Questions for Oral Answer
As At Wednesday, 4 August 2004

Questions to Ministers
1. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Minister for the Environment: Does the Government support direct referral to the Environment Court under the Resource Management Act 1991 for major projects; if so, why?

2. Dr DON BRASH to the Prime Minister: What specific actions does she expect the Maori Language Commission to take in order to win the Government's confidence, in light of her statement to the House yesterday, "whether the Government has confidence in the commission obviously depends on how it handles matters."?

3. NANAIA MAHUTA to the Convenor, Ministerial Group on Climate Change: Has he received any recent reports on climate change policy development for New Zealand?

4. Dr MURIEL NEWMAN to the Minister of Police: Have there been any police reports concerning Pakistanis having improperly obtained New Zealand visas via Tonga; if so, what action has been taken?

5. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister of Health: What is the Government doing to promote the importance of breast-feeding to the health of New Zealanders?

6. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Maori Affairs: Does he have confidence in the board of the Maori Language Commission; if not, why not?

7. H V ROSS ROBERTSON to the Minister of Education: What reports has he received on possible changes to school ownership and governance arrangements?

8. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Health: How many people currently diagnosed with cancer have waited beyond the Ministry of Health's recommended waiting times for treatment, and what is the average waiting time?

9. TARIANA TURIA to the Minister of Health: Do all health organisations receiving funding from the district health boards require the mandate of iwi authorities, or the endorsement of other health providers operating within the district health board boundaries?

10. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Education: How many early childhood services are at risk of closure because of new teacher qualification requirements, and how many children could be affected by these closures?

11. GORDON COPELAND to the Minister of Finance: Does he accept, given the dictionary definition that rates are "a tax levied on property by a local authority", that the imposition of GST on rates constitutes a tax on a tax; if not, why not?

12. DEBORAH CODDINGTON to the Prime Minister: Does she agree with her Minister of Youth Affairs that "the pendulum of political correctness had swung too far"; if so, what, if anything, does she intend to do about it?

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>>