Category: New Zealand Parliament Questions for Oral Answers

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

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What was he referring to in the House yesterday when he said that there were some DHB preparations that could have been done “a little better”, and what things, if any, could have been done a little better at Middlemore Hospital?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Health: Is he satisfied with the response at Middlemore Hospital following the identification of a COVID-19 positive patient?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: Will he commit to criteria for undertaking spending under the authority of the second Imprest Supply Bill for 2021/22; if so, what will those criteria be?

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Why did the Government prohibit residential rent increases last year in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, and will it do the same this year?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: When did he first receive advice on the new requirement for essential workers crossing the Auckland border to have had a test in the last seven days, and is he satisfied with the planning done for an outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19?

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

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: When he reportedly admitted recently there were gaps in hospital preparations for the Delta outbreak, what were those gaps?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that “with Covid raging outside our borders, and new more transmissible strains emerging, we have had to both make continual improvements to strengthen our border while continuing to plan and prepare for managing any resurgence in the most effective way possible”?

JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Is he confident that Government policies are ensuring working people are safe and supported during the current COVID-19 outbreak?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister of Finance: Does he have confidence in the administration and timeliness of the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme?

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

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Has the Director-General of Health exempted, under clause 9 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Point-of-care Tests) Order 2021, any point-of-care tests from the prohibitions in that order, and what is current Government policy on rapid COVID-19 tests?

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.

Source: New Zealand Parliament – Oral Questions and Answers

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement, “A small handful are not due their day 12 test—but I would caution the member that those are the contacts we know about”; if so, how many contacts are still awaiting a test result now?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: What did she mean yesterday when she said, “When the outbreak started, we saw, of course, as you may expect, some demand lift”, and does she accept that prior to the current outbreak, eligible people wanted to get vaccines but were not able to secure appointments?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister of Finance: How does the new requirement to reapply for the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy every fortnight help businesses and employees?

Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement regarding people in hardship that “what we want to do is ensure that the current forms of support we have are adequate”; if so, will the Government take action in response to the Salvation Army’s observation that despite actions taken so far, “critical food insecurity issues for people and whānau persist”?

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Finance: Does he believe that the current COVID-related financial support for struggling businesses is adequate, and how many businesses, if any, does he expect to close permanently as a result of level 3 and level 4 lockdown restrictions?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many COVID-positive people are awaiting transfer to quarantine facilities, if any, and is he satisfied that the Government’s MIQ facilities were appropriately prepared for the Delta variant arriving in New Zealand?

MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: How does he reconcile Dr Susanna Every-Palmer’s research that one year after the first lockdown, levels of psychological distress remained elevated, even though there were no lockdown restrictions in place, with his comment that “Wellbeing dipped slightly during March-April 2020’s Alert Level 4, but quickly recovered as alert levels decreased”, and does he now recognise that higher levels of mental distress have continued to be felt in the community as a result of COVID-19?

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 JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement from yesterday, “Of course, our goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible”; if so, has her goal changed from April, when she said, “I support the fact that we have been later in the pecking order”?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement regarding an alert level change in Auckland that “we need to be confident we don’t have Delta circulating undetected in the community, and we need to be confident any cases we may have are contained and isolated”; if so, is this the same for the South Island?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How did this Government prepare DHBs for a Delta variant outbreak from when Delta was first detected in New Zealand five months ago, and which DHBs, if any, had low PPE inventory eight days before the current Delta outbreak was discovered?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: Is he satisfied that all initiatives funded from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund are for COVID-19 response and recovery and that, had the COVID-19 outbreak not occurred last year, they would not have been funded?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he satisfied with the speed of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and decisions relating to the roll-out made by the Government to this point?

Hon JAMES SHAW to the Minister of Finance: Will the Government make further funding available from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support people in hardship; if so, in what form?

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

DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement on expanding access to affordable dental care, “It’s an area we need to give attention to at some point”; if so, when will he give it his attention?

BROOKE VAN VELDEN to the Minister of Housing: Is she confident that Kāinga Ora will meet its deadline of 1 July 2023 for complying with the healthy homes standards, and can she confirm that the Government will not give Kāinga Ora an extension to its deadline?

ANAHILA KANONGATA’A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What announcements has she made about supporting people into employment?

NICOLA WILLIS to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government’s statements and actions?

LEMAUGA LYDIA SOSENE to the Minister for the Environment: How will the repeal and replacement of the RMA reduce costs and consenting times?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Which are the three hospital emergency departments with the greatest number of nurse vacancies as a proportion of their normal
full-time equivalent roster, and what are those proportions in each case?

MARJA LUBECK to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): What recent announcement has she made about better supporting children with the highest learning support needs?

RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister of Immigration: Does he consider the current immigration policies to be 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?

ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister of Transport: What recent reports has he seen about the Clean Car Discount?

PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Did he receive the Te Pūkenga Programme Business Case in October 2022?

ANGELA ROBERTS to the Associate Minister of Local Government: What engagement has he had with the local government sector?

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 JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statements from earlier this year in relation to COVID-19 vaccines, “We absolutely accepted we wouldn’t be the first rolling out, because the equation in New Zealand is so different” and “I support the fact we have been later in the pecking order”?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that “with Covid raging outside our borders, and new more transmissible strains emerging, we have had to both make continual improvements to strengthen our border while continuing to plan and prepare for managing any resurgence in the most effective way possible.”?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: How many people per day have had a planned inpatient procedure delayed during the current lockdown, if any, and how many of these were for cancer surgery?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: What is the estimated direct cost to the Crown of the change in COVID-19 alert levels since 18 August 2021, and how does that compare with the unallocated portion of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund?

CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many doses, by month, of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are yet to be delivered, and are reports correct that the New Zealand Government asked for vaccine shipments from Pfizer to be delayed beyond September 2021?

DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he satisfied with the operation of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021?

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.