Standing Orders

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. Audio

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. Audio

Parliament Journalist Phil Smith has a crack at making a submission to MPs. Here is why you should bother, how you do it, how you really shouldn't, and how his went. Audio

Every three years senior MPs meet to reimagine Parliament, considering which rule changes might strengthen representative democracy and executive oversight. Audio

Question Time works best if the MPs ask tight, non-political questions. Straight questions are more likely to get straight answers, so they’re kept as tight as possible but not always by choice. Audio

The unintended consequences of one MP's early retirement with a bad day for the MP, who in the subsequent reshuffle, is allocated the debating chamber's 'Chair of Doom'. Audio

Parliament’s Speaker doesn’t want to stifle MPs’ free speech, instead he’s deputising all MPs to call out bigotry when they hear it. Audio

Parliament has agreed to the biggest shake-up of its rules since MMP, including changes to how it works, where and when it meets; even how it looks on TV.  Audio

Parliament’s select committees are surprisingly open and public, but when they go dark to work on outcomes they are meant to stay pitch black. Audio

Some days Parliament’s Question Time passes without incident. Some days less so. Last week was a smorgasbord of angst and fracas. We annotate a metaphysical exchange. Audio