Four priorities to build a brighter future

National was elected just over a year ago with a clear plan to build a faster-growing economy that can support more jobs and rising incomes.

We have stuck to that plan, in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty in many parts of the world.

We’re delivering on the four main priorities the Prime Minister set for this term of Government. We’re responsibly managing the Government’s finances so we can return to surplus and start repaying debt. We’re pushing ahead with a wide-ranging programme of economic reforms to create a more productive and competitive economy. We’re driving better results and better value from our public services. And we’re supporting the rebuilding of Christchurch – the largest economic project in New Zealand’s history.

National is confident about New Zealand’s prospects, and will continue to work hard to build a brighter future for all Kiwis.

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Building a stronger economy

National is committed to building growth and jobs through sustainably using New Zealand’s natural resources. Building a more competitive and productive economy is one of our priorities this term of Government.

The latest Business Growth Agenda progress report, Building Natural Resources, sets out 49 initiatives the Government is taking to improve the way we use and manage our resources.

It encourages businesses to find ways to become more innovative to get the best results for the economy, and the environment.

Building Natural Resources is the fifth Business Growth Agenda progress report. It follows reports on Export Markets, Innovation, Skilled and Safe Workplaces, and Infrastructure. There are more than 250 initiatives detailed across these five reports. The sixth report, Building Capital Markets, will be published early next year.

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Taking action on alcohol

National has overhauled New Zealand’s out dated alcohol laws and passed new legislation through its final reading. This is the first time in more than two decades Parliament has restricted, rather than relaxed, our drinking laws.

This Government has delivered a wide range of measures to reduce alcohol-related harm in our families and communities.

We’ve also been conscious to take a balanced approach that doesn’t unfairly penalise responsible and moderate drinkers.

Our new laws provide tools to help central and local government, communities, and parents.

We know that legislation alone will not turn around our binge-drinking problem. But National has remained committed to addressing New Zealand’s binge-drinking culture, and reducing alcohol-related harm. Our reforms can, and will, support a culture change.

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Managing earthquake-prone buildings

Rebuilding Canterbury is one of our key priorities, and Volumes 4-7 of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission report have been released.

We’ve accepted all the findings and the 70 recommendations in the first part of the report (Volumes 1-3). Some of these recommendations have already been implemented, while others are being worked on.

The Government will carefully consider the 119 recommendations made in Volume 4 and Volumes 5-7, many of which require policy and legislative changes.

We want to ensure our earthquake-prone buildings policy system is balanced between protecting people from harm, and managing the economic implications of earthquake-prone buildings. Have your say: www.dbh.govt.nz/consultingon-epbp

The Government expects to issue a comprehensive response to the Royal Commission’s full report by early to mid-next year.

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Making information on health services more accessible

National is delivering better health services to New Zealanders, and is now making it easier for families to access important health information for their region.

This week the Government rolled out a new web tool, My DHB, which pulls DHB-specific information together in one place.

Information available on My DHB includes rest home audits, health funding, and health targets results, along with contact details for important medical staff.

This information was spread across many websites, and has not always been easy to find.

Having the information easily accessible in one place allows the public to make better-informed choices about their healthcare, and is another example of National delivering better public services, one of our priorities this term.

The My DHB web tool can be found at www.mydhb.health.govt.nz

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Fresh Start reforms delivering positive results

National’s Fresh Start is about getting smarter in how we deal with young offenders, and we are making great progress. It is an important part of our plan to deliver better public services.

Youth justice family group conference referrals are down 12 per cent in two years, and a total of 1373 young people are receiving mentoring under Fresh Start. This is a strong uptake, well above the 300 places each year originally envisaged.

Military Style Activity Camps (MAC Camps), which target the most serious young offenders, are also producing encouraging early results, including a 52 per cent drop in violent crime by MAC graduates.

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Celebrating The Hobbit

This week we celebrated our film industry as Wellington rolled out the red carpet for the world premiere of Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The premiere is a pat on the back for all New Zealanders, with many of our communities having been involved in this production.

Producing these big budget films here is worth $3 billion across our economy. Our vibrant screen industry directly supports more than 2700 businesses, of which over 95 per cent are involved in production and post-production work.

About 3000 people have been employed fulltime on The Hobbit films to date, and more than $1.5 million a week was paid to the shooting crew alone.

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New Zealand to host IRB Junior World Championship 2014

National welcomes the news New Zealand will host the 2014 International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Championship in Auckland.

One of National’s priorities is building a more competitive and productive economy, and this event is expected to bring in about $8 million in economic benefits.

The Government is supporting the event with a capped investment of $1.45 million from the Major Events Development Fund. This is matched by a contribution from Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development.

The annual event is widely acknowledged as the second-most important rugby competition after the Rugby World Cup.

The 2011 Rugby World Cup established New Zealand’s reputation as a successful event-hosting nation, now we have the chance to show what great hosts we are again.

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Kiwis to bring superannuation home

Kiwis to bring superannuation home

New Zealanders returning home from Australia will soon be able to bring their retirement savings with them. Trans-Tasman portability of retirement savings is expected to take effect from July next year.

An agreement between the two countries in 2009 paved the way for the new scheme, with New Zealand passing legislation in 2010, and Australia doing the same recently.

This important next step in the Single Economic Market programme between our two countries will further help the free movement of labour between New Zealand and Australia, and strengthen our wider Closer Economic Relations agreement.

Under the new rules, retirement savings from certain Australian superannuation funds will be able to be transferred into New Zealand KiwiSaver funds – and vice versa.

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Better healthcare for New Zealand families

The latest national health targets show great progress in the areas of immunisation, cancer treatment, and elective surgery.

Now, 93 per cent of two-year-olds are fully immunised, up from just 73 per cent in 2008. We are lifting our game through the new goal of having 95 per cent of eight-month-olds fully immunised by December 2014.

Every patient who needs chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment now receives it within the world gold standard of four weeks, and more than 40,000 elective operations were performed this quarter – an all-time high.

Quality healthcare is important for New Zealand families and National has delivered better, sooner, and more convenient healthcare as part of our priority to deliver better public services.

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More Kiwi homes warmer and drier ahead of target

More local homes are warmer and drier, as the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme has passed its original target of 188,500 homes retrofitted – ahead of schedule and below budget.

National extended the scheme this year to a further 41,500 homes, and thanks to savings made within the scheme, this will be achieved for the same overall funding.

Nationwide, it has been an outstanding success, and is a great example of National delivering on its key priority of delivering better public services.

Warmer, drier homes have a positive effect on people’s health, meaning less money spent on doctor visits, and fewer sick days.

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Korean War veterans to get funding for 60th anniversary commemorations

National has announced 30 Korean War veterans will get funding to attend 60th anniversary commemorations of the Korean War armistice next year.

This is an important chance for veterans to pay tribute to their fellow servicemen and women, including the 45 personnel who did not make it home. Those selected will have all expenses covered, including medical care, as they attend events in Korea for the July anniversary.

Roughly 4700 personnel served in Kayforce, and a further 1300 Naval personnel were also involved. There will also be a New Zealand-based commemoration for those unable to attend. Veterans can register their interest by calling 0800 483 8372, or emailing veterans@xtra.co.nz.

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Ultra-fast broadband milestone reached

More than 100,000 users in urban areas are now able to connect to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network, only 16 months after the project started.

One of National’s priorities this term is to build a more competitive and productive economy. Taking fibre direct to businesses, schools, hospitals, and households will bring significant gains for productivity, innovation, and global reach.

More than 1000 schools have access to fibre under UFB or the rural broadband initiative (RBI). Fourteen of New Zealand’s most remote schools have also been connected to faster broadband.

Through RBI, 55,000 rural homes and businesses have access to improved fixed wireless broadband, and 23,000 users have enhanced fixed-line services.

This project is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever to be undertaken in New Zealand, and will result in 97.8 per cent of Kiwis having access to faster broadband.

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Oil and gas permit process for 2013 gets underway

National welcomes the start of the Block Offer 2013 process for awarding oil and gas exploration permits.

One of our priorities this term is building a more competitive and productive economy, and oil and gas operations are a significant part of this.

Existing oil and gas operations in Taranaki contribute $2 billion to our GDP, and support more than 5000 jobs in the region. The same formula can work just as well in other areas, growing the local and national economies.

The proposed areas for 2013 onshore and offshore exploration are Northland, Taranaki, the East Coast, Canterbury, and Southland. Consultation with relevant iwi and councils has begun.

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Making New Zealand a safer place

One of National’s priorities this term is to deliver better public services, and the first results for the justice sector Better Public Service targets have been released.

They show almost 3000 fewer violent crimes over the past year. And our crime rate is now the lowest in 30 years.

The results show total reported crime down by almost 6 per cent over the year to June 2012, that’s 21,337 fewer crimes. Youth crime was also down 4 per cent, and reconviction 7 per cent.

National’s better public services targets aim to further reduce total recorded crime by 15 per cent, youth crime by 5 per cent, and reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017.

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New order to protect victims from offenders

National is introducing a new restraining order to protect victims of serious violent or sexual crimes from unwanted contact with their attackers.

One of our priorities is delivering better public services for New Zealanders. We want victims of crime to feel safe in their homes and communities.

Currently, protection and restraining orders are only available for active harassment, or if there is a domestic relationship between the offender and victim. And release and parole conditions only apply for six months after an offender’s release. Unfortunately, this means some victims have no access to legal protection. This is not good enough.

The new order will impose a range of conditions on offenders, including restrictions on visiting particular locations, and contacting victims.

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ETS amendment bill passes

National’s bill, which will assist New Zealand in meeting its current and future international climate change obligations, has passed its third and final reading in Parliament.

The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading and Other Matters) Amendment Bill makes changes to the current act, ensuring our Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) operates at least cost to the domestic economy. It also provides the flexibility necessary to accommodate developments between now and 2015, when the Government will next review the ETS.

By maintaining incentives for reducing emissions, without loading costs on households and businesses, our ETS is helping contribute to a stronger and more productive economy – one of National’s priorities this term.

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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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