Questions for Oral Answer
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
Questions to Ministers
1. Dr DON BRASH to the Minister of Finance: When will the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill
passed by the House last week come into force?
2. SUE BRADFORD to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does he stand by his statement that “The
Labour-led Government stands for social inclusion. We stand for policies that are supportive, not punitive … We believe
in everyone having a ‘fair go’ – that’s the New Zealand way.”?
3. JOHN KEY to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that personal income tax thresholds “will be
considered in the light of final decisions around the business taxation review in the context of next year’s Budget, for
implementation on 1 April 2008.”; if so, does this mean that any changes his Government intends making to personal taxes
would take effect from 1 April 2008?
4. MOANA MACKEY to the Minister for Tertiary Education: What reports, if any, has he received on trends in student loan
borrowing over the past year?
5. Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH to the Minister of Immigration: Is it appropriate for any ministerial special directions to
be issued in response to immigration submissions by Taito Phillip Field, since he told the House on 19 October 2006 that
Mr Field’s failure to advise the Associate Minister of Immigration of all relevant information was an error of judgment?
6. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Education: Which schools employed those teachers whose cases were published in
the Herald on Sunday article on 22 October 2006, drawn from New Zealand Teachers Council decisions?
7. H V ROSS ROBERTSON to the Minister for Small Business: What is the Government doing to help small to medium-sized
enterprises in New Zealand?
8. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister of Health: What reports has he received, if any, on possible impacts on patients of
planned charging for laboratory tests originating from private specialists in the Wellington region, and does the
Government support this charging?
9. MARTIN GALLAGHER to the Minister for ACC: Has she received any reports on the effectiveness of ACC’s falls-prevention
programmes for older people involving tai chi?
10. KATE WILKINSON to the Minister for Courts: Is he confident that our court system is delivering justice for all; if
not, why not?
11. RON MARK to the Minister of Defence: What level of establishment must Defence Force units fall below to be deemed
operationally ineffective, and how many units are currently below that level of establishment?
12. SANDRA GOUDIE to the Associate Minister of Health: Is he satisfied with the Ministry of Health’s contracting and
monitoring of problem-gambling service providers; if not, why not?
ENDS