Oral Questions

1. to the Minister of Conservation: Is she confident that the $1.1 billion nature-based jobs funding will deliver 11,000 jobs?

For the components that I am responsible for, yes.

💬 Mark Cameron: What is the total number of fulltime-equivalents currently employed as a result of the $1.1 billion Jobs for Nature programme?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I thank the member for his question. As he may be aware, the Jobs for Nature programme is comprised of a number of departments of which I have responsibility for the Department of Conservation (DOC) component. That component comprises $501 million of the total pool, to which the July 2020 undertaking was to create 4,800 jobs. To date, in the year that that programme has been announced, we are making fantastic progress with over 1,084 people strapping their boots on up and down this country to be employed, to date, in DOC projects.

💬 Hon Jacqui Dean: Does the Minister think it is acceptable that according to the Government’s own publicly released figures, it is costing the taxpayer $820.60 for every hour of work produced by the Jobs for Nature initiative?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I thank the member for her question and the research she’s undertaken to get to that point, but what I will note is that this is a significant project of which the evolution and the genesis of this project was undertaken when our country was in an economic crisis as a consequence of COVID. When the programme was established, Treasury was forecasting that jobs would be at a point of 10 percent unemployment by November. So what we had to do, and what our Government did do, was essentially take a department like the Department of Conservation and require it to quickly pivot to form relationships at ground, in place, across the region to get this project into the place where we are today, where we are on track to meet our objectives of getting 4,800 people into jobs over the four years.

💬 Hon Jacqui Dean: Point of order. Mr Speaker, my question was very clear and succinct: does the Minister think it is acceptable that, according to her Government’s own figures, it is costing the taxpayer $820.60 for every hour of work? The Minister told us many things but did not address the question.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the overall context of the answer, though, addressed the very question.

💬 Hon Jacqui Dean: Point of order. I seek leave to table a document “Progress of creating jobs: progress on allocated funding” and a spreadsheet, which lays out how the figure of $820.60 cost per hour of each job—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: And the origin and source of that document?

💬 Hon Jacqui Dean: Yes, these are the Government’s own figures and this is my own work.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is it publicly available already?

💬 Hon Jacqui Dean: This is now. [Holding up documents] These are.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah, it’s not in order to present documents that members have created themselves.

💬 Mark Cameron: Why is the Government not recording the cost per fulltime-equivalent job of the Jobs for Nature programme, according to the response to returned question 24742(2021)?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: The cost per job is—there are many factors that go into the cost, in the raw figures that the member’s referring to. There are capital costs that we lay over. There’s the nature of the role. So all of those costs are taken into consideration when we provide the raw figure of cost per job, of which we are providing—and it is on record.

💬 Mark Cameron: Does the Minister think that 10 projects currently on the Jobs for Nature website, which employ 192 people at a cost of $443,000 per job, is a prudent use of taxpayer money?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I am not sure where the member has got that $4,033—

💬 Mark Cameron: $433,000.

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: $433,000 per job, but what I can say is that we have, to date, made incredible progress by establishing, by getting people up and down this country into over a thousand jobs. The cost for those jobs will vary. We have had, of course, the upfront implementation costs that you’d expect with any brand new project, but, to date, we are satisfied that this project is going to be cost-effective and meet the targets that we have projected to date.

Tāmati Coffey: How is the Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature investment helping tourism operators impacted by COVID-19?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: This is an excellent question from the member, and particularly in his patch, where tourism—and particularly in places like Rotorua, Queenstown, where we had significant upheaval in the labour workforce during that period of time that COVID has disrupted those industries. It means that tourism operators—alongside our decision to extend the concession fee waivers out for another six months, that we are, I guess, supporting those operators to ongo their activities. Predator Free South Westland, which we announced in March, is an ambitious project that aims to restore nature and sustain jobs in COVID areas. It is the biggest step yet on mainland Aotearoa towards our Predator Free 2050 goal.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the member’s addressed it.

💬 Rachel Brooking: How does Jobs for Nature deliver skills and training benefits?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Great question from the member. Look, training and upskilling is a significant component to our Jobs for Nature project. Essentially, every person that comes into a Jobs for Nature programme, we expect that they will come out more upskilled than they came in. Training and capability development is enhancing the future of the workforce, and the types of skills required will vary from project to project. Many workers will gain practical skills, conservation skills, such as out there on-the-job vegetation weed control, it might be chainsaw licences, Growsafe certification, or what is specific to that project. So we are very proud of the work that is occurring up and down this country to upskill New Zealanders to make sure that they are committed to be our next generation of conservation warriors.

Question No. 2—Health

2. to the Minister of Health: What is his plan to manage current demand for health services around winter illness, and how has he assured himself that district health board services are safe?

In response to the first part of the member’s question, the health system is there to deliver health services whenever people need them. As that member well knows, it is not uncommon to have spikes in particular infections, especially during winter, and that’s what is happening now. In response to the second part of the member’s question, I have assured myself that the district health boards are safe because this Government funds them properly, in contrast to that member’s party in Government.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Which DHBs, if any, have had to manage admitted patients in hospital corridors and playrooms in the past month due to demand?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The district health boards are there to make sure that they provide the services that are needed. It is not uncommon for there to be winter spikes in infections. The DHBs planned for that, are prepared for that, and right now they are putting their plans in action to provide safe services for the babies who are needing their help because of RSV.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: How many of the 11 sick babies, if any, are still being cared for in a playroom at Middlemore Hospital, as they were when reported last week?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I understand it, the hospital took the step of taking an available space, removing the toys and the chairs, and making it available as a place for babies when they came in for their initial attention from that hospital as a decision was made about whether they needed to be admitted or not. That is a standard practice that hospitals do, particularly when there are winter spikes in infection.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: What is the Government’s plan, if any, for the growing number of children presenting with respiratory syncytial virus, RSV?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Government’s don’t take clinical decisions on particular infections, but what we do do is make sure that we invest properly in the health system. So whereas the previous Government, over nine years, increased health funding by $3.7 billion, this Government, in less than four years, has increased funding by over $4 billion. Where the previous Government invested roughly a billion dollars over nine years in Government, we have invested more than $5 billion to upgrade facilities because of the sheer and utter neglect by the previous Government.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: What actions, if any, has he taken to improve the nurse-to-patient safety ratios in our hospitals as they come under increasing pressure from winter illness?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Unlike the previous Government, this Government entered into an agreement with the DHBs and with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to look at safe staffing levels to implement the programme called Care Capacity Demand Management. Ten DHBs have now fully implemented that programme. Ten are left to go, but this is a Government that takes seriously the concerns by our health workforce, who were neglected by the previous Government.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Do DHBs have enough funding to cope with the current surge in demand due to winter illnesses, like RSV, given this year’s Budget cut operational DHB funding by 30 percent compared to last year?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: That member is completely and utterly incorrect. When you look at that party in Government’s track record of funding hospitals compared to ours, it simply does not compare. So we increased funding for hospitals this year by roughly 4.4 percent. The average level of increase by the previous Government was roughly about 1 percent. I stand on the record of this Government, and its commitment to health and to safe health services for all New Zealanders.

Question No. 3—Finance

3. to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

I know that this is a popular moment in the day for everybody. The Government’s efforts to secure the recovery has been recognised once again by the global ratings agencies. Standard & Poor’s global rating said in its mid-year update released yesterday that New Zealand’s strong fiscal and monetary response to the pandemic, as well as the confidence in the Government’s public health measures, have seen the economy recover much faster than expected. The ratings agency expects New Zealand to outpace its peers in the Asia-Pacific region, noting that economic activity has returned to its pre-pandemic trend in early 2021, making New Zealand one of the first countries to do so.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What impact has the economy’s recovery had on the labour market?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, the Government’s efforts to secure the recovery are reflected in the jobs market, which is going from strength to strength. The SEEK New Zealand Employment Report increased by 1 percent in June from the previous month to another record high for job advertising numbers. For the year, job ads rose 115 percent, while job ad numbers are now 24 percent above pre-COVID highs—

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is that why you’re paying 800 bucks an hour to the conservation?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Mr Goldsmith, you don’t want to go there. On a trend basis, job ads were above pre-COVID levels for all regions. Unemployment has fallen to 4.7 percent, and while there are challenges for businesses in finding workers, this is, in fact, a reflection of a stronger-than-forecast economic activity and the economy operating above pre-COVID levels. The Government will continue to work with businesses to support them as the recovery continues.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Thank you very much. The latest global dairy trade auction shows prices are consolidating and actually declining 3.6 percent. The easing in prices comes after strong gains earlier in the year, which is, in turn, due to robust global demand for New Zealand dairy products. Economists are saying that the decline in prices is partly due to strong milk production, which rose 9.3 percent in May, compared to the same month a year ago. For the entire 2020-21 season, production rose 2.7 percent. Commentators expect dairy payouts to farmers to retain near-historic highs in the new season, which is positive for farm incomes, positive for the regions, and positive for the economy overall.

Question No. 4—Revenue

4. to the Minister of Revenue: Does he stand by the Minister of Finance’s statement on 23 March 2021 that deducting interest expenses from rental income is a “tax loophole”, and what assurances, if any, has he sought that increasing tax on landlords won’t lead to renters being forced out of their homes?

Yes, and as landlords who invest in new homes will be able to deduct interest expenses, the premise of the second part of the member’s question is incorrect.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Does he agree with the official advice that 75 percent of renters can’t afford to service a mortgage and, as a result of the policy changes, “the most vulnerable group in our housing system” now face the risk of having their tenancies terminated, and, if not, why not?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I do agree that renters generally cannot afford a mortgage. Otherwise most of them would choose to buy a house, rather than rent it. But in respect of the idea that this rule is somehow going to decrease housing stock, it’s a nonsense argument, because if a landlord did choose to sell a house, it will either be to an owner-occupier and that owner-occupier will be freeing up another house, or it will be a renter who all of a sudden is able to buy a house, and if the member somehow thinks that the house is going to disappear, well, he’s just wrong.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Does he agree a tax of around $9,000 for the average rental property owner due to the removal of interest deductibility will increase rents, including for low-income renters, who officials advise are the most vulnerable group in our housing system?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: No, I don’t agree that that is necessarily the outcome, as evidenced by the fact that when interest rates went down so remarkably over recent years, they increased rents rather than put them down.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Can he provide assurances to vulnerable low-income renters that as a result of his policies, they will not be evicted, as warned in official advice?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: Well, the idea that landlords would somehow come up with a pretence to evict a tenant because of changes to tax rule is absurd.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Can he provide an assurance to owners of new build-to-rent developments that are held with the express purpose of being rented out for the long term—10 to 20 years—that they will be allowed to deduct interest against their rental income?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: In respect of new builds, yes, and we’re consulting on the details of that. One of the issues being consulted about is whether the period for which a new build can have interest deductibility—

💬 Andrew Bayly: Rent—long-term rent?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: Sorry, I might have misunderstood the question, but answering as I understand it, one of the issues we’re consulting about is whether that period should attach to the first purchaser or to the building for a period of years.

💬 Andrew Bayly: If public feedback on the interest deductibility consultation document due next Monday is overwhelmingly negative, as is suggested by the 15,000 people who signed the petition I received yesterday, will he reconsider his policies?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: We’re consulting on the detail of it, rather than on the principle, which is already working.

Question No. 5—Health

5. to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made on the Like Minds, Like Mine campaign?

On Monday, I announced the relaunch of the internationally acclaimed Like Minds, Like Mine programme. The new Nōku te Ao: Like Minds programme builds on more than two decades of work to continue to put the spotlight on stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against those who experience mental health and wellbeing issues. Eight million dollars over five years has been invested in a range of initiatives with Nōku te Ao: Like Minds to generate a social movement against prejudice, which includes education campaigns, social action grants, and strengthening research and evaluation.

💬 Dr Liz Craig: So what does the campaign comprise?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The Like Minds, Like Mine programme was established back in 1997. It was one of the first comprehensive campaigns in the world to counter the prejudice and discrimination associated with mental distress. This relaunched campaign addresses the inequity experienced by Māori and Pacific peoples who experience mental distress, especially young men. Nōku te Ao: Like Minds is now based on kaupapa Māori principles and has a strong focus on equity. This is to ensure the initiatives within the programme are effective for those communities who are more often facing discrimination. Nōku te Ao: Like Minds adds another tool in the tool kit for New Zealanders experiencing mental distress.

💬 Dr Liz Craig: So what will this campaign do for those experiencing mental distress?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The programme focuses on the people who are most affected by mental distress and discrimination, including, as I said, Māori and Pacific communities. Nōku te Ao: Like Minds will help change attitudes towards people experiencing mental distress. It will help to reduce discrimination and improve social inclusion experiences for priority groups. We know that one of the population groups hugely overrepresented in our suicide numbers are young Māori men, and we need to reach out to them. We will go a long way as a country to address our ongoing mental health challenges if we are understanding and also comfortable talking to each other about experiencing mental distress.

Question No. 6—Health

6. to the Minister of Health: How many unfilled vacancies are there in total across the district health boards, and how many of those vacancies are for nurses?

I’m advised that, as at the year ending 31 March 2021, there are approximately 3,387 fulltime-equivalent vacancies across all DHBs. I note that this includes corporate vacancies and represents 5.1 percent of the total number of fulltime-equivalent positions in 2019. In response to the second part of the member’s question, I’m advised that, as at the year ending 31 March 2021, there are approximately 1,168 fulltime-equivalent vacancies for nurses. I note that the figures that I have used today exclude the Waikato DHB. That DHB has recently advised that numbers that it previously supplied, which I had reported to the House on, had discrepancies that they are now working to resolve. In the long term, we are reforming the health system as a single Health New Zealand organisation that will allow for true national planning of our workforce and allow us to start investing in and building the workforce we need for the future.

💬 Simon Watts: What does he say to aged-care providers who are reporting that district health boards are poaching their staff, resulting in over 500 vacancies in nursing, alone, under his watch?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I say that the problems that the aged residential care sector are suffering are similar to the problems that other aspects of the health sector are suffering. There is a shortage of nurses. That is why we’re working seriously with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and the DHBs to get the remuneration package right. That’s why we also worked on the safe staffing agreement and why we will also work on a recruitment campaign. But the reality is, when we deal with the remuneration issues with nurses in the public sector, it will have implications for nurses in primary care and aged residential care, and we will need to work with the employers in those sectors to make sure that what we do for our entire nursing workforce is in the best interests both of nurses and the population of New Zealand as a whole.

💬 Simon Watts: Why has he not taken any urgent action, when health providers, including district health boards and aged-care facilities, have been crying out for his help with this crisis?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The member is totally and utterly incorrect, and plenty of action has been taken. I mean, you have a look, for example, at the exemptions that have been granted to people to cross our border to pick up work, particularly in our health workforce—43 percent of those exemptions are for people going into our health workforce. When you look at the investments that we have made in ongoing personal development and upskilling and training and places in DHBs for new nurse graduates from university programmes for nursing, we have invested considerably more. So plenty of action to create more places to fund more people into those roles, but it is true we still have a shortage.

💬 Simon Watts: Has he shared the healthcare sector’s, including DHBs’, concerns on Government immigration policy to the Minister of Immigration; if not, why not?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I refer that member to my previous answer.

💬 Simon Watts: What is he doing to support health providers, including district health boards, who are critically short-staffed because workers are being pulled into the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: It sounds like that member thinks it’s a bad thing that we have a vaccination programme that people actually have to work on—in which case, he should go to the public and tell them that. The member can’t have it both ways. We have a health service that has to do a large number of things. First of all, it has to pick itself up from the disaster left by the previous Government, and we’re in the process of doing that. And now we have a pandemic that we have to respond to, and we have the usual spikes in winter infections that we have to deal with as well. All of those things are being dealt with. We have challenges in that sector. The workforce challenges are part of that. But I do note that we are facing that challenge square on, which is something that the previous Government simply failed to do.

Question No. 7—Women

7. to the Minister for Women: What recent progress has she seen on the representation of women on public sector boards?

Four years ago, this Government set a target to reach 50 percent of women’s participation on public sector boards and committees. I am pleased to inform the House that we have met that target. This change has been championed by this Government but also has been about a huge drive for change in New Zealand’s governance and leadership structures. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this vision.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: What other diversity indicators were reported?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: This is the second year we are able to report on representation for Māori, Pacific, and ethnic members. The Ministry for Women partnered with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities to collect ethnicity data. While I want to make sure we take time to celebrate what we have achieved, going forward I’ve asked for a stronger focus for the underrepresentation of groups such as wāhine Māori, Pacific people, the Rainbow community, people with disabilities, and other ethnicities on our boards. It is important that our boards look like the communities they serve.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: What else has this Government delivered for New Zealand women?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: As the Minister for Women, I can tell you that this Government has delivered for New Zealand women. We’ve extended paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks, introduced domestic violence leave, provided free period products in schools, passed the equal pay Act, improved breast and cervical cancer screening, raised sole parent benefits, and reinstated the Training Incentive Allowance—this is to name just a few. This is a Government that is committed to gender equality and a Government that has delivered for women.

Question No. 8—Energy and Resources

8. to the Minister of Energy and Resources: How many new permits for oil and gas exploration have been granted in Aotearoa since the Government declared a climate emergency?

Thank you, Mr Speaker. No new offshore permits for oil and gas exploration have been issued since 2 December 2020, when a climate emergency was declared. Two onshore permits were issued as the outcome of Block Offer 2019. These permits are the result of the agreed policy decision of the three parties that made up the previous Government, in 2018, to stop issuing new exploration permits for offshore acreage and to hold block offers for onshore acreage in Taranaki in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: Has she seen the latest report from the world’s leading agency on energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA), stating that all countries must cease new oil and gas exploration and development now if we are to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes, I did, and I read that report with a great deal of interest. It is an important document and an important shift to see from the IEA, but I do note that the previous Government, of which the Green Party were part, made a policy decision to hold onshore block offers in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and the two permits that were issued on 29 June of this year are the outcome of Block Offer 2019.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: Given the world’s leading energy agency is saying that new oil and gas cannot be part of the pathway to avoid catastrophic climate change, will her Government continue granting permits for exploration that will add to the global supply of fossil fuels?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As per the decision that the previous Government, made up of the Labour Party, New Zealand First, and the Green Party—the decision was made by that Government that a block offer would be offered in 2018, 2019, and 2020. There is a two-year lag of decision makings of permits, so there is a possibility for a further round. In the future beyond that, no firm decisions have been made. A number of factors we’ll be having to take and to control, ranging from security of supply through to the context of the carbon budgets, but also important conversations to be had with iwi.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the Government approval of these latest exploration permits, does the Minister now understand that gas is a far better transition fuel than Indonesian coal?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In response to the member, what I would like to hear from that member’s party is what their pathway to a decarbonisation of our economy looks like. They seem to be a party that is stuck in climate denial. [Interruption]

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The volume has increased to the point where I can’t hear the answer, so I’m going to ask—

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: I’m on my feet. I’d ask members to be a bit quieter.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order, Mr Speaker. I’d just note that the Minister did ask the Opposition a question. She just got a lot of answers to her question. It wasn’t disorderly; it was just complying with her request.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! And my ruling was about my ability to hear, and I couldn’t. I wasn’t actually criticising the interjections. I know that happens, but when it gets to the point where I can’t even hear the answer, then I can’t make any rulings.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order, Mr Speaker. Would it be helpful, then, if just my one voice gave you the answer to each, so you can hear it?

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ha, ha! It’s up to parties if they want to have designated interjectors.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: Supplementary.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can I just—I think others might not have heard. I certainly didn’t. So if the Hon Dr Megan Woods could at least do the short version of it.

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the member’s question as I recall it: what I do accept is New Zealand is having to import a whole lot of coal this year, largely due to the failure of gas to ply a reliable security of supply as a backup in a dry year.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: Does she think that all countries should listen to and take seriously the IEA when it says to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Governments must stop issuing permits for new oil and gas projects, as well as coal, immediately?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the first part of that member’s question, that member can take a great deal of pride in the fact that she was a Minister in a Government that actually got out in front of that report and banned the issuing of new exploration permits for oil before that report appeared, that this is a Government that continues to understand the challenges that we have ahead of us and the courageous steps that need to be taken.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: What advice has she received about the impact of new oil and gas developments on our pathway to net zero emissions by 2050?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: There are many reports that show the pathways that need to take, not least of all the independent Climate Change Commission’s report that shows that New Zealand has to move away from using fossil fuels, whether they be coal or gas, if we are to reach our climate goals. This is an obligation that this Government takes seriously, and why, as Minister of Energy, I was proud to lead the ending of the issuing of new exploration permits for oil and gas.

💬 Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will she rule out further permits for new fossil fuel developments, be they oil, gas, or coal, as per the International Energy Agency’s strong recommendation to all countries?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I indicated to the member in the answer to a previous question, there are a range of factors that have to be taken into consideration—security of supply. These will all need to be considered in the context of the Government considering how it puts together carbon budgets over the next few months.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Kia ora. When will block offers for exploration permits on land end, as desired by Taranaki iwi?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I also indicated in the answer to a previous supplementary question, when the previous Government—made up of the Labour Party, New Zealand First, and the Green Party—made the decision to end offshore permitting, we gave an undertaking to undertake onshore block offers in 2018, 2019, and 2020. As I indicated, no decisions have been made around further considerations. One of the factors that I indicated that would need to be taken into account would be the views of local iwi.

Question No. 9—Transport

9. to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements have been made on bringing New Zealand’s rail network back up to scratch?

I’m very pleased to confirm the Government is delivering on its commitment to bring New Zealand’s rail network back up to scratch and support our economic recovery. KiwiRail’s inaugural rail network investment programme was released today, which details renewals and upgrades on the rail network over the next three years. The disruptions to the supply chain due to COVID have shown how important it is to have a reliable rail network to keep freight flowing and keep our economy moving.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: What does the programme include?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The $1.3 billion investment is about getting the bread and butter stuff done to lift our rail network to a resilient and reliable state after years of managed decline. It includes fully replacing 20 bridges around the country and improving around 25 more; replacing more than 200 kilometres of rail sleepers and more than 130 kilometres of tracks; adding active controls, like barrier arms, lights, and bells to three level crossings; upgrading the Auckland metro network; and, importantly, investing in a business case for further network improvements across Wellington, including looking at potentially expanding commuter services to the north of Waikanae.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: How will this work support the economic recovery?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: This work is enabling KiwiRail to take on around 150 new track staff, including a pipeline of trainees, and we’ll also support numerous civil contracting firms and material suppliers. There’ll be work happening across every region, from Northland to Southland, supporting jobs and the economic recovery across our country.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Do those announcements include plans to improve the Te Huia rail service, where recent analysis has shown that the average passenger could each take a double-cab ute and drive to Auckland, resulting in half the emissions that the train does?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As the member knows, the Government is committed to a five-year start-up service for the Te Huia service, to reconnect the Waikato and Auckland regions by rail, and I look forward to that member and his colleagues campaigning to scrap that service at the 2023 election, if that’s what they wish to do.

Question No. 10—Transport

10. to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions?

Yes, in particular that our Government is continuing to take action to tackle transport emissions to meet our 2050 carbon-neutral target when I announced the extension of the road-user charge exemption for light electric vehicles this week.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What is his response to Auckland mayor Phil Goff, who said the Eastern Busway two-year delay was “an unpleasant surprise to most of us on the council and we’re not at the end of the story yet.”?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I agree with Mayor Goff. It was a surprise to a number of us when Auckland Transport made that comment. It’s important to note that the only reason that the Eastern Busway is proceeding is because this Government committed to the regional fuel tax, which is enabling that project to be delivered—something that that side of the House voted against. So if Mr Luxon is now saying that he wants that project to proceed more quickly, I welcome the National Party’s commitment to the regional fuel tax.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Is it a priority of this Government for the New Zealand Transport Agency to enable councils to complete critical projects like the Eastern Busway, and, if so, why is the busway being delayed by a further two years?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: It is an absolute priority and, in the case of that particular project, I think I agree with the member that actually delivering high quality public transport services to the east of Auckland is a major priority. It’s been neglected for many, many years. It is only this Government which has put that project actually into the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) plan and put funding in place. I’ve asked Waka Kotahi officials to work with Auckland Transport to bring the project forward and deliver it as quickly as possible.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does he believe the Eastern Busway being delayed two years is fair on the 130,000 East Aucklanders who’ve been paying a regional fuel tax for three years yet remain without any adequate public transport options connecting them to Greater Auckland?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As the member knows, and I think all Auckland members will know, there is considerable work to do to make sure that Auckland has the linked up public transport system that it deserves. The regional fuel tax is an important part of that. It is important to note that stage one of that project is, in fact, opening later this month, so progress is being made. We have funded the project within ATAP—something that the previous Government didn’t do—and we’ll work as quickly as we can to deliver that important project.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Which of these should be a higher priority: the Eastern Busway, connecting 30,000 people a day to education and employment, or a $785 million cycle bridge, carrying 3,000 people, at most, on a good sunny day?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The Government believes that in order to deliver the transport solutions that Aucklanders and New Zealanders need, we do need to be able to do more than one thing at once, and I do note that under the current plans the Eastern Busway will be delivered within the next five years—far quicker than any plan under that previous Government.

Question No. 11—Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence

11. to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence: Does she stand by the statement on 20 May 2021 that “We are truly committed to having a safer Aotearoa New Zealand for all, and especially for women and our tamariki”?

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am really grateful for this question. Yes, I do, because it is so important we have shifted, and must continue to shift, our approach and thinking on how we address and prevent family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa. We are doing this through successive steps since 2017, through funding initiatives, legislative reforms, and our commitment as a Government to join up the Public Service. Critically for me, as a newly appointed Minister in this role, I have met with people, with victims and survivors, with whānau, and the sector, who have been at the forefront and expertise of doing this work. I have met with judges, I have met with iwi, I have met with people who use violence and are perpetrators of violence, and they have all, with the research and evidence, been very, very clear that it is whānau-centred and community-led responses—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I think the member has definitely addressed the question.

💬 Karen Chhour: How would she respond to the OECD report in December 2020 which found that New Zealand has the highest rate of intimate partner violence against women in the OECD?

💬 Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: And that is unacceptable, and around the world all countries have struggled with reducing the prevalence of harm and have not been able to interrupt the intergenerational nature of violence. This is why in Budgets 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and Budget 2021 we committed to services like whānau-centred facilitated responses with kaupapa Māori providers to wrap support around to prevent and provide safe responses to harm; why we provided funding towards communities and whānau to support parents to reduce risk and be the safest whānau possible for all children; why in Budget 2021—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Nō reira—Karen Chhour.

💬 Karen Chhour: Why has the number of family harm incidents increased under this Government from 133,000 in 2018 to 171,000 in 2020?

💬 Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: Firstly, I dispute the numbers that the member is putting forward. Secondly, we are focusing on primary prevention; that is the commitment that this Government has put into this work. It is primary prevention over sustained years that will eventually bring the harm and prevalence down. We have international research and other research that shows that it can take up to six to 10 years - plus of sustained resourcing on primary prevention before we finally will start to see any reduction in the prevalence of harm. If the member is interested, the Australian prevention agency called Our Watch tells us that the prevalence of violence drops after it committed up to 10 years - plus of strengthened primary prevention infrastructure and investment. We have not seen that from any of the—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Kia ora.

💬 Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: —successive Governments over the terms. The first time we are doing that is now.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What is she doing to increase funding and resources for kaupapa Māori providers on the front line responding to whānau violence?

💬 Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: I am so grateful for all of these questions, including what we have heard from the sector and the people that say that tangata whenua leadership and authentic partnership with Government, and that resourcing tangata whenua and kaupapa Māori prevention and services, are vital to shifting and eliminating the prevalence of family violence and sexual violence. We have committed to $12 million in Budget 2021 and previously, and, before the end of the year, a national strategy and action plan will be launched, which will include more actions to uplift kaupapa-led prevention and support services.

💬 Karen Chhour: So is she confident that due to the actions she has taken, there will be a reduction in family harm incidences and I won’t have to stand here next year and ask this question again?

💬 Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: Yes, as I have just pointed out, it will take six to 10-plus years of all of us in this House, of all of the members in this House, committing to ongoing focus on primary prevention. I invite all of the members to be on board this commitment and this vision, which has not happened until this Government put in place a lead Minister for this work. I invite all members to support the long-term work which the sector and the experts have continued to uphold. This is intergenerational work, and I ask all of us to commit to the enduring form of this work.

Question No. 12—Food Safety

12. to the Minister for Food Safety: What action is the Government taking to prevent spina bifida and similar conditions?

Today I was pleased to announce that New Zealand will move to the mandatory fortification with folic acid of non-organic bread-making wheat flour. This move is about protecting babies. Folic acid is safe and it is essential to the healthy development of babies early in pregnancy. Low folate levels in mothers cause neural tube defects that result in the deaths of babies in the womb, or cause life-long disability. New Zealand’s rate of neural tube defects remains too high compared to other countries—such as Australia, United States, and Canada—that have already implemented mandatory fortification.

💬 Camilla Belich: How many neural tube defects will be prevented thanks to fortification?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: It’s estimated that fortifying all non-organic wheat flour for making bread could prevent between 162 and 240 neural tube defects over 30 years. Of particular note when we look at the experience of Australia, that implemented this policy, the benefits were particularly seen in women who were pregnant as teenagers and in indigenous women.

💬 Camilla Belich: What reaction has she seen to today’s announcement?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: A very positive reaction. The Paediatric Society of New Zealand has welcomed the announcement, saying voluntary fortification of some breads has been ineffective in reaching the at-risk population of pregnant women. Dr Andrew Marshall, clinical leader of child health at Wellington Hospital said, “This announcement will finally allow New Zealand to join Australia, and most of the rest of the world, in fortifying food in a way that reaches the whole population.” I’d also note the earlier comments from the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine, which believes fortification could also help prevent as many as 200 miscarriages a year in pregnancy. Folic acid is safe, proven, and effective. Adding it to non-organic bread-making flour will make a real difference to the health of mothers and the wellbeing of babies.