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Minister of Internal Affairs Chris Tremain has announced that a number of banks will soon be using the RealMe service to enable online banking customers to prove their identity.

“The Department of Internal Affairs has been working with a number of major banks to encourage them to use RealMe. Kiwibank and TSB Bank have confirmed they will use RealMe for their online banking services, and other banks such as Westpac have given very strong commitments. I look forward to more businesses signing up to RealMe in the near future.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

It’s both a privilege and a pleasure to be here with you at my first Local Government New Zealand Conference. I’m here for a full day and a half so I can engage with as many of you as possible and discuss the issues facing Local Government.

When I first took up the Local Government portfolio, I was very clear that the relationship between myself as your Minister and local government needed to be strong if we were to take the country forward together.

Internal Affairs Minister and Presiding Member of the Lottery Grants Board Chris Tremain today announced $30 million dollars has been allocated to the Lottery Boards Significant Projects Fund.

“This is a fund that delivers real benefits to New Zealand communities. Thirty million dollars is a considerable commitment and I am confident this funding will make a big difference across the country, enabling large and important community projects to be completed,” says Mr Tremain.

Internal Affairs Minister and Presiding Member of the Lottery Grants Board Chris Tremain today announced that over $220 million generated from Lottery profits will be returned to the community this year.

“I’m pleased the Lottery Grants Board is making future focused decisions.  The Board has made improving digital literacy in communities a funding priority. It has confirmed that communities wanting to fund earthquake assessment and strengthening work can also apply for grants,” says Mr Tremain.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain is pleased that the Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament tonight.

“This Bill is the first step in a wide-ranging series of reforms to the class 4 gambling sector, and should not be considered in isolation,” says Mr Tremain.

“The Government is already doing a lot to address gambling-related harm. This includes a three-year, $55.3 million gambling harm strategy focused on prevention, education, awareness and dedicated services for problem gamblers.

The Government today announced the appointment of Douglas Martin as the Crown Manager for Christchurch City Council’s building consenting functions.

“Mr Martin is well qualified to undertake the role of Crown Manager.  He is one of New Zealand’s most experienced and respected advisors on improving the performance of public sector agencies in New Zealand,” says Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee. 

New online Government services are proving popular with Kiwi families and businesses, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain say.

As part of an update on progress on the Better Public Services programme, the Government today released the latest results for its planned one-stop online shop for businesses (Result 9) and for New Zealanders to complete transactions with Government easily online (Result 10).

Result 9: NZ businesses have a one-stop online shop for all government advice and support

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Christchurch City Council can and, must, under section 212 of the Building Act 2004, continue issuing building consents, despite losing its accreditation.

International Accreditation New Zealand revoked the council’s building consent accreditation today following its inability to bring its processes up to the required standard.

The Government has today been informed by the Christchurch City Council that its professional indemnity and public liability insurer Riskpool has withdrawn cover effective 1 July for claims which may arise under the Building Act 2004.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Riskpool’s move is no surprise.

“Today’s move means that if the council is negligent in performing its functions under the Building Act leading to defects in building work, any liability owed by the council will need to be met from its own funds.

Minister of Local Government Chris Tremain and Minister for Building and Construction Maurice Williamson met with the Christchurch City Council today to discuss the Terms of Reference for the appointment of a Crown Manager to address issues relating to the Council’s building consenting functions.

“I am pleased that the Council unanimously voted today to request that the Government appoint a Crown Manager,” says Mr Tremain.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Government will seek to have an audit of recent building consents issued by Christchurch City Council to ensure they’re up to the required standards.

It follows concerns raised by International Accreditation New Zealand, which will revoke the council’s building consent accreditation next Monday.

IANZ says it has identified issues with technical processing that means building consents might not meet the requirements of the Building Code.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee, Local Government Minister Chris Tremain, and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson, have welcomed the decision by Mayor Bob Parker to seek the appointment of a Crown Manager to address consenting issues.

“I am pleased that Christchurch City Council has recognised the gravity of the situation and that a motion will now be put to the council to invite the Government to appoint Crown Manager,” Mr Brownlee says.

Associate Tourism Minister, Chris Tremain today attended the opening of Auckland Airport’s new taxiway, an investment in infrastructure that doubles the capacity of aircraft to access part of the international terminal building.

“The Government recognises the importance of investment in long term infrastructure developments like this project. Taxiway Lima will reduce aircraft congestion, reduce delays and improve the safety of aircraft in low visibility,” says Mr Tremain.

Associate Tourism Minister, Chris Tremain today attended the opening of Auckland Airport’s new taxiway, an investment in infrastructure that doubles the capacity of aircraft to access part of the international terminal building.

“The Government recognises the importance of investment in long term infrastructure developments like this project. Taxiway Lima will reduce aircraft congestion, reduce delays and improve the safety of aircraft in low visibility,” says Mr Tremain.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says the roll out of RealMe, New Zealand’s new, secure online identity verification service, will improve access to government and commercial services.

From today customers can sign up for a RealMe verified account at any of New Zealand Post’s 56 participating stores. The rest of New Zealand Post’s 150 stores will begin to offer the service over the coming months.

Associate Tourism Minister Chris Tremain today announced the reappointment of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Board.

“The reappointment of the Board in its entirety - Kenneth Raureti, Robyn Bargh, Tupara Morrison, Deryck Shaw and Henri Burkhardt (Chair) – is recognition of the excellent work that the Board is doing,” says Mr Tremain.

The Institute is a statutory body established in 1963 to promote and foster Maori arts and crafts and to develop the Whakarewarewa thermal reserve in Rotorua, on which its business operates.

Internal Affairs will be playing its part in a coordinated international effort to tackle a serious global problem under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, says Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain.

The Act comes fully into force on Sunday (30 June 2013).

A Bill which increases transparency for local government elections, streamlines pre-election processes and improves the availability of information about candidates has passed its third and final reading in Parliament.

Local Government Minister Chris Tremain says the Local Electoral Amendment Bill will introduce more transparency into local authority elections.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says the Government ICT Strategy and Action Plan released today could save up to $100 million per annum by 2017, and extra funding for the Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) will ensure better oversight of ICT projects and protection of New Zealanders’ private information.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says a second report into the Declaration on Open and Transparent Government shows government departments are making excellent progress releasing their public data for re-use on data.govt.nz.

Departments were surveyed on progress made over the past year in adopting the Declaration.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain today announced a balanced package of reforms in the Class 4 (non-casino) gaming sector.

“There is a clear need for reform in the Class 4 sector, which is why Te Ururoa Flavell and I have worked together on his Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Bill. The Bill will be the first in a set of significant changes,” says Mr Tremain.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain today announced the reappointment of Judge Carolyn Henwood as the Chair of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service.

The Service is a time-limited body established to provide assistance to people who allege abuse or neglect or have concerns about their time in State care
prior to 1992.

Judge Henwood, a convenor of the New Zealand Parole Board, has over 20 years experience as a District Court and Youth Court Judge and has chaired the Service since its inception in 2008.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says collaboration with Te Ururoa Flavell on his Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill is the first stage in a balanced series of reforms planned for the Class 4 (non-casino) gaming sector.

“The Select Committee report on the Bill was released today, and makes a number of sensible amendments which the Government supports,” says Mr Tremain.

Government is giving councils greater delegated powers on how they manage more than 7000 reserves around New Zealand, Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith and Local Government Minister Chris Tremain announced today.

“This change is about recognising that local councils and their elected local representatives are better placed to make decisions on local reserves than government departments and ministers. This reform will reduce bureaucracy and give local communities more say and greater flexibility about how reserves are managed,” Dr Smith says.