Labour has sent a last-minute offer to the government to try and cut a deal and prevent a long debate on a Privileges Committee report in Parliament regarding the behaviour of Te Pāti Māori MPs.
The Labour caucus has agreed to not deliberately filibuster in the debate this afternoon, and to put up amendments to be voted on that would lessen the punishment for three MPs who performed a haka in the House last year during the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.
The committee has recommended to the Speaker of the House that party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngārewa-Packer, and MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke (who led the haka Ka Mate but showed contrition) receive stand-downs of 21 and seven sitting days, respectively.
Parliament's Speaker Gerry Brownlee set out the parameters last week, including that all 123 MPs will be allowed to speak. If any amendment is put forward, they would then be allowed to speak again. Such amendments could include a change to the length of the suspensions. The debate could go on well into the night - or even for weeks.
If the debate is still going at 10pm today, Brownlee will decide whether it continues tomorrow or is adjourned until June.
Parliament's public gallery will be closed today, but a protest is planned on the forecourt in Wellington.
RNZ understands any Labour MP who wants to speak to today's debate will be able to do so, but there is not any intention to deliberately drag it out.
One of the amendments would be to shorten the punishments to something closer to a 1-3 day suspension for Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi, and censure Maipi-Clarke, but not suspend her from the House.
Another amendment would be to defer the suspensions until after the Budget debate has been held so the MPs can participate. The Budget will be delivered on Thursday.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has contacted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Leader of the House Chris Bishop about the amendments, committing to keep the debate short and restrict the number of MPs who speak if they're accepted by the government.
Earlier today, Hipkins told RNZ's Morning Report programme that Labour was unlikely to engage in filibustering and doubted all his MPs would take a call in the debate.
But just a few hours later at Parliament, he said his party was leaving "all options on the table at this point".
He told reporters on his way into caucus that he'd got in touch with the government side this morning to "reiterate to them that we're open to a shorter debate if the penalty being proposed is brought back in line with past precedent".
Somewhere between 1-3 days is what Labour considers to be fair, and if the government is willing to compromise and reduce it to that then the debate could be wrapped up sooner, he said.
The Prime Minister has already ruled out any concessions being made and doubled down on his way into caucus this morning saying the government stands by the recommendations in the privileges committee report.
Hipkins had another offer on the table too - that any suspension not impede Te Pāti Māori from taking part in the Budget debate on Thursday.
"If it was 24 hours it could be done and dusted by Budget if done today, if it was anything that could intefere in their ability to participate in the Budget debate then it should be deferred until after the Budget. That's what we offered to the government as an option for me to take to the caucus, but I haven't heard back."
Luxon, however, said all of this just proves how inconsistent Hipkins is.
"He flip-flops literally every single day, frankly I don't care, I do not care what Chris Hipkins or Labour does on this.
"It is a real privilege to come to this place called Parliament. We want this place to represent all New Zealanders... but it's important when you come here and the taxpayers' funding it that you actually behave within some rules, so there has to be consequences for misbehaviour," he said.
He had no plans to speak in the debate following Question Time, saying he had more important things to be doing like "running the Budget".
Greens likely to speak
Green Party musterer Ricardo Menéndez March said the proposed ban was unprecedented and of concern to all the party's MPs, so it was likely they would want to speak during the debate.
"It raises really really serious concerns about whether this new standard only applies when haka, waiata or tikanga Māori is used in the House."
The Greens were hoping to be able to speak with government MPs and ultimately be able to reduce the penalty that had been given, he said - but elected Te Pāti Māori MPs should be able to vote during the Budget procedures.
"We will be using the tools available to us to ensure that we can challenge this decision however we can."
Menéndez March said he would not accept "performative outrage" on the issue of filibustering from government MPs.
"They're the ones who have chosen to deal an unprecedented punishment and are unable to reflect on the issue that many have been raising about how tikanga can be better incorporated in the House."
"I hope the debate will be over very quickly ... this is Budget week and New Zealanders deserve to see how the government will manage the economy over the coming year, not hijinks in response to very wrong hijinks of Te Pāti Māori.
"These are unprecedented offences and they deserve unprecedented penalties."
He said the previous record of three days suspension, handed to former Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon for publicly criticising the Speaker of the House, was "very different from breaking ancient laws of our Parliament - tikanga if you like - that you should not leave your seat".
"If they believe that is a legitimate way to do business, the punishment should be strong enough to persuade them of that belief, and I'd give them three months.
"If it was up to me, a 90-day sentence of suspension but then subtract all the days they haven't shown up anyway. Like time served."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who was on the Privileges Committee that proposed the punishments, has long decried what he sees as falling standards at Parliament, putting the first-reading haka into that category.
It will therefore be up to the Speaker and the opposition parties how long the debate lasts, and Brownlee has stated his willingness to support the minority in this case.
Whether the disruption to the government's agenda is worth potential backlash for time wasting will be the political calculation being made.
