24 hours in the life of Jo Goodhew

CLAIRE ALLISON

Rangitata MP Jo Goodhew was appointed National Junior Whip in June. She talks about a day on the job.

On a Tuesday, my alarm goes off at 5.15am. I've usually packed the night before, because it's a bit disruptive turning the light on at that time of the morning, so I shower and get dressed for the flight to Wellington. The taxi picks me up at 6am and I head out to the airport.

If there's any reading I should have done, I read it on the plane, but sometimes I treat myself to the newspaper, and do the Sudoko or code cracker.

When I get to Wellington, I've usually got a taxi ordered. Other MPs are often arriving at the same time, so there are often two or three of us in the cab.

I arrive at Parliament buildings at about 8am. I always have a coffee when I get there, and my first meeting is at 8.30am. That's a regular meeting, a procedures meeting, with the Leader of the House, Gerry Brownlee, caucus members and staff members, to discuss the questions that the Government might have during question time.

The Leader of the House determines which questions will be asked and then the Whips will propose the members who will ask those questions.

After procedures, I head back to my office. My executive assistant Michael has prepared folders of correspondence since I was last in Wellington, so I'm reading that to get my head around things.

I'm also discussing with the Whips' house manager any challenges that we might be facing over Wednesday and Thursday select committees, in terms of getting numbers on those committees.

Caucus meets at 10am. My role is to check the MPs as they come in and make sure everybody is there.

It's a little like a head-prefect role, I guess, but it's also making sure that if someone's flights have been delayed that I know about it.

After the caucus meeting, it's back to my office to continue with whatever's in my in tray and deal with emails. I probably get between 40 and 100 emails a day. Some people send emails to every MP. I'll endeavour to try to find out whether they are my constituent or not, and I'll reply to the ones sent from my constituents.

I'll fit lunch in before the house starts at 2pm. I'll either sit down and have a coffee and lunch in the cafe, or I'll get a sandwich and take it back to my office.

The House sits at 2pm, and begins with question time, which usually lasts for an hour.

When I go into the debating chamber, my role as Junior Whip is to ensure everyone has turned up. If ministers are missing, I move back benchers to fill up the seats, so we fill the front of the house. There will only be up to 15 National Party MPs on leave at any time, so we can maintain our 58 votes.

The Senior Whip gives the leave. People might ask me, but I always direct them to the Senior Whip (Chris Tremain). We're both "class of 05" members.

If somebody has actually not arrived in the chamber, Chris and I have phones in front of us, so we're ringing their offices. Chris sits behind the Prime Minister. I sit behind the deputy. Our office does "the juggle".

Yes, it's a bit like being the stage manager, bringing people up to where they are more likely to be seen. They are there in the chamber. Those watching on TV should be able to see that their MPs are there.

After question time, we get into the work of the day, discussing bills, depending on whether it's committee stage, first, second or third reading.

We have a speaking list, that's been sent out by the Whip's office, so the MPs know. It choreographs the way the house moves forward and gets through those bills.

Sometimes, it's affected by when a minister can be there for their speech. When a particular bill is up, there are 12 slots – and National has four of those. I go around the chamber and talk to the smaller parties and ask if they will be participating in that reading.

We're making sure everyone is on their toes. If somebody from another party changes their mind – if nobody is on their feet, the Speaker of the House moves on to the next item of business.

Sometimes MPs pop out of the chamber to answer their phones, and that's always a bit risky. When it comes to a vote, I'll talk to support partners about the timing of it.

Chris and I have split the time in the house. I was given good advice by John Carter when I was elected to Whip – that understanding the mood of the House by watching it and watching it closely is the best way to not find yourself wrong-footed.

If you have your head down reading notes, you can miss seeing senior members of the Opposition come in to the House, and potentially about to drop a spanner in your works.

So it's important to be watching all the time.

During the debates, the House has members on duty – three back benchers and three members, plus any members on a speaking list. That's minimum cover – House proceedings are suspended if there are no ministers in the house, so if one goes out to take a phone call, and another one goes to the toilet ... I have been caught.

I once saw a minister rushing out the side door and asked where he was going. I hadn't realised Pansy Wong was sitting right behind me, and thought he was the only minister in the House.

Another thing that can happen is that you lose a vote you should have passed, because people haven't been there. It hasn't happened yet. I wouldn't want to be the first. It's not so much your 58. It's when the support partners might have ducked out. We have 58. We might have United Future, then either ACT New Zealand, or the Maori Party need to be there.

Sometimes procedures go the way they have always gone. Sometimes every now and then, somebody decides we're not playing by those rules today.

I almost got caught out. The apportions debate – ordinarily there's no party vote, but suddenly the Opposition called for a party vote. I looked around. The Maori Party was there, but ACT wasn't.

You have to try to be prepared for everything.

So Chris and I divide it up. I stay in the House from 2pm to 6pm on a Tuesday, and from 7.30pm to 10pm, I'll be in my office. I'll make calls to constituents, and I'll prepare for my select committee meeting. That's three or four hours on a Wednesday morning.

We are the backstop. If somebody doesn't show up, we need to stand up and deliver a speech, although that hasn't happened to me yet.

You really are corralling the cats. Part of it's learning how to contact people. Some always have their cellphones with them on vibrate and will check texts, but don't check their emails. With others, their PAs always know where they are. I've had to send texts to people with three letters, saying "run" – and if they're in Bowen House, that's quite a distance.

One of the surprising things about becoming a Whip was that all of a sudden I was given lots of fashion advice. Sitting where we are, you're often behind the person answering the questions. One of the first things someone said to me was don't wear black. All the blokes wear black.

My husband said to me I often fiddle with my jewellery, and I needed to be aware of that. The other thing I had been doing was glancing up at the gallery – but because they're quite high, it looks as if you're rolling your eyes. It's not a good look if someone's speaking at the time.

Sometimes I'll be on the phone. I've had complaints about people seeing me on the phone. That's me finding out where people are, answering calls from the Whip's office manager – it's part of my job. I don't know what they think I'm doing, but it's not a good look. It's made me aware that while there might not be a lot of people watching, those who are, are very involved in what they are watching.

It's my responsibility as Junior Whip to make sure the select committee numbers are sound – that there's a quorum and if there are any developments or voting that there's a majority. We rely for a majority and a quorum for the various committees on our support partners. If for some reason, one of those members has leave or is unavailable to attend, we have to find a National person to fill that gap. So we have to have an understanding of the work that's going on in the select committees.

At 6pm, we have 1 1/2 hours for dinner, but during that break, there are often functions. There might be a function in the Grand Hall, MPs will be invited, or we could have a briefing or professional development opportunities.

At 7.30pm, the house starts again. The bell rings six or seven minutes beforehand. If you are on the evening shift, you're anxiously waiting for the first minister or speaker to be there. I do Wednesday night from 7 to 10.

On Tuesday night, I usually leave Parliament Buildings between 10.30 and 11 and head to my small apartment, which is a five-minute walk away.

If I'm home by 10.30pm, I will sometimes watch the news. That's just a bit of a wind-down, I guess. I tend to get off to sleep pretty easily.

On Wednesday morning, I try to go to the parliamentary gym at 6, and be at my desk at 7.45, then we do the whole thing all over again.

My day usually starts in my office by 7.45am on a Wednesday or Thursday. On a Thursday, I usually head out of Parliament at 6pm, because I don't do the last 1 1/2 hours on a Thursday.

If I have any leave available, I'll apply for one hour's leave, so I can catch the last flight to Timaru. If I don't get leave, I'll fly to Christchurch, and drive a rental car home, so I'm in either my Timaru or Ashburton office bright and early on a Friday morning.

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