Questions For Oral Answer - Thursday, 20 March 2008
Questions to Ministers
1. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with recent media reports that fixed two-year mortgage
rates are likely to exceed 10 percent?
2. DIANNE YATES to the Minister of Education: What support is the Labour-led Government providing to increase the
availability of quality early childhood education?
3. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister of Health:On what dates did the former Minister of Health, Hon Annette King, meet with
Mr Hausmann in the last term of office, and what was discussed on each occasion?
4. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY to the Minister of Agriculture:What recent research initiatives has the Government approved to
support sustainable land management?
5. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Justice:Has she been advised of a joint statement from the Chief Electoral
Officer and the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission stating that election advertisements promoted by financial
agents must contain a statement setting out the name of the financial agent and the full address of the place where that
person usually lives?
6. BARBARA STEWART to the Minister of Health:Has he received the report from the Controller and Auditor-General titled
Mental health services for prisoners, which states that the Ministry of Health estimates that prisoners are three times
more likely to need specialist mental health services than members of the general population; if so, is he satisfied
that everything possible is being done to meet these needs?
7. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Energy:How can he be confident that the biofuels requirement to come into effect
on 1 July 2008 will be met from sustainable sources?
8. LOUISA WALL to the Associate Minister of Health:What is the Government doing to encourage more mothers to breastfeed?
9. JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Social Development and Employment:Can she confirm that total current and
non-current beneficiary debt is now $763.8 million, and in dollar terms how much has total beneficiary debt increased
since 1999?
10. KEITH LOCKE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs:Will he, today in the House, support Amnesty International's call and
demand that independent observers be allowed into Tibet to assess the situation and protect Tibet from further violence;
if not, why not?
11. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Energy:Does he stand by his statement made to the New Zealand Petroleum Conference
on 11 March 2008 that "There is a degree of wishful thinking and exaggeration around how close clean-coal technology
really is."; if so, why?
12. MOANA MACKEY to the Minister of Research, Science and Technology:What action is he taking to improve funding for New
Zealand's world class researchers and scientists?
ENDS