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. If you're thinking of becoming an MP, there are some things that are ideal in helping you prepare, including experience in the public sector or local government. But once you're in Parliament, the best way to become a better MP is to take time to learn how the system works, ideally from the opposition benches. These are insig...
Aug 19, 2023•19 min•Ep. 459
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. This was Parliament's third-to-last sitting week before it adjourns and then dissolves for the election. Yes, dissolves, like an aspirin in water, leaving behind three years of scrutiny-over-government and a slew of new or amended legislation. But with days to go, it is not done y...
Aug 17, 2023•4 min•Ep. 458
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. Valedictory speech season has begun at Parliament, and if there's a common theme cropping up already, it's a plea for a less toxic style of politics in the place. MPs on the way out, giving their final statement in the chamber, have less reason to hold back about their real feelings. Yet you might be surprised to find that their real feelings - in ...
Aug 16, 2023•5 min•Ep. 457
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. Today is the beginning of the last three sitting weeks of the 53rd Parliament, a busy few weeks as the Government still has a lot that it wants to finish before the House rises. This week the Government will take Parliament into urgency, during which a veritable potpourri of legislation will be debated, including Three Waters bills a...
Aug 15, 2023•6 min•Ep. 456
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. Picture this scenario: hundreds of Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian men being escorted around Beijing for meetings with state officials as China hosts a delegation of most of the members of Parliament from countries of the Pacific Islands region. Imagine the hand-wringing that'd be going on in Canberra, W...
Aug 10, 2023•18 min•Ep. 455
This week MPs had a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19 Secondary Legislation. This week MPs had a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19 Secondary Legislation. This specialist committee, which is always chaired by an Opposition MP, plays an important role as a constitutional safeguard and a mechanism for providing checks and balance on the executive. Part 2 of today's edition of The House looks at salient point...
Aug 06, 2023•14 min•Ep. 454
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. Among three more members' Bills plucked from the Biscuit Tin today, there is a piece of legislation looking to fix a 40-year-old outcome of the anti-Pacific racism of the Dawn Raids era. Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono's Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill would restore the ri...
Aug 03, 2023•5 min•Ep. 453
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. It's part of the job of MPs to be up to date with the latest national security threats, which is particularly necessary at a time of rapid technological and climate change, and turbulence in the international order. The Intelligence and Security Committ...
Aug 02, 2023•5 min•Ep. 452
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. It's another busy week at Parliament which encompasses a couple of extra mornings sitting time, as the Government puts its foot down to get stuff done before the house rises at the end of this month. It includes a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19. This specialist committee, whic...
Aug 01, 2023•5 min•Ep. 451
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. If there is one thing this retiring MP would change about Parliament, it is that more members would access services to help them manage their mind and body health to be resilient for the tumultuous times that come and go as part of the job. Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller is leaving Parliament at the end of this term, wrapping...
Jul 29, 2023•22 min•Ep. 450
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'. Parliament has been considering RMA reform for years. The Resource Management Act has been tinkered with repeatedly since it was created by a National-led government back in 1991. But while tinkering can fix annoyances, it can also make legislation larger and more cumbersome. Eventually laws just need to be completely rethought and rewritten. T...
Jul 27, 2023•4 min•Ep. 449
Visitors entering the main entrance to Parliament can finally notice some visual signs of Māori culture and physical recognition of mana whenua. In the century and a half since Parliament has been housed in Wellington, there have been no obvious visual signs of Māori culture nor physical recognition of the mana whenua, Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui, for anyone entering the grounds or buildings to see... until now. A dawn ceremony was held today to unveil Te Kāhui Mōuri on Parliament's forecourt. It...
Jul 27, 2023•6 min•Ep. 448
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. 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". The "perhaps" seems generous. The current Parliament ends well before we vote for the members of the next one. Parliament will adjourn on...
Jul 26, 2023•5 min•Ep. 447
Five New Zealand MPs from across the political spectrum are visiting Samoa to build relationships within the country - and among themselves. Five New Zealand parliamentarians had the chance to get out of the election buildup briefly and visit Samoa. It wasn't a holiday though. The job of maintaining external relationships, especially those in the Pacific Islands, continues regardless of whether it's election campaign time in Aotearoa. The MPs visit to Apia was led by Parliament's Speaker Adrian ...
Jul 22, 2023•17 min•Ep. 446
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. During a swift urgent sitting in Parliament this week, multiple bills were progressed through multiple stages each, including six bills which reached completion in what would normally take a couple of sitting weeks worth of debate. Among them was a Bill whose committee stage alone would have been expected ...
Jul 20, 2023•5 min•Ep. 445
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. It's a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of an excess of masochism, must be in want of a job as MP. Well, maybe not acknowledged, but surely well evidenced. And yet there is never any shortage of fresh faces sure that they can either fix the world or get famous without suffering the downsides. Privilege and... In...
Jul 19, 2023•4 min•Ep. 444
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. 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. One matter of privilege on its way out the door and another one (regarding Michael Wood's reporting of hi financial interests ) arriving before the last one has even departed. "It neve...
Jul 18, 2023•5 min•Ep. 443
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. Sir Geoffrey Palmer resigned as New Zealand's Prime Minister 33 years ago but never stopped working. As an MP he was significantly responsible for modernising both Parliament and government, but he still ponders tweaks to improve New Zealand politics and democracy. These days he does that thinking, not from the Beehive's top floo...
Jul 15, 2023•15 min•Ep. 442
Something of a throwback to when most National MPs staunchly represented farming interests, Ian McKelvie is however ending his career as an MP not defined by the tribal lines of party politics. Perhaps contrary to popular opinion, as a Member of Parliament you can make progress without having to be mean to people. That's according to National MP Ian McKelvie who is to retire ahead of October's election after three terms in Parliament and is the latest subject in The House's series of exit interv...
Jul 08, 2023•12 min•Ep. 441
This week, RNZ's Parliament show, The House, focused on the processes and outcomes of Parliament's Select Committees. The Sunday show is a collation of this content. This week on The House we focused on aspects of the processes of select committees and their outcomes. The Sunday show is a collation of this content. In Thursday's story, Johnny Blades looked at the Therapeutic Products Bill which this week passed its second reading, when the debates committee recommendations upon its returns to th...
Jul 01, 2023•11 min•Ep. 440
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. In the words of one MP recently when talking about how select committees work, sometimes bills come before the committee and they need very little work before going back to the House, while others need quite a bit of panel-beating. In the latter category we can easily fit the Therapeutic Products Bill which this we...
Jun 30, 2023•5 min•Ep. 439
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? Earlier this month in Parliament the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee sent a report back to the House with an unprecedented extra. The committee put on record their concern that - and I am paraphrasing - some of the drafting instructions for the committee's amendments to the Water ...
Jun 28, 2023•6 min•Ep. 438
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'. A government cannot just spend any money it wants. It must have the approval of Parliament to open the till. It's the same for any extra government expenditure that becomes necessary down the line when unexpected things occur, as they usually do. That's why this week in parliament, MPs find themselv...
Jun 27, 2023•5 min•Ep. 437
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. You might think that all that MPs do all week at Parliament is blame each other for the world's ills, order a surfeit of Teslas and sadly occasionally see their careers vanish unexpectedly. But there's a lot more to an MP's job than calculating rebates. At the moment, MPs are knee-deep in an annual oversight event called the Estimat...
Jun 24, 2023•15 min•Ep. 436
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. David Seymour's attempt at asking a question in Te Reo Māori fell flat but it was followed by a barrage of supplementary questions by his party members, all slight variations on the same question. (File photo) Repetition is often used in Parliament as a political tool to get a particular narrative seared into the public discours...
Jun 22, 2023•5 min•Ep. 435
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. Legislation tackling a power imbalance in the grocery industry is among a bunch of bills that have wound their way through the committee stage in Parliament this week. The Grocery Industry Competition Bill, which passed its third and final reading this evening, seeks to improve competition and efficiency in the grocery industry, by taking...
Jun 21, 2023•4 min•Ep. 434
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. Parliament is back in the House this week with a schedule of business that says 'we have a lot to finish and only eight weeks to go'. Because alongside the relentless politicking that feeds the media MPs do actually have jobs to do, including approving laws. The House asked the Leader of the...
Jun 20, 2023•4 min•Ep. 433
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. As the Parliament term nears an end, The House is conducting some exit interviews with MPs who have decided to retire at the elections. With the end in sight, and a degree of freedom from the political campaign, a retiring MP tends to offer frank assessments of the job. In today's edition of The House, interviews with Green ...
Jun 17, 2023•15 min•Ep. 432
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. For an MP who admits to having had "zero faith in our political system" before she entered Parliament, Jan Logie is remarkably optimistic about this place. The Green MP, who is set to retire as a Member of Parliament after four terms, has been a warm and energetic presence in the House, refusing to indulge in the politics of ...
Jun 17, 2023•23 min•Ep. 431
As she prepares to retire after 18 years in Parliament, National's Jacqui Dean has a knack for straight talk, and doesn't mince her words about the work of an MP. After being in Parliament for 18 years, Jacqui Dean has a knack for straight talk, and doesn't mince her words about the work of an MP. So when I asked the National Party MP what advice she might have for new MPs or those colleagues who stay on after she retires at this year's election, her response cut to the chase: "Work hard, do you...
Jun 17, 2023•19 min•Ep. 430
