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Parliament Act 2025

Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and parliamentary precincts - Speaker and Deputy Speaker - Speaker and Deputy Speaker at dissolution of Parliament and from polling day

51: How to read references to Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and member with authority to act as Speaker during period following general election

You could also call this:

"Understanding who is in charge after a general election"

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When a general election happens, you need to understand how to read some special words in this Act. You will see words like Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and member with authority to act as Speaker. These words refer to the people who held these jobs before the Parliament ended or expired. During this time, the Speaker is the person who had the job before the election. The Deputy Speaker is also the person who had the job before the election. A member with authority to act as Speaker is someone who could act as Speaker before the election, as explained in section 49(3). However, there are some exceptions for the word Speaker in certain sections like section 101, section 109, section 125, section 130, clause 5 of Schedule 4, clause 11 of Schedule 4, and clause 12 of Schedule 4. These exceptions are important to understand how the Act works. You should look at these sections to see how they are different.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS962287.

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50: Deputy Speaker to continue in office despite dissolution or expiration of Parliament, or

"The Deputy Speaker keeps their job even if Parliament ends."

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52: Parliamentary precincts, or

"What are the parliamentary precincts and where are they?"

Part 3Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and parliamentary precincts
Speaker and Deputy Speaker: Speaker and Deputy Speaker at dissolution of Parliament and from polling day

51How to read references to Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and member with authority to act as Speaker during period following general election

  1. This section applies to the period following a general election.

  2. During that period, a reference in this Act—

  3. to the Speaker is a reference to the person who held the office of Speaker immediately before the dissolution or expiration of the Parliament before the general election; and
    1. to the Deputy Speaker is a reference to the person who held the office of Deputy Speaker immediately before the dissolution or expiration of the Parliament before the general election; and
      1. to a member with authority to act as Speaker is a reference to a person who was a member with authority to act as Speaker within the meaning of section 49(3) immediately before the dissolution or expiration of the Parliament before the general election.

        1. However, subsection (2)(a) does not apply to the references to the Speaker in the following sections:

        2. section 101 (which relates to appointing the Clerk):
          1. section 109 (which relates to appointing an acting Clerk):
            1. section 125 (which relates to appointing the chief executive):
              1. section 130 (which relates to appointing an acting chief executive):
                1. clause 5 of Schedule 4 (which relates to the Clerk resigning their office):
                  1. clause 11 of Schedule 4 (which relates to the chief executive resigning):
                    1. clause 12 of Schedule 4 (which relates to the Speaker suspending or removing the chief executive).

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