Question Time 11 February 2025

Five questions for the Prime Omelette. Chippy asked two questions, which is unusual. I hadn't been following the news yesterday, so when Gary told me that The Pink Skull had driven a Land Rover up the steps of Parliament, I was shocked. Naturally, the session began with cameras and journos packing the place to see what Brownlee would have to say about the incident. He sounded fairly measured, but was clear that it was a step too far. 'Hasn't done his job properly to find out if it was a breach of privilege ... Seymour's not your boss: we are' - Gary. - Brownlee compared the incident to the Another Day, Another Tragedy protest where the Māori protestors broke through the barricades and climbed those forecourt steps. Difference was that this was a government minister. - 1. Chippy to Omelette C 9, PO 3 'exports are rising fast ... promoting more tourism' - Omelette. More Seymour-bashing from Chippy. 'He's not the Prime Minister; he's the prime doormat' - Gary. Winston didn't stand up to defend the PM, but Bishop did, with the standard boilerplate that 'Mr. Seymour was not a minister at the time' regarding some conflicts of interest. Chippy said that it's the PM's job to 'manage conflicts of interest in the Cabinet.' 'We are not funded by particular people' - Judith. Tone deaf supplementary. 2. Debbie to Omelette DN 7, PO 3 'Our Government backs our primary industries to lift incomes' in rural NZ - Omelette. 'When he says business, he means banks' - Gary. Golden visas: 'we welcome investment ... capital matters' - Omelette. Winston slammed TPM about the Waipareira trust. Brownlee didn't sanction him. 'We wish to have a justice system the public is confident in' - Omelette 'We love the Cook Islands ... we need transparency' - Omelette. 3. Uffindell to Nicola SU 5, NW 4 'I feel for those New Zealanders who are hurting' - Nicola. 'She forgot to say I feel nothing but contempt' - Gary. Patsy question. Wages rose 4.2% ... 'wages are now rising faster than prices' 4. Chippy to Omelette C 6, PO 4 Round 2. Luxon started to get a bit nasty: I think he's seen the polls.

'Better days lie ahead ... keep our economy moving. That's how Kiwis get ahead' - Omelette.

$148 billion of projects in the infrastructure pipeline.

'Under his leadership, the country has derailed' - Chippy.

'What a joke' - Gary.

5. Wedd to Bishop CW 5, CB 6

Fast Track patsy question. 10,000 views for the website since Thursday.

Gary: top 4 National MPs weren't present at Waitangi. Gary and Dakta caught up with a number of the lefties while they celebrated Waitangi Day. 'We are a country blessed with abundant natural resources' - Bish. Which will run out first: the resources or economic growth? 6. Marama to Omelette MD 6, PO 4 Good to see her. She was very poised and confident. Why wasn't the Omelette at Waitangi? Prior engagements with Kāi Tahu. Why does he keep avoiding major events? ... He reiterated that Māori ceded sovereignty. 7. Kieran to Bishop KM 8, CB 4 Housing. 'You haven't built any homes' - Gary. Bishop: 'the social housing waitlist is down by 5,000 ... we have funded more social housing than the previous government'

'Show your evidence' - Gary.

Bishop: 'members need to understand how the housing market works.' 'Come face the kids you made homeless' - Chloe. 'Manipulating the numbers' - Kieran. Laura and Joel were still around for this question, but most of the Press Gallery left after Chippy's second question. Gary's advice: make this a recurring question so that we can ask 'how many houses have been built?' every week. 8. Cheung to Stanford CC 5, ES 5 'This government is modernising visas ... yes to growth yes to opportunity' - Erica. Patsy question. 9. Chloe to Omelette CS 8, PO 4 She brought some school lunches! 2,000 jobs cut and lower quality food that's 'ending up in landfills as a result of them being inedible' - Chloe. She challenged the Prime Omelette, Winston and The Pink Skull to eat them, making the astute point that there shouldn't be a separate standard of food quality for MPs. Very theatrical, but effective. Brownlee mentioned that people aren't supposed to bring props to make their point, but I recall Grant Robertson doing that fairly often. 10. Cameron to Hoggard MC 5, AH 4 Biosecurity patsy question. Foot and mouth disease struck Germany. 'Biosecurity doesn't take a holiday' - Hoggard. Oddly, he said that biosecurity is key to farmers and their export earnings, and didn't mention that the biosecurity standards in NZ are outrageously high because of the number of native species that could be destroyed very easily. 11. Twyford to Stanford PT 8, ES 4 Extra golden visa questions. Erica said there are 50 investors ready to apply, which should raise a minimum of $250 million. I've never seen an MP defend separate rights for the rich quite so vehemently! '$5 million is two houses' - Twyford. Deep question. Worth watching.

12. Macleod to Tama Potaka DM 5, TP 4 $200 million = 400 affordable Māori houses. 'Housing renaissance' - Tama. Questions to Members: This extended things out by a few minutes, but was largely about the coalition cutting down the time allocated for oral submissions during Select Committees. Jo Luxton [yes, there is a Luxton in Parliament] to Uffindell: gene technology.

Willow-Jean to Mooney: OT amendment bill.

Carmel to Mooney: social security amendment bill.