Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Questions to Ministers RT HON CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? STUART SMITH to the Minister of Finance: By how much has Government debt increased in recent years? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement, "I think everyone agrees that the state must always provide a safety net for New Zealanders who have fallen on hard times ... and state houses will always play a very important part of that safety net"? HON BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? KATIE NIMON to the Minister of Housing: What actions has he taken setting out his expectations for Kainga Ora-Homes and Communities? HON GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? HON MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his Government's policies and actions? DR VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister of Health: What steps has the Government taken to deliver better health outcomes for all New Zealanders? LAN PHAM to the Associate Minister for the Environment: Does he stand by his statement, "For now, the Government has agreed to suspend the obligation to impose SNAs under the NPS Indigenous Biodiversity, and we're sending a clear message that it would be unwise to bother"? SAM UFFINDELL to the Minister of Police: What recent results has he seen from Operation Emerald? HON PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Disability Issues: Does she stand by her statement regarding changes to purchasing rules and equipment and modification services, "These changes are happening from 18 March and are intended to be temporary changes until later this year"; if so, will she commit to restoring flexibility of funding as was available to the disability communities prior to 18 March 2024? TODD STEPHENSON to the Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac): What recent announcements has he made about improving New Zealanders' access to medicines?

Questions to Ministers JOSEPH MOONEY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the New Zealand economy? MARK CAMERON to the Associate Minister for the Environment: What is his most immediate priority in the portfolio? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Associate Minister Housing (Social Housing): Will the Government's new approach to emergency housing grants result in more New Zealanders living on the streets? DAVID MacLEOD to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What announcements has he made regarding the establishment of a new fast-track consenting one-stop shop regime? Hon WILLIE JACKSON to the Minister for Media and Communications: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Associate Minister Housing (Social Housing): Can he guarantee that the increased scrutiny on emergency housing eligibility he announced yesterday won't lead to more people becoming homeless? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his Government's policies and actions? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Housing: How many additional social houses will be created as a result of the Priority One category for emergency housing announced yesterday? CARL BATES to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made about transport investment in New Zealand? Hon RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Justice: How is the Government progressing its commitments in relation to restoring law and order? Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by all his statements and policies?

Questions to Ministers Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does he agree with Associate Professor of Law Treasa Dunworth, who said about the International Court of Justice ruling in the case against Israel under the Genocide Convention that New Zealand "has a legal obligation to do what it can to ensure that Israel complies with the court's orders"; if so, what action is the Government taking to fulfil its legal obligation? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister of Climate Change: Has he sought or received advice on the transport-related emission reduction impacts of the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport; if not, why not? SUZE REDMAYNE to the Minister of Finance: How much will the Government spend this year on financing its debt? TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by his Government's policies and statements? TANYA UNKOVICH to the Minister for Resources: What announcements has he made regarding petroleum exploration? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister for the Public Service: Does she stand by her answer, "I make that promise", said in response to the question, "Will you promise no cuts to any front-line services"; if so, why has Fire and Emergency New Zealand been told their front-line services are "not necessarily immune" from Public Service cuts? NANCY LU to the Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has he made on the Government's housing priorities? Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Transport: Will it be possible for the New Zealand Transport Agency and councils to deliver integrated transport projects that include other improvements, such as busways, bus lanes, public transport stops, and footpaths as part of larger road or highway projects, under his draft Government Policy Statement on land transport? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made about transport investment in New Zealand? HELEN WHITE to the Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing: Does he stand by his statement that "There is a problem with late payments and long payment terms by large market players"? CAMERON BREWER to the Minister of Justice: What progress has the Government made in relation to restoring law and order?

Questions to Ministers RT HON CHRIS HIPKINS to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? DR VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the Crown accounts? TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Transport: How does the Government intend to fully fund the more than $20 billion of proposed National Land Transport Fund spending across the next three years as outlined in the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024-34? HON MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements about educational achievement in schools? DR PARMJEET PARMAR to the Minister for Children: What recent announcements has she made, if any, regarding the Government's commitment to crack down on serious youth offending? HON JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Transport: Will his draft Government Policy Statement on land transport contribute to emissions reduction targets and reduce transport costs for people? JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Associate Minister of Agriculture: What update, if any, can he provide on the coalition Government's commitment to wool? HON WILLIE JACKSON to the Minister for Media and Communications: Does she stand by all her statements? DR CARLOS CHEUNG to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made about transport investment in New Zealand? HON JAMES SHAW to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he agree with the statement made by the President of the Resource Management Law Association, who said about the Government's proposed approach to fast-track consenting that "There are likely to be high risks of judicial review if a decision-making process lacks transparency and results in poor environmental outcomes"; if not, why not? MIKE BUTTERICK to the Minister of Corrections: What recent announcements has he made about access to rehabilitation programmes? HON JAN TINETTI to the Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools): Does he stand by his statement that the previous Government had committed to the school lunches spending programme "without commissioning any robust empirical study to evaluate its effectiveness"; if so, how does he reconcile this with the New Zealand Healthy School Lunches pilot/Ka Ora, Ka Ako interim evaluation on the Ministry of Education website?

Questions to Ministers TIM van de MOLEN to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economic outlook? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister for Resources: What advice, if any, has he sought or received on the implications of bonds for oil and gas companies and/or changes to oil and gas decommissioning legislation that he has indicated he is considering? JAMES MEAGER to the Minister of Police: What reports has he seen recently on the policing of gangs? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Housing: Does he stand by all his statements on social housing? SUZE REDMAYNE to the Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing: What recent announcement has he made relating to small businesses? Hon JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his statement, "we're going to make sure that the front line are resourced properly"; if so, do Police have adequate staffing to enforce the banning of gang patches? CAMERON LUXTON to the Minister for Biosecurity: What announcements has he made recently which demonstrate the Government's commitment to biosecurity? Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Has he agreed to find savings of 6.5 percent in the spending within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade? GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister for Courts: Is she concerned that the impact of Government policy combined with the 6.5 percent reduction in funding will exacerbate the pressure on the courts? REUBEN DAVIDSON to the Minister for Media and Communications: Does she stand by all her statements? TANYA UNKOVICH to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Questions to Ministers Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? MARK CAMERON to the Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms): What law changes is the Government proposing in relation to firearms? Hon JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the New Zealand economy? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What advice from Treasury, if any, has she seen on the amount of revenue that will be gained by the Government from the enactment of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill? MILES ANDERSON to the Minister of Housing: What announcements has he made about the Government's work programme in housing? Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement that "The evidence is as plain as day: cities that make it difficult to build more housing have housing affordability problems"; if so, what advice, if any, has he seen on the impact on affordability of allowing councils to opt out of medium-density residential standards? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by all of his statements and policies? Dr HAMISH CAMPBELL to the Minister of Health: What steps has he taken to improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders, including Maori? Hon Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms): Does she stand by all her statements in respect of firearms reform? SAM UFFINDELL to the Minister of Education: What reports has she seen about her recent announcement on the ministerial inquiry into school property?

Questions to Ministers JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Associate Minister of Health: What updates can she provide, if any, on the repeal of the Therapeutic Products Act 2023? RT HON CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? DAN BIDOIS to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the cost of living? HON BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What advice, if any, has she received on the proportion of the Budget operating allowance that will be required to meet cost pressures in Budget 2024? HON JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? HON DR AYESHA VERRALL to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's policies and actions? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she agree with the deputy chief executive of MSD, who told the Social Services and Community Committee, "They do not get punished, that's unfair-they do not get sanctions. They do not get sanctioned, they do not get sanctions for not coming to our seminars"; if so, will she commit to ensuring people do not face sanctions for not attending work seminars? PAULO GARCIA to the Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has the Government made about restoring law and order? HON PEENI HENARE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? KATIE NIMON to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has she made about school property? GRANT MCCALLUM to the Minister for the Environment: What recent announcements has she made regarding the clean-up of old landfill sites?

Questions to Ministers GREG FLEMING to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on New Zealand's economic and fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and policies? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? TODD STEPHENSON to the Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac): What benefits, if any, can New Zealanders expect to see from the Misuse of Drugs (Pseudoephedrine) Amendment Bill? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has she received, if any, advising her of the possible child poverty impacts of indexing benefits to inflation rather than wages? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made in relation to improving access to breast cancer screening for New Zealand women? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that there is a health "workforce crisis" and does he accept the estimates of health workforce shortages Te Whatu Ora published in July 2023 as an accurate reflection of the shortages at the time they were published? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many jobseeker beneficiaries, if any, get jobs as a direct result of attending work seminars they are required to attend to avoid benefit sanctions? Hon PEENI HENARE to the Minister of Health: Is he committed to delivering positive Maori health outcomes; if so, what are those outcomes? JOSEPH MOONEY to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What actions, if any, has she taken to date that aim to reduce welfare dependency in New Zealand? Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by his statement in relation to the Government's proposed approach to fast-track consenting that "This is not new, by the way, because the COVID fast-track legislation also listed projects in the legislation and also set up a process for Ministers to refer projects to an expert consenting panel"? TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Questions to Ministers Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction: How many more children are forecast to be in poverty as a result of her Government's decision to change the indexing of benefits from wage growth to inflation? Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she accept the statement in the Salvation Army's State of the Nation 2024 report that says that "in 2023 for households relying on welfare benefits, income levels continue to fall significantly short of what is needed for some level of participation in society"? NANCY LU to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the Crown accounts? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by the commitment in the coalition agreement with ACT to "restore mortgage interest deductibility for rental properties with a 60 per cent deduction in 2023/24, 80 per cent in 2024/25, and 100 per cent in 2025/26"; if so, what is the estimated cost to the Crown of this commitment? DAVID MacLEOD to the Minister of Local Government: Does he stand by his statement, "The Government will restore council ownership and control of water assets"; if so, what actions has he taken to fulfil this commitment? TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? LAURA TRASK to the Minister for Children: What are her priorities for the Children's portfolio? CARL BATES to the Minister of Education: What reports has she seen about the introduction of the policy to remove the distraction of cellphones at school? Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he have confidence that the proposed approach to fast-track consenting will protect due process for consideration of environmental effects? CUSHLA TANGAERE-MANUEL to the Minister for Maori Development: Does he stand by his statement, "What we're really focused on is delivering outcomes and working with communities - Iwi communities, Maori communities and others - to make the changes to the inequalities we see on a daily basis"? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister for Building and Construction: What reports has he seen on the cost of building in New Zealand? INGRID LEARY to the Minister for Mental Health: Does he stand by his statement, "under this Government, mental health will be a priority"; if so, what actions, if any, has he taken to make mental health a priority?

Questions to Ministers Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What progress, if any, has been made on policy decisions for the proposed fast-track consenting reforms? TIM COSTLEY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on Government spending? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction: What advice, if any, has she received on the likely impact on child poverty of the Government's policies? Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Associate Minister of Justice (Treaty Principles Bill): Why is the Government introducing a Treaty Principles Bill? Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Prime Minister: Ka pumau ia ki tana korero, "our focus is on making sure that we honour the Treaty"; mena ae, ka pehea ta tona Kawanatanga whakahonore i te Tiriti? Does he stand by his statement that "our focus is on making sure that we honour the Treaty"; if so, how will his Government honour the Treaty? Dr VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has she seen on the predicted and actual amount of time people spend in receipt of benefit payments? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: What is the complete list of adjustments and exclusions that have been made to the eligible baseline of expenditure that is subject to the 6.5 percent or 7.5 percent savings that have been sought from Public Service agencies? JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by all of her statements and policies? TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions? CAMERON BREWER to the Minister of Justice: How much Government funding has been devoted to section 27 reports since 2017, and what actions is the Government taking to address it?