Oral Answers for 25 June 2025
Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all the Government's statements and actions? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister of Finance: What is the Depositor Compensation Scheme and when does it start? Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Does he stand by his statement, "The bottom trawling techniques that are pursued by the New Zealand fishing industry are relatively harmless"; if so, are current levels of bycatch acceptable? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Associate Minister of Housing: How many New Zealanders are homeless now, compared to when the Government was elected? TODD STEPHENSON to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Minister of Statistics: How will he ensure that scrapping the five-yearly Census will not magnify the problem of under-counting Maori and Pasifika populations? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister for Infrastructure: What recent reports has he seen on New Zealand's infrastructure sector? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by statements made on her behalf that high inflation and high interest rates were main factors in job losses in the construction sector? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Climate Change: Does he stand by his statement that "it is our expectation that we will remain an associate member" of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance; if not, why not? MILES ANDERSON to the Minister of Agriculture: Why is the Government proposing to ban full farm-to-forestry conversions on our highest quality productive land? INGRID LEARY to the Associate Minister of Housing: Does he stand by statements made on his behalf that his proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act 2003 would "include provisions for repayments but not mandate them"? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister for Mental Health: What recent announcements have been made for the assessment and prescription for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following:
See terms of use.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
33 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'We were the silent victim' - children with parents in prison form new panel to help kids
Pillars youth panel Ngā Rangitira Apōpō pictured with Minister for Children Karen Chhour and Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly Rangatahi impacted by a parent in prison say more needs to be done to ensure they are not punished for the crimes of their family members. They have formed a youth advisory panel - Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō - which met with Children's Minister Karen Chhour on the steps of Parliament. They handed her an open letter calling for the establishment of a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts to help those left behind when someone is sent to jail. About 20,000 children are impacted by whānau incarceration in Aotearoa. Children who - while they have done nothing wrong - are nonetheless punished. Courtney is one of them. "Me and my siblings lost both of our parents in the justice system at the same time and we didn't know till my older sister got a very unfortunate call from my family's lawyers and after that, our Nana was left in charge of us four kids. "We didn't have any support, we were left in the dark, we didn't even get to call our mum or dad or see them for ages." Four children's lives turned upside down. Pillars chief executive Tuhi Leef and Youth panelist Courtney. Photo: RNZ / Louise Ternouth Courtney is part of the Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō youth advisory panel run by Pillars, which gathered at parliament asking the government to do more to help those like her family. She said the rangatahi felt while their parents broke the law, it was not fair they were made to suffer due to uncertainty and a lack of support. "All the stories on that panel, all our backgrounds, it's all different, but we all can agree that we were the silent victim and it was horrible not knowing what was happening. "We all have forgotten what our parents looked like or what their voices sound like because of some lack of communication, yeah, I don't want that for anyone else." The letter presented to Chhour makes the case for a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts. Whānau navigators would help families to access wrap around services, and ensure they are informed of their rights around prison visits and communication with their whānau member in detention. Minister of Children Karen Chhour gathers with rangatahi impacted by a parent in prison at parliament. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly A similar 'kaiarahi' role has been established in the Family Court and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. The panel is being supported by the group Pillars, which helps children and whānau of prisoners. Researcher and youth advocate Corrina Thompson said it was essential a whānau navigator was in place as soon as someone entered the judicial system. "Far too often, children are largely invisible from the point of arrest, right through court proceedings, through to prison and sometimes it's not until the person arrives in prison that the fact that that person is a parent with children is even known. "That point between a first appearance in court and prison can actually be a really long time for a lot of people months, in some cases years." Thompson noted that the government's tough-on-crime approach also impacted innocent families of offenders. "There is not just here in New Zealand, but internationally very strong evidence to say that if we want to get tough on crime, we have to get strong on housing, strong on support, strong on culturally responsive intervention prevention, rehabilitation not being tough or soft on people." Rangatira Mō Apōpō youth panel gather on parliament's steps to advocate for justice reform. Photo: Supplied / Pillars If there is government support for the proposal, Pillars and the youth panel are hoping a two-year pilot can be rolled out at district courts. Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad has added her support to the idea. "Children with parents and whānau who are in prison they should be supported to fulfil their full potential and have all of their rights and needs met. "This particular advocacy and idea that Ngā Rangitira Mō Apōpō has brought forth is a tangible way for us to make these children visible and I really want to see the government take it forward and implement it in action." The Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō panel pitched a similar idea in 2022, which they said received support in principle from the previous Labour government. As for Wednesday's proposal, Chhour said it was still early days. "I'm not going to make any commitments to supporting the changes what I'm saying is, that I've met with them I've spoken with them... and there's room to have conversations about what that could look like." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Regulatory Standards Bill: 30 hours allocated for public submissions on Act Party leader's bill
David Seymour also hit out at online campaigns denouncing the bill. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii ACT Party Leader David Seymour is defending the Regulatory Standards Bill getting only 30 hours of public submissions allocated. Te Ao Māori News has reported the Finance and Expenditure Committee made the decision to allocated a maximum of 30 hours for public submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill. Submission on the bill closed on Monday, which has been introduced to Parliament in various forms on three separate occasions; first in 2006, then 2011 and 2021. Speaking to media, Seymour said the bill was "probably the most consulted on bill this century" given it would be the bill's fourth time through the house. But, Labour's Regulation spokesperson Duncan Webb said it was the "most rejected bill we've ever seen" and Seymour wanted to "slip it through under the radar". Seymour said the point of select committee was to get information to the committee so they could write better a bill, not a "referendum". "There's never been a bill that has had more consultation, more study, more debates, more deliberation this century than the Regulatory Standards Bill," Seymour said. "If people really believe that 30 hours is not enough time to hear all valid views about it, then I don't think they're taking it seriously." The ACT leader also hit out at online campaigns denouncing the bill and providing guides on how to make a submission - particularly from Greenpeace. "Let's be honest, most of these people who have submitted have gone and clicked on a series of false statements put out by the likes of Greenpeace, and that's all they've done," Seymour said. "These are not people that have read the bill or have something to say about it. So, if the idea is that because basically, Greenpeace ran an email recruitment campaign, there should be more listening, I don't think that's true." In response, Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop said Seymour comments were a "pathetic attempt" to "delegitimise" opposition to the bill. "Seymour has gone from calling people bots to smearing academics , and now he's trying to sideline people who have turned to trusted civil society organisations like Greenpeace to assist them in having their voices heard," Toop said. Toop said it was a "travesty" that there would only be 30 hours for people to be heard in by Select Committee and the bill would insert "far-right ideology" into the law making process. "Everyone deserves to have their voices heard on this bill, whether they had help with their submission or not," Toop said. Opponents could be summed up as "never have so many, been riled up, by so few, over so little substance," Seymour said. "I don't believe there's ever been a bill in this Parliament where every single written submission has been heard. A lot of people make written submissions and they ask not to be heard. That's normal." Seymour said. Duncan Webb. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Labour's Duncan Webb said the bill had so far been "rejected every time" and Seymour did not want the bill to go through a full process. "He wants to slip it through under the radar. It's ridiculous. He's got a truncated select committee process. It should be heard fully. There are thousands of people who want to be heard," Webb said. "I like to think we live in a democracy where we give as many people as much voice as we can." Webb said there would be too many submission to go through the process "indefinitely" but 30 hours was "derisory" and "insulting". "It's undermining of people having a decent voice." Asked how long public submission should go for, Webb said 100 hours for the Fast Track Bill and 80 for the Treaty Principles Bill was an "indication". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
The Panel with Deborah Hart and Richard Pamatatau Part 1
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Deborah Hart and Richard Pamatatau. They discuss the idea that NZ Super should be measn tested. they do it in Australia, why not here? Also on the cards is outrage in Hawkes Bay over proposed hikes to water rates: some locals might find themsleves forking up to 7 and a half thousand bucks a year. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
