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An attempt to raise public confidence in MPs and put an end to unsavoury scenes of swearing and obscene gestures in Parliament is struggling to gain support only hours after it was launched.
Four of Parliament's smaller parties - the Greens, Maori Party, Act and United Future - yesterday banded together to release a voluntary code of conduct for MPs that they jointly penned.
The group signed the code of conduct and challenged other parties to do the same, arguing that standards inside the debating chamber had sunk to new lows.
MPs do not have a code of conduct and various attempts in the past to put one in place have failed. Yesterday's new code of conduct looks as if it may suffer the same fate.
Labour and National were quick to question whether it was needed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House Michael Cullen suggested some of the signatories might have scribbled their names on it with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks.
"There are already rules in Parliament around parliamentary behaviour - the problem is not having a code of conduct, the problem is how do you enforce a code of conduct," Dr Cullen said. "That's down to the Speaker and the enforcement of the current rules."
National's shadow leader of the House, Gerry Brownlee, said the Standing Orders - rules which govern Parliament - were its code of conduct and the new one was an affront to Speaker Margaret Wilson.
