Question Time - 16.08.2023

Only one more week to go! Seshing with Gary in the car listening to RNZ... I heard more bulletins on the road trip with him than during some of my shifts. Once I got the hang of 'hearing' the bulletins as I wrote them, I seldom listened to all of them. I might be back next week, but the galleries are all booked out for Question Time tomorrow. - My pipe set off the metal detector, which isn't usually what happens. Usually my pipe is confiscated if I leave it in my purse. - Big crowd today. I wonder if my notes are visible from the birds-eye POV that the security cameras have? - 1. Luxon to Hipkins Luxon's snarking while Hipkins speaks, but I can't hear it. 'Desperate times for National when they're quoting their pollster in the House' - Hipkins 'This incompetent Labour Party is incapable of delivering better outcomes for New Zealanders' - Luxon 2. White to Robertson Largest stadium crowd this year was for a FIFA Women's World Cup game (43,000 or something). Largest TV audience for a football match in NZ for 20 years. The World Cup 'raises our international profile... significant social benefits' - Robertson. 'I am proud of the strides we have made promoting women's sport throughout New Zealand' - Robertson. 3. Sage to Brooking 'The Hauraki Gulf is one of the most beautiful and most productive' fisheries 'It is a five-year plan... further regulatory actions can be taken' - Brooking Eugenie had a question about bottom-trawling. Labour is banning it, except in 'very specific' cases. Eugenie: Is it ok that mana whenua had to take matters into their own hands? Wasn't really answered... 4. Peke-Mason to Verrall 'We are focused on making our health workforce more sustainable' - Verrall 3000 nurses registered for the first time in 2023. Heckling the Nats: 'is someone over there opposed to training general practitioners?' - Verrall. 'These challenges are not unique to New Zealand' - Verrall. 5. Willis to Robertson Defending increased borrowing: 'tens of thousands of their friends and family are still alive' - Robertson. 'What would she know about what working class lives are like?' - Gary, about Nicola. 'An $11m sheep farm in the Saudi Desert' - Robertson, presumably referring to a previous National policy. 'This Government is here for New Zealanders; this member is here for herself' - Robertson. 6. Leary-Parker Restricting home ownership for foreign buyers. Reviewing the previous law changes in that space. 'giving open slather' to foreign buyers would be bad for NZ - Parker. '110% campaign mode' - Gary. 7. Stanford-Little Immigration question... totally out of my depth. Rurawhe got cranky about the chattering during this question. 8. Walters-Andersen Gangs and crime question. 'What a wank' - Gary. 9. Brown - Little The Nats are still moaning about the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the blow-out leaving party. Andrew Little touted some of the other things that the Ministry has done over the last several years. 10. Lorck-Webb 'NZ banks are more profitable than in similar countries' - Webb. There's a review into competition in the banking sector... Re: One NZ - the company lied to the consumers and fucked with the broadband market, resulting in a fine of $1.65 million (pretty sure that's right), which is the largest fine to date. 11. Cameron-D. O'Connor The global dairy price index has shifted, spelling potential doom for some farmers. ACT hates farming emissions taxes... 'I'm a little deaf, particularly to comments like that' - O'Connor. Luxon withdrew and apologised, although I couldn't hear what he said. 'Resilience is the trendy word of the day' - O'Connor. 12. Mitchell-Andersen More stupid police questions.... 'she could slap him around the face with the Misuse of Drugs Act, but no, she wants to appear "tough on crime"' - Gary, not a fan of Labour's police policies.