Parliament has hit the time of year it turns into a combination of Glastonbury and the Inquisition - the multi-pronged miniterial grilling called Estimates Hearings.
Te Pāti Māori has accused the government of being bereft of leadership and in a "state of paralysis" over its response to the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz.
Parliament at night is a different vibe to Parliament during the day. Staff numbers on precinct have mostly thinned out, but it's a time when the weird and wonderful can happen.
“Final decisions on the proposal to establish a new entity will be considered at that time,” he said. Mather told Parliament’s social services and community select committee that the new public media entity was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to create a stronger public media system that would benefit all New Zealanders.
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TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick says how a new public media entity could ensure that its independence from the Government would not be questioned is a “great question”. It would be critical to ensure the new media entity had a “strong public mandate and purpose” enshrined its charter, he said.