Questions for Oral Answer

As At Thursday, 2 September 2004 Questions to Ministers

1. Dr DON BRASH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does he stand by the Budget statement that a key aim of the Working for Families package is "to make work pay by ensuring that people are better off by being in work and are rewarded for their work effort"; if not, why not?

2. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister of Education: Further to oral question No 7 on 1 September, has he received any further evidence of alleged National Certificate of Educational Achievement credit fraud at Hauraki Plains College; if not, what action is he taking to resolve the matter?

3. GERRARD ECKHOFF to the Minister for Rural Affairs: In considering policy on Walking Access in the New Zealand Outdoors, will he rule out a law change which might force landowners to provide public access through private property to access waterways; if not, has he any estimate of the number of properties that would be affected by such a law change?

4. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Police: What is police policy for dealing with the prosecution of violent offenders?

5. SUE KEDGLEY to the Minister for Food Safety: Is she satisfied that all food sold in New Zealand containing genetically engineered ingredients is safe?

6. DAVID PARKER to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment: What steps has the Government taken to address labour shortages in seasonal industries?

7. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister for Courts: What is the amount of unclaimed reparation held by his department on behalf of the victims of crime, and what happens to that money if it is not claimed?

8. JUDY TURNER to the Minister of Health: Does she stand by her commitment to providing fair access to strong public health services?

9. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Maori Affairs: Does he stand by his reported statement of 3 March 2004 that he would "leave Parliament if the foreshore and seabed legislation does not work out the way he wants for Maori"; if not, why not?

10. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY to the Minister of Fisheries: What response has he received to the provisions contained in the Fisheries Amendment Bill (No 3) to manage species in the Quota Management System?

11. JOHN CARTER to the Minister of Defence: Has he received any reports or advice on replacements for the Royal New Zealand Air Force Iroquois; if so, what was the nature of those reports or advice?

12. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Police: Did the police receive a call to the Alexandra Park Raceway on Wednesday 25 August to attend an incident at the select committee hearing on the Foreshore and Seabed Bill; if so, what was the nature of the call?

Questions to Members

1. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Chairperson of the Commerce Committee: Why has the "briefing into TVNZ's accountability to Parliament" scheduled to occur on 1 July 2004, then provisionally planned for 5 August 2004, still not taken place, and when is it to take place?

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>>