(ed:..i will post a commentary at the close of questiontime..)
Questions to Ministers
(the miss universe contestants are ‘in the house’..much tittering ensues..speaker gets all oily..)
1)..Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Finance: How did Budget 2012 contribute to the Government’s long-term programme to build a more competitive economy?
(nick smith thinks it is still 2002…maybe the miss universe contestants have flustered him..)
english has his dark-matter machine running at full tilt…you can almost hear the energy/wills to live being sucked out of the legislative chamber…
..(i understand there is a new drinking game in town..you have to drain yr glass everytime english/key..(who i call kenglish)..everytime they ‘blame labour’..)
(unknown backbencher alert..!..sitting behind english..has dimple in chin..looks surly/petulant…a young fogey..)
2)..DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement on the public sector staffing cap “Our revised cap won’t include those at the frontline such as teachers, police, hospital staff, and prison officers”?
..key denies the effects his education cuts will have..
3)..Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “building a more productive economy” is a priority for his Government, given that productivity has declined in 2 out of 3 years since he came to office and the Budget forecasts no improvement this year?
..a few different people had a go at key..
..nobody got much traction..
4)..NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Science and Innovation: What actions has the Government taken to boost funding for science and innovation research?
5)..Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: What is the increase in government spending on New Zealand Superannuation from Budget 2011 to Budget 2012 and is this greater than the increase to Vote Education?
english stuns the house by saying he ‘dosen’t know’…
6)..Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he retain confidence in the Minister responsible for Wh?nau Ora; if so, why?
..peters calls key a ‘liar’…
..and cites a sixty grand grant to a football club..to ‘build whanau ora’..
7)..TIM MACINDOE to the Minister of Justice: What reports has she received on 2011 conviction and sentencing rates?
8)..Hon NANAIA MAHUTA to the Minister of Education: What is the estimated reduction in teaching positions at intermediate and middle schools in each of the next 4 years as a result of the new teacher to student funding ratios in Budget 2012?
9)..MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Social Development: How does Budget 2012 assist Canterbury social services to support the rebuild of the city?
(ed:..sorry..wandered off for q 7-9..i cd still hear them..and nothing to report there..)
10)..KRIS FAAFOI to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by her statement that the measures in the Budget to change the asset threshold for aged residential care were “a reasonable approach to the way forward”?
..add 10 to the nothing to report..
11)..EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for the Environment: Does she agree with the statement by Dr Morgan Williams in the WWF New Zealand report released yesterday that “successive governments have failed to put in place the policies and mechanisms required by our Earth Summit commitments”; if not, why not?
adams denies that reality….
12)..Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Health: What progress was made in the latest quarter towards achieving the Government’s target for shorter stays in emergency departments?
summary:..a dire questiontime..
absolutely nobody said anything of any note…
..avoid like the plague…a 1/10 questiontime…
