Questions to Ministers

1. Rt Hon. Helen Clark to the Prime Minister: What advice, if any, did she receive about the conditions under which John Hawkesby left Television New Zealand before claiming that he "got $1 million as he walked away from Television One"?

2. Dr Wayne Mapp to the Treasurer: Does he agree with the Leader of the Opposition's reported claim that the Government's approach to economic policy in New Zealand is a neo-liberal, hands-off approach; if not, why not?

3. Jim Anderton to the Treasurer: When the Prime Minister referred to the benefits of tariff reduction in her speech yesterday, why wasn't there mention of the level of New Zealand's total overseas debt and the impact of tariff removal on total overseas debt?

4. Peter Brown to the Minister of Transport: Does he agree that if airline pilots had dual occupations it could, in some circumstances, prejudice aircraft and passenger safety?

5. Steve Maharey to the Minister of Social Services, Work and Income: Is he satisfied with the way Work and Income New Zealand is implementing the new childcare subsidy policy; if so, why?

6. Hon. Ken Shirley to the Minister of Justice: Does he agree with the reported claim by the Minister of Maori Affairs that the Race Relations Conciliator is undermining the position of Maori "by pushing a policy of multiculturalism which devalues the status of Maori"?

7. Annabel Young to the Minister for International Trade: Does he agree with the statement in the Leader of the Alliance's press release that New Zealand is being excluded from regional forums because of its commitment to free trade; if not, why not?

8. Hon. Phil Goff to the Minister of Justice: With four known occasions where the processing and analysis of DNA samples has involved errors leading to actual and potential miscarriages of justice, will he now widen the ministerial inquiry into DNA into a more comprehensive examination of the handling, analysis and presentation of results from DNA samples; if not, why not?

9. Liz Gordon to the Minister for Tertiary Education: How much did Dr Douglas Blackmur receive in performance bonuses as Chief Executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and was that the maximum available to him?

10. Trevor Mallard to the Treasurer: Will the "radical change" the Government is proposing to the structure of State entities involve Ministers taking responsibility for errors made by boards they appoint and monitor; if not, why not?

11. Gerry Brownlee to the Minister of Police: How many extra police has the Government delivered in the past 12 months?

12. Harry Duynhoven to the Minister of Transport: Does the Government intend to back down on the fees being charged for bus driver licences; if so, what has changed since the fees were set to require this change?

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>