QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
Thursday, 15 July 1999
Questions to Ministers

1. John Wright to the Minister for Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control: What is the maximum proportion of New Zealand's total dairy exports which will eventually be able to be owned by foreign-controlled companies under his proposed restructuring of the dairy industry?

2. Tony Steel to the Minister of Education: How much funding is the Government putting into the school sector, and how much funding is contributed by community fundraising?

3. Hon. Dr Michael Cullen to the Treasurer: What public policy concerns led the Government to determine not to sell Television New Zealand before this election and what factors would need to change to remove those concerns?

4. Mr Frank Grover to the Minister of Women's Affairs: What actions will she or her Ministry be taking in relation to the concerns raised in the recent Waikato University study of New Zealand's birth rates which show rates are falling to below replacement levels?

5. Hon. Phil Goff to the Minister of Health: How does he reconcile his reported statement that "The old chairs were going to HFA regional offices" with the reported statement by Rob Eaddy of the Health Funding Authority that "The rest have gone or are about to go under auction."?

6. Peter Brown to the Prime Minister: What degree of financial control and accountability does she expect her Ministers to exercise over their allocated portfolios?

7. Belinda Vernon to the Minister for Enterprise and Commerce: Has he received any reports on the effectiveness of subsidies to employers to encourage them to take on industry trainees?

8. Hon. Jim Sutton to the Prime Minister: Is she satisfied with the behaviour of all her Ministers; if so, why?

9. Eric Roy to the Minister of State Services: What steps is the Government taking to improve the governance of Crown entities?

10. Ruth Dyson to the Minister for Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance: With general practitioner groups stating that patients are spending longer in doctors' waiting rooms and paying up to $40 more for injury treatment because of time-consuming new paperwork as a result of the Government introducing private competition into accident insurance, what action is he taking to ensure patients do not continue to be faced with these additional charges?

11. Owen Jennings to the Minister for Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control: What steps is he taking to ensure dairy farmers have adequate time to debate and respond to the proposed changes to the dairy industry?

12. Marian Hobbs to the Minister of Education: Is he satisfied that the restructuring proposals due to take effect at the end of this month are in the best interests of the maintenance of a comprehensive National Library collection; if so, why?

© 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>>