Thursday, 13 February 2003

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: Further to her statement yesterday that a “number of Government agencies presently have a role in dispersing information” about the Treaty, is there a plan for her Government to establish and implement an additional and distinct Treaty education programme, as promised in Labour’s 2002 election policy; if so, what principles of the Treaty will be included in that programme?

2. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS to the Minister for Environment: When are the various research programmes recommended by the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, investigating the risks of horizontal gene transfer, impacts on soil, and social and economic impact of releasing genetically modified organisms, due to be reported to the Government?

3. Dr WAYNE MAPP to the Prime Minister: In light of her statement that Secretary of State Colin Powell’s presentation “strongly suggested a pattern of deception and concealment” of weapons of mass destruction programmes, why will her Government not support a second United Nations resolution designed to enforce Iraq’s disarmament?

4. HELEN DUNCAN to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education): What is the Government doing to promote excellence, relevance and access in the tertiary education system?

5. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Was New Zealand represented at the United Nations negotiations towards an international statement of indigenous rights at a Geneva meeting from 2 to 13 December 2002; if so, what was the position that New Zealand took?

6. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY to the Minister of Education: What initiatives have been put in place to encourage greater physical activity of school children?

7. DEBORAH CODDINGTON to the Minister of Education: What evidence is there to support the claim by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority that the NCEA is designed to ensure “valid, consistent, accurate, fair assessment, at the national standard”?

8. BERNIE OGILVY to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the assessment of Bali Haque, president of the Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand, that the shortage of secondary school teachers at the beginning of the 2003 school year constitutes a “crisis”?

9. Hon ROGER SOWRY to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement in the House on 8 October 2002 regarding a partial sale of Air New Zealand to Qantas, “If he means whether I have, in an official capacity, received advice that there is such a proposal, the answer is no.”?

10. RON MARK to the Minister of Police: What initiatives is he putting in place to deal with the gang situation in Palmerston North?

11. KATHERINE RICH to the Minister of Maori Affairs: Is he satisfied that the chief executive recruitment and appointment process followed by the Maori Television Service Board was appropriate and thorough, as a member of the interview panel for at least one of the short-listed applicants was then appointed to the position by the board; if so, why?

12. DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister of Energy: Why has the Government announced changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 to give greater weight to the national benefits of renewable energy?

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