with ER O that improves their reports and key information, making
it more accessible to parents. This
involves
involves some investment in greater online tools. Question No. 6.
My
My question is to the Prime
Yes,
Yes, I particularly stand by our Family Incomes policy that
will benefit 1.3 million New
Zealand families by over
benefit 1.3 million New Zealand
will include higher payments per child, lower taxes paid by everyone
in
child, lower taxes paid by everyone
significant increases in accommodation
accommodation assistance for those with the highest housing costs.
accommodation assistance for those with the highest housing costs. Does
the PM agree
with the highest housing costs. Does the PM agree that the
Dept of Conservation plays a critical role
as nature's primary defender
on behalf of all New
as nature's primary defender on
they play a critical role, but not the only role. Increasingly,
communities are involved, and for
instance Predator Free New Zealand
and I certainly regard all of
those who own land in New Zealand, or use
it, as part of the
process of protecting our environment for
all New Zealanders, and actually most
of our natural environment is
not controlled or owned by DOC,
it's controlled or owned by land
owners and operators, who do care about our
environment.
and operators, who do care about our environment. Why, then, has
he cut hundreds of millions of dollars
environment. Why, then, has he cut hundreds of millions of dollars from
DOC's Budget
hundreds of millions of dollars from
of dollars from DOC's Budget, forcing
of dollars from DOC's Budget,
advice is the member is not correct about that. But what is
much more exciting about the work that DOC
is doing is that, for
the first time, for the first time ever, they're
management of the DOC estate, the management of functions like
threatened species, the
management of all their assets, laying out a
what impact our investment in conservation is going to have. Does
the PM agree that
conservation is going to have. Does the PM agree that DOC's
application on entirely precious conservation land is evidence that
his Government
his Government has effectively silenced nature's
his Government has effectively
No, I mean, DOC have the obligation to follow their
No, I mean, DOC have the obligation
statutory process. As I've said, they are not
the only guardians of the
the natural environment in New Zealand,
Zealand, and increasingly the way they work is to cooperate with
community groups, which is turning
out to be
community groups, which is turning out to be quite successful in the
case of
out to be quite successful in the
and to work increasingly with landowners, who control
more of our land mass than DOC does.
landowners, who control more of our land mass than DOC does. Why
is his Government's conservation plan
to protect only
Government's conservation plan to
threatened species by 2030, when we can protect
threatened species by 2030, when we
dispute the member's description of where that work is headed,
but certainly the preservation and
the improvement of our threatened
species as a high priority
improvement of our threatened
are keen to see more innovation, better organisational structure, and
a longer term view taken to
ensure that we can, for instance, turn
kiwi, and that work is well underway. Does the PM agree with
kiwi, and that work is well underway. Does the PM agree with Jan
underway. Does the PM agree with Jan Wright, Parliamentary Commissioner
for the Environment, who recently
why are there 200 less DOC workers today than there were in
you. Well, of course the future of our birds matters, in the way the
Parliamentary Commissioner for the
Environment said, that is why
we have the Battle For Our Birds, and
I have to say it is sometimes a
challenge to deal with those who
oppose use of, for instance, 1080,
but we're determined to give
our birds the best opportunity and it is
behind the
birds the best opportunity and it is
is going to engage, which it already is, a much wider
range of New Zealanders than the possible number
of DOC rangers in
the very constructive process of reducing the
burden so
burden so predators, so that our birds can thrive.
burden so predators, so that our birds can thrive. If he's so
reluctant to increase core
funding for conservation, why won't he raise
a small
for conservation, why won't he raise
levy, which will provide tens of millions of dollars of new funding
for pest control to help exactly
those native birds to
for pest control to help exactly
Well, we're quite happy to Budget more for Dept of
Conservation, where we can see that there are going to
be real
be real conservation benefits. However, we do not believe in
just slapping on a levy, or a new tax, on
everything from
slapping on a levy, or a new tax, on
suggestions that the opposition have made. We'd rather focus on
what result we're going to get and fund
My
My question is to the Minister
used to calculate the Risk Index that
used to calculate the Risk Index
to schools with children and young people most at risk of not
achieving
The criteria that will be used to calculate the