Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Why will he borrow more money and increase taxes and levies?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Is the KiwiBuild: Buying off the Plans document correct where it says “there is insufficient funding for the Crown to deliver all 100,000 KiwiBuild dwellings by itself”?

VIRGINIA ANDERSEN to the Minister of Finance: What capital investment needs has he been made aware of ahead of Budget 2018?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree with the Prime Minister when she said this week that the Government’s current immigration policy is “exactly the same one we campaigned on”?

Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister for Biosecurity: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in relation to Mycoplasma bovis?

DARROCH BALL to the Minister of Defence: What progress, if any, has been made regarding aircrew training capability for the Royal New Zealand Air Force?

Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his reported comments that he only found out in October last year that the $1.13 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme was funded over successive years?

LAWRENCE YULE to the Minister of Employment: Does he stand by his statement in the House on Tuesday that “we won’t be punishing everybody who mucks up”?

GREG O'CONNOR to the Minister for Social Development: What data-related announcements has she recently made?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his answer to Oral Question No. 10 yesterday, in relation to new police, that “all 1,800 work on the front line”?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government): Does she stand by her statement that this Government will be “the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had”?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What advice has he received since commissioning the targeted review of consumer credit regulation in December last year on the extent of consumer credit-related harm in New Zealand?

To be announced.

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the strength of the Government’s finances?

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

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Can he confirm that the Half year Economic and Fiscal Update shows the Government borrowing an extra $10 billion of net core Crown debt?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What is the Government doing to reduce homelessness this winter?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: How many houses will be built under the KiwiBuild programme?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he regard it as good practice to carry out economic analysis of the likely effects of proposed major policy decisions?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made regarding Dunedin Hospital?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his statement last November that his Government will be hiring 1,800 sworn police officers; if so, why did he tell The Nation this weekend that not all 1,800 officers will be sworn police officers?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Minister of Employment: How many unemployed people are there in the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay?

DARROCH BALL to the Minister of Veterans' Affairs: What progress, if any, has been made regarding the Government’s decision to repatriate the remains of New Zealand military personnel and dependants who were buried overseas after 1 January 1955?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by his reported statement on submissions on the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill that he was surprised by how many were flawed and “I am stunned at the number of times professors, legal experts, constitutional experts have actually got their analysis about the bill wrong”?

JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: When was the last significant hydrocarbon discovery in New Zealand?

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

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Local Government: Has she received any advice, including the cost to ratepayers, on the 5 polls taking place on the establishment of Māori wards; if so, what was that advice?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he accept that the Half year Economic and Fiscal Update shows $23.1 billion in surpluses over the next four years, additional borrowing of $10 billion in the next three years, and that the latest Crown financial statements for February 2018 show an additional $494 million is available; if so, why is the Government increasing taxes and not keeping its promise to reduce the cost of GP visits for all New Zealanders on 1 July this year?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by her statement that “we as a state have to give people what they are entitled to, and so that is where our obligation lies.”?

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister of Transport: What effect will the proposed $28 billion Auckland Transport Alignment Project have on congestion in Auckland?

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Trade and Export Growth: Does he believe the Government did all it could to avoid the imposition of tariffs by the United States on New Zealand steel and aluminium?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Is he satisfied with the Request for Proposals process for air ambulance helicopter services being run by the Ministry of Health?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Education: What reports has he seen about the need for training in trades occupations?

SARAH DOWIE to the Minister of Conservation: What are her current priorities for the Conservation portfolio in the marine space?

JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she stand by all her statements?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister responsible for Pike River Re-entry: What progress has been made on the Pike River re-entry project?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all of his statements in regards to the Provincial Growth Fund; if so, will he guarantee that none of the projects funded will have outcomes considered “fanciful”?

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

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

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister of Finance: What capital and operating pressures has he taken into account in Budget 2018?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement yesterday that the Tax Working Group review “isn’t a revenue grab - one option open to the working group is that the recommendations are fiscally neutral”; if so, will he give an assurance that any tax package finally approved by the Government will be fiscally neutral?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What progress has been made on the affordable housing policy?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions on fuel taxes?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of State Services: Is the Government committed to a professional, competent, and politically neutral public sector; if so, how is the reported statement by Regional Economic Development Minister Hon Shane Jones that Ministers be able to appoint their “shit-kickers” consistent with this?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Education: What progress can he report on a rebuild of new secondary schools in Blenheim?

JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she stand by her statement to the Petroleum Conference, “we have 10 years or so of natural gas consented for drilling, and potentially many more years that could be discovered under existing exploration permits. Some of these permits run as late as 2046. They are not under threat”?

Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister for Biosecurity: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in relation to Mycoplasma bovis?

JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister of Forestry: What recent announcements has he made regarding the forestry sector?

Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s policies?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Finance: What are the Government’s priorities for Budget 2018?

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

PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister of Transport: What advice did he receive about the funding gap in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project prior to the new version he announced last week with Mayor Phil Goff?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Is it his intention to reduce GP fees for all New Zealanders by $10 per visit by 1 July 2018?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions on fuel taxes?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: How will Budget 2018 help DHBs to respond better to their capital needs?

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

JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she stand by all of her statements and actions regarding the Government’s decision to ban further offshore oil and gas exploration?

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by his statement regarding his Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill, “I am stunned at the number of times professors, legal experts, constitutional experts have actually got their analysis about the bill wrong”, and has he considered the possibility that he is wrong?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Revenue: What recent announcements has he made about the collection of GST from offshore suppliers?

Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: Why is her Government proposing to replace the Callaghan Innovation growth grants worth $232 million in 2016/17 with a research and development tax credit that would have been worth $219 million in the same financial year if there had been no behavioural or allocation change?

Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What are the proposed capital and operating allowances in the 2017 Budget Policy Statement, and how do these compare to previous periods?

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

DARROCH BALL to the Minister for Seniors: What announcements has she made recently regarding a new Positive Ageing Strategy for New Zealand?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by all his statements in the House and to the media?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: How much is funding increasing by, in dollar terms, for the Local Road Maintenance activity class for the first three years of the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport; and when added to his answers yesterday for Local Road Improvements and Regional Improvements funding increases of $310 million and $260 million respectively, what is the total combined increase, in dollar terms, for these three activity classes?

TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What announcement has she made about Block Offer 2018?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: How are the Government’s policies advancing economic development in the regions?

TODD MULLER to the Minister for Climate Change: What impact will stopping offshore oil and gas exploration have on New Zealand’s emissions?

Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister of Corrections: When he said “So we are looking at a range of options to reduce the prison population by 30 percent over 15 years”, what options is he considering?

LOUISA WALL to the Minister of Health: What examples of capital pressures has he seen while visiting DHBs?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister for Building and Construction: Why did she wait four months between receiving expert fire engineer Dr Tony Enright’s report on concerns with aluminium composite panel cladding on 19 November and commissioning a peer review on 6 March?

Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Statistics: Does he have confidence in his Department?

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

KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What does the Government’s Budget Policy Statement (BPS) say about capital allowances, and how does it compare with previous periods?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What discussions has he had with the Member of Parliament for Mt Albert in relation to the proposed Unitec development for up to 4,000 houses?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: How much is funding increasing by, in dollar terms, for the Local Road Improvements and Regional Improvements activity classes for the first three years of the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport?

MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What assurances can he give the provinces in the wake of the announcement to the wind-down of public funding through Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd for large-scale irrigation?

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON to the Attorney-General: Does he stand by all his statements and actions regarding New Zealand Bill of Rights vetting?

Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: How have the funding challenges for the early childhood education sector that he acknowledged to the House yesterday impacted upon ECE services?

Hon ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Children: What work does she have underway in her portfolio?

MELISSA LEE to the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media: Does she stand by all her statements and actions?

RINO TIRIKATENE to the Minister of Health: What major capital projects are being progressed in health?

ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister for Building and Construction: Can she confirm that there are no buildings under construction in New Zealand that have or are proposing to install aluminium composite panel cladding?

Questions to Members

MELISSA LEE to the Chairperson of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee: Has the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee had any further discussions about the briefing from Radio New Zealand Ltd about the 2016/17 annual review?

MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Prime Minister: Ka tū a ia i runga i tana kōrero mō te iti rawa o te mahi haumi i roto ratonga tūmataiti, ā, nā runga i tērā, “we didn't know it would be this bad” ā, mēnā kua pēnei rawa, ka pēhea te nui o te iti rawa o te mahi haumi nei?  

Translation: Does she stand by her statement on underinvestment in public services that “we didn't know it would be this bad”, and if so, how significant is this underinvestment?

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

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Is he committed to reducing core Crown net debt to 20 percent of GDP by 30 June 2022?

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

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: What is the total increased level of funding for the Public Transport activity class for the next 10 years if the mid-point level of funding proposed in the draft Government Policy Statement in the 2018/19 year continues at that level for 10 years without increase; and can he confirm that when that increased funding is added together with mid-point level funding for the new Rapid Transit and Transitional Rail activity classes over 10 years, the total new and increased funding for these three activity classes is $5.398 billion?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What reports has she seen about the financial impact of remedial repairs in Canterbury by EQC?

Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by all his Government’s actions in the agricultural sector?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Minister of Employment: Does he stand by all his policies, statements, and actions?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What funding challenges does the early child education sector face?

BRETT HUDSON to the Minister for Government Digital Services: Does she agree with the comment made by ICT veteran and expert in the industry, Ian Apperley, who said “when you read the Government’s Chief Technology Officer job description it occurs to me that making the role effective is provably impossible. It is largely waffly which means the Government may not know what it wants”; if not, why not?

Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What advice has he received about DHB deficit levels?

Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements and actions?

DARROCH BALL to the Minister for Children: What progress has Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children made in its first year of existence?

Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: What other tax increases, or new taxes, might New Zealanders face over the remainder of this Government’s term?

JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: Does he agree that the total funding for the State Highway Improvement activity class for the next ten years would be $13.75 billion if the midpoint level of funding proposed in the 2018/19 year continued at that level for ten years without reduction in the draft Government Policy Statement, and what is the difference between that scenario and the total midpoint funding of $8.4 billion that has been proposed?

KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Transport: By how much will investment in local and regional roads increase under the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all his Government’s policies and decisions regarding the Provincial Growth Fund?

JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to take a more strategic approach to early learning?

Hon JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Local Government: What discussions has she had with the Minister of Transport about any proposed changes to the funding assistance rates and any expectation of local government’s share of projects funded under the scheme?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Finance: Will the Government introduce any of the following taxes which were raised by Sir Michael Cullen on 2 March 2018; a financial transactions tax, a wealth tax, an equalisation tax, a capital gains tax, a land tax, a progressive company tax, environmental taxes, and behavioural taxes?

PAUL EAGLE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What benefits to consumers will be provided by the Commerce Amendment Bill?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statements and actions regarding Deloitte’s appointment as the independent reviewer of the National Oracle Solution IT Programme?

MELISSA LEE to the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media: Does she stand by all her statements and actions regarding her meeting with Carol Hirschfeld on 5 December last year?