The House

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

Some debates at Parliament are a bit monochromatic, but not many. In most policy areas the best descriptor is 'it’s complicated'. The problem will be complicated, any worthwhile solutions, complicated; the politics lying between the problem and a solution... complicated. And few things are more complicated than a topic debated this week – criminal justice sentencing. Go to this episode on rnz.co.n...

Marama Davidson, after time off for cancer treatment, is back at Parliament and is already busy with her members bill that would require manufacturers to make repair parts and information available to consumers. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This Sunday edition of The House includes Tuesday's story about rules on MP misbehaviour (but with extra material – including one rule that seems to very specifically apply), and Thursday's story looking at the now completed debate on the Prime Ministers Statement – which boiled down to being a 13-hour long debate over growth. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

So far this year, Parliament has been dominated by one very long debate on whether the House approves of the Prime Minister's speech outlining his plan for the year. We look at some of its themes and rhetorical stylings. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On Wednesday this week, the Health Committee heard from both the Mental Health Minister and members of the public who offered their lived experience of mental health treatment. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On Monday David Seymour mounted Parliament's lower front steps in a vehicle. The Speaker was not impressed. So what are the rules and who can punish an MP or Minister? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament may have been on summer break, but its website was anything but quiet. The House chatted to the person overseeing an unprecedented number of submissions. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week Parliament did something important and unusual, giving the Taranaki Maunga legal personhood. This episode has audio from the third reading of Taranaki's collective redress bill. For a look at the Bill itself, particularly the history, acknowledgments and apologies within it, read this article. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

After a series of speeches acknowledging several notable deaths that occurred over the Summer, Parliament kicked off 2025 by doing what it does best - arguing. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Before the normal political welcome, MPs spent time farewelling the fallen, particularly Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming and Dame Tariana Turia. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament's adjournment debate is a showcase of vitriol leavened with humour. It is likely the most chaotic, unfocussed, haphazard, and sometimes incoherent political event of the year. We have the lowlights. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details