Questions to Ministers

1. JOHN KEY to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement, in relation to the possibility of holding a referendum alongside the general election, that "Just in terms of sheer organisation I don't think that is possible."; if not, why not?

2. DARIEN FENTON to the Minister of Labour: What legislative changes is he promoting to protect vulnerable workers?

3. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Justice: Is the Electoral Finance Act 2007 working as the Government intended; if so, why?

4. RON MARK to the Minister of Police: Further to her answer provided last week stating the estimated total number of patched gang members and associates is between 3,000 and 3,500, what is the latest estimate of the number of gang affiliates which the Police estimated in 2002 to be 21,882?

5. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Energy: Why is the Government proceeding with its compulsory biofuels requirement from 1 October when today's Oxfam report Another Inconvenient Truth calls for a "freeze on the implementation of further biofuel mandates..."?

6. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY to the Minister of Education: What reports, if any, has he recently received on school funding?

7. SIMON POWER to the Minister of Justice: Why did it take nearly a year to introduce the Organised Crime (Penalties and Sentencing) Bill, when it was approved by Cabinet on 9 July 2007?

8. JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Is the Ministry of Social Development planning to reward union member employees with a lump-sum payment in the 2008/09 financial year; if so, how much will each employee receive?

9. Hon PAUL SWAIN to the Minister for Building and Construction: Has he received any reports on the progress being made to increase flexibility and reduce costs in the building and construction sector?

10. Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH to the Minister of Immigration: Is it correct that all applicants for visas and permits must be of good character, and that applicants are required to declare when applying for residence whether or not they are under investigation in any country?

11. Dr PITA SHARPLES to the Minister of Māori Affairs: What action is he taking to investigate claims from Diane Black, the Chairwoman of Tamaki ki te Tonga Māori District Council, that the funding for the Māori Warden Project was being spent "without consultation and there is no access to funding or the decisions being made..."?

12. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister of Māori Affairs: Did Te Puni Kokiri approve a grant of $1.56 million to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou?

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