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Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne today announced funding of $303 million over five years to combine urban and rural fire services into one organisation from mid-2017.   

“The name of the new organisation – Fire and Emergency New Zealand – reflects the wide range of services that our firefighters provide for their communities, including callouts to road accidents and natural disasters,” Mr Dunne said.

A number of decisions affecting the class 4 gambling sector have been made by the Government, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne said today. They include cancelling further increases to the minimum rate of return that gaming machine societies must make to local communities through grant funding.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced 32 appointments across 15 Lottery Distribution Committees. There are 13 new members and 19 reappointments.

“Distribution committees fund a range of great projects and programmes and make a major contribution to communities up and down the country. The appointees bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and community connections, and will help ensure the committees continue to be well-placed to do their work.”

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced the appointment of Dr Rachael Ka’ai-Mahuta to the Library and Information Advisory Commission (LIAC).

“I am appointing Dr Ka’ai-Mahuta to fill the current vacancy on LIAC. Dr Ka’ai-Mahuta will bring matauranga Māori and a strong understanding of the issues around language and culture revitalisation. I believe her skills and experience will be of great value to LIAC.

Minister of Internal Affairs Peter Dunne today announced the release of a Proposals Paper in the second stage of the review of public access to birth, death, marriage, civil union, and name change (BDM) records.

The Proposals Paper responds to 80 submissions received on the January 2015 Discussion Paper, which launched the review the rules governing access to BDM records.

Good morning.

I am very pleased that you invited me here today – it is a welcome opportunity to catch up with the Clubs movement once more, and to hear what you have been up to.

I would like to begin by acknowledging Clubs New Zealand delegates from all over the country, and especially your national President, Tom Fisher.

I would also like to acknowledge your Chief Executive, Larry Graham, and host Cosmopolitan Club President, Wayne Henshaw.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced a new line-up for the Board of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission to lead significant reform of the fire services sector.

Dr Nicola Crauford, Peter Drummond, Te Arohanui Cook and current member Angela Hauk-Willis will join the newly appointed chair, Hon Paul Swain, on the Board from 1 April 2016.

For the first time, a majority of New Zealanders' most common transactions with government now occur digitally, says Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

"The latest figures show that the average digital uptake for the December 2015 quarter is 52.9 per cent. It's excellent progress; this latest figure is 6.6 percentage points higher than the same quarter in 2014, 6.2 percentage points above the September quarter, and well above the baseline 29.9 per cent in June 2012," said Mr Dunne.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced that Lotto New Zealand has received the highest possible international recognition for its continued focus on providing a safe gaming environment.

Lotto New Zealand’s responsible gaming programme has been officially certified as best practice by the World Lottery Association under its Responsible Gaming Framework.

Tena koutou.

I am very glad to welcome you all to New Zealand, and particularly to Wellington, our capital.

A few of you here today, I know, have been here before – and to you I say ‘welcome back’!

However some, even many of you, have not been here before, and I am especially glad to welcome those people – hoping that our small friendly city with its brisk and breezy weather will leave a positive impression on you.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne said planning is on track for the new constitutional exhibition to open at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington during early 2017.

A design has been selected for the new exhibition which will enable greater access to our three most important constitutional documents: the 1835 Declaration of Independence of the Northern Chiefs/He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni; the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi /Te Tiriti o Waitangi; and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne today announced the appointment of the Hon Paul Swain as chair of the Board of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission for a three-year term from 1 April 2016.

Mr Dunne announced last November that New Zealand’s rural and urban fire services would be merged into a unified organisation.

“The sector is facing significant change as we build a fit-for-purpose, 21st century fire service capable of serving both rural and urban communities,” said Mr Dunne.

Good evening.

Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to share some thoughts about New Zealand’s experience in transforming the way we provide government services to our citizens in the digital age.

New Zealand’s digital journey is a story about better public services.

It is about how our government is reshaping our relationships and interactions with our citizens to meet their changing expectations.

The word “journey” implies a known destination.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne travels to London today to present the Digital Leaders Network 2016 Annual Lecture.

This is a ministerial hosted event that takes place in Westminster, with a theme of meeting the demands and expectations of on-going digital transformation.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has announced seven appointments to the Film and Literature Board of Review, commencing from 1 January 2016.

The Board is established under section 91 of the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act 1993 (the Act) as a statutory appeal body to review classification decisions of the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has today welcomed New Zealand’s return to 10-year adult passports.

Legislation necessary to effect this change, a change driven by public demand, was passed into law on 20 October and enables the Passports Office to start issuing 10-year adult passports to applicants from today.

“It is gratifying to announce the wait is over and New Zealanders can now apply for and receive a passport that has a more practical lifespan that reflects their travel patterns and requirements.”

Australia and New Zealand have struck a new agreement which will enable government agencies and businesses to electronically verify official government issued identity documents in either country.

This will help organisations to offer more efficient online services and to promote cross-border travel, migration and commerce.

Importantly, the agreement will also help to better protect the more than 600,000 New Zealanders settled in Australia and the 65,000 Australians in New Zealand from the destructive effects of identity crime. 

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne will represent New Zealand at the meeting of the D5 Digital Leaders’ Summit in Tallinn, Estonia 18-20 November 2015.

The D5 is a grouping of five nations–New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Korea, Estonia and Israel – considered amongst the most advanced in the provision of on-line government services. Its establishment is a British Government initiative and this is the second meeting of this group following the inaugural summit held in London in December last year.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne have announced a list of twelve telecommunications providers who have been selected to provide telecommunications and managed security services to Government.

Government agencies will be able to easily select the suppliers and services they want based on their business needs. The All of Government contract will save taxpayers at least $20-$30 million within the first two years

Firstly I would like to start by acknowledging the following people from the UFBA here today:

your President, Mark Adie, and Vice-President, Russell Anderson;

your Chief Executive Officer, George Verry;

Deputy chair of the UFBA Board, Nigel Lilley and Board members Bill Butzbach, Glenn Williams, and Matt Cleaver;

Rick Braddock, Chairperson of the UFBA Board, and Patron of the UFBA, Dame Margaret Bazley.

A series of drugs that pose a serious health risk will soon be subject to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

Associate Minister of Health, Peter Dunne, says he has accepted an expert recommendation to schedule three of the NBOMe family of substances as Class B1 drugs.

“Earlier this year the World Health Organization considered reviews of these three substances, and found they were an especially serious risk to public health and society, were of no recognised therapeutic use, and were being manufactured clandestinely.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has announced that the present subsidy for children’s passports will continue with the move to 10-year passports.

From 30 November the price of all standard adult passports issued in New Zealand will be $180 and child passports will be $105 (including GST). That is a 42 per cent subsidy from the adult fee, the same as currently in place for a five-year passport.

The fee for a standard 10-year adult passport will be around $90 cheaper than the fee for two five-year passports.

Law changes contained in Gambling Amendment Bill (No.3) passed by Parliament today will help fulfil the purposes of the Gambling Act 2003 says Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

“The main purpose of the Gambling Act is to ensure that money from gambling benefits the community. There are large sums of money at stake here and it’s important that we get a good system and that the proceeds that are raised from gambling go where they are meant to. The passing of the Gambling Amendment Bill (No 3) helps to achieve that purpose.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne today welcomed the passage of the Passports Amendment Bill (No 2), which will enable adult New Zealanders to be issued with a passport that is valid for 10 years instead of the existing five year validity period. The new 10-year passport will be available in approximately six weeks from 30 November 2015.