Parliament’s speaker Gerry Brownlee is demanding a culture change after a series of incidents involving the ACT Party.
ACT has accused Mr Brownlee of failing to address what is says was a racially-charged comment from Te Pati Maori MP Mariameno Kapa Kingi an Green MP Kahurangi Carter that a sub-committee hearing submissions on the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act should be chaired by a Maori or Pasifika MP rather than its MP Laura Trask.
Ms Kapa Kingi also told parliament in te reo Maori that Children’s Minister Karen Chhour had been “made a puppet” by her party.
ACT members have also got offside with the speaker for ignoring his ruling that MPs not wear party lapel pins in the house.
“I think there does need to be a slight cultural reset in the place. We are going to get a little tougher on each other I think in the future as we try and tidy the place, up a bit,” Mr Brownlee says.
