Live-streaming of public select committee hearings is now being hosted on Parliament’s own website instead of on Facebook.

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.

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.

Leader of the House, Chris Bishop, outlines the week to come in Parliament. A week with 19 maidens and just two bills. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The latest from the House

Parliament’s in urgency in this hectic, penultimate week before Christmas, and most MPs are undergoing a kind of crash course of learning and adjustment.

Parliament is discovering how the Speaker will interpret its rules. Today's contention was can he force good answers from ministers, or indeed, any answers.

A 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.

Parliament 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.

Parliament business got underway after the State Opening of the 54th Parliament, a ceremony of pomp and pageantry culminating in the Speech from the Throne.

The 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.

The 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.

Before 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.

MPs have been debating whether to lower the voting age for local council elections to 16 years of age from the current age of 18.

The 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.

If 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.

Among a long week of debates at Parliament, MPs still found the time for farewell speeches from departing colleagues. Todd Muller's stood out and while uncomfortable for his colleagues, it is worth noting.

As more valedictory speeches were heard in Parliament’s chamber, a warning was sounded from a departing MP about race baiting and dog whistling to extremism.

It is the second to last sitting week for Parliament but there is still a mountain of bills to get finalised before the MPs wearily trudge home.

The Labour MP for Māngere, Aupito William Sio is leaving Parliament after a sixteen year-stint which encompassed nine years in Opposition bookended by spells in Government.

Parliament has just days left before it ends for the election. The closer dissolution gets, the harder the MPs are pushing to fit everything in - almost like they're cramming four years of legislating into three years.

Valedictory speech season has begun, and if there’s a common theme cropping up already, it’s a plea for a less toxic style of politics in Parliament.

This week is the first of the last three weeks in the 53rd Parliament, a busy time as the Government still has a lot that it wants to finish before the House rises.

The majority of all female elected representatives across the Pacific Islands region visited Wellington for a development event, showcasing the merits of soft diplomacy, Parliament-style.

This week MPs had a special debate about the report of the Regulations Review Committee on Covid-19 Secondary Legislation. 

A new Member's Bill looks to fix a 40-year-old outcome of the anti-Pacific racism of the Dawn Raids era, restoring the right to New Zealand citizenship for a generation of Samoan people.

The Intelligence and Security Committee has received a briefing on long-term national security threats which has incorporated a public survey and public consultation which found New Zealanders perceive threats to national security are increasing.

We're reminded of the important role of the Regulations Review Committee as Parliament this week holds a special debate about the committee's report on Covid-19 regulations.

Todd Muller is leaving Parliament. Known for a brief stint as Opposition leader, he also won plaudits for his bipartisanship and advocating for awareness about mental health.

Visitors entering the main entrance to Parliament can finally notice some visual signs of Māori culture and physical recognition of mana whenua.

This week the Government added a morning sitting of the House to ‘get stuck into’ completing debate on RMA reform. The Opposition just aimed for ‘stuck’.

As MPs count down to the election Parliament’s mood changes. The Opposition’s House leader Michael Woodhouse predicts “more anger, frivolity, perhaps less discipline”. “Perhaps” seems generous.

Five New Zealand MPs from across the political spectrum are visiting Samoa to build relationships within the country - and among themselves.

During a briefer than usual urgent sitting in Parliament this week, multiple bills were progressed through multiple stages each in what would normally take a couple of sitting weeks of debate.

When MPs screw up the consequences can be public and brutal. But sometimes that response has solid reasons which safeguard our system of responsible government.

Parliament has just six weeks left before it breaks for the election. There is still a lot yet to do, and to slow that down, one or two matters of privilege. 

As an MP Sir Geoffrey Palmer had a huge impact on the interlocking shapes of government and parliament. The great reformer is still brimming with ideas for improvement.

Prime Minister’s farewell speeches are rare events. We have photos, video and the full transcript of Jacinda Ardern’s valedictory address.

Legislation on alcohol went to a conscience vote this week, and the result was a reminder how some parties still tend to vote as a group on such issues.

In a busy week of Parliament one of the most crucial things MPs did may have got the least attention. Financial scrutiny is seldom exciting but it is important.

Parliament's week includes a mix of debate on a key police scrutiny role, annual reviews and two bills about booze, as well as the farewell speech from a familiar face.

Despite a week of distractions MPs were working. Hard. Ten bills were finished, and eight brand new bills began their lives, ready for the remaining weeks of this parliamentary term.   

Parliament spent extra hours this week churning through quite a long list of proposed legislation, with ten bills completing their third and final readings.

Question Time gets all the media attention, but it is only the tip of the scrutiny-iceberg. The action is below the waterline - in committee, where most of Parliament’s scrutiny of Government happens.

Parliament can grant powers to certain authorities to make new rules without having to go through the normal lengthy legislative process.

An increased appetite to learn Te reo Māori among different parts of the Parliament system means the work of the Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever.

Parliament has a charming tendency to gift people with very odd job titles, like Shadow Leader of the House. Michael Woodhouse outlines what the job entails (and it's neither shade nor homes).

This week MPs discussed Stuart Nash’s loss of a ministerial warrant for an hour. It may have looked like a political pile-on, but in reality it was Parliament doing exactly what it is designed for – scrutiny of the Executive. 

Response to recent climate disasters was the focus as the National Emergency Management Agency appeared before the Governance and Administration Committee for its annual review.

Parliament this week may agree to act speedily on a cyclone response bill, rather than invoke urgency. Doing so will allow some select committee time on the issue, and even a Member's Day.

This week’s weekend feature story for The House compiles highlights from through Parliament’s sitting week.

It’s a common occurrence in the House for opposition MPs to ask to “seek leave to table a document”, but have you wondered what this really means?

Maiden Statements are usually the public’s first and sometimes best chance to learn about an MP's motivations and politics, and new Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka's was no exception.

In Parliament this week there are three things happening that have nothing to do with passing legislation. Leader of the House Grant Robertson explains them to the House.

The House takes a look at how the backgrounds of three MPs informs the way they speak in Parliament.

After years of trimming budgets and doing things on-the-cheap to make ends meet Parliament’s secretariat has hit the budget wall and plans to end radio broadcasts. It’s a symptom of MP's fear of funding democracy properly.

Legislation has been passed under urgency to ensure all people returning to the country after being in prison systems abroad continue to come under parole-like oversight and support back in New Zealand

The use of entrenchment in law-making in this country has had a sound grilling at the Standing Orders Committee which is conducting its ongoing regular review of Parliament’s rules.

Today the debating chamber launched into action as it does most years - but this year was all about the weather and the climate.

After a week of business in the House was lost due to Cyclone Gabrielle, Parliament’s sitting year properly gets underway today with Debate on the Prime Minister’s Statement.

After a two-month break, Parliament resumed only to soon adjourn for the week as Cyclone Gabrielle complicated plans for the first sitting week in 2023.