Questions For Oral Answer - Thursday, 16 August 2007

Questions to Ministers

1. Hon PETER DUNNE to the Minister of Finance: Did the chair of the Board of Air New Zealand inform him as shareholding Minister of Air New Zealand’s decision to enter into a commercial contract to fly Australian Defence Force personnel from Australia to Kuwait and the UAE; if so, when?

2. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: What communications, if any, were received by her, or her office, or her department regarding Air New Zealand’s charter flights carrying Australian Defence Force personnel to Middle East locations?

3. Hon MARK GOSCHE to the Minister of Immigration: What progress has been made on the Government’s immigration reform programme?

4. Hon MURRAY McCULLY to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What communications, if any, were made to him or his office by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding Air New Zealand’s discussion with the Ministry about carrying Australian Defence Force personnel to Middle East locations?

5. MARYAN STREET to the Minister of Energy: What reports, if any, has he received on the benefits to New Zealand of the Tui Area oil development project?

6. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by his statement, in relation to the Electoral Finance Bill, that “if a document seeks to support the election or to oppose the election of a given candidate or party, it is within the context of the bill; if it does not, it is not.”?

7. HONE HARAWIRA to the Minister of Police: Has she been advised of the statement from Marie Dyhrberg that “the taser is increasingly being deployed against mentally disturbed individuals”; if so, what research has been undertaken about the long term effects of taser guns on people with mental health problems?

8. GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of State Services: Did Dr Mark Prebble keep file notes of his discussions or interactions with Mr Hugh Logan regarding Madeleine Setchell; if so, were these given to Iain Rennie when he was compiling the briefing on Ministry for the Environment Employment Issues that she released on 20 July?

9. KEITH LOCKE to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree with Amnesty International that it is unsafe for proven Christian converts to return to Iran; if not, why not?

10. Hon TONY RYALL to the Minister of Health: Did the Ministry of Health receive a copy of any transcripts or recordings of meetings involving the whistleblower or anybody else in response to the Ministry’s Official Information Act request to the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board of 27 April 2006?

11. DARREN HUGHES to the Minister of Youth Affairs: What reports has she received on the success of Youth Parliament 2007?

12. ANNE TOLLEY to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF): Does she have confidence in Child, Youth and Family?

ENDS

Super-Wards: Commission Proposes New Boundaries For Auckland

The Local Government Commission presented its proposals on the boundaries and representation arrangements for the new Auckland Council today.

Under the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, the Commission is required to determine boundaries for the new Auckland Council, wards and local boards, ward and board names and the number of members per local board. More>>