1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterRt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement We also want to see steps made towards a ceasefire"?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Yes I do and like everyone in this House I am absolutely appalled by the human tragedy that has unfolded in Israel and Gaza since 7 October. I just think the images on our TV screens are incredibly distressing and confronting for all of us as New Zealanders to watch and I especially regret that the parties have not been able to agree a further extension to the recent pause in fighting.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Does the Government support calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza; if not why not?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well we would like to see a ceasefire but in order to achieve a sustainable ceasefire as the member well knows both sides actually need to be able to do so and that means that they both have to agree to be able to put down their arms they both have to actually agree to cease fighting across the whole area of the conflict in Gaza and in Israel both parties actually need to commit to a political process and a peace process to resolve their differences and both sides need to take those steps in order to get those conditions in place.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: So is it the Government's position that New Zealand should only call for a ceasefire once it's already happened?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: No I've been very clear: we would like to see a ceasefire but it requires both parties to actually make that a sustainable action and ceasefire.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Does the Government support an "immediate durable and sustained humanitarian truce" as called for in UN Resolution 2712?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Yes we do.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: What's the difference between that and an immediate ceasefire?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: As I said we want to see a ceasefire that takes place. It requires conditions on both sides to be adhered to as I've outlined.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker I asked the member what the difference is between what the Government does support and what it doesn't support and he hasn't addressed that.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Supplementary question.SPEAKER: No hang on—I haven't ruled on the point of order yet. It's my first one. That unfortunately is the lot of anybody asking an oral question.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: What is the difference between an immediate durable and sustained humanitarian truce and an immediate permanent ceasefire?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Look as I've said before we would like to see an enduring sustainable ceasefire. Yeah we would all like to see that in this country but the reality is for a sustainable ceasefire to take place you need both parties to agree to it.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I ask the Prime Minister as to whether or not the New Zealand Government—the new Government—added its name to the UN statement and wouldn't any informed member of Parliament in this country know that?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Yes we did.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why won't the New Zealand Government call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire when more than 16000 people have died the great majority of them civilians and that is continuing as we speak?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: As I've said we would all like to see a sustainable ceasefire but it actually requires all parties to actually make the conditions to make that happen and for that to happen for hostilities to cease Hamas needs to actually cease its attacks on Israel needs to stop exploiting civilian infrastructure and using civilians as shields and it needs to locate and release all the remaining hostages. On the other hand we actually need to see Israel respecting the laws of humanitarian law and war we need to make sure that they're actually ensuring that innocent civilians are being protected they need to make sure that their civilians have access to food and fuel and resources and medical supplies and we also need to make sure that the loss of life that we saw in the North doesn't take place in the South. So there are responsibilities on both sides of this equation. There are responsibilities on both parties to make sure we get an enduring sustainable ceasefire.Golriz Ghahraman: Thank you Mr Speaker. Is he concerned that under his watch Aotearoa is failing to meet our legal obligations to act to prevent genocide to protect the rights of children and to act in the interests of global peace and security where war crimes are alleged—that's "to act"?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: We have supported UN resolutions and we will continue to do so. We are calling on both parties to actually come together to make sure that we get a sustainable ceasefire in place."