Oral Questions for Thursday 6 April 2023

Questions to Ministers NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement on Radio New Zealand last month that "we're not going to let low and middle income people particularly suffer at the hands of the high inflation we're seeing"; if so, is he delivering on that commitment? ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has she seen on the update of hardship grants for dental assistance? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Housing: What advice has she sought, if any, on the impact of rising interest rates on housing costs? ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister of Health: What improvements have been made in Taranaki for patients requiring renal services? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: Is the emergency department qualifying attendance data published by Health New Zealand this week different from the corrected ED data that she advised the House on 14 March 2023 was the correct data; if so, what are the differences? NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: What announcements has he made regarding funding for world-class public media? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister of Police: What recent reports has she seen on the composition of the Police workforce across New Zealand? SIMON WATTS to the Minister of Local Government: What has been the total departmental expenditure to date on Three Waters, and is he confident it has represented good value for money? NICOLE McKEE to the Minister of Police: Is she concerned that increasing fees for a new firearms licence from $126.50 to $625.60, as proposed in the Arms Regulations: Review of Fees discussion document, will deter potential applicants and encourage the illegal use of firearms, and is she also concerned that increasing the firearms dealers licence fee from $204 to $2,710 annually will impact upon the safe use of firearms within the community? DAN ROSEWARNE to the Minister for Veterans: What recognition and support is the Government giving to veterans as we look towards ANZAC Day? TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Defence: Does he stand by his statement that joining AUKUS "could not compromise our legal obligations and our moral commitment to nuclear-free"; if so, does he think that AUKUS is a threat to a nuclear-free and independent Pacific?