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Acting Tourism Minister Paula Bennett today announced $199,500 in funding for public restroom facilities at Springs Junction following the Kaikoura quakes.

“This popular rest stop is facing increased pressure from re-routed traffic,” Mrs Bennett says.

“Following the Kaikoura earthquakes, traffic on State Highway 65 south of Murchison and State Highway 7 between Reefton and Waipara has increased significantly.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett has welcomed the release of the Ministry of Social Development’s Purchasing Strategy for social housing, saying it gives providers direction and certainty.

The strategy, released today, gives detailed information for providers and outlines the ministry’s plans for extra social housing over the next four years.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says a new development in Auckland is a fantastic example of community housing providers and agencies working together to house vulnerable families.

The new 15-unit apartment block for transitional housing in Glen Eden is the result of a collaboration between Housing New Zealand and providers VisionWest, Monte Cecilia and Airedale Properties, with support from LifeWise.

Economic Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett announced today that $158,000 is being committed to a visitor economy project as part of the Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Action Plan. The Plan has a key action to develop a collaborative regional tourism framework that supports growing the visitor economy to $2.5 billion by 2030.

Changes to the way community housing providers are funded are paying further dividends as much-needed new supply comes on stream in Auckland, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

More than 50 new social housing places have been created in Papakura and Mangere through funding changes made by the Government in which community housing providers (CHPs) are able to access Income-Related Rent Subsidies.

Compass Housing Services and LinkPeople will lease new one- and two-bedroom properties from private owners for social housing for up to 10 years.

More than 150 households have taken up the offer of financial help to move from Auckland to other regions, improving their own living arrangements and freeing up valuable social housing for others.

In June, the Government introduced the grant of up to $5000 for relocation costs to help people who wanted to move from Auckland but otherwise could not afford to.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says the uptake of the relocation grant has been so successful that more funds would be allocated to the scheme.

Tourism spending in the regions was again strong in the year to October 2016, reflecting the Government’s commitment to support regional tourism growth.

According to the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), tourism expenditure grew in all regions over the year to October 2016.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett today announced a $510,000 package to help strengthen Southland’s tourism industry and attract more visitors to the region.

Tourism is a focus of the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan, which aims to diversify Southland’s economy, grow the population and strengthen local business.

The first of 14 families have begun moving into a new block of apartments in Auckland which are the result of a partnership between government agencies and community housing providers, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

“I am delighted that Housing New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development and three providers have worked together to ensure that 14 vulnerable families have somewhere safe and secure to live and where they will receive the help they need to address issues that may be holding them back,” Mrs Bennett says.

The Government will update the Equal Pay Act and amend the Employment Relations Act to implement recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity.

This will make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts. It will also assist employers in addressing those claims.

“The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, which set out principles for raising and resolving pay equity claims through bargaining,” State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

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 new social housing complex of 120 apartments is to be built on surplus Crown land and an adjoining Housing New Zealand site in Auckland in partnership with local iwi, Ministers Paula Bennett and Nick Smith have announced.

Housing New Zealand (HNZ) and development partners Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Gemscott Resources Limited have signed a heads of agreement to develop the 12,010sq m site on Great North Rd in Waterview into one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. All the homes will be retained by HNZ for social housing.

Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett has brought together 10 experts from government and the private sector to provide advice on how New Zealand can adapt and build resilience to the effects of climate change.

The Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group includes representatives from central and local government, the banking and insurance sector, engineering, science, and local communities. 

Adaptation expert Dr Judy Lawrence will co-chair the group with Penny Nelson, Ministry for the Environment’s Deputy Secretary, Sector Strategy.

New Zealand has joined countries at the 2016 UN climate change conference, COP22, in fast-tracking the implementation of the historic Paris Agreement.

Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett gave support to the Marrakech Proclamation, which highlights the global momentum on tackling climate change.

“The COP22 global meeting has reaffirmed New Zealand’s absolute commitment to playing our part in the global action to reduce climate change,” says Mrs Bennett.

Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett has announced New Zealand’s intention to extend ratification of both the Climate Change Convention and the Paris Agreement to include Tokelau.

Minister Bennett was speaking from Marrakech where countries who signed up to the Paris Agreement have just convened the historic first meeting of Parties to the Agreement. 

“This is a significant step, not only for Tokelau, but also for New Zealand and for the Pacific,” Minister Bennett says.

Building is moving ahead rapidly at a site in Auckland where more than 40 families at any one time will be housed by early next year, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

Mrs Bennett visited the site at Luke St, Otahuhu, this morning where she met some of the people working on the build and was shown the techniques that have made construction so quick.

A rise in guest nights in September shows the Government’s focus on building tourism’s shoulder season demand is paying off, Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett says.

New figures show national guest nights in September 2016 were up 6.4 per cent on the same time last year to 2.6 million, a record for September across domestic and international guests and all accommodation types.

Domestic guest nights were up 3 per cent on September 2015 to 1.6 million while international guest nights were up 12.4 per cent to 1 million.

Spending by tourists in regional New Zealand continued to rise in the year to September 2016 after another record number of visitor arrivals in New Zealand, Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett says.

Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett today announced 14 tourism infrastructure projects around the country will receive $3.05 million in government co-funding support.

Through the new Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund, projects ranging from toilet facilities in Tekapo to innovative rubbish removal compactors in the Coromandel will be funded, Mrs Bennett says.

More emergency housing places, more support for tenants and more frontline staff have been funded in the next step in the Government’s comprehensive housing plan.

The funding boost of more than $300 million will be enough for up to an extra 1400 places at any one time, 600 in Auckland and the remaining 800 places in areas of high demand around the country.

Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett has welcomed the historic Paris Agreement, which comes into force today.

“Today is a momentous day internationally in that we have an agreement at scale that climate change is a global problem,” Mrs Bennett says.

The Paris Agreement formalises the legal framework for all countries to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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.

A total of 100 families and individuals have taken up an offer of financial help to move out of Auckland, freeing up social housing for others in urgent need.

The Government introduced the grant of up to $5000 for relocation costs to help people who wanted to move from Auckland but otherwise could not afford to, on June 20, 2016.

“This is a fantastic result. This is potentially 100 homes that have been freed up for people in urgent housing need in Auckland, with more to come,” Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

State Services Minister Paula Bennett has today announced the publication of New Zealand’s second National Action Plan under the international Open Government Partnership.

“New Zealand is internationally recognised as world-leading in open and transparent government with well-established public accountability processes, advanced open data systems and a strong, high integrity public service,” Mrs Bennett says.