Parliament 17th October
Oral Questions 2pm – 3pm
Questions to Ministers
1. PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What steps is the Government taking to support new jobs and build a productive and competitive economy?
2. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister responsible for the GCSB: Specifically, have there been staff issues associated with the Government Communications Security Bureau and Dotcom affair brought to his attention by the Government Communications Security Bureau or members of the New Zealand Police, in which such staff members no longer work in their previous capacity for the Government Communications Security Bureau or any government agency; if so, what were the circumstances?
3. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Further to his answers to the first supplementary question to Oral Question No 1 on 26 September and the first supplementary question to Oral Question No 1 yesterday, does he now know on what date the Government Communications Security Bureau was first told that its surveillance of Kim Dotcom was illegal?
4. ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made regarding providing extra financial assistance to grandparents raising grandchildren and other kin-carers?
5. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: When he said yesterday that with a “relatively high” exchange rate, our exporters “have been sufficiently resilient to be able to grow export volumes and value” did he mean that all export sectors have been growing, and according to Statistics New Zealand, in 2008 dollars what is the percentage change in exports of simply and elaborately transformed manufactured goods from the 2008 to 2012 financial years?
6. METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement, in response to a question about whether he will support my Income Tax (Universalisation of In-work Tax Credit) Amendment Bill that “she wants to give the same millionaires yet more money to raise their kids”?
7. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister for Primary Industries: What progress can he report on the Primary Growth Partnership Initiative?
8. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: What vulnerabilities were identified in the report prepared by Dimension Data on the security of the Work and Income kiosks?
9. Dr JACKIE BLUE to the Minister of Health: What reports has he received on improving the quality and efficiency of health services?
10. TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister of Broadcasting: How does he ensure that the legislative requirement for TVNZ to provide high-quality content that reflects Māori perspectives is reflected in the programming strategy for TV1 and TV2?
11. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Is she confident that the information she relied upon in deciding on proposals for school closures and mergers in Christchurch was robust and reliable; if so, why?
12. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What reports has he received on the availability of insurance cover to support the rebuilding of Canterbury following the seismic events?
Questions to Members
1. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: Is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill a “snake oil solution that would achieve nothing”?
2. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: What are the flaws in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill seeks to address?
3. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: What other functions will the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill seek to include in section 8 of the principal Act?
Today there are four questions to Ministers from Labour, five from National, one from the Greens and the Maori Party and 1 from NZ First. In addition, Andrew Williams is asking three questions to Rt Hon Winston Peters on his Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill.
Labour are asking about the GCSB, Exchange Rate/ Export Growth, Christchurch School Closures and the MSD Kiosk security breach.
The Greens are asking about Metiria Turei’s Income Tax (Universalisation of In-work Tax Credit) Amendment Bill which plans to extend the In Work Tax credit to non workers. Expect a answer along the lines of “On Planet Key/Labour …………………”
NZ First will be asking about the GCSB security case involving Kim Dot Com and most likely about the tape that suggests John Key talking about Kim Dot Com to GCSB Staff. Expect fireworks between the Speaker and Winston today on this issue.
Finally, The Maori Party will be asking about broadcasting and how the law ensures Maori perspectives are shown on TVNZ stations.
General Debate 3pm – 4pm
12 x 5 Min speeches on anything.
Private and Local Bills 4pm – 6pm & 7.30-8.00pm
1. Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill – Second reading
This Bill is on it’s 2nd reading after returning from the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on 19th September. The bill seeks to repeal the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act 1975 which allowed for the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board the ability to transfer parts of the Seabed in Tauranga Harbour. Since the passing of the Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Act 1991, this act has no legal effect and seeks to remove it.
2. Riccarton Bush Amendment Bill – Second reading
This bill is designed to reform the governance arrangements for The Riccarton Bush Trustees board and to give it more ability in the modern times to be able to manage the Riccarton House and Bush in Christchurch. This bill is expected to pass without too much trouble.
* Expect both of these bills to be used as filibusters today *
Members Bills – 8pm to 10pm
1. Local Government (Council-Controlled Organisations) Amendment Bill – Interrupted debate on first reading
This bill seeks to add Port companies eg Ports of Auckland which are currently excluded in the Local Government Act 2002 to the list of companies and Council- Controlled Organisations which are able to be subjected to requests for information under the Official Information Act and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
2. Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill – First reading
This Bill is intended to amend the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 to change the primary function of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to focus on things other than inflation to determine the official interest Rate. This can include things such as the exchange rate, employment, value of the dollar and other factors.
Expect this bill to fail at first reading, if they get to it..