In  any  democracy  it  has  to  be  divided  up.  That  is  the  essence  of  constitutional Government. 18 In the New Zealand parliamentary system, MPs serve on Select Committees.  For the  most  part,  Ministers  do  not.  This  is  to  observe  the  separation  of  powers between the Executive and Parliament. The work of MPs scrutinising Government Bills in Select Committee can be a very satisfying and important one.    19 Virtually  every  Bill  introduced  to  the  New  Zealand  Parliament  is  referred  to  a Select  Committee.  This  involves  scrutinising  Bills  that  have  been  introduced, reading or hearing submissions from the public on them, considering departmental reports  on  those  Government  Bills  and  making  amendments  to  the  Bills  and reporting them back to the House for further consideration.    20 New  Zealand  probably  goes  further  than  other  Commonwealth  Parliaments  in providing  such  an  extensive  consideration  of  legislation  with  systematic  public input. Governments have come to rely on the Select Committee system to provide for  the  public  discussion  and  refinement  of  legislative  proposals  before  they become law. 21 This is probably the result of New Zealand not having an upper House.  It was abolished  here  in  1950  and  it  was  an  appointed  one  then.    Lacking  democratic legitimacy, it didn’t do anything of any use for years.  Its passing has not been mourned.    22 So  in  many  ways  the  Select  Committee  system  in  the  New  Zealand  Parliament functions as a revising chamber for Government legislation.  This is an entirely benign and most important feature of the legislative process.    C:\Documents and Settings\TMcGlennon\Desktop\CPA Australian and Pacific Conf. 15 August.doc 16/08/2006 10:43 9