Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced a one-off pathway to residence for around 4,000 long-term temporary migrant workers and their families living in the South Island.

“There has been a significant growth in the number of lower-skilled temporary migrants in the South Island who help fill genuine labour shortages and have become well-settled here,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“However, due to current temporary migration settings, many of these lower-skilled temporary migrants have no pathway to residence.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says it’s pleasing to see the responsible and measured way businesses are responding to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

“Today marks the one year anniversary since the biggest reform of health and safety legislation in more than 20 years and there are positive signs that both attitudes and behaviours towards health and safety are beginning to shift,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse and Customs Minister Nicky Wagner have today announced three new initiatives to make it easier for Chinese visitors to come to New Zealand.

“China is New Zealand’s second largest market and has made a valued contribution to the strong growth in New Zealand international visitor arrivals and expenditure over the last few years,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“In 2016, Chinese visitors to New Zealand spent $1.67 billion and by 2022 this number is projected to increase to $5.3 billion.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and ACC Minister Michael Woodhouse say hundreds will benefit from a new major trauma policy which will see patients taken to the most appropriate hospital more quickly.

“The Government is focused on getting patients the care they need when they need it. As part of the wider work programme we’re rolling out the ‘Major trauma out of hospital destination policy’ from Monday,” says Dr Coleman.

ACC is increasing its investment in the RugbySmart programme to $7 million over the next four years with the aim of reducing injuries in our national sport, says ACC Minister Michael Woodhouse.

“An investment by ACC of $7 million over the next four years will enable a significant expansion of the RugbySmart programme and will focus on improving players’ preparation for our national sport and reducing injuries,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has today announced new measures to stop employers who breach immigration and employment law from recruiting migrant workers.

“Migrant workers make a valuable contribution to our workforce and have the same rights as any other worker,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“It is simply unacceptable that those employers who exploit migrant workers are still able to recruit from the international labour market and disadvantage those employers who do the right thing.

A government-funded trial of an Air Desk that will centralise the handling of the country’s emergency air ambulance callouts is to commence today.

ACC Minister, Hon Michael Woodhouse and Associate Minister of Health, Hon Peter Dunne announced today that the Ministry of Health and ACC are each providing half of the $591,000 per annum funding for the two-year pilot. The trial funds an air desk with 15 hours a day, 7 days a week coverage to prove that the concept will meet its objectives.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse welcomes a report showing the vast majority of employers who take on seasonal workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme are also employing more New Zealanders.

The eighth annual survey of RSE employers found that 79 per cent of the 92 respondents had employed more permanent New Zealand workers in addition to their RSE workers.

“The fact that more RSE employers are now taking on more Kiwis as well is great news and shows once again the huge benefits of the RSE scheme,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse is pleased to announce the appointment of Jenni-Maree Trotman as a new Member of the Employment Relations Authority (the Authority).

The Authority performs a very important role in New Zealand’s employment relations system, investigating and working to resolve employment relationship problems.

“Ms Trotman is an experienced employment lawyer who will join the Auckland office for a term of three years,” says Mr Woodhouse.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse will today travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as part of an Immigration NZ (INZ) selection mission to interview refugee cases who have been submitted for resettlement in New Zealand by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

“In addition to the UNHCR’s own screening process, all refugee cases submitted for consideration undergo robust assessments as part of INZ’s decision-making process,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $15.75 an hour on 1 April 2017, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today.

The starting-out and training hourly minimum wage rates will increase from $12.20 to $12.60 per hour, remaining at 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage.

“The Government is committed to striking the right balance between protecting our lowest paid workers and ensuring jobs are not lost,” says Mr Woodhouse.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced two new appointments to the WorkSafe New Zealand Board.

Stephen Reindler and Nikki Davies-Colley will join the board from 16 December for three year terms.

 “These appointments bring to the Board strong governance skills and experience in sectors which WorkSafe is particularly focused on,” Mr Woodhouse says.

A new information sharing agreement between Inland Revenue and the Australian Tax Office has led to the contact details of almost 57,000 student loan borrowers being located across the Tasman, two thirds of whom are in default.

The agreement came into force in October and the details of around 10,000 New Zealanders were found in the first data match. The process has since been refined and a total of 56,897 people have now been located.

A change made to tax rules will provide businesses with faster access to GST refunds from February next year, says Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

The Tax Administration (Direct Credit of GST Refunds) Order 2016 will make it compulsory for Inland Revenue to provide GST refunds by direct credit to a taxpayer’s identified account, resulting in much faster GST refunds.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today released proposals to simplify and modernise the Tax Administration Act (TAA), as part of the Government’s major transformation of the revenue system.

“The Government is committed to ensuring our tax administration is fit for purpose and meets the needs of modern New Zealand,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse says changes to the migrant investor policy will encourage investments that provide greater economic benefits for New Zealand.

“There’s no doubt the Migrant Investor categories are performing well with $2.9 billion invested since they were launched in July 2009 and a further $2.1 billion in funds committed,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“However, around two thirds of investment is currently placed in bonds and the government believes there is an opportunity to rebalance this towards growth-oriented investments.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today welcomed the release of the OECD’s new multilateral instrument – the latest step in the global fight against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

“Many BEPS techniques rely on abuse of tax treaties, and the OECD/G20 BEPS Project has recommended a number of changes to further strengthen tax treaties multilaterally,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The Government will update the Equal Pay Act and amend the Employment Relations Act to implement recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity.

This will make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts. It will also assist employers in addressing those claims.

“The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, which set out principles for raising and resolving pay equity claims through bargaining,” State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced an increase in the number of seasonal workers who can come to New Zealand to work in the horticulture and viticulture industry under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

The current cap will be increased by 1,000 from 9,500 to 10,500 RSE workers for the 2016-17 season.

Mr Woodhouse says the horticulture and viticulture industry is New Zealand’s fourth largest export industry, producing almost $5 billion in exports.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced tax measures to help those affected by the Kaikoura earthquakes.

“This is a difficult time for many in the Kaikoura region and those affected by the earthquakes should be looking after themselves and their families first and foremost, rather than worrying about not meeting their tax obligations,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Following an Order in Council this morning, Inland Revenue will waive use of money interest when a person is prevented from paying on time as a result of the recent earthquakes.

Eligibility for housing assistance and student allowances could be established more accurately under information sharing proposals released for public consultation today by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Information sharing already exists between IRD and MSD, but the Government is proposing to group the various current information sharing agreements into one.

The proposals also extend the use of information to enable MSD to:

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse and Small Business Minister Craig Foss today welcomed a survey showing small businesses are continuing to spend less time on tax compliance.

“Inland Revenue’s emphasis on providing customer-centric services that enable businesses to spend less time on compliance and more on growth is paying dividends,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Changes to tax laws will clarify that payments to foster carers for the care of children and young people cannot be treated as income and are not subject to income tax, say Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Foster carers receive a care allowance from the government to help meet the needs of a child or young person such as board, personal items, pocket money, and additional reasonable costs.