Parliament 30 July 2015

The order paper is here.

Oral Questions 2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

  1. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: In light of his admission yesterday that health funding has not kept up with all inflationary pressures under this Government, how will the health budget absorb the increased cost of purchasing medicines that the Prime Minister has said is likely to result from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?
  2. FLETCHER TABUTEAU to the Minister of Trade: Does he agree with the headlines in the Nikkei Asian , “Will TPP end with whimper like Doha Round?”, and in Gareth Morgan's column, “Could the TPP become Key's most embarrassing moment”?
  3. TODD BARCLAY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the outlook for the New Zealand economy?
  4. PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister for Building and Housing: Does he stand by his statement that non-resident foreign buyers in the housing market are a non-event; if so, on what empirical data does he base that?
  5. PAUL FOSTER-BELL to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What progress is the Government making in ensuring overseas-based New Zealanders repay their student loans?
  6. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Trade: Has the New Zealand Government provided to other governments involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations any documents regarding New Zealand's position on specific issues in the negotiations; if so, have those documents been made publicly available to New Zealanders?
  7. CLAYTON MITCHELL to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Does he stand by his statement, “It's important to strike the right balance between safe workplaces for workers and unnecessary red tape on businesses and I'm confident we have landed in the right space.”?
  8. Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Education: What reports has she received on Trades Academies?
  9. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: How much money has her Government spent developing and testing the ‘predictive risk model' that was announced in 2012 to identify children at risk of harm and abuse, and in what year will it be rolled out?
  10. MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Customs: How will the Government's investment in next generation SmartGates increase security and ensure passengers are processed faster and more efficiently at the border?
  11. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY to the Minister of Education: Has she taken any papers to Cabinet proposing changes for ; if so, is this an admission that the charter school model is not working?
  12. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Trade: Why did he say to journalists asking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement “we need adults to do this – not breathless children to run off at the mouth” and why does he think we should trust the Government to protect New Zealand's interests when the Prime Minister has already admitted on TV that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement may trade away New Zealand's right to ban the sale of our homes to foreigners?

National: Four questions on the economy, student loans, trades academies and SmartGates

Labour: Four questions on health spending, Auckland housing, child abuse and TPP

Greens: Two questions on TPP and charter schools

NZ First: Two questions on TPP and workplace safety

Government Bills 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm 

Health and Safety Reform Bill – second reading

The Bill replaces the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the Machinery Act 1950 to reform New Zealand's workplace health and safety system, following the work of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety and the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy.

  • Introduced March 2014
  • 1st reading: March 2014, passed unanimously
  • SC report: July 2015, passed with amendments by majority with Labour, Green and NZ First minority reports

The second reading is a debate of 12 speeches of up to 10 minutes for a maximum debate of two hours.

Appropriation (2015/16 Estimates) Bill – committee stage continued

This Bill authorises the individual appropriations contained in The Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the year ending 30 June 2016.

  • Introduced May 2015
  • 1st reading: May 2015, passed without dissent
  • 2nd reading: June 2015, passed 63-58 with Labour, Greens, NZ First against

The debate is an 11 hour debate divided into ten sector . The sectors are:

  • Economic Development and Infrastructure Sector – done
  • Education Sector – done
  • Environment Sector – done
  • External Sector – done
  • Finance and Government Administration Sector – done
  • Health Sector – current
  • Justice Sector
  • Māori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector
  • Primary Sector
  • Social Development and Housing Sector

Each debate is a minimum of eight speeches of up to five minutes each, led off by the relevant select committee chairperson.