Questions for Oral Answer
As At Wednesday, 26 May 2004

Questions to Ministers

1. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister of Health: What is she doing to improve access to orthopaedic services?

2. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for Land Information: Why did he tell the House on 12 August 2003 that he stood by statements that "significant chunks of the foreshore ... has private ownership title" and that we are talking about thousands and not hundreds of kilometres of private title to the foreshore, and on 13 August 2003 say that his initial assessment was "based on Land Information New Zealand's advice, which was drawn from preliminary work in this area", when papers just released under the Official Information Act 1982 show that advice requested by him and received on 18 July and confirmed on 25 July said "officials' preliminary view is that the quantum is very small"?

3. SUE KEDGLEY to the Minister of Health: Can she confirm that PHARMAC has expressed its "severe reservations" about some aspects of the proposed joint Trans-Tasman Agency to regulate therapeutic products; if so, what were its reservations?

4. Hon MATT ROBSON to the Minister for Economic Development: In what ways will this year's Budget support the ongoing development and implementation of the Growth and Innovation Framework?

5. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in the Minister for Land Information; if so, why?

6. HELEN DUNCAN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has he received on the number of people receiving the unemployment benefit?

7. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education): Does he regard Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology spending at least $80,000 on inducements as a breach of interim funding guide rules; if not, why not?

8. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: What steps is he contemplating to regulate the immigration industry?

9. Hon ROGER SOWRY to the Minister of Energy: When was he first informed of the issue of capacity restraints on the national grid in the upper South Island?

10. Hon MATT ROBSON to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent funding announcements has the Labour Progressive Government made to combat the problem of drug abuse and suicide prevention?

11. HEATHER ROY to the Minister of Finance: Following his reply to written questions 6532 and 6535, does he believe it fair that a hard-working family earning $50,000 a year is less than $7,000 a year better off than a family earning $25,000 a year, and will his Budget widen or narrow this gap?

12. JUDY TURNER to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF): Does she agree that "Child, Youth and Family plays a pivotal role in our system, but there's no denying there have been deficiencies in all its statutory obligations", as stated recently by Principal Youth Court Judge, Andrew Becroft; if not, why not?

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>>