Search

Internal Affairs Minister, Peter Dunne, has warmly thanked Lotto players for their generosity in helping to raise over $2.7 million for the special Lotto draw that the Minister initiated with Lotto NZ to raise funds for  Kaikoura/Hurunui and Marlborough regions following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 14 November 2016.

“Christmas is a time of giving, and it was encouraging to see so many New Zealanders support this draw for a truly special cause.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne is delighted to announce that New Zealand is the new chair of the D5 group of nations and will host the next international leaders’ summit in New Zealand in early 2018. Mr Dunne has recently returned from the D5 Summit in South Korea.

D5 is a group of five nations – New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Korea, Estonia and Israel – considered amongst the most advanced in the provision of online government services.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced new appointments to the Library and Information Advisory Commission (LIAC) and to the Guardians Kaitiaki of the Alexander Turnbull Library (Guardians Kaitiaki).

“I am pleased to announce that I am appointing Matthew Oliver to LIAC for a three-year term. His digital expertise will bring to LIAC a strong understanding of current and emerging technology developments within the library and information sector”. 

A special Lotto draw will be held on Saturday 10 December to raise funds for the Kaikoura/Hurunui earthquake relief efforts, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne announced today. The draw will include the Lotto family of games, Lotto, Powerball and Strike.

“Raising money for the community is the fundamental purpose of Lotto New Zealand, with over $3.5 million in community funding being raised each week.

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne is delighted to announce that Lotto New Zealand has received the highest possible accolade for its responsible gaming programme.

Lotto NZ has recently been awarded the grand prize in the World Lottery Association’s biennial Responsible Gaming Awards – the ‘Best Overall Responsible Gaming Programme’.

The World Lottery Association (WLA) sets the international benchmark for responsible gaming and presented this award at its annual World Lottery Summit, in Singapore earlier this month.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne will represent New Zealand at the 3rd meeting of the D5 Digital Leaders’ Summit in Busan, South Korea 10-12 November 2016. The theme of the summit is “Leading Digital Innovation”, where New Zealand has a particularly good story to tell.

Public consultation opens today on a new rate of levy on fire insurance contracts, to help fund the future of New Zealand’s fire services.

The New Zealand Fire Service Commission is currently funded from a levy on fire and motor vehicle insurance contracts, which hasn’t increased since 2008.

Under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Bill currently before Parliament, the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS), National Rural Fire Authority, and 38 other rural fire authorities will merge to become one organisation known as FENZ from 1 July 2017.

Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Peter Dunne, today presented to Parliament a report on the review of public access to birth, death, marriage, civil union, and name change (BDM) records.

The report meets a requirement to review the operation of access provisions in the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 after five years, which Parliament put in place as part of changes it made in 2009.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has announced that public consultation on proposed changes to birth, death, marriage and civil union fees has opened.

“The proposed changes follow a review of fees for products and services provided by the Department of Internal Affairs which have remained unchanged since 2003.

“Over the last 13 years the costs to provide these services has increased – these changes better reflect the actual cost of providing them and will ensure users pay a fair price for whichever service they require”, says Mr Dunne.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says applications for urgent, lost, stolen or damaged passports and those that require a name change can now be made on-line, in a further improvement of the passport service.

“Urgent applications make up around seven percent (44,000) of the total number of passports issued annually. Urgent passport applications are processed and completed within three working days and can be delivered to most locations in the world within several days.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne today congratulated Lotto New Zealand on obtaining two sought-after international security certifications.

“Lotto players can trust that Lotto NZ’s systems and processes are designed to protect the integrity of its games and the personal information of its players,” said Mr Dunne.

The Ministers of Police, Customs, and Internal Affairs have congratulated their departments for their efforts in fighting online child sexual abuse.

The Ministers say identification and rescue of victims, both within New Zealand and internationally, will continue to be a priority of their departments’ work. Police, Customs and Internal Affairs recently worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification. 

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has called on the New Zealand public to take the opportunity to have their say on the operation of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced the name and visual identity of the new archive exhibition to open within the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington during early 2017.

“The permanent exhibition will be known as ‘He Tohu’, which has a number of meanings – signs, signatures, marks and symbols. The exhibition will feature three important New Zealand constitutional documents:

Internal Affairs Minister and Presiding Member of the Lottery Grants Board, Hon Peter Dunne today announced that approximately $189 million of Lottery profits is being made available in 2016/17 to help build stronger, more cohesive communities.

Through the Lottery Distribution Committees over $108 million will flow into the community, supporting work and projects across a wide range of sectors. In addition, over $80 million will be granted to three key statutory bodies supported by the Grants Board.

Following the First Reading passage of the Fire and Emergency Bill today, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has released a discussion document on new fire services regulations as part of the reform of the fire services sector.

Legislation before the House will establish a new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), on 1 July 2017 that amalgamates rural and urban fire services.

The Bill to modernise New Zealand’s fire services has passed its first reading and heralds the most significant change in the sector for 70 years, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said today.

The Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bill will amalgamate more than 40 separate organisations, 600 fire brigades and forces, 12,000 volunteers, and 3000 paid staff into a single unified fire services organisation, to be set up on 1 July 2017.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has introduced legislation to modernise New Zealand’s fire services by setting up a single fire organisation responsible for urban and rural fire.

“The Bill will strengthen and future-proof our fire services, and ensure they remain connected to our communities.

“This is the most substantial change to the fire sector since the 1940s.

“This modern, comprehensive and enabling Bill will establish a new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), and allow it to adapt as circumstances change.

A public discussion document about the sustainability of community funding from pub and club gaming machines is now available, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said today.

“Earlier this year I announced a review of class 4 gambling and the release of a public discussion document gives the public a chance to have their say.

“The release of the discussion document is the next step in the Government’s review of the class 4 gambling sector, which operates “pokie” machines in non-casino venues”, says Mr Dunne.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne is going the distance to acknowledge some of New Zealand’s most far-flung volunteers.

The Minister will visit the Chatham Islands this week and will celebrate National Volunteer Week with the local volunteer fire brigade.

“In a small island community like the Chathams, volunteers are crucial,” Mr Dunne said.

The Minister will also talk with the local volunteers about the merger next year of New Zealand’s urban and rural fire services into a new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has welcomed improvements to New Zealand’s passport service which will allow parents to renew their children’s passports online, and also allow adults who have never had a passport to apply online using their RealMe verified identity.

The uptake of RealMe, the secure consent based identity verification service that allows people to prove who they are online continues to rise. More than 160,000 verified identities have now been issued since RealMe went live in July 2013.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has had budget confirmed of $13.0 million operating funding over the next four years, and $3.4 million capital funding to continue developing its information and data portfolio.

The work DIA do is central to making it easier for New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses to access trusted government information and data clearly and simply, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says.

Internal Affairs Minister, Hon Peter Dunne, has congratulated the seven members of the New Zealand Fire Service community who all received the Queen’s Service Medal in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List.

“Their citations reveal decades of service not just to their local fire brigades but also their wider communities. The much deserved recognition by Her Majesty

is a very fitting way to acknowledge their years of dedicated service.”