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Truckies and fleet operators could each save tens of thousands of dollars every year under a new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) programme launched by Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley at Parliament today.

“Trucks transport door-to-door almost everything that is used or consumed in this country. The cost of freight makes up part of the retail price of most goods and services, so a more efficient transport fleet benefits the wider economy,” Mr Heatley said.

Over 150 households have been accommodated and moved through Canterbury’s three temporary accommodation villages since the first of them, at Kaiapoi, was set up in July last year, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said today.

“The villages, in Kaiapoi, Linwood and the latest at Rawhiti Domain, which opened in July this year, are delivering an additional 83 houses to the Christchurch housing market.

The first neighbourhood-based renewal programme in New Zealand will be formally launched in Auckland tomorrow when the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company opens its doors in the heart of Glen Innes, and chief executive Debra Lawson starts work.

“This is a first,” Housing Minister Phil Heatley says.

“Never before have all the components of a successful neighbourhood – its social life, job and business opportunities, the education of its children as well as the housing – been brought together in one programme.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley has congratulated Housing New Zealand on the smooth introduction this month of new core technology systems.

Housing NZ has replaced its outdated tenancy management system with a specialist social housing system, replaced its financial system and introduced new systems to support asset management and planning.

Mr Heatley saw the new systems in operation for himself during a visit to Housing NZ’s Manurewa office yesterday.

Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley has welcomed a new report on the economic benefits of future oil and gas discoveries released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) today.

“The report responds to the question ‘What if we could develop a second Taranaki in New Zealand?’

Housing New Zealand has terminated 312 tenancies in the year to 30 June 2012 after investigations found the tenants had obtained a state house or taxpayer-subsidised rent by lying about their circumstances, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said today. The figure is up from 241 last year and 114 in 2010.

“There has been a sharp increase in the number of state tenancies ended for dishonesty over the past couple of years,” Mr Heatley said.

The 2012 Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards presented in Auckland last night were welcome recognition of excellence and achievement across the electricity, oil, gas and petroleum industries in New Zealand, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley says.

“The New Zealand energy sector is an essential part of the country’s infrastructure and makes a significant contribution to the economy.

“A thriving and high-achieving energy sector is essential to a growing economy and to improve the standard of living of New Zealanders.

Meridian Energy’s Mill Creek wind farm near Wellington is a welcome boost to the local economy and will be a significant contributor to future renewable energy, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley says.

The Minister took part in a sod-turning ceremony and iwi blessing marking the start of construction of the new 26-turbine wind farm in Ohariu Valley, north-west of Wellington, this morning.

“This project will have significant and wide-ranging benefits to the Wellington region,” he said.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson and Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley today launched the new Code of Conduct for Minimising Acoustic Disturbance to Marine Mammals from Seismic Survey Operations.

The new code is a set of operational requirements that aim to protect marine mammals from potential impacts of seismic survey work used in oil and gas exploration, seabed minerals prospecting and scientific research.

The Government and the Auckland Council signed a Heads of Agreement today to jointly form New Zealand’s first urban redevelopment company to transform Tâmaki (including Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure) in Auckland over the next 15-25 years.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley says that the jointly-owned Tâmaki Redevelopment Company (TRC) will bring together the right public and private partners, the right level of resource, authority and mandate to get results in Tâmaki. Similar companies have been successful internationally.

Enid Ratahi-Pryor has been appointed to the Housing New Zealand Corporation board for a three-year term, Housing Minister Phil Heatley announced today.

Ms Ratahi-Pryor is the Chief Executive Officer of Te Tohu O Te Ora O Ngati Awa, a Maori social and health service provider based in Whakatane. She has an extensive background in health and social services and is a former member of the Government’s Welfare Working Group.

Mr Heatley said her appointment came at an important time for HNZC.

Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley heads overseas today to attend the 10th APEC Energy Ministers Meeting in St Petersburg, Russia, and the Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety in Norway.

“Energy underpins economic growth. Global energy demand is forecast to increase by 40 per cent between 2009 and 2035, and energy co-operation between members is an important agenda item for APEC,” Mr Heatley said.

“I’m looking forward to discussions with other Ministers representing economies for whom energy is crucial.”

Social Housing Unit funding is to provide 25 new housing units for vulnerable people living in Christchurch.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley today announced the distribution of over $2 million of SHU funding earmarked for Canterbury.

“These new units will help vulnerable Christchurch people who need help to find suitable housing,” he said.

The largest grant, of $1.3 million, has gone to the Comcare Charitable Trust and will support a total project cost of $2.8 million to develop 20 single-person flats in four housing communities throughout Christchurch.

Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley has welcomed two significant wind energy milestones today - Global Wind Day.

Meridian Energy announced today that construction on the Mill Creek wind farm north of Wellington will start soon, and the new Mt Stuart wind farm in the Clutha District has been officially opened.

Global Wind Day is an annual international celebration of wind energy in 40 countries around the world.

New investment in minerals exploration and development will invigorate Northland’s economy, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley says.

The Ministry of Economic Development opened the Northland 2012 competitive tender to manage competitive interest in exploring for metallic minerals today.

“The tender opens the door for us to realise the significant potential for New Zealand to grow the economic contribution made by minerals,” Mr Heatley said.

The opening of the 2012 oil and gas tenders announced today by the Ministry of Economic Development is an important step towards realising the potential of New Zealand’s oil and gas resources, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley said today.

“Although oil and gas have been successfully and safely extracted in Taranaki for several decades, as a country we are still at a relatively early stage in the development of our oil and gas resources.

Two members of the Electricity Authority have been reappointed, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley announced today.

David Bull and Roger Sowry have both been reappointed for five years, effective 1 June 2012.

“Both have served on the Electricity Authority since its establishment in November 2010,” said Mr Heatley.

“The reappointments provide the Authority with continuity of expertise and experience,” he said.

Budget 2012 clearly signals the Government’s commitment to supporting affordable housing and the growth of non-government housing providers, Housing Minister Phil Heatley says.

“We’re committed to delivering the right houses to the right people in the right places,” he says. “Working with non-government providers, the Government is committed to improving housing affordability and providing assistance to households in need.”

An extra 41,000 New Zealand homes will be warmer, drier and healthier, thanks to the extension of the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme.

The insulation programme has been extended in Budget 2012 to insulate a total of 230,000 homes.

“Up to another 120,000 New Zealanders will be better off from the health and energy efficiency benefits provided by an insulated home,” Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley says.

The 2012 EECA Awards winners prove that good energy use brings strong economic benefits, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley said at the Awards ceremony in Auckland tonight.

Mr Heatley presented this year’s Supreme Award to national carrier Air New Zealand.

“Air New Zealand is a great exemplar of why New Zealand businesses have so much to gain from improving their use of energy,” Mr Heatley said.

A major project on the geology of Northland has come to fruition with today’s release of the 2011 aeromagnetic survey data, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley said at a launch function in Paihia.

“The data will be a huge asset to Northland. It will give Northpland a real edge,” he said.

“We now have a rich database that will be invaluable for a wide range of engineering, scientific and public good science applications.

People in need will get the most benefit from Government funding for new housing projects, to be developed by non-government providers.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley today announced the successful applicants to the $25.3 million Social Housing Unit (SHU) Growth Fund.

The aim of the Growth Fund is to increase the supply of social and affordable housing through non-government providers developing and providing housing at scale.

Sixteen of the new projects are in Auckland and will result in 153 extra homes in the city.

The Government welcomes the confirmation today of the conditional sale of the Pike River Coal Mine assets to Solid Energy, the Minister of Energy and Resources, Phil Heatley, said tonight.

“The sale, conditional on a number of mostly procedural matters including transfer of the mining permit, is a positive step towards determining the future of resource development at the mine,” he said.