Parliament was sitting under urgency yesterday as the Government continued with its programme of passing legislation before the election, the date of which is still unknown.
But while the House was debating the Employment Relations (Breaks and Infant Feeding) Amendment Bill, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill (No 3), Public Transport Management Bill and Biofuel Bill, most attention was turning to today's sitting of the privileges committee.
The powerful committee is expected to receive another letter from billionaire Owen Glenn relating to donations to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and his party.
Outside Parliament, National Party leader John Key released another advertising billboard signalling that National believes the election campaign is already under way.
This week, the billboard featured National's policy for a "youth guarantee".
Speaking at the launch, Mr Key said too many people were not in education, training or work — about 25,000, aged between 15 and 19.
"National is not prepared to write them off. Our youth are too important."
National's youth guarantee was based on its expectation all young people under 18 should be in work, education or training.
The policy would provide a universal educational entitlement for all 16 and 17-year-olds.
Labour has a similar policy, which Prime Minister Helen Clark told a Business New Zealand 2008 election conference was a central plank in Labour's election plans.
The school system had failed too many people and that had to change.
The Schools Plus programme was moving towards an education age of 18 either at school, in the workforce, training or structured learning.
"Our near full employment had disguised some unpleasant truths, including that half of our existing workforce does not have the skills to function adequately in the knowledge economy in the present or the future."
During the day, National kept issuing press releases criticising the speed at which legislation was being passed in the dying stages of the last session of Parliament before the election.
Some delegates at the Business NZ conference expressed similar criticism, particularly around changes made late on Tuesday to KiwiSaver.
Mr Key continued his calls for the Prime Minister to take a firmer stand on Mr Peters, but Finance Minister Michael Cullen attempted to turn the tables by calling for Mr Key to explain the purpose of his meeting with Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party and a multi-million donor to right wing political parties.
"Meeting with Lord Ashcroft in and of itself is not the issue here. But Mr Key's evasiveness and clear discomfort at answering questions about his meeting has certainly raised suspicions."
Parliament is due to continue in urgency until tomorrow night.
While the term urgency suggests a time of extreme activity, in fact the reverse is true.
While MPs are wheeled into the House to give their 10min speeches on legislation that ends up being passed anyway, urgency creates a vacuum elsewhere in Parliament.
Mr Peters is likely to fill that vacuum today.
Political editor Dene Mackenzie is in Wellington this week.
