NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

‘Politics has been likened to war without guns’: Why rules in politics still matter - Steve Maharey

By Steve Maharey
NZ Herald·
5 May, 2024 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter confronts Matthew Doocey in Parliament.

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter confronts Matthew Doocey in Parliament.

Opinion by Steve Maharey

OPINION

When I was elected as a city councillor back in the 1980s, I was young and thought I would try to loosen up the stuffy atmosphere that was common to meetings. My radical act was to call my fellow councillors by their first names. I was in my early thirties, they were, in the main, over 50.

My using first names went on for a few weeks before the mayor took me aside to suggest I stopped. He pointed out that the use of first names might be all right when everyone was getting along, but a bit of formality helped when the going got tough.

On reflection, I thought he made a good point. There were a lot of very strong personalities on that council, backed by a lot of intelligence. Disagreements were bound to arise. If everyone played by the rules - including addressing members as “Councillor”, the standard of dress, preparing thoroughly for meetings and treating staff with respect - debates could be had without the danger of animosity becoming embedded. I noticed that, after the sometimes-heated meetings, councillors relaxed and went over what had been discussed, looking for areas of agreement.

I took what I learned during my time on council into Parliament. I was elected in 1990. Muldoon, Lange, Prebble, Moore, Bolger, Cullen, Clark, McKinnon - people with big names and big reputations dominated the House. These were the days when Parliament could go all night, day after day. It was a tough time to cut your teeth as a new Member of Parliament.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But during those early years and during my 18 years in Parliament, I never saw someone walk across the floor of the House to wave a booklet in the face of another MP while screaming at them from a few centimetres away.

Hon Steve Maharey in 2013. Photo / Glenn Taylor
Hon Steve Maharey in 2013. Photo / Glenn Taylor

In the general scheme of things, the behaviour of Julie Anne Genter, the Green MP who did the screaming, might seem trivial. Surely there are bigger issues to be concerned about than an MP losing control of themselves in a way that might intimidate others. Aren’t MPs supposed to be grown-ups who can take the “rough and tumble”?

But this is not the point. We live in a democracy where people with very strong opposing views meet to work out how the country will be run. It sounds a bit extreme, but politics has been likened to war without guns. Believe me, I have been present when this view has seemed accurate.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is the rules that stop politics descending into war with guns.

Plenty of Parliaments around the world have crossed that line. The one stands out most at the moment is the United States, where it seems there many members of Congress who think the rules are for “losers and schmucks” (to use a favoured phrase of Donald Trump). Outright lies and constant personal attacks have reduced America’s moral authority in the world to zero.

Former President Donald Trump sits inside Manhattan Criminal Court. Photo / Pool via AP
Former President Donald Trump sits inside Manhattan Criminal Court. Photo / Pool via AP

It is not possible to tell other countries what to do when you cannot even agree that a violent attack on Congress is a bad thing.

Obviously, politics in New Zealand is nowhere near that of the United States. But, as an interested observer, I have watched changes in the way Parliament operates with a quizzical eye. The standards of dress, the use of first names, the way the Speaker behaves and allows members to behave - it might seem that this is just Parliament loosening up.

Rules do need to change to fit the times and the attitudes of people who are in Parliament. But it is worth remembering a point that social science students learn in their first year at university.

All societies have what are called mores and folkways - simple, everyday guides to behaviour that might or might not be broken. In a sense, these everyday rules are there so that much more serious guides to behaviour - don’t intimidate others in your workplace, for example - are not broken.

In other words, I think it is a mistake for Parliament, the highest court in our country where it is a privilege to serve, to become a place that gives little thought to rules. They may sound stuffy, but rules keep behaviour within boundaries when the going gets tough.

I say this fully aware that the behaviour of MPs in previous Parliaments sometimes (often) plumbed the depths. I am also aware that Parliaments of old were stacked with characters substantially scarier than those present today. I also know that the way Parliament operated (like all-night sessions) meant MPs were often tired and angry when they came into the Chamber.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All of this is true. But the rules helped. I remember being afraid of Sir Robert Muldoon when first elected. His reputation preceded him. He exuded malevolence. But I knew, as I looked across the aisle, that no matter how antagonistic he got, there was not much he could do to me.

The rules saw to that.

Steve Maharey is an Independent Director and former Labour Member of Parliament.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

07 Jul 06:31 AM
New Zealand

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

07 Jul 06:25 AM
New Zealand

Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

07 Jul 06:22 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

07 Jul 06:31 AM

Police: 'We do not believe the injuries could have been sustained accidentally.'

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

07 Jul 06:25 AM
Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

07 Jul 06:22 AM
Jury finds mushroom cook guilty of murders and Covid inquiry continues  | NZ Herald Afternoon Update

Jury finds mushroom cook guilty of murders and Covid inquiry continues | NZ Herald Afternoon Update

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP