QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Tuesday, 16 October 2001

Questions to Ministers

1. MARK PECK to the Minister of Finance: What advice has he received on business opinion in New Zealand?

2. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: Did the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Auckland Issues discuss with her her intention to publicly endorse Christine Fletcher for the Auckland mayoralty and to publicly criticise the Hon John Banks, and what advice has she given the Minister following the election of Mr Banks?

3. TAITO PHILLIP FIELD to the Minister of Social Services and Employment: What reports has he received on the effectiveness of time-limited social security benefits?

4. Hon DAVID CARTER to the Minister of Finance: Why did the Government not co-operate with Air New Zealand's request on 24 September 2001 to underwrite an $850 million rights issue?

5. HELEN DUNCAN to the Minister of Education: What pressing matters awaited decisions by him when he first entered office?

6. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for the Environment: Does she agree with the full page statement published in a major newspaper by all eight universities highlighting the importance of genetic modification field trials to New Zealand's medicine, agriculture and science sectors; if not, why not?

7. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Minister for the Environment: Does she have concerns about the risks to soil from field trials of genetically modified crops, in light of HortResearch's decision to sterilise soil at the site of a former GM field trial with chloropicrin, a chemical commonly used in teargas?

8. Dr MURIEL NEWMAN to the Minister of Consumer Affairs: Can he confirm that food prices rose 7.8% from September 2000 to September 2001; if so, what implications does that have for Government policy?

9. MARTIN GALLAGHER to the Minister for the Environment: What steps is the Government taking to protect New Zealanders and their environment from the risks posed by dioxin?

10. BELINDA VERNON to the Minister of Transport: Does he agree with the Prime Minister's reported comment that decisions on motorways were for central Government agencies and part of the overall complexity of roading decisions; if so, will he commit central Government agencies to assist the new mayor of Auckland in implementing the transport policies on which he was elected?

11. GRANT GILLON to the Minister of Customs: Has he received any reports on seizures of illegal drugs entering New Zealand, and what do these reports advise?

12. Hon MURRAY McCULLY to the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Auckland Issues: Does she stand by her statement to the House on 23 February 2000 that she would "work closely with Auckland's regional leaders" to address the infrastructure needs of the region; if so, how does she expect her description of the new mayor of Auckland, the Hon John Banks, as a "posturer" and her comment that we will find out now if he is "mad" to contribute to this close working relationship?

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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>>