It's week two of a three-week recess at Parliament, but politics, of course, stops for no one.
This week on Inside Parliament, the 1News political reporting team break down the IPCA report into last year's Parliament protest and occupation, the National Party's new agriculture policy, and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' impending trip to Brisbane.
Read on and listen below.
1News political reporter Cushla Norman says the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) had to go through a massive amount of evidence covering the 1905 complaints about police conduct at the protest.
Of those, 85% were from people not physically at Parliament at the time, she said.
"That doesn't mean to say that their complaints weren't credible or justified."
There were eight counts where the IPCA found the use of force was not justified, such as a punch thrown by an officer.
The report had found the police did "drop the ball" on communicating with Wellington City Council regarding "traffic management" - that is, stopping occupiers from setting up camp and blocking roads in the first place.
It had also made recommendations around possible law changes it believed were required to make them fit for purpose - such as those regarding trespass, she said.
1News political editor Jessica Mutch McKay said another part of the report indicated the police discouraged former-Speaker Trevor Mallard from turning sprinklers and irritating music on the protesters - something he did indeed do despite this advice.
This week also saw the National Party release its agriculture policy - the 'Getting back to Farming' policy proposes 19 changes to rules and regulations.
Among those changes were doubling the cap on RSE (seasonal) workers, scrapping the median wage requirement for migrant workers, but offering a path to residency for them - something supported by the Greens, although the Greens want more protections for migrant workers to protect them from exploitation.
The policy, if implemented, would also resume live cattle exports - a ban on which comes into effect this month.
The Greens and Labour say the policy, on balance, is worth it because of the potential damage to New Zealand's reputation and its relatively small revenue - but ACT disagrees.
1News senior political reporter Benedict Collins said the move could represent National clawing back farmers.
He said it's possible that's something we may see more of from the National Party on the campaign trail.
Mutch McKay said National had perhaps learned lessons from the past - to solidify its traditional base.
This week, Hipkins will also travel to Brisbane to meet with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Mutch McKay said rules for Kiwis in Australia were very unfair and it was possible the trip would see an announcement around that topic.
"We're just not treated as equals and as we are on the eve of Anzac Day, it would be fitting and it would make it an easier sell to the domestic Australian public for these changes to come in in the shadow of Anzac Day."
1News digital political reporter Felix Desmarais said it would always have been a hard sell to Australians who are not as impacted by unfair rules on Kiwis in Australia.
He said another "brain drain" was something to be cognisant of, considering any changes could make Australia more appealing for New Zealanders to emigrate to.
You can listen to Inside Parliament – 1News' weekly political podcast – on your favourite podcast app.
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