QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the competiveness of New Zealand’s business sector?

2. ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Minister of Trade: Does he stand by his statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership that “It’s going to be big. It’s going to be significant and it’s going to help New Zealanders find well-paid jobs”; if so, on what evidence does he base this claim?

3. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “…You can trust us. If we say we’re going to do something we do it. If we don’t, we don’t … that’s why I’ve stuck to my guns and I haven’t campaigned on one thing and done something different.”?

4. METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement regarding investor state disputes procedures proposed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that “An exclusion solely for Australia and not for everybody else is unlikely to be something we would support”; if so, why?

5. SIMON O'CONNOR to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What progress has the Government made to improve the viability of the Student Loan Scheme?

6. JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: How many times, if any, has the Transition to Work Grant, or similar funds, been used by Work and Income New Zealand to purchase tickets to Australia for job seekers who have found work there?

7. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister for Primary Industries: What announcements has he recently made on boosting innovation in the New Zealand primary sector?

8. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement regarding migration to Australia “What’s the point of standing in the airport crying about it?”; if so, how many people have left permanently for Australia since he took office in November 2008?

9. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister for Social Development: What announcements has she made on the Expert Advisory Group on Information Security, who will oversee the development of the initiatives in the Government’s White Paper for Vulnerable Children?

10. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Does she agree with all of the statements the Prime Minister has made regarding food in schools?

11. MOJO MATHERS to the Associate Minister of Health: Other than the LD50 test, will he rule out other animal tests for the pending psychoactive substances testing regime?

12. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What progress is the Government making with rebuilding and repairing residential homes in Christchurch?

ENDS

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Scoop Business: Bathurst Gets Nod For DoC Access To Denniston Mine

Conservation Minister Nick Smith has approved access over conservation estate land for Bathurst Resources to develop an open cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, above Westport, to the dismay of environmental opponents.

The timing for Smith’s move avoids Bathurst having to resubmit applications for access agreements under the revised Crown Minerals Act, which comes into force tomorrow and would have required public consultation.

The announcement lands in the middle of delicate negotiations between the company, environmental groups and other interested parties that could pave the way to a broader agreement on the Escarpment proposal, whose resource consents are still subject to court appeals. More>>