Category: New Zealand Executive Government

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Bill to ban tenant letting fees introduced

Legislation banning the charging of letting fees to tenants has been introduced to Parliament, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today.
“Around half of all Kiwis now live in rented homes. This Bill could put up to $47 million into the pockets of Kiwi families each year.
“This could make a real difference to struggling families. There are significant costs associated with moving to a new rental property, which many families are now forced to do every year.
“When moving into a new rental property, tenants can face up to four weeks’ bond, two weeks’ rent in advance – and one weeks’ rent as a letting fee – in addition to moving costs.
“With homeownership rates at a 60 year low, this Bill recognises that we need to take action now to make rent more affordable so people can save to buy their own home.
“Banning the charging of letting fees to tenants is a good first step in improving the life of renters, while we continue our broader review of the Residential Tenancies Act.
“This review will examine a range of changes to make life better for renters and will include looking at limiting rent increases to once per year. It will also consider other initiatives to improve security of tenure and better allow tenants to make their house a home. The review is expected to result in legislation being introduced to Parliament by the end of the year.
“Ultimately the best way to put tenants in a better situation is to increase the supply of housing, and end the shortage that is driving rents up. The Government’s KiwiBuild policy and urban growth reforms are designed to increase supply.” Phil Twyford says.
* More information is available at: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/housing-property/residential-tenancies/letting-fees

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Regional fuel tax for Auckland a step closer

Legislation to allow regions to apply for a regional fuel tax, initially for Auckland, will be introduced to Parliament today, Transport Minister Phil Twyford has announced.
“The Land Transport Management (Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill will enable Auckland Council to seek funding for specific transport-related projects. It would allow funds raised in Auckland to be spent only in Auckland.
“Auckland is at a standstill and the Auckland Council understands the frustration of its ratepayers who are spending hours of their day stuck in traffic.
“Auckland has gone through massive population growth in recent years and its current infrastructure can no longer support the city. Improving infrastructure in Auckland is vital for its businesses and its people for whom just getting to work, school and about their daily activities can be a struggle.
“Solving Auckland’s traffic gridlock is also important for the rest of New Zealand with congestion in the city between 2015 and 2017 estimated to have cost the economy between $1.3 billion a year in lost productivity.
“Under the Bill, Auckland Council must first consult with residents on the proposed projects it wishes to fund. It must then obtain Government approval before the regional fuel tax can be implemented.
“The Bill will go to Select Committee for public submissions. We expect the law to be passed in June, ready for potential implementation in the Auckland region from 1 July.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Lessons for Waikato DHB out of report

Health Minister Dr David Clark says he expects District Health Boards to be acutely aware of the need for proper oversight and control of executive expenses.
The State Services Commission has released the Ombler Report into allegations of unjustified expenditure at the Waikato DHB. It found that more than half of the former chief executive Dr Nigel Murray’s expenditure on travel and accommodation was unjustified.
“The public rightly expect DHBs leaders to be careful stewards of health funding, and so do I.
“Health funding should be used for health care and prevention. There needs to be clear justification for spending on travel and related costs.
“This report confirms that was sadly not always the case at the Waikato DHB. There was a notable failure of leadership and oversight.
“As Minister I will hold DHB chairs accountable for the spending on their watch. There needs to be transparency around expenses, including written authorisation for significant travel costs and robust processes for manager’s expenses.
“Oversight will also be bolstered by the changes announced last month in the State Sector and Crown Entities Reform Bill.
“To say this has been a disappointing episode for all involved is an understatement, but I have no doubt that lessons have been learned.
“I now expect the Waikato DHB to concentrate on its real job – delivering quality health care for the people of Waikato. I have every confidence that the acting chair Sally Webb will ensure they do just that,” David Clark said.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Initiative to boost teacher supply extended

Acting Minister of Education Tracey Martin has announced a further $700,000 to help more teachers into classrooms, with the extension of the Teacher Education Refresh (TER) Programme.
Approximately 280 additional teachers will now have access to the fully subsidised TER Programme, announced as part of the Government’s $9.5 million teacher supply package last year.
“The subsidy removes the cost barrier associated with undertaking the TER course.
“We need more teachers in classrooms and the TER subsidy has been so successful that it’s oversubscribed. We want to encourage providers to keep taking on more enrolments.
“The announcement today will see approximately 780 teachers in total able to remain in or re-enter the profession as a result of the TER initiative.”
The extra placements for the subsidised courses are available till 30 June 2018. These additional places will continue to help address immediate teacher supply pressures. The funding has been made available within Ministry of Education baselines.
“This is part of the Government’s ongoing work to increase teacher supply, reduce teacher workloads, and lift the status of the profession,” Tracey Martin says.
More information on the teacher supply package is available at: http://www.education.govt.nz/teacher-supply

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Million Dollar Mouse successfully eradicates mice from Antipodes Island

In a world-leading conservation effort, mice have been successfully eradicated from Antipodes Island in the New Zealand Subantarctic, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today.
Million Dollar Mouse, a joint initiative between the Department of Conservation (DOC) and funding partners the Morgan Foundation, WWF-New Zealand, Island Conservation and public supporters, has successfully delivered one of the most complex island eradication projects ever undertaken. 
“This is huge news for conservation both in New Zealand and internationally,” Ms Sage said.
“Special plants and wildlife, including 21 species of breeding seabirds, more than 150 species of insects – 17 per cent of them only found on the Antipodes; 21 uncommon plant species and four unique land birds are found on the Antipodes Island.  They can now thrive with mice no longer preying on the insects or competing with the land birds.”
The Minister visited Antipodes Island aboard the HMNZS Wellington in February when the outcome monitoring team were dropped off to review whether the winter 2016 baiting operation was successful.
During her visit, she saw first-hand the challenges the project faced, including remoteness, scale, and difficult terrain.
“The successful Antipodes Island mouse eradication is another landmark conservation achievement which underlines DOC’s technical expertise in pest control and threatened species protection.
“Seeing so many Antipodean and Reischek’s parakeets, pipits and insects flourishing on what is now a predator-free island is a tribute to the ambition, planning, dedication and skills of everyone involved from the helicopter pilots and bait crews in 2016 to the monitoring team this year.”
Led by DOC’s Finlay Cox, the monitoring team searched the island for almost a month and found no sign of mice. They were assisted by three rodent detecting dogs from the Conservation Dogs programme, supported by Kiwibank and Auckland City Council. They returned to Dunedin yesterday.
DOC’s Island Eradication Advisory Group (IEAG) has declared the Antipodes Island officially mouse free.
DOC Project Manager Stephen Horn said work started on the project in 2014, but planning started much earlier.
“The success of this project was built on the lessons and experience from many other island eradications in New Zealand and abroad. The Subantarctic islands are remote, but the role they play in global conservation as the home for so many unique species can’t be overstated,” he said.
“This success is not down to any single organisation or country and thanks must go to everyone involved, particularly the New Zealand public. Their donations and belief in the outcome got this project off the ground.”
Background information 
The Antipodes Island group is located about 760 km south east of New Zealand. The 2,100 hectare islands are protected as a Nature Reserve and are recognised internationally as a World Heritage site for their outstanding natural values.
Antipodes Island had a large mouse population of about 200,000. House mice eat invertebrates, prey on bird chicks and eggs and also eat plant material including seeds. This competition for resources and predation had altered the biodiversity of the Antipodes islands. Mice had already wiped out two taxa of insects from Antipodes Island (an unnamed weta and a large beetle Loxomerus n. sp.) Additionally Black-bellied storm petrels (fregetta tropica) and Subantarctic little shearwaters (Puffinus elegans) only breed on the mouse free offshore islands. 
Mice on Gough Island and Marion Island in the South Atlantic have been recorded killing large seabird chicks by literally eating them alive on the nest. It was not known whether this was happening on the Antipodes but this is a behavioural shift that would be a risk for all twenty-five bird species breeding on Antipodes and which successful eradication has now protected against.
DOC successfully eradicated cats and rats from Great Mercury Island in the Hauraki Gulf (2014) and eight different mammalian pests were eradicated from Rangitoto Motutapu Islands (2009) including rats, mice, cats and stoats.
In the Subantarctic DOC has previously eradicated rats from 11,800 ha Campbell Island in 2001. In the Auckland Island group rabbits and mice were eradicated from Enderby and Rose Islands in 1993 and a small population of goats were eradicated from the main Auckland Island by 1992.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Minister launches new study on the Value of Sport to New Zealand

Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson today launched a new study by Sport NZ which explores the value of sport to New Zealanders, their communities and our country.
“There’s no question sport is at the heart of our national identity, but what this study tells us is that being physically active also creates happier, healthier people, and better connected communities,” Grant Robertson says.
“The Value of Sport surveyed around 2,000 New Zealanders and reviewed previous studies from here and around the world. This study shows that Kiwis believe sport and physical activity bring people together and create a sense of belonging.” 
Other key findings from the Value of Sport include:
88% of people believe that sport and other physical activities provide them with opportunities to achieve and help build confidence
Three-quarters of Kiwis say sport and physical activity help build vibrant and stimulating communities
The sport and active recreation sector employs more than 53,000 New Zealanders.
The report was launched at Wellington’s ASB Centre as part of a visit to local club netball trials and a secondary school volleyball tournament.
“It’s fantastic to see athletes of all ages and skill levels, and the volunteers and whānau who support them, coming together under one roof,” Grant Robertson says.
“It just goes to show the power of sport to bring people together and create a sense of belonging.”
Note to editors:
The Value of Sport presents the key findings of research commissioned by Sport NZ and compiled in The Value of Sport and Active Recreation to New Zealanders in 2017.
See sportnz.org.nz/valueofsport for more information.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: A wellbeing approach to assessing the Government’s balance sheet

The 2018 Investment Statement He Puna Hao Pātiki, shows how the Treasury is moving towards a more holistic way of assessing the Government’s balance sheet, by incorporating principles from the Living Standards Framework alongside financial considerations, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.
Under the Public Finance Act, the Treasury is required to report every four years on the past, present and forecast future value of the Government’s assets and liabilities. The 2018 Investment Statement shows that the Government’s balance sheet is healthy and resilient, meaning it is well-placed to handle adverse shocks. A net worth of $117 billion as at 30 June 2017 is forecast to rise to $160 billion by 2022.
“It is important that we continue to monitor this progress, as the Investment Statement allows New Zealanders to assess how the Government is managing assets and liabilities on their behalf,” Grant Robertson says.
“But it is also important for us to start taking a more holistic view of how we assess what the Government owns. In the past this document has looked at the Government’s balance sheet from a purely financial perspective. The Treasury is now starting to also look at the link between the Government’s investments and peoples’ wellbeing.
“I welcome the fact that the Treasury has taken this opportunity to paint a more comprehensive picture of the Government’s balance sheet by incorporating the Living Stands Framework principles into a section of the Investment Statement, including natural capital considerations.
“While this work is still in its early stages, I’m excited that the Treasury is continuing to lead the world when it comes to putting wellbeing and living standards at the centre of how the Government functions,” Grant Robertson says.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Speech to the Advertising Standards Authority Summit

Introduction
It’s a pleasure to be with you today and I want to thank the Advertising Standards Authority (Heather Roy, Hilary Souter) for gathering together this group of senior managers from across many sectors for this summit.
The Authority is small but also very effective and has an important place in our content regulation landscape.
Its cross-platform, collaborative approach to managing the codes and complaints process is a great strength, as is the broad support it has received from all of you as advertisers, agencies and media organisations committed to responsible advertising.
And I also congratulate the ASA on its upcoming 45th birthday.
Effective advertising is fuel for a successful economy – and for a great deal of onscreen and online content.
However, as a powerful medium that can shape behaviour, it is a tool that needs to be used carefully.
I think we’re all watching closely what’s unfolding with Facebook and its user data and how that has been misused.
I welcome this forum – bringing together representatives of the wider advertising sector to collaborate on common issues and your vision for progress.
I also welcome your widespread commitment to maintaining a responsible approach in advertising.
I really do acknowledge the pressure facing this sector significantly from the technological disruption of digital platforms, where the shift from legacy platforms to digital media is reshaping our industry here.
Advertising revenue across all main media in New Zealand was $2.572b in 2016 which was effectively unchanged from the $2.57b in 2015.
It’s digital that’s lead the way with growth from $801m to $891m in 2016. I understand the 2017 data is due out soon.
That $891m in 2016 is 34.6 percent of New Zealand’s advertising revenue and the trend of spend to offshore media is significant and globally almost all the new money going in to digital is captured by the duopoly – Google and Facebook.
For New Zealand media companies that rely on advertising that same trend means an erosion of income for incumbents which flows in to funding news, programming and other content.
I mention this because I do acknowledge the pressures that the sector is facing.
 
Portfolio + MCH work programmes
I have a wonderful range of portfolios – I call them my dream portfolios – including the Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media portfolio.
We have an ambitious work programme in these areas, and I’m focused on ensuring there’s support for sector growth; sustainable and high-quality content; access for all New Zealanders; and a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework.
For me, collaboration will be an essential hallmark of my role as Minister. I want to see government moving more to being a partner and enabler – working alongside the different sectors that deliver services and value to our communities.
I’m keen on breaking down silos, and that’s why I’m so impressed by the way the Advertising Standards Authority works alongside Government agencies such as the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the Commerce Commission and Medsafe.
It also works across industry and media, to further issues of mutual interest and support responsible advertising.
I also appreciate how the Advertising Standards Authority, while dealing with its 1000 enquiries a year, takes a longer strategic view of how to make the advertising standards regime more effective and user friendly.
 
Cultural identity/wellbeing
I am, and always have been, a firm believer in the value of independent media and a supporter of public media as part of the wider media ecosystem.
I see our media as an integral part of our New Zealand culture – it educates, enriches, entertains, and helps inform debate – all core components of a healthy democracy.
It is important that we can see and hear ourselves and our stories reflected in our audio-visual content across media platforms.
 
RNZ+ and public broadcasting
My public broadcasting focus is right now on transforming RNZ into RNZ+, a truly multi-platform provider dedicated to quality New Zealand programming and journalism.
The creation of RNZ+ is a significant investment in the quality and voice of independent public media and will support a greater diversity of New Zealand stories.
So to help facilitate this, I am very pleased we have confirmed the establishment of a ministerial advisory group to investigate the establishment of a Public Media Funding Commission and to work with RNZ and NZ on Air to get the best possible business plans for evolution and the best spend of taxpayers’ money.
The Commission will be a non-political voice advising Parliament on the state of the media and the resourcing needs of public media agencies. It’s a new initiative, it’s a new thin layer of governance to cement independence, resilience and also provide much needed analysis of sustainable funding levels for investment in public interest media.
Media has a critical role in holding public and private institutions to account and in reporting on the government of the day.
That’s why having the right framework for a resilient and sustainable New Zealand broadcasting system is crucial to our strong modern democracy.
I am sure the members of the group are well known to many of you – Michael Stiassny, Sandi Beatie, Josh Easby and Irene Gardiner. Together they offer considerable governance, public sector and broadcasting experience.
I look forward to receiving their advice on the potential establishment of the permanent Public Media Funding Commission – its functions, role and scope.
 
Captioning/access
All New Zealanders deserve to have the best possible access to quality media content.
This year, Government is committed to exploring ways to increase captioning on New Zealand television and film screens.
My officials are currently looking at options to increase captioning to levels that are evident in other OECD countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.
The Government Administration Select Committee’s 2017 inquiry into Captioning in New Zealand addressed the lack of captioned advertising here including government advertisers who are often conveying important public service announcements.
This is an area we want to do better in.
We need to make sure we take the best approach to increasing captioning across all media, including on demand content.
This includes considering the select committee’s recommendation that the provision of captioning content be a requirement for NZ On Air and NZ Film Commission funding.  We are considering that – we haven’t made a decision about it yet.
To help us do this effectively this year, we will consult actively with the sector – with members of the hearing-impaired community, advocacy groups, broadcasters and Able, the organisation working to make media accessible – to find the best ways to achieve our goals.
Alongside this we will also be considering how best to raise the level of audio description.
We’re doing this because we recognise that increasing people’s access to high-quality media is an important vehicle for social inclusion and general wellbeing.
 
 
New Children’s Code
Last month I had the opportunity to discuss with Hilary and Heather the work and consultation led by the ASA during the development of its new Children and Young People’s Advertising Code.
I truly applaud the ASA’s commitment to supporting social responsibility and to putting the needs of our young people first.
It is a delicate line – balancing the right of our young New Zealanders to access multi-media cultural experiences with the need for this to be done in a safe environment.
And in bringing together two codes, while also addressing a number of specific issues raised by submitters, this was something that had to be achieved in a realistic and achievable manner – alongside industry, not against it.
 
Reform of media content regulation (digital convergence)
 
As you know, we have put on hold the previous Government’s Digital Convergence Bill.
I’ll say up front that at this early stage I can’t yet tell you whether we will revisit the ban on Sunday morning advertising.
What I can tell you is that we will be consulting on it.
In fact consultation, or lack of, is one of the key reasons we put the Bill on hold.
I don’t believe the views of the many affected by the proposed changes have been adequately considered in the current draft of the Bill.
This is a government that believes more can be achieved by working alongside and with the sector, so that’s what we will be doing.
Today’s multi-platform technology gives consumers more choice and greater accessibility, but has left our content regulation regime behind.
We have all known for some time that reform of content regulation is inevitable to create fairness, consistency and certainty in this new environment.
When it comes to advertising being ‘platform agnostic’ – it’s a great strength of the Advertising Standards Authority giving it the ability, with the support of industry, to ensure a level playing field for standards across all advertising.
I’m thinking here of recent examples such as broadening its definition of ‘advertisement’ and including any space carrying advertising to be in its jurisdiction.
This is unfortunately not the case elsewhere, with the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the New Zealand Press Council and the Office of Film and Literature Classification all involved in different areas, and some content having no standards regime at all.
Consistency whatever the medium is something I consider crucial to a meaningful and fair standards regime.
We want to refocus the Digital Convergence Bill to ensure it provides this consistency between different platforms; online and traditional broadcast content; and local and international content providers.
I recognise that many of you here today are engaged in this space and working with these platforms.
I want to get the industry working on this together because I believe that’s the way to find widely beneficial outcomes.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage will shortly hold a workshop that will bring together media content providers, regulators and public interest organisations to seek consensus on media content regulation reform. 
Many in this room will already be involved in this process and can expect an invitation from the Ministry shortly to attend the workshop.
I intend to make progress on these issues, and I want to find a solution that works for the public, advertisers, media and all stakeholders, and that everyone can live with.
 
Concluding comments
I encourage you all to be open in your thinking and your dialogue at this Summit.
We need a robust and nimble system of advertising standards that continues to work for providers and public alike.
Forums like this provide a great opportunity to pool the immense knowledge and grass-roots experience in the sector.
Thank you and I wish you well for a productive morning.
 
 
 
 

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Amendments proposed to forestry rights screening regime

 Investments in sensitive land involving forestry rights will be brought into the scope of the Overseas Investment Act under changes proposed today by Associate Finance Minister David Parker.
 The changes would also introduce a light-handed “checklist” screening regime, which will make it easier for overseas investors to gain approval to buy forestry rights than if they were subject to the current screening regime.
 Overseas buyers of existing freehold and leasehold forestry land, who already face screening, would also be able to use the light-handed checklist
 “The changes need to be made before the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) comes into force, or we will lose the chance to screen such sales forever,” Mr Parker says.
 “It will then be possible for future governments to tighten or further loosen the criteria applied to forestry investment, if required.
 “Any forest can in effect be purchased as a forestry registration right. This means that a screening regime that covers only freehold and leasehold is ineffective.
 “Forestry rights can grant a high degree of control over large parcels of land for multiple rotations over long periods of time, so it is important they are included in the regime. There is no evidence that the change will have a substantial effect on commercial values,” Mr Parker says.
The forestry sector is reliant on overseas investment with 70 per cent of plantation trees in overseas ownership.
 Under the proposed changes investors buying up to 1000 hectares of forestry rights each year will not need consent, but purchases above that level would be screened. This would apply to all forestry rights, including bare land planting.
 Investors would likely pass a new screening test for freehold and leasehold bare land, given they can demonstrate benefit to New Zealand from converting land into forestry, providing jobs and advancing the Government’s “one billion trees” policy.
The amendments have been submitted to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. The Government will also be consulting further with Māori.
 More information, including the draft regulations, can be found at http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/overseasinvestment/forestry

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: NZ and Fiji to cooperate on maritime surveillance

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced that New Zealand will deploy a Royal New Zealand Navy Inshore Patrol Vessel to Fiji for three months in 2018 to support maritime and fisheries surveillance. Later this year a New Zealand Offshore Patrol Vessel will also conduct complementary patrols in Fiji’s wider Exclusive Economic Zone. 
“New Zealand is very proud to be partnering with Fiji to support their programme of maritime surveillance and security,” Mr Peters says.
“We share a deep and abiding interest in supporting the region’s maritime security and ensuring that the Pacific’s natural resources are protected for future generations. Fiji has an exclusive economic zone about one third the size of New Zealand’s and, as fellow island nations, both our countries place enormous importance on the security and protection of our maritime environment.
“The New Zealand Government recently committed to a ‘reset’ of our relationship with our Pacific neighbours and cooperation with Fiji on maritime surveillance is a clear demonstration of our willingness to work with Pacific countries in areas of mutual benefit.
“This deployment will further links between our two countries, detect and deter illegal fishing in Fiji’s waters, and complement regional surveillance coordinated by the Forum Fisheries Agency,” Mr Peters says.
The RNZN Inshore Patrol Vessel will be deployed to Fiji between May and August, followed by the Offshore Patrol Vessel conducting patrols later in the year. This will build on the successful deployment on the HMNZS Hawea to Fiji in 2017.
ENDS
Contact: Stephen Parker, Chief Press Secretary, 021 195 3528