Parliament 15 February 2011
Oral Questions 2 pm – 3 pm
- DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
- TODD McCLAY to the Minister for Economic Development:What evidence has he seen of businesses having the confidence to invest in large capital projects in New Zealand?
- GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all the answers he gave to Oral Question No 6 yesterday?
- TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister for Social Development:E pēhea te Minita e mōhio ai kei te piki te ora o ngā tamariki i roto i ngā ringaringa o Child, Youth and Family?
- Translation: How will she ensure that children are not made more vulnerable than when they went into the care of Child, Youth and Family?
- Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: What is Treasury’s projection for New Zealand’s current account balance for the next four years?
- NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: What reports has she received about early childhood education enrolments in 2011?
- Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Will he give an assurance that New Zealand’s armed forces will not be used in any possible military intervention in Syria in violation of the United Nations Charter?
- NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Local Government: What reports, if any, has he received on labour costs in the local government sector as compared to central government and the private sector?
- Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Corrections: Does she have confidence in her Chief Executive and his staff?
- Dr JACKIE BLUE to the Minister for Courts: What initiatives are underway to assist court staff to improve the collection of outstanding fines?
- CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: What advice and reports, if any, has he received about the Rt Hon John Key’s electorate chair Stephen McElrea’s potential conflict of interest in his role as a board member of New Zealand On Air?
- CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What announcements has she made regarding the igovt scheme, and making it easier for people to verify their identities to government agencies?
Today there are five patsies from National, four questions from Labour, one from the Greens, one from the Maori Party and one from NZ First. The prize for most grovelling patsy question of the day goes to Q11 – What announcements has she made regarding the igovt scheme, and making it easier for people to verify their identities to government agencies?
Labour are trying on a generic Does PM have confidence in all Ministers question which could mean a scandal unearthed, or well anything. Robertson continues on the Radio Live issue, Parker focuses on the current account deficit and Curran continues at NZ on Air.
The Greens are asking their sole question on Syria. Sigh.
The Maori Party are asking about CYF and Winston has left Whanau Ora and is askign about Corrections.
Maiden speeches for new Green MPs are from 4.15 pm to 6 pm, being List MPs Mojo Mathers, Denise Roche, Julie Anne Genter, Jan Logie, Ste an Browning, Eugenie Sage and Holly Walker.
7.5 hours remaining of the debate.
Government Bills 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm
- National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill – third reading
- Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill – committee stage
- Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – committee stage
- Medicines Amendment Bill – first reading
- Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill – committee stage
The National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill was introduced in December 2010 and seeks to to establish a National Animal Identification and Tracing system in New Zealand. It was passed by a voice vote on first reading, and on second reading was supported by all parties except ACT.
The Taxation (International Investment and Remedial Matters) Bill was introduced in October 2010 and seeks to to reform the tax treatment of gains of New Zealand residents from income interests in overseas entities and gains of foreign residents from interests in New Zealand companies. It passed its first and second readings on a voice vote.
The Customs and Excise (Joint Border Management Information Sharing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill was introduced in September 2010 and seeks to enable border agencies to share information, change the thresholds and processes for administrative and petty offence provisions of the Customs and Excise Act. It passed its first and second reading on voice votes.
The Medicines Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2011 and aims to modernise Medicines Act 1981.
The Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill was introduced in October 2010 and seeks to ensure that an offence committed against a Police officer or prison officer acting in the course of his or her duty is taken into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing. It was supported by all parties bar the Maori Party at first reading, and passed second reading on a voice vote. The Government has indicated they will support a Labour amendment to include other emergency service operators in the bill.