Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Question Time for 22 June 2021

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: Is he confident the Government is getting good value for money out of all the taxpayer money that it is spending?

·  GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: How is the Government continuing to support Just Transition in Taranaki and Southland through Budget 2021?

·  Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Finance: Will an objective in future Budgets he delivers be making a just transition to a low-emissions economy, in order to ensure low-income households are not left behind in the Government’s response to the Climate Commission’s advice?

·  ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: How does Budget 2021 advance the Government’s reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools system?

·  CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What percentage of people in each of the Government’s seven COVID-19 subgroups have not received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, and is he confident that the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is on track to meet the Government target of every adult being offered a vaccine by the end of the year?

·  BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Does she agree with the Minister of Housing’s statement, “I think there are a number of really good landlords and I think we all meet them when we’re out and about—but certainly, with some landlords as there is in any sector of society—yes, there is more need for compassion.”?

·  NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: How has New Zealand contributed to APEC’s commitment to speeding up the cross-border flow of vaccines and related goods to fight the COVID-19 pandemic?

·  NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by her statement that the Government has “increased the public housing stock by 7,671 since we came into Government in 2017”; if so, why does the most recent Kāinga Ora managed stock quarterly report show that total managed stock is only 4,649 more than reported by Housing New Zealand in its September 2017 managed stock quarterly report?

·  TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Small Business: What is the Government doing to support digital training and advice for small businesses?

·  CHRIS PENK to the Minister of Defence: What, if anything, is he doing to resolve waiting times of up to 140 working days veterans face in seeking medical records and medal entitlement information?

·  MARK CAMERON to the Minister for Rural Communities: What advice has he requested or received on the impact Significant Natural Areas will have on rural communities?

·  TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Immigration: What announcement has he made about work visas?

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

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

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

Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Climate Change: Will the Government follow the final advice of He Pou a Rangi, the Climate Change Commission?

Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent announcements has he made on the roll-out of the vaccination programme?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Transport: Does the Government expect to deliver all the transport projects it announced in January 2020 as part of the NZ Upgrade Programme; if not, which projects will not go ahead as originally announced?

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

RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and actions?

STEPH LEWIS to the Minister of Agriculture: What recent announcements has he made about integrated farm planning?

TIM VAN DE MOLEN to the Minister for Building and Construction: Does she stand by her statement, when asked if Budget 2021 is wrong in respect of the Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme, that “on the face of it, it would appear to be”?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Māori Development: What steps has the Government taken to support Māori housing aspirations?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Health: What is the total number of staff vacancies across all district health boards, and what specific plans, if any, does he have to address staffing vacancies in the New Zealand health system?

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

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

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What action is the Government taking to reduce emissions across New Zealand’s transport fleet through Budget 2021?

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

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

TERISA NGOBI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent reports has she seen on Ministry of Social Development employment initiatives?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Transport: Did the Government re-scope transport projects it announced in January 2020 as part of the New Zealand Upgrade Programme in order to fund the $785 million Northern Pathway, which includes the cycling and walking bridge?

JO LUXTON to the Minister for Biosecurity: How has Budget 2021 invested in New Zealand’s biosecurity?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Did she receive an aide-memoire dated

22 December 2020 from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development about potential impacts of changes to the treatment of rental properties; if so, did that include advice that “churn increases the risk that households may need to rely on transitional housing or emergency housing special needs grants, or increase the numbers of the public housing register”?

SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Transport: How is the Government keeping New Zealand connected internationally and positioned for recovery?

Dr ELIZABETH KEREKERE to the Minister of Health: Have any district health boards requested to have more staff on duty tomorrow to provide life-preserving services than there would usually be on a non-strike day; if so, does this illustrate routine understaffing issues for nurses?

BARBARA KURIGER to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What is her response to Gas Industry Company consultation outlining that the most critical and urgent issues to resolve to enable gas to support the transition to 100 percent renewable electricity include “a perceived lack of predictability across a range of dimensions for participants at every level of the industry to be able to plan and invest appropriately”?

DR SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What is the latest estimate for the total cost of the health system restructure, and what risks, if any, have been identified that could delay the new system being established by July next year?

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

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister for the Public Service: What is the estimated average increase in public sector pay, excluding step-based progressions, built into the Estimates of Appropriations in Budget 2021?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: What steps is the Government taking to address historical imbalances in funding for vocational education and training?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement, “I don’t buy into extremist rhetoric”, in relation to comments from Patient Voice Aotearoa on Pharmac funding?

RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister for the Environment: What changes is the Government making to the resource management system?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her statement, “I’m not going to pretend that living on $315 is easy”; if so, what further steps is she going to take to ensure everybody can live with dignity?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: What proportion of the mental health funding announced in Budget 2019 that was supposed to be spent by year two has been spent, and what measurable difference, if any, has this made to the mental health of New Zealanders?

RACHEL BOYACK to the Minister of Local Government: What recent reports has she seen about water infrastructure in New Zealand?

Dr JAMES MCDOWALL to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all policy decisions made in relation to the new Accredited Employer Work Visa; if so, is he confident that the new visa will improve the immigration system?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Police: Will Budget 2021 help reduce gang membership and violence; if so, how?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Acting Minister for Emergency Management: How does Budget 2021 help ensure our emergency management systems are geared towards an inclusive, community-led response to natural disasters and health events?

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

CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Does she agree with the statement in the Labour Party’s 2020 manifesto that it will “regulate property managers to protect landlords and tenants”; if so, what action will the Government take in response?

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

RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister of Energy and Resources: How is Budget 2021 supporting the roll-out of heating and insulation to make Kiwi homes warmer?

DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister responsible for the NZSIS: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: Which specific initiatives, if any, in Budget 2021 will materially lift productivity in New Zealand, and by what year will this impact be seen?

SARAH PALLETT to the Acting Minister for Emergency Management: How is the Government responding to the Canterbury floods?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Housing: Does she believe that Government policies are helping first-home buyers keep up with rising house prices?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Women: What initiatives are there in Budget 2021 to improve the lives of New Zealand women?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in relation to the Government’s response to COVID-19?

INGRID LEARY to the Minister of Transport: How does Budget 2021 invest in rail?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s comments in response to questions about white privilege in relation to education that “It’s not part of our Government agenda” and “It’s not something that we’re teaching”?

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

Dr SHANE RETI to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent announcements has the Government made about supporting people in the welfare system?

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

Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for the Environment: Will he consider tightening the limits on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser in the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 if the Government’s review of the science on the relationship between nitrates and birth outcomes confirms a link between drinking-water nitrate levels and premature births; if not, why not?

SARAH PALLETT to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about adult cochlear implants?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister for Small Business: What specific new initiatives, if any, in Budget 2021 reduce costs on small businesses or directly assist them so that they expand to grow the New Zealand economy?

TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What announcements has he made about supporting regional development?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by the Prime Minister’s statement regarding the Government’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, “we’ve announced our sequencing framework and have a plan in place that will ensure all New Zealanders are offered a vaccine by the end of the year”?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Which district health boards are delaying vaccinations of Group 3 until at least July due to having insufficient doses available for Groups 1 and 2 populations, and is he satisfied with the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in New Zealand?

ARENA WILLIAMS to the Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing): What initiatives has the Government funded through Budget 2021 to support Māori whānau to meet their housing aspirations?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Police: What are the measures of success, if any, for Operation Tauwhiro, and is she confident Operation Tauwhiro has been successful in reducing gang violence?

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

ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister of Finance: What are the Government’s priorities for Budget 2021?

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

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that “Inequality has progressed almost as rapidly as development”?

Dr GAURAV SHARMA to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What investment has the Government made in New Zealand’s COVID-19 vaccination programme?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the statements he has made in his past Budget day speeches?

HELEN WHITE to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What recent reports has she seen on the arts and culture sector?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What advice, if any, has he sought on the Controller and Auditor-General’s report Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, and what is his response to the comment in the report, “I am not yet confident that all of the pieces will fall into place quickly enough for the immunisation programme to reach the level of vaccinations required for the Government to meet its goals”?

Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What support is New Zealand providing to the Pacific to help them recover from the impacts of COVID-19?

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the Prime Minister, who said in relation to New Zealand history being taught in schools, “This Government is committed to a better New Zealand that we can all be proud of and which recognises the value of every New Zealander”?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she believe the welfare system should aim to alleviate hardship or eliminate hardship?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Associate Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to promote bullying-free environments in schools?

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

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

DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and actions?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: Will the Government deliver on all of its past Budget commitments?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has the Government made about responding to housing need in Rotorua?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that the “better than expected economic recovery” gives him “more scope to keep a lid on debt and look towards a faster reduction in that debt”; if so, why is he proposing paying down debt at a time of record low interest rates, rather than investing that money in ending child poverty and reducing emissions?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What progress has the Government made in supporting schools with property maintenance projects?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Health: When the Ministry of Health engaged with the board of the Laura Fergusson Trust, did it offer any funding?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she have confidence that all people staying in taxpayer-funded emergency housing are safe; if so, why?

TERISA NGOBI to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcement has he made about pathways to a net zero emission transport sector?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Police: Is she concerned gang membership in New Zealand is continuing to increase; if so, does the Government have a target to reduce the number of gang members?

HELEN WHITE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcement has he made about changes to KiwiSaver?

SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What progress has been made on the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme?

Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for the Environment: Will the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management be updated to include a bottom line for dissolved inorganic nitrogen before becoming part of the National Planning Framework through the resource management system reform?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister for Children: Does he stand by his statement that “The report from the Waitangi Tribunal aligns very closely with the direction I have given Oranga Tamariki”; if so, what, if any, are the outcome measures for success for that direction?

TERISA NGOBI to the Minister for Disability Issues: What recent announcements has she made about supporting New Zealand Sign Language?

TONI SEVERIN to the Minister of Corrections: Will he set a target for reducing the number of corrections staff that are assaulted in corrections facilities; if not, why not?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Revenue: Has he seen reports that tax relief has been included in Australia’s Budget, delivered yesterday; if so, can hard-working New Zealanders expect similar tax relief in Budget 2021?

ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What progress has she seen on the New Zealand Libraries Partnership Programme?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: Can he confirm that as of 16 April none of the $25 million fund for tertiary student mental health support announced 10 months ago had been spent on front-line mental health services, and no additional students have accessed mental health services as a result of this funding?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: How is the recent increase in the minimum wage helping working New Zealanders?

ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has he made about reducing merchant service fees for New Zealand businesses and consumers?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Agriculture: What actions, if any, will the Government take in response to the findings in its Our land 2021 report that intensive agriculture and urban expansion can degrade the quality and health of soil and increase pollution in freshwater and marine environments?