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E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Rotorua Mayor Hon Steve Chadwick, FAO Assistant Director-General Mr Konuma, FAO Director of the Forest Economics Policy and Products Ms Eva Muller, Scion CEO Warren Parker and chair Mr. Su Chunyu.

Distinguished delegates and guests, industry and iwi leaders, local dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen.

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Jo Goodhew has today acknowledged the important role volunteer managers play in volunteer organisations.

“Today marks International Day for Volunteer Managers. This day recognises the great work of managers of volunteers and thanks them for leading volunteers in our communities across the country,” Mrs Goodhew says.

The international theme for Volunteer Managers Day 2013 is ‘connecting and inspiring’.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for the warm welcome.

It is great to be back here in Rotorua, my second visit in as many months.

I attended the WoodEXPO 2013 meeting in September - and recognise some familiar faces from that informative day!

Putting together conferences takes time and energy and I want to start off by acknowledging three key individuals who made today’s forum possible.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew today announced details on how a $20 million funding boost will help older New Zealanders stay in their own homes longer.

“A review of district health boards supply contracts for home care support prices found considerable variation across the country,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“This additional funding will help address those differences by lifting the contract prices at those DHBs that were found to be paying below the national average.

Senior Citizens Minister Jo Goodhew is pleased to announce that Auckland’s over 65s will now be able to access SuperGold information in other languages.

“We want more of our older people to take advantage of the benefits this card has to offer”, says Mrs Goodhew.

“The information has been translated into Chinese (simplified and traditional), Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Korean, Samoan and Tongan which were identified as Auckland’s largest ethnic groups.”

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

E aku Rangatira,  Tēnā koutou katoa,  Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou       

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to speak at your conference today. I would particularly like to thank Grainne (Moss) for extending the invitation to me, and for her kind introduction. I would also like to acknowledge your Chairman, Bryan Mogridge.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today announced an extra $9 million to support rural general practices over the next four years.

"This new investment is on top of the $13 million a year already earmarked for rural general practice support. The objective is to help general practices better retain clinical staff and services,” says Mrs Goodhew. 

“This additional funding will take effect from 1 July 2014 when a new way of allocating rural funding will be rolled out.

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew has today congratulated the winners of the Women of Influence Awards, held for the first time last night.

“These awards are about identifying bold, energetic women who are helping to shape the spirit and future of New Zealand,” says Mrs Goodhew.

The awards recognise 50 influential women across five categories – management and business, local and regional, entrepreneur, community service and social enterprise, and innovation and science.

Patients will soon be able to provide more feedback on the care they receive in public hospitals, as part of the government’s drive to improve the quality of health services.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says a new national patient survey will be rolled out to all New Zealand public hospitals from mid next year and the results will be published regularly.

“Patient feedback is a vital indicator of how well health services are working for patients and their families,” says Mr Ryall.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew welcomes the second phase of the national patient safety campaign, Open for better care, which focuses on reducing harm from infections in patients following surgery.

“Reducing the number of Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) in our hospitals is a priority for patient safety”, says Mrs Goodhew.

“This campaign will support the Surgical Site Infection Improvement Programme (SSIIP), which was rolled out across the country earlier this year.”

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today congratulated MercyAscot Hospital in Auckland for becoming the first private provider to sign the national patient safety campaign, Open for better care.

“The Government is committed to making our health system safer and reducing harm to patients. This is why in May this year I launched the Open for better care campaign,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“The campaign challenges all health care workers to acknowledge mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn, change and improve.

The Government is investing $810,000 to support pregnant women and new mums to understand the importance of good nutrition and physical activity for their babies and for themselves.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says “recent international research evidence and advice from Professor Sir Peter Gluckman suggests that preconditions for overweight and obesity are set very early.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa.  Ka nui to honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

E aku Rangatira,  Tēnā koutou katoa,  Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou       

Good afternoon everyone. It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to you today at this event to mark World Mental Health Day. And of course it’s also Mental Health Awareness Week.

I would like to thank Professor Max Abbott for inviting me to join you today.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Good afternoon. First I would like to acknowledge MercyAscot Managing Director Andrew Wong, chair Richard Fisher and CEO Geoff Sparkes, as well as Health and Quality and Safety Commission deputy chair Shelly Frost.

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Jo Goodhew today acknowledged 25 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellows at a special awards ceremony held at Government House.

“Today’s event is a celebration of the achievements of the Fellows who have completed their travel and research reports in the last two years,” said Mrs Goodhew.

The ceremony was hosted by the Patron of the Trust, His Excellency, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand.

‘Ensuring financially sustainable and efficient healthcare provision for all New Zealanders’

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Thank you Nevil for your introduction and greetings to everyone here today. 

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Thank you, Iona, for your introduction and a warm welcome to you all. Today is International Day of Older Persons, a day to celebrate the value of older people, and I am delighted to be here sharing a part of this day with you.

The steps being taken to make sure our growing ageing population remains healthy and independent were today outlined by the Senior Citizens Minister Jo Goodhew.

Mrs Goodhew launched the Older New Zealanders: Healthy, Independent, Connected and Respected document to coincide with the International Day of Older Persons.

“This document outlines the services and support available to older people, and summarises in one place what is going on across government agencies to reaffirm this Government’s commitment to the Positive Ageing Strategy.

Projections on the economic contribution our ageing population will make over the next four decades show older people will have a more positive impact than previously thought, Senior Citizens Minister Jo Goodhew says.

Mrs Goodhew today released the Business of Ageing: 2013 Update. The report updates research released in 2011.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Thank you for inviting me to join you this afternoon.  I am told that New Zealand hosted the first IPAC Conference in 2001 and played host again in 2006, with both held in Wellington.  Being a South Islander, I am pleased that this year’s Conference has moved south to Queenstown.

Associate Health Minsters Hon Jo Goodhew and Hon Todd McClay have welcomed today’s release of a report on serious adverse events in the mental health and addiction service sector.

The report, District health board mental health and addictions services: serious adverse events reported to the Health Quality and Safety Commission, looks at incidents of serious harm to patients of mental health and addictions services over the 2012/13 year.

DHBs reported 177 serious adverse events over the 12 month period, including 134 suspected suicides.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Your Excellency, the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lt Gen The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae, Deputy British High Commissioner Patrick Reilly, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board chair Rachael Selby, members of the Trust Board, Department of Internal Affairs Chief Executive Colin MacDonald, Fellows and welcomed guests.

A special thank you to Sir Jerry Mateparae for hosting us in this lovely setting, and for His Excellency’s service as patron of the Trust.