Category: New Zealand Government

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Sign up to join the Zero Carbon Bill conversation

15 March 2018

  MEDIA STATEMENT

Sign up to join the conversation on the Zero Carbon Bill
From today New Zealanders can register their interest in being part of the Government’s consultation on what the Zero Carbon Bill should look like, Climate Change Minister James Shaw has announced.
“We know many New Zealanders want to be part of the discussion on how we reduce our emissions and want to be kept updated in the lead up to formal consultation starting around the end of May.
“So we’ve set up an online registration process on the Ministry for the Environment website for individuals or organisations who want to be kept informed between now and then.
“You don’t have to register to be part of the consultation. Anyone can make a submission. And we’re planning lots of activities before and during the consultation process to ensure everyone knows how they can make submissions and be part of the national conversation on climate change and the Zero Carbon Bill.”
The Zero Carbon Bill will be a cornerstone of New Zealand’s transition to a low emission climate resilient future that will help us achieve our international commitments.
“This whole transition has to be shared by all of us. Consultation has to be with New Zealanders across the country; from farmers and factory workers, to iwi and innovators. We want everyone’s thoughts and ideas.”
 The consultation will also cover the role of the new independent Climate Change Commission.  The Commission is intended to take a long-term non-partisan view, provide independent advice to the government of the day, and ensure New Zealand stays on track to meet its climate change goals.
“I’d encourage anyone who’s interested in being part of the discussion on the Zero Carbon Bill to sign up at the Ministry for the Environment’s website here. And tell your friends to sign up too.”

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New Zealand and Colombia building closer ties

Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Fletcher Tabuteau represented the New Zealand Government at the formal opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Bogotá last night
“The opening of a New Zealand Embassy in Bogotá is a significant step in strengthening New Zealand’s relations with Latin American countries,” Mr Tabuteau says.
“New Zealand businesses are already investing in dairy development and water catchment management projects and are moving into the agribusiness, food processing, retail, construction, aviation, and health sectors.”
“It is very humbling to also see important humanitarian work being undertaken in Colombia, allowing families and small communities back into affected areas,” Mr Tabuteau says.
“New Zealand has contributed $1 million to humanitarian demining efforts in Colombia and is working with The Halo Trust to use New Zealand-developed technology to safely dispose of mines.  
“This builds on the support New Zealand gave towards the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC), and was instrumental in gaining endorsement by the international community during our time on the UN Security Council.
“I am particularly pleased to see the increasing education links between New Zealand and Colombia,” Mr Tabuteau says.  “Colombia is a priority market for Education New Zealand, which is supporting schools and universities to build links with Colombian counterparts. 
“Young New Zealanders are increasingly interested in Colombia and a large number of the most-recent Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Latin America were awarded to New Zealand students bound for Colombia.”
 While in Colombia Mr Tabuteau has also held meetings with Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londoño and Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín.
“Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londoño is a great friend of New Zealand. She is an insightful guide to Colombia’s post-conflict development, and is enthusiastic about the opportunities for New Zealand and New Zealanders in her country.”
 [ENDS]
 Contact: Laree Taula, 021 992 200

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Bay of Islands Airport upgrade

The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help support a desperately-needed upgrade at the Bay of Islands Airport in Kerikeri, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced.
The airport is among the fastest-growing regional airports in the country and needs a new terminal to keep up with demand. Approximately 96,000 people used the airport during 2017, which required Air New Zealand to put on additional flights to meet the demand.
“The proposal was identified as a key priority in the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan, which was launched in February 2016, and has received strong support from our national carrier Air New Zealand – the main user of the airport,” Shane Jones said.
“The current terminal is not fit for purpose and does not meet Air New Zealand’s requirements, while growth in passenger numbers is also putting pressure on the existing facilities.
“A new terminal will relieve congestion and cater to visitor growth by boosting capacity and improving facilities for passengers arriving in the Far North.
“The project has third-party funding and a clear rationale for central Government funding. It’s also among the few regional airports that central Government does not partially own.
“The Government will work with Far North Holdings Ltd to progress a detailed business case for the upgrade and – subject to that work and due diligence – will commit $1.7 million to the project.
“This is a project that will improve connectivity for tourism, the local community and businesses in the Far North and help support the growing tourism sector and create new jobs,” Shane Jones said.  
Building consents have been lodged and are due at the end of next month.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Wharf upgrades at Paihia, Russell and Opua

The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will provide much-needed investment in three Northland wharves, boosting the tourism sector and creating new jobs and opportunities to the region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says.
The Government will work alongside Far North Holdings Ltd – the commercial arm of the Far North District Council – on developing business cases for significant upgrades at Paihia, Russell and Opua and ensuring due diligence is met.
Subject to those business cases, the PGF will invest up to $5 million in the three projects.
“Tourism is an important and developing sector in Northland but some existing facilities are ageing and unsuitable, inhibiting future growth,” Shane Jones said.  
“These projects are also about training local people and giving them the skills they need to help build the future of Northland. The tender process for these upgrades will require firms to take on apprentices who can then enjoy careers in the construction industry going forward.
“These three projects, which are long overdue, will boost the productivity potential of Northland, help grow the tourism sector, diversify the local economy, create new jobs and help build more resilient communities.
“Far North Holdings Ltd has numerous proposals on its books and I’m pleased the Government has been able to work closely with the council to deliver for Northland.
Opua
“A 120 metre floating pontoon will be built for the Tuia – First Encounters 250 voyaging event in 2019 at Opua Wharf. Tuia – First Encounters 250, is a project within the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan. The pontoon will be used for future events and will help extend the super yacht industry outside of Auckland. 
“Building the pontoon will be a catalyst for ongoing economic benefits, including supporting events such as Bay of Islands Sailing Week and the Millenium Cup.
“Developing Opua’s facilities will bring more high-value tourists to the region leading to additional income and jobs to the local economy. 
Paihia
“Paihia Wharf is a major gateway and maritime hub in the Bay of Islands and is considered a critical piece of infrastructure in the Far North, with tourist cruises, charters, and the passenger ferry to Russel operating from the wharf.
“The facility is currently struggling to handle the number of visitors and tourism operators, which is hampering future growth and many components of the wharf are nearing the end of their life.
“The upgrade includes building an additional four berths for vessels, increased space for passengers and improved passenger facilities.
Russell
“Russel Wharf is Russell’s primary connection to the rest of New Zealand and is therefore a vital piece of community and tourism infrastructure.
“About 850,000 passengers use the wharf to access ferry services every year and Russell is one of the visitor highlights in the Bay of Islands but current facilities are ageing and unsuitable.
“The upgrade will replace the original timber piles and others with floating concrete pontoons while a wharf extension will create more visitor space for an increasing number of users and help to build capacity for the future.
“Officials will continue to work closely with Far North Holdings Ltd as further businesses cases are developed and these important projects progress,” Shane Jones said.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New Zealand Youth Awards 2018 Launch

Nominations are now open for the New Zealand Youth Awards 2018. These annual awards recognise and celebrate young New Zealanders who have achieved outstanding results, as well as those who have made a significant contribution in their communities, Minister for Youth Peeni Henare announced today. 
“The New Zealand Youth Awards 2018 builds on the success of previous years, and in 2018 we will recognise 18 rangatahi, nominated by their peers and communities, across six distinct award categories,” Peeni Henare said.
“The categories in 2018 recognise crucial skills and personal qualities such as leadership, empathy, working for the benefit of others and caring for our environment. As Minister for Youth, I want to take the time to honour our rangatahi on behalf of the communities they serve and represent.
“It is great to see young people at the forefront of leading initiatives and supporting their communities in areas such as the arts, culture, education, business and the environment.
“I want to encourage more young people to develop their natural leadership skills and mana. These Awards are both to inspire and give confidence to other young people that it could be them receiving an award next.” 
“This year, I am also excited to introduce the junior and senior Supreme Awards to recognise two outstanding young people who have tirelessly worked to advocate for and make a demonstrably significant contribution to address the current needs of young people in their community.
“I want to encourage all New Zealanders, across every community from Kaitaia to Bluff, to nominate someone who deserves recognition for their achievements.” 
“New Zealand is awash with committed, creative and talented young people who, through their own desire for social good, are leading innovative change and developing creative solutions right on our doorstep. The New Zealand Youth Awards are our opportunity to place the spotlight on these rangatahi and show off their leadership achievements and contributions to their communities. With our support, they will continue to achieve nationally and internationally,” Peeni Henare said.
Applications are now open and will close midday 26 April 2018. The award winners will be formally recognised at a celebratory event on 28 June 2018.
For more information on the New Zealand Youth Awards 2018, visit http://www.myd.govt.nz/young-people/new-zealand-youth-awards.html  .

Contact: Patisepa Helu 021 821 562
 

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Child poverty reduction target unchanged following Treasury’s revisions

The Government’s target, to reduce the proportion of children in poverty from 15% now to a world-leading 5% within ten years, remains unchanged following Treasury’s corrected and updated projections, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
Meanwhile, the Government will prioritise improving the quality of data used to measure child poverty following Treasury’s correction to its coding error and updated child poverty projections, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.
The review process by Treasury had two aspects. The first was to correct the coding error which overestimated its projections for the number of children lifted out of poverty by both the Coalition Government’s Families Package and the previous government’s Family Incomes Package. Treasury announced that correction today.
Treasury said its December projection that the Families Package would lift 88,000 children out of poverty by 2021 had been corrected to 64,000. The corresponding figure for the Budget 2017 Family Incomes Package was a fall from 49,000 to 33,000 children lifted out of poverty by 2021 – a proportionate fall for the two packages.
“The new results continue to indicate that the Coalition Government’s Families Package will have double the impact reducing child poverty than National’s poorly targeted and more costly tax cut package,” Grant Robertson says.
“The coding error does not impact what families will receive from the Families Package – 384,000 families will still be better off by an average $75 per week.”
The second aspect of the review was for Treasury to update the underlying data in its model from Stats NZ’s 2014/15 Household Economic Survey (HES) to 2015/16 numbers. During this process, problems with that data and for some other years were uncovered. Treasury turned back to pooling 2014/15 data with the 2012/13 HES, producing different numbers to the corrected figures – 54,000 and 27,000, respectively.
“Treasury has said that caution should be applied to using these numbers on their own due to the small underlying sample sizes, and says that they should not be used for benchmarking purposes. This is why we have made the decision to provide for stronger and larger data sets for these surveys, and we are working with Stats NZ on this,” Grant Robertson says.
“Best advice remains that about 14%-15% of children live in households earning below 50% of the median income before housing costs. This level of child poverty is totally unacceptable for a country like New Zealand,” Jacinda Ardern says.
“Our target to ensure this falls to below 5% of all children in 10 years’ time is unchanged by Treasury’s correction. This goal would see New Zealand achieve one of the lowest rates of child poverty in the world. I believe we have the opportunity and the moral obligation to ensure children are free from the burden of poverty,” Jacinda Ardern says.
Information about the Child Poverty Reduction Bill and Government poverty targets can be found here and here.
Note: The corrected projections, and the 15%-5% target, relate to the below 50% of the median income before housing costs measure of child poverty.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Funding to expand Bay of Plenty nursery

The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will provide up to $5.8 million over three years to allow a Bay of Plenty nursery to scale up production of forestry grade native seedlings, Regional Economic Development Minister and Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced today.

“With the Government committed to seeing one billion trees planted over the next 10 years, we need to work with nurseries and help them increase production to ensure enough seedlings – both exotics and indigenous – are available to be planted,” Shane Jones said.

“The funding we’re announcing today will allow Minginui Nursery to grow up to one million native trees every year and expand its current workforce from nine to 90.”  

The two-year-old nursery is owned by Ngāti Whare Holdings.

“It’s already involved in growing forest-grade podocarp species – rimu, totara, matai, kahikatea, miro – and kauri, and also has a large order book for manuka, kanuka and other pioneer species.”

“Minginui was planned as a forestry town by the Ministry of Works and was built in the late 1940s, but has experienced ongoing population decline since the closure of the sawmill in the late 1980s. Only about 1300 people now live in the area, with fewer than 300 living in the town itself.

“Community development is the key driver for the nursery’s move to increase its production of forestry grade native seedlings to an industrial scale.

“With the PGF’s help, Minginui Nursery can play its part in rejuvenating the region, contributing to employment and skills development and better social outcomes for the community.

“Ngāti Whare Holdings has already proven it can operate a nursery on commercial terms, employ and train local people and the Government is happy to partner with such businesses,” Shane Jones said.

The $1 billion per annum Provincial Growth Fund was officially launched on 23 February. For background click here.

Minginui Nursery

A successful nursery will provide opportunities for local people and help break the existing cycle of social welfare dependency in the town.

New nursery staff would be employed from the community and wider region.  

Ngāti Whare has developed a successful approach to getting local people into full-time permanent work through offering wrap around services, such as social and health services.

As well as employing locals, it’s expected the nursery could draw skilled people back to the town.

Growing one million native tree seedlings will involve the upskilling of current staff into leadership roles. Some have undertaken formal qualifications and have the potential to take part in nursery related research.

Educational providers are being approached to provide bridging programmes for prospective employees and all staff will go through on-going in-house training.

Te Puni Kokiri provided $130,000 last year to assist Ngāti Whare Trust to enable home ownership for locals in Minginui. 

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Transport Accident Investigators travel to Kiribati

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced that three New Zealand Transport Accident Investigators will assist with the investigation into the sinking of the MV Butiraoi in Kiribati.
“New Zealand was deeply saddened by the sinking of the MV Butiraoi in January this year and the large loss of life,” Mr Peters says.
“In response to a request from the Government of Kiribati New Zealand has agreed to provide funding to send three staff from the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission to assist Kiribati’s Ministry of Transport with the investigation. 
“The New Zealand Government is pleased to be able to assist Kiribati with their investigation. The Transport Accident Investigators will play a role in helping establish the causes of the accident and make recommendations for addressing safety issues.”
ENDS
Contact: Stephen Parker, Chief Press Secretary, 021 195 3528

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Cellphone service will support Minginui

Establishing cellphone services for Minginui will support the scaling up of the Minginui nursery owned by Ngāti Whare Holdings, from commercial to industrial size for the production of native forestry grade seedlings, Associate Minister of Agriculture, Hon Meka Whaitiri announced today. 
“Included in Hon Shane Jones announcement of $5.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is a contribution towards covering the costs to bring the cellphone service to Minginui village in the Whirinaki Forest which will be up and running shortly. 
“This coverage will enable the nursery to function effectively and efficiently in a modern competitive business environment and support this community,” says Meka Whaitiri, who has ministerial responsibility for primary sector skills development and Maori agribusiness. 
“This service will build on Ngāti Whare’s previous investment ($40,000) in the wireless broadband infrastructure that is already in place and Ngāti Whare’s  practice of investing in its social infrastructure. 
“The lift in staff at the nursery from nine employees to 90 creates opportunity for locals, many of whom will require training and skills development in order to be ready for employment.  Having technology solutions to support training will be vital. 
“The opportunity to develop science and technology skills while working and living in Minginui is also exciting and will equip locals with transferable skills across the primary industries. 
“I know, like Ngāti Whare does, the impact this can have on reinvigorating the community, improving social cohesion, supporting better outcomes, and lifting the goals their rangatahi set for themselves, Meka Whaitiri said.

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Have your say on international climate guidelines

Hon JAMES SHAW
Minister for Climate Change
 

14 March 2018

  MEDIA STATEMENT

Have your say on international climate change guidelines
The Government is inviting input as it sets the priorities for New Zealand at international climate change negotiations.
At Paris in 2015, 174 countries, plus the European Union, committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise this Century to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
At the end of this year (2-14 December), international negotiators meet in Katowice, Poland, for the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The purpose of COP24 is to work out the guidelines for how countries work together to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
From today, New Zealanders are invited to have their say on what they think New Zealand’s stance on those guidelines should be.
“Tackling climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our time,” says the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw.
“I’ve been clear that New Zealand will show leadership on climate change on the world stage, which is why we want to refresh our approach to international climate negotiations, and to hear from you about what you think is important in those negotiations.
“We need to lead by example at home and we also need to be clear about what we’re working towards at the international negotiating table.
“Having signed up to the Paris Agreement, the next step is to agree on guidance for countries as they go about implementing their national contributions to reducing greenhouse gases and limiting temperature rise, and that is what will happen in Katowice in December,” Mr Shaw says.
“There are a number of areas New Zealand has focused on already, including transparency, effective mitigation, integrity of carbon markets, agriculture, as well as gender and indigenous people’s issues,” he says.
Public submissions can be made by clicking here for more details.
Submissions are due by 3 April.