(ed:..i will post a commentary at the close of proceedings..)
Questions to Ministers
1)..MAGGIE BARRY to the Minister of Finance: What measures is the Government taking to encourage businesses to invest, grow and create jobs?
maggs ‘only i can speak of childbirth’ barry gets a few patsy-questions..
..as always..she over-emphasises/over-elocutes/does a ham-actor routine…..
(and the questions make the rest of the house groan…)
..english serially-drones on in response..
2)..DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement given in answer to Oral Question No 2 on 1 May 2012, “my chief of staff spoke with Hon John Banks and sought an assurance from him that he had fully complied with the requirements of the Local Electoral Act in respect of donations. Mr Banks gave his assurance during the phone call and stated that he was not aware that Mr Dotcom had made the donation to his mayoral campaign”?
shearer has a go at key..
..and then meanders off/wastes his time asking about the new legislation..(!)..(ed:..who is advising this man on tactics..?..fire him/her/them..!..
..and so once again shearer just pisses away what could/should have been a golden-moment/opportunity..)
3)..METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that Hon John Banks has “got a version of events, others have got a different version. It’s not for me to forensically go through that”; if so, whose job is it to hold his Ministers to account for the veracity of their statements?
turei pisses away her chance by stupid riffing on hypothetical-questions/situations/scenarios on/about about planet-key..(!)..
(key turns the riff around..and thus wins that encounter..)
(ed:..who is advising turei on tactics..?..fire him/her/them..!..)
.peters leans in..key gives a smug/nasty/personal-attack non-answer..
..peters is getting traction..
(get’s best one-liner..after a particularly fatuous non-answer from key..”the prime minister had may as well stand up and say ‘rhubarb’..)
4)..MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Justice: What steps is the Government taking to better protect the public from imminent and serious sexual and violent offenders?
collins announces a new ‘beast-law’…(basically indefinite-detention..)
(ed:..retrospective..?..d’yareckon..?
..and a new populist-distraction..?..)
..collins bangs on and on..making a speech..
..speaker closes her down..
5)..GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement in answer to Supplementary Question No 3 in Oral Question No 2 on 1 May 2012, “The test is whether the Minister correctly applied and did everything in accordance with the law. I have received an assurance he did”?
..robertson has a go at key over banks..
..and gets traction from reading out excerpts from police-report..(ed:..why didn’t shearer do this..?..)
..robertson is doing best of any..
..key is just looking shifty/evasive..
..and you would have to give that one to robertson…
6)..EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Conservation: Has she considered making the decision herself on Milford Dart Ltd’s concession application for a private bus tunnel, rather than delegating it to a Department of Conservation manager; if not, why not?
wilkinson does not want to comment on whether she would or would not make a decision herself..(!)
..sage and wilkinson are having a battle of the inept…
..building to an anti-excitement peak…
7)..Dr DAVID CLARK to the Minister for Small Business: What changes, if any, has he proposed to the Minister of Commerce to the Companies Act 1993 to reduce the burden of compliance on small businesses?
clark questions banks directly…citing what banks did and asking if law-changes are needed…(ed:..heh..!..)
..banks blusters in reply..
..the house is openly jeering at banks..
(ed:..has there been a more discredited/unbelievable pol..?..oh..i dunno..!..since garrets’ protestations of innocence..?..)
peters raises a laugh by moaning about ‘obfuscutary-answers’ from banks…
(ed:..a dark art peters himself is a master at..)
8)..Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister for Social Development: What changes will the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill make to the welfare system?
..ardern makes a weak attempt against bennett..(ed:..i expected more from ardern..)
9)..Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: What discussions, if any, has he had with the Reserve Bank regarding the exchange rate in the past six months?
..govt says they have no way of effecting the exchange-rate..(!)
10)..Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister of Education: On what date did she approve the proposal for changes to the schools network in Canterbury, announced last Thursday, and when were school principals and board of trustee chairs affected by the proposed closures first invited to a briefing on that proposal?
parata blames a broken-embargo for the whole announcement farce…
..and appears to know not what comes next..
11)..SIMON O’CONNOR to the Minister of Revenue: How has the Government made the student loan scheme more affordable for taxpayers?
..dunne proudly announces more restrictions on access to student-loans…
12)..Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the IMF that the New Zealand currency is overvalued and does he agree with exporters that this is causing decreased export receipts resulting in fewer jobs in the export sector?
parker withdraws his question..’cos english isn’t there..
..summary:..
..shearer and turei both had major fails in their attempts to hold key to account over john banks..
..and turei gets a stupid-riffing award for her ‘on planet-key’-routine..
(ed:..how about riffing on the bloody police report.?..not enough material there..?..rather try a clever-clogs..?..it didn’t work.eh..?.
..and turei has gifted key the days’ ‘splashback-award’..for turning that stupid riff araound..and using it on turei..)
..key also gets todays’ ‘fuck he’s nasty!’-award..earned during his trying not to answer the questions about banks..
peters gets todays’ ‘fruit-board-eat-three-a-day!-award’..for his gratuitous use of the word ‘rhubarb’..
..collins gets a pandering-to-populist-alarmism-award..with her announcement of indefinite-detention..(ed:..what we could call the ‘beast-law’ for now..eh..?..)
.robertson and clark share the ‘i did best!-award’..for their goes at key over banks….
..sage and wilkinson share the ‘non-event’-award..for their encounter that wasn’t really an encounter..more just them waving/mouthing weakly at each other..
(all in all the greens had a shocker of a day..with a point of order from clendon being them at their most coherent..)
..banks got the biggest laughs of the day..and that for just standing and speaking…
..parata was as confused/in-over-her-head as ever/usual….and has heralded a change of image in clothing..she has forsaken her black/white uber-power-costumes…for a mumsy-cardie-look..
(ed:..i’m not buying it..eh..?..)
..and of course barry gets the ‘ham-on-the-hoof’-award..for her over-acting..
..and english gets the ‘running-out-of-the-house’-award..
..for being there to answer an earlier question..
..but being gone by his non-patsy-question number 12..
(ed:..i mean..it isn’t as tho’ he has got a hui to go to or anything..eh..?..)
..a 4/5 questiontime..
..and a day when the opposition..with ammunition galore…in the main..did not shine..
