Thursday, 01 May 2003

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister for Food Safety: What actions have been taken by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and in the Ministry of Health in relation to the Pan Pharmaceutical products available in New Zealand?

2. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: Is the New Zealand Immigration Service conducting inquiries into improper, false or fraudulent immigration incidents; if so, how many?

3. GORDON COPELAND to the Minister of Conservation: What steps, if any, will he take to ensure that neither the Department of Conservation nor his own statutory powers unnecessarily impede efforts by the petroleum exploration industry to discover and bring into production new gas fields in light of the depletion of Maui and the growing electricity crisis?

4. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Energy: Does he stand by his statement of October 2002 that “there is no cause for high anxiety” in relation to New Zealand running out of power in the near future; if so, why?

5. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY to the Minister for Ethnic Affairs: What measures has the Government taken to enable non-English speaking New Zealanders to access government services more easily?

6. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE to the Minister of Finance: In light of accountancy firm KPMG’s survey of 68 countries that shows New Zealand’s corporate tax rate of 33 cents is above the OECD average of 31.68 percent, and that seven of the 30 OECD countries have cut their corporate tax rates over the last year, will the Government lower New Zealand’s corporate tax rate to help New Zealand compete in the global economy for investment?

7. SUE BRADFORD to the Minister of Internal Affairs: Has he received any advice about the extent and cause of the increase in problem gambling in 2002; if so, what is he planning to do about it?

8. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Conservation: Does he stand by his press statement of 29 April 2003 that the land to be swapped for the Dobson Dam hydro project is of “much lower value”; if so, how does he reconcile that statement with a Department of Conservation report on Mount Buckley that says the land has “nationally important conservation values”, “high landscape value”, is a “crucial wildlife habitat link” and recommends that all of the Mount Buckley block be added to the Crown estate?

9. DARREN HUGHES to the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What has the Government done to assist New Zealand music?

10. RODNEY HIDE to the Minister of Maori Affairs: Is it Te Mangai Paho’s practice to pay out money without contracts in place; if so, why?

11. JILL PETTIS to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education): What steps is the Government taking to honour Labour’s manifesto commitment to have 250,000 New Zealanders involved in industry training by 2007?

12. Dr LYNDA SCOTT to the Minister of Health: Have eight cases of SARS been reported to the Ministry of Health under the notifiable diseases provisions of the Health Act 1956; if so, why has only one been reported to the World Health Organisation?

QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS

1. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE to the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee: When will the committee set a time to consider the petition of Kenneth Wang and others requesting a review of the new English language immigration tests?

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