An adult entertainment activism group who are dancing through Parliament's petition process discuss issues, solutions and the experience of political engagement.

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.

The House chats with Kieran McAnulty about a recent trip which included visits with the Clerks of the Scottish and Uk Parliaments.

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. 

Lobbyists are often portrayed as political bogeymen (or women). But what do they actually do and how? The House chats with two of them.

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.

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 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. 

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.

Parliament’s urgent debate on the recent ferry grounding was a rollicking ride, and you might say the Speaker was to blame.

The House covers the beginning of Scrutiny Week - when Parliament makes the Government really work to get its budget approved.

Despite Parliament having supremacy, governments often play the boss. This week the tables will turn as ministers face up to backbenchers for Parliament's first Scrutiny Week.

Parliament has a long-held reputation for bad bosses and even worse behaviour. One solution is a new independent role to hear complaints.

Budget Day in photos: Facts, attacks, stories, protests, pantomime and proclamations.

After the Budget Debate begins, it's usual to go into urgency to progress some government bills quickly through the House, or as is the case so far this year - not so quickly.

Once the Budget Statement is delivered, what happens next? The House looks beyond the initial announcement to the three different processes that follow it, sometimes concurrently.

Like the calm before a storm, Wednesday evening at Parliament was not about the budget. It was a Members' Day including a bill on cellar door tastings. We sip it with its sponsor Stuart Smith.

It's budget week at Parliament, but Thursday's announcement is just the beginning of a long process of the Government convincing Parliament to fund its ideas.

Parliament begins its election inquiry with a double-header and finds that blame is something of a boomerang.

The Justice Committee has begun its inquiry into last year's election. It got some pretty solid and very polite suggestions right up front.

Changes to tenancy laws and the removal of Treaty obligations from Oranga Tamariki - two proposed new laws ask for public feedback.

Parliament has been hearing submissions on the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. The House outlines the Bill and a variety of submissions.

We talk with the Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, about Question Time, MP porkies, and stepping above the fray after 27 years or partisan politics, to instead become 'Parliament's man'. 

Before each budget comes a political vanguard of announcements and trailers. Parliament has its own, less political signs that a budget is about to arrive.

The Annual Review Debate allows Parliament to grill government ministers on performance in their areas, unless someone runs out of time first. They did.

Members of the public give some last-minute advice to the Government about its budget plans, via committee hearings into the Budget Policy Statement.

In the lead-up to the Budget, Parliament goes over the head of the Government, asking the Governor General to add in some cash for Parliament's three watch-dogs.

James Shaw's valedictory statement included thanks, humour, yarns, surprising allies, warnings and advice for MPs on avoiding the endless policy tug-of-war.

This week Parliament hosted both American and Ukrainian delegations. We chat with Galyna Mykhailiuk, who lead the visiting Ukrainian MPs.

MPs listen to hundreds of Select Committee submissions. But occasionally, like Camilla Belich today, they get to sit on the other side of the table themselves.

The Annual Review Debate begins this week, when Parliament quizzes ministers about past performance. Kieran McAnulty explains...

Over the last six years, parliament’s clerks have had to vet about 40,000 written questions each year. So how are written questions used and what are the democratic benefits?

MPs have some of the highest pressure jobs in New Zealand, and the stressors aren’t always what you might think. So does anyone help them carry the load, and how do they personally cope?

It was a sitting block of just one week but it had its share of surprises, routine stuff and signs of a changing culture around scrutiny at committee level. 

Members Day this week had it all: surprise votes, big and niche issues, success and failure. A bill from a retiring MP led to an environmental rights debate which included gaping philosophical divides and a parting shot.

The work of the Auditor-General’s office features often in this week’s select committee hearings at Parliament, and for good reason.

The Speaker has begun steering ministerial answers away from outright attacks on the previous government, and towards answers. The road to positivity for new governments is long and difficult.

Petitions to Parliament don't always result in a change to law or policy as intended, but they can be an effective way of the public getting a message to those in power. 

As he departs from Parliament, Grant Roberson outlines the skills and requirements for being a successful MP, and what he would replace Question Time with.

A look at the tactics of primary questions during Question Time, with help from Grant Robertson, Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee.

The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament.

This week’s sitting of Parliament began with two finance bills that have deadlines attached.

This weekly edition looks at thresholds: regarding what gets the nod for Urgent Debates, and also what it's like being a List MP on the cusp of Parliament.

The Health Select Committee has been digesting the Auditor-General’s report on how well public organisations are working to meet the mental health needs of young people.

Urgent Debates are granted or denied by Speakers. Most are denied. This week a Speaker's ruling moved the goal posts for that allowance, a lot.

Due to vagaries of the MMP system, some list MPs must endure a period of waiting and uncertainty before they can enter Parliament.

A big new wooden superstructure is about to be built out the back of Parliament House, and is planned to be ready to fit dozens of MPs by the next election.

New goverment, new parliament, new Leader of the House. Chris Bishop is now the Minister responsible for shepherding the Government's legislative agenda. He explains how.

A rare four-week sitting block at Parliament has wound up, with the Government’s programme of moving legislation through under urgency used throughout.

Taming Question Time is not easy but this week the Speaker has attempted to reign in the use of Points of Order to make out of order points.

Due to the increasing demands on the work of the Office of the Clerk in an environment of funding constraints, the efficiency of some key Parliament functions could suffer.

The new Parliament has spent most of its existence under urgency. What is that, and why use it? 

The new Parliament has spent much of its time so far, debating under urgency. What is that, and why has it?

This morning’s debates in the chamber provided multiple examples of how difficult it can be as a presiding officer when contentious bills are going through under urgency.

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee has been holding its annual review of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Fa’anānā Efeso Collins has been fondly remembered and much praised by his colleagues. Here is his own message; the maiden speech he gave a week ago.

Parliament has paused out of respect for the Green Party MP Efeso Collins who died unexpectedly in Auckland this morning.

Wise MPs apologise hard and early, but Casey Costello's correction may be late. The Speaker appears to have revealed he is considering a complaint over a matter of privilege.

This weekly wrap of The House looks at the repeal of major water reforms passed in the last Parliament term, and a Select Committee hearing on news media's existential crisis.

A select committee is considering views on a bill that seeks a more level playing field in the digital market that our media industry operates in, where tech giants dominate.

The Water Services Acts Repeal Bill has passed through all stages while Parliament went into urgency.

An unusually long sitting block begins today at Parliament, beginning with another repeal of law passed by the previous government.

Parliament's Clerk has just published a new edition of Parliament's own bible, a vast and fascinating compendium of our democracy - Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand.

Live-streaming of public select committee hearings is now being hosted on Parliament’s own website instead of on Facebook.

Being a government minister is harder than it looks. Parliament is a tough master of its governments. This week a clutch of ministers made mea culpas, and one is learning fast just how hard it can be.

The first piece of legislation Parliament is looking at in 2024 disestablishes a Crown entity that MPs all agreed has been doing great work. But they don't all agree that it should go.

Leader of the House, Chris Bishop, outlines the week to come in Parliament. A week with 19 maidens and just two bills. 

The House offers a selection of some of the highs and lows, and behind the scenes chats, from a year of great change at Parliament.

When governments change, the new bunch typically want to quickly make a mark. The first weeks have been long weeks, all about marking fast marks.

There’s a look in the eyes of many people who work on precinct that tells you they just want this parliamentary year to finish already, but it’s not quite done yet.

The Speaker's role and approach are crucial to Parliament's good functioning. Gerry Brownlee has outlined to MPs what approach he will take in enforcing Parliament's rules regarding Question Time.

It's early in the 54th Parliament and things are dynamic, with many MPs either still finding their feet or feeling out the others to see how they roll.

The latest from the House

Parliament’s in urgency in this hectic, penultimate week before Christmas, and most MPs are undergoing a kind of crash course of learning and adjustment.

Parliament is discovering how the Speaker will interpret its rules. Today's contention was can he force good answers from ministers, or indeed, any answers.

A new Parliament, a new Prime Minister, a new Speaker. There was a lot going on at Parliament in the first week of its 54th incarnation.

Parliament pushed back it's business on Thursday to begin with an hour of debate over how far to go in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Parliament business got underway after the State Opening of the 54th Parliament, a ceremony of pomp and pageantry culminating in the Speech from the Throne.

The new Speaker Gerry Brownlee has offered a heads-up about how he'll run Parliament, with Standing Orders to be a mere guide rather than a strict line to follow.

The final thing Parliament did before adjourning was agree rules changes for the next Parliament. We discuss them with senior clerks David Wilson and Gabor Hellyer.

Before Parliament adjourned it agreed new rules for next time. In discussing them MPs gave glimpses into the rules they would like to change and the Parliament they wished existed.

MPs have been debating whether to lower the voting age for local council elections to 16 years of age from the current age of 18.

The last sitting week of the 53rd Parliament has a fairly packed schedule of government business, plus debate on the Standing Orders Committee's regular report, and the Adjournment Debate.

If there’s one group who we don’t hear enough about, it’s the photographers who cover Parliament. A new exhibition is casting light on five of these practitioners. We talk to two of them.

Among a long week. of debates at Parliament, MPs still found the time for farewell speeches from departing colleagues. Todd Muller's stood out and while uncomfortable for his colleagues, it is worth noting.

As more valedictory speeches were heard in Parliament’s chamber, a warning was sounded from a departing MP about race baiting and dog whistling to extremism.

It is the second to last sitting week for Parliament but there is still a mountain of bills to get finalised before the MPs wearily trudge home.

The Labour MP for Māngere, Aupito William Sio is leaving Parliament after a sixteen year-stint which encompassed nine years in Opposition bookended by spells in Government.

Parliament has just days left before it ends for the election. The closer dissolution gets, the harder the MPs are pushing to fit everything in - almost like they're cramming four years of legislating into three years.

Valedictory speech season has begun, and if there’s a common theme cropping up already, it’s a plea for a less toxic style of politics in Parliament.

This week is the first of the last three weeks in the 53rd Parliament, a busy time as the Government still has a lot that it wants to finish before the House rises.

The majority of all female elected representatives across the Pacific Islands region visited Wellington for a development event, showcasing the merits of soft diplomacy, Parliament-style.

This week MPs had a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19 Secondary Legislation. 

A new Member's Bill looks to fix a 40-year-old outcome of the anti-Pacific racism of the Dawn Raids era, restoring the right to New Zealand citizenship for a generation of Samoan people.

The Intelligence and Security Committee has received a briefing on long-term national security threats which has incorporated a public survey and public consultation which found New Zealanders perceive threats to national security are increasing.

We're reminded of the important role of the Regulations Review Committee as Parliament this week holds a special debate about the committee's report on Covid-19 regulations.

Todd Muller is leaving Parliament. Known for a brief stint as Opposition leader, he also won plaudits for his bipartisanship and advocating for awareness about mental health.

Visitors entering the main entrance to Parliament can finally notice some visual signs of Māori culture and physical recognition of mana whenua.

This week the Government added a morning sitting of the House to ‘get stuck into’ completing debate on RMA reform. The Opposition just aimed for ‘stuck’.

As MPs count down to the election Parliament’s mood changes. The Opposition’s House leader Michael Woodhouse predicts “more anger, frivolity, perhaps less discipline”. “Perhaps” seems generous.

Five New Zealand MPs from across the political spectrum are visiting Samoa to build relationships within the country - and among themselves.

During a briefer than usual urgent sitting in Parliament this week, multiple bills were progressed through multiple stages each in what would normally take a couple of sitting weeks of debate.

When MPs screw up the consequences can be public and brutal. But sometimes that response has solid reasons which safeguard our system of responsible government.

Parliament has just six weeks left before it breaks for the election. There is still a lot yet to do, and to slow that down, one or two matters of privilege. 

As an MP Sir Geoffrey Palmer had a huge impact on the interlocking shapes of government and parliament. The great reformer is still brimming with ideas for improvement.

Something of a throwback to when most National MPs staunchly represented farming interests, Ian McKelvie is however ending his career as an MP not defined by the tribal lines of party politics. 

This week, RNZ’s Parliament show, The House, focused on the processes and outcomes of Parliament’s Select Committees. The Sunday show is a collation of this content.

The Therapeutic Products Bill is one of those pieces of legislation that requires a fair bit of panel-beating in a select committee, and even then not everyone's happy with its shape. 

When things threaten to go awry it can help us learn how they work. So, how do Select Committees decide to amend bills, who helps them; and how do they track amendments and communicate with the legal drafters?

An Imprest Supply Bill is Parliament’s way of saying to the government 'yes you can have that money, but also if you find you need to use more money on it, you don't need to come back and ask again'.

Parliament has hit the time of year it turns into a combination of Glastonbury and the Inquisition - the multi-pronged miniterial grilling called Estimates Hearings.

The ACT Party has this month latched on to a Question Time tactic of using consecutive supplementary questions on a repetitive theme as a pile-on against the government.

Legislation tackling a power imbalance in the grocery industry is among several bills that wound their way through the committee stage in Parliament this week.

Among Parliament's key bills this week is one to update emergency management relationships and one to protect your bank deposits because mattresses have better uses. Grant Robertson picks his bills to watch.

Jan Logie admits she had “zero faith in our political system” before entering Parliament, but remains hopeful of what can be achieved here, as she prepares to retire as MP.

As she prepares to retire after 18 years in Parliament, National's Jacqui Dean has a refreshing knack for straight talk, and doesn’t mince her words about the work of an MP.

In the first in a series of exit interviews with retiring MPs, The House sits down with Green MP Jan Logie and National’s Jacqui Dean to reflect on their time at Parliament.

For any of Parliament’s speakers, the daily Question Time is a tricky horse to manage, let alone tame. Every Speaker brings a different approach, the current Speaker is trying riding with no reins at all.

MPs have been making laws to enable access to alcohol at race meetings on race days and during those early hours at pubs when rugby's World Cup is broadcast from France.

As the election nears, Question Time transforms into a forum for party political messaging. It’s not the ideal format for messaging and it doesn’t always go well. 

A testy exchange in the foreign affairs select committee this week served as a reminder that Parliament’s committees decide for themselves who they should be briefed by and how often.

Parliament's justice committee has been hearing experts on youth justice, the age of criminal responsibility, and better outcomes from alternative approaches to justice.

MPs passed two bills about number twos this week – one regulating freedom camping toilets, and another creating a role to assist family court judges.

The Shadow Leader of the House, Michael Woodhouse, talks us through how questions are allocated and who gets to ask them on Question Time.

Efforts are underway to make Parliament more accessible for people who live with disability, after a new position of Senior Accessibility Advisor was established.

This week was Budget week at Parliament, but instead of boring you with numbers, The House dives into limitations of party leaders' responses in the Budget Debate and what got done under urgency.

Budget day is all about the Minister of Finance’s big reveal. But spare a thought for other party leaders who must prepare speeches opposing something they haven't read yet.

It’s the norm following the delivery of the Budget for the House to go into urgency, when government moves through legislation directly related to the Budget and some other stuff too.

A member’s bill freshly picked from the biscuit tin is like a rough diamond waiting to be shaped, according to the MP behind the latest member’s bill on the order paper.

The Minister of Finance talks us through the ceremonial nature of the delivery of the Budget in Parliament.

Parliament changed a long-standing rule this week and will now leave the counting of votes to the experts. It turns out MPs just aren’t that good at counting.

Because a private bill addresses a specific matter particular to just one person it offers a more mellow and reflective style of parliament debate.

The latest from the House

MPs voted today to congratulate Charles III on his coronation. But while noting the heir, thoughts of an alternative Head of State are not far away. Is it not just inevitable but timely? National’s Michael Woodhouse on the Monarchy.

Backbench MPs sometimes quietly engage in international diplomacy. One relatively junior MP recently faced off against Russia on behalf of not just NZ, but also Canada, Australia and all of Europe.

A rare series of square-offs between Opposition Leader Chris Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni in her capacity as Acting Prime Minister became repetitive.

Parliament’s Health Select Committee has heard from people petitioning for Tourette Syndrome to be recognised by the Ministry of Health as a disability in its own right in this country.

Budgets are wrapped up in a combination of mystery and tradition. The portents of the Budget to come have begun already and will only increase as it nears.

MPs have joined Parliament's Speaker in visiting regional New Zealand for five years, but for the first time a Speaker's outreach has gone all-in on Te Reo Māori at an immersion Kura.

Their work is usually unpaid and sometimes overlooked, but activists play an important long-term role in the parliament system. Four veterans open up on their experiences at parliament.

Rachel Hayward has two overlapping jobs, ‘organising’ both Cabinet and the Executive Council. Those twin roles are an also a great insight into how government works at the very highest level.

Prime Minister’s farewell speeches are rare events. We have photos, video and the full transcript of Jacinda Ardern’s valedictory address.

Legislation on alcohol went to a conscience vote this week, and the result was a reminder how some parties still tend to vote as a group on such issues.

In a busy week of Parliament one of the most crucial things MPs did may have got the least attention. Financial scrutiny is seldom exciting but it is important.

Parliament's week includes a mix of debate on a key police scrutiny role, annual reviews and two bills about booze, as well as the farewell speech from a familiar face.

Despite a week of distractions MPs were working. Hard. Ten bills were finished, and eight brand new bills began their lives, ready for the remaining weeks of this parliamentary term.   

Parliament spent extra hours this week churning through quite a long list of proposed legislation, with ten bills completing their third and final readings.

Question Time gets all the media attention, but it is only the tip of the scrutiny-iceberg. The action is below the waterline - in committee, where most of Parliament’s scrutiny of Government happens.

Parliament can grant powers to certain authorities to make new rules without having to go through the normal lengthy legislative process.

An increased appetite to learn Te reo Māori among different parts of the Parliament system means the work of the Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever.

Parliament has a charming tendency to gift people with very odd job titles, like Shadow Leader of the House. Michael Woodhouse outlines what the job entails (and it's neither shade nor homes).

This week MPs discussed Stuart Nash’s loss of a ministerial warrant for an hour. It may have looked like a political pile-on, but in reality it was Parliament doing exactly what it is designed for – scrutiny of the Executive. 

Response to recent climate disasters was the focus as the National Emergency Management Agency appeared before the Governance and Administration Committee for its annual review.

Parliament this week may agree to act speedily on a cyclone response bill, rather than invoke urgency. Doing so will allow some select committee time on the issue, and even a Member's Day.

This week’s weekend feature story for The House compiles highlights from through Parliament’s sitting week.

It’s a common occurrence in the House for opposition MPs to ask to “seek leave to table a document”, but have you wondered what this really means?

Maiden Statements are usually the public’s first and sometimes best chance to learn about an MP's motivations and politics, and new Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka's was no exception.

In Parliament this week there are three things happening that have nothing to do with passing legislation. Leader of the House Grant Robertson explains them to the House.

The House takes a look at how the backgrounds of three MPs informs the way they speak in Parliament.

After years of trimming budgets and doing things on-the-cheap to make ends meet Parliament’s secretariat has hit the budget wall and plans to end radio broadcasts. It’s a symptom of MP's fear of funding democracy properly.

Legislation has been passed under urgency to ensure all people returning to the country after being in prison systems abroad continue to come under parole-like oversight and support back in New Zealand

The use of entrenchment in law-making in this country has had a sound grilling at the Standing Orders Committee which is conducting its ongoing regular review of Parliament’s rules.

Today the debating chamber launched into action as it does most years - but this year was all about the weather and the climate.

After a week of business in the House was lost due to Cyclone Gabrielle, Parliament’s sitting year properly gets underway today with Debate on the Prime Minister’s Statement.

After a two-month break, Parliament resumed only to soon adjourn for the week as Cyclone Gabrielle complicated plans for the first sitting week in 2023.