Legislative Council
Legislative Council Chamber. View as panorama.
The Legislative Council was an upper house whose members were appointed rather than elected. Its major role was to amend or revise the legislation passed in the House of Representatives or lower house.
The Council was meant to be New Zealand's equivalent of the British House of Lords and play an independent and influential role. This did not happen and the Council never had too much to do. Once governments could appoint its members ― a role they soon took from the Governor, although he still approved the nominees ― the Council's independence weakened, especially when governments stacked it to suit their own purposes.
Every now and again Council members bucked against the government. The big showdown came in 1891 when the Council obstructed the policies of the Liberal government. Trying to stack the Council backfired when the Governor refused to approve the nominees; Britain finally ordered him to cooperate. From then on, there would be no chance of an independent Council, but it gave governments an attractive way of rewarding loyal MPs.
The 'Suicide Squad'
The final gathering of the Legislative Council, 1 December 1950.
The last Legislative Council, appointed in 1950, was known as the 'suicide squad'. Its 25 new members were appointed by the National government to make sure that the Legislative Council Abolition Bill was passed. It did, and the Council sat for the final time on 1 December 1950 (the Act came into effect on 1 January 1951). No one was too upset at its demise and few people turned up to watch its last moments. At the very end, the Council members linked arms in the centre of the chamber, sang 'Auld Lang Syne', followed by the National Anthem, and filed out of the place.
Hear Charles Wheeler describe the end of the Legislative Council (285k, mp3). Transcript and further information.
Did you know?
That in the chamber members of the upper and lower houses were not able to refer directly to their counterparts or to debates in the other house? Instead they had to refer to 'another place'.