Category: New Zealand Parliament Questions for Oral Answers

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What reports has she seen on how New Zealand’s electricity sector is responding to electricity outages caused by Cyclone Gabrielle?

Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Forestry: What estimates, if any, has he seen of the costs of damage caused by forestry slash in Tairāwhiti from Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he think New Zealanders are being fairly taxed, and is he satisfied that the Government has delivered value for the $53 billion increase in annual spending since 2017?

DAN ROSEWARNE to the Minister of Defence: What contributions has the New Zealand Defence Force made to the response to Cyclone Gabrielle?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister for Building and Construction: How many houses does she estimate will need repairs or rebuilding because of Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding in Auckland, and has she requested that the Critical Materials Taskforce review the building and construction sector’s capacity to meet demand in light of the recent weather events?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Does she stand by all her statements and agree with those made by Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand?

LEMAUGA LYDIA SOSENE to the Minister for the Environment: What actions is he taking in response to Cyclone Gabrielle?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Has she seen reports that Aotearoa’s most low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by climate events, such as flooding; if so, what steps is her Government taking to support those on the lowest incomes to recover from recent weather events?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Police: Does he agree with the Prime Minister, who said, “There’s been no substantiation to the allegations that people on checkpoints had had guns pulled on them. If anyone wants to report that that happened they should do so to the police”, and is he aware an incident was reported to police by the victims?

CAMILLA BELICH to the Minister of Education: What resources is the Government putting into schools so they can meet attendance and engagement targets?

CHRIS PENK to the Minister for Courts: Does he have confidence that the court system is delivering timely justice for all Kiwis; if so, why has the number of days to dispose of a serious criminal case in the District Court increased by 55 percent since 2017?

Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister of Health: What recent announcement has she made about the future of New Zealand’s COVID-19 vaccination programme?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

Hon JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that climate is a “bread and butter issue” for his Government; if so, will he ensure that adapting to extreme weather and cutting pollution are both central to the Government response to Cyclone Gabrielle?

RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister of Finance: What will be the economic impact of the recent extreme weather events, and how is the Government responding to those events?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government’s statements and actions?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What announcements has she made about supporting NGOs and those impacted by the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government’s statements and actions?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he think New Zealanders suffering a cost of living crisis should pay more tax, and why won’t he rule out introducing a new tax to help pay for the Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up?

SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Transport: What reports has he received about progress on repairing transport networks following the recent extreme weather events?

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his statement that “What I’d say to the gangs, get your bloody patches off”; if so, has he seen reports of how many gang members have taken their patches off?

Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO to the Minister for Emergency Management: What assistance has NEMA coordinated to support local responses to Cyclone Gabrielle?

ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Education: On what date was she provided with the term 3 2022 attendance data by the Ministry of Education, and why was the data not released publicly until just yesterday?

ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister for Small Business: How is the Government supporting small businesses affected by recent extreme weather events?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: Does he still expect “early works to commence in 2023” on Auckland light rail; if so, on what date in 2023 will early works commence?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and policies?

BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What are the Government’s priorities for Budget 2023?

Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Does he agree with the Minister of Conservation that New Zealand supports a global protection target of 30 percent of land and sea areas by 2030; if so, what progress, if any, has the Government made toward achieving this in the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana since October 2020?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that “every day of the week we look to see what savings and reprioritisations we can make”; if so, what specific savings or reprioritisations has he identified this week?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: What support has the Government contributed to help schools to provide learning environments for their students that are warm, dry, and fit for purpose?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Why did she not send the advice she received on 22 November relating to entrenchment of provisions of the Water Services Entities Bill to any other Ministers, and does she stand by all her statements on entrenchments?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What research has she seen on the impact of the Families Package five years after its introduction?

PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Is he confident Te Pūkenga is on track to achieve all of its objectives, and how much, if anything, has been spent to date on redundancy payments for senior executives?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Immigration: What reports has he seen regarding migration to New Zealand?

KAREN CHHOUR to the Minister for Children: Does he stand by his statement that “when a child is identified or apprehended by Police for offending behaviour, information will be shared with Oranga Tamariki within 24 hours, with an agreed plan on how to deal with and support the young person confirmed in 48 hours”; if so, how does he expect this to be delivered while Oranga Tamariki faces more than 500 vacancies?

TANGI UTIKERE to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress has been made towards a smokefree New Zealand?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

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

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Housing: What actions has the Government taken to achieve better housing outcomes for the people of Rotorua?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and policies?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Has he been instructed by the Prime Minister to look through the things he has on his agenda to ask himself whether “either from a spending perspective and investment perspective, or just from a focus perspective, those are things that we should be prioritising at this point in time”; if so, what initiatives, if any, has he identified should no longer be prioritised?

CAMILLA BELICH to the Minister of Education: What reports has he seen about numbers of people undertaking vocational education and training?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Is she confident the Government has the correct priorities in Justice?

NAISI CHEN to the Minister of Tourism: What reports has he seen on New Zealand’s tourism recovery?

ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Why were nurses and midwives not placed on the straight-to-residence pathway of the Green List in May, and on what date did he first receive advice, if at all, that the retention rates of migrant nurses and midwives are no longer a concern?

HELEN WHITE to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made about futureproofing New Zealand’s transport system?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Did she receive advice from the Department of Internal Affairs on 25 October raising the possibility that Hon Eugenie Sage would pursue entrenchment of provisions in the Water Services Entities Bill via supplementary order paper and stating the Government would need to decide whether to support it; if so, how does she reconcile that with her answer to me in oral questions on 6 December, “We were made aware of the details of the SOP at the same time as he was”?

TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Education: Does he think the wages of rural school bus drivers in Aotearoa are fair?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Education: Has he received any reports on future options for Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori education in the past six months?

TERISA NGOBI to the Minister for Children: What recent announcements has the Government made about stopping children re-offending?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and actions?

DAN ROSEWARNE to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What has the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme achieved?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Justice: What does the Ministry of Justice advice dated 11 April 2022 on entrenching sections of the Water Services Entities Bill that she received on 28 November 2022 say, and did she seek any advice on entrenchment in that bill earlier?

Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has Pharmac advised him of in relation to funding more medicines for New Zealanders?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by the Minister of Finance’s statement about half-price public transport, “this is a very expensive policy. And what it does is, it robs the fund that funds our roads”; if so, why?

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: What recent announcement has the Government made about supporting the New Zealand media sector?

MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Does he stand by all the Government’s views and actions regarding Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister for Youth: What reports has she seen on young people’s re-engagement through the Ākonga fund?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her statement on entrenching provisions of the Water Services Entities Bill, “There is a moral obligation of people who believe that privatisation should not occur to support that particular SOP”; if so, how does she reconcile that with a Cabinet decision made on 30 May that “the Bill should not entrench the privatisation provisions in the Bill”?

MARK CAMERON to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by the Acting Minister for Agriculture’s statement made on 16 November 2022 that “specific mitigation technologies commercially available now include low-methane sheep genetics, the effluent pond treatment technology EcoPond, and urease inhibitor”; if so, how many commercial farms in New Zealand are currently utilising each of these technologies?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in all of her Ministers?

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

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Is he confident that taxpayer money is being spent appropriately and delivering value for New Zealanders during a cost of living crisis?

WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Police: What recent announcements has the Government made about helping Police respond to fleeing drivers?

JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Children: Does he agree with Royal Commissioner Paul Gibson that “The experiences of disabled survivors, shared with the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, describe a terrible history. But it would be a mistake to believe this remains in our past”; if so, what interventions are in place, if any, to ensure a disability rights focus within Oranga Tamariki?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Is she confident the justice system is prioritising community safety and providing justice to the victims of crime?

Dr EMILY HENDERSON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What announcements has she made on extending hardship support for dental grants?

SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: On what date did he first write to Labour MPs encouraging them to put forward bids for funding under the $350 million Transport Choices package, and on what date did NZTA open expressions of interest for councils to bid for the funding?

SARAH PALLETT to the Minister for Women: What recent announcements have been made on the Government’s progress on pay equity?

NICOLE McKEE to the Minister of Police: Is he confident that all information stolen during the firearms licensing data breach at the former Auckland Central Police Station on Vincent Street has since been recovered?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her statement on entrenching a provision of the Water Services Entities Bill, “We know that while this particular SOP may not pass the constitutional threshold, there is a moral obligation of people who believe that privatisation should not occur to support that particular SOP”, and does she stand by all her statements on entrenchment provisions?

ANNA LORCK to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What reports has he seen about improved rural broadband?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

TANGI UTIKERE to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has Pharmac advised him of relating to rare disorders?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and policies?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister of Housing: What progress has the Government made in delivering public housing?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and actions?

GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: What recent announcements has he made on supporting small businesses to tackle retail crime?

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement about entrenching a provision of the Water Services Entities Bill that “we accept a mistake here has been made”; if so, when did she realise it was a mistake?

JO LUXTON to the Minister of Forestry: What announcements has he made on transforming the forestry sector?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the Reserve Bank that “worker shortages are holding the economy back and increasing inflation”, and what steps, if any, will the Government now take to lessen the risk of economic recession next year, as outlined in the Reserve Bank’s November Monetary Policy Statement?

JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent reports has he seen regarding competition for residential building supplies?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister of Immigration: Does he consider that current immigration policies are fair and equitable towards migrant families?

MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Does he stand by all the Government’s views and actions regarding Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her statement on entrenching a provision of the Water Services Entities Bill, “We know that while this particular SOP may not pass the constitutional threshold, there is a moral obligation of people who believe that privatisation should not occur to support that particular SOP”, and does she stand by all her statements on entrenchment provisions?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

INGRID LEARY to the Minister of Finance: How is the Government responding to changing economic conditions in New Zealand and globally?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the Reserve Bank Governor, Adrian Orr, who said yesterday that “we’ve got too much home-grown inflation”; if so, what additional steps, if any, is the Government considering to reduce pressure on home-grown inflation?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister of Immigration: Does he consider that current immigration policies are fair and equitable towards migrant families?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Education: What reports has he seen about trends in the number of New Zealanders in apprenticeships?

ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister of Conservation: What announcements have been made about supporting community-led conservation projects?

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Minister of Police: What changes will the Government make to its response to retail crime, after the fatal stabbing of a dairy worker in Sandringham last night, if any, and will the Government now remove the criterion that a retailer must first be a victim of crime in order for them to access funding from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme?

DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister for the Environment: Will he undertake any specific actions to ensure the resource management reforms have the active consent of tangata whenua, in response to concerns expressed from tangata whenua leaders regarding the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill; if so, what are those actions?

Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What recent announcements has he made about improving rural connectivity in some of New Zealand’s most remote locations?

Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does he agree with the Dairy and Business Owners Group, who said, “The country is becoming lawless … Running a business in this country has become very difficult”; if not, why?

Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation: How is the Government supporting a future-focused research system?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her statement made in the House yesterday that the establishment of the principles of Te Mana o te Wai “included a number of stakeholder groups: rural community; yes, Federated Farmers; it included industry users; it included horticulturalists, as well as iwi”; if so, why can only mana whenua submit Te Mana o te Wai statements under the Government’s three waters reforms?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

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

CHRIS BAILLIE to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): Would she consider requiring attendance officers to report their data to the Ministry of Education; if not, how is she evaluating whether the $16.5 million per annum spent on the Attendance Service is delivering results?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that “many New Zealanders will be facing increased mortgage payments over the coming year”, and has he sought advice to quantify the financial impact that record interest rate rises would have on New Zealanders?

Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Health: What is Te Aho o Te Kahu – Cancer Control Agency doing to improve men’s health?

DAMIEN SMITH to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Can he name any new services which can be provided under his public media merger but cannot be provided without it; if so, what are they?

TĀMATI COFFEY to the Minister for the Environment: Will the repeal and replacement of the RMA reduce costs and speed up consenting processes; if so, how?

Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: What is the percentage increase of ram raids since 2018, and how many businesses have had security systems installed through the Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Will the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill help to enable New Zealand to phase out fossil fuel extraction; if so, how?

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What recent announcements has she made about reducing gambling harm in communities?

SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: How many, if any, parks and reserves that also serve a storm water function will be transferred to the proposed water services entities as part of the Government’s three waters reforms, and does she stand by all her statements on three waters reform?

MARJA LUBECK to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What steps is the Government taking to support the health and safety of workers?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

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

CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister of Housing: What actions has the Government taken recently to address the housing infrastructure shortage?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with Westpac that “a much higher level of interest rates will be needed to bring inflation under control”, and what impact, if any, have Government spending decisions had on domestic inflation?

IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What recent announcements has the Government made about support for Ukraine in response to Russia’s illegal invasion?

CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Housing: Is she confident that the homes of the 1.4 million New Zealanders who rent are healthy and well managed?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What is the latest reported average wait-time in emergency departments across New Zealand, and what was the longest wait-time at Christchurch Hospital ED this weekend?

CAMILLA BELICH to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): What feedback has she seen from principals and schools on the Government Attendance and Engagement Strategy?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Housing: Did she take a paper to the Cabinet Social Wellbeing Committee last week; if so, did that paper contain a recommendation to extend time frames for private landlords to reach the heathy homes standards?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Are the Government’s justice priorities to deal effectively with the increase in violent crime and delays to justice?

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What announcements has he made about improving supermarket competition?

PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his Associate Minister’s statement on his behalf regarding Te Pūkenga that “no discussions have been had around co-leadership”?

Answers to these questions are delivered from 2pm (New Zealand time) on the day of tabling. The answers can be accessed in text form, once Hansard is finalised, by clicking here.