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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Attend the session where MPs’ oral questions to the Government are vetted and authenticated by Parliament’s Office of the Clerk. The matching article for this story, with photos from a vetting session, can be found at The House's news page here . Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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.) Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Opposition MPs have rediscovered an old filibustering tactic and are using it to protest the Government's scanty use of Parliament's select committees. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Parliament was buzzing with te reo this week. With many members using it in Question Time, the translation team certainly would have been busy. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Chris Hipkins discusses his formal parliamentary title: Leader of the Opposition, and the very different job of leading in opposition. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Parliament adjourned early today in respect for Kiingi Tuheitia, the late leader of the Māori Kingitanga. Before they adjourned there were speeches. When Parliament began its September sitting block on Tuesday, MPs met only to acknowledge a death and agree to return the following day. The shortened day was to show respect after the unexpected death last week of the Māori King, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. Such an early adjournment is unusual, but not unprecedented. Typically this sort of thin...
This week New Zealand’s Parliament hosted the Commonwealth Youth Parliament, bringing youth leaders together from Fiji to the Falklands. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
The Climate Change Commission told members this week that climate adaptation is the "most difficult challenge this country faces over the next century." When New Zealand's colonial founders built our cities and towns, they clearly lacked flooding and coastal erosion modelling in their town planning. It is true that coastal and river-based settlements are inherently desirable in the way of accessibility for trade, fertile soil, and mahinga kai. Moreover, there probably wasn't a large pool of clim...
Petitions often touch on very human stories, or on tricky philosophical issues. This week, one threw explosive new information into an already contentious debate. This week at Parliament, a petitioner revealed to the Petitions Committee the existence of a draft fast track bill, which predates government formation. The petition was calling for the government to reveal which projects were to be included in the government's fast track legislation. The evidence of a pre-coalition bill, that it origi...
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. Shane Jones intervenes with a point of order during questions to Casey Costello (seen behind him). Parliament's Question Time is a lot like a boxing ring that sits at the centre of our system of responsible government. Every sitting day in the debating chamber, pugilists from a variety of weight c...
The House hears from two MPs, usually foes, who have spent a week together stateside, like a political odd couple. You might think that travelling around the United States with another MP from a rival party would be a bit like going on holiday with your in-laws. In reality though, it's not like that at all. Earlier this month, National MP for Southland Joseph Mooney, and Labour list MP Glen Bennett travelled to the United States together under the auspices of Inter-Parliamentary Relations. Far f...
A dispute during Question Time this week was packed with lessons on asking questions in Parliament, and especially how not to answer them. National MP Tama Potaka answering media questions on 'the tiles'. During Question Time on Wednesday, MPs in the House argued at length about something usually hidden from view. The to-and-fro was pretty fascinating for political geeks, but it was also full of lessons. It illustrated aspects of how Question Time is prepared, how it works, the political conside...
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 Committee of the Whole House (CWH) provides members with the opportunity to delve into the finer details of a proposed bill. Members can examine the nitty gritty details, ask questions of the minister in charge, and suggest further amendments. This commit...
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. On Tuesday, after a week off, and after a number of politically contentious and combative weeks, Parliament began with something that presumably everyone could agree on; a motion to congratulate New Zealand's Olympic athletes. This kind of motion, where every party gives a speech brimming with heartfelt superlatives, is not rare in Parliament, but not enormousl...
New Zealand's Parliament House is a strikingly colonial edifice. So how does it feel to be Māori in that space? On Parliament's black and white tiles sits one of the building's many pieces of art. The bust of Āpirana Ngata, commissioned in 1942, watches over the day-to-day frenzy of bridge runs and general parliamentary busyness. The bust, like so many pieces in Parliament's collection, pays tribute to the work of a highly eulogised individual who once walked the halls of power. What makes it es...
Few people think MPs never lie, so why are they seldom punished? We investigate Parliament's rules on mistakes, fibs, and perfidious calumny. Few people would believe that politicians never lie. But it is incredibly rare for an MP to be disciplined in the House for lying, or made to explain themselves before the Privileges Committee. Why? What exactly are Parliament's rules around lying? MPs refer to lying as deliberately misleading Parliament. They also have a related no-no referred to as misre...
From birthday messages, to lamenting New Zealand cultural icons, the General Debate enables MPs to climb onto the soapbox and yarn about whatever's on their mind. Every sitting Wednesday after Question Time, Parliament holds the General Debate. The terminology Parliament uses for the debate's subject, is 'miscellaneous business'. This roughly translates to... whatever is on a member's mind - within reason. Obviously it's inferred that kōrero should be relevant to the role of being an MP, though ...
The censure of an MP this week came with a message about how to handle provocation - keep it vocal. One of the first things that MPs did in Parliament this week was something unusual - censure an MP. There is always a lot of build-up to this kind of event, with public hearings of the Privileges Committee and corresponding media coverage, but its finale in the House came without much ceremony or politics (at least on this occasion). Privileges Committee Chair Judith Collins outlined the case and ...
Behind many MP interviews is an incessant ringing. It's like parliament itself has tinnitus, or is trying to drown out its inhabitants. What is that noise? If you watch television news, you've probably seen a fair share of interviews with MPs from 'the tiles' of Parliament. You know the drill - members scurry, parade, or swagger over the bridge into Parliament, and are met by a melee of cameras and microphones, belonging to a jamboree of interrogative journos. A MP submerged under a media scrum ...
This week in Parliament the Government's coalition partner antics upended National's plans and illustrated how not to create message discipline. They say that learning is easier when watching the mistakes of others. If that is true, Parliament provided plenty of learning opportunities this week. Something that failed repeatedly was something called 'message discipline', and that failure was often caused by ACT's repeated distractions. National's leader Christopher Luxon and his partners at the s...
Like an uncooperative student flat Parliament relies on rosters to organise who gets to speak when. Lots of rosters. And like that flat it probably stops squabbles. As the nation's ultimate debaters, parliamentarians unsurprisingly, are focused on contest, one-upmanship, and often just getting a word in. Given the often quarrelsome environment, parliament operates very carefully, and its rules have to be especially even-handed. You can see how crucial they are to maintaining order every day duri...
The Social Services and Community Committee has been told by state owned media this week that despite fears and perceptions, they're still alive and well. Over the last decade, the prophecies foretelling the death of the country's legacy media have become louder and louder. This week at Parliament, the Social Services and Community Committee heard from the heads of Radio New Zealand, TVNZ, and The New Zealand Film Commission at a committee briefing. The whole thing had a bit of a "hey, are you s...
