March 19, 2013 11:52am by speters

Parliament 19 March 2013

Oral Questions 2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Questions to Ministers

  1. MAGGIE BARRY (National) to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the economy?
  2. BRENDAN HORAN (Independent) to the Minister of Education: Is accountability within our education system paramount?
  3. DAVID SHEARER (Labour) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?
  4. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Greens) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his response that human-induced climate change “may well be” real?
  5. NICKY WAGNER (National) to the Minister of Health: What progress can he report on the Christchurch Hospital redevelopment project?
  6. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) to the Minister of Transport: Does he have confidence in KiwiRail’s health and safety standards; if not, why not?
  7. PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Transport: What progress has the Government made on improving roading infrastructure?
  8. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his reported statement in relation to the film Argo that “I think it’s disappointing, but I don’t think we want to go too far on these things”?
  9. METIRIA TUREI (Greens) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “our plan will allow Auckland’s civic leaders to think regionally, plan strategically and act decisively in a way that has not happened for the past six decades”?
  10. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour) to the Minister of Revenue: Why has the Government decided not to change the fringe benefit taxation of employer-provided car parks in Auckland and Wellington, but to leave in place proposals to tax cell phones and laptops?
  11. MELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for Social Development: How is the Government’s Social Workers in Hospitals initiative making a difference for vulnerable children?
  12. CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour) to the Minister responsible for Novopay: Is he confident that teachers will now be receiving the correct pay in future pay rounds; if not, why not?

Labour and National are asking four questions apiece, the Greens two, NZ First one, and Brendan Horan one. Patsy of the day goes to Melissa Lee for question 10: How is the Government’s Social Workers in Hospitals initiative making a difference for vulnerable children?

Labour is asking on KiwiRail’s health and safety standards, the car park tax, Novopay, and a gotcha to the PM. The Greens are asking on climate change and regional planning in Auckland, NZ First is asking on the film Argo and Brendan Horan is asking about education.

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

  1. Appropriation (2011/12 Financial Review) Bill – committee stage (cont.)
  2. Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill – committee stage
  3. Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 2) – committee stage

The Appropriation (2011/12 Financial Review) Bill is under the guidance of Bill English and confirms the financial matters relating to the financial year ended 30 June 2012. Four hours are allocated to it and all financial reviews are available for debate.

The Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill is under the guidance of Simon Bridges and amends the Minimum Wage Act 1983 through changes to the Order-in-Council provisions. These include introducing the ability to set 1 or more starting-out rates of wages (payable at not less than 80% of the minimum adult rate of wages) for eligible young people aged 16, 17, 18, or 19 years who are not supervising or training other workers, repealing the ability to set the current new entrant rate, and changing the criteria for setting the current training rate.

The Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced by Peter Dunne in August 2012, in his role as Minister of Revenue. The Bill introduces data-matching with the New Zealand Customs Service to locate borrowers in serious default when they enter or leave New Zealand. It will also change the definition of income, bringing it into line with the definition used for Working For Families tax credits and student allowances, from April 2014. At second reading only the Greens and Mana voted against.