Hipkins Chris: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHipkins Chris: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee[Sitting date: 29 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10559. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CHRIS HIPKINS (Senior Whip—Labour): This is a very contentious clause and therefore we are not taking this course of action lightly. The issue that is at hand here is that the Minister in fact took two calls in this debate. I was the first person to speak in the Committee stage of the debate on this particular part. The Minister then spoke in quite a wide-ranging way including moving back to Part A of the bill—Hon Trevor Mallard: Part 1CHRIS HIPKINS: —Part 1 of the bill which we had already concluded the debate on and she opened up quite a range of material. From that point onwards I started seeking the call. The Minister was given an additional call after that and after several closure motions had been moved and had been rejected by the Chairperson. The Chairperson then gave two further calls after the most recent contribution from the Minister. One was from a Labour member who had not spoken and one was from a Green member who had spoken already in the debate.The issue that I am really asking for further clarification on—I guess there are a couple. One is the ability to respond to comments that a Minister makes particularly if they are made reasonably early on in the debate and a member consistently seeks a call to respond to those because that has certainly been the case here. As the spokespersonfor the party on an issue I think that that is important particularly where it is a contentious issue. The debate on this part although it is Part 2 of the bill and it is consequential amendments has largely been focused on the provisions in this part. In fact the person who deviated the most from that was the Minister who was speaking on it. These are quite serious issues and I think it is really important that the Committee has an opportunity to respond to comments that the Minister has made. That is the reason why we have asked you to come back and give us a considered ruling on the matter.Mr SPEAKER: I thank the members for their contribution and I acknowledge in view of the explanations that have been given that the decision to recall the Speaker was not taken lightly. However having listened to the last part of the debate myself in my office and having watched the Chairperson decide to accept a closure motion I am persuaded by the comments of the Chairperson that he felt an adequate amount of time had been given to the part. He had not taken I think he said four earlier calls for closure. Mr Hipkins in the earlier part of the debate before the Speaker was recalled said that it was convention that if a Minister had spoken another member should have the opportunity to respond. I am not aware of that convention. I am advised that that is not a convention although I accept that it may have happened in the past. At the end of the day the Chairperson is the person who has been listening to the totality of the debate. He is the best person to decide when to accept the closure motion and on that basis I think the Chairperson should return now to the Committee.