You might recognise him by his voice, so long as he is shouting. But despite his role being front-and-centre at Parliament you might be surprised what he does, and what he can do.

You'll probably hear him before you see him, and his cry of "Mr Speaker!" sometimes startles MPs who have congregated in the debating chamber for the start of the sitting day.

Steve Streefkerk is Parliament's Serjeant-at-Arms, heading the procession into the House, carrying on his shoulder a large, ornate golden mace, leading Parliament's Speaker and others into the chamber.

He's there to formally kick things off, and runs a team that works to assist Parliament in doing its business, providing support to the presiding officers, the Speaker, Clerk and Members of Parliament "to make sure they have everything they need in order to deliver their services".

It's a ceremonial role but there's a lot more to it, as the Serjeant-at-Arms also has the job of Manager of Business Continuity and Chamber Operations at Parliament. It includes overseeing disaster-preparedness, monitoring the attendance of MPs and overseeing the various feeds into Parliament TV, among other things.

The Serjeant-at-Arms brings a measure of stability and security to the business of Parliament, and has the power to summon people to Parliament, or facilitate the ejection of someone who needs to be kicked out. The Serjeant can also participate in select committees if a chairperson requires assistance to deal with misconduct by someone attending. Very rarely has he been required to perform these functions, although the Covid-19 pandemic produced some occasions.

Working to help Parliament's critical services function in times of disruption is a major part of the business continuity role, Streefkerk said. The pandemic presented an unprecedented, major disruption.

"We proved our plans during the Covid times and the lockdowns when we continued to deliver our critical services to make sure that the institution of Parliament could still function.

"There were times when we sat with reduced members and reduced staff support. But the House sat. We were there providing the support that we needed to do."

Streefkerk loves this job and the constant challenge it offers of attending to moving parts.

"Every sitting day is different, and you never know what's going to come up in the House. And on non-sitting days, or when I'm not involved in the House, I've got plenty of other responsibilities and activities to keep me focused.

"I've got a great team that provides support to me - either permanent staff or the chamber team who are part-time. My overall team is about 16-strong at the moment."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details