Stories by Johnny Blades

The latest from the House

Parliament is set to tell the Government how much funding to give the Officers of Parliament, three independent entities which tend to cause governments headaches when they report to parliament.

A rare series of square-offs between Opposition Leader Chris Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni in her capacity as Acting Prime Minister became repetitive.

Parliament’s Health Select Committee has heard from people petitioning for Tourette Syndrome to be recognised by the Ministry of Health as a disability in its own right in this country.

Budgets are wrapped up in a combination of mystery and tradition. The portents of the Budget to come have begun already and will only increase as it nears.

Their work is usually unpaid and sometimes overlooked, but activists play an important long-term role in the parliament system. Four veterans open up on their experiences at parliament.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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…

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.

The last episode of The House for this year is an opportunity to look back at some of the goings-on in Parliament that we covered in 2022.

Parliament’s year is rapidly nearing an end, and the Government has this week been focused on completion of three fairly major pieces of legislation.

Five MPs travelled to Westport as part of a Parliamentary Outreach Programme aimed at connecting New Zealanders throughout the country with Parliament and its processes.

In a week when Parliament sat under urgency, across four long Tuesdays, quite a lot of legislative business has been progressed.

There’s been a distinct niggly energy about the exchanges in the House this week, and it’s got something to do with the fact Parliament is sitting under urgency.

Parliament is this week to sit under urgency as the Government seeks additional sitting hours to clear a backlog of legislation that it wants to progress.

“An incredibly diverse and eclectic collection”, the Parliamentary Collection has great art, black rods, protest bricks, bodily parts and much more.

A former Prime Minister has warned MPs they face a daunting challenge to maintain public confidence in the Parliament system in the age of disinformation.

MPs who are former members of the NZDF had plenty to say when the first reading of the Inspector-General Defence Bill got underway.