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New Zealand has achieved an important milestone with the first ever television co-production agreement being signed by any country with China, say Trade Minister Tim Groser and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

In reaching the agreement, an amendment to the China-NZ FTA was required and marked by a signing in an exchange of letters between Mr Groser and his Chinese counterpart, Minister Gao Hucheng.

Prime Minister John Key held successful talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wellington today.

“This is President Xi’s third official visit to New Zealand, but his first as President, so it’s a very significant occasion.  I’m delighted that the First Lady, Madame Peng, has also joined him on this trip,” says Mr Key.

“Our relationship with China has never been in better shape. China is now New Zealand’s largest trading partner and we have strong links in a number of areas including business, tourism and education.

Minister for Women Louise Upston is encouraging employers to attract more women to trades work to assist with the Canterbury rebuild.

The Minister has today launched a new handbook for employers, giving practical advice on how to attract women to trade jobs, as well as finding qualified female workers for trade positions.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the Government will upgrade New Zealand’s therapeutic products regulation following the decision not to proceed with a joint regulator with Australia.

“Both Governments have agreed that a joint regulator has been thoroughly explored, but in the end respective interests are best served by separate therapeutic regimes,” says Dr Coleman.

“I have asked the Ministry of Health to develop a comprehensive regulatory scheme for therapeutic products in New Zealand.

The Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Health for Australia, and the Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman, Minister of Health for New Zealand, today announced their governments’ agreement to cease efforts to establish a joint therapeutic products regulator, the Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency (ANZTPA).
 
The decision was taken following a comprehensive review of progress and assessment of the costs and benefits to each country of proceeding.  

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the Government has agreed to explore a proposal put forward by DHBs to move implementation of the shared services programme to a DHB-owned vehicle.

“While Health Benefits Limited (HBL) has made good progress in developing savings plans for DHBs, the responsibility for implementing these business cases needs to sit with DHBs,” says Dr Coleman.

New Zealand remains on track for solid economic growth, more jobs and rising incomes over the next few years, but falling dairy prices and low inflation will make returning to surplus this year challenging, Finance Minister Bill English says.

“Businesses and consumers are confident about the future, there’s a lot of activity in the manufacturing and service sectors, and companies are employing more people and paying higher wages,” he said in a speech to an ASB business breakfast in Auckland today.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed the appointment of John Ombler as Acting Chief Executive of CERA.

“Mr Ombler was instrumental in CERA’s establishment phases and did an outstanding job as interim Chief Executive, a position he held for six weeks following the passage of the CERA legislation,” says Mr Brownlee.

“In particular, he was responsible for setting up the department’s organisational structure, so he is well suited to lead CERA into its next period of organisational change.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee travels today to the United States and Canada for calls at the United Nations in New York, attendance at the Halifax International Security Forum, and a bilateral visit to Washington, including a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. 

“The United Nations Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day operations of 16 current peacekeeping deployments, and I’m glad to be visiting it so soon after our recent election to the United Nations Security Council,” Mr Brownlee says.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says an innovative IT programme is enabling arthritis patients at the Hutt Valley DHB to self-monitor in the community, freeing up hospital resources for the sickest patients.

“Unlike some rheumatic conditions, inflammatory arthritis requires close monitoring for a significant time as the disease progression can be very unpredictable and can involve several medications,” says Dr Coleman.

Scholarships have been awarded to 160 top students from around the country to study at Asian institutions next year under the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia programme.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says the scholarships see Kiwi students studying in some of New Zealand’s key markets such as China, Japan, Vietnam and India, with others flying the flag in smaller countries like Myanmar and Brunei.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has today launched a free app to help people explore New Zealand’s early history.

The Heritage Trails ‘Path to Nationhood’ app has been developed by Heritage New Zealand and includes six tours of historic Northland. It is free to downloadon smartphones and tablets.

The tours tell the stories of some of the earliest encounters between Māori and Pākehā prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett is impressed with Housing New Zealand’s progress in building, redeveloping and repairing properties in Christchurch following a visit to the city today.   

Before 2011, Housing New Zealand (HNZ) had more than 6,000 properties in Christchurch, and 95 per cent of these were damaged in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

“The scale of destruction resulted in large losses of homes in the region, skyrocketing demand and many families left in desperate situations,” says Mrs Bennett.

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne heads for Washington DC today to attend the Commonwealth Fund’s 17th International Symposium on Health Care Policy.

“A major theme of the 2014 symposium is how different health systems meet the challenge of delivering care for patients with high needs and high costs,” says Mr Dunne.

Along with a number of other health ministers from Europe and North America, Mr Dunne will participate in panels and policy roundtable events.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced diplomat David Strachan as New Zealand’s new Ambassador to the Philippines.

“The Philippines market is important for New Zealand. Last year New Zealand exported over $750 million of goods to the Philippines, and it is one of New Zealand's top five markets for dairy products,” Mr McCully says.

“The trade and economic relationship is underpinned by the ASEAN-New Zealand-Australia Free Trade Agreement, a high quality agreement making trade and investment easier for businesses on both sides.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has today named diplomat John Subritzky as New Zealand’s new High Commissioner to Malaysia, to be based in Kuala Lumpur.

“Malaysia is an important political, trade and economic partner for New Zealand.  It is our seventh-largest trading partner, with total goods trade exceeding $3 billion annually,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has today named career diplomat Trevor Matheson as New Zealand’s new Ambassador to Indonesia.

“Indonesia is the largest country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and, with a population of more than 250 million, strong economic growth and a growing consumer population, it is also an important market for New Zealand companies,” Mr McCully says.

Connections to broadband have accelerated by nearly forty per cent over the past quarter as more households, businesses and schools are able to join the fibre network.

The latest quarterly figures on the Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) and Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) were released today by Communications Minister Amy Adams at the Huawei New Zealand ICT Roadshow in Auckland.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith is inviting feedback on a draft Responsible Lending Code released for consultation today.

“We want our most vulnerable to have better access to information, and better protection from the predatory practices of loan sharks and unscrupulous pay-day lenders when taking on debt,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“The draft Code seeks to do this without imposing unnecessary compliance costs on those lenders who already have good systems in place.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says working families who are eligible for the minimum family tax credit will receive a small increase from 1 April next year.

The tax credit currently guarantees recipients an after-tax income of $22,776 per year. This will increase to $23,036 per year from 1 April 2015.

“The minimum family tax credit provides a guaranteed minimum family income to families who are in work, and helps support them in moving off a benefit and into paid employment,” says Mr McClay.

Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman and Foreign Minister Murray McCully have outlined further support from New Zealand to help combat the spread of Ebola.

“Ebola is having a devastating impact in parts of West Africa. More than 5,000 people have died from the disease and it is estimated that more than 14,000 people have become infected,” Dr Coleman says.

“If the developed world fails to act, case numbers will exponentially increase, with devastating consequences for long term stability in Africa.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says he’s disappointed by the events which have led to the resignation today of Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) chief executive Roger Sutton.

“The State Services Commission sets high standards,” Mr Brownlee says.

“I want to acknowledge Roger’s contribution as chief executive of CERA over the past three-and-a-half years.

Changes to the delivery of key tenancy services are set to streamline and speed up processes for landlords and tenants, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“A new FastTrack Resolution service will be available from today to all landlords and tenants to help resolve rent arrears disputes in a faster and more efficient way. A new online system for Tenancy Tribunal applications is also up and running from today, which will reduce processing times significantly,” Dr Smith says.

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says Antibiotic Awareness Week is a chance for New Zealanders to contribute to the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.

“The overuse and misuse of antibiotics is a major cause of antimicrobial resistance, a growing problem that results in a microorganism (for example, bacteria, fungus, virus or parasite) not responding to an antimicrobial drug used to treat an infection”, says Mr Dunne.