QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Thursday, 29 November 2001

Questions to Ministers

1. SIMON POWER to the Minister of Labour: Of the $16,759.39 that Susan Bathgate is to repay to the Department of Labour following the Auditor-General's investigation, how much will be reimbursed by accrued annual leave and how much will be paid in cash?

2. CHRIS CARTER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: What will be the effect of the United Nations Sanctions (Terrorism Suppression and Afghanistan) Regulations 2001 approved by Cabinet this week?

3. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Defence: Can he assure the House that as a consequence of Major General Dodson accessing the file of Ron Mark, no other member of the New Zealand Defence Force has shown, released or verbally discussed information contained in that file with persons outside the Defence Force?

4. TAITO PHILLIP FIELD to the Minister of Social Services and Employment: What support is the Government providing to individuals who identify community-based solutions to social and economic issues?

5. Dr LYNDA SCOTT to the Minister of Health: What specific actions will she be taking to ensure patient safety when 3,200 nurses, midwives and allied staff walk off the wards in Canterbury hospitals on Sunday?

6. SUE BRADFORD to the Minister of Health: What measures is she taking to ensure that mental health crisis teams and acute unit staff pay close attention to what immediate family members tell them about the state of their sick relatives?

7. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for the Environment: Did she release a comprehensive package designed to improve the Resource Management Act's workability in October, as was promised by the Hon Paul Swain on 5 September in his interim response to the Business Compliance Cost Panel Report?

8. DAMIEN O'CONNOR to the Minister of Fisheries: Why is the Government proposing to reform the aquaculture industry and what does it hope to achieve?

9. RODNEY HIDE to the Minister of Labour: What was the purpose of her 19 March dinner engagement with Susan Bathgate and her partner and was Ms Bathgate's work discussed?

10. MAHARA OKEROA to the Minister of Housing: What recent reports has he received on the impact of income-related rents for low income State house tenants?

11. Dr WAYNE MAPP to the Associate Minister of Justice: Further to her answer on Tuesday of "no" when she was asked if she had considered whether the criminal defamation provision was inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, does this mean that neither she nor her officials even considered the right to freedom of expression before introducing the provision?

12. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Defence: Why, prior to answering my question No 2 on yesterday's Order Paper regarding Major General Dodson's accessing of Ron Mark's files, did he consult with the State Services Commission inquiry team?

Questions to Members

1. Hon PETER DUNNE to the Chairperson of the Government Administration Committee: What progress has the committee made in dealing with the petition of Tony Swain and 3,070 others requesting that the existing fire stations in Johnsonville, Newlands and Khandallah are retained and upgraded?

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>>