From waterslides to karaoke and a Coke Zero fountain, MPs have revealed what they dream of seeing at Parliament as the Speaker plans a precinct makeover.
House Speaker Trevor Mallard unveiled his plan for Parliament's new precinct to replace earthquake-prone and foreign-owned office blocks on Tuesday, and it could cost taxpayers up to $250 million.
The Speaker has grand plans for Parliament but so far he's only managed to build a slide. He's now setting his sights bigger - much, much bigger - on a total parliamentary revamp, including three new buildings.
"They'll look good, they'll be functional but they're not going to be flash," Mallard said on Tuesday.
Parliamentary office space is at a premium with MPs squeezed into every corner after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Bowen House, which housed dozens of them, was rendered broken.
So now, a new three-storey building will sprout behind the Beehive for ministers, and a second six-storey building will go behind the old Parliament where there's currently a car park. That'll be used for the overflow MPs.
It's not exactly what MPs have been dreaming of.
"Civility," said National leader Judith Collins.
"That everyone has an office which isn't earthquake-prone," said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
"A group hug room," said National MP Matt Doocey.
"A karaoke booth for one," said Labour's Dr Ayesha Verrall.
"Waterslides!" said National MP Simon Bridges.
"A Coke Zero fountain tap," said National MP Erica Stanford.
"More National MPs in Parliament - that would be my dream," said National MP Nicola Willis.
"Some amazing vegetarian food," said Labour MP Liz Craig.
"Lifts in the Beehive that don't take five minutes to arrive," said Labour MP Megan Woods.
"Decent coffee would be good," said National's Chris Bishop.
What about the Speaker's dream? He says he'd just like to see the project finished. The plans were mostly developed by the previous Speaker David Carter who roughly costed the project at $100 million.
Mallard has warned his plan could cost more than double - up to $250 million.
"That was for the one building - this involves three," he said. "You'll have some building cost inflation on top of that."
Mallard has already gone cap in hand to Finance Minister Grant Robertson but was turned down because the plan wasn't complete. Now, he's hoping for cash in next year's Budget so the building can be finished by the 2026 election.
