Parliament TV online - Television live

Parliament TV Live Stream

Parliament TV is the dedicated television service of New Zealand's House of Representatives, carrying the work of the country's Parliament from Wellington live, unedited and without commentary. Operated for the House by the transmission company Kordia and funded by Parliament itself, it has broadcast proceedings since 2007 and reaches viewers on Freeview channel 31, Sky channel 086 and as a live stream online.

Question Time and the Business of the House

On sitting days, which generally run from Tuesday to Thursday in afternoon and evening sessions, the channel follows the daily business of the chamber. The centrepiece is Question Time, the hour in which ministers face unscripted questions from members across the House and the most quoted hour of New Zealand political life. Around it Parliament TV carries the General Debate, first and third readings of bills, urgent debates and valedictory statements, all shown in full from the chamber's own cameras. Programming is limited to live coverage and scheduled repeats of Question Time, and the channel closes down outside sitting hours.

The Country That First Put Parliament on Air

New Zealand's parliamentary broadcasting tradition is the oldest in the world: on 25 March 1936 it became the first country to broadcast Parliament proceedings regularly by radio. Full audio coverage later moved to the AM Network operated by Radio New Zealand, and in 2007 the coverage expanded to television, with the channel available on Freeview channel 31 and Sky channel 086 from 9 October 2007. Parliament TV's feeds are supplied free of charge to media companies, and its coverage is carried by broadcasters such as TVNZ and MediaWorks.

Beyond the Chamber

When the House is not sitting, attention turns to select committee hearings, where legislation and petitions are examined in detail and members of the public have their say. The related In The House service, produced by Christchurch's Tandem Studios for the Clerk of the House, repackages chamber moments into more than 22,000 highlight videos, and the channel's footage occasionally travels far beyond New Zealand: a 2013 speech by MP Maurice Williamson during the final reading of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act was picked up by media around the world.

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