Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Questions to Ministers CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? KAREN CHHOUR to the Minister for Children: Has he read Treasury's release titled "Overview of the financial position of Oranga Tamariki, the key issues it faces from a financial perspective"; and, if he has read it, does he still stand by his statement that the Government's ability to protect and support vulnerable children is "improving"? INGRID LEARY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that "This tighter period will require some tough choices"; if so, what tough choices, if any, has he made in relation to tax and spending? VANUSHI WALTERS to the Minister of Police: What announcements has he made on preventing at-risk youth from entering a pathway of crime? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What current contracts does the Ministry of Social Development have with Visions of a Helping Hand Charitable Trust in Rotorua, and what process around conflicts of interest, if any, did the ministry undertake before awarding the contracts? ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What announcements has she made about supporting rangatahi into employment? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by all of her statements and actions? Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does she have confidence in New Zealand's engagement with the International Seabed Authority about its management of seabed mining; if so, why? WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Women: What progress can she report for Suffrage Day on women's equality? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his statement in relation to the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill, "In fact, I think the Police raised some compelling arguments in favour of a lower threshold"; if so, did he agree with the compelling arguments Police raised? GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Justice: What legislative changes to seize criminal assets and combat organised crime are being progressed?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What progress has the Government made in supporting employers to maintain and increase the number of New Zealanders in apprenticeships? TEANAU TUIONO to the Acting Minister of Agriculture: Is the Dairy Industry Restructuring (Fonterra Capital Restructuring) Amendment Bill consistent with her Government's commitment to addressing the global climate crisis; if so, how? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that "we will enter a period of more targeted spending", and does he consider that Government spending in the past six months should have been more targeted? ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for the Environment: What actions is the Government taking to enhance protection for New Zealand's most productive land? CHRIS BISHOP to the Acting Minister of Housing: Does he stand by the Minister of Housing's statement from May last year that "We have heard, we've listened, and we've acted to make sure that we are putting in a different system for Rotorua", and is he satisfied with emergency housing provision in Rotorua? CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the New Zealand Initiative that "The Ministry conducted no research on the effects of these 'Modern Learning Environments' on students' learning prior to compelling schools to adopt them. Neither did they conduct any evaluation of their effects after they were established"; if not, what evidence has the ministry provided the Minister to show that modern learning environments improve literacy and numeracy skills? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Did he receive any recommendation from the Police regarding the asset value threshold in the proposed Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill; if so, what was that recommendation? TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Maori Development: What recent events has he attended to celebrate te reo Maori? JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Women: Is she concerned that the gender pay gap increased recently to 9.2 percent and that Statistics New Zealand did not report on the ethnic minority gender pay gap altogether? ANGELA ROBERTS to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): How is the Government supporting students who have experienced lost learning opportunities as a result of disruptions from COVID-19?

Questions to Ministers ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions in relation to health? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Housing: What progress has the Government made on rebuilding public housing in Auckland? CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Tourism: Does he agree with the comment made by Eve Lawrence from Haka Tourism New Zealand that "Off-shore travel partners just simply will not sell New Zealand and we'll be taken off the network"; if not, what advice, if any, has he received that suggests that Eve Lawrence is wrong? ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: What are the criteria for the new COVID-19 support payments, and how many businesses has he been advised are expected to receive it? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by all of her statements and actions in relation to social development and employment? JO LUXTON to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: Why did the Government invest in the Opuke tourism complex in Methven? JAN LOGIE to the Minister for the Public Service: Have any pay equity settlements been reached since the new pay equity process came into force over a year ago; if not, why not? JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What announcements has he made about addressing competition concerns in the building supplies sector? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions in relation to the COVID-19 response? GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Customs: Is Customs prepared for the arrival of small craft into New Zealand this summer?

Questions to Ministers CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by the Government's economic and fiscal policy and all Cabinet decisions giving effect to that policy? TERISA NGOBI to the Minister of Housing: What action is the Government taking to rebuild public housing in New Zealand? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and policies? JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What support has the Government contributed to help schools provide learning environments for their students that are warm, dry, and fit for purpose? ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Revenue: Is he committed to implementing the KiwiSaver provisions of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022-23, Platform Economy, and Remedial Matters) Bill; if so, why? RACHEL BOYACK to the Minister responsible for Pike River Re-entry: What recent announcement has he made about support for families and communities affected by future significant national disasters? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Is he concerned by the 518 percent increase in ram raids since the beginning of 2018; if so, why has he not met with a single business owner who has been a victim of a ram raid since he became Minister of Police? IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What recent announcements has she made about delivery of the $1.3 billion Government climate finance investments? TEANAU TUIONO to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): Does the Ministry of Education meet the full cost of learning support needs for tamariki in Aotearoa?

Questions to Ministers INGRID LEARY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she consider it appropriate for the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to continue to promote exploration for fossil fuels when, in 2021, the International Energy Agency's executive director stated, "If governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now - from this year"? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? SARAH PALLETT to the Minister of Health: What changes has the Government recently made to increase the ease of access to prescription medicines? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Is he satisfied that the Government's design and implementation of economic policy has resulted in good stewardship of public money? WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Tourism: What reports has he seen on tourism recovery? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: How many aged residential care beds, if any, have been disestablished in the past year primarily due to health workforce shortages, and what is the current shortfall in registered nurses across the aged residential care sector? CAMILLA BELICH to the Minister of Immigration: What progress can he report on the implementation of the 2021 Resident Visa? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he think that his policy of making nurses wait two years to apply for residence is working, when migrant nurses already in New Zealand are leaving to go to Australia, and does he agree with the 64 percent of nurses surveyed by the Nurses Organisation that said the most important thing the Government can do to address the nursing crisis is to place nurses on the fast track to residence? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and policies? NAISI CHEN to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has he made about helping Kiwis to get a better deal at the checkout? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: What is the total percentage increase of ram raids since the beginning of 2018, and how many businesses have had security systems installed through the $6 million crime prevention programme, funded by the Proceeds of Crime Fund, to address this increase?

Questions to Ministers CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Police: Does he agree with the Prime Minister's statement, made on Tuesday, that "Police do keep a tally of ram raids in different regions"; if so, how many ram raids have been recorded over the past three months? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Did he receive any advice from Treasury about potential for increased inflationary pressures from Government spending decisions made in Budget 2022; if so, on what occasions, if any, did he choose to spend more on initiatives than Treasury advised? BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Forestry: What recent announcements has he made about transforming the forestry and wood processing sector? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: How many nurses have applied for the Accredited Employer Work Visa, and how many of those nurses applied from offshore? WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has she made regarding the Research and Development Tax Incentive? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by the application of sanctions to people who receive the jobseeker-health condition and disability benefit for "failing to prepare for work"; if so, what is the purpose of these sanctions? ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Pacific Peoples: What recent work has the Government done to grow Pacific employment? SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she agree with Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker, who described her Three Waters reform process as "unempowering for our communities", and does she believe communities have been adequately consulted in her proposed Three Waters reforms? KAREN CHHOUR to the Minister for Children: Does he have confidence in this Government's ability to protect and support vulnerable children, and what lessons, if any, have been learnt from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care to date? IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control: What outcomes does he want to be achieved when the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons concludes this week?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in all of her Ministers? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Housing: What action is the Government taking to increase the supply of affordable rental housing? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the statement by the Reserve Bank in its August Monetary Policy Statement that "domestic inflationary pressures had increased since May", and what role, if any, does he think Government policy has played in that? NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What announcements has she made about artists' resale royalties? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? ANGELA ROBERTS to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): What action is the Government taking to lift school attendance? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: How many people, if any, waited longer than 24 hours in an emergency department over the past month? MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Immigration: What work is the Government undertaking to tackle skill shortages and help Kiwi businesses fill job vacancies? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she support sanctioning disabled people and people with health conditions who receive jobseeker benefits for "failing to prepare for work"? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Is it still the Government's intention to be "the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had"; if so, is she confident the Official Information Act 1982 is fit for purpose? RACHEL BOYACK to the Minister for Emergency Management: How is the Government supporting Nelson and Marlborough through recent severe weather events and flooding? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by his statements and actions?

Questions to Ministers: HELEN WHITE to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: On what date did he first request advice for the Government's support for New Zealanders by way of a targeted and temporary cost of living payment, and what warning, if any, did officials give him about potential problems with this proposal? ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What announcements has she made about supporting jobs in the arts sector? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Housing: Has she been advised that "Current financial modelling (without efficiency savings) shows Kainga Ora is unable to repay the full $28.9 billion of forecast debt within the next 60 years", and what steps, if any, has she taken to assure herself that Kainga Ora is complying with section 51 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 in relation to its long-term financial viability? ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for Women: What progress has been made to ensure greater diversity and representation of women on public boards? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Does he consider recent health campaigns have been successful; if so, how many people were employed under the Kiwi Health Jobs critical care nursing campaign to 30 June 2022? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Finance: What reports, if any, has he seen on the impacts of monetary and fiscal policy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic on the distribution of wealth in this country? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Transport: What recent reports has he seen on the progress of the Clean Car Discount scheme? BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Health: How many nurses are currently needed to eliminate shortages within the health system, and has this number increased since he stated in April, "We are about 3,000 nurses short in our public health system. In the private sector, aged retirement, it's roughly 1,000 nurses"? VANUSHI WALTERS to the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities: What recent announcements has she made about this Government's ongoing support of ethnic communities in Aotearoa? ERICA STANFORD to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): Does she stand by her statements and actions? Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Associate Minister of Education (Pacific Peoples): What has the Government done for Pacific peoples since the delivery of the formal Dawn Raids apology a year ago?

Questions for Oral Answer 9 August 2022.

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent reports has she received on competition in the market for residential building supplies? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Revenue: Can he confirm that the reason overseas New Zealanders have received the cost of living payment is that "the Inland Revenue Department has a New Zealand address for that taxpayer rather than an overseas one"; if so, how many people does he estimate fail to change their address with Inland Revenue when they leave the country? CAMILLA BELICH to the Minister of Education: What support has the Government contributed to help schools to provide learning environments for their students that are warm, dry, and fit for purpose? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by all her statements and policies? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the Prime Minister's statement that "education is the greatest enabler in society"; if so, has he seen the People's Inquiry into Student Wellbeing, which found thousands of tertiary students are living in poverty? TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Maori Development: What recent reports has he seen on the Maori economy? BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Housing: How many KiwiBuild houses were built in June 2022, if any, and was this more or less than the number of KiwiBuild houses built in January 2022? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she agree with the Prime Minister that "it does matter to us as a Labour Government that we have people in the dignity of work"; if so, why are over 50,000 more people receiving jobseeker support as at the June 2022 quarter compared to the September 2017 quarter? SHANAN HALBERT to the Associate Minister of Health: What announcement has the Government recently made about HIV? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by the former Minister's target of ten working days for job checks for Accredited Employer Work Visas; if so, can he confirm that only 20 percent have been processed in that time frame? TANGI UTIKERE to the Associate Minister of Education (Pacific Peoples): What recent work has the Government done to enhance Pacific languages and bilingual learning in Aotearoa? PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Does Te Pukenga have a detailed plan focused on the underlying financial issues facing some of its subsidiaries; if not, why not?