Studying Aotearoa New Zealand’s parliament from inside the House
Dr David Wilson completed his PhD in Political Science at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, but it’s his unique role in parliament that offered a new perspective for his research.
“I had always known I wanted to do a PhD,” David says. “It was only a matter of when.”
David completed his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Otago, and relocated to Wellington to pursue work. “It was what you did at the time,” he explains.
“I had gone to the University to enquire about a PhD straight after moving, but once I had a job offer and started earning, it got put on hold. Twenty-five years later here I am. My kids had grown up and it was the best time to revisit studying.”
David’s research, Influences on parliamentary procedure in New Zealand 1935–2015, focuses on the changes New Zealand’s parliament has undergone through an 80-year period, and what caused the changes.
“I was always really interested in history at school,” David says. “It was what I studied for my undergrad and Master’s degrees, and once I moved to Wellington I became particularly interested in Political Science.”
In 1995 David got his first role in parliament as a writer and researcher for a select committee. From there, he climbed the ladder and in 2015 was appointed as the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the utmost senior advisory position to the Speaker of the House and MPs. His role is to give politically neutral advice to members on parliamentary rules and practices.
“It’s such a unique and varied role,” David explains. “I lead an office of 100 people who support parliament in performing its constitutional functions. We support sittings of the House and select committee meetings, produce the parliamentary record, broadcast, and communicate parliament, build international parliamentary connections and advocate for parliament as an institution. It’s never boring.”
David’s first roles in parliament have been especially helpful in his current job, he says. “I’ve worked in a few of the positions that my current staff do. To have that first-hand experience and day-to-day operational understanding of what they do is incredibly helpful. The fundamental learnings are the same, even if technology has advanced to make some parts easier.”
Due to the demands of his work, David mostly utilised late nights at parliament and weekends for his research. “Parliament sits until 10pm two nights a week and when House is in session, I’m required to be here. I was lucky enough to be researching something I was really interested in, so it was never boring or a chore to me.”
As for furthering his study post Master’s, David says it was an easy choice to make. “It was always something I wanted to do, not something I had to do for any reason. I had a question that I wanted to know the answer to, so a lot of studying was personal fulfilment, which made it more enjoyable.
“Now in my work I’m able to look back on parts of my research and create new links and connections to my study. Understanding the academic perspective of my work because of my research has been very rewarding.”
For his research, David had the opportunity to interview former and current members of parliament, something he says was welcomed with open arms. “Everybody I talked to was engaged and interested. It was on the understanding that I was speaking to them as a student for my research, and luckily nobody had issues, and everyone was more than happy to help.”
Through these connections with members, studying political science whilst working in parliament, and living capital, David had a unique perspective on his PhD studies.
“The proximity of parliament to the University means that students have access to on their doorstep,” David says. “It makes studying that much richer and more meaningful—we can see what we’re studying right playing out live, right in front of us”.
“My studies focused on how the parliamentary institution in New Zealand has changed over time, and it will continue to change. New Zealand has one of the longest-lived continuous democracies in the world. I hope that students will want to continue to study and ask questions and remain interested in that.”