Category: Politics

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Polling shows Kiwis support charter schools

Source: ACT Party

Headline: Polling shows Kiwis support charter schools




“Polling conducted by Curia Market Research shows New Zealanders support charter schools remaining open and disapprove of the Government’s handling of the issue”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

57 per cent of decided voters agreed charter schools should be allowed to continue operating in their current form, while 60 per cent of decided voters disapprove of the way the Government is dealing with charter schools.

“The Government is on the wrong side of public opinion on this issue. It needs to stop taking advice from the teachers’ unions, start listening to Kiwis, and drop its ideological push to deprive kids of choice.

“I urge New Zealanders who value educational choice for our kids to go to savecharters.kiwi and sign the petition telling the Government to back off. More than 2600 people have already signed it.

“This website also tells people how to make a submission on Chris Hipkins’ legislation to scrap charter schools. It only takes a few minutes and can easily be done online.

“There’s plenty of anger about the Government’s decision to take school choice away from 1500 disadvantaged students. Kiwis nows need to translate that feeling into action”, says Mr Seymour.

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Regional GDP another benchmark for new Govt

Source: National Party – Headline: Regional GDP another benchmark for new Govt

Regional GDP figures out today from Stats NZ provide a further benchmark for the new Government to live up to, National Party Regional Development Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

Growth figures of 9 per cent in the Bay of Plenty, 8.2 per cent in each of the Waikato and Northland, 7.9 per cent in Southland and 7.1 per cent in Otago in the year to March 2017 are clear proof that the regions have been thriving and not struggling as the rhetoric would have it,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“For New Zealand’s sake, we need that growth to continue. The challenge for the new Government is to keep these numbers up and not do anything to stuff them up.

“The previous Government’s consistent sensible economic policies have encouraged investment in the regions and brought in skilled people to work for growing regional companies.

“The new Government clearly needs to stay the course with that approach and not head down the haphazard inconsistent path of Shane Jones which will only discourage private sector investment.

“Regional GDP growth has now averaged 26.2 per cent over the last five years while Northland has grown at 30 per cent.

“The figures also contain a warning for the anti-oil and gas crowd. They show that Taranaki is our wealthiest region but also hasn’t grown much recently. It would only take a continuation of the sort of rhetoric we’ve seen in the last week to send Taranaki backwards.

“Regional development is all about applying predictable coherent economic policies that businesses can base their investment decisions on, and building the infrastructure that people actually use.

“If the coalition Government still says the regions are struggling I look forward to seeing their growth figures exceed these in the years ahead.”

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Pressure building on Govt to halt employment law changes

Source: National Party – Headline: Pressure building on Govt to halt employment law changes

Time is running out for employers to submit on Labour’s first sweeping changes to employment law, National Party Workplace Relations Spokesperson Michael Woodhouse says.

“Business owners and managers only have until Easter to submit on these proposals which will result in significantly increased powers for unions in the workplace,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“The changes will create all sorts of problems for small and medium sized business owners. They tilt the playing field in favour of unions with new requirements to conclude bargaining, keep paying in full those on partial strikes, and requiring employers in an industry to bargain together if that’s what the union wants.

“All up there are at least 10 union-friendly changes that will only slow down job and wage growth. And that’s before we get to the severe new restrictions on 90 day trials.

“We have added 245,000 jobs in this country over the last two calendar years and these changes fly in the face of that reality.”

Mr Woodhouse says employers and workers can get help with their submission by going to the www.protectnzjobs.co.nz.

“There is a submission form which clearly lays out the changes so submitters can select which of them they most oppose.

“I’m surprised how many people I talk to who still aren’t aware of these changes. The Protect NZ Jobs website is an easy way to get up to speed quickly, so you don’t wake up later and find out it has all already happened.

“The Government still hasn’t explained why these changes make any sense for the New Zealand economy, workers or employers.

“That’s because there is absolutely no justification beyond being a simple payoff for Labour’s union supporters at the expense of everyone else.

“New Zealanders need to reject Labour’s pro-union law changes now or there will be even more harmful reforms later in the year, including the ability of the Government to dictate pay rates across entire industries.”

Make your submission here.

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Career bureaucrat/politician Jones should back off

Source: ACT Party

Headline: Career bureaucrat/politician Jones should back off




“Shane Jones has never spent a day of his life in the private sector and should stop telling Air New Zealand how to run its operations”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“It is simply extraordinary that a Minister who has never stepped outside a bureaucracy or quango in his life believes he can tell a publicly listed company what to do.

“Air New Zealand is a private entity and its job is to get the best financial value for its shareholders.

“If the Government feels there is a genuine public good in the regional routes that have been shut down, it could set up a government subsidy and put those routes out for tender.

“The answer isn’t for Shane Jones to try to strong-arm the Board from his bully pulpit”, says Mr Seymour.

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New Whips to help keep National moving forward

Source: National Party – Headline: New Whips to help keep National moving forward

Opposition Leader Simon Bridges has announced the election by Caucus of National’s three Whips, with Barbara Kuriger today elected Senior Whip, Matt Doocey Junior Whip and Tim van de Molen Third Whip.

“These three MPs have an important role to play in helping ensure the efforts of all 56 National MPs are focused on holding this Government to account and coming up with the plans and policies to take New Zealand forward.

“They have a big job. The National Party caucus is Parliament’s largest and it is brimming with energy and enthusiasm and a willingness to work in the best interests of New Zealand.

“It must also be disciplined and focused and represent our communities effectively.

“Ensuring that strength and talent is taking New Zealand forward is my focus as Leader and I am delighted to have these three strong MPs elected to play an important role in that.

“Our three Whips will help ensure the National Party earns the trust of New Zealanders and the right to govern in their interests in 2020.”

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Collins: Kiwi ‘build’ anything but

Source: National Party – Headline: Collins: Kiwi ‘build’ anything but

In spite of the Government’s spin and bluster its much-heralded Kiwibuild programme is yet to yield a single new house, National Party Housing and Development Spokesperson Judith Collins says.

“Like so much of what we’re seeing from this Government they’re full of big talk but they’re not getting anything done.

“Case in point – 145 days into its sleepwalk at the helm of this country its flagship Kiwibuild programme is yet to result in a single house even being started.

“These houses are nothing more than a twinkle in the eye of the man who has done nothing but talk about them – Housing Minister Phil Twyford.

“That’s in spite of the Government promising to get Kiwibuild underway as part of its 100-day plan.

“Mr Twyford also confirmed in Question Time today that they are planning to buy off private developments that were already underway prior to the change in Government.  That’s not adding anything – it’s bludging off the private sector.

“The Government just needs to be honest with the public. Much of the ‘Kiwibuild pipeline’ that the Housing Minister continues to talk about adds nothing new to the record residential building boom underway under the previous Government.

“Get on with it, Phil. People need homes, not pipelines.” 

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National urges Govt to be more ambitious with child poverty legislation

Source: National Party – Headline: National urges Govt to be more ambitious with child poverty legislation

National has today lodged three Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) seeking to give some teeth to the proposed law to reduce child poverty, Children’s spokesperson Alfred Ngaro says.

“In its current form the Bill simply codifies the actions National was already taking to reduce child poverty. The SOPs have been designed to take the next step in that journey, and to force the Government to be more ambitious with its targets, measures, and evidence.

“We supported the Bill to select committee but have always said that our ongoing support would depend on the Government agreeing to make changes that will ensure it measurably improves deprivation.

“The first SOP asks the Minister responsible, Jacinda Ardern, to ensure there is regular reporting of outcomes around a selected number of child poverty-related indicators such as household material conditions, educational development, health and safety.

“The second SOP asks the Minister to set a target to reduce the number of children in material hardship by 100,000 in three years – just as she committed to during the election campaign. This was a target National had committed to with support from initiatives such as the Family Incomes Package last year.

“The final SOP requires all Budget initiatives or proposals with an impact on child poverty reduction to take into account the principles of the Social Investment approach. This could include subjecting any proposals to a cost benefit analysis and a Social Investment Analytical Layer (SIAL).

“This will ensure data and evidence is a cornerstone of the decision-making around investing in, and funding, initiatives to reduce child poverty, rather than just encouraging Labour’s habit of throwing money at a problem.

“In the spirit of bipartisanship, National has three times sought to discuss our concerns with the Prime Minister about the Bill, as well as our proposed solutions.

“I look forward to discussing these SOPs as they come in front of the Social Services and Community select committee and I hope the Government makes good on its commitment to remove the politics from child poverty and supports these proposals,” Mr Ngaro says. 

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Million Dollar Mouse successfully eradicates mice from Antipodes Island

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.

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

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.

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A wellbeing approach to assessing the Government’s balance sheet

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.