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RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Oral Questions for Wednesday 4 June 2025
Questions to Ministers Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? Dr VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister of Education: What announcements has she made regarding school property as part of Budget 2025? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by all her statements and actions in relation to pay equity in the education sector? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister of Justice: What recent reports has he seen about tools to reduce retail crime? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: E tautoko ana ia i nga korero me nga mahi katoa a tona Kawanatanga? Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? Hon JAN TINETTI to the Associate Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement that the previous pay parity regime for early childhood education was "putting enormous funding pressure on the centers"; if so, does he view increasing pay for ECE teachers to be a funding pressure? CARL BATES to the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality: What recent announcement has she made about regional events funding? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Will the 13,200 low-income households who will have their housing assistance reduced due to the Government's changes to the calculation of housing subsidies be better or worse off as a result? Hon PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Immigration: How many people were informed in error following Immigration New Zealand's online ballot in May that they had won the right to apply for a parent residence visa? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Budget Referendum: Voters hit polls today to approve, fail budget
WILLIMANTIC — Voters will have the opportunity to hit the polls today to decide whether they approve the proposed budget for the Board of Education, General Government and operating expenses for the Willimantic Taxing District Board of Directors. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Board of Education proposed $53,044,332 in operating expenses and $1,337,000 in capital expenditures. The General Government proposed $21,068,961 in operating expenses, while the Willimantic Taxing District Board of Directors is proposing $13,405,869 in operating expenses. Town Manager Robert Zarnetske said the proposed budget was designed to accomplish two goals: reduce the burden on taxpayers and make strategic adjustments to all programs to set the town on a path toward stable taxes in the future. 'I think we substantially achieved both goals,' Zarnetske said. 'If the budget passes as is, the tax increase for most property owners will be minimal — about $40 to $100.' Zarnetske added the increase would be even less for those who only pay taxes on their automobiles. Windham Mayor Tom DeVivo said he feels good about the proposed budget, which he believes provides the community with the services people want in Windham. 'The Town Council has made staff cuts and accepted difficult choices to the workflow in town hall as proposed by Town Manager Robert Zarnetske,' DeVivo said. 'The council is committed to the town selling many of the vacant properties the town owns and controls.' DeVivo believes those properties could contribute revenue to the town and alleviate the burden on homeowners. 'I urge all voters to vote 'yes' on May 20, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at their usual voting spot, and keep Windham moving forward,' DeVivo said. Council member Bill Sayers said this budget is an absolute bottom-line budget. 'I believe every board did their due diligence to craft budgets that were solid, but responsible to the taxpayers,' Sayers said. 'I hope that when people go to the polls to vote, they will vote 'yes' on all three budgets. I sincerely believe that Windham voters will realize that the work was done and vote to approve.' Polling places for voters will be at the VFW, Elks Lodge and the Windham Center Fire Department. If unsure of your polling place, call 860-465-3016 or 860-465-3013.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas bill deadlines, deals, and re-writes dominate headlines: TWITP
The Brief The regular legislative session is coming to a close and deadlines, deals, and re-writes for several bills made the headlines this week FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts discussed the big stories from This Week in Texas Politics AUSTIN, Texas - This Week in Texas Politics started with a race to beat the clock at the Texas Capitol. Deadlines, deals, and re-writes made headlines. FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts discussed the big stories from This Week in Texas Politics. Local perspective RUDY KOSKI: A barn burner is a good way to describe how This Week in Texas Politics wrapped up. Let's get our headlines from our panel, and we'll start with Brian Smith with St. Edward's University. Brian, what's your headline for the week? BRIAN SMITH: With Sine Die approaching, the legislature kicks into high gear. RUDY KOSKI: Political analyst Karina Kling, what's your headline for the week? KARINA KLING: Hundreds of Texas House Bills sent to the shredder after a critical deadline. RUDY KOSKI: And Brad Johnson with The Texan, what's your headline for the week? BRAD JOHNSON: Thousands of bills turn into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight. RUDY KOSKI: The 225-page Senate re-write of the Education Funding Plan, HB2, finally got a hearing this week. The House and Senate versions of HB 2, remain at $8 billion, but differ in how the money is being spent, Brad. Initially, there was outrage about this. BRAD JOHNSON: There's a lot of rural R's who are angry about this, and they're very upset because They went out all in support of Greg Abbott's ESA program as part of a deal. And part of that deal was the House's version of school finance. And now, we're seeing that kind of shifting possibly. KARINA KLING: I assume and believe that a lot of House members are not going to be very happy with this, so. They're going to have to hash this out in these final few weeks. BRIAN SMITH: And it might not be the best Bill, it might be a perfect Bill, but it'll be something that'll go into law. If they don't, then only the Republicans are to blame. RUDY KOSKI: There was another education rewrite that happened this week. A Bill moved forward to end STARR testing and replace it with another exam. KARINA KLING: There's still a lot of work to do out there, between the two chambers, but. I mean, some kind of overhaul is inevitable, and this is something that both chambers are pushing for. RUDY KOSKI: Other notable shutdown bills this week included a ban on gun buyback programs. And a late arrival SB-3070. That cleared the Senate and, if approved by the House, could close down the Lottery Commission. Brian, the Senate Bill, moves the game to a new agency. BRIAN SMITH: If you have an agency that's in trouble, sometimes one of the smartest things to do, is bury it within an existing agency. And if you put it in with licensing, the licensing agency, you're in there with like midwives and barbers and speech therapists and a hodgepodge of other industries. It'll take away independence and visibility. But any negative publicity won't escape from that level. And then be a drag on the government. RUDY KOSKI: Alright, let's take a moment. Pause and remember all those bills that died at midnight, Thursday night. And there were a lot. Kumbaya and farewell. Brad, some of these bills could come back to life like zombies. BRAD JOHNSON: Most of the bills on this calendar were not top-level, high-profile bills. They were a lot of pet projects by members, because everybody knew they were either on the chopping block or dead as a doornail. And so, the focus has always been on passing these Senate bills, and now we're in that time. RUDY KOSKI: A notable Bill in Conference Committee limbo is SB 17. It prevents land purchases by people linked to hostile foreign nations. Bail reform, another round of property tax cuts and bills on gender identity. All were kept alive this week. Karina, give me a bill that you're watching that is on that thin ice situation. KARINA KLING: I'm watching closely, the THC measure and what they're going to do with that. The Senate wants a full on ban. The House wants to reform some of that a bit more. BRAD JOHNSON: I'll go with the tort reform proposal. This thing has been a massive, massive expensive fight. BRIAN SMITH: Right, this is the time when those top issues come to the forefront. We've gotten rid of a lot of the bills that had no chance, so now it's time to see how strong the governor is in passing his emergency items? How powerful is the Lieutenant Governor and how unified is that Republican caucus in the House. RUDY KOSKI: The primary battle between Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton is intensifying this week with the bigger social media mud fight going on. Some gasoline added to that mud this week with the report that internal polling has Paxton leading in the primary. But He could lose the general election. Brad, Politico's headline. Called this the "GOP train wreck" of the 2026 election cycle. BRAD JOHNSON: This thing's going to be an absolute mess, and it's going to be fun to watch from the outside. BRIAN SMITH: Again, I think people like Politico. When they're bored, they turn out that old, let's turn Texas blue type article. Because it's still too early to make anything out of the race, I think. KARINA KLING: But Cornyn is a pro at fundraising. And once he starts inundating the airwaves, the game may change a little bit. We will see how this brutal fight over the airwaves plays out and who can win in that battle. RUDY KOSKI: You can see our full discussion on the FOX 7 YouTube page, but let's wrap things up with one final word. Brian, we'll start with you. What's your word for the week? BRIAN SMITH: Terminus. KARINA KLING: Deadlines. BRAD JOHNSON: Funding. RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski
