edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
7. Question No. 7—PoliceBRETT HUDSON (National) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 7—PoliceBRETT HUDSON (National): My question is to the Minister of Police. How many police to date—[Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Both sides. Start again please.7. BRETT HUDSON (National) to the Minister of Police: How many police to date have been deployed at Ihumātao and what has been the total cost to date of their deployment?Hon STUART NASH (Minister of Police): Under section 16 of the Policing Act the role of the Minister and the role of police are very clearly defined. Enforcement investigation and prosecution are quite properly the responsibility of the commissioner. This includes a decision to deploy officers to an incident or a dispute. I am advised that the number of staff deployed is operationally sensitive and I'm also advised that to calculate the cost is a huge task that the police were not able to do in time for this question. Brett Hudson: What representations have been made to him about increasing the police presence at Ihumātao and by who?Hon STUART NASH: As mentioned it's a completely operational decision which I would have no input into whatsoever.Brett Hudson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just asked him what representations he'd received. He could have said none or—SPEAKER: Yes and notwithstanding the fact that it's not his responsibility it may be that someone asked him to do something that wasn't his responsibility and he has a responsibility to answer for that.Hon STUART NASH: None.Brett Hudson: Does he think it has been a good use of police resources keeping an eye on the land occupiers at Ihumātao?Hon STUART NASH: What I would say is that the District Commander for Counties Manukau is a woman called Superintendent Jill Rogers. She is an officer of 26 years' experience. I trust her totally to deploy her officers in a way that she sees fit to maintain law and order.Hon Nanaia Mahuta: When approached by the Minister for Māori Development did the Minister support the increase of presence of Māori wardens a voluntary organisation in order to better relate to the community on the issues at Ihumātao?SPEAKER: No—no. There is no responsibility of the Minister of Police for Māori wardens.Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister for Māori Development who asked the question was recently asked a number of questions by Dr Smith for which she did not have ministerial responsibility including negotiations over this very matter which she doesn't have ministerial responsibility for.SPEAKER: Well I think once again I'm being accused of being soft on the Opposition and hard on the Government. I'll just wear that.Brett Hudson: Is he expecting members of the New Zealand Police force to receive any further abuse from the protestors at Ihumātao?Hon STUART NASH: What I would comment on is I think the police have behaved with utmost professionalism and respect in their duties as do all members of the New Zealand Police force up and down this country.Brett Hudson: Will he visit Ihumātao?Hon STUART NASH: No.
5. Question No. 5—Prime MinisterMARK PATTERSON (NZ First) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 5—Prime Minister5. MARK PATTERSON (NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his Government's policies and actions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Acting Prime Minister): Yes and how refreshing it is to have someone finally to hold this Government to account. We stand by reviving mental healthcare and the Wellbeing Commission shut down by National in 2012; cleaning up New Zealand's waterways; restoring funding to New Zealand hospitals and schools; planting a billion trees; a $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund to benefit welfare in real New Zealand not the big end of Queen Street; 100 new locomotives and 900 new wagons; and dare I say 800 more front-line police men and women to make our communities safe.Mark Patterson: What reaction has he seen to the policies of this Government?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: An extraordinary range of reactions actually: most effusive and complimentary and some from most unusual quarters seeking to break the door down to attend—they being provincial members of a certain political party. But it's come from the working-end of town not the big-end banking end of town. The minimum wage has risen and will be further raised to $20 per hour by 2021 while unemployment declines and dare I say it in June 2019 first-home buyers' borrowing outstripped investors for the first time.Mark Patterson: How has this Government increased New Zealand's prosperity; if so how?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: That's a fantastic question. By having a serious understanding of how business works—by having a serious understanding that exports have always been New Zealand's greatest level of dependency and that is why we have taken export revenue in 2017 from $37 billion to as we speak $46 billion. Of course just five years ago the dollar was going at US88c. It's now at US65c which is the reason why smart farmers are cheering from the rooftops about this new Government. Mark Patterson: What are some of the significant recent achievements for seniors? [Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Order! Some of us take this matter very seriously.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well I want to say to certain members including Nick Smith over there that next week there'll be a SuperGold card announcement. We're talking about restoring super fund contributions shut down by the previous Government keeping the age at 65 and doing one thing that other parties in the past have: not ever forgetting that New Zealand seniors built this country and deserve some respect. Hon Grant Robertson: How many questions has he answered from the Opposition since he took over as Acting Prime Minister this week and what explanation would he have for that number?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Alas in the public interest I'm sad to say the answer has been none and I put it down to the old adage Don't go to a gun fight carrying a small knife.""
4. Question No. 4—TransportPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 4—Transport4. PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister of Transport: What progress has he made if any on the Auckland Transport Alignment Project?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): Good news Mr Speaker. Earlier this week I turned the sod on another Auckland Transport Alignment Project project with Auckland mayor Phil Goff. We are transforming the Puhinui rail station into an efficient modern and user-friendly rail and bus interchange. This was only possible because of our landmark fully funded $28 billion Auckland Transport Alignment Project with Auckland Council.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: When will construction be completed?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: This project will be completed within 18 months and it will ease the pressure on Auckland's transport system that events like hosting APEC will create. Work will also start in the coming weeks on upgrading State Highway 20B which runs between the station and the airport and this will also be completed by 2021.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What will this mean for access to Auckland Airport?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well this is one of the transport agency's big priorities in Auckland right now. There will be a bus service using dedicated lanes to begin with and in the future it will become part of a rapid transit route connecting Manukau and Botany with Puhinui and the airport. This means that anyone with access to the rail network will have access to a 10-minute trip to the airport from that station.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What other progress has been made on the Auckland Transport Alignment Project?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well progress includes but is not limited to the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway construction. Construction is due to start soon on the K Road enhancement and cycleway project. Fifteen new electric train units have been ordered and are due to arrive within this financial year. The Albany station park and ride extension is in construction as is safety improvements in the Dome Valley. The detailed design work is under way on the Matakana link road the Eastern Busway is being built as we speak and there's much more to come.
2. Question No. 2—FinanceKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 2—Finance2. KIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): More good news worthy of repeating. Today Stats New Zealand released GDP data for the June quarter. It shows that New Zealand continued to grow with an expansion of 0.5 percent coming in slightly ahead of market expectations and an annual average growth rate of 2.4 percent. GDP per capita was up 0.8 percent from a year ago. I'm also pleased to report to the House that in nominal terms the New Zealand economy reached $300 billion at 30 June which is larger than was forecast at the pre-election fiscal update.Kiritapu Allan: What industries contributed to economic growth in the June quarter?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Statistics New Zealand said that the services industries which are more domestically orientated led GDP growth in June with quarterly growth of 0.7 percent. Our primary industries expanded by 0.7 percent showing solid underlying fundamentals in these parts of our economy. The data today also showed the impact that global economic volatility is having on the economy. Our manufacturing sector is the most exposed to what is going on in the rest of the world and activity in New Zealand's goods-producing industries was down by 0.2 percent in the quarter. It's worth noting that our goods-producing industries are up though 1.8 percent from a year ago which does highlight the resilience of those who work in these industries.Kiritapu Allan: How does New Zealand's growth rate compare to the rest of the world?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We all know that New Zealand has a small open economy that makes a living from selling things to the rest of the world so it is important to keep our relative position to the rest of the world in context. It's pleasing to see that on comparable figures our June quarter growth from a year ago is stronger than Australia Canada the European Union Japan the UK and the OECD average. While we are facing global headwinds the New Zealand economy has strong underlying fundamentals.Hon Paul Goldsmith: How does New Zealand's per-person growth compare with the OECD average?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Our per capita growth that we have in this quarter of 0.8 percent is indeed lower than we would want it to be but that's because we have to turn around nine long years of not having an economic strategy based on productivity or sustainability; rather we have the member's prescription of increasing house prices and increasing population.
Tinetti Jan; Rurawhe AdrianEDUCATION (SCHOOL DONATIONS) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed from 17 September.JAN TINETTI (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. Oh here we go again: the last speaker of this particular bill will be going at the time that the House will close tonight—never mind. I think this bill is an absolutely fabulous bill. As I said the other night this bill might be a short bill but it has huge positive implications for the sector—[Interruption] Actually I want to address that because we've got an Opposition that's laughing over there because I said a short bill". Actually I wonder what their definition of a short bill is that they think that they have to laugh at that—that it's two pages long or what is it that they don't actually understand about the fact that the bill is a short bill?The fact is that they are actually opposing this bill on things that are actually out of the scope of this bill. I don't think they actually understand the bill as it's written at this moment. All of the previous speakers' opposition to the bill in this debate was about stuff that's actually not in the scope of this particular bill. I think the Opposition are actually very confused on this bill.This particular bill is about the recovery of grants that are given to schools if they do unlawfully charge for donations to their parents. That is what this bill is about. It is not about the deciles that that Opposition is opposing this bill on. In fact that is their main opposition: stuff that's not out of scope. It is scaremongering because we did hear in the Minister's opening address on this third reading that this is only just the beginning. The deciles 1 to 7 part of the scheme itself which isn't in this bill is just the beginning. The next part and the next phase will be to engage with the deciles 8 to 10 schools to have them included in this when funding allows. So it's very interesting that we have an Opposition that is very confused about what is actually the content of this bill even though we moved through it very very clearly in select committee.Now I've actually really enjoyed engaging with principals around the country on this particular bill both principals who are for it—and the majority are because we have 70 percent of our principals and our schools that are actually going to be eligible to go into it: 70 percent. Again I'll point that out to the Opposition that that's higher than 50 percent when we hear the Opposition saying the majority are against it—70 percent.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): I'm sorry to interrupt the member but this debate is interrupted—[Interruption] Order! I'm on my feet. This debate is interrupted and is set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 24 September 2019.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 6 p.m."
Brown Simeon; Rurawhe AdrianSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Mr Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to take a call on the Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill.National opposes this piece of legislation for a number of reasons but first and foremost because this is a piece of legislation which simply does nothing. Simply it just rearranges the deckchairs; merges a few Government departments. It seems to be something which could have easily been put together by one of those working groups. They've got 300-and-something. It's also bereft of any ambition. There is no ambition in this at all and this is a Government which has failed on housing and has failed on its ambition. They came into the election saying they were going to build 100000 houses. There's no mention of 100000 houses anywhere in this piece of legislation. Now they've said We're not even going to have a target. We're just going to build as many as we can." Well they've managed to build 286 in—how long?—two years since they came into office and that's simply a failure for the New Zealanders that they say they've got so much compassion for.The other point is that this bill is half-baked. This bill actually requires a companion bill to be introduced later in 2019 to give this new mega-housing bureaucracy the ability to have some of the powers that I hope it's going to have. Well where is that piece of legislation? When's it coming to the House? And what is it actually going to do for housing? This is a half-baked piece of legislation. They can't even do their housing policy by putting it all in one piece of legislation and bringing it to this Parliament and asking Parliament to look at this issue as a whole. The real issue that this Parliament needs to be addressing is the reform of the Resource Management Act which this Government has simply kicked down the road with another working group seeking to put that issue on the back-burner when they should have come into Government and actually looked to address the issues they said they wanted to address. This is a Government without any vision without any ambition and it is failing to deliver for New Zealanders; whereas the private sector is out there building tens of thousands of houses every single year. This Government has run out of ideas within only two years of coming to office. We will not support this bill. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): This is a split call. [Interruption] Order! This is a split call—five minutes Kiritapu Allan."
Stanford EricaERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays): Thank you Mr Speaker. Wow New Zealand First have come alive haven't they? Mr Clayton Mitchell spoke with such passion about this new plan that's going to deliver us to the promised land—this bill with apparently magic functions that we don't know about. Mr Mitchell really has taken a leaf out of the Prime Minister's book with his fluff-speak. He used it to great effect in his speech which was mostly waffle where he talked about values ethics and morals. All this bill does is rearrange the deckchairs and let's not forget that one of those deckchairs actually completely collapsed—it's completely broken. Phil Twyford sat in it and it collapsed. That's the KiwiBuild deckchair. Mr Mitchell at the end did note that this is a step in the right direction. Well I tell you what it's more of a shuffle to the left than any move forward. I'm not going to take too long on my speech today because what needs to be said has already been well canvassed by speakers before me so I'll keep my contribution succinct and to the point. As my colleagues have pointed out and we've touched on in previous speeches all this bill does is merge Housing New Zealand HLC and the KiwiBuild unit an unusual and a weak sort of cocktail mix of failures and one good performer. As Mr Scott Simpson mentioned in his speech before me—Hon Scott Simpson: Very good speech.ERICA STANFORD: —very good speech—the National Party is not fundamentally opposed to the creation of an urban development authority but what we are not sold on is the idea of somehow merging these entities together especially given the spectacular failure of KiwiBuild and the fact that the overwhelming majority of housing is developed by the private sector. The Labour-led Government took seven years to develop the failed KiwiBuild policy that they completely botched. They've pushed social housing wait-lists to record highs; they've failed to build houses that are in the right place that are needed; and they've kicked the can down the road for Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. Where Labour could be delivering meaningful reform in this area with this bill all they're doing is putting a fancy new bow around a few different agencies and giving it a new name. As Mr Scott Simpson mentioned it's a cheap $2 present and it's not actually achieving much. What we would suggest as a credible alternative is seriously tackling the RMA which we all acknowledge needs overhauling. We need an RMA that brings building costs down that has more effective and accessible planning rules and very importantly that contains the right environmental protections. In contrast this bill is just the same window dressing we've seen that's typical from this Government just like polytechnics—bundle it all together and give it a new name take the assets out of the stand-out performers and hopefully that will magically sort of fix the weak ones. I am very pleased to oppose this bill.
Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading
Hipkins Chris; Kuriger BarbaraTHURSDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2019The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.Karakia.BUSINESS STATEMENTHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Legislation to be considered next week will include the first readings of the Arms Legislation Bill and the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill the committee stage of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) and the third readings of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill and the Education (School Donations) Amendment Bill. Wednesday 25 September will be a members' day.BARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): Thank you Mr Speaker. In response to the Business Statement is the Government planning on progressing the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Bill currently set at No. 22 on the Order Paper before the local body elections on 12 October so that the voters and candidates know the transfer of responsibilities in advance of the election?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Given the Government's very busy programme that is very unlikely.
Wednesday 18 September 2019 - Volume 741
Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill — In Committee—Part 2
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That Part 2 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Part 2 agreed to.Schedule 1 agreed to. Schedule 2A party vote was called for on the question That Schedule 2 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Schedule 2 agreed to.Schedule 3A party vote was called for on the question That Schedule 3 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross. Schedule 3 agreed to.Clause 1A party vote was called for on the question That clause 1 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross. Clause 1 agreed to.Clause 2A party vote was called for on the question That clause 2 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross. Clause 2 agreed to.Bill to be reported without amendment presently.
VoteANDREW FALLOON (National—Rangitata): I move That the question be now put.A party vote was called for on the question That the question be now put.Ayes 56New Zealand National 55; Ross.Noes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.Motion not agreed to.
Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill — In Committee—Part 1
VoteKĀINGA ORA—HOMES AND COMMUNITIES BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Preliminary provisions and establishment of Kāinga Ora—Homes and CommunitiesA party vote was called for on the question That Part 1 be agreed to.Ayes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Noes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Part 1 agreed to.
VoteThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 363 in the name of Andrew Bayly to the amendments on Supplementary Order Paper 362 in his name to Part 2 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments to the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Noes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Amendments to the amendments not agreed to.The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 362 in the name of Andrew Bayly to Part 2 be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 57New Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.Noes 63New Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. Amendments not agreed to.Part 2 agreed to.Schedule 1 agreed to.Schedule 2 agreed to.Clause 1 agreed to.Clause 2 agreed to.Bill to be reported without amendment presently.
New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill — In Committee—Part 2
12. Question No. 12—TransportLAWRENCE YULE (National—Tukituki) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 12—Transport12. LAWRENCE YULE (National—Tukituki) to the Minister of Transport: Does he expect the Civil Aviation Authority to act in an open and transparent manner?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): Yes. My primary expectation of the Civil Aviation Authority is that it is a high performing risk-based regulator focused on the civil aviation system. As part of being a good regulator it should be as open and transparent as it can be given its role.Lawrence Yule: Does he think it open and transparent that the Civil Aviation Authority is withholding information from individuals requesting it when that information is about the individual and the Privacy Commissioner has ruled there is no proper basis for doing so?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: It's very difficult for me to venture any kind of opinion—sensible opinion—on that very vague hypothetical question from the member. If the member wants to be more specific or follow the convention in this House—and that is following a very broad primary to not ask a very specific supplementary and expect a detailed answer—if the member wants to put it down in writing or in a primary I'll be very happy to respond fulsomely.Lawrence Yule: Does the Minister have any concerns that the Civil Aviation Authority would be withholding information when the agencies charged with ensuring transparency and fairness in New Zealand are being blocked?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I expect the Civil Aviation Authority to follow the law and to deliver on its role and my expectation that it does a good job as an aviation safety regulator and like all modern public service organisations it respects the Privacy Act and it acts in an open and transparent manner that it treats people with respect and dignity. As I said in my answer to the previous question if the member's got a particular case he wants to put to me give me the details and I will respond.Lawrence Yule: Has the Minister been briefed by the Civil Aviation Authority CEO Graeme Harris on the reasons why personal and private information is being held from requesters where it has been found that there was no proper basis for doing so?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I'll say again to the member: if he wants to provide the details of an actual case I will respond fulsomely rather than repeatedly asking hypothetical generic questions.Lawrence Yule: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was: have you been briefed on that issue?SPEAKER: Well I certainly haven't been but I think he means Has the Minister been briefed?"Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I haven't been briefed on a matter that lines up with the way the member described it but I will repeat: that is the most generic and abstract kind of question. If the member gives me a proper substantive question I will answer it."
7. Question No.7—ImmigrationKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No.7—Immigration 7. KIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of Immigration: What announcements has the Minister made this week regarding changes to the temporary work visa system?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Minister of Immigration): Yesterday I announced our new single temporary work visa system that will make it easier for good employers to get the workers they need to fill skills shortages while ensuring New Zealanders get opportunities and training and migrant workers are not exploited. Over 25000 businesses and 55000 workers will benefit from these changes. This work complements changes to the vocational training system to fix the skills shortage we inherited from the previous Government.Kiritapu Allan: What does this new system involve?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Our new streamlined system for temporary work visas involves introducing a new employer-led framework that will drive the visa application process introducing compulsory accreditation for all employers seeking to employ foreign workers introducing sector agreements reinstating the ability for lower-paid workers to bring their families to New Zealand replacing the existing skill bands with a simple remuneration threshold aligned to the median wage strengthening the labour market test for lower-paid workers and including skills shortage lists in Auckland Hamilton Wellington Christchurch and Dunedin.Kiritapu Allan: As a birthday present to you how has the business community reacted to this new streamlined visa system?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I have heard it said that some were levitating with happiness" with the good news. The Meat Industry Association and Federated Farmers welcomed it saying "We … acknowledge the government for its compassionate and pragmatic approach [to] reinstating the family entitlement for lower skilled visa holders." The Tourism Industry Association said "These work visa changes support New Zealand tourism employers." The Canterbury chamber of commerce Horticulture New Zealand Business Central and Dairy New Zealand all put out supportive press releases. I don't think I've captured them all—I couldn't keep up."
5. Question No. 5—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 5—Finance5. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements policies and actions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were given and undertaken including the actions to support the film and television industry that supports productions such as Amazon's Lord of the Rings that will bring many direct jobs and spin-off benefits to New Zealand and to the Auckland region in particular. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he stand by his statement in this House that he neither requested nor received any advice on the fiscal risks to the Government and current taxpayers if full and final Treaty settlements were to be reopened?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yes I do. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Well in the absence of such advice how can the Government make a decision in response to news reports today that mana whenua want the private land at Ihumātao returned even though the area has been the subject of a full and final settlement? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member made reference to a question that I had previously answered and while I have great powers I wasn't able to see into the future for today's statement.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Well has he asked for such advice?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Will his Government rule out reopening full and final settlements right now?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: This Government has absolutely no intention of reopening full and final settlements. We're getting on with the process of dealing with the Treaty settlements that are in front of us. Hon Paul Goldsmith: What policies has he put in place to restore confidence to private landowners and other investors following the experience of Fletcher's who have faced months of delays to their plans to build houses on their land—a delay extended by the Prime Minister? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I think all parties involved in this situation were grateful for the intervention of the Prime Minister to provide space to be able to come up with a resolution that all parties could accept. On this side of the House we're about building constructive relationships not attempting to divide people against each other. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has he had a chance to think of one major transport project that the Government has started?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I welcome the opportunity to do this. I could have picked the Awakino tunnel bypass I could have picked Dome Valley I could have picked the Kaeō bridge I could have picked Loop Road I could have picked Ōpōnoni I could have picked State Highway 1 Papakura to Bombay I could have picked Waipapa through the Provincial Growth Fund I could have picked State Highway 10 and Tākaka Hill and many others.
4. Question No. 4—EducationTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 4—Education 4. TAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister of Education: What action is the Government taking to make sure that New Zealand history is taught in schools and kura?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Last week the Government announced that New Zealand history will become a core part of the New Zealand Curriculum. Up until now it's been up to schools and kura to decide how New Zealand history is covered in their schools which quite frankly has been leaving far too much to chance. We've heard the call from all over the country that New Zealanders want to see our history taught in all of our schools and kura and I want to particularly acknowledge the advocacy from the students from Ōtorohanga College and the New Zealand History Teachers' Association who have been raising and campaigning for this for some time.Tamati Coffey: What happens next to make these changes to the New Zealand Curriculum?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The next step is that the Ministry of Education will be working with historical and curriculum experts iwi mana whenua Pacific communities students parents whānau and everybody with an interest in New Zealand history. The changes are intended to ensure that learners are aware of key aspects of New Zealand history and how it has influenced and shaped our nation. There are going to be different viewpoints on the teaching of New Zealand history and it's important to note that this is not about indoctrination or trying to rewrite history; this is about giving learners the opportunity to undertake historical inquiry to study multiple perspectives and different experiences of key events in our history. It's about giving voice to our many rich stories in history that form part of our overall history whether that be good bad or otherwise.Tamati Coffey: Which year levels will be expected to learn New Zealand history from the changes that will be made to the national curriculum?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The changes will cover the entire breadth of the national curriculum so that will include the learning areas in the curriculum which are compulsory from years 1 to 10. From year 11 students will be able to choose from a range of subjects that they take for the NCEA and the review of the NCEA is providing further opportunities for students to learn more about New Zealand history. Tamati Coffey: When will these changes to the national curriculum take effect?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Next year we'll be developing the changes to the curriculum in collaboration with all of the interested parties. I will then be issuing an update to the curriculum in the New Zealand Gazette. We'll then give schools and kura a year to prepare to deliver the changes to the curriculum and they'll be ready to go at the beginning of 2022.
2. Question No. 2—JusticeHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 2—Justice2. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by all his statements policies and actions regarding the cannabis referendum?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice): Yes.Hon Paula Bennett: When will the public know the question for the referendum on legalising recreational cannabis?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In due course.Hon Paula Bennett: When will the public see the draft bill that will set out the regulated framework for legalising recreational cannabis?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Following an appropriate consultation process involving stakeholders including that member and all her party who have agreed to be part of the cross-party group putting together the draft legislation.Hon Paula Bennett: Is he concerned about the conflation of information in the public domain between medicinal and recreational marijuana?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I have noticed some people talking both about recreational use of marijuana and medicinal use of marijuana but I'm equally sure that some of the material that has been put into the public arena such as the two broadcast programmes on TV3 last week the contribution by the Helen Clark Foundation and the contribution by the Drug Foundation means that it would be very clear actually what next year's referendum will be all about.Hon Paula Bennett: How will he ensure that that is clear?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Through a well-run well-organised information campaign that will be supported by the Government.Hon Paula Bennett: Why then as the Minister has stated are Helen Clark the New Zealand Drug Foundation and Patrick Gower all being left to fill the void of information while his Government is failing to provide that information to the public?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: For the member's information the referendum is to be held next year in next year's general election which on best calculations and estimates is likely to be in the latter part of the year. There is plenty of time to complete the development of the draft legislation and the information and the consultation with stakeholders—including that member and her party—and therefore to prepare material to feed into the public debate.Rt Hon Winston Peters: To help the member with respect to the dissemination of information around this referendum will some of the information be in pictures?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We will be looking at all modes of communication including text pictures colouring-in books—whatever helps.Hon Paula Bennett: Wonderful. Which way will he be voting in the referendum to legalise recreational cannabis?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In our country ballots are secret and I will reserve my judgment and keep secret my vote.
Tolley AnneLOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2002 AMENDMENT BILL (NO 2)In Committee Part 1 Amendments to Local Government Act 2002 CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Members we now turn to the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2). The question is that Part 1 stand part. I call the Hon—
Warren-Clark AngieANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): Thank you Madam Chair. Look I'm just going to take another very quick call first and foremost in relation—today is actually the anniversary of the first ever State house built by the Labour Government in 1937. So I think it's really wonderful that we're talking about the Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill today and I have a very simple question to ask the Minister in the chair. As he knows I am on the Environment Committee and at the moment we are working through the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. So I'm making reference to the purpose and content of the Government policy statement which is clause 24(1)(f) and the Minister will see that we have inserted that additional component in there which is how the Government expects Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities to recognise the need to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change."Now the Minister has spoken about this before and questions have been asked. But I would be particularly interested to know whether there is an intention around the Climate Change Commission to be consulted on this matter when the Government policy statement is being planned or how the Minister would go about essentially looking at how climate change is built into the Government policy statement. In my own community of Tauranga of course we are living in a coastal area. We have communities that are ready to be built on which may in fact be in tsunami areas or may be affected by salinisation and the rise of the water table and I'd be particularly interested to know from the Minister how that adaptation and mitigation will be worked in.We are the Environment Committee and so we did put this additional part into the bill and it links absolutely with the multi-decade outlook. So it's going to be I guess quite a difficult task to put and ensure that that mitigation and adaptation is future-focused and looking forward and putting it into the Government policy statement. So that's the substance of my very short call but if the Minister could—Tim van de Molen: Sit down then.ANGIE WARREN-CLARK: Oh I might just stay standing up just for that then—ha ha! It's not very often that I'm asked to sit down and I actually listen. However this—Tim van de Molen: I believe that!ANGIE WARREN-CLARK: Ha ha! Good man; I'm pleased you believe that. However so just to finally summarise: so if the Minister could address that particular component and I guess as well in terms of the one other question I have is around wellbeing. If the term "wellbeing"—which is being built until the Government policy statement—shifts and changes over time how will the Government policy statement be adapted to build that in to our new and developing sense of what wellbeing might be? So thank you Minister."
McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Chair. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this. I've been caught up in meetings throughout this debate; so I'm delighted that it is still going and it gives me the opportunity to ask some questions of the Minister very relevant to this particular part of the bill.I am in particular interested in clause 22 around the Government policy statement (GPS) because I come at it from a Wairarapa perspective. In 1999 the National Government of the time sold every single State house in the Wairarapa region—every single one—and ever since then there has not been a Housing New Zealand presence. So I am intrigued as to the requirement under clause 22 that Ministers may review the GPS at any time. They must review the GPS at intervals that are no more than three years apart. And I would like to know why that is three years and not longer. What provisions within this—Tim van de Molen: We've already had this question. Didn't the member listen to the answer?Dan Bidois: The Minister's already answered this part.KIERAN McANULTY: —specifically around GPS can we possibly be able to include to prevent a future National Government from selling social houses. Now they may make noises but we don't have to look very far to see an example of a National Government selling State houses.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Ruth Dyson): I think what they're actually doing is drawing attention to the comment I made prior to taking your call that the contribution now at a quarter to nine should be fresh and relevant and it hasn't been so far.KIERAN McANULTY: Oh really? Well I'm shocked by that.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Ruth Dyson): I understand—[Interruption] Excuse me. I understand that you did miss the debate which will make it harder for you to know what has already been debated but I can advise you that that point has been. So let's try something new.KIERAN McANULTY: OK OK. Thank you to colleagues across the House for talking about the selling of Wairarapa State houses previously. I appreciate that! The specific mention here in clause 24—I ask the Minister around the overall direction and priorities. Could he please take the opportunity to outline how that provision—the overall direction and priorities—will prevent the sale of State houses in the future? Thank you Madam Chair.
Bidois Dan; Dyson RuthDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): I move That the question be now put.Hon Members: Madam Chair?CHAIRPERSON (Hon Ruth Dyson): The debate needs to be relevant. It needs to be fresh. It needs to ask the Minister genuine questions if further calls are being taken.
van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (Third Whip—National): I move That the question be now put.
Coffey TamatiTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki): Thank you Madam Chair. Just speaking to Part 2 of this bill there was a lot of discussion around the part of the bill which deals with the information-gathering powers of the commission. In fact it was brought up through the various submissions that came in through about 10 of our local bodies around the country 10 local government organisations—Auckland Council Hamilton City Council Watercare Services Ltd Whanganui District Council and the Society of Local Government Managers. A series of them all put forward in their submissions that actually clause 23 of the bill be reset to include local government within the scope of the information-gathering powers. Now we did toil over that for quite some time. We sought advice from officials but actually we thought that it was a pretty sensible thing to do. So in our report back during this committee of the whole House stage it's that little part that I just wanted to focus on because it's an essential part actually the ability for the commission to be able to gather information about New Zealand's infrastructure. Some of that information is obviously held here at central government level but actually much of that is held at local government level. So the strategy the planning functions the development of the long-term infrastructure strategy report—all of that is going to rely on the current infrastructure and knowledge and information about the current infrastructure in order to be able to chart a pathway forward and decide where exactly the Infrastructure Commission should be setting its direction. There was something in there as well to make sure that we were going to extend the privacy protections for personal information so that was a wee bit of a carve-out that we were quite sure that we wouldn't be delving into the private lives of people; that actually individuals would be safeguarded from the information-gathering powers. But when it came to the information-gathering powers it is absolutely necessary and it was widely accepted around the table—Local Government New Zealand came and presented to the committee and were united in their voice when they said that they needed to be included specifically in clause 23. Subpart 5 of Part 2 of the bill empowers also the commission to request and obtain information relevant to its functions from Government departments other than the GCSB and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. Those for very obvious reasons were carved out but we would need to find information from departmental agencies from the New Zealand Defence Force and from statutory entities named in Schedule 1 of the Crown Entities Act that being Crown agents autonomous Crown entities and independent Crown entities as well. The actual structure of the commission was set up to make sure as we've said before that we've got a very strong pipeline of infrastructure projects and the inclusion of local government into that is absolutely as part of that wider conversation. Thank you Madam Chair.
New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill — In Committee—Part 1
Coffey TamatiTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki): Thank you Mr Chair. And also thank you to the Minister for Infrastructure for bringing this bill to the House. This is a combined effort of course from the Minister for Infrastructure Minister of Finance Minister of Transport and also of the Minister of Housing and Minister for Urban Development. This has been a collaboration. Andrew Bayly: And the National Party.TAMATI COFFEY: This has been a collaboration between all parties in the House and as someone that sat on the Finance and Expenditure Committee we pored over the bill and it's widely accepted not just throughout the practitioners out there in the field but also around our committee room table that actually this is a really good thing and it's a positive thing for New Zealand.Can I say we're a little bit late to the table. Why—because our Australian cousins got there a wee bit before us. Infrastructure Australia was set up in 2008 Infrastructure New South Wales in 2011 Infrastructure Victoria in 2015 Building Queensland in 2015 Infrastructure South Australia last year and Infrastructure Western Australia is expected to be set up this year.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): None of which is in Part 1.TAMATI COFFEY: That's OK. What the community expectation is is that we are better than our neighbours. We're better than our Australian counterparts. So there is that expectation that we deliver when it comes to infrastructure.And what is infrastructure? Well in Part I clause 3 infrastructure means physical infrastructure that is in New Zealand or that results in services in New Zealand". What's an infrastructure project? It includes the creation of new infrastructure and the maintenance upgrading replacement decommissioning or removal of existing infrastructure. Isn't that good? It basically means that infrastructure is this huge gambit really. There's a lot that falls under the umbrella of infrastructure projects—everything from roads to ports to airports railways energy education our hospitals and our social services as well. Infrastructure is something that Māori absolutely need to be consulted on as this process happens as this commission goes forward. Everything to do with air land water is absolutely at the heart of what we as Māori feel is part of us intrinsically part of us. So the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill has come before our committee. Part 1 has been a delight to go over and for that reason I'll just finish by saying that it's been good to see both sides of the House supporting it and hearing the contributions from the other side. I look forward to Part 2."