Questions for Oral Answer
As At Tuesday, 12 April 2005

Questions to Ministers

1. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement "Banishment under this Government is not necessarily a permanent thing."?

2. CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister of Finance: Has he received any further information about foreign investment in New Zealand, following the Prime Minister's answer to question for oral answer No 5 on 30 March 2005?

3. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: What reports, if any, has he received regarding the level of superannuation payments, and does he agree with them?

4. RODNEY HIDE to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that "I sometimes wonder whether I'm a victim of my own success as a popular and competent Prime Minister."; if so, why?

5. LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister of Justice: What new criminal offences will be created to deal with the problem of voyeuristic filming?

6. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Education: Can he confirm that between March 2002 and December 2004 Ministers received 37 briefings from the Ministry of Education regarding Te Wananga o Aotearoa; if not, why not?

7. LYNNE PILLAY to the Minister of Education: What steps is he taking to improve the use of information communications technology in early childhood education?

8. LINDSAY TISCH to the Associate Minister of Justice: Does he intend to carry out an investigation into whether it is appropriate for Mr Steven Ching to continue serving as a Justice of the Peace; if not, why not?

9. DAVID PARKER to the Minister for the Environment: What progress has been made to improve environmental decision making?

10. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister of Police: How many staff will, or are, being brought in to help clear the backlog of cases at Counties-Manukau police district, and for how long?

11. LARRY BALDOCK to the Minister of Conservation: Is he satisfied that the Department of Conservation engages in adequate public consultation when considering new marine reserve proposals; if so, why?

12. ROD DONALD to the Prime Minister: When she said yesterday "personally I wouldn't be seen dead there", was she hoping that individual New Zealand cricket players would follow her lead and withdraw from the proposed Black Caps tour of Zimbabwe; if not, why not?

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell:
On What John Banks And Nick Smith Have In Common

The defence that John Banks has been offering to the charges of electoral fraud – that he didn’t read the document he signed, and therefore lacked the necessary criminal intent – is a fairly standard example of political business as usual.

At a time when political power is being centralised downtown in the Executive, responsibility is being re-located to the suburbs. The Beehive seeks to operate as a blame free, shame free environment. At all times, plausible deniability is to be maintained.

Being able to put distance between the Minister and the actions/outcomes/political fallout of policy is not simply the last desperate resort of scoundrels, but the first resort of the foot soldiers in ministerial service... More>>