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New tourism figures out today show overseas visitors are voting with their wallets and endorsing New Zealand’s reputation as a world-class destination, Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett says.

International visitor spending has increased by 38 per cent to $9.4 billion in the year to September according to the latest International Visitor Survey.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in tourism in New Zealand,” Mrs Bennett says.

Ongoing restraint in the public sector and a focus on better frontline services has seen a further reduction in the number of core Government employees, State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

The June 2015 update of the Core Government Administration shows 35,632 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff, a reduction of 474 from December 2014. This latest result is 843 under the cap set by the Government in 2012, and the lowest since it was introduced. 

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced nearly $1 million of new funding to 25 additional projects around the country to engage more young Kiwis with science and technology under the Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund pilot.

“There was very high demand for the pilot programme, and I am pleased to be able to announce this additional funding for a second tranche of innovative projects to engage the public with science and technology,” Mr Joyce says.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges today opened the second and final stage of the Government’s $45 million Caversham Highway Improvement project in Dunedin.

About 25,000 vehicles a day use the stretch of highway that has been the focus of the Caversham Highway Improvement project, making it the busiest highway corridor south of Christchurch. The highway forms part of the main southern arterial serving Dunedin, Central Otago, Southland and Port Otago

The Auckland Housing Accord is freeing up land faster for housing and helping drive increasing momentum in residential construction, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown said today in releasing the second year monitoring report.

Kia ora tātou!

I am delighted to welcome you all here to the Banquet Hall of Parliament to celebrate the Honourable Dame Tariana Turia, and to launch her biography, as written by Helen Leahy.  It is a mark of the high esteem in which she is held that there are so many of you gathered here – from her school day friends; health workers; treaty activists; politicians right across the House; and everywhere there is whānau.

Acknowledgements

• Linda Grennell, MWDI Chair
• Areta Koopu, Previous Chair
• Teresa Tepania Ashton, CEO
• Rachel Petero, #Rise 2025 Founder
   
• Teresa [Te Pania-Ashton] thank you for the introduction

Key messages:

Changes to the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) programme from next year will open the door to trade careers for more Māori and Pasifika learners, Tertiary Education Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell announced today.

Māori and Pasifika Trades Training is one of the key programmes in the skills section of the Business Growth Agenda, to lift the participation of young Māori and Pasifika in meaningful employment, especially in regional New Zealand.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has today launched Healthy Families Rotorua at Rotorua Primary School.

“Healthy Families NZ is about encouraging people to live healthier lives by making good food choices, being physically active, moderating alcohol consumption and being smoke-free,” says Dr Coleman.

“The initiative challenges communities to think differently about how to address the underlying causes of poor health at a local level.”

Ko Hikurangi kei runga

Ko Ōtātara kei raro

Tutaekurī te awa e rere mai nei

Ngāti Paarau hapū

Ngāti Kahungunu iwi

Tēnā koutou katoa

E ngā uri o ngā maunga tiketike o te motu,

E ngā awa, e ngā moana,

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha,

Tēnei te reo maioha e rere hāro nei ki a koutou.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says off-shore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago will leave Dunedin for the Southern Ocean on Thursday, to monitor fishing activity.

“This patrol is in support of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has oversight of Southern Ocean fisheries.

“Our goal is to ensure the fishery is well managed and sustainable.

White Ribbon Day highlights the need for a continued focus on helping to reduce family and sexual violence, Justice Minister Amy Adams says.

The theme for this year’s White Ribbon campaign focuses on respectful relationships between men and women, ‘consent’ as a necessary requirement of all sexual relationships, and challenging attitudes and behaviour around violence against women.

A joint initiative between the retail sector, the packaging industry and the Government to enable the recycling of soft plastics that previously could not be was officially launched in Auckland this morning by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today released an options paper which sets out ways to improve our financial advice legislation.

“Our aim is to increase consumer confidence in financial advisers and the advice they give, so that people can make informed decisions about their money,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“We hope to make improvements to this regime so that all New Zealanders, including those with simple questions and without large sums to invest, have access to trusted financial advice should they want it. 

A new report on New Zealand’s food and beverage export sector shows that the sector is successfully achieving growth by investing in added value products and moving up the value chain.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today released the 2015 edition of the Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Food and Beverage Industry which shows increasing levels of investment in product diversification and branded high value consumer products.

The Government has begun its review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) to assess its operation and effectiveness to 2020 and beyond, Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser announced today.

“In July we set an ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2020,” said Mr Groser.

“This review will look at how the NZ ETS may have to evolve to support New Zealand in meeting this new target.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata have welcomed a new report showing that New Zealand invests a larger portion of its public spending in education than all but a handful of other OECD countries.

Education At a Glance 2015, which was released overnight, shows that New Zealand ranks in the top two OECD countries for expenditure on both school and tertiary education as a percentage of total public expenditure.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Louise Upston have welcomed the announcement today of a new tourism and hospitality college that will open in Northland early next year.

The QRC Tai Tokerau Resort College, will open in Paihia with four student intakes per year. Established by the Queenstown Resort College (QRC), the new college has been developed with support from NZ Māori Tourism.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga hosted a breakfast today for more than 80 employers in a bid to help find jobs for offenders and reduce reoffending.

The employer engagement breakfast in Auckland, which was also attended by Prime Minister John Key, gave some of New Zealand’s biggest employers the chance to hear about the work Corrections is doing to provide offenders with job skills.

Employers who are already onboard with the programme also shared their experiences of hiring offenders.

The Government today marked the 500th completed home at Hobsonville Point and the launch of a new precinct at the Auckland housing development with a visit by the Prime Minister and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

Vulnerable New Zealanders are benefiting from continued growth in the community housing sector, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

The number of social housing tenancies with registered Community Housing Providers (CHPs) has now surpassed 300. CHPs have been eligible to house tenants with the Government’s Income Related Rent Subsidy since April 2014.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has today officially opened the Rangiora Health Hub which provides high quality maternity services and flexi beds for patients with a range of needs in North Canterbury.

“There has been a significant increase in the number of births in recent years in North Canterbury. With over 150 births this year, it’s timely to have expanded and improved maternity facilities in the region,” says Dr Coleman.

Good morning everyone. It is always a pleasure to attend the New Zealand Racing Board’s AGM and to be with the people who have committed so much to this great industry.

I would like to acknowledge your Chair, Glenda Hughes, and your Chief Executive Officer, John Allen. Thank you for inviting me to speak. John, I’m sure you have found your first eight months at the helm of the New Zealand Racing Board exciting and challenging.

I would also like to acknowledge the chairs and chief executives of the three racing bodies:

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye today announced changes for the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) which will see significantly more youth development opportunities in New Zealand.

“These changes follow a review completed in August this year, and my desire to increase the number of youth development opportunities available to young people,” says Ms Kaye.

“There is a need for more clarity and purpose to the Ministry’s activities, and spending needs to be targeted where it will make the biggest difference.