Wednesday, 26 February 2003
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS

1. MARC ALEXANDER to the Minister of Police: Does he consider that the police have adequate resources to deal with the cyanide terrorism threats sent to the Australian High Commission, British High Commission, United States Embassy and an Auckland newspaper; if so, will they also have adequate resources in the event a similar threat is made against the wider New Zealand public?

2. Hon BILL ENGLISH to the Prime Minister: Can she explain the difference between comments made in the 2001 budget speech by the Minister of Finance that “We need to set ourselves a goal of being back in the top half of the developed world in terms of per capita GDP.” with her own criticisms of speakers at the Knowledge Wave conference that reaching the first half of the OECD per capita GDP rankings is “totally unrealistic”?

3. MITA RIRINUI to the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: Has she received any further reports on “the so-called fourth article” of the Treaty of Waitangi?

4. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE to the Minister of Finance: Further to his answer to question No 7 yesterday when he claimed that New Zealanders’ average incomes rose faster than almost any other country in the OECD over the last couple of years, exactly how many OECD countries experienced increases in gross average wages higher than New Zealand between 2001 and 2002?

5. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Immigration: Why is she denying that the New Zealand Immigration Service gave approval for a scheme which allowed young Ukrainians to come to New Zealand and be exploited as low-paid farm workers?

6. SIMON POWER to the Minister of Youth Affairs: What progress, if any, has his Ministry made since he became the Minister of Youth Affairs to help disadvantaged youth in New Zealand?

7. DAVID BENSON-POPE to the Minister of Defence: What recent reports has he received on the implementation of the Government’s defence policy?

8. Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Housing: What changes, if any, will be made to the Government’s housing policy after Youth Affairs Minister Hon John Tamihere said that the policy is wrong and that the Government has “not made it clear that this housing entitlement is not a lifetime entitlement with rights of succession to your family, but is rather a respite facility”?

9. SUE KEDGLEY to the Minister of Broadcasting: How did New Zealand’s General Agreement on Trade in Services commitments affect the way in which the Government approached Labour’s 1999 election promise to introduce “format specific quotas as soon as possible on radio and free to air television to increase the level of local content”?

10. Hon MURRAY McCULLY to the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs: Does he stand by his statement in his speech that was circulated to the Knowledge Wave conference that “the Treaty is not a panacea for Maori success or participation in any new economy”; if so, why?

11. RON MARK to the Minister of Transport: Has he received any reports or recommendations in relation to tougher laws for foreign drivers; if so, what has he done about this?

12. LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN to the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs: What commitment is the Government making towards business development for Pacific people?

ENDS

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