QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Tuesday, 27 March 2001

Questions to Ministers

1. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Minister of Transport: What is the Government doing to ensure that the rail infrastructure is in place to carry the 28 million extra tonnes of logging expected out of Northland over the next 10 years?

2. Rt Hon JENNY SHIPLEY to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that the release of information by the New Zealand Defence Force on submarines detected by the Air Force Orions was "grossly incomplete and misleading"?

3. DAMIEN O'CONNOR to the Minister for Biosecurity: Is the quarantine declaration card, filled in by all people entering New Zealand, to be changed?

4. Hon MAX BRADFORD to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that "The truth is there are not submarines in the South Pacific. We've had Orions looking for them for decades. None have been found, none will be, because they aren't there."?

5. WILLIE JACKSON to the Minister for Economic Development: What reports has he received about New Zealand's economic development performance?

6. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister for Biosecurity: Does he stand by the comments of his spokeswoman that there is a "limited budget" towards what steps can be taken to combat foot-and-mouth disease entering New Zealand; if so, why?

7. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does she intend to make Dover Samuels a Minister inside Cabinet; if not, why not?

8. Hon ROGER SOWRY to the Minister of Health: What is her response to the warning from District Health Boards New Zealand that boards are predicting a $62 million funding shortfall in their first year and that they will be unable to meet public and political expectations?

9. NANAIA MAHUTA to the Minister of Education: What reports has he received on teacher vacancy rates at the commencement of the 2001 school year?

10. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE to the Prime Minister: Is it her position that Marian Hobbs is a competent person to be in Cabinet but not Dover Samuels; if so, how does she reach this conclusion?

11. MAHARA OKEROA to the Associate Minister of Justice: How can the Government be assured that the process used by the Chief Registrar of Electors to support the Maori electoral option is effective and will be delivered in an impartial manner?

12. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: Have there been any further "golden handshakes" as redundancy payments, confidential settlements, payments for early contract termination or ex-gratia payments by the Historic Places Trust to any employees since 24 November last year; if so, what was the cost of each?

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>