edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
10. Question No. 10—HealthTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 10—Health10. TAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister of Health: How has close-contact tracing work progressed for the five confirmed cases of COVID-19?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): I'm advised that all known close contacts of the five confirmed cases have now been contacted. Daily contact is being maintained by Auckland Regional Public Health Service. As of yesterday 193 close contacts have been traced and contacted and given advice on self-isolation; 763 casual contacts have been contacted by Auckland Regional Public Health Service. This is what good public health practice looks like. I want to thank all those who are working on contact tracing to help protect the public.Tamati Coffey: Are all close contacts now in self-isolation and how are they being supported?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm advised that all close contacts have been told to go into self-isolation. They are checked in with daily. These phone calls are being done by Auckland Regional Public Health Service and include symptom checks. In addition close contacts are provided with Healthline contact details and links to the Ministry of Health and Auckland Regional Public Health websites for additional information.Tamati Coffey: What additional work has been done with people who may have come into casual contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As of yesterday afternoon 763 casual contacts had been contacted. Expert advice is that these people don't need to be in self-isolation but do need to be alert to the symptoms of COVID-19 and get in touch with Healthline or phone their GP if they have any concerns. Auckland Regional Public Health Service have a team of people that support public and medical queries and a case and contact team to respond to queries. In addition Healthline contact details are available on the MOH—Ministry of Health—and Auckland Regional Public Health Service websites for people to access additional information.Hon Michael Woodhouse: How many of the close contacts that the Minister referenced were identified from the mosh pit at the Tool concert last week?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As the member knows those people who were in that situation have been identified as casual contacts.
8. Question No. 8—SeniorsJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister for SeniorsQuestion No. 8—Seniors8. JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister for Seniors: What actions is she taking to promote the use of the SuperGold card in regional New Zealand?SPEAKER: She's sending me on a trip is she?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Seniors): Ha! On Monday I was in Nelson to mark the start of an initiative to boost the SuperGold card in both the Nelson and Manawatū-Whanganui regions. Yesterday approximately 5000 people in Nelson and 17000 in the Manawatū-Whanganui area were emailed to let them know about the SuperGold discounts and offers close to them. These are the first two areas where specific dedicated regional pages have been created on the SuperGold website so that the cardholders can more easily see how they can stretch their dollar in businesses just around the corner. In Nelson for example there are around 200 businesses offering SuperGold deals and discounts and in the Manawatū-Whanganui that figure is closer to 500. This Government is dedicated to helping our 65-pluses get the best value from their SuperGold card via the new app and the website.Jenny Marcroft: How have New Zealand's over-65s reacted to the SuperGold app and website? Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I think some of those people who are cynical about older people's use of technology would be surprised. We know that around half of our 65-pluses use smartphones and over half a million use the internet. More than 108000 people have now downloaded the SuperGold app and there have been well over 340000 visits to the upgraded website since 1 October when these were launched by myself and the Rt Hon Winston Peters. We are going to continue to upgrade and make improvements to both the app and the website to continue to ensure they are both user-friendly. I want to ensure that every SuperGold cardholder knows that there are opportunities close to them to gain a discount regardless of where they live in New Zealand. It's also a way of reminding people that the app is here it's easy to download and it was designed with over-65-year-olds to ensure that it is easy to use. Jenny Marcroft: What has the reaction from business been? Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Again it's been exceptionally positive. There are 775000 consumers who are over 65 years old—775000 consumers who have a SuperGold card. The businesses I talk to recognise that the card the website and the app provide them with a great way of reaching this group. During the process of revitalising the card and building the app 500 new businesses signed up to provide SuperGold offers and another 117 have joined since 1 October. There will be a business recruitment campaign in April and May and I'm hoping that this will see more firms join the SuperGold family. SPEAKER: What—no more?
6. Question No. 6—Social DevelopmentPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Social DevelopmentQuestion No. 6—Social Development6. PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Social Development: What steps has the Ministry of Social Development taken to support the Government's response to COVID-19?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has already stood up rapid response teams in the four most impacted regions: the East Coast Waikato Northland and Bay of Plenty regions. Additional teams will be stood up in additional regions before the end of the week including Auckland; Central; Nelson Marlborough and West Coast; Southern; and Taranaki King Country and Whanganui. These teams are actively contacting employers and working with them to support their staff explain the services and supports MSD can offer and provide support for clients affected by COVID-19. We have also agreed to the temporary removal of stand-down periods from 23 March. This will ensure faster access to financial assistance for those that apply and are eligible for a main benefit. As I said in the House yesterday my focus has been on ensuring that MSD remains poised and ready to support those who are able to stay in work find alternative work or enter into further upskilling and training if and when required.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What other steps has MSD taken to support the Government's response to COVID-19?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: MSD continues to work closely with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to develop a wage subsidy for employers as announced by the Prime Minister on Monday. Further advice will be provided to Ministers by the end of this week for discussion at Cabinet on Monday. MSD is also working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and MBIE to explore redeployment options to support people who have been displaced or have reduced hours to work in other local industries. MSD continues to work alongside other Government departments as a key agency supporting the Government's response to COVID-19.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Why is this important?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Ensuring that the welfare system is fit for purpose which includes supporting people during adverse events by addressing financial hardship and supporting people into work or upskilling and training is top of my agenda as Minister for Social Development. It's important to note that the additional measures I've mentioned also build on this Government's investments in previous years to enhance income adequacy and support people into work through the indexation of main benefits the lift in abatement rate thresholds and increasing work-focused case management. All of these measures combined mean that in an adverse event such as the outbreak of COVID-19 the welfare system is better placed to support New Zealanders that might need our help.
Shaw JamesHon JAMES SHAW (Minister for Climate Change): Thank you Madam Speaker. First of all I just wanted to say congratulations to Hamish Walker on having this bill pulled. I know that the odds are against it and it's always pretty good particularly if you're a first-term MP to get a member's bill drawn from the ballot. Of course it is also quite disappointing when it gets voted down on first reading which is probably what's about to happen. This is an appropriate topic for a member's bill. It's got a very tight focus. It deals with a real problem and I do think it is a real problem. I agree with Mark Mitchell that it is serious and it needs to be taken seriously. It's a case of emerging technology that's being used and abused and is putting people's lives at risk. I have a personal story of this actually not in an aeroplane but just at home. Someone was shining one of these lasers through the windows of my house late one night and the risk of course was that it would blind either me or my wife who were both up in the house at that moment. Of course we could sort of identify roughly the position of where the person was who was shining the laser into the house and I sort of went out on to the deck and the person disappeared.Here's the thing. If that person had known that the penalty was double would they have still done it? My answer would be Well yes." That person who was shining that laser and didn't actually know what the existing penalty was wouldn't have known that doubling would have made any difference. Hon Mark Mitchell: How do you know that James?Hon JAMES SHAW: So when you have—well I didn't get a chance to ask him and that speaks to the question around enforceability Mr Mitchell but I'll come back to the question around enforceability. The issue with this bill is that every time you do something like this you have to ask yourself the question: if we do this will it fix the problem? And I'm afraid that this bill fails on that test. Just doubling the penalties is not going to stop people from shining lasers up at pilots. Getting rid of the lasers that would stop people from shining them into aeroplanes. The other issue of course is the issue of enforceability which is we can have these reported incidents when they're reported from an aeroplane but you're not actually going to get a sense of whether or not you can actually catch that person at all. And the fact that there have been 117 incidents reported but no enforcement of the existing law suggests that merely doubling the rates wouldn't improve that.Debate interrupted.Sitting suspended from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Thursday)"
Tolley AnneDEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to. And I just remind members that they should not be reading speeches. I didn't interrupt the member but really its members' day these are their bills and they should be able to deliver a 10-minute speech on their bill without actually reading it.
Hayes JoanneJOANNE HAYES (National): What can you say to that eh? Ten minutes of fluffing around but well done to you—well done to you! Great. You've done the best speech tonight—you've done the best speech tonight. Mine is going to be so very short because every aspect of this bill has been traversed tonight and a lot of other areas that had nothing to do with this bill. But I just want to congratulate my colleague Dr Parmjeet Parmar for this wonderful bill and I commend it to the House. Thank you.Bill read a second time.
Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill — Second Reading
Yule LawrenceLAWRENCE YULE (National—Tukituki): It's with pleasure I rise as a member of the hard-working highly organised professional Opposition. Unlike Raymond Huo the previous speaker I've never been on the Justice Committee and therefore I won't be talking about anything that is on the Justice Committee. I'm going to talk about this bill which is the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill.This side of the House is supporting it obviously because it's come from one of our fine members Parmjeet Parmar. She's brought it up. She's worked with her local community and understood over time that there's something wrong in the way the accounting standards are being used. Effectively tonight we are seeking to make right something that has been wrong. And really what this is about is entities that provide wonderful services and facilities in Auckland that are not run for a profit—so the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) do require people to prepare reports in accordance with the generally accepted accounting practice (GAAP).But the point of this is that IFRS really was set up for profit-making entities and therefore the entities that we're talking about—the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust Surf Life Saving Northern Region and others—are really in the wrong place. Effectively those entities have been charged with preparing two sets of accounts or if not they are in breach with either IFRS or GAAP.So this bill basically says that you can effectively replace the requirement to use IFRS and you can prepare accounts according to the generally accepted accounting practice. This will remove cost and effort and hassle and importantly mean that these entities are compliant with the law. It does require some validation some retrospective validation and the Governance and Administration Committee looked at that. We sought advice on whether that was appropriate. The advice from the officials was that it was an appropriate thing to be done. No harm had been done by what had happened up until now. It might have been a technical breach but no financial material change had occurred. So for that reason the committee accepted it.The other thing that is important here is many of these are run as charities and as charities they are required to prepare financial statements according to the generally accepted accounting practice. So once we've done this they will be compliant with the generally accepted accounting practice for charities. There'll be no requirement to do two sets of accounts and this will save time money and effort for the charities involved to get on with the work with which they're charged with doing. We support this bill.
Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Helensville): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. It's not every day of the week that one gets to speak to a private bill—but it does give me an opportunity as a pedant to point out that the phrase private member's bill" is an incorrect one. So we've got members' bills we've got private bills but a private member's bill—there is no such thing. [Interruption] That's right Mr Scott. The equivalent in radio transmission terms is that irritating phrase "over and out". One finishes one's transmission and says "over" meaning that it's the turn for the next person or one says "out" and that means one's finishing. Anyhoo moving on. This is a private bill as I say the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill and I was interested to read the Governance and Administration Committee report noting the breadth of submitters. One particularly caught my eye the Surf Life Saving Northern Region. They're in my patch in force and I would like to recognise their contribution rescuing actually a couple of different bits of legislation this week as well as many souls off the West Coast and elsewhere. They also submitted to a different select committee earlier in this week on a different piece of legislation so kudos to them. Others have mentioned submitters including the New Zealand Opera. They seem to have been singing off the same song sheet and the Stardome meaning that we could say that the support is almost universal. So we come to the main purpose of the bill which is really to align in the area of accounting standards. I must admit that until tonight that represented a bit of a gap in my knowledge and the Hansard folk can decide how they wish to spell that—perhaps as the acronym GAAP for generally accepted accounting practice. It seems to be pretty clear across the House that that's—well it's generally accepted that's a worthwhile thing to do for these various amenities to prepare their books in that way. It's not every day you get to do a good accounting joke or even a bad one but I say it's been recognised. It's worth throwing in every now and then for the sake of balance. It's also been marked down in the ledger by a couple of colleagues and I'm indebted to them. I'll conclude by just—Hon Members: Argh!Alastair Scott: He'll be finished soon. Don't worry.CHRIS PENK: Yes I'm about to be struck off I think. Anyway on a more serious note and in an area in which I'm at least a little less inexpert: retrospective validation. Well this doesn't seem to disadvantage anyone who had been relying on the rules so that's not a bad thing in itself and in fact the overall effect of the bill is very positive as others have noted. I also support this bill."
Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to take a short call on behalf of the Green Party in support of the National Party member Parmjeet Parmar's private bill the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill and to congratulate her on the successful progress of the legislation as well as the introduction of it.The House is in unanimous support it seems of this—as I think was described by the member herself—quite technical bill. It's addressing an identified problem in Auckland for the Auckland regional amenities—and there's a range of those from as we've heard the observatory to the Auckland Festival Trust and the Auckland Regional Rescue Helicopter Trust—where the way the legislation is currently being set up they're being required to comply with the Charities Act which uses and requires them to put in financial reports at a particular time of year according to a non-profit—I think the shorthand is GAAP—generally accepted accounting practice but the legislation also requires them to put in accounts at a separate time of year according to International Financial Reporting Standards. Primarily those reporting standards are for for-profit agencies and don't fit neatly for not-for-profit organisations and all of the amenities are not-for-profit organisations.So this legislation means they can just put in the one set of accounts that reflect the nature of their organisations and the select committee's consideration of this—and the member Deborah Russell well traversed the submissions in her contribution—is that there is very clear support for this legislation from everyone. The committee I guess found out through that process that while this was the legal requirement quite a few of the organisations were not—and they were just complying in terms of the Charities Act and putting in their accounts which was very sensible but we don't want that uncertainty for people and we want people to be able to comply with the law and for that to make sense. And this piece of legislation enables that. So we support it.
Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): Thank you Mr Speaker. Of course I rise in support of this private bill in the name of Dr Parmjeet Parmar—absolutely fabulous colleague and a hard-working list MP that has brought this bill to the Parliament to fix up on behalf of these amenities that need this to save them time and save them cost.But may I begin by saying that it's an absolute pleasure to be back on the Governance and Administration Committee after announcing that I won't be seeking re-election. I started my political career in 2014 as the deputy chair of the Government Administration Committee—I think too with you Mr Chair on that select committee. It's a great select committee—such a breadth of information and what Dr Jian Yang doesn't understand is that there's probably going to be a bit of a coup d'état because I've never been chair of that committee and so he'd better watch himself because it's quite a powerhouse select committee. And of course no wonder this bill was referred to that select committee.We've heard the bill and what it does traversed quite significantly and I think my colleague Dr Parmjeet Parmar set it out very very well. She set out the background. She set out the need for why the bill was so necessary and then talked about the ramifications and while bills are not always exciting they are of course necessary and this is to save time and cost to these organisations that are out there providing benefit to the Auckland community.So look the purpose of this bill quite succinctly is that it removes from the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act 2008 the requirement that specified amenities prepare financial statements according to the New Zealand International Financial Reporting Standards and to allow for specified amenities to prepare a single set of financial statements that comply with generally accepted accounting practices. And that as I said before is going to save time and cost and angst to the people that are involved in these organisations. So let them get on with the job let them get on with providing benefit to the Auckland community and let's make it easier for them. And with that I support this bill.
Election Access Fund Bill — Third Reading
Yule LawrenceLAWRENCE YULE (National—Tukituki): It's a pleasure to rise and speak to the Election Access Fund Bill and I want to first of all acknowledge and congratulate Mojo Mathers who's sitting behind me I understand in the gallery because it took a lot of courage. I remember the debates and the news articles at the time and the cost and all the things that were incurred which was really difficult. But as we stand here tonight across this Parliament there is universal agreement that this is the thing to do. I wholeheartedly support it and I wish to thank Chlöe Swarbrick for what she has done and for the maturity sometimes I would say beyond her years of getting everybody together—Chlöe Swarbrick: Thanks Dad"! LAWRENCE YULE: —you know—to get everybody in the room to agree and I've watched her come into the meetings and get agreement. I think this place would be by far the better place if we had as broad a section of society as we could including good and participatory representation from the disabled community. Anything we do to go towards that I think is very worthwhile. I also would be very supportive in the future of taking this into the local government realm because I think that is the next stage. We couldn't do it this time but it should be done in the future. This is a complete no-brainer. It's taken a lot of work to get here but I am happy to commend this bill to the House."
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to take a short call on the Election Access Fund Bill in its third reading. I too just want to acknowledge the sponsor of the bill Chlöe Swarbrick. We see eye to eye on so many issues in particular this issue. I also want to acknowledge former Green Party MP Mojo Mathers who was instrumental in putting forward this issue which this Parliament is now unanimously supporting. I'm really proud to be a member of Parliament on days like today when we do unanimously support pieces of legislation which make a practical impact on people's lives.One of the really interesting things about this bill is it's not just about people who are standing as candidates to be members of this Parliament but actually people who are putting their names forward to be candidates in the party processes or candidate selection processes. We've all had to go through those processes as candidates to be selected by our respective parties and we all know how difficult those processes can be and the fact that this bill will also support those with disabilities to be able to access this fund and to be able to put their name forward to represent their party and then their community is something which I'm particularly proud of. So I commend this bill to the House. Thank you very much.
Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity to take a brief contribution on the Election Access Fund Bill. We hear a lot about a representative Parliament—a Parliament that represents all of New Zealand. Tonight we're seeing some action around that and I'd like to acknowledge Chlöe Swarbrick for taking a stand and also Mojo Mathers before her.I was privileged to be part of the Governance and Administration Committee for a brief period of time when Chlöe Swarbrick was working on this bill. Look she's certainly done a great job bringing this to the Parliament and I'm excited to speak on the third reading. This is a victory for democracy and it's a victory for inclusion in New Zealand. We've sort of heard a lot of the content of the bill from various speakers so I'll probably finish my contribution there. But I'd just like to reiterate: we hear a lot of talk but tonight we've seen practical action and it's really encouraging to see that so well done.
Seymour David; Dyson RuthDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Well thank you very much Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT in support of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. I'd like to congratulate Chlöe Swarbrick—not a bad effort for an MP to get a member's bill through in their rookie term in Parliament and for a very noble cause. I should thank my colleagues in the National Party for letting me speak on this. I didn't have a call in this debate but I wanted to speak on it because I think it's an important issue.I believe that it is important that we have equal opportunity in circumstances where we're disadvantaged for reasons beyond our control. And it's not because members of my family have lived and live with disability; it's a belief in the role of Government—that when we are faced with risks and faced with situations or disadvantages that we have no way of controlling whatsoever and there's no way to privately insure against them that's actually an area where the Government should provide support. In the case of disability that is an area where I actually think the Government doesn't do enough and should be providing more acute support.I had the experience in the End of Life Choice Bill debate of funding some people with disabilities to come to Wellington and campaign for the bill and the costs involved were absolutely eye-opening and frankly eye-watering for somebody in a wheelchair with their carer to come and engage in our politics. As Chlöe Swarbrick said in her opening speech no doubt many people in that circumstance who either couldn't afford it or didn't have benefactors who were prepared to support them simply wouldn't see representation in Parliament as an option and I think that's wrong. I think that's one area where the State should be an insurer of last resort so I'm supporting this bill first and foremost because it is good public policy but secondly because it is something that makes us a more inclusive humane and compassionate society to put on our statute book that we as a society are committed to helping people participate in our democracy if they have additional challenges that are experienced as absolutely no fault of their own then that's when there's a role for us to help.So well done Chlöe Swarbrick. Thank you Madam Speaker. I commend this bill to the House on behalf of ACT. Thank you.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The next call's a split call—Jamie Strange.
Martin TraceyHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): Kia ora Madam Speaker. My contribution is going to be short. It's not going to be short because I don't care. It's going to be short because actually we need to release those in the gallery at 6 o'clock so that they can celebrate this moment with Chlöe Swarbrick.I want to say two things though before I sit down. The first thing is that Chlöe Swarbrick has shown through her actions around this piece of legislation through the changes made through the collegial way that she has worked with those from different political poles how to bring members together and how to work together constructively—and even at times to compromise because that's how the world works—to make sure that the goal to improve the world has been achieved.I particularly want to ask the Young Greens and other young political parties to recognise what Chlöe has done and to acknowledge that it's hard work but you have to keep doing it because in the real world you've got to play with others. So I want to acknowledge Chlöe and her persistence but her true maturity around the way that she has worked this through.The other thing I want to do is I want to acknowledge Mojo Mathers in the gallery. I want to say that I remember when Mojo came and I remember the fight she had to put up to find the resources to actually do her job the job she had been elected to do. I remember New Zealand First when it came to our caucus saying We'll take a cut in our party budget if everybody else does too to make sure that Mojo has the technology that she needs." The Speaker at the time managed to find the cash at the end of the day so we were all good.But now I say to the parliamentary precinct you need to prepare for the inevitable. It cannot be that now that we pass this piece of legislation the next person who is differently abled has to come into this House and fight the way that Mojo had to. So let's prepare the precinct for the multitude of diversity that we have among our population so again this House can say that it is a House of Representatives. We endorse the bill."
Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Thank you Madam Speaker. Just before I address the bill could I add my words of condolence to the families and friends of both Jeanette Fitzsimons and Sir Rob Fenwick two very dedicated conservationists environmentalists and very fine New Zealanders. I know all members of this House share a great sense of loss at the passing of two very highly respected people.I thoroughly enjoyed Chlöe Swarbrick's speech and I don't always say that when I listen to her speaking. I'm sure it would be utterly churlish for me to say that I took some pleasure at her invitation to imagine a world in which we couldn't hear her at all. I want to assure her that sometimes I do look forward to hearing her again.Today of course there have been some very sensible and sensitive contributions from across the House in this particular debate so I don't think I need to add much more. I would simply like to endorse the comments that have been made. I do have a very strong personal commitment to supporting disabled New Zealanders to be able to gain access to representation both at the local government level and in the Parliament. I have done everything I can in recent years to support some disabled candidates in my city of Hamilton to achieve representation or election rather to our local authorities. I'll continue to do so until they are successful because I really believe that that will strengthen the quality of our democracy and ensure that they and those who share disabilities have genuine representation.Equally I want to see that happen in this Parliament. I look forward to the day when we see wheelchairs here not just because somebody is showing sensitivity to a paralysed New Zealander but because a paralysed New Zealander has earned the right to be a representative in this Parliament. That goes across a whole gamut of disabilities. It is the next development in the evolution that Dr Nick Smith spoke about before so I hope it will happen in my time. We should all work towards that goal and this bill will help in a small way. I have great pleasure therefore in adding my support to it.
Eagle PaulPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a real privilege to be in the House to talk to this bill. Can I acknowledge Chlöe Swarbrick in particular and just the doggedness and the hard work to get this to where it is today. I think that takes real courage but it comes easy for her because she really took it all the way through step by step. I was really proud that she took a piece of work that one of her colleagues Mojo Mathers had started. Many others had thought about it but she's actually the one that's got it to the finish line. So more than a pat on the back for that because this ultimately is about democracy and allowing all New Zealanders in Aotearoa New Zealand to have the opportunity.I think back to my own father who had political aspirations. He was a Methodist minister for just under 50 years so everything was political in our home. But his hearing went his health went and so he never quite got across the bar. He said to me I don't know whether people like me are match-fit for that place." I hope I'm fulfilling some of his legacy but more importantly for all those Kiwis who now have the opportunity to do and get the information and just get the tools—I think that was the one word that I saw in there—to make their opportunity to get into this place happen. We'll add local government a bit later. That's important and I see some city councillors up there—Teri O'Neill—so fantastic."
Yang JianDr JIAN YANG (National): Madam Speaker thank you. First of all I thank the original author of the bill the former MP Mojo Mathers. Also I thank the sponsor of the bill the MP Chlöe Swarbrick for her skilful work and her hard work.As the chair of the Governance and Administration Committee I'm very pleased with the cooperative spirit that parties and members demonstrated in the process of considering this particular bill. I was thinking why we had this kind of cooperative spirit. I believe there were quite a few reasons. Firstly of course I thank the MP Chlöe Swarbrick for her skill and her genuine effort to consult these different parties. Secondly I think this bill itself is quite well drafted—limited in terms of scope.The reasoning behind the bill is well accepted and easy to understand but more importantly I would say it is because all members all parties have a genuine intention to support—to help—disabled people. These people are a very important part of our society. They are very close to us. We can relate to them very easily. So for that reason I believe all members all parties are ready to work together to support this very important part of our society.Now this constitutes a solid foundation for Government strategies and policies towards disabled people. Our support has become increasingly comprehensive. We've given them support in terms of physical support in terms of cultural or mental or financial support but now we are moving even closer to what we call comprehensiveness because we are trying to help them to participate in our general elections to exercise their political rights to facilitate them to exercise their political rights.So for that reason I believe this bill is a step in the right direction. As the Hon Nick Smith mentioned this bill may not solve all problems but it's a step in the right direction. Also I would say the committee made some changes and these changes are useful. For example the committee proposed by-elections to be included in this particular bill and to make sure that any successful application to the fund would not be counted as a donation and would be exempt from income tax. All these are important in terms of improving the bill. So I commend the bill to the House.
Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Civil Defence): Ka noho au ki roto i Te Reo Māori. Ka tāpae ake ahau i ōku mihi ki Tā Rōpata kua riro atu ki te pō ki roto i ngā hāora tata ake nei. Ka tāpae ake ko ngā tangi mōteatea ki te kaihautū tawhito o Te Pāti Kākāriki ki roto i ngā tau Jeanette Fitzsimons. Ka tāpae ake ko tōku tuahine ko Ataria Heta kua riro atu ki roto i te wiki kua pahure ake nei. Kāti ka huri tuatua ahau ki tēnei o ngā kaupapa. Ka tū au hei māngai mō Te Rōpū Reipa ki runga i tēnei kaupapa me te kī atu e tautoko mārika ana mātou o Te Rōpū Reipa i tēnei o ngā pire. E tautoko ana mātou i tēnei Pire nā runga i te mōhio ko te mea nui o Te Kāwanatanga ko te mea nui o tēnei Kāwanatanga Te Rōpū Reipa me Te Rōpū Kākāriki hei whakararata mai i te hunga hauā i te hunga turi i wēnā momo āhuatanga katoa kei tēnei mahi ki roto i Te Whare. Mehemea kei tēnei Whare mehemea kei roto i ngā tāone me ngā wāhi noho a te iwi ko te manako nui kia whakararata mai i te hunga e ngākau nui ana ki ngā mahi torangapū ki tēnei mahi. Koinā tā mātou hei tautoko ake. Ka whakaaro ake ahau ki taku tamahine ki a Kainoa. He tamahine hauā. E aro atu ana ia ki ngā mahi e tutuki nei e tōnā matua arā ko au e tū nei engari ki roto i ngā ture i a ia tonu nei kīhai ia ka pā mai tana ringa ki ngā mahi torangapū e mahia nei e tōnā matua nā runga i tana hauātanga. Nō reira ka tautoko ahau i tēnei pire. Ka tautoko ahau i tōku hoa mahi e kawea nei te pire ki runga i te manako nui o Mojo Mathers e noho mai nei ki runga. Kāti e mihi atu nei ki a tātou. E tautoko ana mātou i te pire.[I will remain in the Māori language. I acknowledge Tā Rōpata who passed away in the past couple of hours. I am much saddened by the passing of Jeanette Fitzsimons former leader of the Green Party for many years. I acknowledge my sister Ataria Heta who passed away in the week just gone.I turn to this particular issue. I stand as a spokesperson for the Labour Party on this issue and I say we of the Labour Party enthusiastically support this bill. We support this bill because one of the main goals of Government of this Labour-Greens Government is to support the disabled community the deaf community and those types of groups to work here in the House.Whether in this House in towns or in other communities we strongly support those who have a desire to work in politics. We endorse that.I think about my niece Kainoa. She is disabled. She has taken a keen interest in her uncle's career in my career but the rules as they are now prevent her from entering politics because of her disability.Therefore I support this bill. I support my colleague who sponsors the bill on the wishes of Mojo Mathers who is sitting up there. In conclusion I greet everyone here. We support this bill.]
Voting — Correction—Abortion Legislation Bill
Hipkins ChrisSITTINGS OF THE HOUSEHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That the sitting of the House today be extended into tomorrow morning for the committee stages of the Taxation (KiwiSaver Student Loans and Remedial Matters) Bill and the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill the continued first reading of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill the first reading of the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill the first reading of the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill and the first reading of the Organic Products Bill.
Bishop Chris; Mallard TrevorQuestion No. 9 to MinisterCHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just seek your guidance in relation to question No. 9 and the written questions that form the basis of the question. My office has just received an email from the Minister's office—after the question was asked and answered by the Deputy Prime Minister on behalf of the Minister for Regional Economic Development—taking issue with the numbers used in the question. I won't get into the details of it but it goes into whether or not the overall number is inclusive or if you can add the two numbers together. I'm just seeking your guidance as to how that plays out in relation to the correction of answers or the correction of the primary question in the first place because it was never challenged by the Minister's office when it was put down on notice; in fact it wasn't even challenged last night or later on this morning. So I just seek your guidance on that.SPEAKER: I'm not sure of the advice the member's seeking. The member's received an email after a question has been asked from a Minister's office about the general subject area.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Can I speak?SPEAKER: Sorry I'll stand up because that'll mean that Nick Smith might stop interjecting while I'm attempting to rule. What I don't understand is the matter that I'm being asked to rule on. I ask Mr Bishop to be more specific about the Standing Orders or Speakers' rulings that I'm being asked to address. I will remind him and I think it's somewhere around Speakers' Rulings 20/2 or 20/3 that the House doesn't go back and so I'm after what the Standing Orders issue is and the remedy that the member's seeking.CHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South): Well I suppose what I'm saying is I'm uncertain as to whether or not the Deputy Prime Minister or myself have misled the House and if you require from us any effective you know way of making that right so that we don't fall foul of the Standing Orders.SPEAKER: Right. Well I think it's fair to say that on the first matter I have accepted a question with the authentication which I considered appropriate and if I've made a mistake well I do apologise to the House. Therefore I think it's fair to say that unless there is a further misleading by way of supplementary questions that member's off the hook. If the member answering the question has made an error he knows well how to sort it out and there's no matter for me to currently rule on.
Mallard TrevorWEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 2020The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.Karakia.VOTINGCorrection—Abortion Legislation BillSPEAKER: Members I need to advise the House of two corrections to the voting on Part 1 of the Abortion Legislation Bill in yesterday's committee of the whole House. On the amendment in the name of Dr Deborah Russell on Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 473 to amend clause 7 by inserting new section 19A the correct vote is Ayes 19 and Noes 99. On the amendment in the name of Chris Penk on SOP 469 to amend clause 7 by amending a new section 20 the correct vote is Ayes 36 and the Noes 82.Both these corrections are the result of one member casting his proxy vote one way and then voting another way in person. [Interruption] Order! Where a vote conflicts in this way the vote made in person is the one counted. But I will remind members ahead of the continuation of the committee stage on this bill that they are responsible for how their vote is cast and should be certain that directions given to anyone casting a proxy are entirely clear.
Tuesday 10 March 2020 - Volume 744
Abortion Legislation Bill — In Committee—Part 1
VoteThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 325 in the name of Jan Logie to clause 7 be agreed to.A personal vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 12Clark (P)HughesSeymourDavidsonLubeckShawGenterMallardSwarbrickTeller:GhahramanSageLogieNoes 106Adams (P)Goldsmith (P)McKelvieSmith N (P)Allan (P)Guy (P)Mitchell C (P)Smith S (P)Andersen (P)HayesMitchell MStanford (P)Ardern (P)Henare (P)Muller (P)Strange (P)Bakshi (P)Hipango (P)Nash (P)Tabuteau (P)Ball (P)Hipkins (P)NgaroTinetti (P)BarryHudson (P)O'Connor D (P)TirikateneBayly (P)Huo (P)O'Connor GTolleyBennett DJackson (P)O'Connor STwyford (P)Bennett P (P)Jones (P)Parker (P)Upston (P)BidoisKanongata'a-SuisuikiParmarvan de MolenBishopKaye (P)Patterson (P)Wagner (P)Bridges (P)King (P)PenkWalkerBrownKuriger (P)Peters (P)WallBrownlee (P)Lee DPrime (P)Warren-ClarkCarter (P)Lee MPugh (P)Webb (P)Coffey (P)Lees-Galloway (P)RadhakrishnanWhaitiriCraig (P)LittleReti (P)Williams (P)Curran (P)LoheniRobertson (P)WillisDavis (P)Luxton (P)Ross (P)WoodhouseDean (P)Macindoe (P)RurawheWoods (P)DooceyMahutaRussellYang (P)Dowie (P)MarcroftSalesa (P)Young (P)Eagle (P)Mark (P)Scott (P)Yule (P)Faafoi (P)MartinSepuloni (P)FalloonMcAnultySimpsonTeller:GarciaMcClay (P)Sio (P)DysonAmendments not agreed to.The result corrected after originally being announced as Ayes 12 Noes 107.The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 460 in the name of Agnes Loheni to clause 7 be agreed to.A personal vote was called for on the question That the amendment be agreed to.Ayes 43Bakshi (P)HayesMuller (P)Upston (P)Bennett DHipango (P)Ngarovan de MolenBennett P (P)Kanongata'a-SuisuikiO'Connor SWalkerBidoisKing (P)ParmarWhaitiriBridges (P)Lee DPenk (P)Young (P)BrownLee MPugh (P)Yule (P)Brownlee (P)LoheniReti (P)Dean (P)Macindoe (P)RurawheDowie (P)MahutaScott (P)GarciaMcClay (P)Smith N (P)Goldsmith (P)McKelvieStrange (P)Teller:Guy (P)Mitchell MTirikateneBarryNoes 75Adams (P)Henare (P)Nash (P)Swarbrick (P)Allan (P)Hipkins (P)O'Connor D (P)Tabuteau (P)Andersen (P)Hudson (P)O'Connor GTinetti (P)Ardern (P)Hughes (P)Parker (P)TolleyBall (P)Huo (P)Patterson (P)Twyford (P)Bayly (P)Jackson (P)Peters (P)WallBishopJones (P)Prime (P)Warren-ClarkCarter (P)Kaye (P)RadhakrishnanWebb (P)Clark (P)Kuriger (P)Robertson (P)Williams (P)Coffey (P)Lees-Galloway (P)Ross (P)WillisCraig (P)LittleRussellWoodCurran (P)LogieSage (P)WoodhouseDavidson (P)LubeckSalesa (P)Woods (P)Davis (P)Luxton (P)Sepuloni (P)Yang (P)DooceyMallardSeymourEagle (P)MarcroftShaw (P)Faafoi (P)Mark (P)SimpsonFalloonMartinSio (P)Genter (P)McAnultySmith S (P)Teller:Ghahraman (P)Mitchell C (P)Stanford (P)Dyson Amendment not agreed to.
8. Question No. 8—HealthANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 8—Health8. ANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour) to the Minister of Health: How will the decision to make COVID-19 a quarantinable disease help keep the public safe?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): New Zealand currently has only five confirmed cases of COVID-19 but we continue to plan and prepare for a range of possible scenarios. As part of that precautionary approach Cabinet yesterday acted to make COVID-19 a quarantinable disease effective from tomorrow. That means that medical officers of health will have powers under the Health Act 1956 to quarantine ships aircraft and associated travellers coming into New Zealand where there are grounds to believe there may be cases of COVID-19 on board. We have not yet had any need for such powers but this is another sensible precaution we can take to protect the public and it's in line with the pandemic plan.Angie Warren-Clark: How many cruise ships are currently in New Zealand and how many are expected in coming weeks?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm advised there are currently nine cruise ships in New Zealand ports. Before ships arrive in New Zealand they have to make health declarations and health staff are available to meet any vessels with crew or passengers of concern. I have not been advised of any current concerns about vessels in New Zealand but by making COVID-19 a quarantinable disease we now have the full range of powers necessary to respond in future. We are nearing the end of the peak season for cruise ships with a further 11 expected to arrive in March and 10 in April.Angie Warren-Clark: Are there any other benefits of making COVID-19 a quarantinable disease?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Yes. As a quarantinable disease the Epidemic Preparedness Act also applies to COVID-19. That means for example that an epidemic notice could be issued to allow for a temporary relaxation of health practitioners registration and practice requirements under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. This could be used to make it easier for health professionals that are not currently practising to return to the workforce if required although there is no suggestion at this stage that this will be required. These powers were last enabled in 2014 when viral fevers such as Ebola were named as a quarantinable disease.