Speaker orders National Party ad mocking new Labour MP Anna Lorck removed

The Speaker has ordered a National Party ad mocking new Labour MP Anna Lorck removed – and sent the MP responsible to a disciplinary committee.

The ad, released by the National Party Twitter account but authorised by Shadow Leader of the House Chris Bishop, featured clips of a speech made by Lorck celebrating dietary supplements in support of an uncontroversial bill that extends regulations on them.

Her speech featured the tale of her grandfather and the supplements he took (garlic, deer velvet, and bee pollen) and well as her own suggested supplement regime for politicians: Berocca, magnesium, and collagen.

The ad cut up her speech in a humorous fashion, at one point suggesting she was selling the supplements as part of an infomercial.

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Speaker Trevor Mallard ruled that it had to be removed as it used “excerpts of parliamentary footage that have been edited in a way that is misleading.”

He has also ordered that Bishop appear before the Privileges Committee, a special select committee that handles breaches of Parliament’s rules.

Bishop said the ad was “a bit of levity”. “It is literally excerpts from the speech – I don’t think that was misleading,” Bishop said.

He noted that media made edited version of speeches from Parliament with excerpts all the time.

“Is the rule that media can edit parts of speeches but the National Party can't do the same thing and put it up on their Facebook page? I mean really.”

The matter follows a 2019 spat over the use of Parliamentary TV footage that saw the rules concerning them changed. Mallard ordered that some National Party ads be removed as they used footage of Labour MPs without their permission, basing his decision on an existing rule.

Particularly at issue was a National Party ad that edited Environment Minister David Parker so that it appeared he was saying he “hated farmers”.

MPs eventually agreed to change that rule so that ads using Parliamentary TV footage of MPs without their permission would be allowed, but not if they were edited to be “misleading”.

Lorck told Stuff that she first saw the ad when her kids referred her to it. “They were very excited that I had become a meme. And then they continued to mock me mercilessly,” Lorck.

She herself did not make any complaint about the ad. Lorck said her contribution to the debate on the bill – which every party supported – was intended to be light-hearted.

“I read the room there was plenty of banter. Obviously, I intend to bring just as much passion and drive to debates of a more serious nature.”

Bishop said it was not clear who had made a complaint – or if any complaint had been made – and expected another debate on the use of Parliamentary TV would result.

Lorck was elected in 2020 after winning the seat of Tukituki from National’s Lawrence Yule.

Mallard declined to comment.