It’s now the six-month mark since the beginning of the new government, and with it the great office swap that comes with a change of government.
Labour’s former ministers shifted out of government offices and into smaller Opposition digs on the third floor of Parliament, while National, New Zealand First and ACT ministers took their places in the awkwardly designed Beehive.
With a minimum of three years in the new office (putting aside any potential mishaps and resignations) — it’s fair that the MPs make themselves at home in the spaces they’ll spend long hours in. And as an added bonus to the privilege of working at Parliament, some MPs can also request artworks from the Parliamentary Collection to adorn their main haunts.
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said art was offered to the Speaker, Prime Minister’s Office, party leaders’ offices and then to ministers and party reception spaces. They were then able to select artworks they wanted to hang in receptions or “more public rooms”.
“The art is owned by the Crown and needs to remain available to the people, not in private spaces.”
Gonzalez-Montero said it was important to ensure art was distributed evenly, fairly and consistently, so there was a framework in place to manage its distribution.
He said the collection — made up of almost 4500 items — was “incredibly diverse” and made up of New Zealand art and historical objects that related to Parliament and its workings.
Some of the collection was ‘working items’ — for example, the Mace, Black Rod and Throne chairs were all in use.
There were also objects from the original opening of the Beehive, such as Forest in the Sun by Joan Calvert, a textile-wool artwork which was made to hang on the large marble wall in the foyer of the Beehive, by the staircase ascending to the first floor.
After hanging since 1977, it was removed in 2003 and gifted to Te Papa and underwent a conservation process. It returned at the request of former Speaker Trevor Mallard and was put back in place mid-last year.
Parliamentary Services noted at the time the UV-blocking windows in the Beehive and the smoke-free policy assisted in its suitability for reinstatement.
There were also “sub-collections”, Gonzalez-Montero said, which included protest materials (such as a tennis ball from the 2022 parliamentary occupation), uniforms used by Parliamentary Security over the years, and Speakers’ cloaks and wigs.
There were also original building materials such as tiles and linoleum from the 1899 General Assembly Library (which is now known simply as the Parliamentary Library).
The largest item in the collection was a giant New Zealand flag which flew from the top of the Beehive, while the smallest was a lock of Queen Victoria’s hair, and a gold tiki.
The tiki — 30mm high, 15mm wide and 3mm deep — was worn by MPs who received free rail travel when wearing it.
The oldest items were 1848 seals of New Ulster and New Munster — the first colonial names for the North Island and South Island, respectively. The newest item was Poupou Matihiko by Kereama Taepa, a digital artwork currently display in the Select Committee corridor on Parliament’s ground floor.
The artistic appetite of the 54th Parliament
To get a taste for the taste in our Parliament, 1News asked ministers and party leaders what they had requested from the Parliamentary Collection.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith’s office said he had also selected three pieces: Heads of Fish by Richard Killeen, Eglinton Valley Road, artist unknown, and Pili Seed by Michel Tuffery.
“I chose pieces that represented the work of New Zealand artists, and that were to my liking,” he said.
Defence Minister Judith Collins advanced beyond the fray with her artistic selection, saying she had selected three pieces from the Parliamentary Collection — including Flower Bed, Lower Hutt by Ruth Cole, which she said was “selected for the colours, which are lovely” and “not as loud” as another selection she made, Spring by Pamela Wolfe — “selected for its bold use of colour”.
Collins, who has seven other portfolios including Attorney-General, as well as being the MP for Papakura, also had a print of The Battle of Chunuk Bair by Ion Brown. She said this was “selected due to [the] clear relevance to the Defence portfolio”.
A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said the veteran politician, who is also the Foreign Minister, requested Reflections on Moto-O-Kura #3 by Cathy Carter, Whanganui River Valley by Paul Rayner and Pohutakawa by Anne Philip.
A spokesperson for Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the art in his office was “from his own collection”.
Green co-leader Marama Davidson had the most pieces requested at five.
It included Ruru, a 2006 stained glass image of a native owl mounted in a wood frame, by an unknown artist. It had been gifted to Helen Clark during her time as Prime Minister and passed to the Parliamentary Collection on her retirement.
There was also a limited edition woodcut and lithograph by Fatu Feu’u called Ulu Manu, and an oil on linen artwork called River Through a Gorge by Michael Moore.
Another piece, Toroa I and II by Gina Matchitt (Te Whakatohea, Te Arawa) were made of a matching pair of panels with recycled computer keys mounted on a board. The piece was purchased for the Parliamentary Collection in 2007 from an exhibition at the Mary Newton Gallery called ‘E Kare, You’re So Colonised’. The artwork is in a tukutuku patterning style.
Davidson’s final choice was In Your Hands, John Key by Sheyne Tuffery. The limited edition woodcut print on paper, number 1 of 55, presented to 55 MPs in November 2012, was produced for Greenpeace as part of a campaign to save Maui dolphins. At the time it was believed there were about 55 remaining in the wild.
That particular print was personalised to the former Prime Minister John Key and he passed it into the Parliamentary Collection in December 2012.
Davidson said she chose those pieces as they “speak to the wonder of nature and also decolonisation”.
“And of course, they look pretty. When I look at them I feel in awe of the creativity and beauty.”
She said she was proud to support home-grown artists, including Māori and Pasifika artists.
Fellow Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick had not requested any items from the Parliamentary Collection for display in her office, but had “sourced her own items” a Green Party spokesperson said.
“I can confirm one of them is Tame Iti’s I Will Not Speak Māori.”
Ministers Mark Mitchell, Simon Watts, Penny Simmonds, Matt Doocey, Shane Jones, Casey Costello, Karen Chhour, Nicole McKee, Brooke van Velden, Erica Stanford, Nicola Grigg, Simeon Brown, and Tama Potaka all had spokespeople confirm they had not requested any artworks from the Parliamentary Collection.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer also had not requested any artwork from the Parliamentary Collection.
A spokesperson for Trade Minister Todd McClay said he had not personally requested any artworks from the Parliamentary Collection, that she was aware of.
“There was art from the collection already on the walls from the previous Minister [Damien O’Connor]. Some of that was requested by other Ministers and so was taken/moved. Some pieces have remained. There is also art owned by the Minister.”
Similarly, ACT leader and Regulation Minister David Seymour said while he did not personally select the “beautiful pieces” in his office, he was “very grateful to have them and really like how they look”.
As for what’s on the walls in the Prime Minister’s office, only those privileged enough to visit will know, as his office did not respond multiple attempts for information on what, if anything, he had selected from the Parliamentary Collection.
‘A bit of your own flavour’ – A special peek at a Minister’s decor
While Housing Minister Chris Bishop had not requested any items from the Parliamentary Collection, he did invite 1News to take a look at what items he had on display in his office. It’s a rare glimpse into a Minister’s office in the Beehive.
Bishop said his selections were reminders of “times in your life, and what’s important to you” in an office where some big decisions are made.
“It just personalises the office a bit, makes it clear what you’re about, and what you’re into. It’s just a bit of a reflection of me and my personality, I suppose.
“The Beehive is an office like any other, to be honest, it’s a little bit impersonal. So it’s nice to be able to add a bit of your own flavour to the office.”
Among Bishop’s decor were two pieces he had brought back from a trip to Myanmar, and two nods to Bishop’s passion for cricket.
One was a framed official scorecard of the New Zealand versus India 2021 World Test championship final, which New Zealand won — ” a very special moment in New Zealand Test cricket history”.
The other was a photo gifted to Bishop by Luxon. It shows Luxon and Bishop with the Australian and New Zealand cricket teams when they were in Wellington for a Test at the Basin Reserve.
“The boss and I hosted them up at Premier House … it was pretty awesome to meet the two teams.
“[The Prime Minister] dropped down, just last week, when I was in a middle of a meeting about the RMA, I think, and he just pops his head in the door and says, ‘oh I’ve got a present for you’.”
There were also images of Bishop’s wife and young son, an artwork of the ‘Fish and Chip brigade’ — David Lange, Michael Bassett, Roger Douglas and Mike Moore. The four attempted to roll Labour leader Bill Rowling and were snapped by a Herald photographer tucking into the battered feast in a famous image.
The artwork greeting every visitor to Bishop’s office reception reads “My good friend, you are a member of the wise goverment.”
It was done by Bishop’s friend Hussein Ali Jodu, an Iraqi refugee who now lives with disabilities inflicted in a car crash.
It was gifted to Bishop while he was still an Opposition MP, he said, and he’d looked forward to hanging it once he was a part of a ruling government party.