Parliament - Live Stream and Question Time

Oral Questions for Thursday 31 July 2025

Questions to Ministers Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Women: Does she stand by her statement, "My top priority as Minister for Women is to support women to economic empowerment because not only does it give women more choice, but it has a ripple effect on families, communities, and the economy"; if so, is fair pay critical to economic empowerment? SCOTT WILLIS to the Minister for Energy: What actions, if any, has he taken to reduce power bills for energy consumers, and how much have power bills reduced on average, if at all, as a result of these actions? Dr HAMISH CAMPBELL to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about strengthening primary care? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? PAULO GARCIA to the Minister of Local Government: What announcements has he made about increasing transparency in local government? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that he is ensuring "nurses have the resources they need to provide access to timely, quality healthcare"? HANA-RAWHITI MAIPI-CLARKE to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What, if anything, is she doing to address the 10 percent decrease in filled jobs for 15- to 19-year-olds since June 2024? TODD STEPHENSON to the Prime Minister: What is the Government doing to reduce spending? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she agree with Erica Stanford, who said in 2023 that she was "committed to more" pay for existing teachers; if so, how is one of the lowest pay offers ever, as reported by RNZ, being "committed to more"? STEVE ABEL to the Minister of Agriculture: What steps, if any, is he taking to guard against perceived influence by the dairy lobby on freshwater policy? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has the Government made to support Kiwis at the checkout? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her statement, "The Government is creating the conditions where jobs are created, absolutely", and would 184,000 New Zealanders have left the country in the past 18 months if this was the case?

Oral Questions for Wednesday 30 July 2025

Questions to Ministers Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON 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? Dr VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister of Finance: What recent announcements has she made about competition? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? CATHERINE WEDD to the Minister of Transport: What steps has he taken to reduce councils' use of road cones in New Zealand? Hon PEENI HENARE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does he stand by his statement that "It is a matter of when, not if, New Zealand will recognise Palestine Statehood"; if not, why not? 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? GRANT McCALLUM to the Minister of Agriculture: What recent reports has he seen on farmer confidence? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that "Patient safety is critical to ensure Kiwis have confidence in our healthcare systems"? CAMERON BREWER to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcement has the Government made about increasing transparency at the checkout? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she agree with Erica Stanford, who said in 2023 that "we're in a cost of living crisis and everyone is feeling the pinch really, really badly. Teachers are no different than anyone else"; if so, how will a proposed one percent pay increase help secondary teachers with the cost of living crisis? LAURA McCLURE to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What recent announcements has she made on health and safety reform? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions?

Oral Questions for Tuesday 29 July 2025

Questions to Ministers SUZE REDMAYNE to the Minister of Finance: When were personal income tax thresholds last adjusted? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? NANCY LU to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has the Government made regarding reduced fees at the checkout? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON 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 Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that his focus "is on putting patients first"? JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Minister for Resources: What upcoming announcements, if any, is he planning for the resources portfolio? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has he made on the recovery of court fines? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Infrastructure: Does he stand by his statement, "This is a Government serious about investing in New Zealand's future. Serious about infrastructure"; if so, why have 18,000 jobs been lost in the construction sector since this Government took office? Dr CARLOS CHEUNG to the Minister for Building and Construction: What announcements has the Government made about overseas building products? 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 PEENI HENARE to the Associate Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement, "This Government takes homelessness seriously"; if not, why not?

Oral Questions for Thursday 24 July 2025

Questions to Ministers Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? TAMATHA PAUL to the Associate Minister of Housing: Why has homelessness increased greater than the rate of population growth, while the rejection rate for emergency housing has grown to eight times what was reported a year ago? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his reported statement that Totara Hospice received 84 percent of its funding from the Government; if so, why does his account differ from that of the chief executive, who says the correct figure is 56 percent? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister for Economic Growth: What recent announcements has she made? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Associate Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement, "we've been really focussed on making sure that those people with genuine need for housing are given some sort of support"? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality: What recent reports has she seen on tourism in New Zealand? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her statement that "We want to grow, promote and support the education workforce by backing and strengthening our educators"; if so, how does offering secondary teachers the pay offer of 1 percent each year for three years back and strengthen our educators? GREG FLEMING to the Minister for Mental Health: What recent announcements has he made about Gumboot Friday? CELIA WADE-BROWN to the Minister of Local Government: Does he agree with the comments of Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton that "There's some basic things that councils have to get involved in because central government isn't stepping up to fit the needs of local communities"; if not, why not? REUBEN DAVIDSON to the Minister for Media and Communications: Does he stand by the decision to cut funding to Radio New Zealand in Budget 2025; if so, why? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Associate Minister of Housing: How has the Government's declining of 28 percent more emergency housing applications in March 2025 compared to the year before contributed to the Auckland, Far North, and Whangarei territorial authorities reporting the highest number of homeless whanau in Aotearoa according to the Homelessness insights report June 2025? GRANT McCALLUM to the Minister for Building and Construction: What announcements has the Government made about making building in New Zealand more affordable?

Oral Questions for Wednesday 23 July 2025

Questions to Ministers TODD STEPHENSON to the Minister for Regulation: Will New Zealanders benefit from the Ministry for Regulation's work to remove unnecessary rules and regulations; if so, how? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? CAMERON BREWER to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? KAHURANGI CARTER to the Minister for Disability Issues: Does she agree with the findings of the Youth MP Parliamentary Working Group report that disabled people, especially disabled students, are consistently failed by our system; if not, why not? CATHERINE WEDD to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What recent updates has he given about the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024? Hon WILLIE JACKSON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her target of reducing jobseeker numbers by 50,000; if so, is the target closer or further away from being achieved? Dr VANESSA WEENINK to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has she made regarding school property? DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER to the Minister of Health: What specific Maori health outcomes, if any, will improve as a result of his proposed changes to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Infrastructure: What is his plan to ensure there is the workforce to deliver the infrastructure pipeline, and how does it address the fact that more than a quarter of builders say they don't have enough staff to meet future needs? TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What new commitments, if any, has the Government made to protect Aotearoa New Zealand's marine environment following the United Nations Ocean Conference in France last month? MIKE BUTTERICK to the Minister for Trade and Investment: What opportunities will New Zealand exporters have following the third reading of the United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill yesterday? Hon PEENI HENARE to the Associate Minister of Housing: How have homelessness statistics changed in each major urban centre, according to the Homelessness Insights report he received in June 2025, both in absolute numbers and percentage terms, when comparing the most recent reporting period to the previous one?