Louis Collins

With the opening formalities finally complete, Parliament this week is solely focusing on legislation, including the first members' day for the year.

The Public Service Amendment Bill is back from Select Committee, reigniting debate on the culture war flashpoint - diversity, equity and inclusion.

After a slow start to their year, MPs are back in Wellington and mostly focusing on government business. We run through the bills under discussion.

The House sits down with a former MP to unpack what a Chief of Staff does, and what it's been like to return to Parliament, but in the back office.

The first valedictory statement for the year was given by the former Speaker of the House, likely the first of many election-year goodbyes.

Before the typically combative debate on the Prime Minister's statement, the parliamentary year began on a sombre note, with MPs acknowledging recent weather tragedies.

On Parliament's last sitting day of the year, MPs discussed an issue with the potential to surge in prominence.

In its penultimate sitting block of the year, Parliament was in urgency debating 12 bills, but the most controversial were among the last.

The House: Parliament's penultimate sitting week began with a major shakeup to the RMA, helped along by urgency.

Headlines from Parliament honed in on the heated exchanges, but the unglamorous work also carried on.

The first week of Parliament's final sitting block of 2025 is focused on scrutiny on past Government spending. Early conflict focused on animal welfare.

A late night voting error during a fourth evening of urgency last week forced the government to end urgency sooner than expected.

In the last week of the penultimate sitting block of the year, the House was moved into urgency for the progression of 13 government bills.

Four government bills completed their legislative journeys this week - two enjoyed relative consensus across the House. The other two, not so much.

Question time was pushed back on Wednesday this week so that the House could address the report of the Independent Police Conduct Authority into misconduct at police.

The Standing Orders committee continues its triennial review of Parliament's rules and hears from a former PM.

The House chats with three members of the Parliamentary library. More than just books and periodicals - it's a research powerhouse.

While the week in politics began with another chapter in the ongoing tensions within Te Pāti Māori, the House started the parliamentary week by resuming the consideration of the closely followed…

This week, Parliament allocated an hour to debate New Zealand's struggling energy sector. All parties agreed it was an issue, but diverged on how to solve it.

The Takutai Moana Bill bill on customary marine titles has passed after much argument over the original intent of its predecessor.

On Thursday, Parliament's usual agenda was set aside, as MPs lamented the death of Jim Bolger, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990-97. Audio

The ability of Parliament to scrutinise the government and public service departments would be directly affected by changes considered to the Public Service Amendment Bill, the Clerk of the House…

Oriini Kaipara's maiden speech was overshadowed a little by celebration of it, but what did Tāmaki Makaurau's new MP actually say? Audio

Tuesday at parliament felt a bit like Groundhog Day, as Foreign Minister Winston Peters gave yet another ministerial statement on the war in Gaza.

The state has three independent branches. Victoria University Dean of Law Geoff McLay helps explain the crucial relationship between Parliament, government and the courts. Audio