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The House headlines with summaries.
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Legislative year begins with ending Productivity Commission
31 Jan 2024The 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.
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New Year, newish Parliament, new MPs
30 Jan 2024Leader of the House, Chris Bishop, outlines the week to come in Parliament. A week with 19 maidens and just two bills.
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Parliament 2023, year of the shake-up
24 Dec 2023The House offers a selection of some of the highs and lows, and behind the scenes chats, from a year of great change at Parliament.
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Quick bills, long weeks at Parliament
21 Dec 2023When governments change, the new bunch typically want to quickly make a mark. The first weeks have been long weeks, all about marking fast marks.
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Digging in: Parliament's grind towards year's end
20 Dec 2023There’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.
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Parliament's Speaker has outlined his approach to Question Time
19 Dec 2023The 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.
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Early stanzas: getting a feel for the new Parliament
17 Dec 2023It'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.
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Crash learning: MPs adjust to new roles
13 Dec 2023Parliament’s in urgency in this hectic, penultimate week before Christmas, and most MPs are undergoing a kind of crash course of learning and adjustment.
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Question Time answers become optional
12 Dec 2023Parliament is discovering how the Speaker will interpret its rules. Today's contention was can he force good answers from ministers, or indeed, any answers.
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Older and more farmers: The 54th Parliament by the numbers
11 Dec 2023The number of Members of Parliament who come from farming backgrounds has risen markedly, while the average age of MPs has bumped up to near 50.
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Parliament: A change of ends and a new referee
10 Dec 2023A 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.
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Parliament’s first choice of debate topic is Gaza
7 Dec 2023Parliament 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.
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Pomp and ceremony gets Parliament underway
6 Dec 2023Parliament business got underway after the State Opening of the 54th Parliament, a ceremony of pomp and pageantry culminating in the Speech from the Throne.
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Swearing like a Parliament : Photo Essay
6 Dec 2023Before MPs can fight they must first swear. Swearing is the main business of Parliament's first day, other than choosing themselves a judge and protector - the Speaker.
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Parliament's new Speaker hints at free flow style
5 Dec 2023The 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.
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What to Expect when you’re Expecting a Parliament
3 Dec 2023With a government now formed the 54th Parliament can finally get underway. Twice. Here’s how that happens.
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Photo Essay: A three groom political wedding
25 Nov 2023Photos and action from the official signing of the coalition deal between National, ACT and New Zealand First.
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New Parliament, new rules
3 Sep 2023The 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.
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The rule untravelled: changes MPs wanted but didn’t get
1 Sep 2023Before 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.
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Parliament tightens procedures around entrenchment of laws
31 Aug 2023Under new rules for Parliament, any future proposed entrenchment of a law must first be considered by a select committee before being considered by all MPs.
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Voting age for local council elections debated
30 Aug 2023MPs have been debating whether to lower the voting age for local council elections to 16 years of age from the current age of 18.
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First, dissolve your Parliament
29 Aug 2023Before you can hold an election, a little polite brutality is required. First you must dissolve the current Parliament. No-one wants two parliaments at once do they?
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A week to wrap up Parliament
29 Aug 2023The 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.
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Beyond the tiles, the work of photographers at Parliament
27 Aug 2023If 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.
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