Webcasting of Select Committee Hearings [Webcasting link: New Zealand Parliament - Webcast of Select Committees]

Welcome to the pilot of webcasting of select committees.

In this pilot, live coverage of some select committee hearings will be webcast to the parliament website. The purpose of the pilot is to test the appetite of committees, and the public, for webcasting of select committee hearings.

During the course of the pilot, your feedback would be welcome. You can send us comment on webcasting through the comment box located on the lower right-hand side of the webcasting page.

What does the pilot cover?

Live coverage of public select committee hearings will be webcast from one of two designated select committee rooms (select committee meeting rooms 1 and 2) during the pilot. Only hearings of evidence which are open to the public can be webcast, and webcasting will be at the discretion of the committee; a committee may choose not to webcast its hearings.

For the purpose of this pilot, there will be no on-demand capability; proceedings will not be recorded or archived.

When will hearings be webcast?

When the House is sitting, most select committees hold their regular meetings on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The select committee meeting schedule lists the time, date and venue for each meeting planned for the coming week. The select committee meeting schedule is issued each Friday for the forthcoming week, and can be accessed at http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/meetings/50SCOschedule1/schedule-of-selectcommittee- meetings).

Only public hearings occurring in select committee meeting rooms 1 or 2 may be webcast.

Further information

You can find further information about the webcasting pilot in the Standing Orders Committee report available at http://www.parliament.nz/resource/0001871124, or in the Frequently Asked Questions document, available on the webcasting page (under the heading “Related documents”).

Should you have queries that are not addressed in these documents, you are welcome to contact us through the comments box found on the lower right hand side of the webcasting page, or by phone at (04) 817 9859.

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Frequently asked questions

This document sets out information in response to frequently asked questions.

If you have questions about select committees, or the webcasting pilot, which are not addressed in this document you are welcome to contact us through the comments field found on the right hand side of the webcasting page, or by phone on (04) 817 9520.

What are select committees, and when do they meet? Select committees are small groups of members that work on behalf of the House and report their conclusions to the House. There are 13 subject-area select committees, plus any number of ad hoc committees set up from time to time for particular purposes. Select committees often ask the public for input when they are considering bills or inquiries.

Further information on select committees can be found at http://www.parliament.nz/ennz/ about-parliament/how-parliament-works/factsheets/ 00HOOOCPubResAboutFactSheetsSelect1/parliament-brief-select-committees and http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/about-parliament/how-parliament-works/procedures/.

When the House is sitting, most select committees hold their regular meetings on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. A copy of the House sitting programme is available at http://www.parliament.nz/ennz/ pb/business/programme/00CLOOCThisWkProgramme1/house-sitting-programme How can I find out which hearings will be webcast, and when? The select committee meeting schedule lists the time, date and venue for each meeting planned for the coming week. A new schedule, for the upcoming week, is put on the website each Friday.

To see which hearings might be webcast, you can check the select committee meeting schedule (available on the right hand side of the webcast page, or at http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/meetings/50SCOschedule1/schedule-of-selectcommittee- meetings).

The hearings held in select committee rooms 1 or 2 may be webcast.

The schedule says a hearing is being held in select committee room 1 or 2 at a particular time, but nothing is being webcast. Why not?

There are two possible reasons for this. First, the committee meeting may be running late.

The meeting schedule provides times which are indicative only. While the schedule is usually fairly accurate, sometimes business which the committee is considering before the hearing can take longer than expected. You may need to wait a short time to see the scheduled evidence.

Secondly, committees do not have to webcast their hearings. If a committee does not wish to webcast its hearing, the hearing will not be shown on the website. If the hearing is open to the public, you will still be able to attend in person (see below).

I see from the schedule that there is a meeting in one of the other select committee rooms (not 1 or 2) that I am interested in. How can I see this hearing?

For the pilot, only select committee meeting rooms 1 and 2 have webcasting equipment in them. There is no ability to webcast from any of the other select committee meeting rooms.

However, if a public hearing is being held in another room, you can attend the committee meeting in person. If you come to Parliament through the reception area, staff will guide you in the direction of the hearing you are interested in.

I see from the schedule that there are hearings to be held in both select committee meeting room 1 and select committee meeting room 2 at the same time. Which one will be webcast?

For the pilot, only one of the designated select committee rooms (1 or 2) is able to webcast at any one time. If there are two public hearings in progress at the same time from these rooms, the committees will need to decide which will be webcast.

If you are interested in listening to a public hearing that is not being webcast, you are welcome to attend the hearing in person (see above).

I logged in at the time indicated in the schedule to see a specific hearing, but the hearing had already begun. Why?

As a committee may run later than expected, it can also occasionally run ahead of time. The meeting schedule provides times which are indicative only.

While the schedule is usually fairly accurate, sometimes other business beforehand can take less time than expected. In these circumstances, a committee will usually move straight to the next item of business on its agenda. If this is the hearing, webcasting of it will begin early.

How can I get a copy of a hearing that has been webcast?

The pilot only provides live coverage of select committee hearings. Webcasts are not being recorded or archived, so we are unable to provide copies of webcasts.

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