Wednesday, 09 April 2003
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS
1. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: When she stated to the House yesterday that her apology, conveyed to the
United States Government, for her comments about the war in Iraq “was because offence had been taken”; did she mean that
she did not believe her comments were wrong; if so, why?
2. PETER BROWN to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Can he categorically tell the House whether a letter was
written and delivered to an official of the United States National Security Council apologising for the comments the
Prime Minister made about the war in Iraq?
3. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: What is the full text of the letter expressing the
Prime Minister’s distress for the offence caused by her comments on the United States Presidency and the war in Iraq,
written by Ambassador John Wood and delivered to a senior official in the United States National Security Council?
4. HELEN DUNCAN to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education): How is he proposing to assist tertiary
education organisations to realise the teaching potential of information and communication technologies?
5. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Has New Zealand given a clear undertaking to the
United States to assist in post-war reconstruction in Iraq as reported in the media; if so, what support has been
pledged by the Government?
6. MARK PECK to the Minister of Education: What reports has he received on the status of school staffing at the
beginning of this year?
7. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement, regarding the allegation her Government had
covered up an accidental release of genetically engineered sweet corn, “I’m very happy for a select committee to have
every file and interrogate every official, because I believe a policy of total disclosure is warranted.”?
8. PETER BROWN to the Minister of Finance: Noting that Tranzrail’s share price has dived, which could lead to it being
bought and sold piecemeal, is he contemplating ensuring the rail network survives as one entity; if not, why not?
9. Hon KEN SHIRLEY to the Prime Minister: Was her formal Prime Ministerial apology conveyed to the United States last
week unprecedented for New Zealand; if not, what knowledge does she have of any previous Prime Ministerial apologies to
the United States?
10. DARREN HUGHES to the Minister for Senior Citizens: What is the Government doing to improve the security of older
people in residential care?
11. IAN EWEN-STREET to the Minister for Biosecurity: Can he confirm the statement by the director of the painted apple
moth eradication project in Auckland that “MAF’s project team expects to wind up largescale activities by the end of
April”; if so, when does he expect that the moth will finally be eradicated?
12. GORDON COPELAND to the Minister of Commerce: Does she agree with Tim Hazeldine’s statement in the Independent on 2
April 2003 that the “deep seated presumption” driving our competition policy is that “competition is good and monopoly
is bad,” and that “the burden of proof must lie with those who would find market failure in competition and seek to
remedy this through monopoly or cartelisation”?
QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS
1. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Chairperson of the Local Government and Environment Committee: Has a meeting of the Local
Government and Environment Committee been set to consider its inquiry into the alleged accidental release of genetically
engineered sweet corn plants in 2000 and the subsequent action taken?
2. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE to the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee: Has a committee meeting
been set to consider the petition of Kenneth Wang and others requesting a review of the new English language immigration
tests; if not, why not?
ENDS