Question Time 12.03.2025

First time in ages that I made it to Parliament. Saw Ben at the crossing near the Cenotaph. Debbie moved for an urgent debate about Whānau Ora, but Brownlee declined the application because it hadn't been authenticated. 1. Arbuckle to Peters JA 5, WP 5 This was very much Winston's day, as acting PM and as a general rabble-rouser. He was ok, but only really had one shining moment (in a later question). Cook strait ferries was the topic, and he stood by Nicola's decisions, saying that he had undertaken 'a worldwide search for a good commercial deal.' 'It's cost us $800 million' - Gary, repeating it as a refrain. 2. Chippy to Peters CH 8, WP 3 Chippy was very chipper today. 'We make sure things are done chronologically and sequentially .. we need international investment and we need it now' - Winston. 'The wisdom of Simeon Brown' - Winston. There's an oxymoron... Chloe had some supplementaries about a Bill she's shepherding about Palestine and imposing sanctions on Israel, but it all evaporated in Winston's waffle. 3. McClure to Hoggard LM 4, AH 4 Health outcomes for pets. Dental health can be done by vet nurses instead of vets, reversing a Labour decision from the previous term. 'Cat-tastrophe ... pawsitive' - some cringe laughs from the left. 4. Megan to Watts MW 6, SW 4 Why are offshore wind investors pulling out? They were talking past each other, with Watts mentioning 'red and green tape', while Dr. Woods said that there was a lack of confidence in the legislative reforms. 'I always agree with the PM' - Watts 'Guess that makes you an egg too' - Gary 5. Weenink to Slimeon VW 4, SB 3 Three varieties of fentanyl have been re-classed as Class A drugs. All the language was punitive, and they're including harsher punishments in the reform. 'It's just fucked' - Gary, who had all kinds of opinions that were too lengthy to write down. 6. Willow-Jean to Erica WJP 5, ES 4 Phonics checks. That sounded like a bunch of busywork so that National can show some stats, rather than actually helping people to read. Erica fobbed off school lunches on The Pink Skull, saying there were 'supply challenges,' then he used a supplementary to defend himself. Gary reckons that Nat MPs are checking if they have the numbers to roll Luxon, but it'll ultimately come down to what Judith wants. 7. Bates to Stanford CB 4, ES 4 Accredited Work Visa changes ... 'more people, cheaper' - Gary Longer visas, and a removal of the median wage, plus a bunch of chatter about how wrong it was that businesses paid migrants more than Kiwis (instead of lifting wages). 'Federated Farmers like it: that's a red flag' - Gary 8. Ginny to Upston GA 6, LU 4 Science, technology and innovation. Upston said that the government are 'reforming the science system so that they can have great careers here' - Upston Ginny spent the rest of the question talking about redundancies at Callaghan Innovation, but Louise just waffled. 9. Marama to Winston MD 7, WP 4 She said the whole spiel about the government standing by their actions in te reo, and Winston shone when he replied 'ae.' Cheeky as fuck. Marama hit the economy hard: good stuff. 10. Van Der Molen to Grigg TV 4, NG 4 NZ's trade with South-East Asia, particularly Vietnam. 'Communists are fine, so long as we're doing business with them' - Gary. 11. Peeni to Slimeon PH 7, SB 4 Is he committed to Māori health? 'All New Zealanders' - Slimeon. Without the PM, things moved very briskly, and it was over by 2:53pm. In the final supplementary, Peeni reiterated a question about focusing on parity in life expectancy between Māori and non-Māori. Slimeon, to everyone's surprise, said 'yes.' 12. Debbie to Upston DN 6, LU 3 Whānau Ora. Potaka was conveniently absent. Seymour brought up JT. Chippy brought up Jagos. 'We are keen to see Whānau Ora progress' - Upston, saying that the marketplace is the place to test whether the contracting is fair. 'She speaks like it's only people on her side that pay tax' - Gary 'Just cancelling' - Rawiri. - It was nice to see Chloe. I'm fine: complaining about the wānanga wasn't ideal, but the pattern of transphobia has become more apparent in recent months, and I'm hoping to leverage that into getting my apologies and (god forbid) some compensation.