QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Tuesday, 30 October 2001

Questions to Ministers

1. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Prime Minister: Who was she trying to please when she said, in relation to the Government's position on genetic engineering, "the Government's taken a pragmatic path and come up with a commonsense outcome"?

2. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: Does she expect all Ministers to support the Cabinet's decision on genetic engineering; if so, what action, if any, will she take against any Minister who speaks out against that decision?

3. DAVID BENSON-POPE to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education): What reports has he received on the consequences of student debt?

4. Hon ROGER SOWRY to the Minister of Health: What has the Government done to implement her stated desire to "streamline the structures in health to get rid of some of the bureaucracy in management"?

5. HELEN DUNCAN to the Minister of Education: What are the main findings of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research report Competent Children at 10?

6. RODNEY HIDE to the Minister of Labour: Did she phone Susan Bathgate in September 2000 to tell her that her application to be Chief of the Employment Relations Authority had been unsuccessful and to see if she was available to take the job of an ordinary member; if so, why?

7. MARTIN GALLAGHER to the Minister for the Environment: What are the key principles underlying the Government's response to the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification?

8. Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: In light of media reports that the Alliance has held a special meeting on their position on the war on terrorism, including the need for further United Nations authority for the attacks and the Alliance's desire to negotiate a peaceful settlement, is he confident that he has full support from every member of the Government for New Zealand's actions in the war on terrorism?

9. STEPHEN FRANKS to the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: Has she considered whether the spiritual implications for Maori of the Royal Commission's recommendations on genetic modification are contemporary issues for settlement under the Treaty of Waitangi; if so, has she discussed any conclusions with members of the Labour Maori caucus?

10. Dr LYNDA SCOTT to the Minister of Health: Why will Pharmac not fund drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease?

11. HARRY DUYNHOVEN to the Minister of Transport: What action is the Government taking to improve aviation security?

12. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister of Police: What is his response to the Hon Judith Tizard's comment that she believes police do not have the resources to monitor the "boy-racer" problem, and what was the outcome of the meeting she said she wanted to have with him to discuss the issue?

Questions to Members

1. RODNEY HIDE to the Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee: Is the committee undertaking a financial review of Television New Zealand; if so, why?

ENDS

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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>>