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Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says New Zealand is well placed to detect and respond to Ebola if it were to reach the country.

This follows the first confirmed case of Ebola in the United States. A male has fallen ill after travelling from Liberia, which is one of the West African nations affected by the current Ebola outbreak.

“The Ministry of Health assessment is that the risk to New Zealand from Ebola remains low,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the announcement of the teams who will take part in a pilot programme to support new social enterprise start-ups.

“The successful 11 teams are organisations with social or environmental goals which use commercial models to generate income,” says Mrs Goodhew.

The Ākina Foundation’s social enterprise accelerator pilot, Launchpad, is co-funded by the Department of Internal Affairs and Contact Energy. The final 11 teams were chosen from 134 applications.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the end of the recent measles outbreak in New Zealand.

“Since December last year there have been 281 confirmed measles cases across the North Island, with 15 per cent of these cases requiring hospital treatment,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“So it is great news that the outbreak now appears to be over, with no new cases reported since 10 August 2014.

“Public Health Units in the affected regions have been working hard to halt the spread of this highly infectious virus.

Senior Citizens Minister Jo Goodhew has announced an essay competition for primary school students aimed at understanding youth attitudes towards older people.

“To promote positive ageing, it is important to understand the attitudes and perceptions younger people have towards their elders,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“The essay topic: 1914 – 2014: The greatest greats and grands of the last 100 years, is all about inspirational or prominent older New Zealanders in the last 100 years.

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew has celebrated the 121st anniversary of women’s suffrage with an event recognising women leaders in innovation.

This evening’s event is part of the Leading Edge series being held at the National Library in Wellington. This series looks at New Zealand, both past and present, through the lens of innovation.

“In celebrating our women leaders in innovation, I acknowledge the women and men in 1893 that were innovative in their struggle to give women voting rights,” Mrs Goodhew said.

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew has focused on the increasing number of women entering trades as she officially opened Adult Learners’ Week, He Tangata Mātauranga.

Adult Learners’ Week was established in 1998 to raise the profile of adult learning and to celebrate the successes and achievements of those participating in Adult and Community Education.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew welcomes Cervical Screening Awareness Month this September encouraging women to get up to date with their cervical smears.

“The theme of this year’s campaign is for women to think about how their health matters not just to them, but also to those they love,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“We know that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable of all cancers, but it’s all about early detection.

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew has congratulated the winners of this year’s Diversity Awards.

The winners of the 17^th annual ANZ and Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust Diversity Awards were announced in Auckland last night.

“The Diversity Awards provides an opportunity for businesses across New Zealand to showcase their successful workplace diversity initiatives,” says Mrs Goodhew.

This year’s Supreme Award winner, Jacobs employs approximately 70,000 employees across a range of technical sectors.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is encouraging those eligible for a free flu vaccine to get in quick, with the programme due to wrap-up on 31 August.

The seasonal flu jab is free for people aged 65 years and over, pregnant women, people with long term health conditions such as severe asthma, and children under five years who have been hospitalised for a respiratory illness. In Canterbury, it is also free for those aged under 18.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is urging hospital patients to take part in a new survey asking them for feedback on their health care.  

“Invitations to take part in the first of a new series of surveys will be sent today to 7500 people across New Zealand who spent at least one night in hospital from 4 to17 August 2014,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“I encourage people to fill in the survey, which is an important way of improving the quality of hospital care and understanding how well health services are working for patients and their families.

The National-led Government is increasing the rest home bed subsidy by $10 million a year – a 5 per cent increase – as part of the government's ongoing plan to meet the changing needs of our population.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced a $40 million funding boost over the next four years for aged residential care and dementia services. The extra funding was earmarked in Budget 2014.

Public health officers are being given additional powers to hold aeroplanes and ships at the border if there is a sufficient concern that a person on board is infected with the Ebola virus, says Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew.

“The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the worst outbreak of this disease on record, leading to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew has today announced that $502,000 in grants will be given to community groups reliant on volunteers.

The Support for Volunteering Fund is distributed annually to organisations which demonstrate that they are working to promote and support volunteering.

“Over a million New Zealanders are involved in some form of voluntary work in their communities. These volunteers are the backbone of our communities,” says Mrs Goodhew.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Good afternoon everyone and thank-you Dennis for inviting me to be here today.

The National Government’s business growth agenda has six streams focusing on the inputs businesses need to succeed and grow: export markets, capital markets, innovation, skilled and safe workplaces, natural resources and infrastructure.

There are more than 350 BGA actions, of which more than half are complete or being implemented.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew has announced that 12 projects have been selected for this year’s Community Development Scheme.

“The scheme helps fund projects where communities have identified and found solutions to their own local issues,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew says the results from a trial using remote control technology in tree felling, which could save lives in forestry harvesting operations, show promising results.

“During the successful trial the operator was able to successfully fell and bunch several trees from a safe distance at the top of a steep slope using a remote control device,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has announced that publication of full rest home audit reports will continue.

“Late last year I asked the Ministry of Health to trial publishing full audit reports of rest homes online,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“This followed feedback from the public and stakeholder groups that they wanted more information about how a rest home was performing.

“During the trial period over 200 people a week visited the full audit reports site, with around 80 of those downloading a copy of a full audit report.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is welcoming a new survey system which will ask hospital patients for their feedback.

“Every three months, 7500 patients will be sent a survey asking about their stay in hospital. The survey will cover everything from whether they were involved in decision-making about their treatment to whether they understood the advice they were given by their doctor,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the news that over 1.2 million doses of flu vaccines have now been distributed to New Zealanders.

“Immunisation is the best protection we have against influenza. Maintaining a high vaccination rate is an important way we can protect ourselves and our families from this common, but serious winter illness,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“When we protect ourselves, we also protect the people around us who may be too young or too unwell to be immunised themselves.”

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today welcomed the introduction of the Health (Protection) Amendment Bill to Parliament, which will amend the Health Act to make sunbeds R18 and improve the management of serious infectious diseases.

“This Amendment Bill brings together two separate, but equally important, sets of changes which will protect the health and safety of New Zealanders,” says Mrs Goodhew.

If passed, the Bill will stop the harm caused to people under 18 years of age by artificial (UV) tanning machines.

Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew has announced changes to the funding programme supporting East Coast landowners with erosion issues.

“The Gisborne region has a severe erosion problem. A quarter of the land is susceptible to severe erosion, compared with only eight per cent of all land in New Zealand,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today announced approval of $9.3 million in subsidies to help small communities establish or improve their drinking-water supplies.

“The subsidies have been approved under the 2013/14 Drinking-Water Subsidy Scheme (DWSS) funding round for projects in 22 small communities across the country,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“These subsidies will help council and community water suppliers provide safer drinking-water for over 17,000 people.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed a bill which will make possession of a high-power laser pointer in public, without a reasonable excuse, an offence.

The Summary Offences (Possession of High-power Laser Pointers) Amendment Bill yesterday passed its final reading in the House.

“High-power laser pointers can cause eye injuries – even blindness – and skin burns. ACC accepts around 10 claims a year for these injuries,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew has commended the Road Transport Forum for their Women in Road Transport Action Plan, which is geared at attracting more women to the sector.

“Research shows that the transport sector is facing a long-term shortage of at least 1,100 drivers. This projected shortage and the consequent freight delays could have wide economic repercussions.

“This Action Plan will serve as a useful tool as the sector looks to address that shortage by appealing to more women,” says Mrs Goodhew.