October 23, 2012 1:30pm by speters

Parliament 23 October 2012

Oral Questions 2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Questions to Ministers

  1. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: At his meeting with the boss of American oil giant Anadarko in November 2011, was the issue of making deep sea oil drilling a permitted activity under the EEZ legislation raised?
  2. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “we’re trying to change the economic picture to encourage more New Zealanders to stay”; if so, how many people have migrated to Australia since he took office?
  3. SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister of Finance: What steps are being taken to improve housing affordability, as part of the Government’s wider economic programme?
  4. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement regarding Australia that “It has been a bit of a safety valve for jobs for people who can’t find jobs here”; if so, what advice, if any, has he received on the effects of emigration on the level of unemployment in New Zealand?
  5. MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Social Development: What announcements has she made on ensuring those working with children recognise and report suspected child abuse, as part of the Government’s White Paper for Vulnerable Children?
  6. Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister of Education: Will she extend the consultation timeframe for Christchurch schools which are proposed to be merged or closed, to enable them to fully engage with their communities; if not, why not?
  7. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Education: What steps is the Government taking to ensure meaningful consultation with school communities in Greater Christchurch?
  8. CHARLES CHAUVEL to the Prime Minister: Since he assumed ministerial responsibility for it, has the Government Communications Security Bureau undertaken surveillance of any person who is a citizen or resident of New Zealand, other than Mr Kim Dotcom?
  9. Dr CAM CALDER to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress has been made on the introduction of a comprehensive clinical assessment tool for older people in rest homes?
  10. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister for Climate Change Issues: Does he stand by his comment of 17 October 2012 that, “We need to make sure that New Zealand continues to do its fair share, alongside other countries, to combat the effects of climate change…”?
  11. MIKE SABIN to the Minister of Customs: What is the Government doing to combat the smuggling of precursors used to manufacture methamphetamine?
  12. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Minister of Finance: Is reducing the current account deficit a priority for the Government?

Questions to Members

  1. DENISE ROCHE to the Member in charge of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill: Why did the member draft the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill?
  2. DENISE ROCHE to the Member in charge of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill: What is the purpose of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill?

Today there are five questions to Ministers from National, four from Labour, two from the Greens and one from NZ First. Denise Roche of the Greens is asking two questions to Metiria Turei on her casino bill.

Labour are asking on the economy and Australia twice, Christchurch schools, and Dotcom. The Greens are asking on deep sea drilling and climate change, and NZ First are asking on the current account deficit.

Patsy of the day goes to Scott Simpson for Q3: What steps are being taken to improve housing affordability, as part of the Government’s wider economic programme?

Government Bills 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm and 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm

  1. Alcohol Reform Bill – committee stage (cont)
  2. Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing, and Remedial Matters) Bill– third reading
  3. Legislation Bill – committee stage

The Alcohol Reform Bill seeks to implement the Government’s decisions on the reform of alcohol legislation; decisions made in response to the Law Commission’s 2010 report on alcohol. Specifically, it seeks to limit the sale of alcohol from grocery stores and creates an offence of being on licensed premises outside of licensed hours.

The Taxation (Annual Rates, Returns Filing, and Remedial Matters) Bill sets the annual income tax rates for the 2012/13 year, introduces amendments to the requirements for filing and storing of tax returns and amends other acts and regulations such as the KiwiSaver Act 2006.

The Legislation Bill was introduced by Chris Finlayson in 2010 to modernise and improve the law relating to the publication, availability, reprinting, revision, and official versions of legislation and to bring this law together in a single piece of legislation. It passed its second reading with unanimous support.