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SH1 Desert Road closure delayed due to weather

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: SH1 Desert Road closure delayed due to weather

The closure was scheduled to take place from Wednesday morning. The road is being closed to enable the concrete deck to be poured and was always weather-dependent.

Another similar 36-hour closure is scheduled for 4-5 April, this will also be weather permitting.

Outside of the closure times people can expect the bridge to be down to one lane, with some short closures of around 5 minutes. There is a 30km/h limit in place.

The alternative route is State Highways 46, 47, 4 and 49. This detour is not suitable for vehicles over 44 tonnes, apart from 50MAX which is permitted.

There are also multiple maintenance work sites on the Desert Road during this period and delays are possible at other sites.

High productivity motor vehicles can use the SH3 and SH3A route between Hamilton and Bulls.

Vehicles with over-weight loads or over-dimension loads wider than 3.0 metres are unable to use the Desert Road section of SH1 until the bridge repairs are complete in April.

These closure dates are subject to fine weather and further postponement may be needed.

People can check all current road closures here

We are also on Twitter and Facebook:

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New Zealand signs Working Holiday Scheme with Portugal

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New Zealand signs Working Holiday Scheme with Portugal

Young New Zealanders will soon be able to set their sights on Portugal to live, work and play.
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has announced that up to 50 young New Zealanders a year will be able to live and work in Portugal for up to 12 months.
The announcement follows the signing today of a reciprocal working holiday scheme, during the visit to New Zealand of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities Abroad, H.E. José Luís Carneiro.
Mr Lees-Galloway says today’s announcement provides a great opportunity for young Kiwis to broaden their horizons, and for young Portuguese people to enjoy New Zealand’s warm hospitality and incredible environments.
“Portugal is an important partner for New Zealand on a wide range of international issues, and a strong supporter of the effective rules-based international system that underpins our security and prosperity,” he says.  
“It’s important that our political relationship is complemented by strong links between our people, and especially our young people.  The new working holiday scheme will help to strengthen these links, and to deepen the relationship between New Zealand and Portugal still further over the years to come.”
The Portugal-New Zealand working holiday scheme will be open from 20 March 2018 to people between 18 and 30 years old.  New Zealanders wishing to apply should email vistos@mne.pt or contact the Portuguese Embassy in Canberra (or, if living offshore, the Portuguese Embassy in their country of residence).

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New appointment to Reserve Bank Board

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New appointment to Reserve Bank Board

Dr Chris Eichbaum has been appointed to the Board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.
Dr Eichbaum is currently a Reader in Government at the Victoria University School of Government and Associate Dean in the Victoria University Business School. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and has published on topics including public policy and central banking.
He previously served on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board between 2008 and 2013. His current appointment is for a five-year term, in accordance with the Reserve Bank Act. Dr Eichbaum’s previous roles include a number of positions at Victoria University and in Government.
“Dr Eichbaum brings his experience as a previous Board member at a critical time of change. His understanding of public policy and the place of monetary policy in that context will also be very helpful as the review of the Reserve Bank Act progresses,” Grant Robertson says.
Reserve Bank chairman Professor Neil Quigley welcomed Dr Eichbaum back to the Board. “It will be invaluable having someone with Chris’ previous experience as we go through the review, including looking at the role of the Board itself,” Neil Quigley says.
Dr Eichbaum’s appointment fills the vacancy left by Rod Carr’s retirement from the board in 2017.

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Committee votes to revitalise major town centres

Source: Auckland Council

Headline: Committee votes to revitalise major town centres

The Planning Committee gave the green light today to plans that will revitalise two of Auckland’s most prominent and well-known town centres.

The Committee agreed to the Unlock Panmure High Level Project Plan to revitalise the Panmure town centre and to change the use of 40 Anzac Street, Takapuna for development of well-designed public spaces, new homes and employment opportunities and new convenient local car parking in central Takapuna.

The following is a digest of decisions made. The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and minutes will be added once confirmed. This meeting was also webcast on the council’s website and items are available on demand.

Items 1-8 were administrative items except for Public Input (Item 5) and Local Board Input (Item 6).

There were two items of public input. Nicolas Reid and Bill Reid updated the Committee on progress with the Albert Park Tunnels development proposal. A further report will be made to the Planning Committee on council requirements for the proposal.

Denise Lee, Member of Parliament for the Maungakiekie electorate, spoke in support of the Unlock Panmure High Level Project Plan.

Under Local Board input, Chris Makoare and Nerissa Henry from the Maungakiekie- Tāmaki Local Board addressed the Committee in support of the Unlock Panmure High Level Project Plan.

Grant Gillon, Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Chair, spoke to the Planning Committee regarding the proposed change of use of 40 Anzac Street, Takapuna.

Item 9: Unlock Panmure High Level Project Plan

The Committee gave its approval to Panuku Development Auckland’s Unlock Panmure High Level Project Plan to revitalise Panmure town centre.

See OurAuckland for more information.

Unlock Panmure is a plan to revitalise Panmure that will improve transport connections to and from the town centre, reinvigorate the mainstreet, deliver new housing, and reconnect the community with its surrounding natural features.

Panuku Development Auckland will lead the refresh of Panmure town centre in partnership with Tāmaki Regeneration Company, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, Auckland Council and mana whenua.

As part of its decisions today, the Committee also endorsed Panuku to dispose of Auckland Council owned properties. These will be considered by a meeting of the Finance and Performance Committee at a later date.

Detailed information is available under item 9 of the Planning Committee agenda.

Item 10: Change of use of 40 Anzac Street, Takapuna

The Committee approved the recommendation of the Hearings Panel to change the use of 40 Anzac Street, Takapuna from a car park to mixed use, meaning the site can be used for purposes other than car parking.

This follows further engagement between Panuku Development Auckland and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board since the item was heard in November 2017 on plans to revitalise the site as part of its Unlock Takapuna project.

See OurAuckland for more information

The plan for the 40 Anzac Street site includes:

  • Replacement of existing car parking on Anzac Street with a new 450-500 car park on the Gasometer site
  • People-friendly public spaces including a new town square that will allow for activities like a market
  • Well-designed laneways creating connections with Anzac Street, Lake Road and Hurstmere Road
  • Creating safer access to Potter’s Park
  • Suitable alternative short-stay parking

The existing 250 car parks at Anzac Street will be replaced in a multi-storey 400-550 space car parking building at the nearby Gasometer site. The Anzac Street car park will not close until the Gasometer car park is completed.

Panuku Development Auckland will oversee the revitalisation of Takapuna working alongside the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board to continue discussions with the community.

Detailed information is available under item 10 of the Planning Committee agenda.

Item 11: Political reference group to consider the new draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2018

A political reference group was established to consider the soon to be released new draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2018 and to consider making a draft submission for approval of the Planning Committee if required.

The political reference group will include Mayor Phil Goff, Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore, Councillors Chris Darby (Planning Committee Chair), Richard Hills (Deputy Chair), and Christine Fletcher and Independent Maori Statutory Board member Liane Ngamane.

Item 12: Summary of Planning Committee information memos and briefings

A summary and provide a public record of memos or briefing papers that may have been distributed to committee members.

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New Zealand’s neglected digital diplomacy

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: New Zealand’s neglected digital diplomacy

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was ranked 102 in the Digital Diplomacy Review 2017.

By Fahad Alammad

New Zealand has unique values, culture and history – but it rarely features in international media. Our small population and isolated geographic location means a lack of prominence within the global system and this affects our level of newsworthiness and influence.

One way to tackle this issue is to bypass mainstream media and tell our stories through social media networks like Twitter and Facebook. A coordinated and a well-considered digital diplomatic strategy could substantially strengthen New Zealand’s international status and support its efforts to leverage greater influence and appeal.

Facebook and Twitter could be useful tools in supporting a new kind of digital diplomacy to reach out to citizens, companies, global audience, and others. These have shown they can be a means to drive fundamental changes in societies when used in the right way by the right people. There is no reason to believe they can’t have a bigger role in enhancing New Zealand’s reputation by directing the world’s attention to what we do.

But New Zealand’s official social media channels are mostly under-utilised, or segmented towards specific regions and to an English-speaking audience. Among 209 world foreign ministries, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was ranked 102 in the Digital Diplomacy Review 2017 – just after Uganda and Pakistan. The review measures ministries of foreign affairs’ presence, creativity and engagement across different social media assets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Massey PhD candidate Fahad Alammad is researching business diplomacy.

Sceptical of ‘megaphone diplomacy’

To establish a social media presence and influence views and perception, different governments and ministries of foreign affairs engage in digital diplomacy. For example, Sweden, the United States, France, and the UK have created multiple social media channels in different languages directed toward diverse regions to defend and promote their countries’ interests. Some of these channels attract hundreds of thousands of followers with millions of interactions from all over the world.

In comparison, the government of New Zealand’s only official social media account is not verified or actively seeking to communicate directly with either a foreign audience or foreign governments about its news and stories. New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) is increasingly using social media channels but the channels are in English, and not necessarily innovative and customised. As a result, these channels do not generate the engagement and influence aspired to by digital diplomacy.

MFAT’s chief executive Brook Barrington said this about digital diplomacy: “New Zealand has long favoured the benefits of modest and moderate collaboration…and being sceptical of megaphone diplomacy”, so it’s no surprise its social media efforts, so far, have been understated.

But digital diplomacy should not be viewed as a form of megaphone diplomacy. Rather, it should be used as a tool to actively communicate, engage, and promote New Zealand’s interests worldwide and to tell the stories of who we are, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Universities also have a role to play in training politically astute and media savvy graduates in the art and science of digital diplomacy.

Looking forward, I believe the government of New Zealand should actively seek to increase its global presence in social media by creating different channels across various platforms in multiple languages. These channels need to be run by enthusiastic and interactive people who truly understand and appreciate the uniqueness of New Zealand and express it in a way that other parts of the world can recognise.

In the long run, the government of New Zealand, and its various ministries, need to actively engage in multi-language e-diplomacy to spread information about New Zealand to the rest of the world. These activities can only serve to enhance New Zealand’s reputation and promote its interests globally in different areas of public life, including tourism, education, politics, and research.

New Zealand might be isolated geographically, but there is no need to insist on being virtually isolated as well.

Fahad Alammar is a PhD candidate at Massey’s School of Management. His PhD thesis is focused on empirically investigating the concept of business diplomacy.

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International Women’s Day cycling event expands

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: International Women’s Day cycling event expands

International Women’s Day cycling event expands

Cycling enthusiasts, from left, Ellie Clayton from ChangeMakers Refugee Forum, tutor Nicola Macaulay from Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Leidy Hurtado who took part in the event last year, Cushla Donovan from Revolve cycles and former postgraduate student Alex Neems who are participating in the 2018 cycling event to coincide with International Women’s Day.

For the second consecutive year, Massey University has teamed up with other Wellington organisations for a community event that invites former refugee women to improve their bike riding skills.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day on Thursday, senior lecturer Dr Negar Partow and tutor Nicola Macaulay from the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the Wellington campus, have teamed up with the group including the non-governmental organisation ChangeMakers Refugee Forum, to offer the women new to Wellington the opportunity to try a new skill and meet others in a similar situation.

Cycle trails and simple obstacle courses will be set up at Kilbirnie Park as instructors from Revolve, ReBicycle Wellington and MUD Cycles, take the women through the cycling basics.

This year, similar events will also be held at The Esplanade in Palmerston North and the Sandringham Road extension in Auckland.

Undertaking such an activity was a great way for the women to take their minds off their own struggles to re-settle at a time when the plight of refugees and rising nationalism dominate world headlines, Dr Partow says.

It also highlighted Massey’s relationship with the city’s NGOs and wider community, and hopefully signalled to other Wellington businesses the importance of engaging in social activism.

“Settling into a new culture and facing the challenges of adapting to a different way of life can be incredibly stressful for former refugees who have fled conflict and destruction in their home country,” Ms Macaulay says.

Dr Partow adds: “Participating in social and sporting activities allows diverse communities to interrelate and exchange ideas about some of those challenges.”

Ms Macaulay says the main point of the cycling morning was for women to come together and have fun.

“Agencies have come together to make these opportunities possible. It’s important that organisations do more of this and reach out to refugee background populations.”

 

 

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Will Labour Repeat Nats’ Fail Mark on NCEA?

Source: ACT Party

Headline: Will Labour Repeat Nats’ Fail Mark on NCEA?




“The New Zealand Initiative’s new report Spoiled By Choice is a severe indictment on the National Party, whose targets for NCEA pass rates severely distorted the system, and a massive challenge for Labour, who are now promising change”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The thoroughly-researched report calls New Zealand’s whole secondary school qualifications framework into question.

“I set this problem out in my election year book, Own Your Future, when I said: ‘The government understands the importance of education, but its Better Public Service targets have just helped disguise the problem by encouraging schools to massage data. While the Ministry of Education crows that more eighteen year olds are leaving High School with NCEA Level 2 qualifications, international evidence shows that in objective tests that aren’t graded by friendly teachers we are going backwards.’”

“The OECD’s PISA rankings saw New Zealand schoolchildren’s ranking in English, Maths and Science achievement drop relative to other countries between 2009 and 2012. The most recent results, in 2015, saw our kids gain a few places in the rankings, but with worse test results. 

“The frenetic, grandiloquent diva that could only be Hekia Parata has exhorted them to succeed over the past five years. Nearly singing her way through her speeches, Parata would often say things like “we must get Pasifika Level 2 pass rates to 80 per cent by 2017!”

“Of course, setting such a challenge in 2014 was implausible. The students in question started school eight years earlier and preschool nearly a decade earlier. The whole point of the Government’s ‘social investment model’ is that a stitch in time saves nine; that a dollar spent on a kid early can get them back on track and save many taxpayer dollars later on. And yet we are expected to believe that students from 2010-16 made enormous improvements after the Government set targets.

“A more plausible explanation comes from a visiting British expert, Briar Lipson of the New Zealand Initiative, who said: ‘Between 2002 and 2004, NCEA replaced the traditional trio of School Certificate, University Entrance and Bursary. With its equal emphasis on academic and vocational programmes, NCEA puts course choices from nuclear physics to nail technology into the hands of teachers, parents and students. Then in 2007 the new New Zealand Curriculum was introduced. A high-level document, it leaves much of the selection of curriculum content to its teachers… It is hard to imagine a system more likely to accentuate the gap between our ‘haves’ and our ‘have nots’”.

“On average, our students compare well with the rest of the world, but outcomes have got worse for kids from poorer backgrounds. That’s a concern, because these are the students who need good education the most. But, surprisingly, outcomes have also dropped for kids from better off families. We’re often told by teacher unions that bad educational outcomes are the result of income, race, colonisation – anything, in fact, except the education system itself. But they are wrong. The fix for bad education is better education. The party that will provide it is ACT.

“The New Zealand Initiative report is meticulously researched and comprehensively damning. If we want students to leave school well-equipped for 21st century jobs, and if we want to have a high-productivity, high-wage economy, the new Government must take its recommendations seriously and restore basic educational standards so that students cannot avoid numeracy and literacy requirements”, says Mr Seymour.

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Submissions on End of Life Choice Closing Soon

Source: ACT Party

Headline: Submissions on End of Life Choice Closing Soon




The chance for New Zealanders to submit their opinions on the End of Life Choice Bill closes midnight on Tuesday 6 March.

“Over 14,000 submissions have been received by Parliament’s Justice Committee with four more days to go,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“I’d encourage anyone thinking about writing a submission to do so this weekend and not miss the chance to have their voice heard by the Justice Committee.”

“I’d also suggest taking five minutes to watch a short video from our #MyLifeMyChoice campaign which I launched to highlight the personal stories of Kiwis suffering from terminal illnesses.”

Our campaign videos have been viewed over 100,000 times, and shared nearly 1000 times, on Facebook.

You can view the videos on the End of Life Choice NZ Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LifeChoiceNZ/

Follow the link below to make your submission on End of Life Choice:

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/52SCJU_SCF_BILL_74307/end-of-life-choice-bill

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Bridges pays tribute to Steven Joyce

Source: National Party – Headline: Bridges pays tribute to Steven Joyce

National Party Leader Simon Bridges has thanked retiring MP Steven Joyce for his service to New Zealand and the National Party.

“Steven has made a huge contribution during his 15 year political career, including in the last decade in Parliament. In that time he has proven an exceptional minister, colleague, advisor and political strategist.

“As a minister, Steven has played a major role in helping create a stronger New Zealand, particularly in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

“Among his many successes, he oversaw the rollout of the ambitious Ultra-Fast Broadband programme, ensuring New Zealand is one of the most digitally advanced economies in the world.

“As Science and Innovation Minister he worked with the private sector to substantially lift investment in R and D, helping pave the way for some of the world leading science and business initiatives we are seeing and benefiting from today.

“And as Transport Minister he helped make New Zealand’s roads safer and more resilient, through initiatives like the Roads of National Significance.

“He was someone both John Key and Bill English turned to for advice and to get things done. That meant he was given some tough tasks but he consistently rose to those challenges. And I will also continue to use him as a sounding board as the National Party looks to 2020.

“He played a major role in rebuilding the National Party, leading the past five elections and helping turn National into New Zealand’s largest and most popular political party.

“Steven is a huge loss to Parliament and to the National Party and I want to thank him for his immense contribution to New Zealand, and his wife Suzanne and their children for sharing them with us. We wish him all the best.”

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Joyce to retire from Parliament

Source: National Party – Headline: Joyce to retire from Parliament

National Party MP Steven Joyce has announced today that he will retire from Parliament.

“I have had a wonderful time in this place over the last nearly ten years including nine years as a Minister, and have been privileged to be able to make a real contribution to the development of our country,” Mr Joyce says.

“With the recent change of National Party leadership I have had the opportunity to consider again what I would like to do over the next several years.

“Simon has made a very positive proposal to me to stay and contribute as a senior member of the team on the front bench with a choice of portfolio.

“However I feel that it is time for him to get a new team around him to take National forward and win in 2020 and then govern again for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

“I have offered to assist in any way I can from outside parliament and will remain a staunch supporter of the Party.

“Personal highlights of my time in office include setting up major infrastructure projects like ultrafast broadband, the major motorway and expressway projects now coming on stream, and the electrification of Auckland’s commuter rail network.

“I have also enjoyed my involvement in the tertiary education sector, the hi-tech sector, the science sector and regional New Zealand and am proud of the progress we made as a Government in all four areas.

“I have led the National Party’s general election campaign five times as Campaign Chair and in four of those for John Key and Bill English, we achieved a Party Vote in excess of 44 per cent, the only time it has happened under MMP.

“And it was an honour to be Bill English’s Associate Minister of Finance for eight years before presenting my own budget in 2017, which continued building the platform for future economic growth and focused on boosting incomes for low and middle income earners.

“My plan now is to return to commercial life and seek new challenges and also to focus on being a good Dad to Tommy and Amelia.

“I’d like to thank my wife Suzanne, colleagues, staff, party supporters, the public and all the people I have met through my work for their encouragement, support and friendship over the last ten years in Parliament and fifteen in the party.”