Mark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7745. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister in charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service: What is the Government doing to resource and address national security concerns identified in the ministerial briefing he received from the NZSIS and GCSB?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister in charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service): The Government is doing and has already done a great deal including changing the law to address the problem of foreign fighters something New Zealand First opposed; giving the SIS a funding injection of almost $7 million to increase the number of staff it has working on monitoring and investigating issues; giving both the New Zealand SIS and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) a funding boost of $20 million over 4 years for essential security services; continuing very important work on cyber-security to protect key New Zealand businesses and organisations; and working to improve oversight public engagement and openness.Ron Mark: Are the SIS and GCSB racist for making unchecked immigration their leading—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member has a right to ask the question. Start the question again.Ron Mark: Thank you Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will not be issuing a further warning to interjectors from my right-hand side for the balance of this question. If members choose to interject they will be leaving the Chamber.Ron Mark: Are the SIS and GCSB racist for making unchecked immigration their leading national security concern?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: No they are certainly not racist. There are a number of national security issues and they are all being looked at competently and professionally by those organisations.David Seymour: Do these agencies have the ability to do sophisticated screening for threats or do they merely impute motives on New Zealand citizens according to their ethnicity and try to send them home?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: They certainly do not do the latter. The George Wallace or Enoch Powell approach to dealing with immigrants is not desirable.Ron Mark: Will the SIS GCSB and the Civil Aviation Authority be verifying all airport ID cardholders’ security clearances given the reports that the Russian airplane was probably brought down by a bomb; if not why not?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: I cannot say what the cause of that dreadful accident was; it is still being investigated. There is quite a lot of speculation. I can assure that honourable member and the House probably on behalf of the Minister of Transport actually that airport security is a huge issue and is constantly being looked at by the Minister and by his officials to ensure that we never have anything like that in this country.David Seymour: Are the agencies sufficiently resourced to detect whether racist attitudes are a security concern in New Zealand?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Well there can be a number of security issues that arise. If for example there was a sort of KKK group—not referring to anyone in this House of course—that indulged in that kind of thing then that could well be a security issue and engage the interest of the SIS. But normally those sorts of matters are best dealt with by the Human Rights Commission unless and until a security issue arises or by people who make unfortunate statements having the bottle to stand up and apologise.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Ron Mark: Will the Minister tell the Minister of Immigration to halt special visa processing for elite China UnionPay credit card holders and elite status passengers of China Southern Airlines; if not why not?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: All I can say is that the Minister of Immigration my ministerial colleague is a very professional and competent person. I do not go around directing my colleagues what to do—that is the preserve of the Prime Minister—but I can assure that honourable member that the Minister of Immigration is alert to all security issues and approaches them in his usual competent and professional manner.David Seymour: Does the Minister or do the agencies view a correlation between racist attitudes and severely limited intellect as a security concern?Mr SPEAKER: Order! That question is not going to help the order of this House. Further supplementary question—Ron Mark.Ron Mark: Better to be an old lion than a young ass—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Ron Mark: —but moving on.Mr SPEAKER: Order! If the member wants to continue I suggest he just rises and ask the supplementary question.Ron Mark: Will the Minister support an increased defence budget given that the South Pacific is considered a security risk and given proposals to slash Defence Force staffing by 700 and the documented shortcomings of the new NH90s?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is ministerial responsibility the Hon Chris Finlayson.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: With respect I do not think there is any ministerial responsibility. The Minister of Defence is an extremely competent person and can be relied on to address those issues. This week I am the Acting Minister of Defence. If he wants to ask me questions in that exalted capacity I am happy to answer them.Ron Mark: I seek leave to do exactly that Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: The member is seeking leave to ask an additional supplementary question?Ron Mark: The stand-in Minister of Defence—a supplementary question.Mr SPEAKER: It is unusual but leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is objection.