QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements in relation to Kim Dotcom and the inquiry into the actions of the Government Communications Security Bureau?

2. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making to ensure New Zealand’s economic growth is sustainable and supports jobs and higher incomes?

3. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister of Economic Development in light of the fact that there have been nearly 40,000 net job losses in the manufacturing sector in the four years to June 2012?

4. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister for Economic Development: What impact has his Business Growth Agenda had on Nuplex Industries, Solid Energy, Kawerau and Tiwai Point, and how many job cuts have been announced there in the last two months?

5. IAN McKELVIE to the Minister of Justice: What steps is the Government taking to reduce the stress on victims caused by unnecessary parole hearings?

6. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement to the House yesterday, “The police statement quite clearly said that there was insufficient evidence, that there is a statute of limitations, and that he has complied with the law.”; if so, where in the police statement do they say that Mr Banks complied with the law?

7. HONE HARAWIRA to the Minister for Social Development: Does she think it acceptable that the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders reliant on government benefits face the predicament each and every week, such as the case of Sam Kuha in Kaikohe, who is left to survive on $18.00 a week for food?

8. MIKE SABIN to the Minister for Social Development: What difference do social workers make in protecting our most vulnerable children from abuse and neglect?

9. MOJO MATHERS to the Minister of Broadcasting: Will he consider using regulation to increase New Zealand’s levels of captioning for free-to-air television; if not, why not?

10. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he accept that under the Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003, section 8(3) that the performance of the GCSB’s functions is, in the absence of any warrant or vested authority, subject to the control of the Prime Minister?

11. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Are reports that she intends to write to Christchurch schools within the next fortnight to begin the formal consultation process required to close or merge them correct; if so, what was the purpose of the “open consultation” process she began on 13 September?

12. MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What progress has the Government made on promoting fuel efficiency in heavy road vehicles?

QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS

1. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: What will the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill enable the Reserve Bank to do to address the overvalued dollar?

2. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: Is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill “populist garbage”?

3. BARBARA STEWART to the Member in charge of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill: What is the importance of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill to New Zealand exporters?

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>