Paraphrased answers to today's questions will be posted in the Scoops wire shortly after 3pm.

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Tuesday, 28 November 2000

Questions to Ministers

1. MARK PECK to the Minister of Finance: Has he received any recent reports on the economy; if so, what do they say?

2. Rt Hon JENNY SHIPLEY to the Prime Minister: In light of the statement in the annual report of the Race Relations Conciliator that her Government's policies such as Closing the Gaps are "creating racial conflicts", what steps does she propose to take in response?

3. STEVE CHADWICK to the Minister of Health: What was achieved at the meeting of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council last Friday?

4. Hon MURRAY McCULLY to the Prime Minister: Which officials was she referring to in her answer on 21 November when she said that "officials were advised early in October that the Closing the Gaps programme should be focused on all disadvantaged New Zealanders"?

5. CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister of State Services: What steps are being taken to foster the next generation of leaders in the public sector?

6. BELINDA VERNON to the Minister of Social Services and Employment: Which foodbanks was he referring to when he said in the House that he had advice from "other foodbanks that there has been a decrease" in demand for food parcels?

7. DAMIEN O'CONNOR to the Minister of Agriculture: What steps is the Government taking to improve the state of the apple industry?

8. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Minister of Finance: Will he support the establishment of a special select committee, chaired by a non-Government member, to ensure proper and thorough scrutiny of his proposal to partially pre-fund superannuation; if not, why not?

9. SUE KEDGLEY to the Minister of Health: Will the Government be following the lead of the British health department by issuing health warnings on cell phones and distributing leaflets outlining the potential health risks of cell phones, especially for children; if not, why not?

10. GERRARD ECKHOFF to the Minister of Agriculture: In light of his department's statement that "ENZA's privileged export right does not facilitate ... relationships developing between retailers and New Zealand growers" and its claim that "Depoliticisation of the industry will allow people's energy, time and money to be redirected into wealth creation for the sector", what advice has he for growers who are offered, but cannot accept higher prices by an independent exporter this season?

11. Hon ROGER SOWRY to the Associate Minister of Justice: Has she asked her colleague, Hon Tariana Turia, whether her speech to the Maori Nurse Educators Conference intended to assert that the Race Relations Conciliator's submission on the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Bill was based upon "an intellectual inability to comprehend the historical context of the Treaty, the history of this country, and of us as whanau, hapu and iwi", "a denial of that history and a lack of interest in justice, truth and reconcilation" and "hypocrisy and scaremongering"; if not, why not?

12. GRANT GILLON to the Minister of Consumer Affairs: What reports has she received about consumer protection measures on gambling products and what do those reports say?

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