The House: Recent Episodes
RNZ
Louis heads along to a select committee briefing on Bird Flu, while Phil looks at the hodgepodge of petitions that came up in a special debate this week.
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Three stories on questions and "answers", including Peters' doppelgänger defence, the Speaker's example on Written Questions, and the MBIE inquiry.
RNZ’s The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament’s Office of the Clerk. Find our articles or podcast at RNZ.
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It is hard to pin down a minister in Question Time, when each has a doppelgänger ready to deflect the blame or shoulder the responsibility. Winston Peters this week said more or less 'you should ask the other Winston, here's not here right now'.
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The saga over a cancelled $35 million government project continued this week, with Labour MP Phil Twyford appearing before the committee.
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All the most overdue responses to Written Questions are addressed to the MP responsible for ensuring prompt answers, and for enabling a responsible government.
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The primary production committee heard from DOC and MPI this week during a briefing on bird flu.
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MPs held a Special Debate on issues raised by Petitions this Parliament. There have been 685 petitions so far on, so that’s a wide remit. The debate ranged from genocide to a specific road fence.
The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament’s Office of the Clerk. Find our articles and podcast at RNZ.
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This week, Parliament had 29 more MPs than usual. Not because of an early election, but because 29 female parliamentarians from across the Pacific were in Wellington for wānanga focused on leadership, decision-making and driving change across the region.
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The House looks at what business MPs had waiting for them upon their return to Parliament this week.
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The first members day in nearly two months provided a nice vignette into the value of select committee public consultation
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After a two week break, MPs return to a backlog of business, old arguments and new debates; but with fresh energy.
RNZ’s The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament’s Office of the Clerk. Enjoy our articles or podcast at RNZ.
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Parliament's justice committee spent most of the sitting break listening to submissions from the public on the move on orders legislation
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With a slew of policy announcements, there also comes fresh calls for a Parliamentary Budget Office. But what should the remit of such an institution be? The House chats to Economist Dr Eric Crampton about the proposal.
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Louise Upston gives her take on her new part-time full-time job: managing the Government’s entire legislative programme as Leader of the House.
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We ask whether ministers can evade questions by claiming operational independence, and note some key bills from a huge week.
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As Parliament stretches into the weekend in a debating marathon, we note four bills being completed and four others just beginning their legislative journey.
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With ten third readings during Parliament's urgency week, a suite of bills are now on the cusp of becoming law, pending the largely ceremonial box-tick of Royal Assent.
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Can a minister, asked how his agency achieves its targets, use the 'not my circus, not my monkey' tactic? Tama Potaka did. What are the rules?
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Before Parliament got down into the trenches for urgency, it debated a declaration from the Supreme Court that particular legislation was inconsistent with NZBORA
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Allegations that officials kept ministers and MPs in the dark, and MPs as bad examples. Plus, the Speaker quashes Question Time electioneering.
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Immigration officials are under investigation for allegedly misleading a Parliament committee. Are MPs bad role models?
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Remember the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan?Well this week, Parliament's Health Select Committee has been hearing oral submissions on a member's bill that some have dubbed the "Good Samaritan Bill".
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MPs as well as ministers may have been kept in the dark over immigration IT project. One omission gets more outrage, but both are equally bad.
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The House reviews the last estimates scrutiny week for the 54th Parliament
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As one of the few departments that received a generous funding boost in the recent budget, Minister for Defence Chris Penk had to convince MPs this week that it deserved that cash.
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Scrutiny of ministers for ACC and Worksafe raises a disconnect between work safety law change and its cost. No modelling, no discussion, no budget, no problem.
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The Arts, Culture and Heritage (& broadcasting) scrutiny has a surprising Return on Investment for arts funding, and an interesting take on post-BSA journalism.
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June's scrutiny week will be the last chance select committees get to do detailed financial scrutiny in the current 54th Parliament, to learn more The House chats to David Wilson and James Picker.
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On any given sitting day, the Parliamentary precinct hums with activity, teeming with MPs, journalists, staffers, officials, and also weaving their way through the hallways of democracy: school students.
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Budget Day is a Broadway production with dance numbers (emphasis on numbers), undue laughter and applause, and everyone’s a critic. Then comes the legislating.
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After a three-hour long fusillade of sound and fury you might think budget week was over, but that's when the urgency begins.
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From sales pitches to opposition counter-branding, on Budget Day the performance matters nearly as much the numbers.
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With the House hogging the sitting week, Committees squeeze crucial work into the margins. Phil visits an early session on modern slavery and terminated school subjects.
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The Government’s agenda-setting going into this week was firmly focused on Thursday’s Budget Day, but the emergence of a story about the 9th floor of the Beehive’s handling of a briefing document tugged Parliament’s attention away from the government's books.
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On The House, Louis Collins considers the motivations that may lie behind governing-side members' bills; and Phil Smith considers the political version of Newton's Third law of Motion – chamber blowback.
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Members business this week was dominated by bills from government backbenchers.
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In the interplay between Government and Parliament actions spark reactions, like a political version of Newton’s third law of motion.
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While Judith Collins farewell speech was probably the most notable event in the House this week, a relatively low key motion on Parliament funding was more than notable constitutionally.
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A seemingly dry procedural motion in Parliament this week quietly marked one of the more significant constitutional changes of recent years: how Parliament is funded.
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Labour and National have put aside their usual party divisions this week to reach broad agreement on the issue of online harm faced by young New Zealanders.
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The Government says it’s cutting conservation red (or rather green) tape. The Opposition say it’s redefining what conservation even means.
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When an MP becomes a government minister or changes portfolios, how do they transition to the new role? We ask a recently elevated minister, Chris Penk.
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In a historic first, Parliament used a new rule to debate slavery legislation that has wide support in the House, but that government coalition partners don’t agree on. Plus other stories from a week of unlikely allies and surprising foes.
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MPs have questioned the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s role in the digital era during a select committee briefing, as the regulator signals a need for reform.
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A proposed new law would allow more prisoner segregation, but also mandate basic rights. MPs agree prison should ‘reflect our shared view of humanity’, even for those who ‘deserve the least sympathy’.
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Parliament began this week with a question time in which the Government was being pressed by...another member of Government?
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With distracting party politics going on outside the House, MPs were brought back on task by the Speaker on more than one occasion this week.
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Parliament's weekly free debate can give a surprising insight into the mood and politics of both MPs and parties.
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While political attention was fixed on what was said in Tuesday morning’s National Party caucus, MPs still had parliamentary work to do. And this week, that was mostly the Annual Review Debate.
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This week’s political intrigue bled into Question Time and illustrated Parliament’s rules about ministerial responsibility and lying or, as Parliament terms it, 'misleading the House'.
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Step into the past to picture the early days of Wellington's Parliament and the 1890s Victorian neighbourhood it sat in, with help from historian Elizabeth Cox, author of Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street.
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What if a group of randomly selected people were put in a room and asked to hammer out national policy? it sounds a bit like a social experiment, but at last month's democracy forum at Parliament, it was sincerely proposed.
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The House saw a dichotomy of tempos this week, from a heated debate about fisheries one day, to a lighthearted, and at times even funny debate on parody and satire law.
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This week, MPs debated a bill to protect parody and satire, the right to take the mickey under New Zealand’s copyright law, something they themselves may well be the target of.
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An Auckland housing plan law passed quickly under urgency, but its committee stage was full of interesting asides.
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It’s a busy week at Parliament, with the House getting urgent on Auckland, and debating alcohol, animals, banter, and badges.
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With politicians' attention very much looking outward amidst talks of a potential escalation in the conflict, or even a fuel crisis reminiscent of the 1970s, Parliament still nonetheless had things to address back home.
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Amendments to immigration law would further punish migrant exploitation and also widen the ability to deport migrants for various offences.
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A bill moving through Parliament is set to end greyhound racing in New Zealand. This week’s second reading offered a case study in careful, and at times awkward, political messaging.
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Parliament’s first debate this week was over New Zealand signing a statement offering “readiness to contribute" in the Strait of Hormuz.
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With an election looming in November, The House sat down with Clerk David Wilson to get a roadmap of what’s to be expected between now and then.
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This week at Parliament we heard a debate all about the future that ended up being mired in the past. We also heard a goodbye speech from one of Parliament's more talented orators.
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Peeni Henare left Parliament this week with a final address full of stories and humour.
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New Zealand’s long-term economic future may be vitally important, but a debate on the 40 year fiscal future proves fertile ground for short-term politics.
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The final report from the inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid-19 pandemic response has been released. With an election approaching, MPs quickly the findings into a political football – defending their record or criticising the former government.
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The House Sunday Edition combines two stories from Parliament's week. First, advice on convincing a select committee to amend a bill. Then, MPs on better infrastructure planning with less politics.
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The House reviews the special debate on the National Infrastructure Plan, when most MPs agreed they ought to remove politics from decisions, and couldn't help but be political.
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The integrity of New Zealand’s public service was under the microscope at Parliament today as the Governance and Administration select committee heard from the Public Service Commission regarding their long term insight briefing.
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Select Committees are everyone’s best chance to stop the impacts of bad law. We have tips to help maximise your chances, with examples from hearings on the Arms Bill.
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MPs Ayesha Verrall and Ricardo Menéndez March outline Parliament’s lesser known written version of Question Time, and compare it to its louder, less forthcoming, cousin.
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Following the retirement of former Speaker Adrian Rurawhe, Parliament has a new MP in, Labour's Georgie Dansey, a former teacher, and unionist based in Hamilton. She delivered her maiden speech on Wednesday this week.
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Parliament's newest MP Georgie Dansey gave her maiden statement this week, wasting no time in getting stuck into her role as a member of the opposition.
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Parliament is considering a law that changes what was legal in the past. Retrospective law-making is allowed, but rare and controversial.
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Parliament’s year begins with a very long debate. We review the event and sample a few of the best speakers.
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Two bills made strong progress this week against fierce opposition. They aim to end diversity hiring in the public service, and "rebalance" employment relations. The House considers the bills and lopsided debating.
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In Parliament's first proper week back the government was still high-speed legislating with an extra sitting. Among the bills was one to "rebalance" employee/employer rights. The debate was quite one-sided.
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The Public Service Amendment Bill is back in the House from Select Committee, and has reignited debate on the culture war flashpoint of DEI.
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The election is still 270 sleeps away, but inside Parliament the hustings are assembled. Question Time's usefulness diminishes but jibes and insults flourish.
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The House sits down with Kevin Hague to unpack what the Chief of Staff role really involves, what it’s like for the former MP to be back in the parliamentary world.
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Former Speaker Adrian Rurawhe is calling it quits after a decade in Parliament. Despite wanting to leave quietly, he reluctantly gave his final address to the House on Wednesday this week.
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Parliament’s first week was the 2026 election campaign writ small, from departing MPs to the 13-hour long debate over whether the Government should stay in office. The House attempts haruspicy on innards from the party leaders' speeches.
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Before launching into the bellicose set piece that is the debate on the Prime Minister's statement, the Parliamentary year began on a more somber note with MPs paying acknowledging recent weather events.
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Every year Parliament ends in a more or less identical way, with the adjournment debate. To prove it, we sift its moments using previous years' descriptors.
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On Parliament’s final sitting day of the year, MPs discussed an issue with the potential to surge in prominence: the quality of life for ageing New Zealanders.
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Parliament’s week began with condolences on the Bondi attack. The six parties’ responses were very similar, but their divergences also said a lot.
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In its penultimate sitting block of the year, Parliament was in urgency debating 12 bills, The House looks at the two most controversial ones.
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Parliament's penultimate sitting week began with a major shakeup to the RMA, helped along by urgency.
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Rather than enjoying a gentle wind-down, Parliament’s final full week is packed with last-minute work as the Government tries to complete work and adds ten new bills to MPs’ piles for good measure.
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Parliament's December Scrutiny Week is over. The House looks at the eternal tussle between politics and actual oversight, and the interlocking problems of scale and attention that mean you will miss most of it.
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Headlines from scrutiny week honed in on the heated clashes, but behind the scenes the unglamorous work of number-crunching carried on.
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Parliament’s biannual Scrutiny Weeks involve a sudden glut of oversight, but what reaches the public is only a glimpse behind the curtain.
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The first week of Parliament's final sitting block of 2025 is solely focused on scrutiny on past Government spending. It began with a back and forth on animal welfare.
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A late night voting error during a fourth evening of urgency last week forced the Government to end urgency sooner than expected.
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Urgency was the theme of the week at Parliament this week, both in the House and during the ongoing Standing Orders review into Parliament's rules.
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MPs are working on 13 bills under Urgency this week but numerous amendments and drawn out voting sessions threaten to slow the process down.
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A bill reducing charges for clean vehicle imports has passed through under urgency at Parliament.
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MPs are working on passing bills through various stages under urgency this week with one of those stages involving putting legislation under the microscope
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In the last week of the penultimate sitting block of the year, the House was moved into urgency for the progression of 13 government bills.
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A loophole in parliamentary rules has avoided a debate, shortened a committee report back time, and resulted in 11 days for the public to have their say on proposed fast track amendments.
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Amidst political distractions Parliament continued to consider legislation, with four government bills completing their legislative journeys this week. Two enjoyed relative consensus across the House. The other two not so much.
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Question time was pushed back on Wednesday this week so that the House could address the report of the Independent Police Conduct Authority
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Question time is usually all about Ministers but today had an extra question directed at an MP outside the executive.
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If you follow New Zealand politics, you'll want to follow Politics NZ. Get Nine to Noon Politics, The Whip, Morning Report's politicians panel, Focus on Politics, The House, and Context all in one feed.
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MPs spend hours arguing in the debating chamber at Parliament but on certain occasions they put aside their differences and a new MP's first speech is one of those times.
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This week, the Standing Orders committee who are doing their triennial review of Parliament's rules heard from a former PM
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Parliament extended its hours this week to progress three claims settlement bills for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Paoa, and Ngāti Hāua.
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While the week in politics began with another chapter in the ongoing tensions within Te Pāti Māori, the House started the parliamentary week by resuming the consideration of the widely followed Regulatory Standards Bill.
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The House chats with three members of the Parliamentary Library. More than just books and periodicals – it’s a research powerhouse.
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The House on Sunday reviews the week's special debate on New Zealand’s struggling energy sector; and two signs that herald next election: the Standing Orders Review and... is that an interesting shape in Parliament's 2026 Sitting Calendar?
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This week Parliament produced two heralds of the election to come. Crucial work on tweaking Parliament’s rules, and a calendar that may even hint at an actual election date. The first is crucial, the second just fun.
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The law relating to how customary marine title is granted in New Zealand will soon change, with the Takutai Moana Bill passing its third and final reading in Parliament this week.
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Parliament’s Question Time is correctly named. Actual answers can be few and far between.
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Today in Parliament, the usual agenda was put aside as the House dedicated the sitting day to lamenting the death of Jim Bolger. Almost all MPs made a note of his legacy as an advocate for Māori
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The Governance and Administration Committee heard from submitters on the Public Service Amendment Bill this week. One such submitter, the Clerk of the House, said select committee scrutiny risks being weakened should a clause remain in the Bill.
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Parliament is always a story of continuing business, but this week plot summaries would have been helpful, to reveal ‘the story so far on Yeas and Nays of our Lives…'
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Parliament's new MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Oriini Kaipara, delivered her maiden speech this week - an event that was overshadowed somewhat by her supporters' celebrations. But what did Parliament's newest MP actually say in her speech before all that?
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Nearly a year after the Government’s Crown Apology to Survivors of Abuse in State Care, Parliament is close to passing a bill aimed at preventing that harm from happening again
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A good pub quiz team always needs music and sports nerds and a celebrity news addict, but for wide general knowledge a diligent MP might be just the thing, with good reason. MPs cover a boggling array of topics on a daily basis.
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Tuesday at Parliament felt a bit like Groundhog Day as Foreign Minister Winston Peters gave yet another Ministerial Statement on the war in Gaza.
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The state has three independent branches. Victoria University Dean of Law, Geoff McLay helps explain the crucial relationship between parliament, government and the courts.
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Under the Beehive is the National Crisis Management Centre – an underground command centre where NEMA can coordinate responses to national crises. We take a tour.
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Parliament changed New Zealand’s adoption laws this week. The bill was revealed at the last minute, and thanks to urgency and unanimous support, it was completed within a day.
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Parliament's translation team would have been flat out this week as Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori saw an uptick in te reo usage at Question Time
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This week, the Government introduced an adoption law change at the last minute, which, thanks to urgency, passed all stages in one day.
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Perhaps the most recognisable part of Parliament is Question Time. But what techniques do MPs from both sides use to game it to their advantage?
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This week the Government’s 2025 budget was finally approved by Parliament. The last major hurdle involved a long walk through a political minefield of questions, and even some answers. We look at the range of approaches, ideal and less so; including a new way to avoid answering questions.
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It's been over 100 days since Bugdet Day but lo and behold, the government is still in the process of securing Parliament's approval for the planned spending. The delay comes down to Parliament’s lengthy financial scrutiny process.
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Parliament’s week is traditionally shaped across three days. That shape is increasingly being squeezed and select committees are being forced into the margins. We consider the factors at play.
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Each of New Zealand’s 72 electorates is unique, so what's it like to represent the heart of our capital city?
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Are Parliament’s colonial underpinnings out of date? A former Speaker says Parliament ought to be a reflection of everyone, but isn’t, and the mental shift needed would take collective political will. The House chats with Adrian Rurawhe and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about how Parliament could better reflect Māori tikanga and kawa.
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Several significant bills were passed through the House this week, two of them being Opposition bills. Meanwhile, the General Debate proved to be a test of the Speaker's tolerance for accusations of lying.
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Mendacity is the bane of good debate. In Parliament both lies and claims of lies used to be naughty, but the floodgates may have opened on the latter.
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Members' bills can come from any backbench MP. Usually, successful government bills far outnumber opposition bills – but not this parliament.
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This week's bills are a mixture of unfinished business from last week and a selection of other bills plucked from the Order Paper, and awaiting their respective next stages.
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Last week the Speaker made a series of new rulings and interpretations on the fly in punishing an MP who dared governing party MPs to demonstrate some spine regarding Israel and Gaza. We survey and analyse the incident and aftermath.
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This week in Parliament, a brouhaha about unparliamentary language, an eviction from the House, and apologies, or rather a lack thereof, stole the spotlight – but what bills went through?
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On Wednesday, the Governance and Administration committee were joined by two officials from the Office of the Auditor-General to hear about the long term plans of Local Government.
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National avoided taking a stand on Palestine in Parliament’s urgent debate. What can we learn from the Prime Minister’s answers on Palestine and Gaza during Question Time?
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One of Parliament’s quiet, powerful committees is opposition-led and cross-partisan. A new law from ACT may undermine that, ceding parliamentary oversight to the Executive. We chat with the leaders of the Regulations Review Committee: Arena Williams and Nancy Lu.
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The Sunday edition of The House includes one fresh story, and a replay from Thursday. The new story covers the first debate on the bill to change the electoral law – including the requirement to enrol to vote earlier. The replay from Thursday's House looks at Private and Local Bills.
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The big laws debated by Parliament get a lot of attention, but others are so small as to be barely noticed.
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After the rare occurrence of a recommittal, the Crown Minerals Bill found itself back in committee where the Opposition tried their best to extract answers from the Minister.
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Parliament’s Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, is considering a major rewrite of the rules for Question Time, potentially the first major reworking since the 1980s. Specifically the Speaker indicated he may ask the Standing Orders Committee (which proposes changes to Parliament’s own rules), to consider balancing the playing field by allowing questioners to contextualise their questions.
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This week on The House, we chat with a visiting MP from the European Parliament, and hear some of the highlights from Parliament's newest MP, David Wilson
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This week Parliament hosted MPs from the EU Parliament in Brussels. We chat with Ireland's Seán Kelly who lead the visiting delegation.
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Parliament this week is all-House, with extra debates and an interesting array of topics including space, espionage, and stalking.
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The sitting week this week began with a Ministerial Statement from Foreign Minister Winston Peters. The House looks at the subsequent Q and A that followed.
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To mark the launch of the Ministry for Women's Free to Lead campaign, MPs discussed online harm and the safety of public figures in a panel this week at Parliament.
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A parliamentary committee tasked with keeping a check on the Executive has heard how the Regulatory Standards Board would duplicate its role, but without its powers.
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Albeit a month late, Speaker Gerry Brownlee sat down this week with the Governance and Administration Committee for a chat about Parliament.
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Parliament kicked off a three week sitting block today, and the first legislative business was initial debates and votes on three brand new bills.
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Last week, MPs were replaced by their younger counterparts during Youth Parliament 2025, and just like real Parliament, there was plenty of drama.
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Before laws are finalised, MPs get a last chance to argue for changes. Pav Sharma—whose office manages them—explains the purpose, rules, and process for the many amendments.
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Parliament spent most of the week debating legislation under urgency, finalising eight separate government bills, initiating four others. Despite that effort, the week's most telling events may have been its bookends – the international tragedy that opening it, the very local tragedy at its close.
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It was a sad day at Parliament on Thursday, with the news of the sudden death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Before adjourning, The House paid tribute to her in a number of speeches.
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Parliament's focus this week is debating numerous bills under urgency. Across recent parliaments the use of urgency and extra sittings has become so regular as to be almost normal. But it remains important to know what laws are being debated and agreed – at whatever speed.
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The first item of business at Parliament this week was not Question Time, but a Ministerial Statement on the Middle East situation.
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On the Sunday Edition of the House you can hear an interview with Lawrence Xu-Nan about Scrutiny Week and the preparation necessary. You can also listen to a description of a few of the Q&A tactics observed in the scrutiny hearings.
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Scrutiny week is partly information-sharing and partly a partisan bear-pit. When Parliament undertakes governance of governments there are always tactics and politics involved.
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Foreign Affairs is a portfolio that Winston Peters often receives bi-partisan congratulations on. In an otherwise adversarial scrutiny week, his hearing with the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee had a bastion of amicability and trust.
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This week at Parliament is Estimates Scrutiny week, when Ministers face Select Committees to defend their budget plans. We talk with Green MP, Lawrence Xu-Nan, a star scrutiny performer from last time round. As a former academic and one of a number of MPs with a PhD, Xu-Nan has the brutal research experience that is surely useful for digging into something as labyrinthine and esoteric as a budget.
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For electorate M Ps, weekends are generally spent in the community meeting constituents. The House popped into a morning tea Q&A hosted by Matt Doocey.
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Parliament and the Courts are different branches of our democracy. On Thursday, during the debate on MP punishments they overlapped.
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The Government had three things on its to-do list for the week. It managed... some of them, including the one that allows its own continued survival.
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This week the Health Committee heard oral submissions on the Government's Medicines Amendment Bill, which speeds up the approvals process for medication.
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Parliament, with an early history saturated in alcohol, has had no in-house bar at all for months. It seems almost no-one even noticed. The new bar, Pint of Order, has now opened and its dinky size may show just how much Parliament has changed.
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The House chats with two long serving MPs to get some insight into some of the political strategy behind member’s bills
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After the first few speeches of the Budget Debate, the House knuckled down for a long and jam-packed dose of urgency.
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The opening stanzas of a new budget begin in quiet formality, but get loud and political quickly.
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The House sits down with Clerk Assistant James Picker to chat through the Budget process and what you can expect to see in the House on the day.
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The highly anticipated debate on the report of the privileges committee only lasted for about 25 minutes before it was cut short by a surprise adjournment motion.
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Former Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand talks about the role’s interlinked relationship with Parliament and the Executive, and as a guardrail for democracy.
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Parliament's Speaker, Gerry Brownlee spoke to MPs on Thursday about the Privileges Committee's unprecedented recommendations for punishing Te Pāti Māori MPs. His response was telling. We decode his comments.Note: A slip of the tongue in this episode causes MP Duncan Webb to be renamed Duncan Green. Apologies.
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The commitments that public organisations are subject to under treaty settlements are being treated like transactions, not relationships, says Auditor-General John Ryan, who briefed the Māori Affairs Committee on the issue this week.
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Last week the Government announced that they wouldn't be introducing a new independent redress system for survivors of abuse in state care. This week they had the task of defending that position from a barrage of Opposition criticism during an urgent debate.
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This Sunday edition of the House is a compilation of the week's reporting, including: coverage of the Government's surprise Equal Pay Amendment Bill, and the farewell of retiring Labour journeyman David Parker.
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After two decades in Parliament, Labour's David Parker is leaving politics. The House looks at some of the highlights of his valedictory statement made on Wednesday this week.
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The Equal Pay Amendment Bill wasn't in the Government's initially released plan for Parliament's week. It was included at the eleventh hour. It's late arrival, it's urgent passing, and its intent all caused anger in the House.
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Returning from three weeks on recess, MPs' first business was a motion in honour of a pope. Speeches were a little more honest, and a little more heartfelt than typical. Especially one of them. And it may have included Parliament's first Hail Mary that wasn't a political desperation move.
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Parliament’s select committees are well known. But the public never gets to watch the Cabinet committees, which all policies go through before reaching Parliament. Louis Collins chats with the Deputy Leader of the House, National Party MP Louise Upston, to understand what happens in the sub-committees which are Cabinet's workhorses.
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Other nations are experiencing the erosion of democratic norms – even authoritarianism. Is our constitution strong enough to withstand it?
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Peter Boshier says the public can rest assured that there is an enduring institution fighting for fairness and accountability.
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This Sunday edition of the House is a compilation of the week's reporting, including: a Question Time naughtiness scavenger hunt, the Annual Review debate on Health, and the very unusual death of a Government bill — the Treaty bill.
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Members' bills die ugly deaths regularly, but I can find no record in recent history of a government bill sent into the House to suffer the indignity of a negative vote. It was either unusually masochistic or the outcome of poor political judgement.
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Despite this years' budget only a month away, the Government still have t's to cross i's to dot in regard to spending from previous years. The annual review debate is the final stage in that very long process.
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Arguments, inferences, imputations, epithets, ironical expressions, or expressions of opinion. It's not a lost verse from The Sound of Music's 'My Favourite Things'. It's a partial list of things Question Time questions cannot include. There are also some must-haves; and separate requirements for answers. The House goes on a scavenger hunt, to find examples inside one Question Time.
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Parliament’s Privileges Committee has been a major source of news over the last few weeks. What is privilege, and how does the committee typically work? ...and because this is a Sunday episode of the House, it also includes a replay of Wednesday's episode on leniency towards MPs 'schoolyard stupidity' during Question Time.
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Parliament has voted to allow the Justice Committee to continue processing submissions on the Treaty principles bill, even after the committee's work on the bill is finished. This will allow them to be collected along with the submissions that were considered by the committee as part of its report.We chat with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, David Wilson for background on the parliamentary rules and processes behind this move.
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Nearly 25 years after the “corngate” saga of the early 2000s, the debate on Genetic Modification is back in New Zealand’s political consciousness thanks to the Gene Technology Bill, which is currently going through the select committee process.
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Gerry Brownlee was a teacher when ‘the cane’ ruled the classroom. As Parliament’s Speaker, he is reluctant to reach beyond threats and pleas.
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After a select committee process that presented MPs with lots of constitutional questions, the Parliament Bill is back in the House.
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The House chats with two MPs from the Parliament Bill Committee about some interesting suggestions from submitters - namely a Parliamentary Budget Office.
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Parliament spent much of this week debating bills under urgency. The Government can get more done in the House that way, but there is a trade-off in committees.
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MPs were welcomed back to this three week sitting block by more urgency, and a boisterous question time.
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Parliament’s recent inquiry and debate on climate change adaptation asked small questions, looked short term and inched towards reactive solutions.
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This Week, Parliament had the debate on the Budget Policy Statement, which gave us a few hints as to what we can expect come Budget Day on 22 May.
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The Prime Minister’s much repeated claim that he “saved school lunches” because Labour "failed to fund them" is nonsense, and relies on us not understanding how budgets actually work. We analyse the claim, the reality, and the budget approach that allows the misinterpretation.
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The first dose of Parliamentary urgency was dished out this week, to address a law that has fallen behind common practice.
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This week, MPs got their first chance to debate on a new bill that would extend the three year parliamentary term to four years.
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This week's legislative agenda began with the first reading of a bill that enables congestion charging in our cities.
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Before MPs got down to debating legislation this week, they spent time debating the resignation last week of National Party minister, Andrew Bayly. Responses ranged from nothing-to-see-here to what-aren't-they-telling-us.
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Political voices have become very familiar since the beginning of radio, but they haven’t always sounded the same. Listen to 14 former Prime Ministers (and one Speaker) from 1912 to 1990.
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While they didn't turn up in an Aston Martin, the heads of New Zealand's spy agencies, the GCSB and the NZSIS came to Parliament this week to give MPs, media, and the public a rare glimpse into New Zealand's intelligence community.
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Some debates at Parliament are a bit monochromatic, but not many. In most policy areas the best descriptor is 'it’s complicated'. The problem will be complicated, any worthwhile solutions, complicated; the politics lying between the problem and a solution... complicated. And few things are more complicated than a topic debated this week – criminal justice sentencing.
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Marama Davidson, after time off for cancer treatment, is back at Parliament and is already busy with her members bill that would require manufacturers to make repair parts and information available to consumers.
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This Sunday edition of The House includes Tuesday's story about rules on MP misbehaviour (but with extra material – including one rule that seems to very specifically apply), and Thursday's story looking at the now completed debate on the Prime Ministers Statement – which boiled down to being a 13-hour long debate over growth.
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So far this year, Parliament has been dominated by one very long debate on whether the House approves of the Prime Minister's speech outlining his plan for the year. We look at some of its themes and rhetorical stylings.
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On Wednesday this week, the Health Committee heard from both the Mental Health Minister and members of the public who offered their lived experience of mental health treatment.
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On Monday David Seymour mounted Parliament's lower front steps in a vehicle. The Speaker was not impressed. So what are the rules and who can punish an MP or Minister?
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Parliament may have been on summer break, but its website was anything but quiet. The House chatted to the person overseeing an unprecedented number of submissions.
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This week Parliament did something important and unusual, giving the Taranaki Maunga legal personhood.
This episode has audio from the third reading of Taranaki's collective redress bill. For a look at the Bill itself, particularly the history, acknowledgments and apologies within it, read this article.
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After a series of speeches acknowledging several notable deaths that occurred over the Summer, Parliament kicked off 2025 by doing what it does best - arguing.
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Before the normal political welcome, MPs spent time farewelling the fallen, particularly Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming and Dame Tariana Turia.
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Parliament's adjournment debate is a showcase of vitriol leavened with humour. It is likely the most chaotic, unfocussed, haphazard, and sometimes incoherent political event of the year. We have the lowlights.
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On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the factions within the major parties.
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Before the Speaker Gerry Brownlee overturned Barbara Kuriger’s Fast-track ruling, there was a lengthy and fascinating debate in the House. We couldn’t give justice to the constitutional and parliamentary to-and-fro on our show - so here it all is as a podcast extra.
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Last week’s fights with the Speaker over the Fast Track schedule may have changed the tone in Parliament.
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Parliament's final full week was a legislating blitz to complete unfinished legislation, and introduce new bills for the public to chew on over summer. And in this Sunday wrap of the week we also look at one unfortunate select committee, drowning under an unusual preponderance of work.
This Sunday show from The House comprises material from the weekday shows from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
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In the midst of this week's blitz to complete unfinished work before the summer recess, there was also a clutch of brand new legislation. Something for submitters to improve over the break, including a bill that creates a new offence - stalking.
This is the Friday 13th show from The House - an extra programme because Parliament sat beyond its usual week.
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This week, media and public focus on Parliament honed in on the hullabaloo around ferries and speakers rulings. Meanwhile, over 30 hours of urgency were used to consider eleven bills have been going through the House this week.
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In its first year, this parliament has sent 78 new laws to the twelve subject select committees. That should mean they are reviewing six bills each, except the Justice Committee has been sent 26 of them - including many of the most contested. Why?
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Last month, twelve Pacific speakers and clerks from around Oceania traded the warm shores of the South Pacific for Wellington in spring. They were here for a week of networking and learning, with doses of casual diplomacy.
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Parliament was heaving with activity this week, though not with debates, bills, or even any sittings of the House. Instead, the corridors and committee rooms were alive with the hustle and bustle of Scrutiny Week.
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Whether its about the lack of it, the quality of it, or the cost of it, discussions about housing are omnipresent at Parliament. This week, both Housing Ministers sat down in front of MPs for a session of explain and answer on the topic.
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While New Zealand's defence force deals with budget issues, lagging equipment, and the aftermath of the Manawanui, Defence Minister Judith Collins made it clear that NZDF still have the unwavering support of their minister.
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Scrutiny Week is underway with annual reviews of government entities with multi-billion dollar budgets. Also underway are political games you would never dare try in your own performance review. Exhibit A is Shane Reti facing Ayesha Verrall in the Health Committee.
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There are just five House sitting days of Parliament left. They will feel like a warm down after what happens prior – five tough days of government scrutiny, with help from Parliament's watchdog. The House chats with Mark Evans and Lyndsey Gibson from the Office of the Auditor General about Scrutiny Week.
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The Green's Benjamin Doyle has joined the 54th Parliament about a third of the way into its term. Their maiden statement wrapped up a huge week for Parliament.
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The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but in the background all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights.
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The House speaks to two members of the Samoan Community that came to Parliament to see the Restoring Citizenship Bill pass its final reading.
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At Parliament the vast majority of noise and passion was from the hikoi outside the chamber. The crowd so large that vast number likely never managed to get inside the grounds. Despite that, everyone was incredibly patient, friendly and polite. Inside, the debating chamber was never going to quite match the energy - or possibly the politeness.
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After a tsunami of coverage out of Parliament last week, The House spoke to Press Gallery Chair Jason Walls about how the Press Gallery works.
The Treaty principles bill dominated Parliament's week, despite being the final bill debated. How was it talked about in the House when it was not the topic of a debate; who focussed on it, who ignored it, who was ignored?
In Parliament anything and everything can be political, or can be bent to politics. In recent memory, things as apparently innocuous as playground equipment, clothing, colours, or eating takeaways.
Following the Crown Apology for Abuse in State Care, Parliament passed the first reading of the Response to Abuse in Care Bill. Labour and National spoke of casting politics aside for a moment. Greens and Te Pāti Māori weren't so keen on that idea.
This week, the Parliament Bill committee heard from a 16 year old high school student, and a former prime minister, 65 years his senior.
Atop the Beehive a lone national flag is tortured daily by Wellington’s gales. We join its handlers up on the roof to chat, watching as its fraying edges whip the sky.
Parliament is a mercurial place. Debate can flick from amity to antagony with each shift in topic, especially if that topic is climate change or agriculture, or both.
Today, Parliament begun a new, three-week-long sitting block. If Question Time was the first round warm-up for a new bout - when the boxers are still a little tentative and trying out new things, - it's unlikely to be a quiet lead-up to Christmas.
In politics, they say you shouldn't have any skeletons in your closet. But what about in your Parliament?
In the Sunday edition of The House, a story from Thursday and a new story: Returning some stolen citizenships gets likelier, and a petitioner to Parliament wants to include an oral undertaking to The Treaty of Waitangi – a guarantee of freedom of religion.
After a robust select committee process, all parties now support a Members bill that would restore New Zealand citizenship to a select group of Samoans who lost it 4 decades ago.
Among all the government's resource management changes, the Fast-track Bill has received the bulk of attention. This week, a less traversed but equally significant bill from that suite became law.
Parliament has featured in New Zealand’s official Gazette thrice in three days. Once over a possible referendum to ban fireworks, twice over the removal of an MP who caused fireworks.
New Zealand's official newspaper, The Gazette, has mentioned Parliament twice this week. Once to announce an MP was getting the rocket, and once to outline a hope to ban rockets entirely.
In the Sunday edition of The House Louis Collins talks Ministerial Statements with Chris Penk, and Phil Smith considers messages coming from public to government.
On Tuesday, the Government made a Ministerial statement about the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui. RNZ's The House sat down with the Minister who made it.
Watching people make submissions to select committees about laws can give you an idea of what types of expertise and experience are most useful; and that one of the most crucial might just be... people like you.
Rather than wait for the Opposition to apply for an urgent debate, the Government decided to get in first and on Tuesday, gave a Ministerial Statement on the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui.
In sports, you don’t argue with the ref. It’s a similar situation at Parliament with the Speaker. The Speaker isn’t just Gerry Brownlee though. There are four other presiding officers he can rely on to help carry the load.
Attend the session where MPs’ oral questions to the Government are vetted and authenticated by Parliament’s Office of the Clerk.
On the Sunday edition of The House, Louis and Phil consider a new Bill that reworks much of the legislation that underpins the running of Parliament, including its funding. (This episode combines two weekday episodes on aspects of The Parliament Bill and adds extra content.)
With all the talk about the Parliament Bill, The House sheds some light on some of the other items of business at Parliament this week.
The Parliament Bill intends to prevent governments from wielding the power of the purse over the bodies that run Parliament. Phil Smith chats with Adrian Rurawhe (Labour) and Ricardo Menendez March (Green).
After years of suggestions for constitutional reform, the Parliament Bill has been introduced. In a rare occurrence at Parliament, a special committee has been set up to examine the bill.
Opposition MPs have rediscovered an old filibustering tactic and are using it to protest the Government's scanty use of Parliament's select committees.
Parliament was buzzing with te reo this week. With many members using it in Question Time, the translation team certainly would have been busy.
Opposition MPs appear to have rediscovered an old filibustering tactic and are using it to protest the Government's liking for sending bills to select committees for very short periods.
The Government's first budget is finally reaching the end of its long approval process, and it's going to be just in time. You might have thought it was all done and dusted months ago, but Parliament is pretty careful with giving away pocket money.
Chris Hipkins discusses his formal parliamentary title: Leader of the Opposition, and the very different job of leading in opposition.
Question Time is the political equivalent of managers being grilled in front of the board, even when the Prime Minister is being quizzed by the opposition. Imagining it as literally that gives a different slant to teasing out the answers, the deflections and obfuscations.
Parliament adjourned early today in respect for Kiingi Tuheitia, the late leader of the Māori Kingitanga. Before they adjourned there were speeches.
This week New Zealand’s Parliament hosted the Commonwealth Youth Parliament, bringing youth leaders together from Fiji to the Falklands.
The Climate Change Commission told members this week that climate adaptation is the "most difficult challenge this country faces over the next century."
Petitions often touch on very human stories, or on tricky philosophical issues. This week, one threw explosive new information into an already contentious debate.
Parliament's Question Time is a slow-moving boxing match with many rounds. This week one boxer's second stepped into the ring to help. They didn't throw in the towel, but they did try to stop the bout.
The House hears from two MPs, usually foes, who have spent a week together stateside, like a political odd couple.
A dispute during Question Time this week was packed with lessons on asking questions in Parliament, and especially how not to answer them.
It's not uncommon for a Committee of the Whole House to need several sittings to consider a bill. With three government bills under consideration by the Committee this week, most of Parliament's sitting time will be devoted to this process.
The House began a new sitting block sharing a little love over the Paris Olympics results, but the sudden outbreak of amity didn't last.
The final thing Parliament did before adjourning was agree rules changes for the next Parliament. We discuss them with senior clerks David Wilson and Gabor Hellyer.
Before Parliament adjourned it agreed new rules for next time. In discussing them MPs gave glimpses into the rules they would like to change and the Parliament they wished existed.
MPs have been debating whether to lower the voting age for local council elections to 16 years of age from the current age of 18.
The last sitting week of the 53rd Parliament has a fairly packed schedule of government business, plus debate on the Standing Orders Committee's regular report, and the Adjournment Debate.
If there’s one group who we don’t hear enough about, it’s the photographers who cover Parliament. A new exhibition is casting light on five of these practitioners. We talk to two of them.
Among a long week of debates at Parliament, MPs still found the time for farewell speeches from departing colleagues. Todd Muller's stood out and while uncomfortable for his colleagues, it is worth noting.
As more valedictory speeches were heard in Parliament’s chamber, a warning was sounded from a departing MP about race baiting and dog whistling to extremism.
It is the second to last sitting week for Parliament but there is still a mountain of bills to get finalised before the MPs wearily trudge home.
The Labour MP for Māngere, Aupito William Sio is leaving Parliament after a sixteen year-stint which encompassed nine years in Opposition bookended by spells in Government.
Parliament has just days left before it ends for the election. The closer dissolution gets, the harder the MPs are pushing to fit everything in - almost like they're cramming four years of legislating into three years.
Valedictory speech season has begun, and if there’s a common theme cropping up already, it’s a plea for a less toxic style of politics in Parliament.
This week is the first of the last three weeks in the 53rd Parliament, a busy time as the Government still has a lot that it wants to finish before the House rises.
The majority of all female elected representatives across the Pacific Islands region visited Wellington for a development event, showcasing the merits of soft diplomacy, Parliament-style.
This week MPs had a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19 Secondary Legislation.
A new Member's Bill looks to fix a 40-year-old outcome of the anti-Pacific racism of the Dawn Raids era, restoring the right to New Zealand citizenship for a generation of Samoan people.
The Intelligence and Security Committee has received a briefing on long-term national security threats which has incorporated a public survey and public consultation which found New Zealanders perceive threats to national security are increasing.
We're reminded of the important role of the Regulations Review Committee as Parliament this week holds a special debate about the committee's report on Covid-19 regulations.
Todd Muller is leaving Parliament. Known for a brief stint as Opposition leader, he also won plaudits for his bipartisanship and advocating for awareness about mental health.
Visitors entering the main entrance to Parliament can finally notice some visual signs of Māori culture and physical recognition of mana whenua.
This week the Government added a morning sitting of the House to ‘get stuck into’ completing debate on RMA reform. The Opposition just aimed for ‘stuck’.
As MPs count down to the election Parliament’s mood changes. The Opposition’s House leader Michael Woodhouse predicts “more anger, frivolity, perhaps less discipline”. “Perhaps” seems generous.
Five New Zealand MPs from across the political spectrum are visiting Samoa to build relationships within the country - and among themselves.
During a briefer than usual urgent sitting in Parliament this week, multiple bills were progressed through multiple stages each in what would normally take a couple of sitting weeks of debate.
When MPs screw up the consequences can be public and brutal. But sometimes that response has solid reasons which safeguard our system of responsible government.
Parliament has just six weeks left before it breaks for the election. There is still a lot yet to do, and to slow that down, one or two matters of privilege.
As an MP Sir Geoffrey Palmer had a huge impact on the interlocking shapes of government and parliament. The great reformer is still brimming with ideas for improvement.
The Therapeutic Products Bill is one of those pieces of legislation that requires a fair bit of panel-beating in a select committee, and even then not everyone's happy with its shape.
When things threaten to go awry it can help us learn how they work. So, how do Select Committees decide to amend bills, who helps them; and how do they track amendments and communicate with the legal drafters?
An Imprest Supply Bill is Parliament’s way of saying to the government 'yes you can have that money, but also if you find you need to use more money on it, you don't need to come back and ask again'.
Parliament has hit the time of year it turns into a combination of Glastonbury and the Inquisition - the multi-pronged miniterial grilling called Estimates Hearings.
The ACT Party has this month latched on to a Question Time tactic of using consecutive supplementary questions on a repetitive theme as a pile-on against the government.
Legislation tackling a power imbalance in the grocery industry is among several bills that wound their way through the committee stage in Parliament this week.
Among Parliament's key bills this week is one to update emergency management relationships and one to protect your bank deposits because mattresses have better uses. Grant Robertson picks his bills to watch.
Jan Logie admits she had “zero faith in our political system” before entering Parliament, but remains hopeful of what can be achieved here, as she prepares to retire as MP.
As she prepares to retire after 18 years in Parliament, National's Jacqui Dean has a refreshing knack for straight talk, and doesn’t mince her words about the work of an MP.
In the first in a series of exit interviews with retiring MPs, The House sits down with Green MP Jan Logie and National’s Jacqui Dean to reflect on their time at Parliament.
For any of Parliament’s speakers, the daily Question Time is a tricky horse to manage, let alone tame. Every Speaker brings a different approach, the current Speaker is trying riding with no reins at all.
MPs have been making laws to enable access to alcohol at race meetings on race days and during those early hours at pubs when rugby's World Cup is broadcast from France.
As the election nears, Question Time transforms into a forum for party political messaging. It’s not the ideal format for messaging and it doesn’t always go well.
Five MPs travelled to Westport as part of a Parliamentary Outreach Programme aimed at connecting New Zealanders throughout the country with Parliament and its processes.
Parliament Journalist Phil Smith has a crack at making a submission to MPs. Here is why you should bother, how you do it, how you really shouldn't, and how his went.
In a week when Parliament sat under urgency, across four long Tuesdays, quite a lot of legislative business has been progressed.
There’s been a distinct niggly energy about the exchanges in the House this week, and it’s got something to do with the fact Parliament is sitting under urgency.
The holidays may be coming, but Parliament is winding up for looks likely to be its biggest week of the year.
Parliament is this week to sit under urgency as the Government seeks additional sitting hours to clear a backlog of legislation that it wants to progress.
“An incredibly diverse and eclectic collection”, the Parliamentary Collection has great art, black rods, protest bricks, bodily parts and much more.
Parliament makes a rare step and amends a reserved provision of electoral law — something designed to be hard to achieve.
A former Prime Minister has warned MPs they face a daunting challenge to maintain public confidence in the Parliament system in the age of disinformation.
Every three years senior MPs meet to reimagine Parliament, considering which rule changes might strengthen representative democracy and executive oversight.
This week four backbencher bills got a shot at glory. Two were gloriously popular, one successful but contentious, and one pipped at the legislative post.
MPs who are former members of the NZDF had plenty to say when the first reading of the Inspector-General Defence Bill got underway.
This week’s agenda in Parliament illustrates some of the variety of motivations that lie behind prospective laws.
Whether cross-party or inter-parliament collectives, MP groups are all about human connections which help MPs, and importantly us, find out what makes them tick.
The House sits down with retiring MP Trevor Mallard for an insider's view of the tactics and strategy of Parliament, of what has changed, and what still should.
Parliament began today with a motion to condemn Iran for repression of protests. That was a motion without notice that everyone knew would happen. We attempt to explain motions. Wish us luck.
Soraya Peke-Mason's arrival as MP means an historic achievement of gender equity in New Zealand’s Parliament, while heralding another chapter in the political history of Rātana.
After consuming much of Parliament's energy last week, the Fair Pay Agreements Bill looks set to do so again this week as its committee stage continues.
In October 2022, before Trevor Mallard resigned he spoke at length to The House. This is the fuller interview. Two shorter packages of cuts repeat this material.
Trevor Mallard has ended his career as an MP this week after 38 years. Much has changed. We sat down to chat through his storied history and get his insights.
Parliament takes security seriously, but not just the physical kind. Sometimes the biggest risks arrive through the smallest holes.
As this week of Parliament was getting underway, just after the prayers, the House heard a rare message from the Governor-General.
Following a two-week recess, MPs are set to engage in feisty debate about proposed labour laws that could raise wages through sector-wide collective bargaining.
Parliament's new Speaker originally chose to be a whip but fate intervened. Meet the man who marshals the MPs: an interview-walk through the fascinating life and career of Adrian Rurawhe.
What do Nicole McKee, Joseph Mooney, Teanau Tuiono and Sarah Pallett have in common? They’re first term MPs who have shared their experiences with us.
When Parliament gets a new speaker MPs re-test the rules and the limits. Will this one let you away with things the previous one would not? Can you cripple their confidence and make them easier to manage?
Trust in media, or lack thereof, was front and centre as the Minister of Broadcasting had a week of being grilled in parliament's Question Time about the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill.
Parliament looks like a big old gray box for keeping MPs in, but there are many more folk including many visitors and tourists. Say, a group of students from Taranaki.
A double shot of crime legislation features in a Parliament week laden with Government bills that are scheduled to get a first reading.
This week Parliament debated a members' bill from Rachel Boyack that aims to combat official gobbledegook. Some MPs fought it tooth and nail as tantamount to balderdash, gadzooks!
MPs have been reflecting on the Queen's death again, with the passage of a bill under urgency to create a one-off public holiday for her. But not all the reflections were misty-eyed.
After a couple of short weeks at Parliament MPs are getting back into the rhythm with some work to catch up on, like a tardy approval of the budget.
The revitalisation of te reo Māori was abundantly evident as a big crowd converged on Parliament to mark 50 years since the Māori Language Petition.
Parliament sat for less than two hours this week, sending condolences to King Charles and giving itself an extension on its budget homework.
Parliament TV offers the public the chance to catch all sittings of Parliament and more besides.
Press Gallery journalists are in their element after the regular bridge run returned from the Grand Hall to the 1st floor foyer of Parliament House, the place known as 'the tiles'.
Debate during the first reading of the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Bill offered insights into the lives of at least two MPs and the marketing mindset of another pair.
The government’s busy legislative agenda continues, and the remaining portfolios to be scrutinised in the Estimates debate are expected to wrap up this week.
It’s six months since the occupation of Parliament's grounds for three weeks, but the human cost is only now becoming clear.
Previous experience as a Minister of Conservation and Land Information was instructive in the shaping of Eugenie Sage's Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill.
A new Speaker of Parliament was elected with widespread support today, with his authority tested early by an awkward speech from a rebel MP.
This week Parliament activity is dominated by the expected transition to a new Speaker, with the incumbent Trevor Mallard about to resign.
Parliament is considering changing its rules and asking for advice. It is your chance to offer suggestions on an aspect of New Zealand's constitution.
When politicians have staffing issues there is an odd triangular relationship to juggle. MPs' staff are employed by someone else. Someone who can't control the MPs.
A couple of MPs this week unexpectedly got to run the show from the big chair, because Parliament’s debating chamber can’t function without a chairperson presiding.
Two bills related to crime and high risk offenders have passed a third reading, doubling the opportunity for Opposition MPs to label the Government ”soft on crime”.
It’s not often a group of workers think ‘we need more bosses’. That’s what MPs did this week - kind of. Parliament may now have more presiding officers than it’s ever had.
The House hears from two Hansard editors about the unique work of the team whose reports become part of Parliament's official record and can be seen by anyone.
This week Parliament's debating chamber was knee-deep in bills. We have a quick run-through of the 14 different wanna-be laws it debated.
In his maiden speech the newly sworn-in MP for Tauranga warns of a malaise in the country, and urges the nation to 'get busy winning'.
For the next while Parliament is sitting an extra morning each week. It has hit the twixt-reviews sweet-spot and has also has a lot of new ideas to debate.
Parliament at night is a different vibe to Parliament during the day. Staff numbers on precinct have mostly thinned out, but it's a time when the weird and wonderful can happen.
We meet a new MP, Dan Rosewarne who gave hs maiden speech this week: a chance to say 'who I am, how I got to be here and what I hope to achieve'.
Last week Parliament was taken over by the new leaders Youth Parliament - an opportunity for rangatahi to speak and the rest of us to pay attention.
MPs in Parliament shout at each other a lot, but they also cooperate a lot, including about the timetable for that shouting. It's all more efficient that way.
There are various parts of Parliament that could be deemed crucial to the functioning of the place, but perhaps none quite so much as the House Office.