Oral Questions

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

The jobs market is continuing to support the economic recovery. The SEEK NZ Employment Report for November showed that job ads had jumped 5.1 percent—the best monthly gain since May—and is now up 35.4 percent for the year. Compared with pre-COVID levels in November 2019, the latest numbers are 28.9 percent higher. Auckland job ads rose by 8.1 percent as restrictions were eased on retail activity, while Northland jumped 17 percent as the region moved from alert level 3 to alert level 2. The robust jobs market shows that the Government’s actions in response to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic to protect lives and livelihoods has proved to be the best economic approach as well as the best health approach.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What support is the Government providing to businesses to recover from the impact of the Delta outbreak?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Last Friday, applications opened for a transition payment to affected businesses to support their move into the COVID Protection Framework. The payment is a recognition of the long period that these businesses, especially those in Auckland, have spent with restrictions in place prior to shifting to the new framework, and it is designed to support these firms through the next few weeks. This payment is at a higher base rate than the current Resurgence Support Payment, which will be $4,000 per business, plus $400 per fulltime-equivalent (FTE), up to a cap of 50 FTEs. So far, 18,861 applications have been approved, totalling $93 million. I encourage all businesses who are eligible to apply.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What other economic support is available under the COVID-19 Protection Framework?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Resurgence Support Payments Nos 4 to 6 remain open for applications until 13 January 2022 to help businesses with their fixed costs. So far, the Resurgence Support Payment has paid out $2.3 billion to businesses. Along with the wage subsidy scheme, the Government has supported businesses and workers to the tune of $7 billion since the Delta outbreak began. It’s worth reminding that the leave support scheme and the short-term absence payment remain available under all levels of the COVID Protection Framework. We will monitor any economic impacts of the new COVID Protection Framework, and I expect to report back to Cabinet early in 2022 on whether any further support will be required.

Question No. 2—Prime Minister

2. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Yes. In particular I stand by our approach to COVID, which has always been to take cautious steps forward, to let systems bed in, and to ensure as much certainty and safety as possible for New Zealanders. Because of these actions, we have seen Auckland case numbers and hospitalisations continue to decline while we have steadily lifted restrictions. We’re continuing this move forward with almost all of the country moving into orange on 11.59 p.m. on 30 December. This will follow two weeks after boundary restrictions are removed to give us greater certainty as we move forward. There are alternatives to our confident but cautious plan. There are those who will call to move faster, to abandon protections, and to hastily lift restrictions. We know from international experience that those who have done that have had to re-impose restrictions. Our plan seeks to move forward carefully but also to make progress.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What is her expectation about the level of disruption Aucklanders can expect to face when driving out of the city this summer?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Ultimately, it will be the police who will determine how they manage compliance checks, in the same way as it’s up to the police to manage other checks they undertake for road policing such as, for instance, drunk driving. I’ve seen statements made by the police saying that they will be very mindful of traffic flows as they undertake the checks at their discretion.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does she stand by her statement yesterday that she’d been given an implication from police that not every car driving north would be stopped, and how many cars in fact will be stopped?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The indication was from a press statement that the police released. In particular, the Northland District Commander, Superintendent Tony Hill, in his statement said police will be very mindful of traffic flows; the public can expect they may be stopped and spoken to by police to ensure they’re abiding by the requirements of the public health order. Of course, by implication I assume the member would have rather had an alternative where there was no requirement on the Auckland public to do anything to ensure the ongoing safety of New Zealanders, that they simply lift the border and let it go. Our view has always been transition safely; reduce the chances of other cases being seeded. Yes, we know we will see some movement, but reducing it down as much as possible reduces the impact on vulnerable communities and our health system.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Isn’t it correct that her Government decided to allow checkpoints, and why won’t she take responsibility and tell Kiwis travelling this summer what the impacts of this decision will be?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This Government’s decision is not to just let COVID rip. If you’re going to take that decision, then naturally you place some expectation on those who are travelling. That expectation is quite a simple one. The vast bulk of Aucklanders are vaccinated, and by simply carrying their vaccine pass, they are meeting the requirement. For those who are not vaccinated, a simple rapid antigen test at a pharmacy will do as proof of travel. We’re leaving it up to the police as to how they undertake compliance, but, of course, as they’ve said themselves, they will be mindful of traffic flows.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Don’t Aucklanders, after 15 weeks in lockdown, deserve at least some idea of how long they’ll have to sit in traffic to get a summer holiday, and why hasn’t she required this to be made public?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We actually did talk openly about the decision that we made. We have said that not every vehicle will be checked because, of course, that would cause a significant delay, because tens of thousands of Aucklanders move over the summer period. We have set a requirement. There will be compliance checks at the police’s discretion. In the same way that I cannot tell the public how long they may have to wait if there is a drunk driving test on a Saturday night, it will be up to the police to determine how they undertake these checks. Again, I come back to the alternative. Some people are uncomfortable about the changes at the Auckland boundary. This is a balanced approach that ensures Aucklanders can rightly move, because they deserve to, but ensures that we maintain extra precautions as we transition.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Is it fair that Aucklanders have done everything they’ve been asked to during 15 weeks of lockdown, and even now you’re keeping them at red, against health advice?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No, the public health advice actually was to keep them at red. But I would again come back to the alternative that the member seems to be advocating. In fact, I’ve seen a statement from him that says, “Frankly, we don’t support the traffic light system. Our view is very clear, that when we can get to a high level of double vaccination we’re good to go, and we have to open up the country and get going.” The Opposition doesn’t support public health protections, they don’t support a boundary at Auckland, they don’t support any international boundary. That is a recipe for what we have seen in Europe.

💬 Christopher Luxon: How many more businesses does she expect to fail as a result of the Government’s decision to keep Auckland at red for the rest of the year?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The decision was taken on the basis of public health advice. Our view is that if we take a cautious approach—

💬 Hon Kiritapu Allan: How many people do you want to kill, mate?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —we’re more likely to see businesses be able to continue to operate. Of course, the member will be aware that we have worked very hard to support businesses all the way through COVID-19 and, indeed, the transition. I again would just use this as an opportunity to remind those who may be affected by that transition of the transition support payment that opened on 10 December. Like the resurgence support payment, it offers up to $24,000 to support businesses.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What does she say to the staff and owners of Auckland’s bars and restaurants who are stuck at red until the end of the year, by which time Auckland will have emptied out for summer and their businesses will be struggling to survive?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That I know it’s been tough, but, despite a global pandemic, where in some parts of the world hospitality has remained closed for the better part of a year, we’ve designed a framework to try and ensure that they can remain open. Of course, they are able to open—a hundred indoor, seated and separated, and also if they have outdoor space, they’re able to occupy that too. That’s a level of certainty many countries cannot offer right now.

Question No. 3—Prime Minister

3. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s statements and actions?

Yes. I stand by this Government’s commitment to working with and, particularly, engaging with Māori, as we have done throughout our COVID response. Since the beginning of COVID, Ministers have regularly met with key Māori stakeholders. We’ve provided direct funding packages to support Māori providers and Whānau Ora. We’ve worked hard to push up vaccination rates and accelerate those rates for Māori—and our hauora providers have done an incredible job—and, of course, key Government agencies like police, the Ministry of Social Development, and Te Arawhiti continue to work closely with Māori groups as we continue to respond to the impacts of COVID-19.

💬 Rawiri Waititi: Why did she reject the advice of the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who advised the Government to prioritise Māori over the age of 50 early in the vaccine roll-out, and that he had a strong preference of not moving into the traffic light system until Māori had reached 90 percent?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course, with the latter half of the question, you can see with the decisions that we made yesterday we continue to push for those high vaccination rates, and, in fact, we said we want high rates before we move in at orange. We have kept those parts of the country where we’ve seen slightly lower rates in red for a bit longer. From the projections we’ve seen, though, we are anticipating that even those regions will be in the mid- to high 80 percent mark double vaccinated by the time they move into orange.

💬 Rawiri Waititi: Does she agree with the director-general denying the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency access to individual Māori vaccine data?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: On the issue of vaccination data, of course, there have been data-sharing arrangements with iwi leaders, the National Hauora Coalition, and, of course, for Whānau Ora, they’ve had access for its enrolled population since the end of September. Of course, as the member is aware, what Whānau Ora were then seeking to access was additional individual data, and, as the member is aware, the Director-General of Health has been working through the court’s ruling. The Government’s expectation is simply that we do everything we can to accelerate Māori vaccination, whatever that looks like.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: If she didn’t reject the Director-General of Health’s position on Whānau Ora access to Māori data, why did she reject his earlier advice on prioritising Māori over the age of 50 early in the vaccine roll-out?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well, of course, we have continued to highlight that those who were most vulnerable to COVID-19 when we had limited supply of vaccine, we know, were older members of our population, were those with comorbidities, and were those who may care for those who are in either of those groups. That is why they were first in the roll-out, it’s why we also had a lower age bracket for all of Counties Manukau, and it’s why we also put specific vaccine supply to hauora providers to take a whānau-based approach. In fact, I visited a hauora provider in the member’s area that reported to me at that time that they were doing just that—they were going into areas and vaccinating whole whānau—and that was the approach we enabled right from the beginning.

Question No. 4—Housing

4. to the Minister of Housing: What action is the Government taking to get more houses built in Porirua?

Today, I announced the first funding agreement from the Government’s $1 billion Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF), launched in June of this year. The Government’s $6.1 million IAF investment for a housing development in Porirua will enable 880 homes to be built—nearly twice the original plan for the 443 homes—and contribute to a crucial transport upgrade and key three waters infrastructure. The housing crisis we inherited is decades in the making. That will take time to turn around, but we are starting to make inroads. This fund will make a real difference by helping overcome a key barrier to building new homes: access to basic infrastructure. Today’s announcement is yet another step our Government is taking to fix the national housing crisis.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: How will Porirua benefit from today’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund announcement?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As well as delivering more homes faster, the funding will resolve critical infrastructure constraints holding the development back. Our investment in Porirua will provide a much-needed upgrade to the Tītahi Bay Road / Kenepuru Interchange and upgrades to key three waters infrastructure. Today’s investment builds on funding for the Government-led largescale project in Porirua I announced in July to provide capacity for an additional 2,000 homes and improved service levels for the majority of the 19,000 existing residents.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: Why was the Porirua project fast tracked?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The proposal from Ngāti Toa Rangatira was selected because it was able to start quickly, was cost-effective, and enabled the delivery of a mix of affordable, social, and market additional 400 houses that would not have happened without the $6.1 million of funding. With over 80 responses to the requests for proposals for the IAF due at the end of this week, I look forward to announcing more support around the country for much-needed house building in 2022.

Question No. 5—Finance

5. to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with economist Cameron Bagrie that “the economy is too hot”, and, if he does, will he therefore adjust down his Government’s spending in tomorrow’s HYEFU to alleviate upward pressure on inflation and interest rates?

I thank the member for acknowledging that the New Zealand economy has exceeded expectations and has shown extraordinary strength and resilience. I agree to the extent that it does mean the economy no longer needs all of the stimulus that has been required up to now, but there remain significant challenges and opportunities in the economy that require a careful and balance investment. The details of the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) are just one sleep away.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Does he accept that high Government spending right now is simply competing with the private sector for scarce labour and resources and is accordingly driving up inflation to its highest point in over 30 years?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member needs to seriously consider what he is just proffering up. Does he actually think the Government should stop building State houses? Actually, he probably does, because that’s the record of the previous National Government. If he thinks we should stop spending on health—actually, that is the previous record of the National Government. That kind of “short-termism” is what got New Zealand in the position to have a housing crisis and to have a health crisis, and that might be the member’s recipe, but it’s not ours.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I just want to make it clear we are talking about overstimulation. I think there’s a bit of that over here at the moment, and the problem with that is it causes the other lot to get overstimulated.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There’s a bit of inflation too.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, there might be inflation in the case of the Minister of Finance, but, hopefully, over the summer, he can have a programme to get rid of it!

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Will he adjust new Government spending tomorrow, so HYEFU downward, to alleviate inflation, or is he simply going to complacently accept the price of big fiscal policy, which is inflation, on a number of forecasts, heading to 6 percent in 2022?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member well knows that inflation is a global phenomenon. Those are the same percentage figures that are being seen around the world. The Government will continue to invest carefully and in a balanced way to make sure that we do provide New Zealanders with the kind of public services, sadly, that were not done under the National Government.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: How can he blame it all on this international phenomena, when, just across the Ditch it’s 3 percent, and, here in New Zealand, over half of it is the non-tradeables economy; that is, it’s happening right here under his watch?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, actually, when we compare ourselves to Australia, the Australian data officials note the global phenomenon and say that their “trimmed measure” does not actually align with that. On this side of the House, we understand that some New Zealanders have been doing it tough. We have supported them through that. But what we will not do is underfund the core services that New Zealanders need. And if the member wants to tell us what things he will cut out of education, out of health, out of housing, go ahead, because that’s been the problem that New Zealanders dealt with for decades.

💬 David Seymour: How does it help New Zealanders afford a home for the Government to bid against private builders for the same land, materials, and labour?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government’s contribution is to make sure that we have the land available to build the houses that we need to have. Actually, overall, it is the private market that drives what happens within land and real estate prices. But the Government is not going to step back from building State houses.

💬 David Seymour: Does the Minister accept it was a mistake to spend $51 million on design and development for a bike bridge that never got built? And is that an example of the kind of stimulus that’s no longer required in the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What I do accept, however, is that it was a mistake to put $50 billion extra in the ACT policy they put out yesterday. But I’m sure the member knows that.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Does he accept that paying a lot more for private sector land and a lot more for motels around New Zealand has got to be a key reason why, right at the moment, house price inflation in New Zealand is 30 percent, the highest in the OECD, in an unsustainable housing bubble?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No, I do not accept that assertion from the member. The member knows that the housing crisis has been decades in the making because we have not, as a country, invested in building houses and we have not taken steps to reduce demand. We have done both of those things and addressed both of those issues.

💬 David Seymour: Does the Minister of Finance think that New Zealanders facing rising prices in every aspect of their life appreciate him standing up using parliamentary time to make jokes about a typo in another party’s policy document?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I am absolutely certain that New Zealanders across the country appreciate the fact that the Government has worked very hard to support them and their families through COVID, and I’m sorry if I’ve hurt the member’s feelings.

Question No. 6—COVID-19 Response

6. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent progress has been made on New Zealand’s COVID19 vaccine programme?

2021 has been the year of the vaccine. The Government made a commitment that every eligible New Zealander would have the opportunity to be vaccinated by the end of the year. I’m incredibly proud to be able to report back to the House that as of midnight last night we’ve administered over 7,897,000 doses of the vaccine across New Zealand reaching 3.9-and-a-half million eligible New Zealanders. Ninety-four percent of the eligible population have now had their first dose and we are about 16,000 doses shy of reaching the national target of 90 percent of the eligible population being fully vaccinated. All but three of our district health boards have now achieved the 90 percent first dose target, around six DHBs have already reported 90 percent double dosed, and despite a range of challenges and logistical complexities we’ve maintained our commitments to New Zealanders around vaccination, and with the help of many New Zealanders we’ve delivered on rolling out the largest immunisation programme the country has ever seen, so I want to extend my thanks to every single New Zealander who has done their bit for New Zealand by being vaccinated.

💬 Dr Tracey McLellan: What work has been done to support the vaccination programme?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: A phenomenal effort’s been undertaken by thousands of people across the country. We’ve been able to train 15,501 vaccinators and they’ve been working across 1,926 different vaccination sites across the country. That’s included 77 Māori health providers, 27 Pacific health providers, 32 marae, 12 schools, and 13 places of worship. We’ve had 257 different mobile clinics. I want to thank everyone who’s been playing their part in the ongoing roll-out of this vaccination programme—whether that’s behind the scenes dealing with administration and logistics, running vaccination sites, delivering the vaccination shots, or undertaking something as simple as driving people to their nearest vaccination station. If anyone out there has done any of those things or even if they have just encouraged a friend or a family member to be vaccinated, I say thank you to them. They are helping to keep New Zealand safe from COVID-19.

💬 Dr Tracey McLellan: What have been some of the key highlights from the vaccination programme over the last year?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There are heaps but I’ll just pick a couple. The success of Super Saturday also should be recorded at this point, where over 130,000 people received a vaccination. That included a significant 39,000 first doses. That’s around 3 percent of the eligible population receiving a vaccination dose in a single day. I’d also want to note the successful establishment of the immunisation register and the booking system, which have worked very, very well to support the vaccination roll-out. I also want to note the work that we have done to secure additional doses for our booster campaign and, of course, further doses as required in the future.

💬 Dr Tracey McLellan: What will be the focus of the vaccination programme going into the new year?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The two big parts of the vaccination programme in the early part of next year will be a decision around a paediatric vaccination campaign for five- to 11-year-olds. The Government is following the science on that very closely and we are awaiting further advice from Medsafe and from our Technical Advisory Group. The second major priority in the first part of next year will be the ongoing roll-out of the booster shots or third doses of the vaccination. We are already under way with that this year; we expect bigger numbers to become eligible in the new year and we are ready to make sure that they can get their vaccines.

💬 Chris Bishop: Has New Zealand raised a purchase order for Pfizer vaccines for five- to 11-year-olds; and is it still his expectation that vaccinations for this age group will roll out in January 2022?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We have a confirmed advanced purchase agreement for those particular doses. In terms of the purchase order, i.e., the delivery schedule, that cannot be confirmed Pfizer will not confirm that until Medsafe have approved the vaccine.

Question No. 7—COVID-19 Response

7. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many fully vaccinated people, if any, who have travelled from Australia have tested positive for COVID-19 since 23 August 2021, and is the Government still committed to allowing fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other eligible travellers to enter from Australia from 11.59 pm on 16 January 2022?

I’m advised that between 23 August and 6 December, 4,883 travellers from Australia have completed stays in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ). Three of these people tested positive. However, none of them were vaccinated. I’d note that overall we had 132 cases amongst 31,000 returnees since 23 August, 79 of whom were fully vaccinated. In answer to the second part of the question, yes. As we have done throughout the pandemic, the Government will remain adaptable to the changing international situation, and any emerging evidence around variants of concern, including the Omicron variant. Officials will continue to regularly monitor Omicron and any other variants around the globe, and Ministers will be available over the holiday period to receive advice on that. We remain committed to the time frames we announced under the Reconnecting New Zealanders plan, including allowing fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other eligible travellers to enter from Australia from 11.59 p.m. on 16 January 2022.

💬 Chris Bishop: Will the Cabinet meeting next week consider a paper on allowing fully vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia to travel to New Zealand before Christmas without going into MIQ, in light of the Minister’s answer just now that there have been zero fully vaccinated travellers since 23 August who subsequently tested positive in New Zealand?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No. One of the things that I would note for the member is that Omicron is in the community in Australia; it is not in the community here in New Zealand.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why can fully vaccinated Aucklanders leave Auckland from tomorrow and travel to all parts of New Zealand, but fully vaccinated New Zealanders abroad cannot travel to their own country unless they win a slot in the MIQ lottery?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: As I’ve indicated to the member, one of the things that we are monitoring very closely is new emerging variants, including the Omicron variant, which is not in New Zealand. It will make it to New Zealand at some point, and at this stage it will be captured in our MIQ system.

💬 Chris Bishop: What is the public health rationale that prevents a fully vaccinated traveller in Queensland, for example, from coming to New Zealand, a country with a full vaccination rate about to hit 90 percent, and rising every day?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I think the member misses what I’ve just been indicating. First of all, we are wanting to ensure that we keep new variants of COVID-19 out of the community for as long as we can. We’ll keep that under review. I note that states in Australia, despite the more sweeping statements of the Federal Government in Australia, continue to maintain quite significant border restrictions. The statements of the Australian Federal Government don’t reflect the reality on the ground, where border restrictions continue to be in place in many Australian states.

💬 Chris Bishop: What does he say to Victoria Hemmingson, who obtained an emergency allocation spot in MIQ from Australia for the purpose of attending her brother’s tangi, only to be forced to watch the tangi via live stream after being denied early release from MIQ on the grounds she had to travel from Auckland to Christchurch?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Ultimately, my message to anyone who’s been affected by the border restrictions is that we acknowledge the significant hardship that that can often cause. Nobody would, by preference, have these kinds of border restrictions in place. We all need to remember why we have those border restrictions in place and what New Zealand has been able to achieve over the last year and a half through those border restrictions, which is the lowest case rate of COVID-19 in the OECD and the lowest rate of death in the OECD, and our border restrictions have played a very big part in that. But I acknowledge, and the whole Government acknowledges, the significant personal cost that that has created for many people. In terms of the issues around exemptions, Ministers do not make those decisions; those decisions are made by public health officials on public health grounds.

Personal Explanation—Question No. 2

Point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

💬 SPEAKER: Related to?

An interjection I made earlier in the House which I regret, so I seek leave to withdraw and apologise.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There appears to be none.

Earlier in question time, I made an interjection during the contribution of Mr Luxon, and I seek to withdraw and apologise for the sentiment.

💬 SPEAKER: Right, well, I think you just have, because you sought leave before.

Thank you—good as gold.

Thank you.

Question No. 8—Tourism

8. to the Minister of Tourism: What announcements has he recently made about freedom camping?

Recently, I announced, with Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult, that the Government was introducing tougher freedom camping laws to prevent the abuse which has placed an unfair burden on small communities and damaged our reputation as a high-quality visitor destination. At the heart of our new law will be a greater respect for the environment and communities through a “right vehicle, right place” approach. In 2022, the Government will introduce legislation that will, amongst other things, include that vehicle-based freedom campers will need to be in a certified, self-contained vehicle to stay overnight on land managed by local councils unless the council has designated the area for non-certified vehicles, and a new regulatory system to enable vehicles to be certified as self-contained. To be certified as self-contained, a vehicle will need a fixed toilet.

Tāmati Coffey: Why has the Government moved to make these changes?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: Despite the Government’s investment of $27 million in freedom camping programmes since 2018, there are still problems, including inappropriate disposal of human waste. Feedback from communities and councils has made it clear that some freedom campers remain a problem. Issues include uncertified vehicles parking outside designated areas—including on private driveways and front lawns—littering, and disposal of human waste. Freedom camping will always be a valuable part of our tourism experience, but must meet minimum standards and respect our tourism brand.

Tāmati Coffey: What will be the expectations on campers?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: We are setting clear minimum expectations for campers. Higher standards must be met before vehicles can be certified as truly self-contained with fixed toilets. Abuses in the past included campers slapping bogus blue stickers on vehicles to falsely claim compliance. Abuse of freedom camping by domestic and international travellers not only damages our “100% Pure” brand; it erodes public support for tourism and undermines its social licence to operate.

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Does he realise that there are currently no freedom campers in New Zealand because his Government has kept the border closed to double-vaccinated visitors, and why isn’t he instead focused on—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I’m going to invite the member to restart his question. If he’s going to make assertions which are clearly incorrect—clearly incorrect—then I will rule it out, because members are not allowed to make an unsubstantiated assertion, in this case, which is clearly wrong.

💬 Chris Bishop: Point of order.

💬 SPEAKER: No, I’ve ruled. The member will resume his seat.

💬 Hon Todd McClay: Does the Minister realise that there are currently no international freedom campers in New Zealand because his Government has kept the border closed to double-vaccinated visitors, and why isn’t he instead focused on the actual problems that tourism businesses who are struggling have today—i.e., they are not sure whether they will survive this year or next because of this policy?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: These rules apply to both domestic and international freedom campers, and what I would say is that this Government has put well over $600 million directly to support this industry.

Question No. 9—Prime Minister

Before the member starts, I’ll just indicate to the House that the remote interpretation is now working.

💬 David Seymour: Just in time!

I deliberately said it because I knew it was such a high priority for the member!

💬 David Seymour: I reflect on my priorities, Mr Speaker. Lucky it’s Christmas time!

9. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her answer “The Police.” to my question last week, “Who will propose the times, locations, and protocols for checkpoints on public roads when iwi representatives are acting as enforcement officers under the COVID-19 public health Act amendments made last month”; if so, will these checkpoints be initiated by iwi, Police, or the Director-General of Health?

To answer the first part of the question, yes. To answer the second part of the question: the Police.

💬 David Seymour: How many police officers will be diverted from other duties to run checkpoints under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act in Northland over the coming months?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously, the operational decisions over the summer period for the Police are matters for the Police. Those are decisions that they determine, and in any given summer they may make a decision that they need to deploy additional staff to, say, the Coromandel. On this occasion, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. There will be additional staff deployed into Northland. The current boundary, according to the Police, is staffed by 278 police, and I thank them for their service. They have helped New Zealand contain an outbreak that could have had devastating effects. Over the summer period, I’m told, at any one time, the Police have decided that there will be 74 police officers operating checkpoints in Northland.

💬 David Seymour: How many non - police officers have been authorised as enforcement officers, giving them the power to run checkpoints under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act, as of right now?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The second part of the member’s statement is incorrect. Only the Police can operate a checkpoint. Police must also run those checkpoints. The member, I would have thought, would be familiar with those provisions for two reasons. First of all, throughout the pandemic, the police have been doing that, and they have, from time to time, been supported by others. That is not new. But those arrangements were formalised through legislative changes that went to select committee from 29 September to 11 November. The clause was explicitly addressed during that period. The member was a part of that select committee process.

💬 David Seymour: Is the Prime Minister denying that the legislation she just referred to says that enforcement officers can stop vehicles so long as they are under the supervision of a constable?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member implied that those other than the Police could run checkpoints. That is incorrect. An enforcement officer is able to stop persons. It’s only, of course, though, Police who can operate them, establish them, and, of course, oversee the operation. This is not new. We’ve been undertaking arrangements such as this throughout the COVID pandemic response. The member has argued for two competing issues, I notice, in this debate. On the one hand, he doesn’t think that the Police should have anyone else supporting them; on the other, he’s unhappy that the Police are having to run them.

💬 David Seymour: What will be the penalty for an unvaccinated and untested person leaving Auckland stopped at one of these checkpoints?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would need to go back and reconfirm the fine and penalty arrangement. Obviously, we have a fines arrangement in place for those who do not comply with the COVID protection framework; those who do not comply with quarantine provisions and the use, for instance, of COVID passes. It’s all contained within the COVID protection framework, and there is a range.

💬 David Seymour: Does she believe checkpoints will increase travel times over summer, and, if so, can she tell people what a reasonable time is, in her opinion, for them to be delayed by such a checkpoint?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again, these are all issues that are ultimately up to the police to choose how they manage traffic flows, how they choose to operate compliance checks. We have placed a requirement on Aucklanders departing to carry proof that they are vaccinated or that they’ve carried out a test if they are not. It is then up to the police to choose how they then check compliance with that, in the same way that we do not stipulate how the police at any given time check whether someone is speeding, whether someone is complying with the road rules, or whether or not someone’s complying with drunk-driving laws. They’re all expectations on citizens that, ultimately, the police have enforcement roles over.

💬 Hon Stuart Nash: Has the Prime Minister seen reports that there are over 1,200 more police working hard in New Zealand since we came into office, compared to a decrease in police numbers during the last three years of the previous National Government?

💬 SPEAKER: OK, well, the Prime Minister can answer the first part of the question.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I can confirm that we made a commitment at the beginning of our term in office that we wanted to see an increase in front-line policing; we’ve worked very hard to do that. There’s no doubt that that has, of course, served us well as we’ve had to manage COVID-19 and its effect, and I do want to thank all those police officers who have been a part of protecting communities during this pandemic.

Question No. 10—Police

10. to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement in June in relation to Police reports of violence in or around emergency housing that “this information is not aggregated by Police”; if so, at the time she made this statement, had the Police generated any Intelligence Notification reports about offences and violence in MSD emergency accommodation?

I stand by my statement in the context it was made, which was in response to a written question about reports received of gang involvement in violence in or around emergency housing motels. The information they collect in this context is at a point in time and is place-specific. Police generate intelligence reports on a range of incidents all the time, and this can include incidents at emergency housing. Police respond to reports of crime wherever they occur. They do a fantastic job in keeping our community safe, and they have gone above and beyond during COVID-19. I’m sure that this House will join me in acknowledging the fantastic work the police do.

💬 Nicola Willis: Can the Minister confirm that the question asked of her in June was about reports of violence police have received in or around emergency housing motels, and what is a police intelligence notification about the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) emergency accommodation and data relating to offences there if not a report about violence in emergency housing?

💬 Hon POTO WILLIAMS: I can confirm that question No. 26702 was “What reports of violence have police received of gang involvement in or around emergency housing motels, if any, broken down by title [or] date?”, and my response to that was “I am advised that this information is not aggregated by Police.” I would like to confirm that police nationally do not routinely have access to all locally commissioned reports to address local changes in crime demand. The police, at a local level in policing in our areas and districts—manual analyses have been undertaken of specific addresses or groups of addresses where local officers have knowledge of the purposes for those locations. Why this is important is the local knowledge is important as a specific address may continue to function as a hotel alongside emergency housing. These local analyses have involved detailed manual data reconciliation processes that are not possible at a national level.

💬 Nicola Willis: Is the Minister aware of her own answer to written question No. 26711 denying the existence of reports about violence in emergency housing, and how is that an accurate answer, given the existence of this report containing data about increasing levels of violence in emergency housing?

💬 Hon POTO WILLIAMS: I’ve just explained to the member that at a local level, districts and areas will collect information, but it is not available to be aggregated into a national total.

💬 Nicola Willis: Is it accurate to state the police do not collect data specifically in relation to emergency housing, when documents I have obtained show they have produced at least three reports containing data specifically about increased offending relating to emergency housing?

💬 Hon POTO WILLIAMS: At a local level, police collect information and data—at a local level—to inform deployment and to inform how they may act in local situations. This is not available at a national level.

💬 Nicola Willis: Will the Minister take this opportunity now to correct her statement yesterday that “Police does not collect official data for reporting on emergency housing.”, when I have in front of me a report with official Police data on offending in emergency housing?

💬 Hon POTO WILLIAMS: I stand by my statements, and I also want to just remind that member that she has wanted to kick Kāinga Ora kids out on the street. She fuels stereotypes about people in emergency housing, and now she wants to kick police after two years of sterling work that they have done—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will resume her seat. I think she’s strayed into areas that are not her responsibility. Question No. 11, Ingrid Leary. [Interruption] Order! Who was that? The member will withdraw and apologise.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: I withdraw and apologise.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Kick him out.

💬 SPEAKER: Who suggested that? Mr Bridges?

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: I think he was kicked out for the first time last week, Mr Speaker, and I thought we could make it a two-for before Christmas.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I think for that disorderly interjection, or disorderly point of order that the member knew wasn’t a point of order, I will sentence him to stay till the end of question time.

Question No. 11—Transport

11. to the Minister of Transport: What progress has been made on transport projects in regional New Zealand?

We’re making progress on a number of projects around the regions to keep New Zealand moving and to support the economic recovery. I want to acknowledge the local MP for Taieri, Ingrid Leary, for helping to turn the sod and kick off construction on the new Beaumont Bridge over the Clutha River. This $25 million project will create jobs and strengthen an important link connecting Dunedin, Central Otago, and Queenstown.

💬 Ingrid Leary: Why is a new Beaumont Bridge needed?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The new bridge will replace a current single-lane bridge built in 1887, which is no longer fit for purpose. The new bridge has been designed to meet expected traffic growth, including heavier trucks and modern earthquake standards. After it opens, the landmark single-lane bridge will continue to serve the area by providing a link to the popular nearby Clutha gold walking and cycling trail.

💬 Ingrid Leary: What other regional projects have reached significant milestones? [Opposition members interject]

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Such enthusiasm in the House!

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! I know it’s nearly the end of the year and I know that bridges cause some excitement in here. In fact, we seemed to have a by-election about them at one stage, not that long ago, but I’m just going to ask members to get through the—[Interruption] Oh, look, just a bit of leadership, thank you.

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I’m very pleased to announce another regional New Zealand Upgrade Programme project has reached a significant milestone. Waka Kotahi has awarded the construction contract for a roundabout at Cromwell at the State Highway 6 and State Highway 8B intersection. A single-lane roundabout will replace the current T-intersection when completed in the second half of 2022. This project will help to make a very busy intersection safer for everyone.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will resume his seat. We all know what roundabouts do.

Question No. 12—Oceans and Fisheries

12. to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: What advice, if any, has he received on measures to reduce the impacts of bottom trawling in New Zealand waters, which he said he would consider this year?

Merry Christmas to the member and the House. The Government opposes destructive and unsustainable fishing methods that harm vulnerable marine habitats. As such, I’ve received advice on a range of matters relating to the impacts of bottom trawling in New Zealand waters, including the management of benthic impacts of mobile bottom-contact fishing gear in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, as part of the advice received on revitalising the Gulf. Trawling’s going to be limited to defined corridors. In addition, we have proposals to prohibit bottom trawling in parts of the Bay of Islands and the nearby coastline as parts of appeals on the proposed Northland regional plan, and we have the formation of a collaborative forum with stakeholders to recommend management measures for bottom trawling in the exclusive economic zone. Work on that will begin in the coming months.

💬 Hon Eugenie Sage: Is he concerned that in the 10 years to 2019, more than 3,000 square kilometres of ocean, an area more than three times the size of Auckland, was trawled for the first time; if not, why not?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I’ve previously said that I think one of the measures that we should consider as a country is limiting bottom trawling to areas that have been previously bottom trawled.

💬 Hon Eugenie Sage: Why is the Fisheries New Zealand forum, which is providing advice on bottom trawling, restricted to providing advice only on spatial management tools and prevented from considering or advising on alternative management actions such as phasing out bottom trawling or establishing new marine protected areas?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: The terms of reference have not been finalised. Suggestions have been made by some, including her former leader Russel Norman, who said that the terms of reference ought to be broad enough to consider move-on rules where corals, for example, are dredged up, and we’re considering that.

💬 Hon Eugenie Sage: Is he also considering the contribution of bottom trawling to climate change as part of the work of the advisory forum, when research published in the Nature magazine in April this year suggested that the sediment disturbance caused by bottom trawling globally released carbon equivalent to air travel in a pre-COVID world?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I’m not sure that is within the terms of reference. I am happy to take further advice on that issue.

💬 Hon Eugenie Sage: In preparing for the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan next year, has or will the Minister ask Fisheries New Zealand for advice on how to reduce carbon emissions associated with bottom trawling?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I haven’t sought advice on that issue, no. I do accept that bottom trawling has environmental impacts and that we should be doing our utmost to moderate those.

💬 Hon Eugenie Sage: If he accepts that bottom trawling has impacts, is he comfortable that New Zealand is the only country that has bottom trawlers operating on the high seas in the South Pacific, and, if so, why?

💬 Hon DAVID PARKER: I would say that New Zealand’s record in the Pacific is a reliable one for our partner and associated countries in the Pacific, and that New Zealand’s actions in that regard are responsible, as responsible actors in the international community. I would also note the member’s question to me earlier in the year quoting a National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientist saying that because of the damage that bottom trawling can do, management really has to focus on protecting un-impacted areas, and I agree with that sentiment.