Goff and Key to square off

Labour leader Phil Goff gets his first chance this afternoon to question new Prime Minister John Key on whether he has confidence in his ministers and why but the Government is also planning an attack on some of Labour's unfunded legacies.

Question time promises to be an intriguing time as both the Governmentand Opposition push their agendas.

After Mr Goff's first question, Finance Minister Bill English gets to answer a patsy question on whether he has seen any reports of government spending commitments which have no funding set aside to pay for them.

The answer will almost certainly involve a reference to the unfunded liability in the non-earners account for ACC, something which will require an increase in fees.

ACC Minister Nick Smith could announce those fee rises as early as today.

The supplementary questions are not outlined in the questions of the day but provided each questioner gets a follow-up slot, the agenda of each side of the House will soon become apparent.

One of the more interesting questions will come from new Act New Zealand MP John Boscawen who will ask Justice Minister Simon Power onwhat date the Government was planning to repeal the Electoral Finance Act and introduce new electoral law.

Repeal of the Act was part of National's 100-day plan but has now beenleft over until next year.

New National MP Aaron Gilmore will ask Energy and Resources MinisterGerry Brownlee whether the Government would be banning the sale of incandescent light bulbs.

The obvious answer is that the Government will not ban the sale but Mr Brownlee will use his time on his feet to make some political statements around the former Labour government's attempts to interfere in the lives of private New Zealanders.

Add a Comment