Precincts of House defined

Press, 30 October 1981, Page 21

Precincts of House defined

PA Wellington Parliament's precincts have been loosely defined by the Speaker (Sir Richard Harrison) after confusion over the ban on the "prayer protesters." In an effort to establish just what constituted the precincts of Parliament, Sir Richard last evening defined them as ‘‘those areas of Parliament Buildings available for the general use of members or Ministers." The confusion arose after about 80 people who intoned Parliament's daily prayer in protest against the Springbok tour were banned from Parliament for a year, on the majority vote of the National

Party members of the powerful Privileges Committee,

It was not clear then just what areas that involved. But Sir Richard’s definition appears on the face of it to include all of Parliament Buildings and the new executive wing, the Beehive. It has not been made clear how the ban will be enforced.

Many of the protesters involved have never been identified and those whose names are known have generally volunteered their own identity. The protesters included several public servants, churchmen, and senior academics.