Oral Questions for Wednesday 30 March 2022

Questions to Ministers NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that "I acknowledge that a number of New Zealanders are facing a cost of living crisis"; if so, will his Budget include income tax reduction for New Zealanders who do not qualify for any Government benefit or Working for Families payments? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she believe too many New Zealanders are dependent on jobseeker support; if not, why not? GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What is the Government doing to enable development of offshore renewable energy in New Zealand? MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the Mental Health and Well-being Commission's monitoring report finding that "improvements in services have not materialised as we had hoped for over this time", and what is his response to the article in New Zealand Doctor that says, "the $1.9 billion Wellbeing Budget touted as a game-changer, the Government has done little or nothing for mental wellbeing"? PAUL EAGLE to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent announcements have been made relating to changes to the COVID-19 Protection Framework? SIMON COURT to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by her statement that "Maori have not expressed rights and interests in three waters assets over and above those as ratepayers within their respective communities of interest"; if so, what justification is there to apply a co-governance model to three waters entities? BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Transport: What recent progress has been made to improve transport links in the Wellington region? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: Does he have confidence that the Government is not increasing the cost of vehicles for New Zealanders; if so, why? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree that disabled migrants are discriminated against by the acceptable standard of health criteria in immigration policy; if so, will he commit to an immigration system that upholds the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? NAISI CHEN to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has he made regarding updates to responsible lending rules? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement "the reality is that this Government has never been more active in targeting the gangs and criminal leaders and getting them off the streets"; if so, how does she reconcile that statement with the over 40 percent increase in gang membership since October 2017?