Question Time gets all the media attention, but it is only the tip of the scrutiny-iceberg. The action is below the waterline - in committee, where most of Parliament's scrutiny of Government happens.
The aspect of Parliament that most people notice is Question Time: the first hour in the debating chamber when all the MPs are present, are noisy and looking to score political points. It's often heavy on the political sturm and drang, but light on the practical enlightenment.
The second most known part of Parliament is the other 80-odd percent of time in the debating chamber. The time when MPs are (mostly) debating proposed laws.
But wait, there's more. The aspect of Parliamentary action that is frequently overlooked is also often the most interesting, arguably the most useful and definitely where the government gets scrutinized most carefully.
Listen to the RNZ radio version of this story.
Select Committees. They meet for nigh-on 50 hours each sitting week, and many keep on meeting even when the House itself is in recess. They often do this online.
I've heard select committees called variously the workhorse and the engine room of Parliament. Both are excellent descriptions.
Like the House, select committees spend most of their time hearing evidence on and nutting out the details of proposed laws. But they are also the main place that Parliament keeps an eagle eye on the work of government.
The photos in this article are all from a select committee hearing this week. The Education And Workforce Committee were digging into details of the settings and performance of the Immigration Department. It was an opportunity for particularly National and Green MPs to ask some pointy-ended questions about policy, plans, immigration settings, practical operations, and finance. It was both quite detailed and quite fascinating.
In attendance were the responsible minister, Michael Wood, and also a bevy of officials.
We often forget that while Parliament's scrutiny of Government focuses on the ministers who are the Executive, the Government is actually the full apparatus of the state and so Parliament also keeps an eye on the vast panoply of detail that involves.
For some months the various select committees have been holding annual reviews. Annual Reviews and their sibling Estimates Hearings are a twice-yearly round of detailed examinations of government departments and entities; from the National Limb Service to the Armed Forces. Committees grill ministers and officials on how they plan to spend money (estimates hearings) and later on how they actually spent it (annual reviews).
But this week's hearing was neither of those, it was also not related to legislation, or even a petition…