Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she support a policy which would allow New Zealanders to access up to $20,000 from their KiwiSaver to start a new business?

JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: How is the Provincial Growth Fund helping tackle long-term issues in our regional communities?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What are the latest projections he has received on the number of job losses this calendar year and the increase in Government debt over the same period?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by her statement on 19 July, “people returning to New Zealand should assist with the considerable expense of accommodating them in managed isolation facilities”; if so, how much of the $479 million budgeted for managed isolation does the Government expect to recoup from people returning to the country?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by all her statements and actions?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What recent announcements has the Government made regarding protecting migrant workers from exploitation?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday regarding the announcement of the 150 shovel-ready projects, “where there are projects that we have not yet announced publicly, that is because we are still in some cases undertaking due diligence”; if so, how many projects have completed due diligence but are unannounced?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Associate Minister of Health: What are the policies around the flu vaccine this year, and how has supply been managed?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Food Safety: What steps has the Government taken to increase awareness of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What is the total value of projects announced as part of the Provincial Growth Fund, and what is the best estimate of the number of jobs those projects will create?

Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister of Agriculture: What proportion of the $44 billion increase in primary sector export earnings over the next 10 years detailed in the Government’s Fit for a Better World roadmap would be generated from the dairy sector?

KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in the House on 22 July, “On 1 April, we created the Infrastructure Reference Group. On 17 May, we received over 1,900 potential projects; that was then provided to Ministers.  We worked through a shortlist of 800.  On 29 June, very quickly, they were signed off, and on 1 July they started to be rolled out”; if so, why hasn’t her Government released the full list of projects?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the opinion of Marama Davidson that “tax is love”?

Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has she made about the Government’s Progressive Home Ownership programme?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Housing: Does she plan to introduce and pass legislation before the House rises on 6 August to allow for people returning from overseas to be charged part of the costs of undertaking managed isolation?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What recent announcements has she made about the Government’s target of 100 percent renewable electricity?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Which public hospitals have staff that are also employed in isolation facilities, and what is the impact of staff moonlighting?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: What proportion of the working age population is receiving the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy, COVID-19 Income Relief Payment, or Jobseeker Support?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What response has he seen to the Government’s initiative to encourage vocational training and apprenticeship during New Zealand’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Associate Minister of Transport: Does she stand by all her statements and policies on road safety?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his statement regarding community sentences, “we expect offenders to complete their hours”?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about supporting New Zealanders towards financial security?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Prime Minister: Does she agree with the comments regarding shovel-ready projects made by the Rt Hon Winston Peters in a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, “I’ve got the list, the whole lot – why they are not telling you, I don’t know. But I’m going to go back and find out.  How can you tender if you don’t know?”

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Finance: What reactions has he seen to the Government’s economic response to COVID-19?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Prime Minister: Has she asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs whether he made it clear to Bee Lin Chew and Su Arn Kwek that he was facilitating their passage to Antarctica on the basis that sponsorship was being sought for the redevelopment of Scott Base; if so, have they provided sponsorship?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Is he confident his policies and actions are providing businesses with as much certainty as possible so that they can invest and create new jobs with confidence?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Local Government: What recent announcements has the Government made about supporting councils to improve their drinking-water infrastructure?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: How would he rate the performance of his coronavirus testing policies for effectiveness and economic recovery?

JO LUXTON to the Minister for Small Business: What support has the Government provided to small businesses to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impacts of COVID-19?

STUART SMITH to the Minister of Immigration: Is he satisfied the border closure exceptions are responsive to the needs of businesses critical to our economic recovery?

KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Agriculture: How is the Government supporting the agritech sector?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement, “the Government has been very clear that our cash reserves that have been accumulated by Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) will be ring-fenced for spending in the region that has accumulated those. That is the policy decision of the Government.  That’s recorded in the Cabinet papers and in the Cabinet minute.  That is very clear.”?

Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: Why, considering it was due to be released in June 2019, has the Government not yet released its Research, Science and Innovation Strategy?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What recent announcements has she made to help support firefighters throughout New Zealand?

Question Time for 22 July 2020.

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the economy?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Is she satisfied with her Government’s record of delivery for new transport projects across the country?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What advice, if any, has he received from the Treasury on potential job losses in New Zealand for the rest of this year?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about New Zealand’s health response to the COVID-19 global pandemic?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Is he confident that his Government’s COVID-19 isolation policies are appropriate and effective?

Hon JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Conservation: Is she committed to her department upholding the High Court ruling, which requires it to consult with the hunting community over the Tahr Control Plan?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for ACC: What recent announcements has the Government made about ACC charges?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Associate Minister of Education: Does she agree with the Prime Minister, who said in May 2018 that the average wait-time for a child seeking an early intervention appointment was 74 days, “and in the life of a little 3- or 4-year-old child who’s hungry to learn, that’s 74 days too long”; if so, what is the average waiting-time for a child seeking early intervention support today?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Civil Defence: What help is the Government giving to the communities of the upper North Island who are affected by flooding?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What recent Provincial Growth Fund announcements has he made?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Police: Has he seen reports that the number of people on the National Gang List had reached 7,166 as of April 2020, and that this represents a 34 percent increase since he took office?

SIMON O'CONNOR to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): How many social houses, if any, has the Government sold since it took office, and at what total value?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Prime Minister: Is she confident the Government is delivering on its infrastructure commitments, particularly its commitment to light rail from the city to the airport in Auckland?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Education: How many children does he expect to benefit from the recently announced Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What did he mean yesterday by his comment on the tax system that “by and large, it is fair and balanced”, and does he think changes to the tax system will be required?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Did any records held by the Ministry of Health on 17 June contain details of whether all 2,159 people who left managed isolation between 9 and 16 June received a test before they left managed isolation?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Economic Development: What action has the Government taken to help save jobs and protect incomes in the domestic events and screen sectors?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for Infrastructure: What criteria, if any, did the Government use to allocate the $239 million announced yesterday from the $3 billion allocated to infrastructure in the COVID-19 Recovery and Response Fund, and what explains the length of time between his announcement that the Government had had 1,924 submissions to the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group and the announcement yesterday?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: How does the performance and capacity of his employment programmes help the thousands of New Zealanders who are unemployed due to the coronavirus outbreak?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Sport and Recreation: What progress has been made on the implementation of the Government’s Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation strategy?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: How much of the $1.9 billion allocated for mental health and drug addiction services in Budget 2019 has been committed for mental health and addiction treatment services, and how much, if any, of that allocation to mental health and addiction treatment services has been spent to date?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Have any developers undertaking construction of market homes approached the Government for an indemnity or underwrite that would provide additional financial assurance to their banks, and, if approaches of this sort have been made, what steps has the Government taken to ensure it applies fair and transparent criteria to assessing or granting these applications?

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has he made regarding the Criminal Cases Review Commission?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Corrections: How many individuals sentenced to community service have had hours remitted to date under the Epidemic Preparedness (Epidemic Management—COVID-19—Parole Act 2002 and Sentencing Act 2002) Notice 2020, and how many hours were remitted under this notice?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Infrastructure: What action is the Government taking to support the construction sector and progress shovel-ready infrastructure?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by the statement from the Speech from the Throne, “There will be a progressive tax system where everyone pays their fair share, according to their means”?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements on tax?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent announcements has he made about Government investments to support workers and families?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the Prime Minister, “If you even have a sniffle or the slightest sore throat, get a test”, and is that statement consistent with the case definition for COVID-19 published on 24 June?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: How much revenue was raised by the fuel tax increases on 30 September 2018 and 1 July 2019, and how much is forecast to be raised annually by the increase from today?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What changes to support for trades and vocational education come into effect today?

IAN McKELVIE to the Minister of Fisheries: How many Hector’s and Māui dolphins will the new Hector’s and Māui dolphins Threat Management Plan – Fisheries Measures save annually, if any?

Hon JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Conservation: What issues, if any, have prevented the extension of the Campbell Island Marine Reserve?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What changes to the parental leave scheme came into effect today?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Police: How many firearm incidents involving gang members and associates have there been since the end of the Government’s firearm amnesty and buy-back, and how does this compare with the number of similar incidents for the two calendar years prior?

JAN LOGIE to the Minister of Statistics: What recent developments have there been to ensure the 2023 Census includes questions about sexual orientation and gender identity?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Does her Government have a strategy for ensuring appropriate standards are in place to detect, track, and trace new cases of COVID-19 so that New Zealand’s border can be progressively opened ahead of the development of an effective vaccine; if so, what is it?

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

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: How much of the $62.1 billion of available support in response to COVID-19 has been allocated so far, and, of the amount allocated, how much money has been spent to date?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Finance: Why is the Government planning to increase petrol excise duty, road-user charges, and alcohol excise duty tomorrow, at the same time as New Zealand enters a recession?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has she made about managed isolation and quarantine facilities?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Is he responsible for COVID-19 testing; if so, how many of the 2,159 people who left managed isolation between 9 and 16 June were tested prior to leaving and returning to the community?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: Is she satisfied that she has good financial oversight of her portfolio; if so, how much has been spent on each of the payments listed on Work and Income’s A to Z webpage in each of the last three years?

JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What recent Provincial Growth Fund announcements have been made?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Justice: Is his Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act 2020, as assented on Monday, good law?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What steps is the Government taking to bridge the pay gap between teachers working in ECE centres and those working in our kindergartens and schools?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Will he cancel the increase in fuel excise duty and road-user charges that come into effect tomorrow, until after the election, in light of his Auckland light rail process ending; if not, why not?

Hon JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Conservation: What is her response, if any, to the comments made by the chairman of the New Zealand Game Animal Council that the Department of Conservation’s tahr control plan was “not founded on adequate science and is a departure from plans previously supported by the hunting sector”?

Questions to Ministers

KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the international context for the New Zealand economy?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statements yesterday that Ministers “were advised that the testing was happening twice during the period of quarantine” and, in response to whether officials had misled her, “This is not a revelation or new information”?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Conservation: What measures did she announce yesterday to help protect the Māui and Hector’s dolphins?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Why does he think New Zealand’s GDP growth forecasts for this year from both the IMF and the OECD are significantly worse than Australia’s?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does his responsibility as Minister of Health include oversight of the regime for testing individuals in New Zealand for the COVID-19 virus?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What action is the Government taking to address long-term pay inequities for teacher aides?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: What is his best estimate of the cost incurred by his Government so far in relation to Auckland light rail, and will he undertake to release all Government documentation relating to Auckland light rail, including costings for the NZTA and NZ Infra proposals, before the election?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Justice: Is his Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill, as passed through its third reading under urgency last night, good law?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Fisheries: What new protections is the Government putting in place to look after New Zealand’s native Hector’s and Māui dolphins?

STUART SMITH to the Minister of Immigration: How many people, if any, have entered New Zealand under the ‘other critical worker’ border closure exception category?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: When he said of his flagship $455 million new frontline mental health service, “it’s quite impressive how quickly these things have rolled out”, was he referring to the $20 million of the $455 million spent on services at that time or the 18 new sites delivering the service at that time?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What initiatives has he announced this week to assist industries and workers to deal with COVID-19 recovery?

Question Time for 24 June 2020.