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Democratic guardrails: Is NZ safe from authoritarianism?
Other nations are experiencing the erosion of democratic norms - even authoritarianism. Is our constitution strong enough to withstand it?
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Peter Boshier reflects on nine years as Ombudsman
20 Apr 2025He says the public can rest assured that there is an enduring institution fighting for fairness and accountability.
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The unusual death of the Treaty Principles Bill
11 Apr 2025The Treaty Principles Bill has been brutally defeated in Parliament. We have highlights from key speeches, and explain why its demise is so unusual.
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Verrall and Brown go tit-for-tat in health annual review debate
11 Apr 2025The new Budget is six weeks away, but this week Parliament was still debating spending from the 2023/2024 financial year, in a long-delayed annual review…
The House headlines with summaries.
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A Question Time scavenger hunt
9 Apr 2025Arguments, inferences, imputations, epithets… Many things are banned in Parliament's Question Time. The House goes on a scavenger hunt for them.
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Behind the door at a parliamentary privilege hearing
6 Apr 2025Parliament'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?
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Threats without consequences: Parliament's 'schoolyard stupidity'
2 Apr 2025Gerry Brownlee was a teacher when the cane ruled the classroom. As Parliament's Speaker, he is reluctant to use the punishments options available.
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The parliamentary processes behind the missing submissions story
4 Apr 2025Public submissions potentially ignored and unrecorded were a focus this week. We background how the process usually works and what will happen now.
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Gene Technology Bill: The public have their say
Nearly 25 years after the "corngate" saga, the debate on genetic modification is back thanks to the Gene Technology Bill currently in select committee.
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What kind of Parliament could be in New Zealand's future?
Submitters on a bill about Parliament asked for more MPs, a budget office and changes to Parliament's funding model. Audio
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The House: Urgency gives and urgency takes away
27 Mar 2025Parliament spent much of this week debating bills under urgency. The government can get more done in the House that way, but it also slows down progress in committees.
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The House: Hunker down for a week of urgent plod sprinkled with chaos
25 Mar 2025MPs will spend the week debating bills under urgency. We outline the key legislation proposed. Audio
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Climate change adaptation: Parliament asks the small questions
Parliament's recent inquiry and debate on climate change adaptation asked small questions, looked short-term and inched towards reactive solutions.
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The House: Urgency and fudging budgets
16 Mar 2025This week, Parliament began with a secret bill and ended with a debate on coping with climate change. Between the two the word "growth" bloomed. Audio
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A tough Budget preached in a revivalist tent
13 Mar 2025Parliament has debated its inquiry into the 2025 Budget Policy Statement. The government side was evangelical on growth, but the numbers did not suggest a promised land. Audio
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Parliament brings bail law into line with practice
13 Mar 2025Under urgency, parliament has updated the law on electronically-monitored bail, bringing it into line with actual practice.
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Fictional fiscal cliffs - misinterpreting budgets for political gain
12 Mar 2025The prime minister's much-repeated claim that he "saved school lunches" is nonsense, and relies on us not understanding how budgets actually work. Audio
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Four more years? MPs debate bill to extend parliamentary term
9 Mar 2025The current government is 16 months old. In just another 18 months or so, NZ will once again be at the polling booth. Audio
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MPs prepare to brave the response to congestion charging
6 Mar 2025Parliament kicked off this week with the first reading of a bill trying to improve something everybody hates - sitting in traffic.
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Urgent debate on Bayly resignation: Prosecution and defence
6 Mar 2025Parliament began its week with an urgent debate on an opaque ministerial resignation - in this ersatz trial, theories were plentiful.
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The changing sound of politics: The voices of past PMs
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 from 1912 to 1990. Audio
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A rare glimpse into the intelligence community
This week, MPs and the public got a rare glimpse behind the curtain of New Zealand's spy agencies.
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Justice: It's complicated
20 Feb 2025Most of the issues Parliament deals with are complicated, but few more so than criminal justice. Humans have been tinkering with solutions since the dawn of civilization. We still are.
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The House: MPs' first look at member's bills this year
19 Feb 2025Now the PM's Statement debate is done, MPs get to debate their own non-government bills, with one MP back from sick leave just in time.
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Fighting over growth, forgetting to mention the plan
17 Feb 2025Much of Parliament's time so far this year has been spent on one very long debate, and not about legislation - but a plan for legislation.
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The House: 'Mental health is about lived experience', Minister tells MPs
14 Feb 2025The Health Committee has heard from both the Minister for Mental Health, and from members of the public offering their own lived experience of mental health treatment.
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The House: Are there rules and punishments for MP misbehaviour?
13 Feb 2025David Seymour's recent off-road parliamentary excursion led to a reprimand from the Speaker, who also said the rules didn't apply to this instance. What are the rules?
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The summer of 300,000 submissions
9 Feb 2025A three-year Parliament might deal with 200,000 submissions. Over summer it received 300,000. The House chatted to the person overseeing that. Audio
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