The House

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

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

Other nations are experiencing the erosion of democratic norms – even authoritarianism. Is our constitution strong enough to withstand it? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Peter Boshier says the public can rest assured that there is an enduring institution fighting for fairness and accountability. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

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

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. Go to this epi...

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

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 parliamen...

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

Gerry Brownlee was a teacher when ‘the cane’ ruled the classroom. As Parliament’s Speaker, he is reluctant to reach beyond threats and pleas. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

After a select committee process that presented MPs with lots of constitutional questions, the Parliament Bill is back in the House. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The House chats with two MPs from the Parliament Bill Committee about some interesting suggestions from submitters - namely a Parliamentary Budget Office. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

MPs were welcomed back to this three week sitting block by more urgency, and a boisterous question time. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament’s recent inquiry and debate on climate change adaptation asked small questions, looked short term and inched towards reactive solutions. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

The first dose of Parliamentary urgency was dished out this week, to address a law that has fallen behind common practice. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week, MPs got their first chance to debate on a new bill that would extend the three year parliamentary term to four years. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week's legislative agenda began with the first reading of a bill that enables congestion charging in our cities. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

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