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'Found In The Hansard' Twitter Account Shows How Crazy Our Parliament Is

This New Twitter Account Shows Exactly How Insane Australia's Parliament Is
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Editor, HuffPost Australia

ArchitectureVisitors experience the magnificent architecture and design of the building such as the 81-metre high flagmast, which is one of the world's largest stainless steel structures and is recognised as a national icon.Opened 9 May 1988 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Parliament House is the home of Australia's Federal Parliament and one of the world's most acclaimed buildings.Designed by Mitchell/Giurgola and Thorp architects, following a design competition that attracted 329 entries from 28 countries, it is one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere.Parliament House welcomes around 1 million visitors from Australia and overseas each year, making it one of Canberra's most popular attractions.FeaturesThe Forecourt Mosaic is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Tjakamarra, a leading Aboriginal artist from the Papunya community of the Northern Territory. The mosaic is made up of approximately 90,000 hand-guillotined granite pieces in seven different colours and represents a Possum and Wallaby Dreaming.Mosaic forecourt at Parliament HouseThe marquetry panels panels in the main Foyer are inlaid with designs of Australian flora. The 20 panels were designed by Adelaide artist Tony Bishop and fabricated with Sydney craftsman Michael Retter. Some panels feature traditional Aboriginal food sources and others feature botanical specimens documented by Sir Joseph Banks when he landed on the East Coast of Australia with Captain Cook in 1770. The Great Hall Tapestry is based on a painting by Australian artist Arthur Boyd, AC, OBE. It features a eucalyptus forest in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales. Measuring 20 x 9 metres, it is one of the largest tapestries in the world. A team of 13 weavers from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop took just two and a half years to complete the work.The Embroidery was a Bicentennial gift to the nation from the Embroiders' Guilds of Australia. Adelaide artist Kay Lawrence designed the work, which then took over 500 members of the Embroiders' Guilds of Australia more than 12,000 hours to stitch. It is made from cotton, linen and wool, with some synthetic fibre.Static displays in the Members' Hall include some of Australia's most important historical documents such as the original Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK) and one of only four surviving 1297 issues of Magna Carta.The Tom Roberts' Painting hanging in the foyer of the Main Committee Room shows the opening of the first Australian Parliament, in Melbourne's Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901, by the Duke of Cornwall and York.Red Ochre Cove, a dramatic painting by Canberra artist Mandy Martin, can be found in the Main Committee Room.The roof of Parliament House provides spectacular views of Canberra. Visitors are welcome to walk on the grass ramps covering the building. The lift to the roof is marked on the floor plan in the Visitor Guide which can be obtained from the Information Desk on your arrival at Parliament House.The 81-metre high stainless steel flagpole can be viewed from the roof of the building. The flag, measuring 12.8 x 6.4 metres, is approximately the size of the side of a double-decker bus.ArtThe integration of commissioned art works into the built fabric of Parliament House was central to the architect's concept for the building. Also central was the idea of developing a contemporary collection which would reflect society back to the decision makers of the nation. As such, the art is a critical element of the experience for visitors to Parliament House.The Parliament House Art Collection is a significant national collection that currently comprises over 5,000 works of art and heritage objects. The Collection includes notable works by most major Australian artists, represents almost all media forms and includes major architectural commissions such as the Forecourt mosaic, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming by Michael Nelson Jakamarra, and The Great Hall Tapestry. One of the largest tapestries in the world, it was made by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop after a painting by the late noted Australia artist Arthur Boyd.
Michael Dawes/Flickr
ArchitectureVisitors experience the magnificent architecture and design of the building such as the 81-metre high flagmast, which is one of the world's largest stainless steel structures and is recognised as a national icon.Opened 9 May 1988 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Parliament House is the home of Australia's Federal Parliament and one of the world's most acclaimed buildings.Designed by Mitchell/Giurgola and Thorp architects, following a design competition that attracted 329 entries from 28 countries, it is one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere.Parliament House welcomes around 1 million visitors from Australia and overseas each year, making it one of Canberra's most popular attractions.FeaturesThe Forecourt Mosaic is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Tjakamarra, a leading Aboriginal artist from the Papunya community of the Northern Territory. The mosaic is made up of approximately 90,000 hand-guillotined granite pieces in seven different colours and represents a Possum and Wallaby Dreaming.Mosaic forecourt at Parliament HouseThe marquetry panels panels in the main Foyer are inlaid with designs of Australian flora. The 20 panels were designed by Adelaide artist Tony Bishop and fabricated with Sydney craftsman Michael Retter. Some panels feature traditional Aboriginal food sources and others feature botanical specimens documented by Sir Joseph Banks when he landed on the East Coast of Australia with Captain Cook in 1770. The Great Hall Tapestry is based on a painting by Australian artist Arthur Boyd, AC, OBE. It features a eucalyptus forest in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales. Measuring 20 x 9 metres, it is one of the largest tapestries in the world. A team of 13 weavers from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop took just two and a half years to complete the work.The Embroidery was a Bicentennial gift to the nation from the Embroiders' Guilds of Australia. Adelaide artist Kay Lawrence designed the work, which then took over 500 members of the Embroiders' Guilds of Australia more than 12,000 hours to stitch. It is made from cotton, linen and wool, with some synthetic fibre.Static displays in the Members' Hall include some of Australia's most important historical documents such as the original Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK) and one of only four surviving 1297 issues of Magna Carta.The Tom Roberts' Painting hanging in the foyer of the Main Committee Room shows the opening of the first Australian Parliament, in Melbourne's Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901, by the Duke of Cornwall and York.Red Ochre Cove, a dramatic painting by Canberra artist Mandy Martin, can be found in the Main Committee Room.The roof of Parliament House provides spectacular views of Canberra. Visitors are welcome to walk on the grass ramps covering the building. The lift to the roof is marked on the floor plan in the Visitor Guide which can be obtained from the Information Desk on your arrival at Parliament House.The 81-metre high stainless steel flagpole can be viewed from the roof of the building. The flag, measuring 12.8 x 6.4 metres, is approximately the size of the side of a double-decker bus.ArtThe integration of commissioned art works into the built fabric of Parliament House was central to the architect's concept for the building. Also central was the idea of developing a contemporary collection which would reflect society back to the decision makers of the nation. As such, the art is a critical element of the experience for visitors to Parliament House.The Parliament House Art Collection is a significant national collection that currently comprises over 5,000 works of art and heritage objects. The Collection includes notable works by most major Australian artists, represents almost all media forms and includes major architectural commissions such as the Forecourt mosaic, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming by Michael Nelson Jakamarra, and The Great Hall Tapestry. One of the largest tapestries in the world, it was made by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop after a painting by the late noted Australia artist Arthur Boyd.

CANBERRA -- The Australian parliament is a weird place; when you bring 150 MPs and 76 senators from all around the country, put them in the same house for weeks at a time and entrust them to make decisions for the whole nation, it's only inevitable that tempers and egos will fly.

The Canberra press gallery do their best to keep up with all the madness going on from sunrise to sunset and well into the night, but not even the large contingent of journalists can be everywhere and cover everything at once; unfortunately, sometimes even the most bizarre and incredible statements slip by without notice.

Which is why the new 'Found In The Hansard' Twitter account is a godsend, as it chronicles all the weirdest moments of our parliament, from the House of Representatives and the Senate through to the small committees that never make it to the front page.

The hansard is the documentary record of what happens in official parliamentary proceedings, the transcripts of House, Senate and committee meetings. A 21-year-old student is behind the Found In The Hansard account, combing the parliament's records to unearth the weirdest parts.

"I started the account because for ages everyone has been very confused about why I love to watch Parliament and read Hansard so much, and think I'm crazy when I respond by saying that I think it's so hilarious," the student -- who said they preferred to "remain relatively anonymous" -- told The Huffington Post Australia in a Twitter direct message.

"They just don't understand how the official transcripts can be so "funny". So I set up the @InTheHansard account to tweet out the highlights, just to show how amusing, entertaining and engaging Parliament can be."

The account, which started tweeting on February 3, tracks down explicit language, name-calling and bad jokes made by our politicians. The student said politicians Sarah Hanson-Young, Katy Gallagher, Scott Ryan, Alannah MacTiernan and David Leyonhjelm follow the account, as does the account run by Bill Shorten's media unit. The account's creator said they skim read the latest hansard as often as possible, looking for certain key terms, but that they do keep a lookout for a few infamous parliamentarians who have a track record of good form.

"I do pause when certain names come up. I was very disappointed to hear Bill Heffernan announce that he won't be contesting the next election. He will be sorely missed," the student said.

Heffernan is a serial offender for somewhat unparliamentary language -- for instance, this tweet from Found In The Hansard led us to put together this Vine:

"I suppose the goal of the account is to get more people interested in Australian politics, and to show them that it isn't really dull as it's sometimes portrayed," the student said.

"While the account has a lot of fun catching politicians when they perhaps don't appear as sensible as one might expect, I do believe that most of them are working hard for their constituents, and think that it's simply a bit of fun to show some of their lighter sides."

For more hansard hilarity, check out Found In The Hansard.

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