THE WORLD'S MOST HEARTBREAKING AND REWARDING JOBS

Every now and then I get to do something that is really special, something that brings home just how lucky most of us are and how amazing this country can be.

On Tuesday morning I was in Auckland to help launch the mobile phone appeal for the Starship Foundation at Starship Children's Hospital. It was fantastic to be part of such a fun event and to donate one of my old phones to the Foundation.

But what made the event really special was to spend a bit of time with some of the children who are battling serious illnesses or have recovered from them. The courage and joy you can see in their faces is truly humbling.

I have the greatest respect for the doctors and nurses who are helping these kids. They have some of the most heartbreaking and rewarding jobs in the world.

For more information about the appeal, and how you can donate an old mobile phone, click here http://www.starship.org.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/1659

Picture: The Prime Minister with former Starship patient Ethan Rae - (c) Patrick Bellett Photography

KEEPING OUR PROMISES - OUR FIRST 100 DAYS

The new Government has been in office for 100 days. During the election campaign we pledged to put in place a post-election action plan, covering our first actions on the economy, law and order, education, health, and electoral law. All these have been delivered as promised in our first 100 days.

I'm proud to lead a government that has kept its word. And I'm proud we've done it in the timeframe we set.

But this is just a start. Our post-election action plan covered only the first of our goals in government. Our next steps will be to deliver on the rest of our election promises, implement our Jobs and Growth plan to combat the global recession, and help build a brighter future for all New Zealanders.

Click here http://www.national.org.nz/files/2009/Our_First_100_%20Days.pdf to read more about the promises we delivered in our action plan and our next steps in government.

GRADUATE BONDING SCHEME

One of the big concerns I hear when I travel around the country is that too many of our communities have a shortage of basic services. Some people just can't get in to see their local GP. Mothers-to-be can't find a midwife. Schools can't find teachers, hospitals don't have enough nurses, and farmers can't find vets to treat their sick animals.

I'm determined to fix that. That's why on Monday we delivered on our election promise to launch a voluntary bonding scheme for graduates in professions that have serious shortages.

The scheme provides student loan write-offs and cash payments to graduate doctors, nurses and midwives, teachers, and veterinarians who agree to work in hard-to hard-staff areas or specialties for three-to-five years. It will encourage graduates to work and settle here in New Zealand and help reverse the exodus of young Kiwis leaving overseas.

When the scheme is fully operating it will include up to:
- 500 graduate doctors, and 1250 graduate nurses and midwives working for up to five years in hard-to-staff specialties or areas.
- 1800 graduate teachers working in hard-to-staff schools or subjects.
- 150 graduate vets working in hard-to-staff rural areas.

Our graduate bonding scheme will bring a boost to communities all around the country. It's just one of the many steps we'll be taking to improve frontline services for the public.

For more information see:
- Graduate doctors, nurses and midwives http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=29396
- Graduate teachers http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=29394
- Graduate vets http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleId=29395

JOBS AND GROWTH PLAN - THE JOB SUMMIT

I'm really looking forward to Friday's Job Summit in Auckland.

We're bringing together around 200 people from throughout New Zealand who are at the coalface of the economy - in business and industry, training, trade unions, iwi, central and local government - people who can make a real difference as we find our way through these difficult times.

The summit is not just about what the Government can do. It's about how we can work together to maintain the highest possible levels of employment while we weather the downturn.

That's why I was really pleased to see ASB's announcement earlier in the week that it will provide a $1 billion loans facility targeted at keeping and creating jobs in small and medium-sized businesses. It's this kind of innovative thinking that I hope we'll see more of on Friday.

We need to be realistic. This summit won't be a ‘magic bullet' - a single meeting can't hope to resolve the complex challenges we face. But it will be an important contributor to the initiatives we need to boost jobs and growth across our economy.

You can keep in touch with the Job Summit and our progress here http://www.beehive.govt.nz/feature/summit

YOUR COMMENTS

I'd like to thank those of you who have posted comments - positive and negative - on my website and my Facebook page over the last month. Your views on the recession and our response to it have given us some great insights - especially in the lead up to tomorrow's Job Summit. Please keep your comments coming. We are reading them and they are helping to guide our thinking.
 
You can comment on this newsletter here http://johnkey.co.nz/index.php?/archives/623-Key-Notes-No.43.html 

Best wishes

Hon John Key
Prime Minister