12. State Services (Open Government) Minister—Official Information Act Requests and PrioritiesBRETT HUDSON (National) to the Associate Minister of State ServicesState Services (Open Government) Minister—Official Information Act Requests and PrioritiesBRETT HUDSON (National): My question is to the Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government) and asks: what are her priorities for the portfolio?Mr SPEAKER: No I think—if the member would have another crack at just straight reading all right? Try the yellow sheet which is the official one.Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just seek clarification on that because her full title certainly on all the Government websites is Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government). Mr SPEAKER: And what has been accepted by me is on this sheet and that's what will be used.Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Mr SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. Every day there are amendments to questions that are lodged—sometimes to the substance sometimes to the Minister. In the past the whole Minister changed because the Government decided to transfer it. In the end we have to rely on the official sheet and we don't want that relitigated at the time we come to the House. Hon Simon Bridges: I totally understand that point. Don't they though have to be correct titles? Isn't that incredibly important for the future?Mr SPEAKER: That is something that I am happy to have a look at and will have a look at but it's something that should be taken up not at the time the question is being asked. Brett Hudson.12. BRETT HUDSON (National) to the Associate Minister of State Services: What are her priorities for the portfolio?Hon CLARE CURRAN (Associate Minister of State Services): My priority is that this will be the most open most transparent—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: I'm just going to indicate to the Minister that when she has the mike people can hear her even if there is loud noise from the other side. My recommendation is that notwithstanding the cheers and support from my left she just keep going.Hon CLARE CURRAN: Thank you Mr Speaker. My priority is that this will be the most open most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had. We will do this in several ways including requiring proactive disclosure of some official information as I said at NetHui recently in Auckland; improving Government capability and performance in relation to the Official Information Act; and deepening the Government's commitment to the Open Government Partnership.Brett Hudson: Will she be backing Otago University lecturer Bryce Edwards who has said and I quote: It's time for everyone who believes in reforming the OIA processes to join together and campaign to make that actually happen."?Hon CLARE CURRAN: Yes.Brett Hudson: Does she agree with Dr Edwards' characterisation of her role as the Minister with responsibility for open government: "She has already committed her government to doing much better than the last government in terms of releasing information."?Hon CLARE CURRAN: Yes.Brett Hudson: How as the Minister responsible for open government can she in all good conscience address a written question from a member about events in respect of a single day by saying that providing an answer "would take substantial research and collation which I do not think is in the public interest"?Hon CLARE CURRAN: I will defend the right of the Opposition to ask written questions but the Opposition is abusing that right. I happen to agree with Ben Thomas the former National press secretary who called it "6000 stupid questions: National's [denial-of-service] attack on the Government".Hon Simon Bridges: Supplementary?Mr SPEAKER: Supplementary—sorry no there's none left. That concludes oral—Hon Gerry Brownlee: You gave us one back. [Interruption] You gave us two back.Mr SPEAKER: And then took one back again.Hon Gerry Brownlee: But we've been doing our own count here.Mr SPEAKER: Well I'm relying on my—[Interruption] Well there is an obvious question about relying on the member for counting and I won't get into that because that would be seen to be partisan. Hon Gerry Brownlee: Oh how unusual.Mr SPEAKER: Thank you Mr Brownlee. I am relying on my assistant for keeping the count. I think we've established that on one particular occasion he was too generous to the National Party because we do check but I'm going to go with him rather than the member's count."