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Parliament Bill

Parliamentary Service and other parliamentary bodies - Parliamentary Service - Acting chief executive

131: Speaker to appoint acting chief executive

You could also call this:

"The Speaker chooses someone to do the chief executive's job if they are away or their job is empty."

Illustration for Parliament Bill

If the chief executive is away or their job is empty, the Speaker must choose someone to do their job. You can be chosen if you work for a parliamentary agency or a government department. The Speaker can choose someone before the chief executive is away or their job is empty. The Speaker decides what conditions you will work under if you are chosen. If the Speaker is away or their job is empty, the Governor-General can choose someone instead. The Governor-General can also choose someone after a general election. If someone is chosen to do the chief executive's job, you cannot question their appointment in court. This means you cannot say they were chosen for no reason or that they were not supposed to be chosen.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS803952.

Topics:
Government and voting > Government departments
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130: Additional provisions relating to chief executive’s employment, or

"Rules about the chief executive's job"

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132: Chief executive is employer and appoints and may remove employees, or

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Part 6Parliamentary Service and other parliamentary bodies
Parliamentary Service: Acting chief executive

131Speaker to appoint acting chief executive

  1. Subsection (2) applies if—

  2. the office of chief executive is vacant; or
    1. the chief executive is absent from duty (for whatever reason) and is unable to delegate their functions, duties, and powers under this Act to another person.

      1. The Speaker must appoint one of the following persons to perform all or any of the functions and duties and exercise all or any of the powers of the chief executive:

      2. an employee of a parliamentary agency:
        1. an employee of a department.

          1. The appointment may be made before the absence or vacancy occurs or while it continues.

          2. An appointment of an acting chief executive and acts done by them cannot be questioned in proceedings on the grounds that—

          3. the appointment was made for no reason or for a reason that no longer applies; or
            1. the acting chief executive was not appointed to the position of chief executive.

              1. The Speaker must determine the conditions of employment that are to apply to an acting chief executive.

              2. The Governor-General may act in place of the Speaker under subsection (2)—

              3. if—
                1. the office of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is absent from duty; and
                  1. the office of Deputy Speaker is vacant or the Deputy Speaker is absent from duty; and
                    1. there is no member with authority to act as Speaker; or
                    2. during the period following a general election.