The House

We ask whether ministers can evade questions by claiming operational independence, and note some key bills from a huge week. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

As Parliament stretches into the weekend in a debating marathon, we note four bills being completed and four others just beginning their legislative journey. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

Before Parliament got down into the trenches for urgency, it debated a declaration from the Supreme Court that particular legislation was inconsistent with NZBORA Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Allegations that officials kept ministers and MPs in the dark, and MPs as bad examples. Plus, the Speaker quashes Question Time electioneering. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Immigration officials are under investigation for allegedly misleading a Parliament committee. Are MPs bad role models? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

The House reviews the last estimates scrutiny week for the 54th Parliament Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

The Arts, Culture and Heritage (& broadcasting) scrutiny has a surprising Return on Investment for arts funding, and an interesting take on post-BSA journalism. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

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

After a three-hour long fusillade of sound and fury you might think budget week was over, but that's when the urgency begins. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

From sales pitches to opposition counter-branding, on Budget Day the performance matters nearly as much the numbers. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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

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

Members business this week was dominated by bills from government backbenchers. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In the interplay between Government and Parliament actions spark reactions, like a political version of Newton’s third law of motion. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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