Parliament's debating chamber sits empty Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
This week, Parliament began with a secret bill and ended with a debate on coping with climate change. Between the two the word "growth" bloomed.
At the link above you can hear this week's Sunday Report from The House, with coverage on the politics of fudging budget numbers and the week's debate on the coming budget. You can also read our coverage of the use of fictional fiscal cliffs, and the purposeful fudging of budget numbers. Who would guess, sometimes MPs stretch the truth to suit their own purposes.
The week began with the Government's first dose of urgency for the year. It was needed to pass all stages of the Bail (Electronic Monitoring) Amendment Bill, which retrospectively fixes a law that has fallen behind common practice. You can read or listen to an explanation of that here.
That urgency lasted until around 1pm on Wednesday (with an 11-hour suspension overnight), during which the House also got through the committee stage of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill, which enables random roadside testing of potential drug drivers.
On Wednesday, Parliament felt the first real sense of budget fever, as the House debated the Budget Policy Statement and Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. National kept up the 'growth growth growth' refrain until the Speaker reproved them for sounding like a revivalist tent meeting. Opposition parties criticised what they perceived as measly levels of funding. You can read our report on that at the link.
Later that day, during members' business, Labour MP, Camila Belich's Crimes (Theft by Employer) Bill passed its third reading, and was signed into law the next day. It amends the Crimes Act to acknowledge withheld wages from an employer as theft.
On Thursday, the House debated on the Finance and Expenditure Committee's report on its Inquiry into climate adaptation. In the report, the committee provided a myriad of recommendations to the Government in regard to how they approach the mammoth and multifaceted task of climate adaptation. We'll have more reporting on that debate next weekend.
*RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
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