New Zealand Parliament

Today I went and toured Parliament. It was a wonderful tour, which was free, and the coolest part was that we got to go sit in on the Public Gallery of the House. There we got to watch the different members of parliament debate. Recently the National party has taken over the majority, and the Labor Party had a lot to complain about. There was much yelling and scoffing. On the wall of the stairwell leading up to the House was a New Zealand flag that had been in the World Trade Center on 9/11. It had been dug out of the rubble and given back to New Zealand. They hang it on the wall in remembrance of those who lost their lives on that day. I thought that was a very nice and respectful thing to do.

Then we proceeded on to the tour. Here’s your NZ History lesson of the day: Parliament moved to Wellington in 1865. There are 3 buildings: the Parliament House, the Parliament Library, and the Executive Wing (which is nicknamed the Beehive). There have been 2 fires in the building since its original construction. One of which was in the fifties and the other in 1992. Both were accidental, but did cause serious damages. The architecture is beautiful with stained glass, gold-leafed decorative, and Maori influences.

Outside Parliament there was a protest going on over the genocide of the Tamil people in India, and genocide in Sri Lanka as well. I love to see protests and I’ve seen a few since my arrival to New Zealand protesting these same causes. Also out front was a tour bus with the national tourism campaign group, 100% Pure New Zealand. They were asking tourists to create a video postcard that would be posted on Youtube promoting New Zealand tourism. I’ll put the video on my facebook once I get it so keep an eye out for that. The tour bus had a giant birds nest on the back and that is where you went inside to create your video. Very strange.

I’m leaving Wellington on Monday and heading for Christchurch with Toph and Ashley. Before we go though there are 2 festivals this weekend in Wellington so more to come soon.