Thursday 26 August, 2010

Parliament continued its urgency in the House yesterday, but stopped at 2pm for Question Time.

Hon Phil Goff asked the Prime Minister: When he told the House on 9 February that New Zealand taxes consumption at a relatively low rate, was he aware that New Zealand had the 6th highest rate of consumption taxation in the OECD as a percentage of GDP; if not, why not?

Dr Russel Norman to the Minister of Finance: What constraints, if any, does the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement place on the ability of the New Zealand Government to tighten the rules governing the sale of New Zealand land to overseas buyers

Aaron Gilmore to the Minister of Finance: Have New Zealand’s after-tax wages been rising faster than prices?

Hon David Cunliffe to the Minister of Finance: Has he ever ruled out compulsory KiwiSaver; if so, is that still his position?

Hon Pete Hodgson to the Minister of Defence: Did he raise concerns about the performance of the former Associate Minister of Defence with Hon Rodney Hide; if so, did he inform the Prime Minister about those concerns?

Sue Kedgley to the Minister of Justice: Is he confident he can reduce alcohol-related harm and youth binge drinking if the liquor and hospitality industries continue to spend $73 million a year promoting alcohol?

One of the debates in the House yesterday was over the issue of the tabling of documents, and whether a DVD is in fact a document:

The House is still in urgency today and is expected to adjourn at 6pm.