State of Opening Parliament

The new start of Opening Parliament take 2 days. On the first day of opening, every single member of the parliament has to be sworn in. They have to put their hand on the bible and swear that they will take their work position seriously and be faithful. This process is called taking the oath of allegiance. Once all members in Parliament has sworn in, they then choose their Speaker of the House.  The party with the most members and has won the latest election has the most power to choose the Speaker, they can even elect one of their members to be the Speaker of the House. On the second day of opening, the Governor - General’s messenger is then sent to the Big Hall also known as the debating chamber. The Governor - General’s messenger is called the Usher of the Black Rod. The Usher is sent to the debating chamber to order the members of Parliament into the Legislative Council Chamber.

During the second day of Opening State of Parliament, the Governor - General gives a speech to the Parliament. This speech is called “Speech from the Throne”. This speech from the Governor - General is a speech for the Parliament for their preparations for the next 3 of Government plans. Also on the second day, the door of House of Representatives is locked for the start of State Opening. It is a symbolic of showing that the House is independant of the Sovereign. To open the door, the Usher (Governor - General’s messenger) with his Black Rod must knock on the door 3 times where’s the Serjeant - at - Arms then allows the door to be opened. The Sergeant - at - Arms is the House of Speakers representative. This is where the Usher presents the MP’s to the Legislative Council Chamber where the Governor General is waiting. From 1984, a traditional Maori powhiri has been part of the State Opening of Parliament