New Zealand Parliament Starts Webcasts to the World

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The New Zealand Parliaments most public proceedings, known as "question time," began streaming to the world on the Internet on Tuesday.

The webcasting decision was made after officials announced that the Sky Television subscription TV service would carry live broadcasts of Parliamentary question time.

The webcasts are available on the Web portal site of national broadcaster, Television New Zealand (TVNZ), every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"We would hope that putting Parliament on nzoom.com opens up the exposure of the New Zealand Parliament to a worldwide audience," said TVNZ Chief Executive, Rick Ellis. "We certainly expect that it will be an attraction to New Zealanders whether they live here or overseas."

The British House of Commons and other Parliaments around the world are now broadcast continuously via the Internet.

Adam Creed, Newsbytes