Written questions

Asked by

Ginny Andersen

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the number of constabulary staff at New Zealand Police (actual strength (not including vacancies) as of 3 September 2026?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Are Ministry of Social Development case workers or call centre workers recommended to ask potential Ministry of Social Development clients whether they have access to loans or other credit prior to determining their suitability to receive…

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• On how many occasions, if any, have Ministry of Social Development staff recommended that a person get a credit card or loan in lieu of receiving support from the Ministry?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Have there been any incidents at Te Maioha o Parekarangi that resulted in a resident being taken to hospital for assessment; if so, what occurred and when?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Have there been any physical assaults on youth justice residents at Te Maioha o Parekarangi over the past six months; if so, how many?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Further to 35280 (2026), were any of these reports of concern in each youth justice residence due to a physical assault; if so, how many for each residence?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Is there a staff member responsible for monitoring CCTV during each shift at Korowai Manaaki?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Further to 36128 (2026), how often, if at all, is CCTV footage routinely reviewed at Korowai Manaaki?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• 39312

  Were some people receiving a benefit or an allowance notified before the date their Confirming Your Circumstances review material was due to Work and Income that their benefit would be suspended; if so, why?

• 39313

  Did any people receiving a benefit or an allowance have their benefit or allowance stopped on the same day that their Confirming Your Circumstances review material was due to Work and Income; if so, why?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• 39314

  What material, if any, did the Minister recieve when the Ministry for Social Development briefed her on Thursday 13 August about the mistakes stemming from the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 coming into force,…

• 39315

  Further to 37329 (2026) what material was the Minister provided when the Ministry of Social Development briefed her on the suspension of winter energy payments, listed by title?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people, if any, receiving a benefit or allowance that was wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force are now in debt to the Ministry of Social Development due to the wrongful…

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Will the role of automated decision-making be included in the review of the wrongly suspended benefits and allowances since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force; if not, why?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• Will the Minister publish the full review report into the wrongful suspension of benefits and allowances since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people, if any, have applied for an Accommodation Costs Arrears Grant due to having their main benefit or an allowance wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people, if any, have applied for Temporary Additional Support due to having their main benefit or an allowance wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people, if any, have applied for a special needs grant due to having a main benefit or allowance wrongfully suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many, if any, people receiving the NZ Super as a non-qualified partner had that wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many, if any, people receiving the Accommodation Supplement had that wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many, if any, people receiving the Supported Living Payment had their benefit wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many, if any, people receiving the Emergency Benefit had their benefit wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• How many, if any, people receiving the Disability Allowance had their allowance wrongly suspended since the Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Act 2025 came into force?

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following Reply 37809 (2026), is the Minister for the South Island aware that, according to a staff briefing to Environment Canterbury Councillors on 23 July 2026, there are four "Ashburton District Schools" upgrading their drinking water…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following 37996 (2026), is the Minister for the South Island aware that a school in Otago, Five Forks School, has had to upgrade or change its drinking water supply in the last five years because of nitrate levels in their drinking water…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following 37809 (2026), what specifically was it about the media coverage of the Laghmor School's water supply exceeding the legal limit for nitrate in drinking water that, in his view, was considered to "denigrate the hard-working local…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following Reply 37808 (2026), does the Minister accept that reducing farming intensity is one way to reduce nitrate pollution of the South Island's fresh water, including of communities' drinking water sources?

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following Reply 38343 (2026), what specifically was it about the issue of the water supply for Laghmor School exceeding the limit for nitrate in drinking water that made the Minister consider it "accurate" to describe as a "scare campaign"?

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following 38343 (2026), why did the Minister for the South Island provide comments in Reply 36368 (2026) in his "capacity as the local member of Parliament", when written questions are asked of and responded to by Ministers in their…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Following 37996 (2026), how does the Minister expect drinking water across the South Island, including for those 65 people across Southland that may be served by a drinking water supply exceeding the 11.3 mg/L nitrate limit, to be below…

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• How many hours, if any, outside of industrial action have fire stations been closed due to being short staffed or due to a lack of maintenance or safety issues in the last twelve months, broken down by cause and region?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• What is the Minister's response to the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission Report (The Legacy of PCP and Dioxins in Aotearoa) findings regarding the human rights concerns and the Crown's apparent failure to address the harms to…

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• How do sawmill workers apply for ACC on a “case by case” basis if there is no recognition of PCP contaminated by dioxins causing a wide range of health effects?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• Did the review into occupational diseases under the Accident Compensation Act under this Government exclude the effects of dioxin as a known contaminant of PCP, and if so, why?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• Has the Minister been briefed on the international research that clearly establishes a causal link between low levels of dioxin exposure and a wide range of health conditions caused by exposure to PCP and dioxins, not limited to…

Asked by

Carmel Sepuloni

Member for Kelston · Labour Party

• 38406

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service Australia?

• 38422

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service New Zealand?

• 38428

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of Geneva Healthcare?

• 38455

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet the Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Health Group Roger Sowry?

Asked by

Carmel Sepuloni

Member for Kelston · Labour Party

• 38413

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service Australia?

• 38426

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service New Zealand?

• 38434

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet with any representative of Geneva Healthcare?

• 38461

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did the Minister meet the Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Health Group Roger Sowry?

Asked by

Carmel Sepuloni

Member for Kelston · Labour Party

• 38414

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did any member of the Minister’s office meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service New Zealand?

• 38415

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did any member of the Minister’s office communicate with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service New Zealand, and by what manner did this communication take place?

• 38416

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did any member of the Minister’s office communicate with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service Australia, and by what manner did this communication date place?

• 38417

  Question published 2 September 2026

  On which dates, if any, did any member of the Minister’s office meet with any representative of the Royal District Nursing Service Australia?

Asked by

Willow-Jean Prime

List MP · Labour Party

• 39154

  Further to 37329 (2026), on what date was the first individual case raised through complaints?

• 39155

  Further to 37329 (2026), on what date was the first individual case raised through staff feedback?

• 39156

  Further to 37329 (2026), on what date did senior leadership at the Ministry confirm the issue and that it had broader impacts?

• 39159

  Further to 37329 (2026), on what date was the first individual case raised through client enquiries?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• What advice has the Minister had, if any, on whether the 2% minimum rates increase level proposed in the Local Government (Rates Capping) Bill is "designed to be enough to cover maintenance" and mitigate council credit rating downgrades,…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• Will the Minister close the tarakihi fishery given this species is considered to be heading to extinction?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• 39160

  What assessment, if any, has the Ministry for Pacific Peoples made of the implications of New Zealand's level of representation at the formal Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting on 2 September 2026 for the Crown's relationships with…

• 39161

  What representations, if any, has the Minister for Pacific Peoples received from Pacific communities in New Zealand since 2 September 2026 concerning New Zealand's level of representation at the formal Pacific Islands Forum leaders'…

• 39162

  Was the Minister for Pacific Peoples consulted about the level at which New Zealand would be represented at the formal Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting on 2 September 2026, and if so, on what date and what advice did the Minister…

• 39163

  Was the Minister for Pacific Peoples invited or asked to attend the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting, and if not, why not?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What commitments, if any, did New Zealand make at the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum in relation to transnational organised crime, and at what level of representation were those commitments made?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What arrangements, if any, has the Government made to ensure New Zealand is represented at political level at every session of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting it hosts in 2027?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What is New Zealand's contribution to the additional funding referred to by the Prime Minister as having been spent on the fuel crisis in the Pacific, and from which appropriation is it drawn?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the estimated total cost to the Crown of New Zealand's attendance at the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting, including travel, accommodation and any chartered transport?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• Was the port arrangement with the Cook Islands and the United States announced in Palau considered by Cabinet, and if so, on what date?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the total value of New Zealand's contribution to the port arrangement with the Cook Islands and the United States announced in Palau, over what period, and from which appropriation is it funded?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What was the total size of the New Zealand delegation to the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum, broken down by Ministers, ministerial staff and officials?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• How many bilateral or plurilateral meetings did the Minister of Foreign Affairs hold in Palau between 30 August and 1 September 2026, with whom, and on what dates?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• On whose instruction did the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs decline to comment on New Zealand's representation at the formal Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting on 2 September 2026?

Asked by

Vanushi Walters

List MP · Labour Party

• What representations, if any, has the Government received from any Pacific Islands Forum member, the Forum Secretariat, or any other government since 2 September 2026 concerning New Zealand's level of representation at the formal leaders'…