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The Mt Albert by-election will be held on Saturday 25 February, Prime Minister Bill English has confirmed.

“Following the resignation of MP David Shearer, which takes effect from 31 December, a by-election now needs to take place to fill the Mt Albert seat,” Mr English says.

“Today I’m announcing that the National Party will not be standing a candidate.

“The National Government is focussed on winning the 2017 General Election later in the year.

Prime Minister Bill English has today announced his new Cabinet line-up which builds on the success of the last eight years and provides new ideas and energy heading into election year.

“Over the last eight years National has provided a strong and stable Government which is delivering strong results for New Zealanders,” says Mr English.

“This refreshed Ministerial team builds on that success and provides a mix of new people, alongside experienced Ministers either continuing their roles or taking up new challenges.

Better incomes for households, safer communities and smarter government to support the most vulnerable will remain the Government’s focus, new Prime Minister Bill English says.

Mr English was today sworn in as prime minister after outgoing prime minister John Key tendered his resignation at Government House.

“I want to thank my colleagues for the trust they have shown in me and for the constructive and civil manner in which they have debated over and chosen the new leadership team,” Mr English says.

Formal proposals are being requested from three responders to carry out New Zealand’s largest housing redevelopment project, Ministers Bill English and Dr Nick Smith say.

Ngāti Paoa Consortium, Tūhono Tāmaki Consortium and Exemplar Communities Consortium have been invited to submit proposals for the first phase of the Tāmaki Regeneration project, redeveloping around 1,000 existing social houses into 2,500 social, affordable and market houses. 

Treasury’s latest forecasts show the Government’s programme of responsible economic and fiscal management is delivering benefits for New Zealanders, Finance Minister Bill English says.

“Economic growth is expected to average around 3 per cent over the next five years – considerably stronger than forecast in Budget 2016 - supporting more jobs, falling unemployment and higher incomes,” Mr English says.

John Key’s intelligence, optimism and integrity as Leader of the National Party and Prime Minister of New Zealand means he will be judged by history as one of New Zealand’s greatest leaders, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English says.

“On behalf of the National Party, the Government and New Zealand I thank John for his years of dedicated and outstanding service to our country.

The Government is proposing to transfer up to 2500 social houses in Christchurch to community housing providers (CHPs), Ministers Bill English and Paula Bennett have announced.

The Government is progressing its ambitious Social Housing Reform Programme and the Housing New Zealand (HNZ) owned properties in Christchurch are the second tranche to be proposed for transfer, following the appointment of Accessible Properties as the preferred provider for 1124 properties and tenancies in Tauranga. 

A proposal to transfer the ownership and management of Housing New Zealand (HNZ) properties in Horowhenua will not proceed at this time, the Minister Responsible for Housing New Zealand, Bill English says.

The Government has spent a number of months considering a proposal from Horowhenua District Council (HDC) to explore a joint transfer of council-owned flats and HNZ properties and tenancies to a community housing provider (CHP).

The council proposed to ‘package’ its 115 pensioner units in Foxton, Levin and Shannon with 249 HNZ properties.

Targeted early intervention and a Social Investment approach is being reflected in the steadily improving Better Public Services (BPS) Results, Ministers Bill English and Paula Bennett say.

The Government has released the BPS mid-year report which outlines the progress being made against the 10 challenging Results set by the Prime Minister in 2012.

The NZ Super Fund and the Accident Compensation Corporation’s purchase of minority stakes in Kiwibank has been welcomed by Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Todd McClay.

“The deal keeps Kiwibank in public ownership and gives the bank access to additional sources of capital,” Mr English says.

“It also returns a dividend of about $200 million to the Government which can be used for other high priorities.”

The sale of Solid Energy’s mines provides the best outcome for employees, creditors and communities, Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Todd McClay say.

Solid Energy announced today that it had reached agreement on the sale of the Stockton, Strongman and Liverpool mines on the West Coast, the  Rotowaro and Maramarua mines in the Waikato and the New Vale and Ohai coal mines in Southland.

Finance Minister Bill English has launched an online portal aimed at giving a clearer picture of high-value infrastructure investments opportunities throughout Australasia.

Together with Australian Treasurer, Scott Morrison, Mr English has launched the Australia New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline (ANZIP) in Sydney today.

About 25 New Zealand-based projects and about 90 Australian-based projects are listed - from government agencies, local authorities, State-owned enterprises and publicly-listed companies. 

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English will lead New Zealand's Ministerial delegation to the annual Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) in Sydney tomorrow.

Mr English will be accompanied by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, Trade Minister Todd McClay, Customs Minister Nicky Wagner, and Commerce Minister Paul Goldsmith.

Finance Minister Bill English has today launched the Government’s Ten Year Capital Intentions Plan (CIP) which shows a pipeline of $100.9 billion worth of infrastructure projects over the next decade.

The 2016-2025 CIP is the third of its kind since it was launched in 2014 and brings together the infrastructure investment intentions of central and local government, State-owned enterprises, and public and private companies.

Housing New Zealand lodged 60 resource consent applications in the last quarter which, if approved, will build houses for over 3000 people in Auckland, Ministers Bill English and Paula Bennett say.

Housing New Zealand’s Asset Development Group has lodged the consents to build 1297 new houses, which will have the potential to accommodate more than 3200 people in 20 suburbs across the city.

Finance Minister Bill English has today presented the Crown accounts for the year to June, showing a surplus of $1.8 billion in 2015/16, up from $414 million in 2014/15.

The Crown accounts show core Crown expenses are under 30 per cent of GDP for the first time since 2006, net debt has stabilised to 24.6 per cent of GDP and net worth has grown to $89.4 billion in 2015/16.

Finance Minister Bill English departs today for the United States to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC.

“The meetings will provide me with a valuable opportunity to discuss issues of economic interest to New Zealand with representatives of other governments and policy specialists and to get a read on international developments,” Mr English says.

Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Todd McClay announced today that Trevor Janes will be the next chair of KiwiRail, and former State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall will be the next chair of Transpower.

Mr Janes has been appointed a director of KiwiRail from today and will take over as chair from 1 November. He succeeds John Spencer who has chaired KiwiRail for four years and before that its predecessor, the New Zealand Railway Corporation, for two.

Finance Minister Bill English and Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce have today acknowledged the release of the Productivity Commission’s draft report New and Emerging Models of Tertiary Education.

“The report was commissioned to investigate how trends in technology, tuition costs, skill demand, demographics and internationalisation may drive new and changed business models and delivery models in the tertiary sector,” Mr English says. 

Finance Minister Bill English has congratulated the new chair of the Reserve Bank’s board of directors Professor Neil Quigley.

Professor Quigley has been elected unanimously by his fellow directors, replacing Dr Rod Carr who is standing down after three years as chair.  Economist Kerrin Vautier has been appointed as deputy chair. 

The latest release of the Major Projects Performance Report shows the delivery of the Government’s biggest investment projects is continuing to improve Finance Minister Bill English says.

The July 2016 report updates the progress of the 55 most complex, high-value projects that, together, have a whole of life cost of $36 billion.

The projects, which span 33 agencies, are assessed using a five-point scale ranging from Red through to Amber and then Green.

The Government will redevelop 300 existing Housing New Zealand (HNZ) properties into about 1200 new homes in Northcote, Ministers Bill English and Dr Nick Smith have announced.

The Minister Responsible for Housing New Zealand, Bill English, says the $750 million project will transform the existing 300 properties into about 1200 warmer, drier and healthier homes with a better mix of size and type.

“The number of HNZ homes will increase from 300 to 400 and a further 600-800 properties will be sold as a mix of affordable and market housing.”

Finance Minister Bill English and Transport Minister Simon Bridges today released a joint report with Auckland Council which sets out a clear direction for the development of Auckland’s transport system over the next 30 years.

“This report marks the culmination of the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) which has involved the Government and Auckland Council working closely together over the last year to develop an aligned strategic approach, including an indicative package of transport investment,” Mr English says.

The third highest growth rate in the OECD shows the Government’s management of the economy is delivering more jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders, Finance Minister Bill English says.

Statistics New Zealand reported Gross Domestic Product grew by 0.9 per cent in the three months to 30 June 2016. This took annual growth to 3.6 per cent – putting New Zealand’s growth rate in the top three among developed economies.