Geoffrey Palmer

New Zealand is a democracy: the people should be in charge. In this timely and provocative book, Sir Geoffrey Palmer draws on his experience as former Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Attorney-General to get people thinking about the state of New Zealand’s democracy. Palmer offers rare insights into the machinery of power and its vulnerabilities, and rather than surrendering...

Published ahead of the 2026 NZ General Election, this book by Sir Geoffrey Palmer invites public scrutiny of how Parliament wields its powers. Parliamentary privilege is 'the oil of the democratic machine'. It can be defined as the special legal powers that allow Parliament to regulate its affairs - and is a curious mix of history, parliamentary practice, law and...