Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Questions to Ministers

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement, “we had an expectation that testing was happening in day 3 and day 12 at the moment we went into alert level 1”; if so, on what factual basis was that expectation formed?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Finance: He aha ngā rīpoata hou kua kitea e ia mō te ōhanga o Aotearoa?

        Translation: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What is he doing to monitor the success of major Government spending initiatives, including the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Housing: How many people left quarantine or managed isolation between 23 May and 16 June, and how many of those people, if any, left without a COVID-19 test being taken?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Housing: What action has the Government taken to strengthen managed isolation and quarantine facilities?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement of 1 April 2020, “The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”; if so, when does he expect to announce those projects?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Climate Change: What recent announcements has he made about New Zealand Green Investment Finance decisions on climate change?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Has the chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency written to him advising of a shortfall of at least $1 billion in the National Land Transport Fund; if so, what impacts, if any, would this shortfall have on transport projects due for funding through the National Land Transport Fund?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What action is the Government taking to support New Zealanders to retrain for new employment opportunities post-COVID-19?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Health: What involvement, if any, does he have in setting the criteria and the assessment of the COVID-19 alert levels, and what information will the Ministry of Health use to make an assessment of whether to amend the levels?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: What are the criteria for entry into his six employment programmes, and how is success measured?

RAYMOND HUO to the Minister of Immigration: What initiatives to support refugees and their families were announced in Budget 2020?

Questions to Ministers

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

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in her Minister of Health’s management of the COVID-19 response, given the implications it has on the health and finances of New Zealanders?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: What is the most recent advice he has received from the Treasury on the likely impact of COVID-19 on the New Zealand economy over the period to 30 June 2021, and what impact does he think this will have on New Zealand households?

DARROCH BALL to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Does he stand by all of his actions relating to investment in KiwiRail?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Did he intend for the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 to provide for the mandatory testing of certain individuals; if so, was the Director-General of Health referring to mandatory testing when he said on 9 June, “from today, everyone in managed isolation … will be tested twice during that period, whether they have symptoms or not, around day three and around day 12”?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Was his management of PPE supplies during the coronavirus outbreak “textbook”, and how does that align with the report released by the Auditor-General regarding management of personal protective equipment?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What responses has he seen to Apprenticeship Boost?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: What projects, if any, in addition to those already listed in Schedule 2 of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Bill, did he propose as fast-track projects to improve transport in Auckland?

Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Defence: On what date, and at what time, was the decision made to give the Assistant Chief of Defence authority over all quarantine and managed isolation facilities, including the processes around the exit of those who had been in the facilities?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: What actions has the Government taken to increase trade with the United Kingdom and other countries?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Police: What police resources, if any, have been deployed to respond to incidents of people leaving COVID-19 quarantine or managed isolation facilities on compassionate grounds or prior to a COVID-19 test being returned?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Corrections: What reports, if any, has he seen of individuals transferred from COVID-19 managed isolation to a corrections facility who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19?

Questions to Ministers

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in her Minister of Health?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and policies in relation to the economy?

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Can he confirm Ministry of Health guidelines dated 9 June that people can only apply for compassionate leave from managed isolation after they have completed seven days of managed isolation and had a negative COVID-19 test; if so, how many days of managed isolation did the two confirmed COVID-19 cases announced yesterday complete before they left on 13 June?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement in the House yesterday that “There is a long, long list of projects in the Government pipeline of infrastructure projects, including housing and roads and schools and health and rail —far too many to take up all the time of the House recounting”, and which of these projects, if any, will begin before the general election?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What measures is the Government putting in place to help employers to keep apprentices earning and learning?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Police: On what date was he first made aware that the firearm licensing vetting procedure for the Christchurch shooter may have been deficient, and what actions, if any, did he take to ensure that the firearm licence regime’s integrity was upheld?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Is he still “reasonably confident”, as stated in the House on 12 March 2020, that Cabinet will consider the recommendations from the Ministry of Transport on Auckland light rail before the general election; and has he seen reports from the Rt Hon Winston Peters that it is “clear as daylight” that Auckland light rail will not get Cabinet sign-off before the general election?

CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister for Climate Change: What are the Government’s next steps for climate change action now that the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Bill has passed?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: How many additional KiwiBuild homes, if any, will be built in the delayed Monark housing development as a result of her decision last week to increase the Government underwrite for that project from $19 million to $40 million, and will she extend taxpayer-backed underwrites to other private housing developments at risk of delay or failure?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has the Government made about improving healthcare for South Aucklanders?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: What groups do his employment programmes target, and against what outcomes will he measure their performance?

Questions to Ministers

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy and our response to COVID-19?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Is she confident her Government has the systems in place and the competence required to increase the number of people in jobs and grow the economy through infrastructure investment?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for the Environment: How does he propose that fast-track consenting will help the COVID-19 recovery?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What steps has he taken, if any, to ensure Government spending has clear outcomes and delivers good results?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his 1 April statement, “That’s why we are now developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects from across the country that would be ready to begin as soon as we are able to move around freely and go back to work”?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What recent milestones has the Provincial Growth Fund achieved?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Will he accept all the recommendations of the Health and Disability System Review; if not, which recommendations will he be rejecting?

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Tourism: What advice, if any, has he received on the number of jobs that will be saved by the Tourism Recovery Fund, and how many jobs have been saved so far?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Revenue: What action has the Government taken to help ease the impact of COVID-19 on taxpayers’ end-of-year assessments?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Has he read the text of the 29 February 2020 email from the office of Rt Hon Winston Peters to him on Auckland light rail; if not, why not?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: What groups do his employment programmes target, and against what outcomes will he measure their performance?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: How is the Government responding to the Health and Disability System Review?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by Cabinet’s decision not to consider lifting alert level 2 restrictions and moving to level 1 until 8 June?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has she made about funding for the Research, Science and Innovation sector?

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

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: What is in the text of the email from the office of Rt Hon Winston Peters to him on Auckland light rail, and will Auckland light rail be considered by Cabinet before the pre-election period begins on 19 June 2020?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: What recent information has she seen on the impact of the wage subsidy on employers?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that “no Government had ever set up a national contact tracing system. The steps forward in terms of the IT solution that supports that is going to be incredibly valuable as we move into the future”?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: How much of the $455 million for the Government’s new frontline mental health service announced in Budget 2019 has been spent to date, and how many of the 22 delivery sites identified in his ANZAC Day press release were providing these services before the Government announced its new frontline mental health services in Budget 2019?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What action is the Government taking to pave the way for a fully qualified early learning workforce?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Justice: Has the Government done enough to help support commercial landlords and business owners meet the costs they have incurred from COVID-19?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Police: Does he expect that police will enforce the rules relating to the COVID-19 alert levels?

GARETH HUGHES to the Minister for Women: What has the Government done to address period poverty in schools?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Corrections: Is he satisfied with the decisions and actions made by the Department of Corrections during COVID-19?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB 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?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Why isn’t New Zealand already in alert level 1?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What is the Treasury’s best estimate of job losses from being at level 2 as opposed to level 1?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What decisions has the Government taken on investing in training and education for people who have lost their jobs or who want to move into a different sector?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister for the Environment: Does he believe it is appropriate to impose new regulations on the rural sector, given it is likely that New Zealand is about to enter a recession?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Has he received any advice regarding the number of health procedures unrelated to COVID-19 that did not take place as planned due to COVID-19; if so, what is his best estimate of the number of these procedures?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Māori Development: He aha ngā pānuitanga kua whakaatuhia e te Minita ki te tautoko i ngā ahumahi tāpoi Māori?

        Translation: What announcements has she made to support Māori tourism operators?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Has work by his officials on a trans-Tasman bubble progressed to a point where he can put a date on its start?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Did officials recommend in the Cabinet paper released in June 2019 titled “Progressing our plans to deliver light rail in Auckland” a process for Auckland light rail that would have allowed all market participants the opportunity to bid for the delivery of the project; and when, if ever, does he expect to take light rail to Cabinet next?

Hon TRACEY MARTIN to the Minister of Forestry: What recent announcements has he made?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Customs: Does she agree with the statement by Steve Sullivan from Nelson’s marine engineering company AIMEX that “The Government’s policy to refuse entry of vessels for engineering and maintenance work is costing jobs and millions of dollars in work”, and does she stand by her department’s decision to refuse entry to the fishing vessel the Captain Vincent Gann?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: How do the performance and policies of Mana in Mahi compare with all his employment programmes?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: Will she accept my offer to work with the Government to implement National’s JobStart policy as soon as possible?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for the Environment: How will new standards for freshwater, announced last Thursday, help create healthy waterways and swimmable rivers within a generation?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: What new information, if any, was provided to Cabinet today to inform the discussion for a move to level 1?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: How much new spending in response to the COVID-19 crisis has the Government announced so far, and how much has been spent to date?

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

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: What special powers, if any, did Cabinet grant him that enabled him to allow 56 film workers from Los Angeles into New Zealand?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Customs: Does she stand by all her Government’s customs policies and actions?

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister of Housing: What is the Government doing to boost the delivery of new public and transitional homes, and why is this important as New Zealand emerges from the COVID-19 crisis?

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Tourism: What advice has he received on the number of Australians who visited New Zealand for the purposes of a holiday or visiting family during the Australian winter school holidays in 2019?

STUART SMITH to the Minister of Immigration: Have he or his officials received correspondence regarding visa exemptions for foreign teams in the America’s Cup; if so, when?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What action has the Government taken to ensure that New Zealand’s most vulnerable children will receive a healthy school lunch?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: Will she do anything for KiwiBuild buyers caught up in the delayed Monark development, including the couple who wrote to her on Friday stating, “We want the Government, whose involvement induced us into entering this contract, to own up and enable KiwiBuild purchasers to exit their agreements with no further financial bloodshed”?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Prime Minister: Does she agree with the Rt Hon Winston Peters that New Zealand has been in lockdown for “far too long” and needs to be at level 1 now with a trans-Tasman bubble already operating, as reported by the NZ Herald; if so, what steps will she take to advance that?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Health: Is the development of a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, and the use of that vaccine, a crucial tool that will contribute, or is likely to contribute, to preventing the risk of the outbreak or spread of COVID-19?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What action is the Government taking to invest in training and education for people who have lost their jobs or who want to move into a different sector where prospects are better?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What priority does he give to further opening up the economy to save jobs?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement of 1 April 2020 that he was developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects that “would begin as soon as we are able to move around freely and go back to work”; if so, how many new projects have now started?

Hon RON MARK to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her Government’s investment in New Zealand’s infrastructure and capabilities?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: What is the total amount spent on her Keep New Zealand Working package, announced on 28 April?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: In the Cabinet paper released in June 2019 titled “Progressing our plans to deliver light rail in Auckland”, does one of the redactions include a comment from the Treasury; if so, what does that comment say?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Revenue: What advice has he received about the uptake of the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Housing: How many KiwiBuild homes that have been sold “off the plans” have had their estimated completion date delayed from the date that was communicated to buyers at the time of sale, and will KiwiBuild homes continue to be sold “off the plans”?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: What measures are used to assess the performance and progress of his employment programmes?

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent announcements has she made about supporting our building and construction businesses?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: When she said yesterday that the Government was “using the tax system to get cashflow to small business”, what did she mean by that?

KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: How will Budget 2020 support employment in New Zealand?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: How did the Government arrive at the figure of $50 billion that was allocated for the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund in Budget 2020, and is the Treasury being required to use the CBAx tool when assessing bids for the fund?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Housing: What action has the Government taken to ensure vulnerable New Zealanders in need of housing were supported through the COVID-19 crisis?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement of 1 April 2020, “That’s why we are now developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects from across the country that would be ready to begin as soon as we are able to move around freely and go back to work.”; if so, when will he announce the projects?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: Have officials recommended a process for Auckland light rail that would have allowed all market participants the opportunity to bid for the delivery of the project, and what is the most up-to-date estimate of the cost of the project he has received?

PAUL EAGLE to the Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing): What is the Government doing to create a partnership with Māori to get more whānau into warm, dry, and secure housing?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Did Budget 2020 provide funding to progressively increase the age for free breast-screening to 74; if not, why not?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Energy and Resources: How many more homes will be insulated with funding from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: Will the COVID-19 income relief payment create a model for long-term changes to the welfare system; if so, how?

KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent announcements has she made on cutting red tape to get people building?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: Which employment programmes have been the most effective, and what is the average return on investment across all the programmes?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy since Budget 2020?

TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: What is the Treasury’s most recent estimate of unemployment in the third quarter of this calendar year, and what is the Government’s specific plan to arrest the sorts of job losses we’ve seen over the past two weeks?

Hon TRACEY MARTIN to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: How has the Provincial Growth Fund been refocused to aid the post-COVID-19 recovery?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he have confidence in the Treasury’s Budget forecasts?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: Does she believe all her recent announcements are fair and non-discriminatory?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has the Government made on providing financial support for people who have lost work due to COVID-19?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Has he received any advice regarding the number of surgical procedures that did not take place as planned due to COVID-19; if so, what is his best estimate of the number of these procedures?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Social Development: Does she believe our social support system should provide enough income for all people to live with dignity?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Transport: On what date did Cabinet last consider the Auckland light rail project, and when does he expect to make an announcement as to a preferred delivery partner for the project?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has the Government made about a vaccine strategy for New Zealand?

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Tourism: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in relation to tourism?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Employment: What employment programmes or policies has he undertaken in response to the coronavirus outbreak?