Oral Questions for Thursday 9 March 2023

Questions to Ministers SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? BROOKE van VELDEN to the Minister for Building and Construction: Does she expect that building and construction costs will continue to increase this year beyond the 10.4 percent seen in 2022, and does she expect the supply of building and construction materials will be able to meet the demand for new buildings and repairs following recent extreme weather events? Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister of Health: What recent announcement has she made regarding pay increases for nurses? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: When does he anticipate the economic conditions will be right for the introduction of an income insurance scheme, and what ongoing work, if any, is being done to develop such a scheme? DAN ROSEWARNE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What support has the Government given to Vanuatu following Cyclone Judy and Cyclone Kevin? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Are the current shorter stays in emergency department performance metrics published on the Health New Zealand website accurate, and what were the figures for Northland in November 2022? NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Emergency Management: What announcement has he made on further support for the cyclone and flooding recovery? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by all of her statements and actions? JAMIE STRANGE to the Minister for Small Business: What recent progress has been made on the roll-out of the Government's fog cannon subsidy scheme for New Zealand small businesses? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister for the Public Service: Does he stand by his statement, "we now engage in active monitoring of the Public Service's use of contractors and consultants"; if so, when did the active monitoring begin? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Finance: Does he think that banks have unfairly profited from economic circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic while ordinary people in Aotearoa are doing it tough; if so, what actions is he taking to redress the balance? MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Does he stand by all of the Government's views and actions regarding the proposals to merge RNZ and TVNZ into Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media?