Question Time 19 August 2025

Well, I wasn't in the House last week, so today the subtext was all about the vigil. Judith said something in question 10 that I took as a veiled remark: 'unnecessary' Strong showing of solidarity inside the buildings, though. Awful weather, but I was lucky enough to miss the worst of it. If Peeni wins the by-election, then Te Pāti Māori will have their funding cut. - Jenny Salsea read the prayer in Tongan. The Bill that will ban protesting outside homes has been introduced. National's anti-activist measures are one of the elements the vigil is protesting. 1. Bidois to Willis DB 5, NW 5 AA+ rating from Fitch, SMP, AAA from another one. $9.5 billion interest bill this year. 'She's desperate' - Gary. We were sitting directly above her and the Prime Omelette. NZ could be seen as a 'risky' proposition - Nicola. Way over my head. Debt as a percentage of GDP is predicted to gradually lower. 'We cannot take our good credit rating for granted' - Nicola. 2. Chippy to Prime Omelette C 7, PO 4 'We justify our hypocrisy this way...' - Gary. Luxon accused Chippy of having the wrong figures. Pointless supplementaries from his coalition co-leaders. 22,000 more people will qualify for FamilyBoost. Brownlee seemed very partisan and off his game. Winston called the opposition liars, and it took a point of order to bring it up. He should've ruled on that when it happened. 3. Mariameno to Brooke MM 7, BVV 4 Pay equity. The UN has been asked to look into the proposed policies. 'The changes are consistent ... women receive equal pay for work of equal value' - Brooke Attorney General said that the laws were consistent with the Bill of Rights. 'I'm only responsible for the legislation' - Brooke, suggesting the execution was the domain of the public service (or private contractors). Will she repeal it? No, as she reiterated that 'equal pay stays.' 4. Bates to Stanford CB 4, ES 4 Writing action plan. 'Responding to data with comprehensive plans' Bland bureaucratese. 'Extra staff or extra tasks for existing staff?' - Gary Shane Jones: out of order. Again. 5. Edmonds to Willis BE 6, NW 4 Ferries. 'Even after the costs ... this government will deliver a safe service for far less' - Nicola 'Out of touch' - Chippy 'We won't take responsibility for the mess we inherited' - Nicola Price of milk is up 16% 6. Parmar to Van Velden PP 4, BVV 3 Citizen applications have been sped up by an 'English first' policy. This is totally uncalled for. AMPP supports all Kiwis to speak their first language. 'Anti-Māori' - Benjamin. Defunding the National Library and Archives NZ. It was an announcement of an announcement, so there were few details. Motion of no confidence in the Speaker? 7. Marama to the Prime Omelette MD 6, PO 2 Both the Green leaders hit him hard on homelessness today. Over 50% of homeless are under 25. Unable to access emergency housing. 'How many people live in your houses?' - Gary 'Homelessness is something no Kiwi wants to see' - Omelette. Possibly a paraphrase. I think one point that is often missed is that some choose to sleep rough and that is ultimately their right. I wouldn't tell Jeffery to change his ways. 'Take some responsibility' - Kieran 8. Peeni to Doocey PH 6, MD 5 My view of this by-election is that it's a great moment to slam Labour. All 3 opposition parties + possibly a real AMPP campaign is what we need to win. 'There has been pressure on emergency departments' - Doocey Telehealth. That's a poor solution. 9. Hamilton to Penk RH 4, CP 5 Changed liability in building consents. 'Cracking down on cowboys' - Penk 'This is how the tail wags the dog' - Gary 10. Belich to Collins CB 6, JC 4 As Judith will hear soon, I'm asking her to investigate my SIS case file. This AI stuff was shit, but so were the operatives. Evidence of civilian involvement = apologies and charges. Public service comments. This is where the subtext enters: 'The right to strike is important' but the proposed strikes are 'unnecessary' - Judith 'If it wasn't necessary, then it wouldn't be happening' - Gary 11. Puhihuia to Prime Omelette CM 6, PO 5 Chloe wasn't asked to apologise. As for my family: I'll leave it as is. Too busy to press charges. Soundbites vs. soundbites. 12. Weenink to Meager VW 5, JM 5 Bunch of roads and bridges were spruiked by Meager. I'd been telling Gary that they always plug roads, so that was amusing.