirements must be fulfilled before the motions will be put, as set out below. Other kinds of motions that can be moved without notice include, for example, motions to discharge or postpone orders of the day,27 instructions to committees,28 and other procedural motions such as those for the adjournment of debate,29 reporting from a committee of the whole House,30 to recall the Speaker,31 or to appoint an acting Chairperson.32

Certain other types of motion, although not expressly dealt with by the Standing Orders, have been ruled not to require notice:

o motions altering the time fixed for the next sitting of the House33 o motions dealing with the meetings of select committees during the current

sitting of the House.34

Motions acknowledging communications to the House of a formal nature are also moved without notice, subject to the Speaker’s duty to ensure that this is appropriate. Thus, replies from the Crown to addresses are usually ordered to be entered in the Journals by motions moved without notice.

Otherwise, leave of the House is necessary to dispense with the requirement to give notice of motion.

MOTIONS WITH SPECIAL REQUIREMENTSSpecific rules apply to many motions. Most of these exceptions relieve certain types of motions from requirements such as the need for notice or debate, or preclude members from moving amendments.

On the other hand, a few motions incur additional requirements before the Speaker will permit them to be dealt with by the House. Some procedural motions, while exempted from amendment or debate, have particular conditions. For example, motions for extended sittings require prior warning to the Business Committee.35 An urgency motion cannot be moved until general business is completed, and must be accompanied by an explanation of the circumstances warranting the according of urgency.36 A closure motion must be moved using a prescribed set of words, and will not be accepted unless the presiding officer considers it reasonable at the time.37 An instruction to a select committee on a bill cannot be moved unless it has been foreshadowed on the commencement of the speech of the member moving the first reading.38 Many procedural motions can be moved only by Ministers, or by other members only when acting in their capacity as sponsors of items of business before the House.

23 SO 4(1) and (2). 24 SO 56(1)(a). 25 SOs 57(1) and 60(1). 26 SOs 136 and 137. 27 SO 74(1)(a). 28 SOs 176 and 290. 29 SO 133. 30 SOs 181 and 183. 31 SO 178. 32 SO 172(2). 33 (1932) 231 NZPD 68 Statham; (2000) 586 NZPD 4568–4569 Hunt. 34 (1927) 215 NZPD 559–560. 35 SO 56(2)(d); see Chapter 13. 36 SO 57; see Chapter 13. 37 SO 136; see Chapter 16. 38 SO 287; see Chapter 26.



Motions to suspend Standing OrdersOf all procedural motions, perhaps the most noteworthy are motions for the suspension of Standing Orders. When an intended course of action is not permitted under the Standing Orders, the usual approach is to seek consensus, either by leave of the House or through a determination of the Business Committee. Where consensus cannot be reached, however, the Government (or a member in charge of an item of business) may seek to move a motion to suspend a provision or provisions in the Standing Orders. Suspension of the Standing Orders may be for an indefinite period (in which case it lasts until the end of the parliamentary term or session), for a limited period,39 or only in respect of a particular item of business.40

The constitutional importance of the Standing Orders, and of the balance of interests that they represent, is recognised by constraining the setting aside of these rules. (See Chapter 2.) The motion may be moved with or without notice, but if it is moved without notice there must be at least 60 members present when it is moved.41 A motion to suspend Standing Orders cannot interrupt a debate that is in progress, and is not subject to amendment.42 The suspension of Standing Orders can be moved while the House is sitting under urgency provided that the suspension is confined to the business for which urgency was taken.

Generally, a motion to suspend Standing Orders may be moved only by a Minister, but it can be moved by another member to permit some bill, clause or other matter of which the member has charge to proceed or be dealt with without full compliance with the Standing Orders.43 This does not mean that members may move the suspension of Standing Orders merely to obtain more favourable procedures for the passing of a bill or other matter of which they have charge. The bill or other matter must actually be prevented by a Standing Order from proceeding further. In these circumstances the member can then move a motion designed to remove whatever prevents the bill from proceeding or causes it not to be dealt with.

A motion to suspend the Standing Orders must itself state the object or reason for the proposed suspension,44 although it does not need to specify the particular Standing Orders that are to be suspended. Similarly, it is not essential (although it is desirable) for a motion to state explicitly that the Standing Orders are to be suspended if it is clear that this is its intention. Even where the specific Standing Order to be suspended is not identified in the motion, such a motion is not regarded as proposing the suspension of all Standing Orders, only those it is reasonably necessary to suspend to enable the House to proceed in the way it is asked to proceed in the motion.45

There is no specified time limit on the debate on a motion to suspend the Standing Orders. Individual speeches may be up to 10 minutes long. As in any debate, it must be relevant to the motion, in this case the suspension of certain Standing Orders for a particular purpose. There can be no general discussion of the Standing Orders on a motion to suspend particular Standing Orders.46

Motions for statutory proceduresOccasionally the House passes motions in fulfilment of statutory obligations or in the exercise of statutory powers. The House is bound by the law,47 and the Speaker

39 (30 April 2003) [2002–2005] 1 JHR 558 (Standing Order suspended for eight months). 40 (8 August 2007) [2005–2008] 2 JHR 735 (Standing Order suspended to permit omnibus amendments). 41 SO 4(1), (2). 42 SO 4(3), (4). 43 SO 5. 44 SO 4(3). 45 (1981) 442 NZPD 4310 Harrison. 46 (1903) 125 NZPD 529, 601 Guinness. 47 (2002) 599 NZPD 15690 Hunt. See Chapter 2.



superintends the House’s transaction of statutory procedures so as to take account of the particular legal requirements that apply in each case.48 For example, in the case of statutory appointments to be recommended by the House, the statute may impose restrictions on who may be appointed or requirements as to the consultation to be undertaken. Conversely, a motion for the removal of an officer, such as a judge, may require certain preconditions to be met before it will have legal effect.49 The Speaker will rule a notice of motion out of order if it is for an appointment or removal of an officer but necessary legal requirements have not been satisfied.50 However, while the Speaker would prevent the moving of a motion if a required procedural step, such as consultation, had not been taken, the Speaker generally has no statutory role to judge the quality or extent of the action taken. The Speaker seeks the assurance of the member who intends to move the motion, but otherwise does not participate in the statutory process.51 Any amendment that would cause the motion not to comply with statutory requirements is inadmissible (see below).

MOVING OF MOTIONSA motion is proposed to the House by a member moving it and thus formally putting the proposition that it expresses before the House, so that ultimately it may be adopted or rejected. If the motion is one of which notice has been given, at the appropriate point in the sitting the Speaker will call upon the member who gave the notice to move it. In the case of a bill, the Speaker directs the Clerk to announce the particular stage of the bill that is to be debated, and then the Speaker invites the member in charge of the bill to move the appropriate motion. With other motions that do not require notice, the member seeking to move a motion raises a point of order to request the Speaker’s permission to speak, preferably after intimating privately to the Chair what course is intended. In most of these cases only a restricted class of members, usually Ministers, can move such motions without leave of the House. Members wishing to move amendments must first seek the right to speak in the debate in the normal way.

If the mover of a motion has a right to make a speech in support of the motion (not all motions are debatable), the motion is moved formally at the commencement of the speech. Where the terms of the motion are set out on the Order Paper, the member might not recite them at all in the speech, being content with informing the House that the motion is moved as set out on the Order Paper. A member is not obliged to read out the whole motion as it appears on the Order Paper.52

If the member intends to speak to the motion he or she must proceed immediately to the speech after moving the motion. Once the member sits down after moving a motion, the member’s right to speak is ended.53

Moving on behalf of another memberIt is permissible for a member to move a motion on behalf of a colleague who is absent from the Chamber, provided that the member has the authority of that colleague to do so.54 For this purpose members do not have to state that they have authority to act on behalf of other members, but if it is challenged, the Speaker will ask for an assurance of their authority.

A member cannot move a motion on behalf of a colleague that he or she could not move in his or her own right. Thus, Ministers have an absolute authority to

48 (1909) 148 NZPD 1452 Guinness. 49 See, for example: Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004, ss 33 and 34. 50 (1997) 560 NZPD 2023 Kidd (consultation not carried out as required). 51 (24 February 2015) 703 NZPD 1838 Carter. 52 (1992) 531 NZPD 12646 Gerard (Deputy Speaker). 53 (1996) 556 NZPD 13643 Tapsell. 54 (1906) 137 NZPD 19 Guinness; (1997) 558 NZPD 96 Kidd.



act for other absent Ministers;55 but a non-Minister cannot act for a Minister—a Government motion must be proposed to the House by one of the Crown’s responsible advisers. Conversely, a Minister cannot move a Member’s bill on behalf of a member. While generally a Minister or member may act for another member only if the latter is physically absent from the Chamber, it is well established that a member can act for the Speaker in the Speaker’s presence—for example, moving a local bill in the Speaker’s name.56

Failure to move motionIf a member fails to move a motion when the House reaches it, the motion is automatically discharged—that is, struck off the Order Paper (see p 198). A member who does not want to proceed with the motion on a particular day can seek to have it postponed.57

Seconding motionsA seconder is not required to support any motion.58 While there is no instance of a seconder being required by the Standing Orders, the Standing Orders do permit the motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne at the Opening of Parliament to be seconded.59

QUESTION PROPOSEDOnce a motion has been moved, the Speaker proposes to the House a question based on the motion.60 This question is of an altogether different nature from the questions that members address to Ministers seeking information about Government policy or the administration of a department. It is a question formulated by the Speaker, which allows one of two answers by the members of the House: yes, they agree with the motion, or no, they do not agree with it. An unequivocal yes or no is given by the House to every question (a tied vote means that the answer is no). What the House debates is this question: does it agree or disagree with the motion that has been moved?

The Speaker’s propounding of the question puts the matter to be determined squarely before the House. It also creates a convenient break in the proceedings for the Speaker to consider whether the motion is in accordance with the rules of the House. In most cases, this will have been determined beforehand, when notice of the motion was lodged or when the member sought to move it on a point of order. However, before proposing the question, the Speaker may pause to consider the acceptability of the motion, and if the motion is considered to be out of order the Speaker will rule accordingly instead of proposing the question. The proposal of the question does not prevent the motion from subsequently being ruled out. The Speaker has authority to propose a question, allow the debate to run for a while, and then rule the motion out of order instead of allowing it to be put to a vote.

Withdrawal of motionThe consequence of proposing a question is that the motion is no longer the exclusive property of one member. It now belongs to the House and cannot be withdrawn without the leave of the House.61 In addition, where any amendment

55 (1904) 129 NZPD 2 Guinness. 56 (1990) 510 NZPD 3514. 57 SO 74(1). See Chapter 14. Note that a motion for the first reading of a Member’s bill cannot be

postponed by the member in charge but requires approval by the House or the Business Committee. 58 SO 102. 59 SO 351(2). A seconder is required for the nomination of a member for election as Speaker, but such

a nomination is not a motion. 60 SO 103(1). 61 SO 103(2).



has been proposed to the motion, the amendment must be withdrawn before the motion can be withdrawn.62 Although the mover of a motion loses exclusive power over it when a question on it is proposed, the mover’s presence is still necessary if a motion is to be withdrawn by leave, at this or any later stage in the proceedings.63 Even though the mover cannot kill the motion unilaterally after this stage, he or she retains the right to keep it alive.

AMENDMENTS TO MOTIONSOnce a motion is moved, members are not necessarily faced with an all-or-nothing decision on whether to support it. There will generally be an opportunity for members to seek to have the motion amended to reflect their preferred approach. Members can propose amendments to a motion unless this right is expressly removed by the Standing Orders. In a number of instances the Standing Orders do indeed preclude amendments, usually to motions that also are not debatable. Particular rules also exist for dealing with proposed amendments to a bill in a committee (see Chapter 26).

Aside from such exceptions, as set out in the Standing Orders, the proposal of amendments to motions is subject to general rules.64 In 2008 the rules for amendments were considerably simplified to allow amendments to be debated along with the main question to which they relate.65

Amendments to amendmentsA member can move an amendment to a proposed amendment.66 Theoretically, an amendment to an amendment could itself be the subject of an amendment, and so on endlessly. However, this is much less likely to happen now that all amendments moved are considered and decided along with the main question.

FORM OF AMENDMENTSThere is no particular form prescribed in the Standing Orders for an amendment to take. Since an amendment, if it is agreed to, will be embodied in a resolution of the House it must be in a suitable form for this purpose. An amendment completely lacking form will thus not be permitted. An amendment must establish clearly how the original motion or wording in the bill would be amended were the amendment to be carried, usually by specifying particular words to “delete”, “replace” or “insert”. The precise verbal form used to express the amendment is not critical as long as the intended effect is clear.

MOVING OF AMENDMENTSA member can move an amendment to a motion upon being called to speak when that motion is under debate. Amendments to a question before the House need not be moved in any particular order. Members move their amendments as they are given the call by the Speaker.

When speaking to a question a member may move an amendment at any part of the speech, although the member’s intention to do so is usually signalled to the House at the commencement of the speech.67 Members lose their chances to move

62 (1887) 58 NZPD 392 O’Rorke. 63 (1891) 72 NZPD 398 Steward. 64 SO 122. 65 Standing Orders Committee Review of Standing Orders (27 August 2008) [2005–2008] AJHR I.18B

at 16–18. 66 SO 127. 67 (1926) 209 NZPD 1204 Statham.



amendments entirely once they have spoken to a question.68 The mover of a motion cannot move an amendment to it.69 Furthermore, a member may move only one amendment to any particular question.70

No notice is required of a member’s intention to propose an amendment to a motion. However, once a member has moved an amendment it must be put into writing, signed by the proposer and delivered to the Clerk at the conclusion of the speech.71 Another member can sign the proposed amendment on behalf of the mover, provided the mover’s authority has been given.72 If the terms of the amendment as written differ from those as actually moved in the course of the speech, the amendment must be ruled out of order.73

Different rules apply to the moving of amendments to a bill in a committee of the whole House (see pp 434–436). In that situation, members often give prior notice of amendments by having them published on Supplementary Order Papers, and also can deliver signed copies of amendments to the Clerk at the Table at any time until the question is put on the provision under consideration. Members do not need to move such amendments through a speech to the committee, although they can draw attention to them and explain them when speaking.

ADMISSIBILITY OF AMENDMENTSThe Speaker or (in committee) the Chairperson judges the admissibility of amend ments.74 An amendment is either in order or out of order. It is not the role of the Chair to amend proposed amendments to try and bring them into order.75 If an amendment contains any element that is out of order this infects the entire amendment, and it is inadmissible unless leave is given to remove the offending material from it.

General complianceAn amendment must not contain anything that is not permitted in motions generally or in debate on a motion. Thus the rules on motions and on the contents of speeches apply to limit the content of amendments, for a member cannot insert in an amendment something that would be unparliamentary if used in the member’s speech debating it (see pp 229–231).

RelevancyAn amendment must be relevant to the question it is proposed to amend.76 Amendments can be used to change the details of the proposition before the House, but not the subject matter of the proposition itself.

The concept of what is relevant by way of amendment to the terms of a motion is linked to what is relevant in debating the motion. The moving of an amendment cannot expand the area of relevancy in debate. In debates such as those on the Address in Reply, the Budget and imprest supply, where relevancy is not a limiting consideration, there is a similar freedom in the scope of amendments that may be moved. For other subjects the area of debate and consequently of amendment is more restricted.

68 SO 128(b). 69 (1888) 60 NZPD 300 O’Rorke. 70 SO 129. 71 SO 124. 72 (14 June 2005) 626 NZPD 21579 Simich (Chairperson); (14 June 2005) 626 NZPD 21581 Hartley

(Chairperson). 73 (1926) 210 NZPD 707 Statham. 74 (1909) 147 NZPD 605 Guinness. 75 (13 May 2009) 654 NZPD 3433 Chauvel (Temporary Chairperson). 76 SO 123.



Direct negativesAs well as the requirement of relevancy, an amendment must not be a direct negative of the motion before the House. The proper course of action for a member directly opposed to a motion is to vote against it, not to try to amend it, although a member may propose a “wrecking” amendment designed to blunt its effectiveness. A motion may not be completely reversed in meaning by the insertion of the word “not” before the main verb, for example; this is not permissible. Amendments that seek to delete all the words in a motion after the word “That” often radically change the nature of the proposition before the House, but as long as the words substituted by the amendment are relevant to the question and avoid the pitfall of directly negating it, such amendments are in order.

Amendments to statutory motionsWhen playing its part in a statutory process, the House must comply with the applicable statutory conditions and the Speaker must be diligent to ensure that this is done. In particular, the Speaker will not accept any amendment that is contrary to a statutory obligation placed on the House. So an amendment restricting, and thereby failing to fulfil, a statutory obligation will not be accepted, though an amendment going further than the statute requires can be.77 Where nominations for statutory appointments are merely submitted to the House for its endorsement or rejection rather than being made on the House’s recommendation, an amendment to substitute other nominations is not in order,78 although an amendment simply to omit a nomination without substituting another may be acceptable in this case.79

Restriction on second and subsequent amendmentsAmendments to motions are not proposed often, and the Speaker does not often need to consider the admissibility of multiple amendments, because each amendment needs to be moved in a separate speech. The proposal of several amendments that are similar to previous amendments is not uncommon when bills are considered in committees of the whole House, and the Chairperson has been given explicit authority to group and select amendments in this context.80 However, the Speaker has authority to rule amendments out of order if they are substantially the same as previous amendments that have been defeated, and for this purpose can select amendments to test the will of the House.81 If the House has rejected an amendment to delete certain words, it has in effect decided that these words should remain in or “stand part” of the question. These words have received the House’s explicit approbation and no further amendment to them can be considered: they then must stand part of the question. Similarly, if the House has agreed to an amendment that inserts words, those words must also stand intact as having been agreed to by the House. In either case, however, further words may be added.

Admissibility of amendments to amendmentsExactly the same rules apply for determining the admissibility of an amendment to an amendment as apply to an amendment to the main question. When an amendment is moved to an amendment, the first amendment is for the moment treated as the main question.82 The second amendment is tested for relevancy to the first, not for relevancy to the original question before the House.

77 (1989) 497 NZPD 10242 Burke (State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986). 78 (1997) 560 NZPD 2023–2024 Kidd (Intelligence and Security Committee Act 1996). 79 (18 February 2015) 703 NZPD 1717 Tisch (Assistant Speaker). 80 SO 307(4) and (5) (see Chapter 26). 81 (23 February 2010) 660 NZPD 9264–9265 Smith; Standing Orders Committee Review of Standing

Orders (27 September 2011) [2008–2011] AJHR I.18B at 45. 82 (1877) 24 NZPD 544 Fitzherbert.



QUESTION PROPOSED ON AMENDMENTAssuming that the Speaker allows the amendment to stand as being in order, a question based on it is then proposed to the House, in just the same way as on any other motion. The form of the question the Speaker proposes on an amendment is prescribed in the Standing Orders.83 The Speaker does not normally read out the full text of the amendment at this point. The question put to the House for it to determine is “That the amendment be agreed to”. This question is agreed or not agreed by the House, just like any other question proposed to the House. The proposal of the question on an amendment places it before the House for decision, but amendments are not debated separately (see Chapter 16).84

WITHDRAWAL OF AMENDMENTLike motions, a proposed amendment may be withdrawn. However, once the Speaker has proposed a question to the House on the amendment, withdrawal can be effected only with the leave of the House.85 The moving of an amendment means that before the original motion can be withdrawn, any amendment to it must also be withdrawn.86

PUTTING OF THE QUESTION ON AN AMENDMENTAt the conclusion of the debate on a motion, the questions are put on amendments to the motion in the order in which they have been moved.87 The rules for putting the question on an amendment and for determining the question on it are exactly the same as those for motions generally.

Once the question on the amendment has been decided, the Speaker puts the main question. For this purpose the Speaker restates the main question to the House. If an amendment has been agreed to, the Speaker puts the question that the original motion “as amended” be agreed to.88 If the amendment has been rejected, the original question is merely restated.89

83 SO 125(1). 84 SO 126. 85 SO 125(2). 86 (1887) 58 NZPD 392 O’Rorke. 87 SO 130(1) and (2). 88 SO 130(3). 89 SO 130(4).


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