Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Question Time.

Question Time for 21 October 2021.

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What is his response to Capital and Coast intensive care specialist Dr Paul Young, who has said, “I am afraid that your assertion that the number of staffed ICU beds has increased from 234 to 340 in the past 15 months is false” and that “If you are receiving advice that we have 340 staffed ICU beds you are receiving bad advice”?

TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What action is the Government taking to reduce fossil fuel use by large industrial users?

Dr ELIZABETH KEREKERE to the Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health): E whakapono ana ia he rahi rawa ngā mahi a te kāwanatanga hei akiaki i te werohanga o te iwi Māori ki te kano ārai mate, inā hoki ki ngā rohe pēnei i Te Tairāwhiti me Te Tai Tokerau?

Translation: Does he believe the Government is doing enough to lift Māori vaccination rates, particularly in rural  areas including Tairāwhiti and Te Tai Tokerau?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: What decisions has the Government made about onsite learning at schools in level 3 regions?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: Will he adopt any of the measures proposed today by National in our Back in Business plan to quickly help the economy?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by the Prime Minister’s statement in relation to community cases of COVID-19 and Kiwis returning to New Zealand, “So it’s just about looking at those two different groups and making sure we’re consistent between the two”; if so, how many community cases are currently home isolating?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Immigration: What recent announcements has the Government made about providing certainty to working holiday and seasonal visa holders and employers for summer?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many fully vaccinated people, if any, have tested positive for COVID-19 in managed isolation and quarantine since 23 August 2021, and on what days in managed isolation and quarantine did they test positive?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by her statement, “We must ensure maternity services and care better meet the needs of women and whānau, and achieve equitable outcomes for women, pēpi and whānau”?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing): What recent announcements has he made about supporting Māori housing?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What Government economic support has been provided to businesses since the Delta outbreak on 17 August?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in relation to COVID-19 restrictions, “We know that in the future we cannot ask people to live week by week, not knowing when things will change”; if so, when will she announce clear milestones for lifting current COVID-related restrictions?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent progress has been made in the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement, “We must also not allow inequality to take hold in our recovery. In fact we need to take this opportunity to improve the prospects of all New Zealanders and tackle those long-standing divisions”; if not, why not?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: What new plans, if any, will he announce to support those businesses that are currently affected by alert levels in New Zealand?

TERISA NGOBI to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent reports has she seen regarding building consents?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in relation to vaccine targets, “It is not as simple as that. If only the world were that simple”?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Did Cabinet agree yesterday to vaccination rate targets in Auckland and New Zealand to allow COVID-19 restrictions to lift; if so, what are they?

RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister of Conservation: What recent announcement has she made regarding investment in a project to protect kea?

PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Does he have confidence the Government’s actions and statements have provided schools clarity about how they can operate under COVID-19 alert level restrictions?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Associate Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: What progress has been made on allowing more widespread use of rapid antigen testing for COVID-19?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Dr JAMES McDOWALL to the Minister of Immigration: Is he confident that Immigration New Zealand can process the 2021 Resident Visa applications of up to 165,000 migrants within 12 months; if so, what does Immigration New Zealand plan to do differently to avoid creating a significant backlog?

TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has he seen on the implementation of the Budget 2019 mental health package?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her comment on Three Waters reform that “the case for change is compelling, well understood, and needs to be addressed”; if so, what steps will she take to ensure feedback over the last eight weeks will be considered?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Why didn’t he add any new resourced ICU beds in Auckland in the year before the current outbreak, and what recommendations about ICU capacity, if any, were included in the two recent models he identified in his answer to written question No. 42142?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Immigration: What recent announcements has the Government made to provide certainty for temporary migrants and their employers?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement on the Government’s economic response to the August COVID-19 outbreak, “We do know that there will be businesses unfortunately who won’t make it through this, but we also know that the rebound on the other side has shown that the New Zealand economy does well when we get on top of this, and businesses come back”?

RACHEL BOYACK to the Minister of Conservation: What recent announcements has she made regarding Jobs for Nature projects on the West Coast?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all of the Government’s policies and statements in responding to COVID-19?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree with the Green Party open letter sent to him in June that migrants need to have clear and achievable pathways to residency?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What reports has he seen on the benefits of Government changes to KiwiSaver?

RAWIRI WAITITI to the Minister of Corrections: Does he have confidence in the Department of Corrections?

1. Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her Government's plan to reopen our borders, and by when will the almost 25,000 people who missed out on MIQ spaces yesterday be able to come home? 2. Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for the Environment: Does he stand by his statement that "we as a Government decided that we needed to introduce strict rules to stop the further loss of wetlands"; if so, does he intend for the changes now proposed to the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater to make it easier to consent activities such as quarrying, mining, and landfills within or near a wetland? 3. GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the resilience of the New Zealand economy to the impacts of COVID-19? 4. DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Justice: What consultation, if any, and with whom, did the Government take on the commercial tenancy measures announced on 28 September 2021? 5. Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent progress has been made on New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccine programme across regions? 6. Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Why, as at 6 September 2021, did our public hospitals only have 327 resourced ICU beds, when there were 358 ICU beds and ICU-capable beds available at the end of April 2020? 7. WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What recent announcement has she made about support for the arts and culture sector? 8. CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all of the Government's statements and actions responding to COVID-19? 9. GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made on support for youth mental wellbeing? 10. KAREN CHHOUR to the Minister for Children: Is 'the wellbeing and best interests of the child or young person' the first and paramount consideration of Oranga Tamariki, and does he believe that Oranga Tamariki has placed the wellbeing of the child before all other considerations in its actions? 11. NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by his statement that he is "confident that the border exception is meeting the needs in terms of the flow of critical health workers in"; if so, how many of the critical health workers who have been able to come into New Zealand since the border closed in March 2020 were intensive care nurses? 12. Dr EMILY HENDERSON to the Minister of Local Government: What feedback has she received in relation to the Three Waters Reform Programme?

Questions for Oral answer.

Question Time for 23 September 2021.

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What economic support has been provided to businesses since the Delta COVID outbreak alert level changes announced on 17 August?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Justice: Will he propose a law change to prevent New Zealand citizens living overseas losing their right to vote if they haven’t been able to visit Aotearoa during the COVID-19 pandemic; if not, why not?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: What decisions has he taken to ensure that senior school students in Auckland and around the country have a fair opportunity to attain NCEA in 2021?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statements and actions around hospital resources?

Dr GAURAV SHARMA to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made on the long-term pathway for mental wellbeing?

DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How will the Government ensure that Māori vaccination levels are equitable before moving out of the elimination strategy?

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Police: What recent announcements has she made regarding police front-line safety?

Hon SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister of Corrections: Is he confident that the Department of Corrections’ policies are keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19; if so, why?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health): What recent announcements has he made about supporting Māori to respond to the impacts of COVID-19?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: What is his response to a study published in the International Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, which shows attempted suicides in New Zealand children aged 10-14 years increased from a baseline of 40 per month to a peak of 90 per month following the lockdowns in 2020, and what actions, if any, has he taken to address this increase?

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Police: Is she satisfied with the current number of constabulary staff in the New Zealand Police?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What do the latest reports on New Zealand’s GDP show about the strength of the New Zealand economy, and how does this support the response to the Delta COVID outbreak?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement, “We’re in lockdown because we do not have enough New Zealanders currently vaccinated to stop an outbreak that would devastate our community”?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement, “Ministers have decided to use the greater fiscal headroom to top up the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund by an extra $7 billion”; if so, does that indicate that the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund would not have been topped up had that fiscal headroom not been apparent?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: What recent reports has she seen regarding Police’s efforts to disrupt organised crime?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does she stand by her statement that “We’re acutely aware of the environmental risks associated with deep-sea mining”; if so, why did New Zealand abstain on a motion supporting “Protection of deep-ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through a moratorium on seabed mining” at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature last week?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What percentage of the eligible population in New Zealand had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as at 7 August 2021, and what modelling, if any, has he seen relating to how the level of vaccination coverage could affect the severity of COVID-19 restrictions?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Associate Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has she made about helping New Zealand’s COVID-19 response and preparedness for future pandemics?

Dr JAMES McDOWALL to the Minister of Immigration: What communications, if any, has he received from Afghan translators who live in New Zealand about bringing their families to New Zealand, and what actions is he taking as a result?

BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister for Women: What support is the Government providing for women and girls adversely affected by COVID-19?

Hon SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister of Corrections: Is he confident that the Department of Corrections’ policies are keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19; if so, why?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Conservation: What recent announcements has she made regarding Jobs for Nature projects in Otago and Southland?