Oral Questions

1. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s policies?

Yes.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: In light of her comments last night to the Otago University convocation that she hopes that her Government is creating a “radically different education system” and one that is ultimately more accessible for all New Zealanders, what are the latest figures on the number of extra students taking up first year tertiary education?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Last time that I checked those figures was in preparation for my speech. We don’t have the enrolment figures available yet. So what I provided instead was an indication of the number who are seeking information. Of course, I’d remind the member that our interest is engagement in vocational training, apprenticeships, wānanga, polytechs as well as, of course, those who access university.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: Does she agree with Universities New Zealand director Chris Whelan that there has been no increase in first-year enrolments this year?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would seek to clarify, off the back of that question, whether or not that was against last year’s figures, because, of course, we know that we have had declining enrolment figures for universities over a number of years and this in part. Our policy, however, is driven more broadly by the goal of this Government to make sure that we have a well-educated, well-trained workforce that is prepared for the future of work in New Zealand.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: Compared to last year, have the number of first enrolments gone up or down?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I said in my primary answer, the last I checked in, which was a matter of days ago, we didn’t have those new figures yet. But, again, I would reflect that we are facing down a declining enrolment historically amongst a number of institutions—that’s at least my understanding. If the member would like more specifics, then, please, a question on notice would help me provide that for her.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: What number of new students were estimated to enter into the tertiary education sector, as per the cost-benefit analysis done by the Ministry of Education for the fees-free policy?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again, I’d really love to provide more detail. My recollection—and I’d have it noted this is simply my recollection—is that there was a rough estimate of an uptake increase of, perhaps, from memory, 5 percent, but, again, I point to the fact that, ultimately, our fees-free policy was about making sure that all New Zealanders, particularly those who have never entered into post-secondary education before, have access to education that can ensure that they are work-ready and that they are adaptable in a changing environment.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: So isn’t her policy just an expensive exercise—up to $2.8 billion—that, as the Secretary for Education told select committee last week, no cost-benefit analysis was done on, and, actually, there’s been no increase of students at all this year?

💬 SPEAKER: The Prime Minister can answer any of those three questions.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This side of the House believes education is a public good, and we believe, for instance, that everyone should be able to access secondary education. Anyone who’s worth their weight, looking at the future of what our population and workforce is facing, should acknowledge that if we want to make sure we are a more productive society, a more prepared society, we should educate our workforce. I encourage her to read the excellent Future of Work Commission report. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Before the member asks her question, I’ve decided not to interrupt that—[Interruption] Mr Joyce, I was not commenting, and to suggest that I was in that way is most inappropriate.

💬 Hon Paula Bennett: Is she satisfied that all of her Ministers have appropriately declared any conflicts of interest with the Cabinet Office in relation to charter schools?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Certainly, on every occasion that it’s been raised with me—a specific case—I’ve been assured by Ministers that the meetings that they’ve undertaken have been specific to their portfolio and that they are making sure that any negotiations with charter schools are directed by the Ministry of Education.

Cost of Living—Inflation, Relative Rates

2. to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the costs of living?

On Thursday, Statistics New Zealand released the latest—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Order! Is this an on behalf—

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: On behalf of the Minister of Finance, Mr Speaker—my apologies to the House. On Thursday, Statistics New Zealand released the latest household living-costs price index for the December 2017 quarter. It highlights how low-spending and low-income households faced higher inflation for goods and services they typically purchase than that faced by higher-income and spending households. The figures showed that households with the least spending power in New Zealand faced inflation of 2.4 percent in the year to December, compared to 1.3 percent inflation for households with the greatest spending power. Beneficiary households also faced a cost of living rise of 2.4 percent, while superannuitants faced a 2.1 percent rise, both above the general rate of Consumers Price Index inflation.

💬 Kiritapu Allan: What were the main cost drivers for these groups of households?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: On behalf of the Minister of Finance, Statistics New Zealand said price increases over the year for petrol, rent, and insurance contributed to higher inflation for low-spending households, while inflation for big spenders was kept lower due to falling prices of luxury items like new cars. For beneficiaries, higher rents over the year had the greatest impact, while superannuitants experienced the greatest impact from increasing prices for insurance and local authority rates.

💬 Kiritapu Allan: How will the Government’s policies help control these cost of living increases?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: On behalf of the Minister of Finance, the Government’s targeted Families Package will mean 384,000 low and middle income families will benefit by an average of $75 a week when fully rolled out. This includes rising accommodation supplement payments to help deal with rent and mortgage payments, and a winter energy payment for superannuitants and those on a main benefit. Meanwhile, our plans to boost the building of affordable homes and State homes will help put a lid on housing cost pressures faced by low and middle income households. We have also committed to raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour in 2021, and policy work is being done on reducing the cost of primary healthcare. This Government is making targeted investments to help those who need support the most in the face of greater cost pressures for households on low and middle incomes rather than those on the highest incomes.

💬 SPEAKER: Before I call the Hon Michael Woodhouse, I’ll just do the quick lesson that “On behalf of” only has to be said the first time. After that, the Minister is still answering on behalf of but doesn’t need to tell us every time.

Housing—Brightline Test and KiwiBuild

3. to the Minister of Finance: Does he have confidence in the policy advice he receives?

I do have confidence in the advice provided by officials. However, it will not surprise the member that I do not necessarily always agree with that advice.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: According to that advice and based on the projections of KiwiBuild dwellings progressed, what proportion of the earmarked $2 billion KiwiBuild capital fund will be drawn down between now and the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: These are decisions that are currently being considered in the Budget process, and I refer the member to Treasury’s comments on this subject in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update?

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Is the advice on the fiscal impact of KiwiBuild that he will need significantly more than the $2 billion to fund the up to 12 to 15 Hobsonville-sized developments his Government aspires to, or that he won’t even need the $2 billion earmarked because KiwiBuild is taking so long to get off the ground?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I do refer the member, again, to Treasury’s comments on this subject in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update, and I offer to table that if the member hasn’t read it.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Has he had advice from the Reserve Bank that the prudential risks to banks from residential development is decreasing, and is that because the Reserve Bank actually expects housebuilding to slow in the next couple of years?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I will answer on behalf of the Minister of Finance for those areas that he has responsibility for. We are painfully aware of the constraints on ramping up housebuilding, because we inherited them. The difference is that this Government has the policies and the will to deal with all of these challenges.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Has he seen the Treasury advice regarding the five-year brightline test for residential housing, stating Treasury is not “confident that the Government’s objectives are being met in the best way and with the least unintended consequences.”, and does he agree with it?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The irony of that member raising it—because it’s the same advice that was provided to that party opposite when they introduced the two-year brightline test.

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: Has he received any advice that would enable the Government to turn around the nine years of nothing in 90 days?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I believe that challenge would be too great. This Government has ambitious plans—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! It was a simple question: whether he’d received advice. That’s it.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Who is supporting the five-year brightline test, given that IRD recommended against it, Treasury don’t support it, no one in the industry has been asked for their opinion, and Labour tried everything they could to avoid talking about new taxes during the election campaign?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The National Government introduced the brightline test in the first place.

Education, Minister—Meetings with Charter Schools

4. to the Minister of Education: What specific advice, if any, has he received from officials that advises him to not visit partnership schools?

I discussed the issues with Ministry of Education officials last year when we were planning the process of ending charter schools and removing it from legislation whilst transitioning those individual schools. We agreed that the contract negotiations would be handled by the Ministry of Education, and I made the decision not to visit charter schools while that process was taking place. I’ve been largely successful in doing that, with one exception. I’m not, however, ruling out visiting them in the future.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: Has the Hon Kelvin Davis, Willie Jackson, or Peeni Henare been involved in any partnership schools discussions with him?

💬 SPEAKER: Order! There’s a requirement for a question to flow from the primary question. The primary question was very specific and that was advice to him—to the Minister on him visiting partnership schools. That doesn’t involve any other Minister. I will let the member have another crack at getting it within order.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: In light of his answer regarding visits with partnership schools, can he confirm that he did have a meeting with a partnership school at Waitangi, and who organised that meeting?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes, I did and I’ve been very open about the fact that I had a discussion with sponsors from He Puna Mārama Trust, who run two partnership schools. I had that discussion whilst at Waitangi. I was asked by them whether I would meet with them. I thought in the circumstances, given it was a large public event at which they were going to be present, it would’ve been awkward not to have a discussion with them.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: Did the Hon Kelvin Davis organise that meeting?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: Why is he engaging in preferential treatment accepting meetings arranged by other Cabinet Ministers while telling everyone else he won’t meet with other schools?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: To be clear, when I met with them I made it clear the Ministry of Education would be conducting the negotiations with them. I have had discussions with other existing charter schools in the past, including the Villa Education Trust, including the Rise UP Trust, including those who are running Vanguard Military School. I haven’t had the opportunity to have any form of discussion with this particular organisation in the past. I didn’t see any harm in doing so, but I have made it very clear that the negotiations regarding the transition process for these schools will be conducted by Ministry of Education and not by Ministers.

Cost of Living—Benefits and Families Package

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Social Development—[Interruption]

Order! What we’re going to do now, because I think there were two comments from the Government and one from the Opposition while that question was being asked, is we will give the Opposition one extra supplementary question. But I want to warn members that I expect some leadership from my right. Start again, please.

5. to the Minister for Social Development: Will the Families Package address issues raised in the household living-costs price indexes review released by Statistics NZ last week; if so, how?

Absolutely. The Families Package targets the widening inequality and increased cost of living pressures facing low-income New Zealand families, as highlighted in the report. The package includes the Best Start payment, extended paid parental leave, and changes to Working for Families to help with the cost of raising children; a winter energy payment to help superannuitants and many of our poorest families heat homes over winter; and increases to the accommodation supplement and the accommodation benefit—384,000 low to middle income families will be better off when the Families Package is fully implemented.

💬 Priyanca Radhakrishnan: How will low-income families without children benefit from the Families Package?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The gains for families without children are more evenly spread across the income distribution because the winter energy payment drives most of these gains and goes to superannuitants. Around two-thirds of these families earn below approximately $42,000 per annum and are set to receive an average of $13 per week.

💬 Priyanca Radhakrishnan: How will changes to Working for Families help address the issues raised in the latest household living-costs price indexes review?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Changes to Working for Families as part of the Families Package provide targeted social assistance to improve the income of low- and middle-income families and aim to reduce inequality. The Working for Families abatement threshold is being lifted and we are increasing family tax credit rates leaving more money for working families to provide for their children. In 2018-19, 26,000 more families will be eligible for Working for Families as a result of the changes. In 2020-21, 39,000 more families will be eligible. This Government is working to support New Zealand families.

💬 Hon Louise Upston: Has she had discussions with the Minister of Finance to raise benefits in 2018, given the increase in 2016 benefited 190,000 children from low-income families?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Mr Speaker, can she repeat the question? I didn’t hear the question properly.

💬 SPEAKER: OK. Yeah, I think it was a second till the mike picked up the member. Whole thing again.

💬 Hon Louise Upston: Has she had discussions with the Minister of Finance to raise benefits in 2018, given the increase in 2016 benefited 190,000 children from low-income families?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Thank you, Mr Speaker. As part of our confidence and supply agreement, we have committed to a welfare system overhaul, so lots of discussions are taking place in preparation for that. I’m not in a position at this stage to give any solid answers with regards to what that will look like, but can I just say that I’m expecting it to do significantly more to address the issues that beneficiaries and low-income families face in this country.

💬 Hon Louise Upston: Does the Minister believe that benefits should be increased; and, if so, by how much?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I believe that we need to have a Government that takes the challenges that low-income families face in this country seriously. There’s a large piece of work that is set to take place that I’m going to take the lead on, and I’m looking forward to the fact that this Government is going to do more to address the issues that low-income families in this country face than what the previous Government did.

💬 Hon Louise Upston: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I don’t believe the Minister actually answered the question.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, she addressed it.

Biosecurity Management—Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

6. to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by all of his statements?

Yes, in the context in which they were given.

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: How many live stink bugs have been found in ships destined for New Zealand from Japan over the last week?

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: I’ve been unable to be in a position to count them.

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: Is the Minister, therefore, telling the House that he’s had no formal advice from his officials as to how many stink bugs have arrived on vessels from Japan in the last week?

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: No, I do not have a number, but what I can tell that Minister is that, unlike himself, we identified through a rigid, robust system of inspection of the ship—before any vehicles were put off the ship, officials identified—the presence of brown marmorated stink bugs, which are a huge threat to this country. We have upped the level of compliance and scrutiny on those ships, and we’ll stand by that regardless of whether it’s two or 2,000 stink bugs. We cannot afford to let those pests into this country.

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: Are new cars inspected by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) prior to departing Japan, and what confidence does he have that stink bugs haven’t already travelled all over New Zealand?

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: I think it’s been recorded: the fact that stink bugs have come into this country through different means but have been contained and eradicated in transitional facilities. What we are doing is upping the level of scrutiny at the border. In regard to the issue of inspections offshore, there is a changing regime. MPI do not have enough people offshore to inspect every vehicle, but the system demands that those vehicles be inspected and, if they are infested, that they not be loaded.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: How will the Ministry for Primary Industries cope with standing up a stink bug response when they’re swamped dealing with Mycoplasma bovis?

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: Thanks to the inept and underfunded and under-resourced efforts of the previous Government, we now have Mycoplasma bovis in this country. MPI staff are doing their very best. We’ve called on industry to help, and they’ve stepped up significantly in the last two weeks to try and be in a position to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis.

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: You want cash too. You want some cash.

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: And if that member had done his job properly we wouldn’t have it here in the first place.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: What advice has he received on the economic impact on the New Zealand import car industry with the ships being turned around due to the stink bugs?

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: I don’t have an economic report on that. It is unfortunate that some people might have to wait a little longer for their second-hand cars, but this Government stands by a delay in getting a second-hand car rather than allowing in a major problem or pest—

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: It’s the new ones. It’s the new cars too.

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: —which that member allowed in under his regime. Mycoplasma bovis is one too many incursions in this country. We’re not going to open the border to the brown marmorated stink bug.

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Minister give the House an assurance that he has the confidence of the funding and the firepower to get on top of these biosecurity incursions and change the appalling record of the last nine years, when we had over 171?

💬 SPEAKER: Order! According to the precedents that have been given in this House, the member has to take care in his answer that he’s not using that just as an opportunity to attack the Government. It’s up to him to explain his policy, not to go backwards.

💬 Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: I’m more than happy to say that at each occasion I’ve been to Cabinet to request funding for biosecurity, a system that has been severely underfunded by the previous Government, my colleagues have looked very positively towards that. We’ve still got to look at requests on how much will be required to hopefully eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. I have confidence in my colleagues to fund this system properly, because that previous Government didn’t.

Earthquake Recovery, Kaikōura—State Highway 63

Before we ask the question, I have been advised, for reasons that will probably be obvious, that the primary answer to this question will be slightly longer and not quite as tight as one would normally be, but I have accepted that.

7. to the Minister of Transport: What assurances can he provide that work planned and started on repairing and upgrading State Highway 63 in the South Island, following the November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, will be completed without delay?

I thank the member for his question. Repairing road and rail following the Kaikōura earthquake has been an enormous civil engineering job. It’s a tribute to the small army of people at the Transport Agency, KiwiRail, and all the contractors who’ve worked long and hard on the project. I want to compliment the work done on this job under the past Government. I’m assured that all major works will be completed without delay. The House may be interested to learn also that, today, traffic is being diverted from State Highway 1 north and south of Kaikōura on to State Highways 63, 6, and 70, due to the risk of slips and rock falls caused by Cyclone Gita. Road conditions are challenging, and I encourage people to stay safe and keep up to date with the latest traffic alerts and information, and to avoid travel unless necessary.

💬 Stuart Smith: Why then, in light of that statement, has the work stopped on State Highway 63?

💬 Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I’m advised that work has not stopped on State Highway 63. The main work repairing the highway in the wake of the earthquake has been completed in all but a few minor cases. There is ongoing maintenance work that is required on State Highway 63 because traffic volumes pre-earthquake were about 400 vehicle movements a day. It now averages between 1,200 and 1,500 a day because of the diversion, so it requires a greater level of ongoing maintenance.

💬 Stuart Smith: How much extra funding has he secured for maintaining and upgrading State Highway 63?

💬 Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The sum of $60 million was initially budgeted under the recovery programme. An additional $5 million has been spent from that appropriation—a total of $65 million. Additional minor works and ongoing maintenance while the diversion is taking place will be funded through the national land transport programme.

💬 Stuart Smith: Can he assure the House that his Government policy statement will not prioritise Auckland trolleys over South Island roads?

💬 Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Yes.

💬 Stuart Smith: Has funding for repairs on State Highway 63 been withdrawn, as the Hon Damien O’Connor has claimed in a letter to the Minister, dated 14 February 2018?

💬 Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I am advised that the New Zealand Transport Agency has not, as one local commentator said in the local newspaper, “hit their financial limits.” Funding is available to complete the project. The work will be completed without delay.

💬 Stuart Smith: I seek leave to table a 14 February letter from the Hon Damien O’Connor to the Minister of Transport. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Who was the member who interjected during that?

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: It was me.

💬 SPEAKER: Stand, withdraw, and apologise.

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: I withdraw and apologise.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that letter being tabled? There appears to be none. It will be tabled.

Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

Overseas Ownership of New Zealand Property—Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Overseas Investment Act Changes

8. to the Associate Minister of Finance: What progress has the Government made on protecting the rights of New Zealanders to own existing New Zealand homes?

Legislation to ban foreigners from buying existing homes is currently before a select committee. We need to have this legislation in force before the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) comes into effect or we will, as a country, lose for ever the right to control who buys existing New Zealand homes. With confirmation of a slightly delayed signing date for the CPTPP, we’ve been able to provide an additional three months for committee consideration. The ban on foreign buyers is supported by an overwhelming majority of New Zealanders, and I would hope that the next Leader of the Opposition admits that National has been completely—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I am going to invite the Minister to review that answer, as to what action the Government has taken and what action the Parliament has taken, because it is quite different.

💬 Paul Eagle: Why is the Government banning foreign buyers of existing homes?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: This coalition believes that it’s the birthright of New Zealanders to own our homes, which should be traded on a New Zealand market, not an international one. This applies at all levels. Our most expensive homes and farms should be purchased by our most successful New Zealanders, and our more modest homes by other New Zealanders. We want as many New Zealanders as possible to achieve the dream of homeownership, whether they’ve been here for a year or for generations. The past Government was happy, under the prior trade agreement, to sell down the river for ever New Zealand’s right to—

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Surely it’s a matter of interest to the New Zealand public as to the contrast between the position under this agreement and the last agreement.

💬 SPEAKER: If the member had been temperate in his language, the comparisons would have been allowed. But the rules of this House are quite clear, and they are that you can’t receive a donkey drop to attack the Opposition in that tone.

💬 Paul Eagle: How is the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes compatible with the CPTPP?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: One of the many significant changes this Government has made under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, compared to the past Government, is that we have ensured we retain the right to ban foreign buyers of our existing homes. The past Government claimed before the election, and I quote, “A ban would force New Zealand to renegotiate many of our trade agreements … which would harm New Zealand companies and Kiwi jobs.” This coalition Government has shown this to be wrong. This significant change under the CPTPP shows the last Government was either disingenuous or incompetent.

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Can the Minister confirm that he is the very same person who, when previously a Minister, allowed record amounts of New Zealand land to be sold to foreigners?

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Is the member referring to a Government more than a decade ago?

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Well, we’ll hear from the Minister, won’t we?

💬 SPEAKER: I asked the member a very simple question. It should not be beyond him to answer it.

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Supplementary.

💬 SPEAKER: No, the member will answer my question. Was he referring to a previous Government or not?

💬 Hon Todd McClay: I’m referring to this member when he was a Minister previously, yes.

💬 SPEAKER: And he has, as part of this role, no responsibility for that, and that member is absolutely aware of it.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Interesting ruling that you’ve made. Why is it that this Government is able to answer questions about the previous Government freely and often inaccurately, yet we can’t refer to any other Government in our questions?

💬 SPEAKER: I suggest the member has a look at Speaker’s ruling 159/3, and that will explain it to him.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: I’m wondering if you could come back to the House tomorrow, then, and explain how your ruling is consistent with that particular Speaker’s ruling, or are we into some new territory where the Government is free to criticise the past Government but can take no criticism themselves for their involvement in past Governments?

💬 SPEAKER: I think, if the member listened carefully and listened to how I dealt with objections from the Government to my intervention to the Hon David Parker, he will see that, in fact, the Government is not free to act in the way that he has suggested.

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Can the Minister confirm for the House that not a single change has been made to the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership text to enact the provisions that he’s speaking to—and, Mr Speaker, perhaps you’d like to answer this for him as well?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: No, I can’t confirm that. In amongst changes are the changes to investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) rules that rule ISDS clauses—that they can no longer be operated in respect of investment screening decisions.

Health Services—Elective Surgeries and Rural Health Services

9. to the Minister of Health: What are his priorities in the health portfolio?

Better health for New Zealanders.

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: What specific instructions, if any, has he given as Minister of Health to improve rural health services?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: There are measures in the Budget that may concern that that I am not at liberty to discuss currently.

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: What specific instructions, if any, has he given to officials to deliver a third medical school specialising in rural medicine?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I don’t think it’s in the public interest to give further information on that matter.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: What specific steps is he taking to fill the ongoing permanent GP vacancy in rural Pātea, as he promised to do on the campaign trail, and will he feel comfortable returning to Pātea to explain to locals why he hasn’t solved their problem in the manner he promised?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: This Government has promised to increase the number of GP training places, and it will honour that promise.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Following that reply, where will the 300 extra training practices come from to accommodate all the extra GP trainees he is promising?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I’ve had many conversations with the leadership in the sector. They worked with us, in fact, when we were in Opposition, because they were so disappointed with that Government’s lack of progress on increasing the number of GP training places.

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: What specific instructions has he given to Ministry of Health officials on setting new targets to increase access to elective surgery, decrease emergency department waiting times, and increase access to cancer treatment—what specific instructions?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I’ll speak to the first of those. I’ve been very clear with my officials that we do not want to have an electives target, like the previous Government had, that included increases in Avastin numbers and skin lesion removals previously done in primary care, because we want a transparent regime where New Zealanders actually get increased access to surgery and not just pumped up numbers.

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I asked what specific instructions.

💬 SPEAKER: I think you got, in respect of one of the issues, quite a specific answer.

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Not a very good one. What specific instructions has he given to district health boards, and what specific plans has he asked them to implement since he became Minister of Health, or are they just doing exactly what they were doing before the general election?

💬 Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I have written letters to DHBs requesting that they live within the existing annual plan arrangements. I have spoken with DHB chairs to indicate that I expect them to live within financial parameters. I have done those things, which involve a relationship with the sector, in stark contrast to my predecessor.

Job Creation and Unemployment—Employment Strategy and Youth Employment

10. to the Minister of Employment: Does he still stand by all of his statements; if so, how?

Yes, within the context in which they’ve been made. In terms of the second part, how I do that is by coming to the House every week and listening to the same question every week from that member. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he stand by his statement, in correction to the House on Thursday, that the employment strategy he is rolling out is the He Poutama Rangatahi initiative to address youth employment?

💬 Hon WILLIE JACKSON: The member needs to read the Hansard. I came into the House last Thursday and mentioned the roll-out of the employment strategy, and I further clarified this and referred to the roll-out of He Poutama Rangatahi, which is part of a broader strategy to address youth employment.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: So when he wrote, last week, that he would be “coming up with an employment strategy for all New Zealanders”, did he mean he would reach into the drawer and pull out the previous Government’s initiative to help the roughly 5,000 young people in four regions most in need of assistance?

💬 Hon WILLIE JACKSON: No.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: What are the core elements of He Poutama Rangatahi?

💬 Hon WILLIE JACKSON: He Poutama Rangatahi is about going into the regions and trying to get all our different groups together. We want to get employers together, we want to get trusts together, and we want to get people together, and iwi, because the regions have been ignored by the previous National Government, who talked about resourcing the regions and never gave one cent. So it’s about supporting people who were forgotten by the previous National Government.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: How, if at all, has he changed He Poutama Rangatahi from what he inherited?

💬 Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We’ve changed He Poutama Rangatahi because we’ve decided to pull the communities together, and the previous Government forgot about these communities—totally forgot about them. They talked about resourcing them, and did nothing. We’re going to bring employers, iwi, we’re going to bring our “neets”—our young people—together, something this previous Government never did. It just talked about it and did nothing. This is our strategy, not the previous Government’s strategy, and we’re proud of it.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: I’m not sure I’ve got an answer to that. When will he develop and release his employment strategy for the rest of New Zealand?

💬 Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Our employment strategy is for all of New Zealand, and we’re working on that right now, and we’ll be getting groups together and bringing a focus group together—a reference group with key people in the different areas: in the forestry area, in the employment area, in the regions, Māori, Pākehā, Pacific Island people, disabled people, women—all the groups that that member and the previous Government forgot about.

💬 SPEAKER: Question No. 11.

💬 Hon Member: Supplementary?

💬 SPEAKER: No, it’s too late.

Climate Change—Extreme Weather Events

11. to the Minister for Climate Change: What did he learn from yesterday’s briefing with MetService experts about the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events here and in the wider Pacific?

The MetService officials that I spoke with last night made it clear to me that where experts were once reluctant to link any single weather event, such as Cyclone Gita, to climate change, we can now say that every single weather event is in some way shaped by climate change. As MetService meteorologists said to me, we seem to be talking about new records all the time now, and due to climate change they can see that continuing to happen.

💬 Gareth Hughes: Does this mean that we can expect the frequency and severity of weather events to increase?

💬 Hon JAMES SHAW: I think the reality for a lot of people who have endured this summer’s droughts and storms would suggest that this is the case. As the MetService explained last night, we’ve been experiencing a maritime heatwave that’s increased the temperature of the Tasman Sea by 6 degrees Celsius above the average. The warmer sea increases the intensity of cyclones like Fehi and Gita. One expert told me at last night’s briefing that the cyclones that we’re seeing these days are of a higher intensity than they used to be. In the case of Cyclone Winston last year, the only reason that it was a category 5 and not a category 6 is that, currently, there is no category 6.

💬 Gareth Hughes: How does that influence the Minister’s thinking on New Zealand’s approach to action on climate change?

💬 Hon JAMES SHAW: What we’re seeing with ex-tropical Cyclone Gita, and the damage that Cyclone Fehi inflicted just a few weeks ago, strengthens my resolve to see New Zealand do everything that we can to play our part in the global effort to stop climate change. That includes implementing measures like the zero carbon legislation, which will help us to achieve our Paris Agreement commitments to limit global warming to 2 degrees and to strive for 1.5 degrees.

💬 Gareth Hughes: How will the Government ensure that communities, councils, and the country are prepared for the effects of a changing climate?

💬 Hon JAMES SHAW: Our actions will be based on strong scientific and practical evidence provided by a number of expert bodies, including the Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group started by the previous Government. The working group will report back around the beginning of April on a range of options for New Zealanders to consider in regard to dealing with the impact of climate change. A programme of consultation after that will ensure that together we as a country are making sensible decisions about future investments. In the meantime, I’d recommend that councils, communities, and businesses take a good look at the updated coastal hazards guidance that I released in December, which provides some common-sense guidelines about developments at or near sea level.

Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Minister—Contact with Carol Hirschfield

12. to the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media: Does she stand by all of her answers to oral and written questions?

Yes, in the context that they were given.

💬 Melissa Lee: Does she stand by her answer to written question No. 19129 (2017) in regard to meeting with board members or staff of TVNZ or RNZ since 1 December?

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: Yes.

💬 Melissa Lee: How can she stand by that answer when she failed to mention her breakfast meeting with RNZ head of content Carol Hirschfeld on 2 December?

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: I have a range of discussions, informal or otherwise, with many people in a range of portfolio areas.

💬 Melissa Lee: If they did have breakfast together, as the Minister’s office has confirmed, and discussed a range of issues about the future of media in New Zealand, why did she not include this extremely relevant meeting in her answer to written question No. 19129 (2017)?

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: Unlike the previous Government, this Government consults broadly—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I think there’s probably quite a lot of interest in this answer. I’m interested in it. I would like to be able to hear it, and there are a number of members, especially on the cross benches, who are interfering with that. Clare Curran—start again, please.

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: Unlike the previous Government, this Government consults broadly with a range of stakeholders on a range of matters to ensure that we are out there engaging on the issues and on the policies that we’re proposing—

💬 Melissa Lee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.

💬 SPEAKER: No, no—can the member resume her seat. I think I know what the member was going to say, but I’d like to give the Minister a chance to actually address the question before she finishes.

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: Unlike the previous Government, this Government’s members engage widely with stakeholders on a broad range of issues on policy matters and to ensure that we’re getting them right. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: No. I don’t think the member needs a point of order. I’m going to ask the member to repeat that question.

💬 Melissa Lee: Thank you, Mr Speaker. If she did have breakfast together, as the Minister’s office has confirmed, and has discussed a range of issues about the future of New Zealand media, why did she not include this extremely relevant meeting in her answer to written question No. 19129?

💬 SPEAKER: And the Minister will answer that, but because of Nathan Guy’s interjections, a supplementary will be taken from the National Party.

💬 Hon CLARE CURRAN: Because I didn’t perceive it as an official meeting. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: No. That’s the end of the supplementaries.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you have an important role when it comes to the efficiency and the—I suppose you’d say—appropriateness of answers for written questions. Is now a requirement of the Opposition to ask only about what the Minister considers to be official meetings, or is it still the case that a Minister is always a Minister and therefore in a ministerial capacity, turning up in the ministerial limousine etc., etc., can be asked about any meeting that they might attend?

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: What we are in danger of doing now, at the request of the Opposition, is to say that every coffee meeting, every time you have breakfast, is an official meeting. Now, some of us do that because we need the food; we work so hard. But we do not make those events official events that we think the staff should be responsible for. And the real point here is her office disclosed the matter, but it wasn’t official. And Mr Brownlee might regard every time he eats as an official matter, but we don’t.

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention—I’m sure you’re aware of it, because I think you were involved in it—to a lengthy series of points of order during the last Parliament about the former Prime Minister John Key and the various hats that he wore and what were deemed to be official engagements and what were not deemed to be official engagements. And I think the precedent was very clearly established by the previous Government.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: The point, Mr. Speaker, is that if a Minister—in this case, the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media—has a meeting with someone who is an employee of Radio New Zealand, are we expected to believe that there was no discussion at all about matters that fall within portfolio responsibilities? I think that would be a huge stretch. And if the Rt Hon Winston Peters is making the case that Ministers can avoid public scrutiny by simply declaring a meeting to be unofficial, then I think we are really limiting the general constraints democracy places on a Government.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: I just want to highlight the importance of your ruling on this issue, because it relates to another question that I’ve been asking today. We have the situation where the Hon Kelvin Davis has sat in a meeting—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I think I’d rather deal with this one.

💬 Hon Nikki Kaye: Well, it does cut to the heart of whether he was sitting there as the Associate Minister of Education or in some other capacity.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I really don’t think this is that complicated for members who have looked at the issue of ministerial responsibility carefully. Clearly, members can be involved as a Minister at a breakfast, which is not a meeting with a specific person, because quite often there is a large group of people at a general breakfast and someone else could be there, and there could be discussion. That is not a meeting with an individual, as far as I’m concerned.

Having said that, I do agree with the basic point that the Hon Gerry Brownlee makes, and that is that people don’t take off their ministerial hats, unless it’s made clear by some other method or for some other reason or they’re there for another clear purpose—sometimes personal, sometimes a constituency—that one has a general expectation that people are acting in a ministerial capacity if they’re meeting with people where they do have some responsibility.

But the point that I would make is that in the end I cannot take responsibility for a Minister’s answer. That is something for them. I don’t want to either judge or be held responsible for the quality of answers. But other members of the House and—certainly from the correspondence that I get—people in the public do make judgments as to the quality of answers.