Parliament of Tasmania - HAEO - Regional Access

Experience Parliament Online:  Watch, Listen and Read

While the House of Assembly Education Office understands that viewing Parliament online does not replicate the authenticity of seeing debate firsthand, many teachers may find this viewing option a useful teaching tool when delivering their Civics and Citizenship programs, particularly for schools outside Hobart.

One of the advantages of streaming the parliamentary broadcast service is that schools can watch either live or archived debate.

Tips on live streaming: To watch Parliament live with their class, teachers should check the current sitting schedule for the dates Parliament meets. As a guide, the House of Assembly sits from 10:00 am and the Legislative Council usually from 11:00 am, with both Houses rising at 1:00 pm for the luncheon break. Both Houses resume sitting at 2:30 pm.

Tips on accessing archived debate: Watching debates ‘on demand’ gives teachers control over which debates their students watch and when they watch them. Meaning, whilst planning a unit of work, teachers can schedule lessons to watch particular debates that reinforce the unit outcomes.

Teachers can search the Parliament of Tasmania’s website for a particular Bill, noting the date of each reading, then view debate via either the House of Assembly Chamber Proceedings page or the Legislative Council Chamber Proceedings page.