Back Benches
Encyclopedia
Back Benches is a New Zealand
political interview show, presented by Wallace Chapman
and Damian Christie. It is filmed at the 'Backbencher' pub
across the road from Parliament Buildings
in Wellington
, at 9.10 pm Wednesday nights (and aired live), and reshown on Thursday mornings, Friday nights, and Saturday mornings. The show is aired on the Television New Zealand
channel TVNZ 7.
On July 1, the two Freeview-only channels (TVNZ 6
and TVNZ 7) were made available for viewing on SKY TV
. On this date the Back Benches episodes became 44–50 minutes long (up from 22–25 minutes previously).
There is usually one from each of the National
and Labour
parties, and one from each of two other parties with seats (that is, Green
, Māori
, ACT, Progressive
, United Future and, previously, New Zealand First
, parties).
There is also a summary of political news during the preceding week (from both New Zealand and internationally), a small (10 person) poll of a current issue or controversy, and a 'Who am I?' game where customers present at the pub can guess which sitting MP clues read out are about.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
political interview show, presented by Wallace Chapman
Wallace Chapman
Wallace Chapman is a New Zealand radio and television host.His shows include:* Back Benches * The Wallace Chapman Drive Chapman began his broadcasting career while a student at the University of Otago with student radio station Radio One...
and Damian Christie. It is filmed at the 'Backbencher' pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
across the road from Parliament Buildings
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
The New Zealand Parliament Buildings house the New Zealand Parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington...
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, at 9.10 pm Wednesday nights (and aired live), and reshown on Thursday mornings, Friday nights, and Saturday mornings. The show is aired on the Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
channel TVNZ 7.
On July 1, the two Freeview-only channels (TVNZ 6
TVNZ 6
TVNZ 6 was a digital-only, commercial-free television channel operated by Television New Zealand. It was available in 60.3% of New Zealand homes on the Freeview and SKY Television Digital platforms...
and TVNZ 7) were made available for viewing on SKY TV
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
. On this date the Back Benches episodes became 44–50 minutes long (up from 22–25 minutes previously).
Format
Each episode a panel of about three to five people are present on the show. The panel members are usually sitting MPsMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
There is usually one from each of the National
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
and Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
parties, and one from each of two other parties with seats (that is, Green
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
, Māori
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
, ACT, Progressive
New Zealand Progressive Party
Jim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....
, United Future and, previously, New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
, parties).
There is also a summary of political news during the preceding week (from both New Zealand and internationally), a small (10 person) poll of a current issue or controversy, and a 'Who am I?' game where customers present at the pub can guess which sitting MP clues read out are about.
See also
- List of Back Benches episodes
- Wallace ChapmanWallace ChapmanWallace Chapman is a New Zealand radio and television host.His shows include:* Back Benches * The Wallace Chapman Drive Chapman began his broadcasting career while a student at the University of Otago with student radio station Radio One...
- Politics of New ZealandPolitics of New ZealandThe politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made...
- Parliament of New ZealandParliament of New ZealandThe Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
- TVNZ 7