Speaker stumbles, anoints Goff as PM
By TRACY WATKINS - The Dominion Post | Tuesday, 16 December 2008National and Labour have squared off on opposite sides of the house for the new Government's first and last parliamentary question time of the year - and it wasn't all plain sailing.
MPs on both sides of the House struggled with their new roles. Labour MP Chris Carter, more used to fielding questions as a minister, struggled with the arcane rules prescribing how questions should be asked - and the confusion was only compounded when a National MP rose to object to the way the "minister", Mr Carter, had phrased his question.
Even Speaker Lockwood Smith stumbled when he referred to Opposition leader Phil Goff as "prime minister".
But after the initial mix-ups, it was back to business, as the Government fielded questions on ACC, climate change, the 90-day probation period, light bulbs and state housing.
Parliament will move back into urgency tomorrow to pass more legislation before it adjourns for the year - probably on Thursday - meaning there will be no further question times until 2009.
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