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- Engage-in-Brief: 3 November 2025
Engage-in-Brief: 3 November 2025
Holly Bennett
November 03, 2025
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TWO TRICKS TO TRY
Regular readers of Engage-in-Brief will remember that we talked about Long-Term Insights Briefings back in July. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) are currently drafting a new Long-term Insights Briefing, and are seeking submissions. What they want to know is “How can we accelerate the growth of high productivity activities in the New Zealand economy?” Have an answer for them? Let them know!
Want to know who’s talking to Select Committees this week? Take a look at the Submitters List on the Parliament website, which is one of the best places to find out which committees are having public hearings each week, and what they’ll be covering when they do. See a name you recognise or a topic you’re interested in? Tune in and watch the submission on the livestream — or head down to the parliamentary precinct and sit in the audience in-person.
ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you’re trying to schedule any engagements with members of Parliament, one of your first steps should be to consult Parliament’s sitting calendar. Whether you’re trying to meet with an MP in Wellington or in their home electorate, your job will be made a lot easier if you know when they’re required to be on the parliamentary precinct in Wellington (did you know that MPs need to seek permission to leave precinct during a sitting of the House?).
The sitting calendar for each year is first drafted by the Leader of the House, agreed to by the Business Committee, and approved by the House — usually on the final sitting day of the year. Between steps two and three, the Business Committee publishes the draft sitting calendar so that it is ready to be debated by the House at the end of the year.
It’s not very pretty yet — a properly designed version is published after the draft gets confirmed.
But there are two things to keep in mind! The first is that, until it’s confirmed by the House, things can change. So while it’s good to pencil things in, you might still need to shift some dates around in a couple of weeks (the House adjourns for 2025 on December 18).
And the second thing is the General Election next year! While we don’t know exactly when it will be (although, based on the draft sitting calendar, Phil Smith from RNZ’s the House has guessed November 7th), we do know that Parliament will dissolve several weeks before the election, and won’t reconvene until a new Government is formed.
Lobbying and engagement look very different in an election year, and it’s important that you start planning now. So if you’d like to make sure you’re prepared, think about booking a training session with Engage!
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ONE FUNNY THING
Since it was Halloween on Friday, we thought we’d get into the spirit (👻) of the season and share this news feature from a few years back exploring the spookier side of Parliament…
(Content warning: The video includes some discussion of an historic suicide)
Have you seen a ghost at Parliament? Let us know!
That’s it for another edition of Engage-in-Brief! Remember, you have a voice and you can use it. If you need training to support your advocacy efforts to get ready for next year’s General Election, simply reply to this email to kick off a kōrero about how we can help.
Mauri ora!
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