by Catherine Delahunty
There’s a gothic fantasy book by Mervyn Peake, called “Gormenghast”. It’s about a medieval castle inhabited by weird individuals and arcane patriarchal rituals. There is an atmosphere of ruination, insanity and borderline behaviour. Such was my impression of my first question time at Parliament. There was howling, snarling, backslapping and ritual clapping but nothing you could call witty repartee. There were points of order about points of order none of which were in any kind of order. In terms of the two major parties everyone was very clever in our party, and really stupid in your party. Some maintained their dignity and decorum while others barked at their adversaries like deranged parrots. We drank a lot of water in there because it dries you out listening to the repetitive point scoring. Sometimes I raised my eyes to the gallery and saw the glazed eyes of the hypnotised public gazing with fascinated horror at Westminster democracy in action.
Don’t get me wrong I love robust debate but not when it’s dull and pointlessly adversarial. I kept waiting for the veterans of the House to say something clever. If anyone made a protocol mistake or a verbal faux pas there was howling and derision. Later on at the press gallery Christmas Party people explained to me that it is not bad behaviour it is tradition and everybody knows it is not personal.
This boarding school is riddled with in jokes and verbal bullying and is also resonant with talented, inspirational and committed people. The problem is that the howling and grandstanding is broadcast to the nation as the modus operandi of the House of Parliament, and it is the public who are paying for it and don’t like it. Someone told me that this behaviour is essential to keep the media interest. My guess is that the media would report intelligent, critical but respectful debate if that was on offer; after all they have to report something.
I am also told by people other than the Green Party that I will get used it. I don’t want to get used to I want to challenge it. I want to see the exemplary behaviour of the Green Party, the Maori Party and some of the MPs from other parties become the norm.
And if you catch me yelling twice as loud as is necessary to be heard, making abusive personal comments and howling like a demented she wolf, remind me to do this in my own time and not the nation’s.
Published in Parliament | Society & Culture by Catherine Delahunty on Fri, December 19th, 2008
Tags: Catherine Delahunty, debate, decorum, gormenghast, Parliament, question time
More posts by Catherine Delahunty | more about Catherine Delahunty
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Great post Catherine. Very well said.
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I’ve only seen it on TV but sometimes the members come across as a pack of baying wolves! Some politeness wouldn’t go a miss.
Good luck Catherine.
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Right on the ball Catherine!
Watching the live broadcast on TVOne, I felt very sad to see new members (young National males in particular) aping their older counterparts and using their obviously “well trained debating skills” to sling prepared-in- advance insults towards “the Opposition”.
It makes me wonder if they have heard of MMP .
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I loved those books, and your post. Thanks for your observations on rituals whose purposes are lost in the mists of time and for patriarchal excesses we all pay for, not just in taxes.
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John Key as Steerpike?
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Yes the disingenuous nature of the debate is annoying. But you only scratch the surface of the problem.
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jh, I may have this wrong, but I take it from other posts you have made that you are a NZFirst supporter.
They, and in particular their Leader, used to be the worst offenders in this regard.
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I was never a NZ First supporter per se but I supported the right of citizens to selfishly protect their lifestyle by limiting numbers.
As it mentions in the blurb for The Last Resort “a second colonisation” (the carpet taken from under us).
NZ First is Nationalist whereas the Green Party wants to keep a free exchange across our borders (the elephant in the room is world population).
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Cath –
I salute your erudition – I reviewed Gormenghast on Facebook & discovered how few geek girls there are who’ve read it – and the comparison is very apt!
Some 5 years since I first looked at question time in the House, I’m still appalled by the ‘usual traditions’ of behaviour, and I wouldn’t allow any teacher of children to let under-12′s view the proceedings, as it’s hard enough to teach kids these days, without letting them see grown adults behave like that!
Good luck with your aim to contribute more than the minimum standard, and my hope as a fellow feminist/eco-activist is that you will be part of a trend to raise the standards in the House.
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Catherine
If you feel that bad about the place then resign, as one of the people who pay your wages I can assure you that it would not worry me in the slightest if you threw in the towel.
However I doubt that you will, like all socialists your “convictions” don’t quite extend as far as giving up your own money or taking your snout out of the public trough.
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Go Catherine! The Greens can hold their head up high by their conduct in the house.
Maybe there could be a name and shame approach. Juvenile of the week, as it were. How could you do this so they couldn’t laugh it off and use the publicity to illeffect?
The mainstream media could change this so easily. How hard would it be to point out who the idiots are and how much time/money they waste?
On another note during urgency what really was the point of the opposition, or government parties, making speeches during every reading of the bill? I think the latter readings should have been boycotted.
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Big – what a generous spirit you have!
With regard your reference to troughs and snouts and your implication that non-socialists would give up their own money and take their snouts out, please pass your sentiments on to your Tory team as soon as possible. I look foward to their withdrawl.
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JamieS Says:
December 19th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Go Catherine!
big bro Says:
December 19th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Catherine
If you feel that bad about the place then resign,
The greens could use more centrist MP’s?
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I didn’t read the books but saw the TV series. Beautiful.
I am from Holland Catherine and my country has had MMP governing for exactly 360 years this year after one of the first revolutions (lasting 80 years) and becoming the first republic at the time.
I have looked with absolute disgust at some of the televised debates.
It is revolting the way people yell, howl, insult each other here in Government.
When I watch the way these people bully and denigrate each other I’m not surprised this country is the number two worst bullying country in the world.
This would never happen in Holland or Germany for that matter.
People make their speeches calmly knowing they are entitled to speak without heckling and they debate on arguments not the worst degree of rudeness.
You go girl! You’ve got my support.
Talk about National and snouts in the trough big Bro, taking money from the poor to put in the pockets of the rich, taking away rights of workers in favour of the rich, fire at will for 90 days and the coming Financial tsunami organised by the very bankers John Key calls his mates makes me really look forward to the day you go, “Oh shit, what was I thinking.”
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Good luck, Catherine – don’t let them get you down (like they did Pam Corkery).
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big bro Says:
December 19th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
> Catherine
> If you feel that bad about the place then resign
Yeah, why doesn’t everyone who wants to take Parliament seriously resign? then we would have room for even MORE immature idiots, which would do no end of good.
anyway, a lot of the worthwhile stuff that MPs are involved in at the moment is through select committees and written questions to ministers, rather than in the debating chamber.
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Good Observation Catherine; I watched said session with not a little dismay – what in heavens name are we paying for – not a circus with xomeone else promoted to chief clown.
My Tax dollars are of lifeblood proportion – to see them spent on mendacity is sore – I’m hungry…
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Catherine – don’t let the b……s grind you down – or turn you like them.
Who was it that said “If you enjoy sausages or have respect for the law, don’t watch either being made”?
Trevor.
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Gal Paid to Watch Trev;- reckon I’d feel helpless and face-slapped by the merry prankster act we paid for this week.
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greenfly
As far as I am aware the “Tory” leader donates his salary to charity.
My generosity is not in doubt however it does not extend to racist or sexist people, should Delehunty change her ways then I will be the first to praise her.
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Big – that’s splendid! And your glorious leader, Mr Hide? His snout seems deeply buried (in the trough that is, whereas his head is embedded firmly in the sand)
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http://whoar.co.nz/2008/questiontime-at-parliament16-12-08/
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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Comes with embedded software.
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Catherine,
I agree with you totally about all this facile political tribalism and childish point-scoring. People are sick of it. You can find plenty of examples here: http://210.48.89.93/
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As others have pointed out the behavior of our leaders and representatives is bellow what we would expect from school children …………….children in a ‘lord of the flies’ setting maybe.
And it makes Nationals setting of standards in our schools a bit of a joke ………………. the clowns cant even act like half decent grown-up’s themselves.
Big Bro’s comment is typically idiotic …………. ask people who want to raise the standards in parliament to get out.
Labor and the Natianals have been a disgrace in parliament for as long as I can remember.
To such an extent that when I go to the toilet I call it going for a ” right honorable ” ……………
Such is my admiration for our ‘leaders’
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Steve Maharey did wonderful work as Minister of Education teaching the kids to say “fuck” in parliament while Trevor Mallard showed them how to punch a man in our so called highest court in the land.
Like that daddyO?
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Moderation again you tree hugger types are so hypercritical about freedom of speech.
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Hey Big, good to see you defending the fantastic standards that the major parties uphold in Parliament. Right up there with your own marvelously valuable contribution here on frogblog.
And d4j I agree – it’s good that the tree huggers are extremely critical in support of true freedom of speech.
Go you good ol’ boys.
Nuke
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Nothing like a bit of tradition to make the looney left loquacious.
Question Time, an opportunity for the Opposition (i.e. those with absolutely NO POWER whatsoever,) to make brownie points off the government’s ministers through trickery. How many “patsy” questions did Green MPs ask in the last three Parliaments? Too many to remember.
Personally, I think that if you don’t like the parliamentary approach you should put up a PMB to get rid of it! That’s right! We have an election, appoint a government, get them set up, then everyone not involved in that Government can go home and get on with their life until the next election – the date of which will be predictable a century or so in advance
After all. If not for question time, what would The Opposition do?
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PS
No Member is FORCED to attend Question Time – in future just leave after the prayer!
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Nothing like hearing phrases like ‘loony left’ to know your listening to a ‘stark raving conservative” ……………..
As usual they defend ‘their side’ for their bad behavior …………….
and seem to suggest that those who dont like the bad behavior should just piss off or something ……………
pathetic.
For the raver dad4justice
Labor = bad and rotten
Natianals = plain evil
Their behavior in parliment should result in the whole lot of them being sacked ……………..
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