The House

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 incl...

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 o...

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 B...

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...

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...

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 ever...

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 collect...

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...

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...

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 po...

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 mele...

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...

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 rule...

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, an...

The House looks at two of the major bills this week: one walking back law on Maori wards, and one seeking new ways to show 'tough on gangs'. This week, Parliament is debating a smorgasbord of bills, most of which are on their 2nd and 3rd readings (the third reading being their final approval by Parliament). Expect to see plenty of debate referencing what was said in the select committee (for secon...

The moment the Abuse in Care Report was tabled in Parliament MPs began debating what it means and how to respond. Every week Parliament is a smorgasbord of stories and issues, many of them interesting and most of them impactful, but sometimes one event or issue in the week dwarfs every other. This week that issue was the tabling of, and initial debate over the report of the Royal Commission of Inq...

An adult entertainment activism group who are dancing through Parliament's petition process discuss issues, solutions and the experience of political engagement. Given their broad scope of responsibility, Parliament's Education and Workforce Committee hears submissions from all sorts of individuals and groups. Builders to bus drivers, teachers to travel agents, basically anyone with a job is...

An embarrassing kerfuffle in Parliament's debating chamber on Wednesday provided fun lessons on how the House works; or at least, how it is meant to work. An embarrassing kerfuffle in Parliament's debating chamber on Wednesday provided fun lessons on how the House works; or is meant to. It began with a surprising and unusual period of silence in the House during Wednesday's extra morning...

The House chats with Kieran McAnulty about a recent trip which included visits with the Clerks of the Scottish and Uk Parliaments. Kieran McAnulty, Labour's Shadow Leader of the House, chats with Phil Smith about a recent trip to the UK, where he met with the Clerks of both the Scottish and UK Parliaments. Listen at the link below. The trip's primary objective was an investigation of UK...

Ever wanted a job that combines a very public tight-rope walk with solving fiendish puzzles? Helping The Leader of the House wrangle Parliament's Order Paper is just the thing. On The House we often refer to a government minister titled Leader of the House. Currently that minister is Chris Bishop. In the previous administration it was Chris Hipkins and later Grant Robertson. As you can tell, it&#x...

Lobbyists are often portrayed as political bogeymen (or women). But what do they actually do and how? The House chats with two of them. The term 'lobbyist' derives from the Ayes and Noes lobbies that wrap around Parliament's debating chamber. Historically, they were places insiders could catch the ear of politicians. When the term lobbyist is used in political reporting it is usuall...

There is new research on how Parliament's rules change, and the researcher gets to observe that change very closely - Parlament's Clerk of the House. For any political geek, a new PhD thesis focused on the rules of Parliament is catnip; even more so if the researcher happens to run the Parliament's secretariat. Surely they know where the metaphorical institutional bodies are buried and which...

Parliament tussled through another long week of urgency, and more besides. The House weekend edition has a stormy debate on ferries, five new bills for comment, and submissions on restoring Samoan citizenship rights. Parliament's week began with an urgent (i.e. unplanned) debate into the recent stranding of an Interislander ferry (and the demise of the ferry replacement contract). You can rea...

Parliament had another week of urgency and a new list of bills. Five now need public feedback on things ranging from charter schools, and medicine regulations, to three strikes sentencing. After an urgent debate about the Interislander ferry stranding, and another instalment of argument over the budget, the bulk of Parliament's week was spent under urgency. The urgency motion covered ten bill...

Parliament is hearing submissions on a bill that would create a route to restore NZ citizenship for those Samoans who had that right removed in 1982. While the House spent the week debating under urgency, the Governance and Administration Committee found moments around the extended sittings to hear submissions on a member's bill about Samoan citizenship. The Restoring Citizenship Removed By C...