Suicide squad

The "suicide squad" was the group of New Zealand Legislative Councillors appointed in 1950 by Prime Minister Sidney Holland tasked with voting the New Zealand Legislative Council out of existence. The Legislative Council was a body appointed by the Prime Minister since the colonial days, and by the 1940s it was seen as ineffectual and obsolete. However, its abolition would involve a complex constitutional process, so Holland appointed new councillors with the task to draft the laws that would eventually dissolve the body, hence the nickname. On 1 December 1950, the Legislative Council met for the last time, and by a majority of ten voted itself out of existence; the Council was formally abolished on 1 January 1951. Abolition of the Upper House By the mid-20th century, the New Zealand Legislative Council was increasingly being looked on as ineffectual and making little difference to the legislative process, as it rarely criticised bills sent to it by the House. Many believed that it was now obsolete, with some favouring its reform, and others favouring its abolition. The leader of the National Party, Sidney Holland, introduced a private member's bill to abolish it in 1947. However, the Parliament of New Zealand was unable to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 because it was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, meaning the New Zealand Parliament was barred from amending the parts of the Act dealing with the establishment of the Legislative Council. Therefore, it had to adopt the Statute of Westminster 1931, which it did with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947. Following the adoption of the Act, the Parliament of New Zealand passed the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the New Zealand Constitution (Amendment) Act 1947, which allowed the New Zealand Parliament to amend the Constitution Act and abolish the Legislative Council.