QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Wednesday, 29 August 2001

Questions to Ministers

1. JANET MACKEY to the Minister of State Services: What progress, if any, has there been on the prison industrial relations situation since mid-August?

2. OWEN JENNINGS to the Minister of Defence: How many times has he met in his office the Chief of Defence Force and does he believe that the Chief of Defence Force has had an acceptable level of access to him as Minister?

3. Rt Hon JENNY SHIPLEY to the Prime Minister: In light of her comments that it was outrageous for Kit Richards to engage in highly political activity while a State employee and her comment that he had engaged in "guerrilla warfare", are the same standards expected of the Army?

4. DAMIEN O'CONNOR to the Minister of Health: How many candidates have been nominated for the first elections to district health boards?

5. Hon MAX BRADFORD to the Minister of Defence: What was discussed at his dinner with senior army officers, including Major General Dodson, on 15 February 2000 at the Wellington Club?

6. MAHARA OKEROA to the Minister of State Services: In light of Dr Francis Small's report on the INCIS project, what steps has he taken to improve monitoring of information technology projects in the public service?

7. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: In light of his statements to the House that he had received reports on the minutes of the New Zealand Post Ltd board meeting at which "board approval" was given to issue proceedings against Hon Richard Prebble, what specific words in the board minutes record the approval of the board to this action?

8. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: When did the Minister of Defence or any other Minister or official first tell her there was to be an escalation in costs of around $488 million from $212 million to around $700 million for the purchase of the LAV111s, and what was her response?

9. GEORGINA BEYER to the Associate Minister of Energy: What steps is the Government taking to minimise the level of pollutants in New Zealand's petrol and diesel products?

10. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: What reports has he requested or received about the effects of the electricity crisis on the profits of the Government-owned electricity companies?

11. KEITH LOCKE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Has the Government been supporting attempts in the United Nations Security Council to establish a United Nations observer force in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza to protect the Palestinian people?

12. BELINDA VERNON to the Minister of Finance: Is the Government considering underwriting or investing in Air New Zealand, rather than allowing commercial interests to invest in the company; if so, why?

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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>>