The House

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.Parliament is about to expand, and it's not the number of MPs potentially rising - although that is something that the plan to expand is taking into account. A big new wooden superstructure is about to be built out the back of the Parliament precinct, and it is projected to be ready to fit dozens of MPs by the 2026 election. The building's completion will also mean various Parliament staff who have been working elsewhere around the Wellington CBD can finally come back to the precinct.For a few years now, some backbench MPs' offices have been stashed away in virtual cupboards in the attic of the Parliament Library. Such is the lack of room in the main Parliament Building that MPs have had to be accommodated here and there in temporary offices across the complex like a motley jenga construction. It's an inefficient layout, but change is coming.'Siberia'Groundworks have just been completed for what will be the first significant new building on the Parliament precinct since 1977 when the Beehive got up and running.Built to "environmentally conscious design", using New Zealand materials and recycled materials to reduce construction waste, the six-storey wooden building will be located around the back of Parliament House on Museum Street, the little road that juts off Bowen Street at the intersection with The Terrace and runs behind the Beehive.A little over a quarter of MPs, or around 30, will be accommodated in the building, according to Dave Wills, the manager of the Buildings Project Management Office at Parliament, who spoke to The House about the Future Accommodation Strategy project.The new building for MPs will stand in what was until recently the rear carpark of Parliament. Wills noted that this carpark space has had many buildings on it over the years, including less than glamorous offices that earned this particular part of the precinct the 'Siberia' tag."It was referred to by one of our past Prime Ministers as 'Siberia', out the back there. It was a location for backbenchers at the time. And the new building will very much be focused on backbenchers and the parties that support them as well."The project, which is to be funded under a $257.5 million budget appropriation, also encompasses a new security building, also to be constructed out the back on the carpark space, where it meets Balantrae Place…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Hutt South MP Chris Bishop is now the National Party's third ranking minister and Leader of the House. Before becoming an MP he was a humble political advisor in the ministerial office of Gerry Brownlee.At that time, among other roles, Brownlee was Leader of the House. Bishop's job was to help manage that. What 'that' is we'll get to in a moment. It's "a nice bit of symmetry", Bishop says. He's not alone in that symmetry."Interestingly, Chris Hipkins used to do the same job for Michael Cullen, I believe; and then he became Leader of the House under the last Labour Government." Now, of course, Bishop in turn has a smart young staffer who helps him carry out the role. "I've got great staff in my office. So, very lucky."Before we get further into this article it might help to provide some context on that Leader of the House role. New Zealand's cascade of powerWho really runs New Zealand can be confusing, so here's a quick run down through the big-wigs. (Feel free to rewrite the below to be sung to "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly".)The person who holds the ultimate power in New Zealand is the King, His stand-in on the ground is the Governor General.The group that wields that power (on behalf of the King), is the House of Representatives. (We'll call it parliament for ease, but strictly speaking Parliament includes the King.) Parliament's 'boss' is the Speaker (who actually outranks the Prime Minister).The leader of the group that holds sway in Parliament is the Prime Minister. The smaller gang who, with the Prime Minister, decide how to exercise their group's dominance in Parliament, is the Cabinet. And, finally, the person in charge of turning those decisions and that dominance into law is the Leader of the House. My apologies to any exacting constitutionalists. A terrible name, a potent jobAs a ministerial title, Leader of the House is a terrible, confusing name. The 'House' part of the title is the House of Representatives (Parliament's House, i.e. the legislature), but the Leader of the House does not lead the House. A more accurate but tedious title might be Legislative Oversight and Liaison. Or, from Parliament's point of view, 'the annoying person who keeps bringing us extra work'…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A rare four-week sitting block at Parliament has wound up, with the Government's programme of moving legislation through under urgency used throughout.Today MPs finished the last week of a rare four-week sitting block at Parliament, during which the government's programme of moving legislation through under urgency continued at breakneck pace.Here's a little summary of what went down this week:The Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill was read a first time. The previous government sought to encourage the adoption of electric cars by exempting them from Road User Charges (usually paid by vehicles that don't use petrol and the inherent excise). This bill removes that exemption from fully electric cars and PHEVs (plug-in hybrids). PHEVs will end up paying the excise on their petrol and then also a Road User Charge. Transport Minister Simeon Brown said it was only fair that light electric vehicle owners also pay their fair share for using roads.Also in the transport space, the remaining stages of the Land Transport Management (Repeal of Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill were passed, removing the 11.5 cent per litre Auckland regional fuel tax imposed by the previous government. The Greens' Julie-Anne Genter was a frequent speaker throughout, warning that without more investment in public transport, the Bill would create more road congestion.MPs turned to the first reading and referral to select committee of the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill under the name of Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee who said the Bill would help public safety by giving police greater search powers to enforce prohibition orders upon gangs. Green MP Tamatha Paul however said the Bill would disproportionately add to the workload of police and was a misguided attempt to curb gang behaviour.Earlier, the Business Payment Practices Act Repeal Bill passed through all stages, repealing legislation that was due to come into effect this year requiring businesses to disclose the time they take to pay invoices. ACT's Laura Trask spoke in support of the repealing bill, saying the main reason for urgency without repealing it the former legislation means that "3,000-plus businesses would have to upgrade their technology and then the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment would have to spend an enormous amount of money to get the system up and ready to go"…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.MPs' jobs are tough. But probably the toughest regular hour for any MP is presiding over all the other MPs during a rambunctious Question Time. It's akin to a relieving teacher managing a class of manic, grandstanding, fourth-formers on a wet, windy Friday afternoon when everyone just wants to be somewhere else. Gerry Brownlee has been settling into the role of Speaker of Parliament and finding his rhythm. Every Speaker's approach is different and Brownlee tends towards hands-off, often commenting after questions and answers play out, rather than intervening. Brownlee does however intervene once a dodgy question becomes a dodgy tactic. This week that was patsy questions from the Government side, plainly arranged as opportunities to attack the opposition (a no-no).A New RulingThe week began with the Speaker making a rare set-piece ruling, attempting to reign in another bugbear, the use of Points of Order to make out-of-order points. "Members-this may be helpful for the member-a number of members have raised with me the issue of too frequent a use of the point of order process to raise trivial points of order. In future, when a member raises a point of order, I expect them to indicate the rule or practice of the House that they think has been breached. Raising a point of order without doing so will be considered disorderly. Of course, members may continue to use points of order to draw my attention to their wish to exercise a right given by Standing Orders, such as to seek leave, to make a personal explanation, or to move a motion."Points of Order serve many purposes, but most often draw the Speaker's attention to a possible breach of the rules. They are an essential part of the mechanism, but are often misused and can get petty, irrelevant, disruptive, or can forget to mention the rule at issue.Doffing kid glovesAs the Speaker intimated there have been complaints. In the House those complaints have particularly been about the Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters. He has a reputation for using a pointed point of order to make a sharp point. In this Parliament that reputation hasn't been much added to. Interpolations from Peters into the flow of debate have been frequent, but less pointed and (as MPs have noted), more often 'out of order' than 'point of order'. Last week the Speaker acknowledged the House wanted him to doff his kid gloves. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.A select committee has heard that 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 bodies that run Parliament have effectively been crying poor for years, but are without a minister in cabinet to argue their case. However their message was clear to Parliament's Governance & Administration Select Committee last night as they discussed the Annual Review of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Annual Review of the Parliamentary Service.The Clerk of the House, David Wilson appeared before the committee alongside the Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero and Parliament's Speaker, Gerry Brownlee. The staff in the politically-neutral Office of the Clerk perform a range of functions critical to the Parliament system, including facilitating the operations of the House and select committees, providing specialist advice on legislation, and producing Hansard. However cost pressures on the Office are rising. What's more, the Office falls within the Government's wide gamut of government organisations anticipating indicative spending cuts.StretchedAs a result of recommendations following the regular Standing Orders Review in the last Parliamentary term, new mechanisms for applying scrutiny to the Executive have been introduced for this term, such as mandatory scrutiny weeks, as well as scrutiny plans and review briefings.This creates an even larger workload for the Office of the Clerk. One of the committee's members, National's Cameron Brewer, asked Wilson how it would affect the Office of the Clerk's budget."It does make it challenging. And there was a range of other changes to Parliamentary Process suggested at the last review of Standing Orders where we just had to say to the Committee we couldn't afford to support those," Wilson admitted."These ones, the most significant changes made, yeah they do stretch the Office of the Clerk's resources. We'll be alright for this financial year, but it remains to be seen for future ones. We're really in a position where we can't take on additional functions, unless they come with funding." National MP Cameron Brewer in Parliament's Governance & Administration select committee, 4 March 2024…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The new Parliament has spent most of its existence under urgency. What is that, and why use it? New Zealand's 54th Parliament first met in December last year. Since its first (largely ceremonial) opening week Parliament has sat on 16 days. On 11 of those days 'urgency' has replaced the usual rules. The five days when urgency wasn't accorded included four Thursdays (which are short days), and one Members' Wednesday. There has been time for just one full Members' Day so far in seven weeks (plus a couple of hours on a Thursday). Members' Days (when non-government bills get debated), usually happen every other week.'Railroading the House'If you've been following Parliament you will have noticed that opposition MPs are getting increasingly tetchy about just how much urgency is being used, and for what. James Shaw on Thursday last week argued that urgency had been used so overwhelmingly that its use needed to be debated in the House."By my count, the Government has put 16 bills through urgency and one item of Government business not through urgency. So recognising your point about the accumulation, there has to be a point at which we're able to debate whether it's appropriate for a ratio of 16 urgent items to one to go through the House, because the Government has the majority and is essentially railroading the House. We're at the point now where they can't argue that just because there was an election means that they can overturn parliamentary democracy."James Shaw's count may well be better than mine. My count is 14 bills passed in 7 weeks using urgency. Most of them passed under urgency through all stages and the rest under urgency except for the third reading. None of those bills have been sent to select committee.That amount of urgency is not normal. By comparison - in a study from Victoria University of Wellington of 24 years of New Zealand's parliament (from 1987 until 2010), the average number of bills passed through all stages under urgency was 10. That's 10 per Parliament! So we've roughly hit that average in seven weeks with more than 90 percent of the Parliament yet to go. James Shaw in the House. Urgency is not a sin Urgency isn't always bad. It is not some cosmic sin. It is there as an option in Parliament's rules because there are frequently good reasons for it. Like fixing mistakes in legislation.It is not unusual for Parliament to quickly pass a bill to fix a newly found flaw in recently passed law. Ironically those mistakes do seem more likely to result from legislation passed under urgency…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The new Parliament has spent much of its time so far, debating under urgency. What is that, and why has it?The 54th Parliament isn't quite three months old yet, but has already employed unusual levels of parliamentary urgency. On The House we look at what that means, as well as both practical and tactical reasons a government might opt to speed things up.The audio from this edition of The House is available via the link below. The written article for this story will be published with the Sunday edition of the House. Winston Peters listens to the ACT leader David Seymour speak at their coalition announcement. Since it roared into gear, the new Parliament has offered few opportunities for anyone to get bored.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.This morning's action in the chamber provided multiple examples of how difficult it can be as a presiding officer when contentious bills are going through Parliament under urgency.One of the big challenges is refereeing debate when it gets fiery, particularly among Opposition MPs who are frustrated and angry that laws they passed are being systematically dismantled. This has become a recurring theme in the months since the 54th Parliament began, during which time there has been an unusually frequent use of urgency.People watching on Parliament TV today may have noticed perhaps the most fiery speech ever given by Labour leader Chris Hipkins while he was debating the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill. Pointing to evidence that the coalition government's move to liberalise tobacco laws will be deadly and costly, he clashed with Assistant Speaker Maureen Pugh who said "do not bring the Speaker into your debate, and do not disrespect the Chair". Hipkins denied he had brought the Speaker into it, and then claimed she'd interrupted his flow in order to do the bidding of the government, who he was also fingering during his speech for doing the bidding of the tobacco industry. He withdrew and apologised before continuing his speech.Another reason why it's been getting testy for those in the Speaker's chair is because in many cases, these bills are being rushed through all stages without the opportunity for public consultation. So Opposition MPs are naturally eager during the Committee of the Whole House stage of the Bill to ask detailed questions while conveying their concerns with the legislation. It's incumbent on the presiding officer to keep the debate on topic, and this is what Deputy Speaker Barbara Kuriger attempted this morning during the committee stage of the Pae Ora (Disestablishment of the Maori health Authority) Bill. Some MPs were unhappy with Health Minister Shane Reti's answers to their questions on the Pea Ora legislation. Kuriger, finding their questions to be repetitive, sought to offer some direction to MPs by advising that she was "looking for very new questions, not speeches of dissatisfaction" in the Bill. This brought her into an exchange with Green MP Ricardo Menendez-March who asked her to "reflect on why you would come into the Chair to make a reflection and then only allow for one call, rather than in good faith allow the members to scrutinise". It ended up with Kuriger reminding Menendez-March not to argue with the Chair…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee has been holding its annual review of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, has told a select committee that New Zealand's diplomatic presence overseas must grow, despite government plans to reduce spending in his ministry.The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee has been undertaking its annual review of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), with the minister appearing to answer questions. Hearings like these are one of the ways that Parliament attempts to supervise the work of the government that it funds. As he did in his previous two stints as Foreign Minister (2005-2008 and 2017-2020), Peters continues to emphasise the importance of engaging more with the international community, for the sake of New Zealand's long-term security. This includes increasing our representative presence in other countries, particularly where trade opportunities beckon, but also giving a level of Overseas Development Aid that is commensurate with being an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member country. But Peters again warned that New Zealand cannot afford to rest on its reputation of punching above its weight internationally, particularly in a world where geopolitical dynamics have changed dramatically."We've got a massive task on our hands. Not only do we have to beef up our engagement and our collectiveness to countries that share our views and share our values, but we've also got to beef up our trade big time. We've got to put more people on the ground," Peters said, adding that New Zealand stacked up unfavourably in this regard compared to the likes of Singapore, Ireland and Nordic countries.Expansion v CutsLabour MP Damien O'Connor was curious to know how Peters could expand New Zealand's diplomatic footprint while his ministry - like dozens of other departments - has been asked by the National-led coalition government to cut spending by at least 6.5 percent."Of course we can always find economies, but we've got to start with firstly understanding that there's some things you cannot sacrifice. What I'm talking about is anti-inflationary, because it's not spent inside the New Zealand economy, it's spent offshore," Peters replied.Another senior Labour MP, David Parker, chipped in with questions around New Zealand's level of Overseas Development Aid (ODA), which currently sits at about $1 billion annually (of which 60 percent goes to the Pacific Islands)…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Mai i ngā hau o Ōtāhuhu-nui-a-Rangi, o Maungarei, o Motukaroa; mai i ngā awa o Hikuwaru, o Tāmaki e rere ki te Waitematā, kei te Mānukanuka-o-Hoturoa, ko Kaiwhare, ko Taramainuku kua tau, kua tau ki ngā whenua o Ngāti Toa Rangatira, o Taranaki Whānui ki Te Ūpoko o Te Ika. Tēnā anō tatou. It is an indescribable feeling to stand up and address this House. As a son of Samoan immigrants who made the mighty Ōtara 274-Southside hard-their home, I am well aware of the giants whose shoulders I stand on and the masters whose feet I learnt at. The courage, foresight, entrepreneurial spirit, and hope of our ancestors who journeyed thousands of years ago through the vast waters of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa brings me here today.My parents arrived in New Zealand in the early 1960s, told that this was the land of milk and honey. Dad started off as a taxi driver with South Auckland Taxis, and mum on the factory floor at New Zealand Forest Products in Penrose. We lived in a four-bedroom State house on Preston Road in Ōtara, and I attended local schools: East Tāmaki Primary, Ferguson Intermediate, and the great Tangaroa College. We're forever grateful for the State house that was our home for around 20 years, and the quality public education we received from our local State schools.I did try my hand for a short period at a decile 10 school outside of Ōtara, but that experiment lasted only two weeks. It was during the time in the late 1980s, when families from poorer areas were being discouraged from going to local schools because they weren't considered up to scratch. I'm glad we changed course and decided to high school it in Ōtara, where the motto of our school was "Waiho i te tokā tu Moana"-"Steadfast like a rock in the sea".Later, at university, I went on to write my Master's dissertation on brown flight, critiquing the Picot reforms that have wreaked havoc on our public schooling system. That period was also a challenging time for my family because we were being told by our teachers to stop speaking Samoan at home and only to speak English. My parents didn't want us to fail at school, so we were allowed to speak English at home and over time we stopped speaking Samoan altogether. In the end, I lost my language. I struggled, I was embarrassed, and I felt incomplete. Even speaking to you in Samoan this evening gives me major tremors…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliament has paused out of respect for the Green Party MP Efeso Collins who died unexpectedly in Auckland this morning.It's been a sad day at Parliament with news of the sudden death of Green Party MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins in Auckland this morning, barely a week after he gave his maiden speech as a Member of Parliament.Raised in South Auckland, this New Zealand-born Samoan spent three terms on the Auckland Council serving as chair of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, and councillor for the Manukau ward. He was a leading voice advocating for people living on society's margins.As mark of respect Parliament adjourned until next week, but not before several party leaders or senior MPs spoke about Efeso Collins. "One of the first things that you notice about Efeso is his graciousness, his huge smile, and his reassuring voice. He was joyful, he was funny, he was kind, and thoughtful. He conducted himself quietly and kindly and gracefully," said the Green party co-leader, James Shaw."He worked to change not by forcing his ideas on others, but by listening and seeking out ideas from others. He was a man full of empathy, a man who knew that the first step towards change is an open heart, a man who embodied the idea that our work here is to serve the communities that we represent; to be their voice for change."Efeso Collins was a good man. He was called to come to Parliament because of what he could see of the worsening poverty, the inadequate incomes, the profound inequities that affect and shape Pacific communities that he came from. Aotearoa needed him. We needed him. Every day that Efeso came to work, I know that he carried the expectation of his South Auckland community. It was a responsibility that he wore solemnly, but he also made it look easy-fun, even," Shaw said.The Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke next, acknowledging Collins' deep commitment to public service and advocacy for his Samoan and South Auckland communities in the various leadership roles that he held over the decades. Collins, he said, was just getting started in his promising Parliamentary career."I met Efeso almost two years ago, and, in fact, the two of us caught up just a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about balancing family and work life in this place and his hopes for starting out here. In all my interactions with him, Efeso was always so friendly, gracious, generous, kind, positive, and collaborative, with a lovely sense of humour. He certainly lived by the words he uttered in his maiden speech, which was to lead with the spirit of peace and love and service. He was what I would call a true servant leader," the Prime Minister said…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.MPs in Parliament's debating chamber go hard and they go early. Even MPs who would blanche at that phrase would admit some of the most interesting things happen early and quickly. For example, Tuesday began with fleeting acknowledgement of a visiting US senator, and before beginning debates, MPs agreed which of them will be on The Intelligence and Security Committee and privy to the world of secret squirrels. But even more interesting was an underwhelming apology. Listen to the radio version of this story from The HouseAn ersatz apology Before Question Time began New Zealand First's Casey Costello (Associate Health Minister - Smokefree Policy), got in early to 'correct' an answer before Question Time compounded her woe."I'd like to make a personal statement regarding my answers as Associate Minister of Health to oral questions on 30 January 2024. I'm speaking specifically to the questions that asked if I was being truthful when I denied to the media that I had requested advice on freezing tobacco excise tax. On review of my response, I acknowledge that there is confusion arising from my understanding of the differentiation between seeking specific advice and accepting advice being offered. I had no intention of misleading the House, and I apologise for any confusion."Quite a few ministers have corrected answers this Parliament. Going hard and early by owning up to a mistake is a wise move. Attempting to brash it out is just asking for trouble. Costello is pretty tardy comparatively, and may have forgotten about the correction part.The wisest approach is to say 'sorry, I got it wrong', but often ministers veer off dramatically before admitting to an actual error. In Ms Costello's case the heart of the equivocation was..."I acknowledge that there is confusion arising from my understanding of the differentiation..."The Leader of the Opposition, Chris Hipkins was not satisfied and raised a point of order.Hipkins: "Generally speaking, when a Minister is correcting an answer they have given, they state what the incorrect answer was and what the correct answer was. I don't think anyone in this House would be any the wiser as to exactly what it is the Minister's just corrected."The Speaker, Gerry Brownlee responded. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.In this edition of The House we look back at two of the more important subjects MPs were grappling with this week in the debating chamber and select committees.One is Parliament's repeal of major water reforms passed last term by the previous government, with the Water Services Acts Repeal Bill being passed through all its stages under urgency. The other concerns the existential crisis facing this country's news media in a digital market dominated by tech giants, being relayed to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee as it heard submissions on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. RNZ Chief Executive Paul Thompson tells MPs in the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee about the challenging media landscape while submitting on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.Meanwhile, in case you missed it, last Sunday's episode of The House looked at Parliament's bible, Parliamentary Practice, which has now been updated in a new 2024 edition, explaining all the many rules, practices and precedents that make Parliament tick. Get stuck in.On the Sunday prior to that, The House explored a new change at Parliament whereby all public hearings of select committees are being live-streamed to Parliament's own website instead of on Facebook, a move welcomed by advocates of open government. RNZ's The House - journalism focussed on parliamentary legislation, issues and insights - is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Parliament's Economic Development, Science and Innovation select committee today heard from a range of New Zealand's news media companies about how the changing media environment and the dominance of tech giants are killing them.The committee has been listening to submissions on a bill that seeks a more level playing field in the digital market that our media industry operates in. They argue that the tech giants whose digital platforms host news content that the media outlets produce are able to generate great revenue from this but share almost none of it with the outlets who do all the work. Economic Development, Science and Innovation select committee chair Parmjeet Parmar (left) and Willie Jackson listen to submissions on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.This imbalance is something affecting all New Zealand media companies, from the big outlets like RNZ, Stuff or the NZ Herald, to small town newspapers such as the Ashburton Guardian newspaper, whose co-owner and managing editor Daryl Holden was among those submitting to the committee this morning."Simply those digital internet companies such as Google, Meta (which runs Facebook and Instagram) and Microsoft are creaming it at the expense of every New Zealand media company who in many ways are slowly but surely bleeding to death. That's because those internet giants are using and sharing news produced by New Zealand media organisations on their mega digital platforms at zero costs to themselves. They are reaping unimaginable wealth and power building their businesses almost entirely off content created by others," Holden said.The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill seeks to create a bargaining system between New Zealand news media entities and operators of digital platforms to support commercial arrangements for news content. It was introduced by the previous Labour government and passed its first reading last August. Small stepThe difficulties facing the Ashburton Guardian, which employs seventeen local people and is considering going digital-only, are not uncommon for media outlets in this country. Holden welcomed the bill as a small step that can be taken to bring tech giants to the negotiating table."It's been reported that Google's revenue in New Zealand was 78 million dollars in 2022 but it also paid its parent company in the US a separate service fee of 870 million that year. A small country of 5 million delivers nearly one billion dollars of value to Google. What do New Zealand media companies get out of it? Bugger all," he explained…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Water Services Acts Repeal Bill has passed through all stages while Parliament went into urgency.If you've been following the news, you'll know Parliament has repealed water reforms legislation that was passed last year by the previous Labour government.The coalition government's Water Services Acts Repeal Bill passed through all its stages under urgency, having been introduced in Parliament yesterday and then debated into the night until it its third and final reading this morning.The audio below features some of the debate's salient points of exchange between the two main interlocutors in the debate, the Minister of Local Government, Simeon Brown of the National Party, and his predecessor in the role, Labour's Kieran McAnulty.RNZ's The House - journalism focussed on parliamentary legislation, issues and insights - is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

An unusually long sitting block begins today at Parliament, beginning with another repeal of law passed by the previous government.An unusually long sitting block commences today at Parliament, with the Government resuming its repeals of legislation passed by the previous government.This week is the start of a four-week sitting block, which is a bit unusual. It's been several years since Parliament has sat for more than the usual chunks of two or three weeks at a time. The Government will go into urgency today to move various bills through, resurfacing for the regular day for Member's Bills on Wednesday, and later in the week a bunch of the remaining maiden speeches for MPs new to Parliament after October's election. Labour MP Kieran McAnulty, the Shadow Leader of the HouseFour-weekerIf the prolonged government coalition negotiations didn't hold things up enough already, Parliament had only resumed for a week at the end of January following the long summer holiday when it subsequently went into recess again, adding to the sense that the start of this Parliamentary term has been fractured. So the shortest of blocks is now followed by the longest, with the Shadow Leader of the House, Labour's Kieran McAnulty, admitting to being surprised that the National-led government has opted for the longer block."The whole idea of a four-week block was brought in, I think, when Chris Hipkins was Leader of the House back in 2018, and was quickly got rid of because it's not very popular with MPs. I'm pretty sure the staff don't really like it either, and it's pretty hard for any government to have enough legislation lined up to fill four weeks. So we were surprised that they brought it back, but happy to go along with it. Let's see whether they can fill it in," McAnulty said.Water worksFirst up on the Order Paper, after a motion for urgency is moved by the Government, is the debate through all stages of the Water Services Acts Repeal Bill which will dismantle the previous Government's so-called Three Waters legislation that was passed last year.While the Coalition Government hasn't tabled a replacement regime yet, the Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said the Government is working on this, and that it would recognise "the importance of local decision-making and flexibility for communities and councils to determine how their water services will be delivered in future"…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.In Parliament's debating chamber, sitting at a desk in front of the Speaker presiding, there is always a clerk - a member of Parliament's secretariat. They are the team that administer the House and its many committees, the brainy worker elves of democracy's legislature.They are also the experts on all things Parliament. They attend the chamber to take official note of everything that occurs and is agreed, but also to offer expert advice on the many and complex mysteries of parliamenting. Listen to the Sunday edition of The House with this story, and a story about MPs' Maiden Speeches. The Clerk of the House, David Wilson sitting at the Debating Chamber's Table, with reference volumes at hand.Thankfully this knowledge is not part of a hermetic mystery cult, known only to the initiates. It is freely available.The Clerk of the House of Representatives and his staff regularly update Parliament's very own bible, explaining all the many rules, practices and precedents, in a volume called Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand (PP). More than 700 pages of information about everything from how MPs are chosen (e.g. did you know the Clerk still has your physical election ballots under lock-and-key); through to how MPs can lose their jobs again (yes, MPs can be sacked for a variety of reasons). And everything in between.Without Parliamentary Practice and the clerks' help MPs would be lost in the byzantine ways of democracy, doomed to blindly stumble through their parliamentary careers making endless mistakes. You might think some do that regardless. Parliament's bible, Parliamentary Practice has now been updated, with a new 2024 edition published.It is available as a physical volume but can also be found on the Parliament website: in its entirety here (good for searching), or by browsing its many sections here. Last week the new edition had the kind of glitzy launch party that one might only dream about in a cash-crunch - i.e. there was a brief comms email to announce its existence. Heady with imaginary champagne I sat down to chat with its editor, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, David Wilson.He calls Parliament Practice "a really comprehensive guide to how Parliament works" and it is. It's a weighty tome, but without bumf.It fills a necessary troika with its sister volumes: Standing Orders (Parliament's procedural rules), and Speakers' Rulings (Parliament's compendium of precedent). …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Live-streaming of public select committee hearings is now being hosted on Parliament's own website instead of on Facebook.From this week, all public hearings of select committees are being live-streamed to Parliament's own website instead of on Facebook, a move welcomed by advocates of open government.Shifting away from the use of the social media platform for hosting select committee live-streams was something recommended in submissions to Parliament's regular Standing Orders review last term. While still a work in progress in terms of its functionality, the move is a first step in bringing together Parliament's select committee and House-sitting content into the same place.Each select committee already has its own page on Parliament's website with information on membership and schedules among other things, and now it will also feature the latest live streamed video of public hearings. It's a small breakthrough in the bid to make Parliament more accessible to the public, as Parliament's Digital Lead, Winnie Nadi, explained."We want to make it as accessible as possible for people and as enjoyable for people to search for things and be able to filter and really understand what's happening," she said."Some of the features in the beginning will be quite basic as we test the live-streaming and make sure that it works. As we move in the next few months, we'll have some filtering and searchable content, and it will be a lot more similar to what you can do with the House sitting stuff on our on-demand platform."The way Scottish and Welsh parliaments host their select committee content has provided useful models to learn from."We have had a lot of conversations with Scotland, with Wales, late at night, just talking about how they use their videos. We've noticed that we have more features in some things, and less in other things. So we're going to continue to talk to them so that we can grab all of the good features and make sure New Zealanders have that," Nadi said. The current home page of Parliament select committeesCommittees and public interestSelect committees do much of the work in terms of applying scrutiny to government actions. So the team that facilitates the committees' activities places much importance on the ability of the public to see and hear the work of select committees and engage with their representatives in committees. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.I suspect opposition MPs and politics watchers sometimes observe government ministers and think - 'well, that looks like a doddle'. From observation, the job mostly involves finding ways of avoiding questions about the role.But a minister's job is full of fish hooks, made worse because ministers essentially work inside a fish bowl owned by Parliament. And to strain that metaphor to its breaking point, those hooks are hard to remove if you don't remove them quickly. New and returning ministers have been learning (and remembering) this early on in this government. Christopher Luxon and Mark Mitchell when they were in opposition. This week both walked back statements made to the House. Misleading the House The easiest hook to remove is one barbed with Parliament's dislike of falsehood. The House does not take well to Ministers who mis-speak, offer alternative facts, employ terminological inexactitudes; or just plain get the facts wrong. A minister misleading the House is considered a breach of privilege, which is very naughty indeed. However, the breach must be intentional and accusations of such intention can be avoided if a minister follows protocol and corrects mistakes 'at the earliest opportunity'.So three times on Wednesday alone government ministers interrupted business in the House to correct errors.They do that by asking permission (seeking leave) to make a personal statement. Minister for Police Mark Mitchell got his mea culpa in early. It was a good tactic to pre-empt impending questions which would have been embarrassing. He didn't exactly admit an error either. "I should have been clearer" was Mark Mitchell's euphemism for admitting that either he had been wrong, or had changed his mind. It wasn't clear which. James Shaw caused the Prime Minister difficulties over our genocide responsibilities. Later on, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attempted to extricate himself from a tangle James Shaw had left him in over whether the ICJ's opinion of a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza "would trigger New Zealand's obligations under article 1 of the to take action to prevent genocide before it occurs."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.The first piece of legislation that Parliament has been looking at in 2024 is the Productivity Commission Act Repeal Bill, which is being debated under urgency. It found some MPs scratching their heads at the end of an independent Crown entity whose work they applaud.Since its inception in 2011, the Commission has conducted research and inquiries in order to provide recommendations to government on ways to improve productivity - not so much regarding workplace or individual productivity - it has more of a focus on the effectiveness of laws, policies, regulations and institutions. The Commission, which has around twenty staff, was created as a condition of the ACT Party supporting the National Party government led by John Key on confidence and supply. Now ACT wants to disestablish it, although its leader David Seymour was at pains to point out that "this is not, in any way, an indictment on the quality of the work of the Productivity Commission".'Tremendous work'"The Productivity Commission has done some tremendous work over the past decade or so, and that work will remain available as an asset or a taonga for New Zealanders to be a guide for policy formation," Seymour said while introducing the bill last night."I just make the case that if you look at the five most prominent inquiries according to Treasury, they are things such as housing affordability. I remember reading that report as a young staffer in a ministerial office here in Parliament when it came out in 2012. It remains very good advice for any Government wishing to improve housing affordability. Another one... regulatory institutions and practices; more effective social services, 2015; new models of tertiary education; New Zealand firms reaching for the frontier. "If you look at some of these subjects, they are clearly areas where, despite the best advice, Governments over the past decade, including those members opposite who have recently been retired from the Government benches by the voters, have failed to implement the policy process. The case I make is that we are much better at this point in time to retain the assets that the Productivity Commission has generated in its various pieces of policy advice and make sure that we do a better job of implementing them."New ministry…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Leader of the House, Chris Bishop, outlines the week to come in Parliament. A week with 19 maidens and just two bills. Students are back in the classroom, and are matched by MPs, back in Parliament. But doing what exactly?The election seems like a long while ago but the 54th Parliament is still very new, and still has the initial set-pieces of any new Parliament to sweep through before it can get knee-deep into legislation. There are two new bills this week however (see below). Listen to Leader of the House Chris Bishop outlining the week on The HouseUnboxing MPsThis new Parliament is still fresh enough that the public hasn't met all the new MPs yet. Hearing from more of the recently elected will be a feature of the week. The plan is for six new National Party MPs on Tuesday (from about 4:15pm):Rima Nakhle, Cameron Brewer, Dana Kirkpatrick, Carl Bates, Carlos Cheung and Miles Anderson.Another six fresh National Party MPs get unboxed on Wednesday (from roughly 3:30pm): Mike Butterick, Catherine Wedd, Tom Rutherford, Grant McCallum, Nancy Lu and David MacLeod.And on Thursday from 4:15-ish, a combination of four ACT MPs (who TBA), and three new Green MPs:Tamatha Paul, Kahurangi Carter and Scott Willis.Different days focus on MPs from different parties for logistical reasons. MPs usually invite family and friends to attend their maiden speeches, and the political parties usually host a function afterwards. Clumping the MPs makes organising the post-match events easier. The functions are also why maiden and valedictory speeches are almost always scheduled in the lead-up to when MPs pause debating for dinner. Other BusinessThe week began with a motion in memory of the recently deceased former Governor General, Sir Michael Hardy-Boys; and a Ministerial Statement from Judith Collins on a recently announced Defence deployment to the Red Sea Combined Task Force. You can hear Chris Bishop (link above), explain the recent changes to the way Ministerial Statements are managed with more Q&A, and less speechifying. With the focus on the Address in Reply Debate (including Tuesday and Wednesday's maiden speeches), there is a paucity of debating time for legislation. The House will consider two bill this week though. One is scheduled for debate through all stages under urgency. The New Zealand Productivity Commission Act Repeal Bill will be introduced and debated under Urgency on Tuesday evening. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.There's no denying it's been a year of great change in Parliament - 2023 began with a brand new Prime Minister, and ended with another new Prime Minister, a new Government and a new Speaker.So much has happened that it's almost hard to believe there were three months without the house sitting (during the election and subsequent period of government formation). So The House offers a recap by way of this audio compilation below. Rawiri Waititi about to be sworn in as MP on the opening day of the 54th Parliament, 5 December 2023.Not everything made it into the audio version, so here we summarise some of the highlights from our coverage. There were estimates hearings broken down, ministerial grillings unpacked, Question Time tactics fleshed out, and select committees dissected. Not only that but The House looked at the ways select committees tweak legislation. There was also an explainer on the very different way that MPs cast a Personal Vote on conscience issues (sex and alcohol-adjacent topics mostly).The final thing Parliament did before it adjourned for October's general election was agree on some alterations to the rules that will apply in the 54th Parliament. These are changes that the parties and the clerks have been working on since last year. Some of those MPs spoke about the changes, and interestingly about what changes they did not achieve.We went behind the scenes with the work of people who make parts of this place work - people like Maika Te Amo, the head of Parliament's Māori Language Service whose work is in demand more than ever because of an increased appetite to learn te reo Māori among members and staff from different parts of the Parliamentary system; or Rachel Hayward who holds two official titles simultaneously: Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council - two interlinked and overlapping roles. Because we look at the ways the public engages with Parliament, The House also offered a look at four activists who have long participated in the Parliament space - in protests, delivering petitions, submitting at select committees and more - from single or multiple issue campaigners to the lifelong activist who became an MP and got out the other side with activism intact.Efforts are underway to make Parliament more accessible for people who live with disability, and not before time, after the recent creation of a Senior Accessibility Advisor at Parliament…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.It's a truism that when governments change, the new bunch want to quickly make a mark.That can be achieved by passing bills a new government has waiting and ready to go, or by tweaking bills already under consideration. Those things both happened back in 2017, the last time power swapped between the two major parties.Another tactic is to wind back some of the laws made by the previous lot. That's the initial move this time around, with two weeks of rewinds under urgency to begin the new Parliament.Urgency is not new, the 2017 coalition also used urgency in its initial weeks to pass the Families Package (Income Tax and Benefits) Act. Christopher Luzon's new government has passed three policy bills under urgency in each of the first two 'normal' weeks of the 54th Parliament.New legislation takes months to write. Doing it well can involve years of research, consultation and development. But new governments don't have years to make early impressions. They need laws written fast.If you have any spare Christmas wishes, feel free to send in them in the direction of the Parliamentary Counsel's Office - the group that draft government legislation. I presume they will not be having a very relaxing summer.The repeal tactic has one major advantage. A repeal bill is much easier and faster to draft. It gains time to work on the more substantive things.The simplest of billsOn Thursday Parliament focussed on a bill to repeal the Taxation Principles Reporting Act, which was passed a few months ago. If you ignore titles, headers etcetera, the bill is three lines of text. Not full lines either. The crucial section is just 10 words long. A bill like that can be produced pretty quickly. Three weeks downSo far, the 54th Parliament has sat for three weeks. The first week was all ceremony and set pieces. The other two weeks have been largely spent under urgency to effect six repeals and one new piece of legislation. That bill was a reinstatement of a partial repeal made by the previous government. Three bills were repealed last week and three this week. This week's billsThe reinstatement bill extends employment trial periods to all employers. Trial periods are currently restricted to employers with fewer than 20 staff. The guts of this bill removes just eight words from the current law, which would have made it an appealing early objective. The first of the repeals this week repealed two different laws - the two large laws that quite recently replaced the Resource Management Act after years of development. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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 and this morning's grinding committee stage action prolonged the torture.Parliament's in urgency and running later than it normally does towards year's end, as the coalition government continues dismantling the previous government's legacy laws. Among the repeals being passed through all stages under urgency this week was the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Bill.As MPs wearily resumed their seats in the chamber at 9am this morning, they were still grinding through the committee stage of this Bill. It's the stage where MPs debate the details. It can last as long as there are still things to discuss, and is the stage when the Opposition can slow things down with proposed amendments and questions to the minister in charge of the legislation. In this case it was the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, National's Chris Bishop, who was fielding the questions and amendments. Many of them.Although the MPs have had an arduous year and are desperate to go home, start Christmas shopping or get to their bach in Kinloch, Labour MPs in particular sought to grab their only chance to interrogate the inner details of a bill that's undoing legislation they had passed only a few months ago. They couldn't prevent it being overturned but they could slow it down very slightly. You could say they wanted to make the Government work for it.As such, the Labour MPs got forensic with their questions and proposed plenty of amendments. And each new amendment proposed gave the MPs something new to discuss, more questions for the minister, a longer debate. Sometimes amendments are proposed on the go, scribbled on a piece of paper and given to the clerks. Labour's Kieran McAnulty penned one such proposed amendment to this Bill, seen in the picture below. However he pointed out it was incumbent on Bishop to answer a question that McAnulty had been putting to him before the Opposition MP could proceed with the proposed amendment. Bishop then indicated he was happy to look at it, and McAnulty headed off to the printing room. But before he could even leave the chamber, this part of the committee stage was closed off by the presiding officer without McAnulty's amendment getting the chance to be tabled…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Gerry Brownlee has begun Parliament's week by outlining his approach as Speaker to Question Time. Each Speaker tends to come at their job with slightly different interpretations of Parliament's many rules. Brownlee had promised he would give guidance as to his own approach after a combative first full week of Question Time. Listen to the radio version of this story with audio from ParliamentEach Speaker's approach has a huge impact on how, and how well, Parliament undertakes its core role of being a check on the Executive. Here is Gerry Brownlee's ruling (in bold) with with notes and explanations. "Members, as I suggested last week, I want to set out my approach to the answering of parliamentary questions. It's well established that Ministers are expected to answer questions unless they consider it not in the public interest to do so: Speaker's ruling 199/3. The public interest test is a high one and should be used sparingly: Speaker's ruling 200/1."Note: Re The Public Interest - There are a few reasons within this 'out' that might lead ministers not to answer a question. They include something that is sub-judice (being considered by a court), not wanting to prejudice a current police operation, privacy, commercial sensitivity, and national security.Gerry Brownlee continued..."Ministers are accountable to the House for the public office they hold and should, therefore, endeavour to give informative replies: Speakers' ruling 200/6. That is the cornerstone of responsible Government."Notes: Re 'Responsible Government' - The phrase 'Responsible Government' does not refer to a government acting responsibly. It seems unlikely that anyone would agree what that might look like. It refers to the fact that every government is responsible to parliament. Parliament is the boss, so answers aren't just ministers being polite to pesky opposition MPs, they are actually responding to someone who is in part - their overseer. The Parliament chooses the Executive from among its members, and can also remove them from office."Informative answers" is a very generous description of many ministers' responses.Gerry Brownlee continued..…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Two weeks in, but really only one full week so far, and already the 54th Parliament feels kind of heavy and intense.Maybe it's the fiery exchanges in Question Time, or the unique energy that comes from going headlong into repealing laws that the previous parliament deliberated on and passed just a few months back. Maybe it's the end of year grind and pre-Christmas dread kicking in. Or maybe it's simply the usual birthing process a parliament goes through whereby it finds its own shape and mood. Chris Penk in select committeeSo things are dynamic in this freshly minted Parliament, and many MPs are either still finding their feet or feeling out the others to see how they roll. In this Sunday edition of The House, we take a look at the Parliament discovering how the new Speaker Gerry Brownlee will interpret the rules, this week's contention being whether he can force adequate answers from ministers or indeed any answers.We also sit down for a chat with National's Chris Penk to hear about how he's undergoing the transformation to government minister after being in opposition for six years. Penk of course is freshly sworn in as the Minister for Building and Construction, Minister for Veterans Affairs and Minister Land Information, in addition to Associate Minister of both Defence and Immigration. The member for Kaipara ki Mahurangi is the first to admit being a minister is a different level of responsibility and intensity to being the senior whip in opposition, but he is nothing if not enthusiastic.RNZ's The House - journalism focussed on parliamentary legislation, issues and insights - is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details