June 21, 2012 1:15pm by David Farrar

Parliament 21 June 2012

Oral Questions 2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

  1. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he accept the BNZ statement that New Zealand’s increasing current account is “a very clear risk for New Zealand’s credit rating with Standard and Poor’s”?
  2. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the economy?
  3. KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister for ACC: Can she confirm that staff in ACC’s Recovery Independence Service teams receive more or less remuneration dependent on whether the proportion of people receiving weekly compensation is less or more than specified duration targets?
  4. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by all his recent statements?
  5. JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Police: What actions has the Government taken against illegal street racers?
  6. Hon MARYAN STREET to the Minister of Health: Has he received any reports or correspondence regarding the Community Pharmacy Services Agreement with District Health Boards and if he has, have they caused him any concern?
  7. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister of Justice: How is the Justice sector contributing to the Government’s better public services programme?
  8. GARETH HUGHES to the Minister for Climate Change Issues: Does he agree with the statement made by the Minister for the Environment, Hon Amy Adams in Rio, that, “Money spent on fossil fuels is money that could be spent on other sustainable development priorities”, and will the Government re-allocate the $889 million for ETS credits in Budget 2012 towards sustainable projects and a green economy?
  9. MIKE SABIN to the Minister of Immigration: What reports has he received on the benefits to New Zealand of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme?
  10. KRIS FAAFOI to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by all the statements she made to the Law and Order Committee yesterday?
  11. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Courts: What recent announcements has he made regarding court services for Christchurch?
  12. DENIS O’ROURKE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Does he still believe that the best way to deal with the price increase in home rentals in Christchurch is to leave it to the market?

Today there are five questions from National, four questions from Labour, two from the Greens and one from NZ First.

Patsy of the day goes to Q5 – What actions has the Government taken against illegal street racers?

Labour are asking on current account deficit, a gotcha to Steven Joyce, pharmacies and a gotcha to Anne Tolley.

Greens are on ACC and climate change, NZ First on Christchurch housing.

Government Bills 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm

  1. Mixed Ownership Model Bill – committee stage continued
  2. Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill – second reading
  3. Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill – second reading continued

The Mixed Ownership Bill committee debate has concluded Parts 1 and 2 but some time left still on the preliminary provisions.

The Mixed Ownership Model Bill was introduced in March 2012 and enables the Crown to  remove Genesis Power Limited, Meridian Energy Limited, Mighty River Power Limited, and Solid Energy New Zealand Limited from the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, and restricts the Crown from holding less than 51% of the voting rights in each of the companies and will restrict non-Crown individuals and entities from holding more than 10% of the voting rights in each of the companies. It passed first reading 61-60 with National, ACT, United Future in favour and all other parties against. The Finance and Expenditure reported it back with minority reports from Labour and Greens. It passed second reading 61-59.

The Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill was introduced in April 2012 and aims to  extend the restrictions on the awarding of compensation for one more year from 1 July 2012 until 30 June 2013. It passed first reading 72 to 48 with National, NZ First, Maori, ACT, United in favour and Labour, Greens, Mana against. The Justice and Electoral Committee recommended that it pass, with minority reports from Labour and Greens.

The Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill was introduced in March 2012 and seeks to  introduce a new regime in relation to Fonterra’s milk price setting, proposed capital restructure, and share valuation. It passed first reading 64 to 54 with Labour, Greens, NZ First and Mana against. The Primary Production Committee recommended it pass with amendments, with Labour and Greens giving minority reports.