Tuesday, 01 April 2003

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: Is she satisfied that New Zealand’s student visa scheme is operating satisfactorily; if so, why?

2. JUDY TURNER to the Minister of Social Services and Employment: Is he satisfied that enough is being done by his Ministry to move long-term unemployed from the benefit into work?

3. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: Does she believe her comment that a Gore presidency in the United States would have had a different consequence for Iraq was an appropriate statement for her to make, and what benefit does she think this view of United States domestic politics will have for the New Zealand-United States relationship?

4. LYNNE PILLAY to the Minister of Social Services and Employment: What reports has the Minister seen on the state of the labour market?

5. Dr LYNDA SCOTT to the Minister of Health: What level of risk do the New Zealanders returning from the Hong Kong rugby Sevens pose to the rest of the New Zealand population and what extra precautions are being taken, given a Hong Kong doctor described the Sevens as “a huge incubator for the rest of the world”?

6. ROD DONALD to the Minister for Trade Negotiations: Will the Government heed calls by the Green Party and the Council of Trade Unions to publicly disclose its initial offer in the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations?

7. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER to the Minister for Trade Negotiations: What progress has the Government made in finalising an initial offer in the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations?

8. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Energy: What did he mean when he said in relation to electricity generators, “There is no benefit in the generators bringing the country to its knees because the Government would bring them to their knees.”?

9. JILL PETTIS to the Minister of Education: What progress has been made in the multi-agency investigation into the Columbus Academy?

10. NANDOR TANCZOS to the Associate Minister of Health: Is he representing New Zealand at any international forums or conferences in the coming month; if so, which ones?

11. HEATHER ROY to the Minister of Health: Does she stand by comments made on her behalf in the House on 26 March 2003 that “keeping patients in police cells, when they should be in health services, is an unacceptable situation in isolated parts of Auckland” and “it does not represent a crisis in mental health services”; if so, how long is she prepared to allow this practice to continue?

12. DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Customs: What is the Government doing about the burgeoning problem of synthetic hard drugs crossing into New Zealand’s borders, which has seen an unprecedented 3000 percent increase in Ecstasy seizures by the New Zealand Customs Services from 2000 to 2002?

ENDS

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