Radio coverage of Parliament boosted

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Radio coverage of Parliament boosted

Parliamentary debates on radio will be able to be heard by more people
when the House of Representatives resumes sitting tomorrow.

Till recently, only 70% of the population could access Parliamentary
broadcasts on Radio New Zealand's AM network. However, additional
funding in last year's Budget enabled the Office of the Clerk to
extend the broadcasting of Parliament to Waikato, Bay of Plenty and
Southland.


This means 81% of the population can now access the Parliamentary
broadcasts. Waikato listeners have been able to tune in on 1494am
since December along with those in the Bay of Plenty on 657am.
Southlanders had to wait till this month before they too could tune in
on 1314am.

The Speaker, Hon Margaret Wilson, says the extension of radio
broadcasts is one of several recent Government initiatives to make
Parliamentary debates more accessible. Parliamentary broadcasts have
been streamed live from the Radio New Zealand website www.radionz.co.nz
since March 2006, and in November two companies were selected to
televise Parliament.

'A continuous live television feed of digital standard will be
available from about the middle of the year, making parliamentary
debate more accessible to the public and interested parties,' Ms
Wilson said.

'The live debate will also be streamed on the parliamentary website
www.parliament.nz as well as via the in-house television service
operating in the Parliamentary complex.'

Ms Wilson said the broadcasting of Parliament, whether it be on radio
or television, is valuable to democracy as it gives the public the
ability to see how legislation is made and how the government of the
day conducts itself.