Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Is the Government still committed to “reducing net debt to 20% of GDP” as outlined in the Speech from the Throne?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Is he confident none of the 58 KiwiBuild houses currently being marketed in Canterbury will have to be purchased by the Crown; if so, why?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What announcements has the Government made about providing wrap around support and housing to homeless New Zealanders?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Economic Development: What is his Government’s economic development strategy?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: How many adult New Zealanders reported an unmet need for GPs due to cost in the past 12 months according to the results of the 2017/18 New Zealand Health Survey, and how does that compare with the 2016/17 survey?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, is being made to improve care and rehabilitation for Aucklanders who suffer a stroke?

Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister for Land Information: Does she stand by all her statements, actions, and decisions?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Associate Minister of Education: Can she confirm that despite the Prime Minister’s announcement in May 2018 that 1,750 additional children would receive early intervention support in the next year, only 626 did; if so, does she take responsibility for failing to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all statements, policies, and actions of the Police in relation to the theft of 11 guns from the Palmerston North police station?

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister of Police: What recent announcements has he made about making it easier for the public to get in touch with Police for non-emergency events?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Police: Did he make the statement on TVNZ One News in December in response to the launch of Matthew’s Petition urgently seeking the introduction of random roadside drug testing so as to reduce the escalating road toll from drugged drivers, “There’s a discussion document that’s been approved by Cabinet”; if so, was the statement correct at that time?

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

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What recent steps, if any, has the Government taken to ensure that young New Zealanders leave school with the skills they need to succeed and thrive in the workforce and in society?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What responsibility, if any, does he take for what the Reserve Bank described as a “sharp decline in GDP growth in the second half of 2018”, and what is the Government’s plan to grow the economy?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: How many first-home buyers purchased homes in the last financial year with KiwiSaver HomeStart, and how many with KiwiBuild?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Seniors: What announcements has she recently made about support for seniors?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements, policies, and actions on transport?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Have there been more or fewer elective surgical procedures undertaken in the 2018/19 year to date than in the previous year to date according to the Ministry of Health statistics web page entitled “Services delivered: Acute and elective patient discharge volumes”, and by how many?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister responsible for Pike River Re-entry: What recent progress, if any, has been made on Pike River recovery?

SIMON O'CONNOR to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Is he confident the formula provided in the regulation for the heating capacity of qualifying heaters in the main living room, as published in the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019, is suitable for New Zealand landlords to understand?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all statements, policies, and actions of the Police in relation to the theft of 11 guns from the Palmerston North police station?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister for Ethnic Communities: What recent announcements has she made about supporting ethnic communities in Christchurch and throughout the country?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Corrections: What recent announcements has he made about reducing Māori reoffending rates?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he consider that the Government’s policies and actions have contributed to New Zealand’s slowing economic growth; if so, will we see a plan from the Government to better support New Zealand businesses?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: How many of the KiwiBuild houses offered for sale in Canterbury in February have sold to eligible KiwiBuild buyers, and how many has the Government had to buy as a result of the underwrite contract?

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

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Transport: Is he satisfied the Government has the right priorities for transport investment?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: What national health target, if any, does the Government have for elective surgical procedures for the financial year ending 30 June 2019, and will it meet that target?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about support for ambulance services?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement regarding the offer to primary school teachers: “The latest offer that the Government has made is it. There is not going to be any more money”; if so, how does he expect to resolve the largest ever industrial action by primary and secondary teachers planned for 29 May?

GOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN to the Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has the Government made on family violence and sexual violence?

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

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: Is he confident that recent incentives for teacher recruitment and training will address projected teacher shortages in coming years; if so, why?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does the Government continue to pledge to build 100,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years, through its KiwiBuild programme, as stated in the Speech from the Throne?

KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What changes to employment law came into effect this week?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with Baker Tilly Staples Rodway that Tax Freedom Day 2019 is five days later than when his Government took office because taxes have grown faster than the economy, and what plans, if any, does he have to reduce the tax burden faced by New Zealanders?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Transport: What major transport projects, if any, have been delayed, significantly modified, or cancelled since his Government took office?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent measures has the Government announced to protect consumers?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Did he make the statement to TVNZ in December in regard to the Matthew Dow petition seeking the urgent introduction of random roadside drug testing “there’s a discussion document that’s been approved by Cabinet that’s going out to the public early next year”, and if so, on what date did Cabinet approve the discussion document?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

CLAYTON MITCHELL to the Minister for Infrastructure: What recent announcements has he made regarding the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga?

Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister for Land Information: Why did she decline the application for OceanaGold in cases 20171062 and 201810122 to purchase 178 hectares at Waihi when the Associate Minister of Finance concluded the project would “create substantial and identifiable benefit”?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by all her statements and actions?

Questions to Ministers

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Climate Change: What recent announcements has he made regarding climate change?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that “we are building an economy that is more productive”; if so, why is annual GDP per capita growth at its lowest level since 2011?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What, if anything, is the Government doing to ensure that initial teacher education better prepares beginning teachers to meet the needs of students?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his statement last Thursday in regard to an additionality test on KiwiBuild developments, “The assessment is embodied in a whole lot of other communications” and “they’re going to get back to the National Party Research Unit this afternoon with that documentation”?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: Is he confident that he can meet the expectations of the education sector and parents in Budget 2019 in light of his promises, and potential teacher strikes?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Revenue: What reports, if any, has he seen about the implementation of the Business Transformation programme?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: What is his best estimate of the cost of increasing access to mental health and addiction services from the current target of 3 percent to 20 percent of the population, which was identified as an indicative target in the executive summary on page 12 of the Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: What are the 15 recommendations from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s report that the Government are progressing, and the five recommendations she has commissioned extra advice on as stated in her answers to oral questions Nos. 6 and 10 yesterday?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Immigration: What announcements has he made today about immigration settings for the regions?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all his statements, policies, and actions?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the calls made at the teen suicide awareness march at Parliament yesterday for more counsellors in schools as one measure to help reduce New Zealand’s youth suicide rates; if so, how many more counsellors will be funded over the next four years?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What announcements has the Government made to get more teachers in classrooms and support thousands more in training?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with Treasury that firms’ own trading activity indicator from the most recent Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion suggests annual GDP growth of around 2.0 percent, and when was the last time New Zealand’s annual GDP growth was at or below 2.0 percent?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about making the welfare system fairer and more accessible?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his answer to oral question No. 6 on 12 March that the additionality test for a KiwiBuild development can be met in four key ways, “by getting a development under way; by bringing forward a development, or the stage of a development that is scheduled for a later time period; or by redesigning part of a development to provide for additional affordable homes, rather than a smaller number of more expensive homes”?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: What advice, if any, has he given to the Prime Minister about an early access scheme for patients seeking faster access to new medicines through Pharmac?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Associate Minister of Finance: What effect, if any, has the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes had on the number of foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: How many of the 42 recommendations in the Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s report will be implemented by the end of this parliamentary term?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all his statements, policies, and actions in relation to the New Zealand Police?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What recent announcements has she made regarding the recovery from the devastating Tasman fire?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Associate Minister of Education (Māori Education): What recent announcements has he made about growing and strengthening an education workforce that can integrate te reo Māori into the learning of all ākonga in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Is a strong employment market an important part of ensuring the well-being of New Zealanders; if so, can he confirm that job growth was negative in the first three months of this year?

JO LUXTON to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: What progress, if any, is the Government making on increasing trade and export growth?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: When was he first advised by Police that there had been an alleged unauthorised disclosure of Police information to a media outlet, and when was he first advised that the Police Commissioner had directed an investigation be commenced into that disclosure?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: What is his best estimate of the cost of increasing access to mental health and addiction services from the current target of 3 percent to 20 percent of the population, which was identified as an indicative target in the Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction?

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent announcements has she made about the building and construction industry in New Zealand?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Minister of Employment: Does he stand by his approach to Mana in Mahi, and how many Māori participants are involved in the Mana in Mahi programme?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: When can renters expect to see legislation introduced to reform the Residential Tenancies Act and protect their right to a secure home?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Associate Minister of Education: Does she accept responsibility for waiting times for early intervention support climbing from an average of 74 days in May 2018 to an average of 106 days now, and by what date will she deliver a reduction in waiting times to fewer than 74 days?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Employment: What recent reports has he seen on the labour market?

Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Statistics: Does he stand by his statement regarding Census 2018 that “the input was sub-optimal, but the output is optimal”?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s actions, policies, and statements?

DARROCH BALL to the Minister for Veterans: What announcements has he made regarding funding for veterans’ support?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the Government’s statements, policies, and actions in relation to the economy?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his answers to oral question No. 6 on 12 March that “The test applied to determine whether a KiwiBuild underwrite should proceed is additionality” and that “I’m advised that the threshold can be met in four key ways”?

RINO TIRIKATENE to the Minister responsible for Pike River Re-entry: What actions is the Government taking to meet its pledge to re-enter the Pike River mine?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Why did he say yesterday, “I have not received advice that there was a leak of top-secret information”, when the Police Commissioner has today confirmed he has directed that an investigation be commenced into the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information to a media outlet, and does he now accept there has been a leak of intelligence information to the media?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Social Development: Has there been a reduction in the number of single mothers having their benefits cut for not naming the father since this Government took office?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Social Development: What support, if any, has the Government introduced to help families with heating costs over the winter months?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Associate Minister of Education: Does she agree with the Prime Minister’s statement in May last year that “In early childhood education, the average wait for help from the early intervention service is about 74 days. And in the life of a little three- or four-year-old child who’s hungry to learn, that’s 74 days too long. Today’s announcement will halve the current waiting list for services, as well as help meet future demand”; and, if so, what is the average wait for help from the early intervention service today?

Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Statistics: Does he stand by his answer to oral question No. 12 on 12 April 2018 that “What I would say is that this census looks to be more successful than previous censuses, that we’re meeting all of our targets, and that that person, whoever wrote that article, should stop believing everything that he sees on Twitter”; and, if not, why not?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, actions, and policies?

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

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the Government’s statements, policies, and actions in relation to the economy?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: What is his best estimate of the number of elective procedures and specialist assessments that have been postponed by district health boards as a consequence of the industrial action taken by the Resident Doctors’ Association this week?

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

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about increasing job opportunities in the construction sector for people on a benefit?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made rolling out the Mana Ake programme to deliver mental health and well-being support in Canterbury schools?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the Waitakere Area Principals’ Association that estimates the changes proposed by the Tomorrow’s Schools Independent Taskforce could cost up to $2 billion per year?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he have confidence in the security policies and systems of the New Zealand Police?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Employment: What announcements has he made about increasing employment opportunities for urban rangatahi Māori?

Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Statistics: Does he believe Census 2018 was a success?

GARETH HUGHES to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she stand by MBIE’s decision to extend OMV’s Great South Basin application last year, given the company is now seeking a consent to drill?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements, policies, and actions?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his statement that houses purchased off the plans as part of the KiwiBuild scheme were purchased off the plans “Because they were included in the plans at the time they were built”?

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What progress, if any, has Housing New Zealand made providing assistance to tenants affected by previous methamphetamine contamination policies?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all of his answers to Oral Question No. 6 on Wednesday, 3 April?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What recent feedback has he seen on the proposals for the reform of vocational education?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Statistics: Does he stand by his statement, “this census looks to be more successful than previous censuses, that we’re meeting all of our targets”, and when will core public sector agencies like health and education have access to reliable census population data for allocating public funding?

Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Police: What reports has he seen in response to public safety and security concerns in the wake of the 15 March terror attack?

CHRIS PENK to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by his statements and actions in relation to light rail in Auckland?

KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Agriculture: What recent reports has he seen about the importance of sustainability to farmers?