Petition: Raise the age of child protection

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 27th, 2015 - 29 comments
Categories: child welfare, labour - Tags: , ,

A petition has been launched by Labour MP Jacinda Ardern on the issue of child protection:

Currently, child protection law means a young person leaves CYFS care at 17, but other state support, like housing and student allowances, doesn’t start until age 18. This means a young person who has been in foster care or a CYFs residence is suddenly left to fend for themselves. For some this means becoming homeless – for others, it can get even worse.

The government is leaving these young people out in the cold.

This isn’t right. But we have a chance to change this right now.

The government is reviewing this part of our child protection laws. If enough of us sign a petition telling the government to raise the child protection age, the minister responsible, Anne Tolley, will be forced to listen to us or face a backlash as hundreds of Kiwi kids are left without any support every year.

Kellie was one of those children.

“Leaving care for me was especially stressful because my birthday is in November, right in the middle of NCEA exams. Thinking back now I remember it was a period filled with confusion and frustration. I wasn’t sure whether I would continue to live with the same foster parents as I had or move to another, or whether I had to move out. No 17 year old should ever have to worry about these issues.” – Kellie

Seventeen is too young to have to fend for yourself without any support. All Kiwi kids deserve to be looked after until they are old enough to support themselves. Click here to sign the petition.

29 comments on “Petition: Raise the age of child protection ”

  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1

    This just in: National Party defunds CYFS. A mouthpiece from the Prime Minister’s Office issued the following statement:

    “People who make bad choices need to get used to being homeless.”

  2. Lanthanide 2

    “If enough of us sign a petition telling the government to raise the child protection age, the minister responsible, Anne Tolley, will be forced to listen to us or face a backlash as hundreds of Kiwi kids are left without any support every year.”

    Emphasis mine. I can understand why she’s said it, but this is just naive language coming from an opposition MP who thinks they can ‘force’ the government to do anything.

    If you go around saying things that a segment of the population believes is naive / idealistic, they’re inclined to simply write-you-off as someone with your head in the clouds, and give everything else you say less credibility. This can reflect back on the party as a whole as well.

    • Rosemary McDonald 2.1

      “If you go around saying things that a segment of the population believes is naive / idealistic, they’re inclined to simply write-you-off as someone with your head in the clouds, and give everything else you say less credibility. This can reflect back on the party as a whole as well.”

      Firstly…bugger the party…they’re kinda buggered anyway.

      Secondly, if one fails to try and effect much needed change because of some egocentric fear of one’s credibility being diminished….then not much would ever change.

      This is a much needed reform…absolutely vital. These children are jettisoned by the state at a time in their lives that they need all the parental support they can get.

      Sign the petition…let Jacinda deal with any backlash.

      This is, after all politics….not tiddlywinks.

      • Lanthanide 2.1.1

        My point is the language she’s using. That’s all.

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.1.1.1

          Do you know if this one year gap existed under the last Labour Govt?

          I agree with you that the wording appears to put an optimistic spin on what a petition can do on its own. It would be nice to have included in the wording some detail saying that the Opposition was lobbying the government on the matter in other ways as well, and that the petition was just one aspect of a broader campaign.

          • Tracey 2.1.1.1.1

            The Government that was voted out in October/November 2008 you mean? 6 and a half years ago?

          • Macro 2.1.1.1.2

            Actually CV this is an anomaly that has existed for decades. I began work as a Child Welfare Officer – in what was then the Child Welfare Division of the Education Department – later to become CYPS. The age of 17 relates to the then Children’s Court. The law under which the CWD operated was for the protection of Children up to the age of 17. A Young person could not be held to have committed an offence and convicted (unless under exceptional circumstances) until the age of 17. Part of the role of CW was to ensure that children coming to notice of the Police were either placed under supervision, or taken into the care of the state.
            The age of 18 of course comes from the lowering of the age that a person can vote, and with it the ability to draw benefits, serve in the armed forces, etc – much later than the age of 17 for state protection.

        • Rosemary McDonald 2.1.1.2

          Yep…I understand that.

          But sometimes, we get a bit overcautious in our use of language, what we say and how we say it.

          Better to get to the point.

          Focus.

          Jacinda…if you are reading this…perhaps you might take a look overseas…I may be wrong, but some nations support these children well into their twenties.

          As we parents in NZ are suppose to support our kids into their twenties…Student Allowance etc.

          CYFs went from being way too indulgent with its charges (we used to call it ‘state ward syndrome’) to being really quite draconian.

          Minimal reimbursement to foster parents, a struggle to get $$$ for uniforms and stationary and they refused to contribute towards the “voluntary” school donations.

          Part of the kick ’em when they’re down and toughen them up culture.

          How many former foster children in prison???

          This is seriously important shit.

    • Tracey 2.2

      Well, Labour has been sending petitions to their online subscribers for many months. I have watched as some of those issues get elevated to public discourse and some have led to Government announcements. I am NOT saying therefore that Labour gets the credit, I am saying that this is a poll driven / public opinion given government.

      I applaud the efforts being put into these petitions by LP and it is 1 way to connect and perhaps influence change without being in government. BUT electronic is not the only form of connecting with possible supporters or current supporters.

      • Lanthanide 2.2.1

        As CV said above, if they do have a wider campaign going on, they should mention it here. And similarly as you’ve said, if they have had petitions that have resulted in public discussions and even government action, then again Jacinda should reference them in this blurb.

        It’s quite easy to say “Just like petition X resulted in the government doing Y, and petition Z caught the medias attention, we hope that with enough signatures on this new petition A we can prompt the government to take this issue seriously and make the proper changes”. Get rid of the strident-sounding “backlash” and “force” words.

        • Of course if they did do as suggested in your 2nd paragraph you’d be complaining that Labour is pussy-footing around the issue and not taking the fight to the government.

          If you don’t believe in the power of mass backlash to force governments to take action when they otherwise would not, may I suggest you are on the wrong end of the political spectrum?

          • Bob 2.2.1.1.1

            “If you don’t believe in the power of mass backlash to force governments to take action when they otherwise would not, may I suggest you are on the wrong end of the political spectrum?”
            Perhaps he is part of the ‘silent majority’ rather than the ‘vocal minority’ that continually lose sight of what they are actually trying to achieve and turn the public against them. Using perceived ‘mass backlash’ (just because the 20 people around you are yelling with you doesn’t make you a majority) and ‘force’ often has a negative effect on your overall cause (see Sue Bradford’s rent-a-crowd at the post budget protest as a prime example).
            Lanthanide is pointing to positive re-enforcement as a way to win over voters, orders of magnitude more likely to work than yelling at people, maybe you should listen…or continue yelling, your call.

          • Lanthanide 2.2.1.1.2

            Of course if they did do as suggested in your 2nd paragraph you’d be complaining that Labour is pussy-footing around the issue and not taking the fight to the government.

            No, I wouldn’t.

    • John Shears 2.3

      I have signed have you ?
      It’s a petition , an attempt to get a point across.
      I care about children who have no parents.
      The state should too.

      • Lanthanide 2.3.1

        Labour has a general communications problem.

        This is just one tiny little symptom of the same thing – putting out press releases using idealistic language that will turn some people off from listening to you.

        People who already agree are going to sign the petition regardless of what the press release says. People who are on the fence or disagree may see the message as overblown and “a waste of time” and do nothing.

        • Lanthanide 2.3.1.1

          Ran out of time to edit:

          I suspect that Jacinda probably wrote this herself and it may not have had much in the way of peer-review. That in itself could highlight a process issue – if there was a communications team that reviewed all releases, they can come up with a consistent tone and method of communication. Perhaps they already have such a team, in which case I disagree with how they’re functioning.

  3. Bob 3

    Done.

    I agree with Lanthanide that Jacinda is being naive thinking this will FORCE the Government to do anything, but I also think it is a change that this Government would be willing to make if enough people get behind it.
    It is reasonably low cost change (as, according to this release, it would only affect a matter of hundreds of people) and has a big social upside long term, why wouldn’t they change the legislation?

    • Tracey 3.1

      The government overnight changed the notification to victims that the person who offended against them has been released, to making sure they ARE notified. OVER NIGHT. This is indeed a public opinion driven Government. How many are impacted by their murderer being released without their knowledge? A very small number. For the record it is, imo, a change that should never have been needed cos it was in place… that is not my point.

      • Philip Ferguson 3.1.1

        Not sure what you mean when you ask, “How many are impacted by their murderer being released without their knowledge?”

        How would someone be notified that their murderer was released without their knowledge???

  4. T Chris 4

    “The government overnight changed the notification to victims that the person who offended against them has been released, to making sure they ARE notified. ”

    What is the difference?

    • Tracey 4.1

      What???

      I see your comment about Ganesh’s article and you don’t get the point. There is a pattern emerging.

      My point is they can do somethings instantly…

      And others take months and years. The common thread is NOT the number of people impacted

  5. Philip Ferguson 5

    I won’t be signing this petition and I actually find it quite perverse to want to make people legally children until they are 18.

    Good grief, this is 2015.

    The demand should be coming from the other end – to make 17 the age for receiving entitlements.

    Once upon a time a lot of us looked forward to leaving school at 16, so we could start to plan on leaving home and becoming independent/autonomous members of society. Now, children are wrapped in cotton wool, enfeebled and kept in a kind of suspended childhood. A colleague of mine used to refer to many adolescents of today as suffering “learned dependency” as parents and state treat them as fragile and don’t help them grow up.

    I should add that Ardern’s petition fits Labour’s approach of treating people as ‘vulnerable’, as victims etc and lacking in agency.

    Give people the resources they need, don’t treat them like helpless infants!

    Phil

    • Philip Ferguson 5.1

      OOps, my co-worker called it “learned helplessness” not learned dependency.

      Phil

      • miravox 5.1.1

        I agree almost entirely Philip, however, the state only want the learned helplessness bit so it can foist costs of young adults who should be making their way in the world back on to parents. Otherwise it’s fend for yourself you losers, and therein lies the problem with a gap between leaving care and state support.

        I imagine there is someway around the problem – e.g. an independent living allowance? Otherwise we’d have more of these young people begging in the streets. Kellie’s story in the information here states ‘there was a period of confusion’ not that she did not get assistance of some form. If she did get assistance, what was it? Is this an administrative problem where 17 year-olds have to go through extra hoops to get some kind of support? Or is there never any support?

        I feel this petition notification doesn’t give anywhere near enough information. Nor could I find a recent press release on the Labour website to go with it that may have provided more information.

        I have petition fatigue, btw, isn’t there another method of building support? Difficult I know, without finding another John Campbell, but surely there is some celeb or whoever who knows someone who knows someone that can tell what it’s like to be caught in this limbo. Maybe a persuasive banging on about it in public at universities, polytechs etc (if that is not already being done). Online petitions from politicians have a place, but aren’t really making enough noise when they don’t have a public groundswell (just imo of course), and the more there are the less noise they get, I suspect. At the very least, a press release with some priority would be expected? Social media only goes so far in informing the unconverted.

        Although I’m being critical, as someone who received income support to enable living independently at a young age, I absolutely agree young people need financial and social support. But agree more that these young people require assistance to live as young adults, not be redefined as children.

    • Bill 5.2

      Agree. The other end of the problem needs addressed,

      Another point. To what extent do these petitions coming from Labour present the government with free polling data? Pretty sure they could do rough and ready extrapolations from them and act accordingly. Just a thought.

      • Tracey 5.2.1

        I think they have been doing that Bill… and we see the impact from time to time including the recent budget.

        I would rater see a little less suffering now, as a result of them taking the notions, than wait and hope that in 2 and a half years Labour might do the same thing, or better.

      • Given petitions are self-selected and I doubt Labour is handing over the names and locations of signers to the goverment, I’m not sure why it would count as “free polling data”. 50,000 people signing something is 50,000 people signing something.

    • Tracey 5.3

      Once upon a time there were jobs for all 15 year olds leaving school.

  6. her 6

    Who’s idea was that?
    Do you think the government hires someone to think of the worst thing they could do and then do it?

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    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
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    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
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    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
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    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
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    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
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    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
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    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
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    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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  • Government delivering on tax commitments
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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    1 week ago

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