Thirty-four years ago, Spectrum producer Jack Perkins recorded his award-winning documentary capturing the life, the sounds and the personalities of Cathedral square in Christchurch. In this edition of The Vault, Deborah Nation parallels that experience with the sounds of 2011 as she is escorted through the earthquake Red Zone into the square as it is today.
Questions to Ministers 1. PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister of Finance: What progress has the Government made in building a more competitive economy and getting on top of New Zealand's longstanding reliance on foreign debt? 2. Hon PHIL GOFF to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister of Finance? 3. KEVIN HAGUE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements regarding the safety of mining in New Zealand; and does he consider his Government has met all its responsibilities arising out of the Pike River mine disaster? 4. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister of Finance: What are the latest official forecasts for the current account balance and the net international investment position over the next four years under his Government's policies? 5. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Justice: What progress has been made on the development of alternative court processes for child witnesses? 6. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister of Finance: In light of his statement yesterday regarding foreign-owned assets that "we need to generate the kind of savings that will help New Zealand buy back those assets", is it still the Government's policy to sell State assets if it is re-elected, given that up to 30 percent of the shares he proposes selling could go to overseas buyers? 7. Hon JOHN BOSCAWEN to the Minister of Finance: Does he think that implementing the 2025 Taskforce's recommendations in November 2009 would have avoided New Zealand's double credit downgrade; if not, why not? 8. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Health: Has he been advised of a reduction in funding for home-based health support services in the Wellington region? 9. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister of Corrections: Has she received any progress reports on the implementation of the Government's Prisoner Skills and Employment Strategy? 10. STUART NASH to the Minister of Finance: By how many percent has the GDP per capita gap between Australia and New Zealand widened since his Government took office? 11. NIKKI KAYE to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology: How many schools will benefit from ultra-fast broadband in the first year of the roll-out? 12. BRENDON BURNS to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Does he stand by all of his statements on Canterbury's earthquake recovery? Questions to Members 1. SU'A WILLIAM SIO to the Chairperson of the Social Services Committee: Will she call a meeting to consider the Inquiry into the identification, rehabilitation, and care and protection of child offenders; if not, why not?