RNZ: The House

Parliament's week is traditionally shaped across three days. That shape is increasingly being squeezed and select committees are being forced into the margins. We consider the factors at play.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Each of New Zealand's 72 electorates is unique, so what's it like to represent the heart of our capital city?Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Are Parliament's colonial underpinnings out of date? A former Speaker says Parliament ought to be a reflection of everyone, but isn't, and the mental shift needed would take collective political will. The House chats with Adrian Rurawhe and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about how Parliament could better reflect Māori tikanga and kawa. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Several significant bills were passed through the House this week, two of them being Opposition bills. Meanwhile, the General Debate proved to be a test of the Speaker's tolerance for accusations of lying. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Mendacity is the bane of good debate. In Parliament both lies and claims of lies used to be naughty, but the floodgates may have opened on the latter.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Members' bills can come from any backbench MP. Usually, successful government bills far outnumber opposition bills – but not this parliament. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week's bills are a mixture of unfinished business from last week and a selection of other bills plucked from the Order Paper, and awaiting their respective next stages. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Last week the Speaker made a series of new rulings and interpretations on the fly in punishing an MP who dared governing party MPs to demonstrate some spine regarding Israel and Gaza. We survey and analyse the incident and aftermath. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week in Parliament, a brouhaha about unparliamentary language, an eviction from the House, and apologies, or rather a lack thereof, stole the spotlight – but what bills went through? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On Wednesday, the Governance and Administration committee were joined by two officials from the Office of the Auditor-General to hear about the long term plans of Local Government. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

National avoided taking a stand on Palestine in Parliament's urgent debate. What can we learn from the Prime Minister's answers on Palestine and Gaza during Question Time?Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

One of Parliament's quiet, powerful committees is opposition-led and cross-partisan. A new law from ACT may undermine that, ceding parliamentary oversight to the Executive. We chat with the leaders of the Regulations Review Committee: Arena Williams and Nancy Lu. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Sunday edition of The House includes one fresh story, and a replay from Thursday. The new story covers the first debate on the bill to change the electoral law – including the requirement to enrol to vote earlier. The replay from Thursday's House looks at Private and Local Bills.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The big laws debated by Parliament get a lot of attention, but others are so small as to be barely noticed. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

After the rare occurrence of a recommittal, the Crown Minerals Bill found itself back in committee where the Opposition tried their best to extract answers from the Minister. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament's Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, is considering a major rewrite of the rules for Question Time, potentially the first major reworking since the 1980s. Specifically the Speaker indicated he may ask the Standing Orders Committee (which proposes changes to Parliament's own rules), to consider balancing the playing field by allowing questioners to contextualise their questions. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week on The House, we chat with a visiting MP from the European Parliament, and hear some of the highlights from Parliament's newest MP, David Wilson Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week Parliament hosted MPs from the EU Parliament in Brussels. We chat with Ireland's Seán Kelly who lead the visiting delegation. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament this week is all-House, with extra debates and an interesting array of topics including space, espionage, and stalking. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The sitting week this week began with a Ministerial Statement from Foreign Minister Winston Peters. The House looks at the subsequent Q and A that followed. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

To mark the launch of the Ministry for Women's Free to Lead campaign, MPs discussed online harm and the safety of public figures in a panel this week at Parliament. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A parliamentary committee tasked with keeping a check on the Executive has heard how the Regulatory Standards Board would duplicate its role, but without its powers.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Albeit a month late, Speaker Gerry Brownlee sat down this week with the Governance and Administration Committee for a chat about Parliament. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament kicked off a three week sitting block today, and the first legislative business was initial debates and votes on three brand new bills. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Last week, MPs were replaced by their younger counterparts during Youth Parliament 2025, and just like real Parliament, there was plenty of drama. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Before laws are finalised, MPs get a last chance to argue for changes. Pav Sharma—whose office manages them—explains the purpose, rules, and process for the many amendments. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament spent most of the week debating legislation under urgency, finalising eight separate government bills, initiating four others. Despite that effort, the week's most telling events may have been its bookends – the international tragedy that opening it, the very local tragedy at its close.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

It was a sad day at Parliament on Thursday, with the news of the sudden death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Before adjourning, The House paid tribute to her in a number of speeches. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament's focus this week is debating numerous bills under urgency. Across recent parliaments the use of urgency and extra sittings has become so regular as to be almost normal. But it remains important to know what laws are being debated and agreed – at whatever speed.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The first item of business at Parliament this week was not Question Time, but a Ministerial Statement on the Middle East situation.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On the Sunday Edition of the House you can hear an interview with Lawrence Xu-Nan about Scrutiny Week and the preparation necessary. You can also listen to a description of a few of the Q&A tactics observed in the scrutiny hearings. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Scrutiny week is partly information-sharing and partly a partisan bear-pit. When Parliament undertakes governance of governments there are always tactics and politics involved. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Foreign Affairs is a portfolio that Winston Peters often receives bi-partisan congratulations on. In an otherwise adversarial scrutiny week, his hearing with the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee had a bastion of amicability and trust.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week at Parliament is Estimates Scrutiny week, when Ministers face Select Committees to defend their budget plans. We talk with Green MP, Lawrence Xu-Nan, a star scrutiny performer from last time round. As a former academic and one of a number of MPs with a PhD, Xu-Nan has the brutal research experience that is surely useful for digging into something as labyrinthine and esoteric as a budget.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

For electorate M Ps, weekends are generally spent in the community meeting constituents. The House popped into a morning tea Q&A hosted by Matt Doocey. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament and the Courts are different branches of our democracy. On Thursday, during the debate on MP punishments they overlapped.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Government had three things on its to-do list for the week. It managed... some of them, including the one that allows its own continued survival. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week the Health Committee heard oral submissions on the Government's Medicines Amendment Bill, which speeds up the approvals process for medication. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament, with an early history saturated in alcohol, has had no in-house bar at all for months. It seems almost no-one even noticed. The new bar, Pint of Order, has now opened and its dinky size may show just how much Parliament has changed.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The House chats with two long serving MPs to get some insight into some of the political strategy behind member's billsGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

After the first few speeches of the Budget Debate, the House knuckled down for a long and jam-packed dose of urgency. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The opening stanzas of a new budget begin in quiet formality, but get loud and political quickly. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details