NZ Hansard

Use the read-only Python CLI to retrieve and filter records exposed by the official first-party source. Every command supports --json, bounded requests, stable exit codes, source URLs and retrieval timestamps.

Commands

# list recent debate and question resources
python3 scripts/cli.py latest --json
# search transcript text across the latest five sittings
python3 scripts/cli.py search QUERY --sittings 5 --json
# filter by speaker across a bounded sitting corpus
python3 scripts/cli.py speaker NAME --sittings 5 --json
# discover oral questions by date
python3 scripts/cli.py oral-questions --date VALUE --json
# find debates relating to a bill across a bounded sitting corpus
python3 scripts/cli.py bill QUERY --sittings 5 --json
# find a complete debate item
python3 scripts/cli.py debate ID --json

Add --limit N (1–100) to bound returned records. Undated search, speaker and bill commands fetch the latest five official sittings by default; set --sittings N (1–20) to adjust that bounded corpus or --date YYYY-MM-DD for one exact sitting. Malformed dates fail before any source request. Human output is the default.

Coverage and interpretation

• Quotes and attribution must remain tied to the official transcript.
• Speaker turns keep the published name in speaker_as_published and expose any parenthetical role or party separately as role_or_party.
• Preserve corrected or provisional transcript status when published.
• Do not infer a speaker's position beyond the retrieved words and context.

The CLI parses the official transcript listing and exact sitting pages at /hansard-transcript/YYYY-MM-DD. A date narrows search, speaker and bill commands; otherwise they search the explicitly bounded latest-sittings corpus. Debate IDs combine the sitting date with the published heading. Complete transcript pages remain the authoritative text and attribution surface.

Resources

• scripts/cli.py — canonical command entrypoint
• scripts/test_contract.py — deterministic repository contract audit
• scripts/smoke_test.py — parser fixture and bounded live probe
• tests/fixtures/listing.html and transcript.html — official listing/transcript-schema fixtures
• references/source-notes.md — feasibility, provenance and source limits