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Parliament Bill

Parliamentary Service and other parliamentary bodies - Parliamentary Service Commission - Membership

157: Party leader must appoint member or members to represent party

You could also call this:

"Party leader chooses members to speak for their party"

The leader of your party in the House of Representatives must choose one or two members to represent your party. They do this according to rules set out in section 156(1)(b) and (c). The leader must make these appointments at certain times. The leader chooses a member to represent your party when the House of Representatives first meets after an election. They also make a new appointment if the current member resigns or gets a new job as a Minister or Parliamentary Under-Secretary. If a member's seat becomes vacant, the leader must choose someone new. The leader can change their mind and appoint someone new at any time. If a member is chosen according to section 156(1)(c), they cannot be a Minister or Parliamentary Under-Secretary.

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This page was last updated on 9 November 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS964242.

Topics:

Government and voting > ElectionsGovernment and voting > Government departments

156: Membership of Parliamentary Service Commission, or

158: Resignation or vacation of office, or

"How to stop being a Commission member"

Part 6Parliamentary Service and other parliamentary bodies
Parliamentary Service Commission: Membership

157Party leader must appoint member or members to represent party

The leader of each party represented in the House of Representatives (the leader) must appoint 1 or 2 members of the House of Representatives (as applicable) to represent the party as Commission members in accordance with section 156(1)(b) and (c).
The leader must appoint a member or members to represent the party as Commission members—
as soon as practicable after the first meeting of the House of Representatives following a general election; and
if the Commission member who currently represents the party on the Parliamentary Service Commission resigns; and
in the case of a Commission member appointed in accordance with section 156(1)(c), if that member is appointed as a Minister or a Parliamentary Under-Secretary; and
if the parliamentary seat of a Commission member who currently represents that leader’s party becomes vacant under section 55 of the Electoral Act 1993.

The leader may revoke an appointment, or appoint a new member to represent the party as a Commission member at any time.
A member who is appointed to represent their party as a Commission member in accordance with section 156(1)(c) must not be a Minister or a Parliamentary Under-Secretary.