Next steps in Government share offers

The Government has announced its next steps to prepare for the partial sale of Mighty River Power to New Zealanders.

It will not implement the Waitangi Tribunal’s “shares plus” concept, or engage in further negotiations in relation to that concept, before the sale of shares in the four state energy companies. This decision comes after the conclusion of hui with Māori with direct interests in the water and geothermal resources used by Mighty River Power, Meridian, and Genesis.

The sale of up to 49 per cent of Mighty River Power in the first half of next year will be followed by sales of up to 49 per cent of Genesis Energy and Meridian Energy in the subsequent 12 months, all subject to market conditions.

The Government has also announced that iwi groups yet to complete their Treaty settlements will be able to receive a percentage of their forecast settlement package “on account” in the form of shares in the state companies.

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Putting victims of youth offenders first

National is improving the way we deal with victims of youth crime as part our plan to deliver better public services.

The youth justice Reparation Accord is a practical way of better managing reparation payments to victims of young offenders. Regularly monitored by Child, Youth and Family, the Accord enables young offenders to make reparation payments into an account managed by the National Council of Victim Support Groups.

When collected, this is then paid to the victim. In 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, the Accord collected nearly $70,000 from 195 young offenders for on-payment to victims.

Victims expect and deserve to be recompensed for their losses, and reparation payments reinforce to the offender the need to take responsibility for their actions.

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Education Amendment Bill to lift achievement

Our Education Amendment Bill will help provide more clarity for schools and boards of trustees, and ensure children’s needs remain the central focus for our educators.

National’s unrelenting focus is on raising achievement for all our students. Four out of five kids are achieving successfully at school, our plan is for five out of five. To get five out of five we really need to target those kids who have been historically under-served by the system, and we see Partnership Schools/Kura Hourua as a way of doing that. The bill provides the legal framework for these schools.

We already have a number of different types of schools operating in New Zealand, state, integrated, private, kura, faith-based, single sex. Partnership Schools will be another option for parents and students, giving them more freedom to choose the type of education that best suits their child’s needs.

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$60 million for veterans

National has approved additional funding of $60 million for our veterans over the next five years, and confirmed new legislation to be introduced to modernise the War Pensions Act 1954.

We’re increasing the War Disablement Pension and Surviving Spouse Pension rates by 5 per cent (on top of the forecast CPI increase of 1.8 per cent). We are also increasing eligibility for support services such as home help and lawn mowing, which will benefit 3,000 additional veterans, and 1,100 surviving spouses.

We’re implementing 132 of 170 recommendations from the Law Commission review, and we’re ensuring our services better meet the needs of elderly veterans, as well as those involved in modern day and future deployments.

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Students leaving school with higher qualifications

National is helping children succeed. We’ve set an ambitious better public services target of 85 per cent of 18-year-olds achieving NCEA Level 2 or equivalent in 2017.

This is the first year we have reported the results of all 18-year-olds, and we are delighted that 74.3 per cent attained NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification last year.

At school level, nearly 72 per cent of school leavers achieved at least NCEA Level 2, compared with 66.4 per cent in 2009.

51 per cent of Maori students attained NCEA Level 2 last year, up from 44 per cent in 2009, and Pasifika achievement has risen from 55.7 per cent to just over 63 per cent.

These are great results, but we still need to work harder to ensure all children leave school with the skills they need to reach their potential.

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Fewer charges, fewer young people in court

National is building a safer New Zealand. Six-monthly data on appearances at the Youth Court, and criminal and sentencing data for the District and High Courts, has been released.

Our lower crime rate has meant fewer criminal charges laid, and fewer people in court.

Most notably, fewer children and young people are being charged with an offence and appearing in court – down by as much as 25 per cent on last year.

And the conviction rate continues to rise, with the proportion of charges resulting in a conviction increasing from 70 per cent in 2008 to 74 per cent in 2012.

These results show National’s focus on reducing crime is working.

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Information sharing to prevent welfare fraud

National is committed to delivering better public services to New Zealanders, and welfare reform is central to that.

This week the Government welcomed the pending start of new information sharing between Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development. This is a huge step forward in preventing welfare fraud.

The vast majority of beneficiaries are doing the best they can and following the rules but a small minority exploit the system at great cost to taxpayers. Last year, 714 people were convicted of benefit fraud totalling $23.4 million.

Expanding information sharing between government agencies is the logical next step to take as we continue to improve the integrity of the welfare system.

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Encouraging growth through mineral exploration

One of National’s priorities this term is to build a more competitive and productive economy. Natural resources play an essential part in this with oil, gas and minerals contributing more than $4 billion to New Zealand’s GDP each year. Oil, gas and mineral exploration is a major contributor to the economy, however, there is huge potential for growth.

This week National passed the first stage of a bill that gives New Zealanders greater confidence in how the Government is allocating rights to Crown-owned minerals, and how it is regulating those rights.

The bill simplifies and streamlines the regulatory regime for Crown-owned minerals, and will help New Zealand maximise the gains from development of our oil, gas and mineral resources, while responsibly managing environmental matters, and health and safety.

For more information, click here.