Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:672;Page:18697] 
5. 
NICKY WAGNER (National) 
 to the  
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery 
: What reports has he received on progress made to provide winter heating for residents affected by the Canterbury earthquakes? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) 
: 
 I have been informed this morning that 3935 priority claims for winter heating appliances were completed by close of play yesterday. Installation is now progressing at about 120 appliances per day. Well over 4000 priority claims should be completed by the end of this week. 
Nicky Wagner 
: How does the winter heating programme assist the most vulnerable residents? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The winter heating programme works with homes where the primary heat source has been taken out by actions of the earthquake or as a consequence of earthquake damage. Heating is restored through the provision of a heat pump or a solid-fuel burner. The programme is prioritised to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people first so there has been a concerted effort to identify cases involving illness old age pregnancy disability and other relevant factors. It takes about 2 weeks to get a heat pump once an assessment is made and about 8 weeks before a solid-fuel burner can be fitted. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: What assurances can he give stressed and cold Canterbury families who are in the priority case list that they will have their promised heater installed—all of them—by the end of winter given that he made a commitment that all those on the priority list would have their heating installed and operational by the middle of May and reiterated that commitment to cross-party members as late as last Tuesday? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: None of those assertions is true. 
Brendon Burns 
: Is the Minister aware of priority cases such as the Hawker family in my electorate which includes a terminally ill woman and has been asking without success for a new woodburner or even a flue and can he confirm that the family is among more than 22000 households who have lodged a claim for heating assistance since September and that to date only 3935 have been assisted? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The total number was 19000-plus. Of those many have cash-settled. A number of others have been found not to have the same urgency of need. Approximately 9600 were then on that list less the number that I gave to the House before—3935. So progress is being made. As for the Hawker family if the member can give me more details I will make some inquiries. I note that the member managed to put those people on television and talk about them in his daily news brief but appears not to have talked to the Earthquake Commission to Fletcher’s or to my office. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I seek leave to table a document that shows that less than half of the heating appliances— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Before we go into the detail of the document what is the source of the document? 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: The document is not available to all members. It is the Canterbury earthquake recovery cross-party forum weekly update dated 10 May 2011 supplied in person by the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery last Tuesday. Is that enough detail? It states that less than half of the heat pumps that were promised to be installed—if I summarise—by the middle of May have not been installed. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought— 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is being sought. 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it is necessary to clarify. The member stated “if I summarise”. I think that means he is interpreting the document. I can assure the House— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We can’t have this. If the member does not think the document should be tabled he has the right to deny leave. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No we will put leave to table the document. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am putting leave to the House to ask whether members wish to have this document tabled. Is there any objection? Some members are telling me there is no objection and some are calling out that there is objection. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am dealing with the leave that is being sought. I will take the call from the senior portion of the party. There is no objection. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Much as my colleagues want to have the document tabled I think there is a really important parliamentary principle here. There are two parts to it: one Mr Henare has rights as a backbench member; two you are not allowed to put the same question twice in that way. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member is absolutely correct. Any member has the right to object. Therefore to avoid confusion I will put the leave again. Leave is sought—[ 
Interruption 
] I will overturn my ruling that the document could be tabled. I will put it again. Leave is sought to table this document. Is there any objection? There is objection. It will not be tabled. I apologise to members and the Hon Trevor Mallard. He is absolutely correct. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask for advice given that leave has been denied by a member contrary to his Minister. I am happy to hand this document across the Table to the Minister— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is definitely not a point of order. The member is stretching his good fortune now. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Of course if the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery wanted to he could table— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order either and this nonsense will now cease. I have accepted—[ 
Interruption 
] We do not need further points of order right now from anyone. I accept that it was my—[ 
Interruption 
] I am on my feet and there will be no further comment. I accept that I was in error in not accepting the objection earlier. I accept in good grace that I was wrong. I have apologised for that and we will now move on. 
Brendon Burns 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In the Minister’s response to my question earlier he asserted that neither I nor my office had made approaches in respect of— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order and we will not waste more time of the House on matters that are not points of order—that is if members want to stay in the House. That applies to both sides of the House. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I apologise Mr Speaker. You might anticipate what the member— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member should resume his seat. He is now starting to argue with the rulings I have made and I will not tolerate that any further. I could hear exactly what the member was saying; he was starting to question what a Minister had said. He should not do that by way of point of order. That is not done by way of point of order. If someone has misled the House there are other ways of approaching that but not by way of point of order. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The point of order will be heard in silence. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It has long been the right of members to seek to table in this House representations that indicate that Ministers have not answered questions accurately. I think that is what the member was doing. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat. What might have been practice in the past is certainly not practice today. Question time is not about a member making a statement and a Minister making a statement in reply then members seeking to table documents especially documents from newspapers to try to prove whose point was the more correct. That is not what question time is about and we will not revert back to that kind of nonsense. I warn members that I am not to be trifled with any further on this matter or some members will be leaving the House. We are moving on to question No. 6 unless a totally different issue is emerging. 
Brendon Burns 
: I seek leave to make a personal explanation to the House. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to make a personal explanation. Is there any objection to that course of action? There is none. 
Brendon Burns 
: In the course of the Minister’s response to my question today he asserted that I had not made inquiries on behalf of my constituents. I have rung my office and confirmed that inquiries on behalf of my constituents the Hawker family in respect of their not having had appropriate heating were made yesterday immediately after the TV3 story appeared on Sunday evening. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Not wishing to get into other matters I simply ask for a degree of consistency. You questioned my colleague about questioning a Minister and using question time as a form of debate. I simply ask for consistency. When I rose to take a point of order that member then took a further point of order to reinterpret what I had said. I simply point that out and ask for some consistency. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We are not going to waste further time. If the member thinks I am being inconsistent that is his view but he may have noted that I sat the Hon Gerry Brownlee down once I heard what he was doing by way of his point of order while I was putting the leave. I sat him down.