- 14 minutes 56 secondsThe House on Sunday: Anti-slavery law uses new rule to bypass ballot
In a historic first, Parliament used a new rule to debate slavery legislation that has wide support in the House, but that government coalition partners don’t agree on. Plus other stories from a week of unlikely allies and surprising foes.
2 May 2026, 6:00 pm - 5 minutes 53 secondsMPs probe BSA’s role in the digital era
MPs have questioned the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s role in the digital era during a select committee briefing, as the regulator signals a need for reform.
30 April 2026, 8:00 am - 5 minutes 19 secondsNew prisoner segregation rules get ‘dignity, not sympathy’ response from MPs
A proposed new law would allow more prisoner segregation, but also mandate basic rights. MPs agree prison should ‘reflect our shared view of humanity’, even for those who ‘deserve the least sympathy’.
29 April 2026, 8:00 am - 5 minutes 31 secondsQuestion Time begins with a showdown between a Minister and..... a Minister?
Parliament began this week with a question time in which the Government was being pressed by...another member of Government?
28 April 2026, 8:00 am - 10 minutes 55 secondsHouse on Sunday: Party politics spills over into the House throughout the week
With distracting party politics going on outside the House, MPs were brought back on task by the Speaker on more than one occasion this week.
25 April 2026, 9:50 pm - 5 minutes 12 secondsThe General Debate: Open mic night at Parliament
Parliament's weekly free debate can give a surprising insight into the mood and politics of both MPs and parties.
23 April 2026, 8:00 am - 5 minutes 52 secondsMinisters brought back on task for Annual Review debate
While political attention was fixed on what was said in Tuesday morning’s National Party caucus, MPs still had parliamentary work to do. And this week, that was mostly the Annual Review Debate.
22 April 2026, 8:00 am - 4 minutes 59 secondsResponsibility and porkies: When party politics bleeds into Parliament
This week’s political intrigue bled into Question Time and illustrated Parliament’s rules about ministerial responsibility and lying or, as Parliament terms it, 'misleading the House'.
21 April 2026, 8:00 am - 15 minutesThe Victorian Parliament: Amid slum, disease, fire and illegal demolition
Step into the past to picture the early days of Wellington's Parliament and the 1890s Victorian neighbourhood it sat in, with help from historian Elizabeth Cox, author of Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street.
18 April 2026, 6:00 pm - 13 minutes 34 secondsCitizens assemblies: an alternative to select committees?
What if a group of randomly selected people were put in a room and asked to hammer out national policy? it sounds a bit like a social experiment, but at last month's democracy forum at Parliament, it was sincerely proposed.
12 April 2026, 11:00 am - 9 minutes 7 secondsThe House on Sunday: Fish fights and satire rights
The House saw a dichotomy of tempos this week, from a heated debate about fisheries one day, to a lighthearted, and at times even funny debate on parody and satire law.
4 April 2026, 7:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App