TV coverage of Parliament

While it is an excellent thing that Parliament will supply TV feeds for all sessions of the House and select committees, it is silly to use that as a pretext to ban the media from having TV cameras in the House galleries.

I do support the ability of the House to still set some rules about coverage. Not so much to restrict coverage of MPs, but to not film any protesters in the gallery as to have no rules at all would encourage fringe groups to disrupt Parliament every few hours in the hope of being on TV. The broadcasters have been good about following the rules in place, so banning them is unjustifiable.

Good to see Dr Brash agreeing, and Gonzo gives a good summary of why the proposed ban is a bad thing.

I am less convinced of his call for 24/7 coverage of the Speaker’s Chair, let alone allowing Paris Hilton near it. Britney Spears maybe, but not Paris – we do have some standards down under 🙂