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The House headlines with summaries.
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Parliament debates to touch business nerves
5 Apr 2022If ever there was a week in parliament to make the business sector a little itchy, this week might just be it, as MPs debate Bills that could see workers getting more pay and another public holiday.
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Managing MPs - the ‘staff’ you can’t fire
3 Apr 2022Parliament’s Speaker is on a mission to stop workplace bullying and improve behaviour, even that of the ‘staff’ who can’t be fired.
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Lessons from Christchurch inform Earthquake Commission transition
31 Mar 2022A new Bill looks to make life easier for people affected by major disasters, following the human disaster created by shortcomings of the Earthquake Commission in its response to the Christchurch…
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Parliament’s second spring: a public return
30 Mar 2022Parliament has reworked its traffic light settings and the public are returning to the precinct, including school visits, public events, tours and public galleries in the debating chamber.
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Decoding the names of bills
29 Mar 2022A bill by any other name (would be utterly confusing). We decode the naming rules for Parliament’s bills and laws.
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Bill seeks streamlined path through surrogacy process
27 Mar 2022Surrogacy arrangements can often be difficult legal and health processes to navigate for intending parents and surrogates. A new Member’s Bill is looking to make it a smoother process that enhances…
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Dating Parliament’s Speaker, and the ‘chair of doom’
20 Mar 2022The 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'.
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Iwi lead panacea process as Parliament grounds reopen
16 Mar 2022The community is welcomed back into Parliament's grounds, the next step in the transition back from stinky rubbish tip to a place for picnics, petitions, play and protest.
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More work needed on hate speech, as Parliament marks mosque attacks anniversary
A motion in Parliament to mark the third anniversary of the Christchurch mosque terror attacks found MPs reflecting on how there is still work to do to counter extremism and hate speech.
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Russia Sanctions - an explainer
13 Mar 2022On Wednesday Parliament unanimously passed a law allowing sanctions in relation to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Here's how it works.
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Avoiding disinformation on law with explanations
10 Mar 2022When weird claims are made about bills and laws, where can you check the truth if you don’t have a degree in the arcana of legal drafting?
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Skirmish tests notion of honourable MPs
9 Mar 2022The notion that MPs are people of honour who must be taken at their word was briefly tested in a skirmish which resulted in the first ejection of an MP from the chamber this year.
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The law writing speeds: glacier, snail or rocket
8 Mar 2022Creating new laws takes years, except when it happens at break-neck pace. This week Parliament will consider a Russia Sanctions Bill under urgency. Necessity means it was also written under urgency.
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Sound and vision: hybrid parliament begins amid unrest
6 Mar 2022This week, not only did MPs have to contend with a riot on their front lawn, they also had to come to grips with a new hybrid parliament in which some members participated by Zoom.
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Parliament amok: A photo essay
A protest turns into a riot and conflagration as police move on Parliament’s squatters with quite extraordinary restraint. Photos tell the story.
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Youth Parliament kicks off with the traditional biscuit tin ballot
4 Mar 2022Choosing between a lower voting age, supply chain slavery, and age-based wage discrimination. The coming Youth Parliament has balloted an issue.
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'This too will pass': MPs give thanks and point a few fingers
4 Mar 2022Parliament’s precinct is being spring-cleaned and returned to order and the MPs are full of thanks, and a little causative finger pointing.
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Drug driving law not just about illegal substances
2 Mar 2022Parliament has passed a law to establish a roadside oral fluid testing regime to test for recent drug use, and proposes that drivers who fail two consecutive oral fluid tests would incur an…
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Condemnation of Russian invasion of Ukraine kicks off Parliament week
1 Mar 2022This week in the House began with a motion in support of Ukraine and it will end with a special debate on a bill not even yet introduced. Chris Hipkins explains some of the parliamentary week's…
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The week’s bills: Drug driving, revenge porn, sunscreen and abortion
1 Mar 2022Parliament’s year has started in earnest with some meaty laws up for final approvals this week, including drug driving, revenge porn, sunscreen and abortion.
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Parliament comes together to address an injustice
27 Feb 2022Paige Harris never met her mother. She wasn’t even on her birth certificate. Parliament is passing a law to fix that injustice - just for Paige.
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The Hybrid Chamber: Parliament on Covid
27 Feb 2022It may sound like something from Hammer House of Horror but The Hybrid Chamber is a plan for Parliament to go semi-virtual when MPs go down with Covid.
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A week of Question Time: costs, cash and a little covid
17 Feb 2022A week of questions in Parliament: Some opposition go with 'show me the money' and some with 'defend the covid rules'.
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Abortion Safe Areas - a rights balancing act
16 Feb 2022In the latest from The House, MPs strike a balance in shaping legislation to enable Abortion Safe Areas.
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