(ed:..i will post a commentary at the close of proceedings..)
Questions to Ministers
1)..JOHN HAYES to the Minister of Finance: What advice has he received on the impact global economic developments are having on the New Zealand economy?
english points at europe as his reason for doing nothing/little..
(..and dosen’t even answer his own question..dosen’t say what the advice was..just gives his opinion..which funnily enough is just a re-run of the same excuse key/english have been using since forever..
..by despite nz having very low govt debt (take a bow michael cullen..)..
..english just runs around flapping his wings..claiming the european sky is about to fall in on him/us..)
..peters then wrangles with the speaker to try and get peters to answer..
..the speaker has a ‘fail’ by letting english get away with it..
..with not even answering his own ‘patsy’..(!)..
2)..Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the International Monetary Fund, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand that the New Zealand dollar is overvalued?
..english:..’recent job losses are regrettable but unavoidable’..
..peters cites the legislation allowing the finance minister to instruct the reserve bank to control the foreign exchange rate..
..(parker then has a go..)..english responds by blaming the last labour govt..)
..peters gets all theatrical..compares english to nero fiddling while rome burnt..
3)..DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement in relation to food in schools that “most of those decile one to three schools have that and are dealing with the issue”; if so, is he therefore satisfied that all children attending New Zealand schools are having their nutritional needs met and are arriving in classrooms ready to learn?
..english argues that a piece of fruit a day is enough for the govt to do…and sheets responsibility home to the parents..
..shearer cites the enormous amount of money one poor-area school spends feeding hungry families..
english argues that feeding hungry children will ‘undermine the family’..
..english then cynically claims that ‘one piece of fruit is enough for a hungry child..’.(!)
(ed:..how fucken detached from reality is this man…?..or how blackly cynical he is..
..it is either one or the other..)
4)..NIKKI KAYE to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What reports has he received regarding the performance of the tertiary education sector?
..joyce bangs on for awhile..
5)..METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement, “I don’t think that [universal child payment] is at all likely; we went away from that some years ago. In New Zealand we have a very targeted system through Working for Families.”?
..english cynically plays semantics with this question..
..and confirms he/this govt will be giving no increase in support for the poorest families…
(270,000 new zealand children live in poverty..)
..turei gets pissed off at the cynicism from english..and lets rip at him…
..english then claims he is ‘offended’ by her words..(words that just describe how this govt is just doing nothing for the poorest children/families..)
6)..Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made on the Government’s comprehensive welfare reforms?
..bennett wraps her kicking the crap out of beneficiaries in pious/smug-platitudes..
..bennett then blames the last labour govt for her need to kick that crap out of those beneficiaries..
(and it seems difficult to do..but bennett tops english for her cynical-manipulation of this ‘societal-crime’ of ignoring/bashing up on the poorest..)
7)..GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Local Government: Does he agree with the statement by the previous Minister for Local Government, Hon Dr Nick Smith “Under any circumstances the next regional council elections in Canterbury will take place no later than the elections scheduled for late 2013″?
..carter blames the earthquakes for breaking that promise from smith..
..robertson asks carter what will come first..?..elections in fiji or in canterbury..
8)..NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Conservation: What progress has been made to deter smuggling of our threatened species?
..wilkinson is minister of conservation..?..who knew..?
9)..Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister for Economic Development: What was the level of unemployment forecast for 2013 and 2014 in the downside scenario of Budget 2012, and what is the level of unemployment for 2013 and 2014 as forecast by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment last week?
joyce says the govt dosen’t subsidise industries..cunnliffe notes the subsidies for sky-city casino..and for his/joyces’ former company..mediaworks
..joyce has bad news for the new new zealand herald..
..noting matter of factly that ‘the newsprint industry is slowly going out of business’..
10)..IAN McKELVIE to the Minister of Statistics: What progress has been made in preparing for the 2013 Census?
..online form-filling..
11)..EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Local Government: Does he think it is fair to require Cantabrians to pay around $78 million in regional rates annually with no elected regional councillors deciding how to spend those rates?
..as a former/sacked councillor..sage is on a hiding to nowhere…as carter pours the damning quotes about the former regional council all over sage..
12)..Hon NANAIA MAHUTA to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her answers to parliamentary written questions that show parents are paying 30 percent more in school donations since National took office?
..govt gives $35 million to private schools..parents at public schools have to stump up with $24 million more..to cover basic increases in running costs for those state schools..
summary:..english and bennett take out the cold-hearted-cynic award..for their manipulation for political points..the miseries of the poorest new zealanders..
..english gets quotes of the day..with his claim that a piece of fruit a day is enough for a hungry child..
..and for saying that feeding the hungry/poor children ‘would undermine the family’…
turei gets the ‘wind-beneath-my-wings’-award…for her justified letting rip at english..for this govts’ ignoring of the poor…
newsflash:..wilkinson is the minister for conservation…who knew..?
..and media-quote of the day..was joyce sounding the death-knell for the new new zealand herald..
..noting how ‘the newsprint industry is slowly going out of business’..
..and the good news for private schools is how this govt so favours them over the state schools..
..a 3.5/10 questiontime..
