A campaign encouraging Kiwis to be better prepared for emergencies kicks off today, says Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye.

“The campaign, featuring online videos, a campaign website and social media content, is part of a new, $2.5 million, three-year public education programme,” says Ms Kaye.

“A redeveloped schools programme is also being worked on, with interactive online modules and a renewed focus on the curriculum.

The Ministry of Youth Development’s Small Communities Youth Grant Fund will receive $30,000 each year for the next three years, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

An investment of $30.5 million over four years by ACC, to support new and existing initiatives aimed at preventing falls and resulting injuries, has been welcomed by ACC Minister Nikki Kaye and Minister for Seniors Maggie Barry.

Both Ministers visited Auckland Hospital this morning to celebrate the investment and visit an older persons’ health ward.

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye today announced $20,000 of funding to help develop resources to support LGBTI young people who are leaving school and entering employment, education or training.

“This is a time of change and often uncertainty for all young people, but LGBTI young people can face additional challenges when making this transition,” says Ms Kaye.

“The funding will go towards tools that support LGBTI young people to develop the resilience needed to safely navigate the new and sometimes difficult circumstances they find themselves in.

The Government will invest around $430,000 over three years in a partnership that will support around 1500 mentoring opportunities for young people in Auckland and Waikato, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

Lead partner The Vodafone Foundation will contribute $520,000 over three years, along with $354,000 in-kind funding from the University of Auckland, $230,000 from Charitable Trusts and $35,000 from secondary school partners.

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that Lepperton School in North Taranaki will be entirely rebuilt in a different location on the existing school grounds.

“This represents a significant upscaling of the redevelopment project for the school which I announced last July,” says Ms Kaye.

“It was originally planned to replace a number of existing classrooms and remediate other buildings.

Construction work has begun on the $22 million redevelopment of The Gardens School in Manurewa, Auckland, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This is an exciting project which will essentially see a new school constructed on the same site as the old school, which was demolished earlier this year,” says Ms Kaye.

“Many of the old teaching spaces were affected by structural and weather-tightness issues, so this is about creating a safer, modern and inspiring learning environment for students.

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that around $14.5 million has been approved for the redevelopment of Clayton Park School in Auckland.

“This announcement is the result of several years of work and completes an important phase in what is one of our most complex school redevelopments,” says Ms Kaye.

“The school has experienced issues with aged and leaky buildings and asbestos.

The Wakatipu Youth Trust (WYT) will receive funding of $10,000 to develop mentoring opportunities for young people in 2016/2017, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This funding will support around 20 young people to access mentoring opportunities,” says Ms Kaye.

WYT was established in April 2011 following the merger of Queenstown Life Trust and Wakatipu District Youth Trust. Throughout the year, WYT access young people via a youth centre, mentoring, events, work in schools and one-on-one interactions.

Around $37 million will be invested in school property in Otago and Southland, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

This investment includes:

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today formally opened Shotover Primary School in Queenstown.  

“The new school provides innovative and inspiring learning environments and is a welcome addition to the Queenstown community,” says Ms Kaye.

“The Government has invested $18.5 million in the school, and after visiting this morning I was pleased to hear that students and teachers are really enjoying the new flexible ways of learning that the school offers.”

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that eight regions have been awarded funding grants from the 2016 Resilience Fund, an annual fund of $889,000 administered by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM).

“We recognise that some of the best work towards enhancing New Zealand’s resilience is happening in our regions. As a Government, we want to support these communities to continue this great work, and help them share their skills and knowledge across the whole country,” Ms Kaye says.

Three youth sector organisations and four Councils will receive a total of $65,000 to help them provide youth development opportunities that will benefit up to 200 young people, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This funding is about supporting more leadership, volunteering and mentoring opportunities for young people across New Zealand,” says Ms Kaye.

The youth sector organisations that will receive funding are:

Around $3 million will be invested under Budget 2016 to expand the capacity of schools in Taranaki and Whanganui, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

Minister Kaye made the announcement today during a visit to Mangorei School in New Plymouth.

“This investment will provide a total of eight additional classrooms,” says Ms Parata.

The schools receiving new classrooms are:

The Buller Rural Education Activities Programme (REAP) will receive funding of $110,000 in 2016/17 to support local young people to achieve the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This funding will support a minimum of 100 local young people in the Buller region, from Karamea to Westport, Reefton and Punakaiki, to achieve their award,” says Ms Kaye.

“The Hillary Award is about young people setting personally challenging targets and then striving to reach those targets.

$1 million will be invested under Budget 2016 to expand capacity at Motueka High School, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

Minister Kaye made the announcement this morning during a visit to Motueka High School.

“This investment will enable three new classrooms to be built at the school,” says Ms Parata.

“Motueka High School is a crucial school for the local education network, but population growth in the area has had a flow-on effect on the school’s roll.

Around $53.5 million will be invested in school property in Tauranga, Hamilton and Hawke’s Bay as part of Budget 2016, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

Minister Parata made the announcement at Welcome Bay School in Tauranga today.

The investment includes:

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye will visit Mount Albert Grammar School in Auckland this afternoon to officially open the school’s new 12-classroom mathematics faculty and refurbished student services centre.

“Mount Albert Grammar School has a proud tradition of stellar student achievement and it will be great to open these new facilities, which I’m sure will support continued high performance,” says Ms Kaye.

A $19 million investment under Budget 2016 will provide Northland schools with 16 new classrooms and a new site and buildings for Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Tonga o Hokianga, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

Minister Kaye made the announcement at Whangarei Girls’ High School this afternoon.

“The Government is committed to investing in the potential of Northland’s young people and this investment will provide safe and innovative environments for students to learn and thrive in,” says Ms Parata.

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye today announced funding totalling $150,000 to support increased involvement of up to 350 young people in civil defence and emergency services in New Zealand.

Minister Kaye made the announcement at the two-day National Emergency Management Conference being held at Te Papa, Wellington.

“I am allocating $50,000 to establish the Youth in Civil Defence Fund. I expect this to fund a diverse range of youth-led initiatives, from volunteering opportunities to public education and public preparedness campaigns,” says Ms Kaye.

Around $153 million will be invested in school property in greater Auckland as part of Budget 2016, Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced at Ormiston Primary School today.

This investment includes:

More than $276 million dollars will be invested in Canterbury school infrastructure as part of Budget 2016, Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This will see a significant injection of more than $268 million towards the Christchurch schools rebuild programme,” says Ms Parata.

“There will also be an investment of around $8 million to fund an additional 21 classrooms across Canterbury, so that the region can meet the needs of current and future students as rolls grow.

The Government will invest around $4 million from Budget 2016 to provide new classrooms in the greater Wellington region, including Wairarapa, Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today at Mt Cook School, Wellington.

“The 14 new classrooms to be built across the region are among the 480 new classrooms that were announced as part of Budget 2016 to meet roll growth,” says Ms Parata.

The schools that will receive new classrooms are:

Budget 2016 will help ensure New Zealanders are better prepared for natural disasters by providing an extra $6.1 million of operating funding over the next four years and $63,000 of new capital funding for the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM), Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye says.

“This is a significant investment for a small agency, which currently has 42 staff and overall baseline funding of around $11 million. The investment is expected to enable MCDEM to increase its staff to around 52,” Ms Kaye says.