Estimating the cost of new public health legislation
Nick Wilson, Nhung Nghiem, Rachel Foster, Linda Cobiac & Tony Blakely
Volume 90, Number 7, July 2012, 532-539
Table 1. Time allocated to sitting daysa by the New Zealand Parliament, 2001–2010b
| Variable | Value (SD) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Average annual number of sitting days during 2001–2010, days | 80.6 (12.5) | Range: 60 to 93 days |
| Average duration (hours) of a sitting day | 5.7 (NA) | New Zealand Parliament sitting days are currently scheduled for each Tuesday (6.5 h), Wednesday (6.5 h) and Thursday (4 h) |
| Average annual duration (hours) of all sitting days | 459.4 (NA) | Average annual number of sitting days times average duration of a sitting day |
| Potential annual duration (hours) of all parliamentary time | 1722.9 (NA) | 260.7 potential days of parliamentary time after deduction of weekends, annual leave (20 days) and public holidays (11 days). The average day was assumed to be 7.5 hours |
| Proportion (%) of parliamentary time allocated to sitting days | 26.7 (4.1) | Annual duration of all sitting days as a percentage of the annual duration of all parliamentary time |
NA, not applicable; SD, standard deviation.
a The proportion of sitting days was used as a proxy for the proportion of parliamentary resources devoted to law-making.
b Only the 10-year period from 2001 to 2010 was covered since data on sitting days were not routinely collected before 2001.
Source: Personal communication, Natalie Smith, parliamentary service librarian, Wellington, New Zealand, 2011.