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Parliament Act 2025

Parliamentary privilege - Other provisions relating to parliamentary privilege - Contempt

29: House of Representatives may impose fine for contempt of House of Representatives

You could also call this:

"The House of Representatives can fine you up to $1,000 if you disrespect them."

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If you do something that disrespects the House of Representatives, they can decide you have committed a contempt of the House. They may then impose a fine of up to $1,000 on you by resolution. The fine is treated like any other fine under the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, and you must pay it. When the House of Representatives imposes a fine, they must send a copy of the resolution to the Registrar of the District Court at Wellington. The Registrar then serves you with a copy of the resolution, which is like a notice of fine under section 84 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957. The Registrar also makes sure the fine is enforced according to Part 3 of that Act. This rule does not stop the House of Representatives from giving you another type of penalty for a contempt, either instead of or as well as a fine. You can still get another penalty, even if you get a fine. The House of Representatives can decide what penalty is best for the situation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS804164.

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Part 2Parliamentary privilege
Other provisions relating to parliamentary privilege: Contempt

29House of Representatives may impose fine for contempt of House of Representatives

  1. If the House of Representatives determines that a person has committed a contempt of the House of Representatives, it may by resolution impose a fine of up to $1,000 on the person.

  2. The fine is payable and enforceable under the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, as if it were a fine within the meaning of section 79(1) of that Act.

  3. The Clerk must ensure that a copy of the resolution imposing the fine is sent to the Registrar of the District Court at Wellington.

  4. The Registrar must—

  5. serve a copy of the resolution on the person who has committed the contempt as if the resolution contained the same information (other than appeals information) as a notice of fine under section 84 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957; and
    1. ensure that the fine is enforced in accordance with Part 3 of that Act, which applies with all necessary modifications to the enforcement of the fine.

      1. This section does not limit or affect the House of Representatives’ powers to penalise a person for a contempt by imposing a penalty other than a fine on the person (whether the other penalty is instead of or as well as a fine).

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