1 Sep 2021

General debate: Bouquets and lumps of brick

From The House , 6:55 pm on 1 September 2021

A pinch and a punch - it’s September and the first day of spring today. So it was appropriate that the Greens were back in Parliament’s House of Representatives - or at least some were and  taking turns being there. 

Parliament was again a mini lock-down version of itself, with just a few MPs allowed in the chamber. It took a similar shape to Tuesday, but with the midweek General Debate being the main event after a short Question Time.

Judith Collins at the first Question time and sitting of the House  in alert level 4 lockdown in the House of Representatives debating chamber.

Photo: Pool / ROBERT KITCHIN / STUFF

The General Debate was presumably a key reason the Opposition were keen to be back in the House.  Because it’s open slather on any topic, it’s an opportunity for an out-and-out uninterrupted soap box and there aren’t that many of those. 

Like many general debates it was a potpourri of arguments and approaches, of bouquets and lumps of brick. The House grabbed a snatch of each for a potted encapsulation of its approaches and themes. Listen to the audio above for more.