A rare opportunity to strengthen a key democratic institution
Trust Democracy would like to commend the New Zealand Parliament for doing something few parliaments do: reviewing its Standing Orders (rules) every term and inviting the public to recommend improvements. We made the most of this globally rare opportunity to strengthen a key democratic institution by making plenty of recommendations in our recent submission (September 2025).
As in our first Standing Orders submission (September 2022), this year’s effort focused on select committee processes, one of the main ways the public can engage with and influence law making between elections. We also proposed fundamental reform of how New Zealand enters into international treaties, as these instruments increasingly affect domestic policy. The public should therefore have opportunities to help shape such agreements.
The best rules in the world cannot deliver on their promise if there are not enough people to do the work!
2025 Standing Orders Submission
At a time when democracy is under pressure here and globally, some key takeaways from our submission are that Parliament needs to prioritise its own capacities and capability so that it can perform its functions well and in the public interest. This will require more MPs and more specialised support staff who are employed by parliamentary agencies rather than government departments.
New rules are also needed to curb the misuse of practices like urgency to pass laws without select committee review, and truncated select committee stages for legislation that has not gone through the normal policy development process and not had earlier opportunities for public input. Parliament and its committees must continuously monitor and evaluate their processes and their outcomes, and innovate to ensure the robustness of our democracy. As shown by recent research, MPs and parliamentary staff must work together to ensure procedural legitimacy and innovation.
Learning from parliaments around the world
Many parliaments around the world are grappling with similar issues to those in Aotearoa New Zealand and we should learn what we can from how they perform their inquiry, legislative, scrutiny and representation functions. The International Parliament Engagement Network’s map (embedded below) offers an excellent starting point.