Questions for Oral Answer
As At Tuesday, 10 August 2004

Questions to Ministers

1. LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent initiatives has the Government taken to help achieve the shared goal it has with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs that by 2007 all 15 to 19 year olds will be engaged in education, training, work or other options?

2. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs: What information had he received, and from whom, that formed the basis of his statement last week, "I had concern about the use of public service databases, office space, telephones, equipment and cars to call, host and manage a hui for the Maori Party."?

3. PAUL ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree that the shortage of labour, skilled and unskilled, is the single biggest constraint on growth in New Zealand; if not, what is the biggest constraint on growth?

4. KATHERINE RICH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What specific information or concerns did the Acting Minister pass on to the Secretary of Labour, Dr James Buwalda, regarding the Community Employment Group's Northern Regional Manager, Ms Amokura Panoho, and from whom did the Acting Minister receive that information?

5. MIKE WARD to the Minister for the Environment: Will the voluntary Packaging Accord she signed today reduce the amount of packaging in people's shopping baskets and the volume of packaging waste going to landfill; and, if these voluntary measures don't work, what will she do?

6. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: Does he have any interest in the recently-announced sale of Powerco to Australian interests?

7. GEORGINA BEYER to the Minister of Education: Does he have concerns about mathematical skills in New Zealand; if so, what are they?

8. RODNEY HIDE to the Prime Minister: Is the Government considering a deadline for lodging Treaty of Waitangi claims, and is her position still "I neither support nor don't support" the idea?

9. DAVE HEREORA to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment: Has Work and Income set targets for placing unemployment beneficiaries into jobs; if so, what progress have they made?

10. Dr WAYNE MAPP to the Minister of Labour: Is he satisfied all correct procedures were followed by the Department of Labour leading up to the resignation of Ms Amokura Panoho, and that she was treated appropriately by Ministers and officials?

11. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree with the reported comments by Immigration Service spokeswoman, Janine Parsons, that the exploited Thai overstayer bakery worker case in New Lynn sent a strong warning to employers hiring overstayers or exploiting staff, and how widespread does he believe this problem to be?

12. SIMON POWER to the Minister of State Services: What information or advice did he rely on for his statement on Morning Report that "apparent pressure on particular staff members who the individual was managing" was the issue in the resignation of Ms Amokura Panoho, and who was the source of that information?

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>>