Latest members' bill ballot results

In a democratic process unique to the New Zealand Parliament, six bills were drawn from a biscuit tin at the most recent members’ bill ballot.

The members’ bills drawn from the ballot were:

• Local Government (Management of Local Authorities) Amendment Bill in the name of Stuart Smith
• Crown Minerals (Prohibition on Mining on Conservation Land) Amendment Bill in the name of Lan Pham
• New Zealand Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Medal Bill in the name of Tim Costley 
• Oranga Tamariki (Suitable Accommodation on Leaving Care) Amendment Bill in the name of Hon Marama Davidson
• Residential Tenancies (Requiring Landlords to Provide Curtains) Amendment Bill in the name of Helen White
• Crimes (Impeding Major Bridges, Tunnels, and Roads) Amendment Bill in the name of Catherine Wedd

What are members’ bills?

Most bills (proposed laws) considered by the House of Representatives are Government bills. However, MPs who are not Ministers can introduce their own bills, which are called members’ bills. Each member may have only one proposed bill in the ballot in their name at any one time.

The ballot is held to select one or more new member's bills to be introduced when fewer than eight members’ bills are on the Order Paper (the House’s agenda) as available for their first reading. The ballot simply involves drawing numbered tokens from a container, with one token drawn for each available bill to enter on the Order Paper.