NS Parliament Chamber [IC]

[Van Hool Islands]

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No: [X]
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[Lazarene Ryccia]

Aye: [ ]
No: [ ]
Abstain [X]

[Roosevetania]

Aye: [X]
No: [ ]
Abstain [ ]

[Sensorland]

Aye: [ ]
No: [ ]
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[The Archipelago Territory]

Aye: [x]
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Abstain []

[Merni]

Anna Nilsson walks over to the Speaker's chair and sits down.

"Order. The Speaker is temporarily unable to conduct proceedings, and he has asked me to do so in his place. As I am now in the chair, I believe it would be improper for my vote to be counted, and therefore have asked for it to be removed from the tallies."

"The results of the vote on the Budget Amendment are: Ayes: 6, Noes: 1, Abstentions: 2. The ayes have it. Unlock the doors!"

"We will now have questions to the government. Members may also make short statements if they wish."

(OOC: I'm Madam Deputy Speaker, although if you want you can address your remarks to Mr Speaker)

[Lazarene Ryccia]

"Madam Deputy Speaker, if it pleases the Prime Minister to answer, what are his policies regarding the decentralization of government and education policies, as well as policies regarding agriculture, which is a crucial component of the local economy of several constituencies represented in this chamber?"

[Vedastia]

"Madam Deputy Speaker, if it pleases the Prime Minister to answer, what are his policies regarding the decentralization of government and education policies, as well as policies regarding agriculture, which is a crucial component of the local economy of several constituencies represented in this chamber?"

"Madam Deputy Speaker, HM Government wishes to pursue a policy of limited decentralization in local affairs. Saint Hilda is not a federation, but HM Government recognizes that the diverse needs of local authorities are not all the same and require multiple policy solutions that would not work when applied everywhere within our Dominion. There are policies that should be uniform across Saint Hilda, but needless national interference in local affairs should be reduced where it can. The national government should have the authority to implement uniform policy when absolutely necessary, but local authorities should be given wide control of their own affairs whenever possible.

"Decentralization in the domain of education is a complicated subject. Firstly, HM Government is divided on maintaining affirmative action programs for the primary and secondary stages of education aimed at increasing educational attainment for non-whites. We have not negotiated a policy as of yet between members of HM Government who take varying stances on the issue. Several parties believe that affirmative action is unfair to whites, denying them educational opportunities that they would otherwise be entitled to, while at least one party supports affirmative action as a means to ameliorate educational equity and guarantee more prosperous lives for Saint Hilda's non-white population.

"Secondly, HM Government believes that while local educational authorities should make many of their own decisions, there should be national standards for education so that there are no discrepancies in our schools. Independent primary and secondary institutions will have a greater degree of authority over their educational policy than state schools for reasons that should be obvious. Independent schools can innovate & provide education that exceeds national standards and should be granted greater authority over their educational policy as a result. Due to Saint Hilda's nature of linguistic pluralism, local state educational authorities where most people speak a language other than Swedish will have the authority to educate their pupils in the dominant language, as well as in Swedish, to conserve the linguistic heritage of the area, if they meet or exceed national standards.

"While there should be minimum national standards for state schools, some state schools should be given the opportunity to make educational innovations with experimental methods. HM Government believes that there should be opportunity to convert standard state schools to or found state-funded academies, which receive government money while maintaining an independent educational policy that meets or exceeds national standards. HM Government believes that no one should be denied the opportunity to advance and be held back by substandard education. Educational opportunity should be extended to all of our citizens.

"On the topic of agriculture, HM Government wishes to encourage transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices or to maintain them in the case of farmers who already use said practices. Saint Hilda is an island nation with a limited amount of arable land and we cannot allow our soils to be exhausted. We not only export myriad agricultural products, but our citizens often subsist on their own harvests. HM Government is not only thinking about the future of our agricultural enterprises, but the ability to feed ourselves."

[New Lindale]

Mister speaker, I aggree with the Prime Minister in his outlined goals, and will provide in all my support to help provide more rights and success to our communities.

[Nova Anglicana]

“Madam Deputy Speaker, I have a bill that is available to all members to review and sponsor if they wish which promotes innovation and opportunity on a variety of levels of government and would fit in with the Prime Minister’s education plans. I commend him for giving a thorough and well-explained answer. The issue of education is an extremely important one.”

[Lazarene Ryccia]

"Madam Deputy Speaker, if I may ask the Prime Minister, what are his government's policies regarding ethnic and linguistic minorities in Saint Hilda?"

[New Lindale]

Madame speaker, I think the policy regarding minorities is clearly stated in the above statement. We want to ensure equal treatment and rights for everyone regardless of these factors, as well as cultural preservation in regards to education.

[Lazarene Ryccia]

"Madam Deputy Speaker, I must clarify to the Honourable Gentleman from Ny Tromso North that I seek a more general answer regarding minorities, not on the specific topic of education. My apologies if there was any confusion"

[Kowani]

“Madam Deputy Speaker, May I enquire unto the Prime Minister as to what is planned on the idea of infrastructure?”

[New Lindale]

“Madam Deputy Speaker, May I enquire unto the Prime Minister as to what is planned on the idea of infrastructure?”

Madam deputy speaker, I had recently been assigned as the Minister of Transportation, which also involves major aspects of infrastructure as a whole. Although we are currently in a bit bind because we have no map, the plan is to create infrastructure that emphasizes efficiency, to assist everyone envolved. We are working with new methods to prevent traffic jams, which will assist in one time services of public transport, and preventing high levels of polution. Not only is this applying to roads, but we are updating other aspects such as train, naval, and air terminus, that can work efficiently in all operations. Our goal is that efficiency will help businesses and indaviduals to use less fuel. This in turn will decrease costs, and assist in other issues such as wages, as well as businesses being able to save money, so that the additonal funds can be used to get more efficient or eco friendly technology. This also applies to energy technology companies, so that they can use the funds to advance technology to use less fossil fuels, or even have alternative fuels be at an efficiency level to be at a similar level or higher level than fossil fuels.

[Merni]

Anna Nilsson yawns widely.

[Kowani]

Seč pulls out a book, flipping through it absentmindedly.

[Lazarene Ryccia]

Montrouge allows 100 masked men armed with AK-47s to enter. They take all of the lawmakers hostage.

"By the Grace of God, I hereby declare this government dissolved. I shall take command as Prime Minister"

[NS Parliament Administrators]

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