Utu?

Newshub reports:

Senior National MP Chris Bishop will be hauled before Parliament’s Privileges Committee for posting edited video of new Labour MP Anna Lorck. 

Lorck gave an impassioned speech on Wednesday night on the benefits of supplements, drawing ridicule online – but she told Newshub it wasn’t her who complained about National’s video. 

In her speech delivered in Parliament, Lorck – who won the seat of Tukituki at last year’s election – dished out supplementary advice. 

“It’s the Beroccas in the morning and the magnesium at night – and don’t forget about the collagen! How’s the hair looking, ladies?” Lorck says in the speech.

Her speech in support of the Food (Continuation of Dietary Supplements Regulations) Amendment Bill is causing a stir – and social media storm – courtesy of the National Party’s edited video. 

I thought the video was harmless fun, and I suspect Anna Lorck herself would have chuckled at it.

Bishop says he doesn’t think National has done anything wrong. 

“The video is literally just excerpts from a speech given in Parliament,” he told Newshub. “If people had turned on the TV they would have seen basically the exact same thing, so we don’t think it’s misleading.”

House Speaker Trevor Mallard is referring Bishop to the Privileges Committee, which is basically Parliament’s court, for signing off on the video. 

The pair locked horns earlier this week when Bishop tried to move a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. 

It does rather look like utu that you refer the MP who moved a motion of no confidence in you to the Privileges Committee for what is an absolutely trivial issue.

Lorck told Newshub it wasn’t her that made the complaint. In fact, she even shared National’s video on social media, saying “in the spirit of taking things on the chin, I’m sharing it – got to be able to have a laugh at yourself from time to time”. 

Good on her.

UPDATE: I am informed the referral to Privileges Committee is automatic.

The Standing Orders Committee report Review of use of Parliament TV coverage:

“We therefore recommend that, where the Speaker directs that the use of coverage be altered or stopped, that use of coverage be referred to the Privileges Committee at the earliest opportunity. The Privileges Committee would consider the use, and have the power to either accept the Speaker’s initial direction, or recommend that it be revoked.”

So the referral isn’t so much to potentially censure Bishop, but the the Committee to decide if the Speaker’s decision to block the video be upheld or not.