A Bill to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing has been introduced to Parliament today by Justice Minister Amy Adams.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill will bolster New Zealand’s existing anti-money laundering laws, which help protect businesses and make it harder for criminals to profit from and fund illegal activities.

“This puts in place the second phase of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT), which we fast-tracked work on last year,” says Ms Adams.

Crime rates are significantly lower than in 2011, but latest figures show that challenges remain to tackle crime and reoffending, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

The Justice Sector’s BPS results for the year ended September 2016 released today show slight increases across the four targets over the last quarter, although they all remain down on 2011 levels.

Families grappling with violence will be able to avoid contentious meetings during children handovers thanks to a new pilot launched by the Government.

“In the absence of funded supervised hand-over services, some victims of family violence risk continued exposure to violent and abusive behaviour as they facilitate their children’s contact with an ex-partner,” says Ms Adams.

Initiatives to reduce crime and reoffending have been made possible through smart fiscal management by justice sector agencies, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

The Justice Sector Fund allows money saved in one justice sector agency to be used in another. Since its establishment in 2012, it has distributed $257 million of savings into 60 initiatives across the justice sector.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the return of court services to Kaikoura.

The District Court at Kaikoura has held its first hearing since the earthquake with 29 people appearing. Court services had been unable to run in the town since it was struck by an earthquake last November.

Ms Adams thanked the court staff and judiciary for all their hard work to ensure services were quickly re-established.

More families will have a warm and safe place to stay in times of need with the opening of the first stages of an emergency housing development in Otahuhu, Auckland.

The 43-house Luke Street transitional housing development was officially opened today by Prime Minister Bill English.

“Luke Street is the first HNZ purpose built emergency housing development under the Government’s $303.6 million emergency housing funding announced in November 2016,” Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

New Zealand’s first social bond will help around 1,700 people with mental illness into work, Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Social Investment Minister Amy Adams say.

“The social bond approved by Cabinet in December 2016 has successfully raised the required finance so is now operational as New Zealand’s first social bond,” Mr Joyce says.

Some of Wellington’s most vulnerable will benefit from a new emergency housing service now open thanks to the Government’s backing, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

Operated by Oasis Network Inc, Hillary Court in Naenae will see up to 15 single males at a time housed and provided with wraparound social services to help them get back on their feet.

Ms Adams opened the facility and met residents today alongside Associate Social Housing Minister Alfred Ngaro and local MP Chris Bishop.

The Government will introduce a new scheme to address historical convictions for homosexual offences, Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced.

“While the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 decriminalised consensual sex between men aged 16 and over, convictions for those offences remain on record and can appear in criminal history checks,” Ms Adams says.

More frontline services and extra places in perpetrator programmes are on the way for the multi-agency Integrated Safety Response pilot, following an additional injection of funding, Ministers have announced.

An extra $680,000 will allow the Christchurch ISR pilot to continue its work to combat family and sexual violence.

“The ISR pilot takes a whole-of-family approach to stop family violence by identifying risks and intervening earlier,” Ms Adams says.

The justice sector will receive an extra $115 million over four years to support the rollout of more police on the beat.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Corrections Minister Louise Upston say the additional investment supports the work already underway to prevent crime and make communities safer. The $115 million funding boost for the Ministry of Justice and Department of Corrections is part of the Government’s larger $503 million Safer Communities package announced yesterday.

A new pilot programme is underway to help at-risk social housing tenants hold onto their tenancies, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams said today.

Under the Sustaining Tenancies Initiative, tenants with complex or serious needs who may be at risk of losing their tenancy will receive practical support from community providers to help get back on track.

Justice Minister Amy Adams has welcomed New Zealand’s return to the top of global transparency rankings.

A number of Government initiatives have helped return New Zealand to first equal in the world, along with Denmark, in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. New Zealand scored 90 points out of 100.

An increase in the housing register underscores the importance of the Government’s social housing reform programme and its $344 million commitment to additional emergency housing places, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

“We have a comprehensive social housing plan in place, and we’ve moved quickly to provide more emergency and social housing,” Ms Adams says.

The number of people and families seeking social housing on the Housing Register at the end of December was 4771, up 169 or about 3.7 per cent on the previous quarter.

Social Housing Minister Amy Adams has today welcomed data showing new help introduced by the Government is creating tangible support for struggling New Zealanders.

For the first time, the Ministry of Social Development’s quarterly benefit fact sheets have included figures on uptake of the Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant (SNG), introduced in July 2016.

New Zealanders and affected sectors will have their chance to have input into a new draft law to combat the $1.3 billion laundered each year by criminals, Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced.

The Government announced in June that it would fast-track the second phase of its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) reforms to cover lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and other high-value dealers.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams says the $300 million Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct build is well advanced and on track to be fully operational in mid-2017.

The anchor project brings together all justice and emergency services in one purpose-built precinct in central Christchurch.

“The new Precinct is designed to provide Cantabrians and those who work in our courts with modern and effective justice and emergency services,” says Ms Adams.

The Ultra-Fast Broadband build on Auckland’s Waiheke Island is now complete, meaning more than 5600 local homes and businesses can now connect to faster and more reliable internet, says Communications Minister Amy Adams.

On hand at Waiheke Island today, Ms Adams said total private and public investment in the build totalled nearly $9.6 million, and took less than 18 months to complete after the rollout began in June 2015.

The youth justice system will be extended to include lower risk 17 year-olds, Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley have announced today.

The changes, which will take place by 2019, will ensure that all 17 year-old offenders are dealt with according to which jurisdiction is best suited to the particular case.

The vast majority of 17 year-old offenders are lower risk. They will be dealt with in the Youth Court where the interventions are more targeted and lead to better results.

Supermarkets will be able to sell low and non-alcohol beer alongside regular beer under changes passed by Parliament.

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Display of Low-alcohol Beverages and Other Remedial Matters) Amendment Bill makes three minor technical changes to alcohol legislation.

The Bill permits supermarkets and grocery stores to display low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beer and wine in the same area of the store as regular alcohol. It also clarifies that a company can hold an alcohol licence.

Communications Minister Amy Adams is seeking applications from dispute resolution providers to help speed up agreements between property owners with joint access to install and maintain next generation telecommunications networks.

A dispute resolution scheme is part of the Government’s Land Access reform package which will help speed up delays in situations where the consent of multiple parties is required for access to shared property, enabling a smoother installation process for all involved.

Justice Minister Amy Adams has today encouraged all New Zealanders to stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence against women this White Ribbon Day.

“Family violence and sexual violence is far too common in New Zealand. It’s a challenge that this Government is confronting, but we all have a role to play in tackling it,” says Ms Adams.

“As a nation, we need to stop family violence in all its forms.”

Changes to the National Environmental Standard (NES) for Telecommunications Facilities will make it quicker and easier for New Zealanders to get connected to new and better communications technologies.

Communications Minister Amy Adams and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced the new NES for Telecommunications Facilities, under the Resource Management Act (RMA).