It is Parliament’s final week of business before the MPs head home to see what Santa has left in their stockings.
They may be dreaming of jandals roasting on a open road, but they’re aren’t on holiday yet. The pace of work is still heady and varied.
This week includes an extra morning sitting and an historic speech about an illegal war. But for a more seasonal touch there’s also a staff talent quest at Parliament this week.
The Hansard team show off their festive decorating skills. Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Fifty years ago parliaments only met for a few months each year. Governments would summon them to pass legislation and then send them packing again. Oversight, what oversight?
The modern parliament tends to get together from Waitangi Day until Christmas each year. Of course, MPs head home to focus on electorate work periodically but their Wellington workload is pretty substantial. New Zealand’s parliaments pass large amounts of chunky legislation.
So, this is the final week but MPs will plan to debate as many as eight or nine different bills through a stage of their journey.
It’s not even a full week - practically speaking, it’s not much more than a single day, but they will have four extra hours on Wednesday morning to help pack it in.
But that’s not all.
They are also planning to listen (and respond to) a video address from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
It will be the first time the members will meet in formal session to hear such an address. (Julia Gillard’s speech a few years ago was an unofficial occasion). The leader of heroic resistance against the illegal terrorist actions of a former super-power seem a good place to start.
Oh, and for something more seasonal - come Wednesday they will have a cheery, Christmassy debate about whether or not to break for Christmas and when to return.
