The Chairman of Committees was an elected position of the New Zealand House of Representatives. The role existed between 1854 and 1992. The roles of the Chairman of Committees were to deputise for the Speaker, and to chair the House when it was in committee. The role is now carried out by the Deputy Speaker. The role of Chairman of Committees also existed for the Legislative Council.

Establishment The position was established during the first session of the 1st New Zealand Parliament. Parliament first convened on 24 May 1854, and on 21 June of that year, Auckland lawyer Frederick Merriman was elected as its first Chairman of Committees. The role also existed for the Legislative Council, was established in 1865 and first held by Mathew Richmond.

Role The chief role of the Chairman of Committees was to chair the House when it was in committee (i.e., considering a bill at committee stage) or preside in the absence of the Speaker or when the Speaker so requested. These arrangements were based on those of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

The Chairman of Committees ceased to hold office on the dissolution of Parliament, but was remunerated until the next Parliament first met, when it then had a chance to elect a new chairman.

Until 1992, the Chairman of Committees was known as the Deputy Speaker only when presiding over the House. That year, the position of Deputy Speaker was made official under the Standing Orders, and the role of Chairman of Committees was discontinued. The first Deputy Speaker was appointed on 10 November 1992.

Office holders The following is a list of Chairmen of Committees of the House of Representatives:Refer to the talk page for Chairmen post–1984

Key

No. Name Portrait Term start and end datesParliament 1 Frederick Merriman 21 June 1854 15 September 1855 1st 2 Hugh Carleton 17 April 1856 5 November 1860 2nd 11 June 1861 27 January 1866 3rd 4 July 1866 30 December 1870 4th 3 Maurice O'Rorke1 16 August 1871 23 October 1872 5th 4 Arthur Seymour 16 July 1873 14 May 1875 (3) Maurice O'Rorke 21 July 1875 6 December 1875 28 June 1876 11 July 1879 6th (4) Arthur Seymour 16 July 1879 15 August 1879 26 September 1879 8 November 1881 7th 5 Ebenezer Hamlin 30 May 1882 27 June 1884 8th 5 September 1884 15 July 1887 9th 13 October 1887 3 October 1890 10th 6 Westby Perceval 23 June 1891 15 September 1891 11th 7 William Lee Rees 18 September 1891 11 July 1893 8 Arthur Guinness1 13 July 1893 8 November 1893 10 July 1894 14 November 1896 12th 9 April 1897 15 November 1899 13th 3 July 1900 5 November 1902 14th 9 John A. Millar 2 July 1903 15 November 1905 15th 10 Roderick McKenzie 31 August 1906 29 October 1908 16th 11 Thomas Wilford 12 June 1909 8 July 1910 17th 12 James Colvin 23 August 1910 20 November 1911 13 Frederic Lang1 2 August 1912 26 June 1913 18th 14 Alexander Malcolm 4 July 1913 20 November 1914 7 July 1915 27 November 1919 19th 15 July 1920 30 November 1922 20th 15 Alexander Young 24 July 1923 14 October 1925 21st 16 Frank Hockly 2 July 1926 18 October 1928 22nd 17 Sydney George Smith 11 December 1928 28 May 1930 23rd 18 William Bodkin 27 June 1930 27 October 1931 (17)Sydney George Smith 27 October 1931 12 November 1931 26 February 1932 12 February 1935 24th 19 Jimmy Nash 13 February 1935 1 November 1935 20 Ted Howard 1 April 1936 20 September 1938 25th 21 Robert McKeen1 29 June 1939 30 August 1943 26th 1 March 1944 4 November 1946 27th 22 Clyde Carr 24 June 1947 3 November 1949 28th 23 Cyril Harker 29 June 1950 27 July 1951 29th 28 September 1951 5 October 1954 30th 30 March 1955 29 October 1957 31st 24 Reginald Keeling 22 January 1958 31 October 1960 32nd 25 Roy Jack1 23 June 1961 29 October 1963 33rd 12 June 1964 25 October 1966 34th 26 Jack George 28 April 1967 28 October 1969 35th 27 Alfred E. Allen1 13 March 1970 7 June 1972 36th 28 Richard Harrison1 8 June 1972 26 October 1972 29 Ron Bailey 16 February 1973 10 September 1974 37th 30 Jonathan Hunt1 17 September 1974 30 October 1975 (28) Richard Harrison1 24 June 1976 9 May 1978 38th 31 Jack Luxton 12 May 1978 26 October 1978 18 May 1979 29 October 1981 39th 8 April 1982 15 June 1984 40th 32 John Terris 17 August 1984 29 July 1987 41st 17 September 1987 10 September 1990 42nd 33 Jim Gerard 29 November 1990 10 November 1992 43rd 1 Also served as Speaker

Deputy Chairman of Committees

The position of Deputy Chairman of Committees was created in 1975. After the role of chairman was replaced by that of Deputy Speaker in 1992, the third presiding officer of the House continued to be known as the deputy chairman for several more years, until the final holder of the office, Peter Hilt, became the first MP to be appointed Assistant Speaker on 21 February 1996.

Key

+List of Deputy Chairmen of Committees No. Name Term start and end datesParliament 1 Ron Barclay 26 March 1975 30 October 1975 37th 2 Bill Birch 24 June 1976 26 October 1978 38th 3 Tony Friedlander 13 June 1979 29 October 1981 39th 4 Dail Jones 8 April 1982 15 June 1984 40th 5 Trevor Young 17 August 1984 29 July 1987 41st 17 September 1987 10 September 1990 42nd 6 Robert Anderson 29 November 1990 23 September 1993 43rd 7 Joy McLauchlan 22 December 1993 27 February 1995 44th 8 Peter Hilt 1 March 1995 21 February 1996

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