Parliament's Serjeant-at-Arms was called upon on Thursday night to escort National MP Nick Smith out of the House.
During Question Time on Thursday, Smith, the MP for Nelson, was ejected from the House by Speaker Trevor Mallard, but says he was never told when he could return.
Later in the evening, while MPs were working in the House under urgency, Smith re-entered the chamber. Assistant Speaker Adrian Rurawhe was acting as Speaker at the time and was alerted to the National MP's reappearance by Labour MP Michael Wood.
Smith asked for a point of order, but Rurawhe told the MP to leave immediately. He didn't, instead querying why he wasn't told when he could return.
Rurawhe then called on the Serjeant-at-Arms and gestured for him to come forward.
"I'm asking to be told when I'm allowed to return. It's not an unreasonable request," Smith said.
After Rurawhe again asked him to leave, Smith could be heard saying: "What sort of a Nazi establishment is running the place? Seriously."
There was a brief silence before Smith's colleague Dr Parmjeet Parmar began speaking on the Equal Pay Amendment Act. A wide shot of the House on Parliament TV showed Smith had left the chamber.
The Serjeant-at-Arms is an officer of the House who can be asked to remove an MP from the chamber if they become "unruly or interrupts the debate too often". This rarely happens, however.
Part of their role is to lead the Speaker into the House prior to Question Time, often wielding a massive golden mace.
