Parliament 14 November 2012

Oral Questions 2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Questions to Ministers

1. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that the Household Labour Force Survey is “the most rigorous form of measuring employment in the economy”; if so, what were the Survey’s results for unemployment for the last four quarters?
2. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he still think his Government is “on the right track”?
3. MAGGIE BARRY to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making in getting back to surplus and reducing future borrowing?
4. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development:Does she stand by all her answers to Oral Question No 9 yesterday?
5. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: Is he satisfied that Immigration New Zealand’s visitor visa processing system is robust and effective; if so, why?
6. MIKE SABIN to the Minister for Social Development: What further announcements has she made on the Children’s Teams, part of the Government’s White Paper for Vulnerable Children?
7. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister for Economic Development: Is he satisfied that the policy initiatives undertaken by his Ministry are adequately tackling the problem of unemployment; if not, why not?
8. DENISE ROCHE to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: Was he referring to the SkyCity Convention Centre, which is the subject of an inquiry by the Auditor-General, when he told the House, “in relation to the International Convention Centre, they have sought to stop, which is the reason right now for 1,000 less jobs in this country”?
9. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Associate Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement “Yes I do have confidence in Novopay”?
10. JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Corrections: What steps has the Government taken to protect communities from high-risk offenders?
11. DARIEN FENTON to the Acting Minister of Labour: When will he begin the process of consulting on the minimum wage for 2013?
12. KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI to the Minister of Internal Affairs: How many New Zealanders have applied for a passport online since the launch of the Online Passport Renewal Service?

Today there are five questions from Labour, four from National, two from the Greens and one from NZ First. There are also two Members Questions regarding the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill from Green MP Denise Roche.

Labour are asking on welfare reforms, Novopay, the state of the economy and twice on employment. The Greens are asking on employment and SkyCity, and NZ First are asking on visitors’ visas.

Patsy of the day goes to Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi for Question 12; How many New Zealanders have applied for a passport online since the launch of the Online Passport Renewal Service?

Private and Local Bills 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm

1. Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Bill – second reading
2. South Taranaki District Council (Cold Creek Rural Water Supply) Bill – second reading

1. Land Transport (Admissibility of Evidential Breath Tests) Amendment Bill – interrupted debate on first reading
2. Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill – first reading
3. Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill – first reading

The Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Bill was introduced by Jacqui Dean and revokes the reservation of Part Lot 7, DP 6425 (the Palmerston Showgrounds) under the Reserves Act 1977 and vests ownership of the land in the Waitaki District Council absolutely.

The South Taranaki District Council (Could Creek Rural Water Supply) Bill was introduced by Chester Borrows and  seeks to establish a process by which the council may obtain the authority to transfer the Cold Creek Rural Water Supply Scheme to Cold Creek Community Water Supply Limited.

The Land Transport (Admissibility of Evidential Breath Tests) Amendment Bill was introduced by Scott Simpson  and amends the Land Transport Act 1998 to broaden the circumstances where a positive evidential breath test is admissible evidence in a prosecution under the Act. Under present law a positive evidential breath test is not admissible in evidence if the suspect has elected to have a blood test.

The Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill will be introduced by Jacqui Dean and aims to encourage compliance with enactments administered by the Department of Conservation by increasing penalties to better protect natural and historic resources and protected wildlife. The main changes the Bill makes to the existing law are to both increase the penalties, and implement a consistent approach to penalties across the main enactments administered by the Department of Conservation.

The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Application to Casinos) Amendment Bill will be introduced by Metiria Turei. The purpose of this Bill is to ensure that the proceeds of crime spent in, and laundered through, casinos are returned to those from whom they have been stolen or acquired.