Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Questions to Ministers NICOLA WILLIS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in relation to Government housing policy that "we have to constantly make sure we are reaching those affordability goals for people", and does she agree with the 2022 Salvation Army State of the Nation report that states "the massive increases in renting costs right throughout Aotearoa is confronting. Housing affordability for both first-home buyers and those renting is extremely worrying"? IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Housing: What is the Government doing to increase supply of public housing in Wellington? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many more people, if any, received a main benefit for longer than one year in the December 2021 quarter compared to the December 2017 quarter, and what is the impact of any such increase on children in those households? Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent announcements has the Government made on reconnecting New Zealand to the rest of the world? MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: Why did he reject my call to urgently convene a young people's mental health summit in response to early signs of increased mental distress as a result of the pandemic, and what does he say to student Jiya Rana who said in response to my call, "It was actually good to feel acknowledged. It was the first time I felt it had been really addressed in this pandemic and it felt spot on with the conversations I'd been having with my peers."? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What announcements has the Government made about supporting Maori into employment, education, and training? MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Does he accept all the conclusions of the Sapere Report on Media Plurality in New Zealand; if not, why not? GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Justice: What action has the Government taken to end harmful conversion practices in New Zealand? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does she believe New Zealanders are safer under this Government than they were four years ago; if so, how does she explain the Salvation Army's 2022 State of the Nation report which shows violent crime has increased overall since 2017? DAMIEN SMITH to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What impact, if any, does he believe the recent amendments to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act are having on the ability of New Zealanders to access finance, and is he concerned about the wider impact of the legislation on the New Zealand economy? GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Transport: What updates has he seen regarding the Government's clean car package? GOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: Does he agree that New Zealand has a responsibility to help make COVID-19 vaccines accessible to everyone worldwide; if so, what work, if any, has the Government done with its trade partners to progress a TRIPS waiver to support equitable access for developing world nations?

Questions to Ministers Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: On what date will Budget 2022 be delivered, and what will its priorities be? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about online mental health support for parents? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions on spending in Budget 2022? Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Will Aotearoa New Zealand be supporting a target of protection for 30 percent of the world's oceans in negotiations on the Global Oceans Treaty at the United Nations in March; if not, why not? BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all of the Government's statements and actions? TERISA NGOBI to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): What recent announcements has she made regarding the regulation of property managers? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Did a Cabinet minute of 12 March 2021 note that policy proposals brought to Cabinet "risk leading to increased rents, which could have negative impacts on child wellbeing and child poverty", and how much, in dollar terms, have national median weekly rents increased since the Government's housing package was announced in March 2021? HELEN WHITE to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What announcements has he made about supporting the events sector? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all his answers in question time yesterday; if so, can he confirm the date the immigration instructions were amended to include the border exception for 200 rural contractors that was announced by Minister O'Connor on 12 December last year? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What progress has she seen on the Government's investment in protecting New Zealand's heritage and archival documents? SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by all her statements and actions in relation to Three Waters reform, and is she still committed to the legislated "all in" approach to Three Waters reform?

Questions for Oral Answer 15 Feb 2022.

Questions to Ministers Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What action is the Government taking to support the Southland economy? SIMON COURT to the Minister of Local Government: Will she commit to making changes if the Three Waters Working Group on Representation, Governance and Accountability recommends that the governance structure should include more local representation; if not, why not? NICOLA WILLIS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What new action is the Government taking to support schools to provide learning environments for their students that are warm, dry, and fit for purpose? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions on inflation? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent reports has she seen on main benefits? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many forward orders of rapid antigen tests have been consolidated into the Government's stock, and how many tests that have landed in New Zealand have been consolidated into the Government's stock of rapid antigen tests? ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What recent announcements has he made regarding Maori participation in the telecommunications sector? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many more people were in receipt of a main benefit in the December 2021 quarter compared to the September 2017 quarter, as measured by the Ministry of Social Development's quarterly benefit data releases? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Does she stand by her statement that "We will continue to keep a close eye on rent prices and will take further action if necessary"; if so, what specific further actions are being considered? Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent announcements has she made about contact tracing? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does she agree with the Police Commissioner's statement, "No retail worker or customer should experience fear or trauma when going about their day-to-day activities"; if so, is she satisfied with the level of crime at retail premises?

Questions to Ministers JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: Why did he introduce the Te Rohe o Rongokako Joint Redress Bill and the Ngati Kahungungu ki Wairarapa Tamaki nui-a-Rua Claims Settlement Bill, when in November 2021 the Waitangi Tribunal called for the Crown to postpone the introduction of the settlement legislation and allow the litigation in front of the Supreme Court to take its course? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: By what amount, if any, have both the median rent and the demand for social housing increased since the Government announced its housing package in March 2021? Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What will be the focus for the Government's response to COVID-19 in 2022? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and policies? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he accept that with inflation of 5.9 per cent and a wage rate increase of 2.6 per cent for 2021, real incomes for New Zealanders are going backwards; if so, what will he do about it? ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What recent announcements has she made about support for the arts and events sector? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: Does he have confidence that he can deliver light rail in Auckland; if so, why? GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: What steps is the Government taking to tackle firearms violence? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the advice provided to him by the Treasury that "Increases in fiscal stimulus outside of higher Alert Levels … have exerted inflationary pressures … by increasing aggregate demand"; if not, why not? WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What progress has the Government made on regional economic priorities?

Questions to Ministers CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What are the objectives and priorities for Budget 2022? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions on inflation? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How has MSD provided support to people and whanau impacted by COVID-19? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: What is the total number of workers included in border class exceptions announced this year, and how many have entered the country? GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: What reports has she seen regarding recent efforts by Police to disrupt organised crime? Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that "key long-term environmental issues need to be explicitly acknowledged and responded to as part of the Budget process. They carry serious implications for fiscal risks in the future and cast long shadows on the resilience of the nation's natural capital"? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and policies? ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Agriculture: What recent announcements has he made on the situation and outlook for the primary sector? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Will the Firearms Prohibition Order Bill be introduced by the end of this year, and is the Government committed to introducing firearms prohibition orders? GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Transport: What recent reports has he seen about the Clean Car package? SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Is it the case that she did not confirm to local councils until late October that Cabinet had decided on a "legislated all-in" approach to Three Waters in June; if so, why?

Questions to Ministers Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Housing: What action is the Government taking to get more houses built in Porirua? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with economist Cameron Bagrie that "the economy is too hot", and, if he does, will he therefore adjust down his Government's spending in tomorrow's HYEFU to alleviate upward pressure on inflation and interest rates? Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent progress has been made on New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccine programme? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many fully vaccinated people, if any, who have travelled from Australia have tested positive for COVID-19 since 23 August 2021, and is the Government still committed to allowing fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other eligible travellers to enter from Australia from 11.59pm on 16 January 2022? TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Tourism: What announcements has he made recently about freedom camping? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her answer "the Police" to my question last week, "Who will propose the times, locations, and protocols for checkpoints on public roads when iwi representatives are acting as enforcement officers under the COVID-19 public health Act amendments made last month"; if so, will these checkpoints be initiated by iwi, Police, or the Director-General of Health? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement in June in relation to Police reports of violence in or around emergency housing that "this information is not aggregated by Police"; if so, at the time she made this statement, had the Police generated any Intelligence Notification reports about offences and violence in MSD emergency accommodation? INGRID LEARY to the Minister of Transport: What progress has been made on transport projects in regional New Zealand? Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: What advice, if any, has he received on measures to reduce the impacts of bottom trawling in New Zealand waters, which he said he would consider this year?

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Will the Government further progress Fair Pay Agreements; if so, why, given it was not the preferred option of his own officials?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by the then Minister of Housing’s statement in December 2017 that “home ownership will become more affordable for New Zealand families”, and why hasn’t the Government delivered on this commitment?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Education: What new action is the Government taking to support schools to provide learning environments for their students that are “warm, dry and fit for purpose’?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions on inflation?

SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: What progress has been made on historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements in 2021?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Does she stand by her statement that the Government is “monitoring what happens with rent rises and will take action if necessary”; if so, does she think action is necessary now?

HELEN WHITE to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What decision has the Government recently made about New Zealand securing the Sail Grand Prix competition?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What regions were listed in the preliminary view submitted to the Director-General of Health as being able to enter the COVID-19 Protection Framework at green, and was this preliminary view ever shared with his office?

NAISI CHEN to the Minister of Transport: What reports has he seen on coastal shipping?

HARETE HIPANGO to the Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health): Has he asked the Director-General of Health to release all the data as requested by the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency yet; if not, why not?

SARAH PALLETT to the Associate Minister of Health: How will the Smokefree 2025 Action Plan help achieve the goal of a Smokefree Aotearoa New Zealand?

MARK CAMERON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that “This government will foster a more open and democratic society. It will strengthen transparency around official information”; if so, is she confident that the Government has fulfilled this commitment in relation to releasing information about Groundswell NZ?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the latest ANZ Quarterly Economic Outlook’s assessment that “Government spending remains highly expansionary … The fiscal situation is quite nuanced. Many businesses and households are in desperate need of targeted support, but from a macroeconomic perspective, high government spending in an economy facing severe capacity constraints risks just adding to inflation pressures.  That wouldn’t be a good return for taxpayers, and also implies the RBNZ will need to hike interest rates more than otherwise”?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What reports has he seen about numbers of people undertaking vocational education and training?

JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Is the Government still committed to welfare overhaul; if so, why does the Child Poverty Action Group report released today show not a single key recommendation from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group has been fully implemented nearly three years on?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What medicines has New Zealand recently secured access to for treating COVID-19?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in relation to wage growth rising faster than inflation, “Of course, it has, with wage growth being at around 3.5 percent and inflation around 2 percent”; if so, does she agree with Statistics New Zealand that inflation for the year to September 2021 was 4.9 percent and wage growth was only 2.4 percent?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent reports has she seen on the construction sector?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Did the Government receive public health advice ahead of the Cabinet meeting on 29 November 2021 that the hard or enforced boundary around Auckland should be removed when Auckland and the rest of the country move to the COVID-19 Protection Framework, and did this same advice also recommend any regions enter the traffic light system at green?

VANUSHI WALTERS to the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities: What actions has the Government taken to support our ethnic communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister for the Public Service: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions regarding pay and workforce expectations for the public sector?

INGRID LEARY to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence: What is she doing to support the UN’s Orange the World campaign?

BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and policies?

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Housing: How has the Government’s public house build programme supported young people into skilled jobs?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What announcements has he made on resources to support Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Is she confident Kāinga Ora is delivering value for money, and what concerns, if any, have been raised with her about Kāinga Ora’s approach to public expenditure?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Women: What progress has she seen on the $2 million COVID-19 community fund for women and girls?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement in his Budget speech earlier this year that wage growth “will outpace inflation, meaning more money in Kiwis’ back pockets”?

Dr GAURAV SHARMA to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent announcements has she made about testing for COVID-19?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he satisfied with the implementation of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, and what criteria, if any, exist for Auckland to move from Red to Orange in this framework?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Associate Minister of Education: Is she confident that education is accessible for disabled and high-needs tamariki across Aotearoa?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: When will the first of the new ICU beds that he announced last week be operational, and why was this investment not made 21 months ago, when COVID-19 first reached our shores?