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MPs debate the long term, but even a week is a long time in politics
New Zealand's long-term economic future may be vitally important, but a debate on the 40-year fiscal future proves fertile ground for short-term politics.
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Pandemic debate develops a temperature
11 Mar 2026Six years since Covid's first outbreak, more heat than healing featured when MPs discussed an inquiry report aimed at learning lessons from the pandemic…
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The House: The week in Parliament: Money, grog, gambling and satire
10 Mar 2026For people keen on finance and government Parliament's week is fun from the start, for others it may improve later with the addition of grog, gambling and…
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The House: MPs agree infrastructure debate should be politics free
8 Mar 2026Analysis - All parties agreed that politics is detrimental to infrastructure decision-making and things need to change, yet can't help getting political about…
The House headlines with summaries.
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The House: MPs put public service integrity under the microscope
5 Mar 2026MPs considered the integrity of New Zealand's public service this week with a Long Term Insights Briefing from the Public Service Commission.
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How to help stop bad law
4 Mar 2026Select Committees are everyone's best chance to avoid the impacts of bad law. Here are some tips to help maximise your odds at a positive outcome when you offer ideas.
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The House: What’s happening at Parliament this week
4 Mar 2026The census, gambling, boy racers and an infrastructure plan are all up for debate this week in Parliament.
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The House: Written Questions - a less frustrating Question Time?
1 Mar 2026MPs Ayesha Verrall and Ricardo Menéndez March outline Parliament's lesser known written version, compared to its louder, less forthcoming cousin.
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Georgie Dansey subbed on in Parliament's last quarter
23 Feb 2026With barely seven months left in this Parliament Labour has a new MP - Georgie Dansey - who has given her first, introductory speech.
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The House: Turning back time through law
19 Feb 2026Parliament is considering a law that changes what was legal in the past. Retrospective law-making is allowed, but rare and controversial.
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Bishop and McAnulty the standouts in Parliament's opening speeches
19 Feb 2026Parliament's year begins with a very long debate. The House reviews the event and samples a few of the best speakers.
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Booze, betting, and the right to banter: Bills this week
17 Feb 2026With the opening formalities finally complete, Parliament this week is solely focusing on legislation, including the first members' day for the year.
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Employment relations and speedy, lopsided debates
15 Feb 2026The government continues legislating apace, with frequent extra sittings. Among the priorities this week was a bill to "rebalance" employee-employer rights. The debate was lopsided.
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Public Service Amendment Bill reignites diversity debate
12 Feb 2026The Public Service Amendment Bill is back from Select Committee, reigniting debate on the culture war flashpoint - diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Question Time gets more pointedly political
11 Feb 2026Parliament's Question Time is often frustrating but elections politicise it further, as recent exchanges on unemployment and gas imports demonstrate.
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The laws Parliament is currently mulling over
11 Feb 2026After a slow start to their year, MPs are back in Wellington and mostly focusing on government business. We run through the bills under discussion.
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From caucus to admin: Kevin Hague on his new role
8 Feb 2026The 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.
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Adrian Rurawhe: From Rātana Pā to the Speaker's Chair
1 Feb 2026The first valedictory statement for the year was given by the former Speaker of the House, likely the first of many election-year goodbyes.
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Parliament warms up to the election
29 Jan 2026The House: Parliament's first week is the 2026 election campaign writ small, from departing MPs, to the week's 13-hour long debate over whether the government should continue.
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Earnest speeches delay the first politics in Parliament's year
28 Jan 2026Before the typically combative debate on the Prime Minister's statement, the parliamentary year began on a sombre note, with MPs acknowledging recent weather tragedies.
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Parliament's year in numbers: Who spoke the most and how many bills were introduced?
21 Dec 2025Analysis: We look back at this year's Parliament in data, including just how much coffee fuels our democracy?
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On their final day, MPs consider quality of our final years
19 Dec 2025On Parliament's last sitting day of the year, MPs discussed an issue with the potential to surge in prominence.
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MPs on Bondi: Divergence, messaging and word choice inside party responses
17 Dec 2025Parliament's week began with condolences for the Bondi attack, but their divergences and message choices said a lot.
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The House: Parliament gets urgent on voting rules, climate targets
In its penultimate sitting block of the year, Parliament was in urgency debating 12 bills, but the most controversial were among the last.
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The House: Crimes bill adds things outside usual rules
12 Dec 2025Parliament has been pushing hard, rushing through bills and working under urgency all week, but one bill bypassed the rules, adding things not usually allowed.
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MPs' week begins with an RMA shakeup precursor
11 Dec 2025The House: Parliament's penultimate sitting week began with a major shakeup to the RMA, helped along by urgency.
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Parliament's last-minute sprint
10 Dec 2025The last full week has been packed work as the government tries to complete its agenda, adding 10 new bills to the pile.
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Behind the fiery clashes of Scrutiny Week
8 Dec 2025Headlines from Parliament honed in on the heated exchanges, but the unglamorous work also carried on.
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