Oral Questions for Thursday 23 May 2024

Questions to Ministers TANYA UNKOVICH to the Prime Minister: What update can he provide on the coalition Government's commitment to Gumboot Friday? HON CARMEL SEPULONI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Associate Minister of Immigration: Is she committed to ensuring that disabled asylum seekers and refugees face no barriers to obtaining residency on the basis of their disability; if so, why are their residency applications tested against the "acceptable standards of health" requirements? GRANT MCCALLUM to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made on roadside drug testing? HON BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by her statement that "our tax cuts will reduce inflationary pressures"? SUZE REDMAYNE to the Minister of Agriculture: What actions has the Government taken to reduce regulatory burden on the primary sector? HON KIERAN MCANULTY to the Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement that "The Government has made a deliberate choice to reprioritise low value expenditure to more important policy priorities"; if so, does he consider the provision of transitional housing places "low value expenditure"? JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Associate Minister for Regional Development: What update can he provide from his recent trip to the South Island? CAMERON BREWER to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What steps has the Government taken to encourage greater competition through the introduction of the Customer and Product Data Bill? HON PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Disability Issues: Why have disability support funding criteria changed recently to now exclude the use of funding during school hours, and does she accept that many disabled people and children rely on flexible funding to be able to access critical support? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Minister of Local Government: What is his response to the Waitangi Tribunal's finding regarding his bill to reinstate binding polls on Maori wards that "the Crown has breached the Treaty principle of partnership by prioritising coalition agreement commitments and completely failing to consult with its Treaty partner or any other stakeholders"? CELIA WADE-BROWN to the Minister of Local Government: Is he concerned that over 50 of the country's mayors and regional council chairpeople have signed an open letter opposing mandatory referendums for Maori wards; if so, why is he introducing legislation that directly overrides local government?