Tēnā koutou katoa. Mālō e lelei.
It is Tuesday 15 March, and the House will sit today from 2pm until 10pm tonight.
As-salamu alaykum today as we mark the third anniversary of the March 15 terrorist attacks
in Christchurch. The House, Parliament, will commence with a Government motion in the name
of our Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, acknowledging this anniversary and the 51 shahid
who unfortunately lost their lives in the March 15 mosque shootings. In the aftermath of the attacks,
New Zealand and the world were inspired by the strength and the resolve of our Muslim community,
who in the face of unspeakable grief decided to respond from a place of aroha and love,
and not from a place of anger and fear. Three years on, Muslim communities across Aotearoa
New Zealand continue to inspire us with their aroha and generosity. Let us not leave our
Muslim brothers and sisters to shoulder this burden alone. And it would be great if we
continued to show the support that we so publicly expressed in the days following March the 15th.
Following this we will move on to oral questions to ministers.
Question one is from Christopher Luxon to the Prime Minister.
It is a general question asking, 'Does she stand by all of her statements and actions?'.
Question two is from Barbara Edmonds to the Minister of Finance on the New Zealand economy.
Question three is from Hon Simon Bridges to the Minister of Finance on the cost of living.
Question four is from Angie Warren-Clark to the Minister of Energy and Resources,
on the 25 cent reduction in fuel excise duty and road user charges.
Question five is from David Seymour to the Prime Minister, a general question
asking if he stands by her statements and actions.
Question six is from Marja Lubeck to the Minister of Education on training and apprenticeships.
Question seven is from Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister of Transport on public transport.
Question eight is from Rachel Brooking to the Minister for the Environment on recycling
in New Zealand.
Question nine is from Simeon Brown
to the Minister of Transport on the Government's transport spending.
Question 10 is from Arena Williams to the Associate Minister of Health
(Māori Health) on the interim Māori Health Authority.
Question 11 is from Simon Watts to the Minister for Local Development on the three waters reform.
Question 12 is from Shanan Halbert to the Minister of Transport on public transport.
We then move on to the bills that are going to be introduced this afternoon. The first is the Ngāti
Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. This will go through a Committee Stage and then third reading.
Then we move on to the COVID-19 Response (Courts Safety) Legislation Bill.
This is a single broad policy in this omnibus bill to support the safe and effective operation
of courts and tribunals by making amendments to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19
among those who use it to visit the courts and carry out work at the courts.
The next legislation is the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22, GST,
and Remedial Matters) Bill, by Hon David Parker. This omnibus bill contains taxation
amendments aimed at setting the annual rate of income tax for the 2021/2022 tax year.
Then we'll look at the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill,
again by the same minister, Hon David Parker. The objective of this bill is to improve
the allocation and transfer process provided in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement
Act 2004 to better enable the allocation and transfer of aquaculture settlement assets to iwi.
Then we move on to the Commerce Amendment Bill. This is the third reading,
led by Hon David Clark. This bill amends the Commerce Act 1986 to strengthen the prohibition
against misuse of market power and make other changes to improve the functioning of the Act.
And if we have time, we'll then move on to the Protected Disclosures
(Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill, led by Hon Chris Hipkins. This bill replaces
the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. This bill clarifies the definition of serious wrongdoing,
enables people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time.
Malo 'aupito. Kia ora koutou katoa.