The list of tasks for Parliament to accomplish is often huge and sometimes they run out of time.
To get everything done the House can sit under urgency but this allows for bills to pushed through quickly and sometimes without the usual level of scrutiny - kind of worrying if it happens a lot.
So the House can also extend sitting hours to deal with non-controversial business or the passage of Treaty of Waitangi Settlements.
In an extended sitting today the House passed two bills through their first readings and referred them to the Maori Affairs Select Committee.
But it also passed the Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa Claims Settlement Bill through its third and final reading with 107 votes for and 12 against.
Listen for more on extended sittings and highlights from the third reading.
Chair of the Maori Affairs Committee Tutehounuku (Nuk) Korako. Photo: RNZ / Phil Smith
