Questions for Oral Answer

As At Tuesday, 31 August 2004 Questions to Ministers

1. DEBORAH CODDINGTON to the Minister of Broadcasting: Is he satisfied with New Zealand On Air lending $450,000 to Television New Zealand Limited to produce New Zealand Idol, when the contract was not finalised until the last week of screening; if so, why?

2. LYNNE PILLAY to the Minister of Education: What steps have been taken to verify the accuracy or otherwise of recent allegations concerning the awarding of unearned National Certificate of Educational Achievement credits at Hauraki Plains College?

3. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Is she confident that New Zealand's key infrastructure will be able to serve the needs of New Zealanders in the future?

4. SUE KEDGLEY to the Minister of Agriculture: When will the code of animal welfare for layer hens be released, and will it require the phasing out of the battery hen cages, particularly in light of a Colmar Brunton poll which found that 78 percent of people found the practice of keeping hens in battery cages unacceptable?

5. KATHERINE RICH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What specifically was achieved as a result of the $19,000 Community Employment Group grant to Aotearoa Rugby Football League and what conflicts of interest, if any, did Community Employment Group staff have in the initial approval, monitoring, reporting and final approval of the grant?

6. LARRY BALDOCK to the Minister of Fisheries: Does the Government intend to follow through on its decision to introduce kahawai, known as "the people's fish", into the Quota Management System with commercial catch quotas set at a level that enables large-scale purse seine fishers to target entire schools of this species; if so, why?

7. RON MARK to the Minister of Police: Why were no charges laid as a result of the investigations at 8 Rocky Nook Avenue, Auckland, on 12 September 2002?

8. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has she received illustrating the scope of Primary Health Organisations?

9. Dr WAYNE MAPP to the Minister of Labour: Does he plan to introduce changes to the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill to allow unions to have fees levied from the wages of non-union members; if so, what are the details of those changes?

10. TIM BARNETT to the Minister of Justice: What steps are being taken to establish an effective response by government agencies to family violence?

11. JOHN KEY to the Minister of Finance: What is the cumulative nominal increase in all taxes received since 1999?

12. ROD DONALD to the Minister for Trade Negotiations: In his negotiations with Thailand and China what progress has he made to achieve the commitment in the Speech from the Throne on 21 December 1999 that "legitimate issues of labour standards and environmental concerns need to be integrated better with trade agreements"?

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>>