edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Thank you Mr Chair. It's a pleasure to take a call on the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill. I've actually got a couple of questions for the Minister and I think in the introduction to this bill it talks about the outage at Pohokura and the cost of $2 million a day to their main customer. But this is a much wider issue than that and the bill is talking about security of supply and all those issues that go with that. I mean we're in an incredibly interesting time at the moment. Whilst our lakes are starting to fill a little bit—our hydro storage—we are in a parlous situation. With a low gas supply we're totally reliant at the moment on Indonesian coal to keep the lights on. And I congratulate the Government for having the courage despite their lofty climate proclamations to bring a whole lot of dirty Indonesian coal in to keep the lights on. And we need that. But what I want to know about this bill is: is this going to give the industry enough confidence to invest?We know they have to live up to their obligations to clean their act up and their wells up when they leave. That's absolutely a given; I understand that. But the industry is lacking confidence now for investment—Hon Dr Megan Woods: That's the bill later tonight. That's not the one now.STUART SMITH: You'll get an opportunity in a minute Minister. They lack the confidence at the moment to invest the money that's required to keep these gasfields producing at the rate that we need them to. I note that the Minister for Climate Change refers often to the British being able to lower their emissions by 40 percent whilst growing their economy. They largely did that because they switched from coal to gas and exported their emissions when their steel mills went offshore.So the issue for this bill is—I'd like to know does this bill give the industry the confidence to continue investing in their wells and their whole system of getting gas out of there because Minister it's really serious here. If one of those boilers if one of those generation plants goes down the lights go off. And we only have to remember in February of last year in Texas 80 people lost their lives because of poor decisions made around the gas supply. And to remind you Minister they decided in their wisdom in Texas to switch their gas pumping from gas turbines pumping the gas along the pipeline to electricity to lower their emissions and the power went off the gas froze in the line and people died. It's important that we get this supply right and that the industry is reporting all of those things—well you might shake your head Minister but actually 80 people lost their lives. I don't think that's a trivial matter; you might. But you've got a bill here about reporting—Hon Member: Which clause is this?STUART SMITH: This is absolutely about the supply and security of supply. We need to have confidence that this bill will actually achieve what you say it's going to and I'm not sure we do. So give us some confidence.
Woods MeganHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources): I will answer questions that are to do with this bill but as the member well knows I think the process around the independent climate commission and the Government's response to that is a little out of scope for this piece of legislation that we have in front of us.In terms of the disclosure the Supplementary Order Paper that has been put up by the ACT Party on this the new regulation-making power provides for both the provision of information and the disclosure of information. I do point the member to the fact that this is parallel to a system that actually we do have in regard to the electricity industry that this is more about getting some symmetry across our energy system. So if we do—with the danger of going off and addressing what the plan might be in terms of our end of year response to the climate commission—we do need to start thinking in terms of New Zealand's energy system rather than separately around our gas markets and our electricity markets and what those interactions will be.So what this means is that an information disclosure regime would require the provision of commercially sensitive data and we do acknowledge that but this data may be aggregated or otherwise made anonymous for the disclosure of that data. There are well-trodden ways in which that can be managed and we do see it within our energy system already. I do note that the electricity system does collect what could otherwise be considered commercially sensitive data. I do note that when we went through and did the Electricity Price Review we got all of the electricity retailers to disclose commercially sensitive data to us at a meshblock level on a voluntary basis so that we could use that data for the study. They did that in a way that was really constructive and a way that we were able to work through this.But how this would be implemented in terms of this would be determined by the Gas Industry Company (GIC) as part of the recommendation. I do point to the member that he's saying Let industry do it themselves. There's no point to have regulation." but I do note the fact that the GIC is in fact an industry owned body so there is scope here for industry to be involved in this."
Kuriger BarbaraBARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): Thank you. I'm not sure that the Minister has an answer so we'll give her a bit more time to think. I am interested in the fact that the Minister is expecting the industry to come up with a disclosure and with a plan so that everybody's got some certainty—and everything I hear in energy at the moment is around certainty. I would like to ask the Minister: how soon will the Minister have a plan as recommended by the Climate Commission for our new renewable energy future? If the Minister's asking the industry to have a plan and a disclosure could the Minister do some work and have a disclosure as well.
Court SimonSIMON COURT (ACT): Thank you Mr Chair. To the Minister we're talking about sensitive commercial information. One of the reasons that ACT has proposed an amendment is because ACT is very very concerned as are many stakeholders that the Government cannot protect sensitive information. Today in this House we heard about a serious breach of patients' information—information about their medical history about financial history and about a whole range of matters pertaining to the operation of the Waikato District Health Board which based on what I understand the Government's current plans for information technology and data protection are we are in a very very weak and exposed position right now. So I think it is very important for the Minister to tell the House and to give confidence to stakeholders who essentially will be subject to a fishing expedition.When I look through this bill I am frankly astounded that a Government presiding over a health IT system where patients' sensitive medical records about procedures and all kinds of terrible things that they've suffered are now on the dark web—what I see here is a Government that proposes a fishing expedition and why the information that the Minister requires is intended to be broad and not exhaustive. How on earth will that benefit security of supply knowing more about storage knowing more about outages and being able to actually target a better outcome for New Zealand from an economic and social perspective this fishing expedition that the Minister proposes? What are you going to do to protect the data Minister?
Parker David; Rurawhe AdrianHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): Mr Speaker I seek leave to move a motion without notice referring the exposure draft and terms of reference for an inquiry on the Natural and Built Environments Bill parliamentary paper to the Environment Committee for consideration.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): We're in committee and only the House can give permission. So the question is that Part 1 stand part. If there's no one wanting to take a call on that—Barbara Kuriger.
Rurawhe AdrianGAS (INFORMATION DISCLOSURE AND PENALTIES) AMENDMENT BILLIn CommitteeDebate resumed from 23 June. Part 1 Amendments to Gas Act 1992 (continued)CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): We come first to the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill. When we were last in committee on this bill we were considering Part 1 which is the debate on clauses 3 to 18 and the Schedule. The question is that Part 1 stand part.
Rurawhe AdrianHOUSE IN COMMITTEECHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Members the House is in committee on the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill.
Motions — Referral to Environment Committee — Leave Declined
Parker David; Mallard TrevorMOTIONSReferral to Environment Committee of Exposure Draft and Terms of Reference for Inquiry on Natural and Built Environments Bill: Parliamentary Paper—Leave DeniedHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): Mr Speaker I seek leave to move a motion without notice referring the exposure draft and terms of reference for an inquiry on the Natural and Built Environments Bill: Parliamentary Paper to the Environment Committee for consideration.SPEAKER: Leave has been sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is objection.Matt Doocey: I don't know anything about it.SPEAKER: Well I thought the member was on a call not that long ago where it was discussed. But anyway. I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill. [Pause in proceedings] I'm waiting until I get a replacement. I think it's fair to say we're in a slightly unanticipated point so I'm sure Roland is doing his best to find someone to sit in the Chair. [Interruption]
Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading
Urgent Debate — Ransomware Attack — Waikato District Health Board
Mallard TrevorURGENT DEBATESRansomware Attack—Waikato District Health BoardSPEAKER: I have received letters from Melissa Lee and Brooke van Velden seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the release of sensitive information as part of a ransomware attack on the Waikato District Health Board. While the ransomware attack has been ongoing for some weeks the release of sensitive information was reported today. This is therefore a particular case of recent occurrence for which there is ministerial responsibility. Public confidence in the health system and the confidentiality of patient information is important. When considering an urgent debate application the Speaker takes into account whether there are any other parliamentary means of debating the matter. When I last considered an application on this ransomware attack I declined it as the Budget debate was set down for debate that day. If the Budget debate had not been on the Order Paper I would have been inclined to grant the application. I consider that the new information on the ransomware attack is sufficiently urgent to put aside the business of the House today. Ms van Velden's application was received first and I therefore call on Brooke van Velden to move that the House take note of a matter of urgent public importance.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No bills have been introduced. A petition has been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Jenny McArdle requesting that the House pass legislation to permit a wider range of entities and trainers to be accredited to train and certify Disability Assist Dogs and provide a route for owner-trained dogs to be certified as Disability Assist Dogs with a centralised registration database for certified dogs.SPEAKER: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.CLERK: Plant and Food Research Ltd. Statement of Corporate Intent 2021-22New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd. trading as Scion Statement of Corporate Intent 2021-22Callaghan Innovation Statement of Performance Expectations 2021-22Accreditation Council Statement of Performance Expectations for the year ended 30 June 2022Reserve Bank of New Zealand Statement of Intent 2021-2024Natural and Built Environments Bill parliamentary paper on the exposure draftMental Health and Wellbeing Commission: Statement of Intent 2020-2024Statement of Performance Expectations 2020-2021.SPEAKER: I table the report of the Controller and Auditor-General entitled Insights into local government: 2020. Those papers are published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Report of the Education and Workforce Committee on Education and Training (Grants—Budget Measures) Amendment Billreport of the Health Committee on the petitions of Stephan Bosman and David Enright: Reinstate a rescue helicopter based in Whitianga.SPEAKER: The bill is set down for second reading.
Ministerial Statements — COVID-19 — Greater Wellington Region Alert Level Change
Genter Julie Anne; Hipkins ChrisHon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister and reiterate the Green Party's support following the health advice and obviously all New Zealanders keeping vigilant keeping up good hygiene practices wearing masks when appropriate. I just wanted to ask the Minister if he or Cabinet had requested any analysis or advice on whether the benefits of the trans-Tasman bubble do outweigh the risks particularly considering that a number of states and major cities have had some community spread since we opened the bubble have had to go into lockdown and that has created a lot of uncertainty for travel backwards and forwards.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Overall I think the economic benefit to New Zealanders of having Australians coming here and spending their money here is quite a significant one. We are not seeing the volume of Australians coming to New Zealand post-bubble as we were before COVID-19 lockdown. It's not even close to the sorts of numbers that we were seeing before but I think for some of our industries particularly in tourist hotspots it has been a bit of a lifeline for them. I think the risk would be if we saw COVID-19 take off in any part of the country and we had to do more dramatic lockdowns. That's something that we're acutely aware of. That's one of the reasons why we made a quick decision around Wellington to make sure we minimise that risk as much as possible and why we also made the quick decisions around the pause across the border in terms of trans-Tasman for a period while we get further information and get that extra pre-departure layer of assurance in place.Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): Just wondering if there's been any specific quantification of economic benefits whether they actually have flown through from the bubble and just noting that obviously when we have to go into a lockdown and where casual contacts are required to isolate for potentially two weeks following exposure such as happened in the previous week—have those been looked at in any detail?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Yes they have been but I don't have access to those so probably not the right Minister to ask that question of.
Rurawhe AdrianTUESDAY 29 JUNE 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSDEPUTY SPEAKER: E te Atua kaha rawa ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga kia mōhio ai kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei mō te oranga te maungārongo me te aroha o Aotearoa. Amene.[Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility for the welfare peace and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]
Thursday 24 June 2021 - Volume 753
3. Question No. 3—StatisticsDAMIEN SMITH (ACT) to the Minister of StatisticsQuestion No. 3—Statistics3. DAMIEN SMITH (ACT) to the Minister of Statistics: Does he have confidence in Statistics New Zealand's calculations of the Consumers Price Index generally and its publication of annual inflation at 1.5 percent in the year to March 2021?Hon Grant Robertson: The only Minister who counts!Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Statistics): The Government Statistician has statutory independence mandated by the Statistics Act 1975. In their production and provision of official statistics produced by Stats NZ the Government Statistician has complete discretion as to how data is collected. It is not for politicians to decide what is and isn't measured by Stats NZ. I have confidence in Stats NZ's calculation of the Consumers Price Index (CPI) generally including the latest release from March this year. I do want to thank the member for asking a stats-related question; the first in this portfolio since the election: 250 days 64.11 percent of the year two full CPI quarters!Damien Smith: Exciting! How can he reconcile his confidence with PlaceMakers saying low prices have gone up 75 percent in the last year and saying that quotes may only be valid for seven days given the rapidly shifting prices?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Stats New Zealand's calculation of the CPI follows international best-practice set out by the International Labour Organization. It's a world-renowned agency that we should all be proud of. I believe them following best practice is the best way for this to happen; not for politicians to decide what should and shouldn't be measured by Statistics New Zealand.Damien Smith: How can he reconcile this claim with the fact that New Zealand businesses have been experiencing price shock paying electricity bills that are up to 50 percent higher than last year?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The CPI measures items of consumption; it doesn't measure items of assets. In respect of the member's question I think it is appropriate that an independent agency decides what is and isn't measured and that people use the index for the appropriate purpose.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. The question was about energy prices. Energy is not an asset; it is a supply and an input. He didn't appear to address the question at all; he talked about something completely unrelated. We all know that CPI doesn't include assets. That's got nothing to do with it.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah I should have probably said to the Minister In so far as his ministerial responsibility …". I think he has addressed it.Damien Smith: Why is it that everyone is noticing higher prices and inflation except for Statistics New Zealand?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I can't answer for the member's perceptions but I do want to thank him again for raising issues of statistics in this House—as one member has already introduced to the debate it is the only portfolio that truly counts!"
2. Question No. 2—FinanceGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 2—Finance2. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The Government's efforts to secure the recovery amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been reflected in confidence among small businesses. Today Xero released its Small Business Insights data for May showing growth in both sales and jobs figures for small businesses. For the fourth successive month the index remained above 100 at 109 points signalling stronger than average small business activity. Sales across New Zealand grew 6.2 percent in May led by retail trade construction and hospitality. Jobs growth rose 4.7 percent with the strongest regional growth in Northland followed by Waikato Hawke's Bay and Canterbury. Xero said the data showed small-business owners around New Zealand feel optimistic but it also shows that firms are facing many challenges as we work our way through the COVID-19 pandemic.Greg O'Connor: What other reports has he seen on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index points to the economy bouncing back reasonably well in 2021. The index sits at 12 for the June quarter up six on the previous quarter and up 26 on a year ago. The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index tracks 33 indicators including GDP export volumes commodity prices inflation debt and business and consumer confidence. We do expect that there will be further volatility as the effects of COVID continue to show through but the underlying picture of the New Zealand economy is resilient.Greg O'Connor: What reports has he seen on the impact of the Government's housing package on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: TradeMe reported today that since the Government's new housing policy was announced in March rents have slowed in many parts of the country. The TradeMe monthly rental index for May shows the national median rent remains static for the third consecutive month. This is despite predictions including from some on the other side of the House that the changes to property investor tax rules would see rents skyrocket. The fact this has not happened is good news but we are of course aware that there is far more to do to solve our housing crisis.
Williams Arena; Rurawhe AdrianARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Thank you Mr Speaker. As a member of the Justice Committee I am happy to take a very brief call on this bill. Perhaps a minute and 30 on the clock—we'll see if I can do that. I'll take you through the three points that the bill does to give you some insight into the committee's reasoning which happened around the table because what we saw in the Justice Committee was both sides of that table engaging very deeply on these issues. Now the first was that children should have reasonable opportunities to participate in decisions which affect them and I thank my colleagues and particularly the Hon Simon Bridges for his thoughts on this. We disagreed though and I think the Opposition commentary on this was that it really should be happening anyway and that this legislative change is not required. But what the Government members found after engaging with the submitters on that point was that it was a question of fact: was it happening was it not and if it wasn't legislative change is required. We came to the view after engaging with the lawyers and with the submitters on this point that it wasn't happening enough and that change was required to make sure that children could participate in a way which would allow them a greater sense of justice in the process. The second point which came up was that lawyers appointed to represent children must be explaining what's happening to the children. On the other side of the table we heard this idea that justice delayed is justice denied and that this would introduce longer time in the system. We didn't think that was the case. We believe that there's no justice in a decision which affects you personally that you don't understand from the process and that you didn't have a voice in. So we're proud to be voting for this bill tonight because it gives effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It allows families in a situation of breakdown and conflict who could not resolve their issues by negotiation to have more support for the people who matter most to them which are their children.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members the debate on this bill is interrupted and is set down for further consideration next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 29 June 2021.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 4.55 p.m.
Walters VanushiVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour): Thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity to take a very short call in relation to this bill as a member of the Justice Committee.There's a book written by the author Jana Mohr Lone titled Seen and Not Heard: Why Children's Voices Matter. In its abstract it says this: How might society benefit if children were recognized as independent thinkers capable of seeing clearly and contributing in valuable ways to our world? How would children's lives change if what they said was not often ignored or patronized?" In a series of conversations with children about many of life's important questions the book reveals children as perceptive and original thinkers in discussions about the meaning of childhood friendship justice fairness happiness and death. The book invites us to rethink our beliefs about children and become more receptive to the ways we can learn from them. It's worth a read and perhaps a wee book recommendation for my colleagues across the other side of the House.I was heartened to hear Chris Penk recognise the importance of listening to children's voices but I would challenge his summary at the end in terms of having access to lawyers. I think this is about having access to a voice having access to space and that is essentially what this bill is all about. I won't summarise what's contained in the bill or the issues it addresses. I think the Minister and the chair of the Justice Committee have done that very well. All I will do to conclude my contribution today is quote from the Auckland Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children made up of 13 preventing violence groups who submitted to us the committee. They said "This Bill amends the Care of Children Act … to prioritise the rights of children as prescribed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Family Violence Act … These rights were removed in the 2014 review of the Family Court despite many submissions that spoke of the importance of not just retaining the (then) current clauses but strengthening them. We congratulate the government on reinstating these protections for children." I commend this bill to the House."
Woodhouse MichaelHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National): Point of order Madam Speaker. Thank you Madam Speaker. At the start of this debate the Minister sought leave for the tabling of an amended legislative statement which the House granted. But I'm reminded as a member of the Standing Orders Committee of the purpose of that statement. The 2020 Standing Orders report made it very clear that the corollary to the tabling of a legislative statement was to allow the Minister to engage in a more free-flowing debate and the expectation was that Ministers—certainly Ministers who are in charge of the bill—would not be reading their speeches. Now I point this out not to criticise Minister Faafoi but just to highlight that actually this has become a trend over the last few weeks and I would suggest to the House and to Ministers listening that there is a real value in this—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: —that I hope can be encouraged. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you for that—thank you.
Student Accommodation Inquiry — Report of the Education and Workforce Committee
Rurawhe AdrianPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSDEPUTY SPEAKER: No petitions or papers have been presented and no bills have been introduced. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: The reports of the Education and Workforce Committee on the:petition of Jake Benge petition of Kristina Todd petition of Michael Greenwood petition of Zhiqiu Ye petition of Rob Wemyss.
Hipkins ChrisBUSINESS OF THE HOUSEHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Legislation to be considered next week will include the first readings of the Crown Minerals (Decommissioning and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and the Maritime Powers Bill the second readings of the Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill and the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill the committee stages of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill and the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill and the third reading of the Fair Trading Amendment Bill. Wednesday will be a members' day.
Motions — Black Caps—World Test Championship Victory
McDowall JamesDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise on behalf of the ACT Party to congratulate the Black Caps for winning the World Test Championship. As members can probably tell based on how lively I look today I tuned in very early this morning to catch the final run chase and it was well worth it. Seeing Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson bringing it home was very fitting. To defeat India which is a powerhouse in the cricketing world is an incredible achievement. The 2019 Cricket World Cup final is now firmly a distant memory. Test cricket in particular takes a great deal of perseverance and planning especially when poor weather is a constant frustration and we also can't emphasise enough the challenge of competing internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. The players and their families have sacrificed a great deal with the extra travel and requirements and of course those who participated in the Indian Premier League this year had an especially tough time. The media in India itself has been very graceful and I think that is a testament to the positive culture that Kane Williamson has fostered as captain of the Black Caps. The Times of India stated: New Zealand's canny operators and their classy skipper Kane Williamson deservingly walked away with the [inaugural World Test Championship] title after a composed eight-wicket win". They also stated that "Williamson is probably one of the few captains who have now got the Indian team out for less than 250 in six consecutive innings a testimony to his brilliant cricketing acumen and near-perfect execution of plans by his bowlers." These sorts of kind words and sentiments about the team have been echoed by media in all cricketing nations.The Black Caps have demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship and character and are role models for all cricketers here in New Zealand young and old. I also hope that this victory inspires more young people to enjoy the sport especially test cricket. On behalf of the ACT Party I once again congratulate the Black Caps on this victory and I'll simply finish by stating that it's a good time to be a Kiwi. Thank you Mr Speaker.Motion agreed to."
Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of the Green Party to congratulate the Black Caps for winning the inaugural World Test Championship this morning. I'd also like to congratulate the Indian team for making the final and playing their part in a great match for cricket fans around the world over. There will be a lot of tired cricket fans in New Zealand but I hope that you're enjoying the wonderful achievement of our men's team. As others have mentioned across the House I'd like to recognise the humility and sportsmanship of the Black Caps team. I think that the win today should be all the sweeter for New Zealanders because of how this team have conducted themselves in both victory and defeat over the past few years. I want to give a shout-out to Luteru Taylor who recently spoke about how his principal wouldn't pronounce his name correctly when he was younger and now he's speaking about him being his authentic self. I hope we continue working so that all of our sportspeople—people of colour and our trans folk included—can be their authentic selves in the field. Finally I note that we're really looking forward to Aotearoa hosting the women's World Cup next year and we hope for both of our premier teams to soon be world champions and that we continue working as well for pay parity in sports. Kia ora.
Rurawhe AdrianTHURSDAY 24 JUNE 2021The Deputy Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSDEPUTY SPEAKER: E te Atua kaha rawa ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga kia mōhio ai kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei mō te oranga te maungārongo me te aroha o Aotearoa. Amene.[Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility for the welfare peace and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]
Wednesday 23 June 2021 - Volume 753
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill — Second Reading
VoteASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is That the amendments recommended by the Finance and Expenditure Committee by majority be agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the amendments be agreed to.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Noes 45New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Amendments agreed to.A party vote was called for on the question That the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill be now read a second time.Ayes 75New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Noes 45New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
10. Question No. 10—Emergency ManagementARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Acting Minister for Emergency ManagementQuestion No. 10—Emergency Management10. ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Acting Minister for Emergency Management: How is the Government supporting communities in Auckland that have been affected by the Papatoetoe tornado?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Acting Minister for Emergency Management): Firstly I'd like to on behalf of the House express our sympathy for the family of Janesh Prasad who passed away as a result of the tornado at the weekend at the Wiri container storage facility. The tornado at the weekend has been a distressing event with a number of people injured many lives disrupted and many homes and businesses damaged. On Sunday the Government announced $100000 to a mayoral relief fund to support Auckland communities impacted by the tornado matching a $100000 contribution from the Auckland Council who will determine how that is best spent. A range of additional support has been made available to the impacted communities by the likes of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) including civil defence payments and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment's temporary accommodation service with 94 people in emergency accommodation as a result of the tornado as of last night.Arena Williams: How well did the civil defence emergency management system perform in the initial process?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: The system stood up well and I'd like to acknowledge the emergency services for doing a superb job after the event on Saturday morning. An incident control point to coordinate the response was established quickly in Papatoetoe and the Auckland emergency management system established welfare and information points quickly after that. There is an 0800 number which is 0800 22 22 00 which is a civil defence line that continues to be monitored 24/7 if anyone has any welfare needs as a result of the tornado. Initial building assessments were carried out by fire and emergency urban search and rescue teams followed up by the council's building assessment teams that are now largely complete and final building damage classifications will be confirmed in the coming days.Arena Williams: What recovery work is under way across agencies?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Relevant agencies continue to coordinate the recovery including emergency housing as I mentioned earlier and key welfare issues and are ready to provide further support if that is needed. The Auckland Emergency Management welfare service and the Ministry of Social Development have commenced planning for longer-term temporary accommodation for those who require it because many of those residents in affected homes will be out of them for many many weeks. The Ministry of Social Development is also providing support by way of its housing broker service in their Papatoetoe site to assist those households and MSD is also supporting a group of vulnerable people who are being relocated to alternative accommodation.
8. Question No. 8—COVID-19 ResponseDr ANAE NERU LEAVASA (Labour—Takanini) to the Minister for COVID19 ResponseQuestion No. 8—COVID-19 Response8. Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA (Labour—Takanini) to the Minister for COVID19 Response: What progress has the Government recently made on the roll-out of New Zealand's vaccination programme?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): I am very pleased to acknowledge a very significant milestone in our Pfizer vaccine campaign: one million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have now been administered in New Zealand. To put that into context it took us 48 days to deliver the first 100000 doses. It then only took 13 further days to reach 200000. It then took 28 days to reach 500000 followed by 33 days to hit one million. That signs that the vaccination campaign is ramping up. Our capacity is growing and we are very confident that we'll be able to offer all New Zealanders a vaccine by the end of the year.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: How are DHBs currently tracking towards meeting their planned deliveries for the roll-out of the vaccination programme?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: As of midnight last night 637847 New Zealanders have received their first dose of the vaccine; 381517 people have been fully vaccinated—meaning that they'll be receiving the maximum protection after having two doses. We're making really good progress overall. DHBs are tracking at the moment 7.5 percent ahead of the plan whilst continuing to carefully manage the available stock. We received a further 50000 doses from Pfizer this week and as we head into July we are expecting the size of our deliveries to increase.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: How is the Government managing the scale-up of the vaccination programme?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: DHBs have been planning carefully to scale up the vaccination programme as the supplies of the vaccine increase. This will include bringing on board vaccination sites such as GP practices and other primary care settings like pharmacies for example. DHBs have been training their workforce—there are now over 8000 people trained to undertake COVID-19 vaccinations—and they are well positioned to start increasing the volume of vaccinations from mid-July when the significant delivery volumes will start to arrive.Dr Anae Neru Leavasa: How is work progressing on a national online booking system and will this support the vaccination roll-out?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The national immunisation booking system known as Book My Vaccine has been developed and it allows people to directly book their vaccines. To date there are seven district health boards with 33 vaccination sites on the system. There are 31422 active bookings within the vaccination system. The remaining DHBs are being onboarded over the next two weeks four DHBs will be on board by the end of this week and six further DHBs in the week of 28 June and 5 July.
7. Question No. 7—COVID-19 ResponseDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 7—COVID-19 Response7. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he have confidence in the Government's COVID-19 response considering a positive case travelling between Sydney and Wellington?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Yes.David Seymour: How many tests does he believe will be carried out over the next four days while Wellington is at alert level 2?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't have a particular target for that. I imagine that the number will be significantly higher than normal. What we are saying is that people who are showing symptoms should stay home isolate and get a test. The other people that should get a test are the people who are identified through contact tracing as having been at a location of interest at the same time as the positive case who has now returned to Australia.David Seymour: Why could he not express confidence earlier after his ministerial statement in the ability of contact tracers to reach the gold standard of 80 percent end-to-end contact tracing within 96 hours as set out by the Ayesha Verrall report a year ago?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Ultimately because the contact tracers are not completely in control of all of the variables that will contribute to whether or not they can fulfil those objectives. David Seymour: Why set a target if the Minister will always say that it wasn't reached because of variables beyond the Government's control?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Ultimately the targets or the performance measures if you like measure risk and the more we can achieve the performance measures specified the lower we can make the risk. Having said that if we don't find out about a case for a prolonged period of time or if people don't share information about their close contacts in a timely way with us then the contact tracers won't be able to reach those performance measures. Sometimes people do forget who they've been in contact with and it's only after some time that they may remember them.
5. Question No. 5—HousingGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 5—Housing5. GLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has she made about the Housing Acceleration Fund?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): Yesterday I announced the launch of the $1 billion Infrastructure Acceleration Fund a key component of the $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund. For decades we have dealt with a patchwork system of infrastructure investment. Central government investment in infrastructure was identified by local councils and others as one of the key actions that the Government needs to take to increase the supply of housing in the short term. This is a Government focused on the future and we are investing in the critical infrastructure needed to accelerate the delivery of new housing.Glen Bennett: Where is it intended that the infrastructure be delivered and what kind of increase in new housing should it support?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The fund is designed to support the provision of new housing supply right across the country according to housing need. That is from urban centres to the regions as well. In major urban environments such as Auckland Tauranga Wellington and Christchurch projects will be expected to deliver at least 200 additional homes. While in urban centres such as Rotorua Palmerston North and Nelson projects will be expected to deliver at least 100 homes. In smaller centres the requirement will be set at 30 homes. The fund could deliver housing right across the housing continuum from public housing to affordable rental homes to market homes for homeownership. I do note that the fund seeks to enable affordable housing.Glen Bennett: How will the Government ensure a good regional spread and that funding won't go exclusively to major urban centres?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund is designed with regional spread of infrastructure investment across New Zealand in mind. We've been working closely with Local Government New Zealand since we announced our funding in March of this year to identify projects in our towns smaller cities and regions that require infrastructure funding to accelerate the building of new supply in areas that are also experiencing a housing shortage.
3. Question No. 3—FinanceBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The latest Westpac McDermott Miller survey shows consumer confidence is on the rise up 1.9 points to 107.1 in June. This is just below the survey's long-term average of 110.7. A score above 100 indicates that more people are optimistic than pessimistic about the economy in the coming year. Not only are New Zealanders more positive about the outlook for the economy they also expect their own financial situation will continue to improve. The survey does however show that the rise in confidence is uneven which is in line with the different impacts of COVID-19.Barbara Edmonds: What other reports has he seen on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The economic recovery has been supported by the manufacturing and services sector. The BNZ Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) remains firmly in expansionary territory rising 0.3 points to 58.6 in May. The index compares very favourably to its long-term average of 53.1. The BNZ Business New Zealand Performance of Services Index (PSI) stood at 56.1 in May and while the index did decline from its highest ever recorded level in April it is still above its long-term average of 53.9. BNZ economists noted that the current strength in the PSI and PMI say good things for economic growth over the coming quarters. While our economy is robust the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means the environment does continue to be volatile as we discovered with the alert level change in Wellington today. We cannot be complacent.Barbara Edmonds: What support is available to businesses and workers if there is a change in alert levels such as what has happened today in Wellington?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Obviously we continue to have both the Short-term Absence Payment and the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme which are designed to support people if they have to either take tests and self-isolate or if they have COVID and they have to take time off work. Were the alert level change that has happened in Wellington today to last longer than seven days this would trigger the resurgence support payment that is available for people right across New Zealand if alert levels rise.
Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill — In Committee—Part 1
Penk Chris; Rurawhe AdrianTEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Chris Penk): The committee has considered the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill and reports progress. I move That the report be adopted.Motion agreed to.Report adopted.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.The House adjourned at 9.57 p.m.