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I've been listening to Question Time as podcasts fairly regularly for the last couple of months.

Question Time happens twice a week, and 12 questions are submitted ahead of time. Members of Parliament (typically the opposition) ask questions of the government, and is a way for the government to be held to account on their activity. It is ostensibly performed with dignity and ceremony but it's often a hot mess of shit-talking, interjections and the speaker of the house playing Schoolteacher to bratty politicians. This does however make listening to it a bit more interesting, and helps laypeople gauge how controversial a statement is. I really appreciate that our MP's aren't above calling bullshit.

Question Time is basically my only perspective on NZ politics, politicians. I understand that this is a caveat, but fuck all of you all. This thread is for Question Time time.

some opinions from question time

1 David Carter is the shit
Speaker of the House David Carter does a pretty top-notch job. He seems to be basically fair and unbiased, and isn't afraid to call Bill English out if he's being garbage (as a National MP, also being SotH seems a conflict of interest, but that's how Question Time rolls). His patience and ability to maintain order is legit, and he's good natured.

2 Winston Peters
Pretty good at question time. Regularly flirts with the line Carter draws (with questions being out order), talks a lot of shit, pretty entertaining

3 Stephen Joyce: More than just dildo-fodder
Has good stats, seems to both be aware of the nuance of complex issues without hiding behind it. He occasionally represents other MP's to answer their questions, tastefully rude sometimes.

4 The Todd Barclay/Clutha-Southland scandal: Let's all ask the same question for 3 weeks in a row
It's a legit embarrassment for English and National but it's super frustrating to hear the same questions being asked over and over and Bill English answering each time ~I have no ministerial responsibility in regards to that question~ stop wasting your questions! They learned they weren't going to get anything out of him the third time they asked, but I swear they're going to keep asking every question time until the election. Talk shit about this issue in your social media; try ask useful questions instead.

5 Green Party are onto it
Julie-Anne Genter, Jan Logie in particular ask good questions and in general put Labour to shame. I'm basically in favour of them taking all of Labour's voter base and ascending as leader party of the left. Metiria Turei does okay too.

6 Bill English is pretty shit at question time
Every time he gets a questions he doesn't like, he tells the speaker that the question was garbage, then accuses the member that submitted the question of something barely (or not at all) related to the question. His obvious attempts to divert attention are actually pretty embarrassing. Other National MP's of similar stature are more eloquent and talk shit way better. English just shouts and everyone is sad about it.

7 What's a deputy for?
Not question time, I know that much. Jacinda Arden needs to step up her game, the Andrew Little-Grant Robertson tag team is a great time. If this was Bleach, Arden would be... Yachiru? With Grant Robertson being Ikkaku (both 3rd spot in the list...) this comparison relies on Andrew Little being Kenpatchi-like, which is a stretch.

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Question Time 05/07/17 Question One

ANDREW LITTLE Wrote:to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister for social housing, given the Hutt housing development announced yesterday would include as few as 60 affordable homes of the 330 to be built?

Give it a listen and give me thoughts

Not sure the difference between the designations of "affordable" and "social" houses, (I really ought to if I want to make any serious comments buuut....) Bill English in his initial answer does a thing typical of National answers, and imply all issues are the result of bad Labour governance! They've been in power for three terms though! Shouldn't they be embarrassed to make that sort of claim so often?

In supplementary answers Bill conflates "affordable" with "whatever the current market price is", which seems... to defeat the concept of affordability? He also reminds Labour that they wrote a list of "Chinese sounding names" and their use of volunteer overseas (unpaid?) workers to campaign for them. Bill doesn't really need to be good at Question Time (and isn't) when Labour is covered in these sorts of scandals. The Chinese-sounding name thing was so outrageous to me at the time that I sort of wrote off the Labour party forever as NZ-First-tier xenophobes. That said, National seems almost entirely unconcerned about first-home buyers, not sure if that's an issue or not (I don't intend to buy a house any time soon, I'm not sure how hard it is...).

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Huh, I had no idea we had a podcast like this. I will give it a listen.