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Pacific peoples will benefit from Budget 2015 through our government’s focus on supporting families and reducing hardship, Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

At the heart of Budget 2015 is a $790 million package to help children in our poorest households.

An updated Health of Older People Strategy will be completed by the end of the year, Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

The updated strategy will take into account changes to the health and disability support service sectors since 2002, the emerging challenges faced by the healthcare system and the development of a new Health Strategy. 

“The financial sustainability of our healthcare system is crucial. This is especially significant given our ageing population,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Tena koutou katoa
Rau Rangatira ma.
Tuatahi, Ko te wehi ki te Atua,
me whakakororia tona ingoa I nga wa katoa.

Tuarua, mihi ki a ratou kua wehe atu ki te po.
Haere atu ra.
Haere atu ra.
Haere atu ra. 
Ratou ki a ratou, tatou ki a tatou.

Tuatoru, mihi nunui atu ki te Kahui Ariki. 
Te Kingi nui, Tūheitia me tona whānau I tenei wa.
Paimarire.

Ki nga Ahi Kaaroa o tenei wahi, 
Aakitai Waiohua,
me Ngati Te Ata hoki,
ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa.

The official opening today of the Auckland South Corrections Facility marks a new era in the management of prisoners and a focus on rehabilitation, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

“As well as keeping the community safe the new prison will allow prisoners from Auckland to live closer to their families.  Maintaining these bonds will help these men reintegrate better into their communities on release,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

The government will invest an additional $6.5 million in 2015/16 in both new and existing initiatives to help reduce prisoner reoffending, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

“Breaking the cycle of imprisonment and reoffending is a key focus of this Government. That’s why we set the ambitious and challenging goal of reducing prisoner reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

All frontline Corrections officers are to get new lightweight stab-resistant body armour, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced.

As part of the Corrections Staff Safety Programme, 3,500 stab-resistant vests are to be rolled out to all frontline custodial staff from next month.

"While stabbing incidents involving frontline staff are low, it is a priority for our government to keep our Corrections officers safe," Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today visited the centre from which offenders and defendants who are subject to electronic sentences and bail are monitored.

Some 1,960 offenders and defendants are now electronically monitored by new provider 3M, 1,299 via global positioning system (GPS) and 661 via radio frequency (RF). This is more than 50 per cent of those who need to be transitioned to the new system.

The Tūwharetoa Settlement Trust and six other Tūwharetoa entities will buy about 8500ha of land from the Crown in the central North Island, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam-Lotu-Iiga has announced.

Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will hold a nationwide series of evening community forums, beginning in Taupo tonight.

"The forums will give us opportunities to discuss the issues and challenges facing our ethnic communities," Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

"We will also focus on how we can help New Zealand move forward together economically, socially and culturally by working closely to inform government policy and practice.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will tomorrow visit two regional prisons to see first-hand how initiatives are helping prisoners with rehabilitation as they prepare for life after release.

“As we focus on our goal of reducing reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017, it is essential that all prisons become working prisons and that prisoners are able to access the education, training and work experience they need to participate successfully in their community when they are released,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Public feedback is being sought on whether New Zealand should sign up to an international agreement aimed at getting rid of the illicit trade in tobacco products.

“These illegal products are usually cheaper than legal tobacco, which is taxed. Smokers buying illicit products may be less inclined to quit and non-smokers may be more likely to take up smoking.The illicit trade in tobacco products results in lost government revenue through tax evasion, and can be used to fund other criminal activity,” Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

Data released today about the use of Ministry of Health-funded disability support services will help ensure that disabled New Zealanders are receiving the best services, says Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

The demographic data, which has been made publically available for the first time, gives detailed information about the age, ethnicity, marital status, accommodation, deprivation levels and disability types of people using ministry-funded disability support services.

The data will put disabled people at the centre of decision-making, Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will travel to Fiji tomorrow to attend the 11^th Pacific Health Ministers Meeting.

The biennial meeting will bring together ministers and health officials from Pacific nations and areas for three days.

“I look forward to meeting my counterparts from across the Pacific so that we may discuss regional health issues and consider ways of improving the health of all Pacific peoples,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Minister for Ethnic Communities Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has welcomed a report which shows New Zealanders feel more positive towards Asians.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation’s annual survey New Zealanders’ Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples 2014, shows events such as Diwali and Chinese New Year help non-Asian New Zealanders understand and engage with Asian cultures.

Prisoners at Tawa’s Arohata Prison are making a positive contribution to the community, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

Mr Lotu-Iiga visited the prison today to meet Corrections staff and prisoners, to listen to them about life inside and to see first-hand how the prison operates.

“The government aims to reduce reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017. To help achieve that it is important that I see how our policies operate on a practical level inside our Corrections facilities,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says $1.19 million in scholarship funding this year will help 118 Pacific tertiary students studying for health-related qualifications.

The Aniva Scholarships, previously known as the Pacific Health Workforce Awards, have just been awarded for 2015.

“The aim of the Aniva Scholarships is to achieve greater participation and success of Pacific students to enter the health and disability workforce,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Expressing ourselves through language will be the focus of a gathering of academics, policymakers and speakers of different languages this week, Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

Lining up Language: Navigating Policy and Programmes is hosted by the Office of Ethnic Communities and will be held over two days at Te Papa in Wellington from Thursday.

The conference aims to foster discussion about the range of government policies and initiatives designed to promote the use and learning of languages in an increasingly multicultural New Zealand.

This year’s Race Relations Day gives all New Zealanders the chance to contribute to positive race relations and human rights, Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga says.

The theme this year is Big Change Starts Small. “We can all do our part, no matter how small, to ensure that New Zealanders of every ethnic background are treated with respect,” Mr Lotu-liga says.

A huge increase in prisoner education aims to help prisoners get jobs on release and reduce their risk of reoffending.

Educational achievement is important to help prisoners take part in and benefit from employment, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.

“We know that prisoners who can hold down a job on release are far less likely to commit crimes. That’s good for them and their families and helps make our communities safer,” says Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

Minister for Pacific Peoples Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has offered his sympathy and support to Pacific Island nations in the wake of the destruction Cyclone Pam has wrought.

“My heart goes out to all those who have been affected. Cyclone Pam has caused deaths and destroyed many homes and much infrastructure,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

“My prayers, thoughts and love go to the people of Vanuatu, including those who live in New Zealand and have family and friends back home.
 

People serving community-based sentences or on bail will think twice before reoffending while using alcohol or drugs with the introduction of a bill that allows them to be tested, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

The Drug and Alcohol Testing of Community-based Offenders and Bailees Bill will enable Police and Corrections to require certain community-based offenders and people on bail to undergo alcohol or drug testing.

Minister for Ethnic Communities Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has welcomed a new report which details the overwhelmingly positive influence Auckland’s increasing Asian population is having on the city.

The “Asian Auckland: The Multiple Meanings of Diversity” report by the Asia New Zealand Foundation has revealed the increasing diversity of Auckland’s Asian communities.

The report calls Auckland one of the world’s “super-diverse” cities, a name Mr Lotu-Iiga says ushers in an exciting new era for the city.

Kia orana, Mālo ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Talofa lava, Mālō e lelei, Ni sa bula, Fakatalofa atu, Namaste and Kia ora

New Zealand’s diversity will be showcased in 2015, with seven Pacific cultures celebrated in language weeks throughout the year, Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

“These language weeks celebrate our strong links to the Pacific and the rich contribution we make to New Zealand’s culture,” says Mr Lotu-Iiga.

Greater alignment with New Zealand’s ethnic communities is the focus of a change in the government agency that works to promote the benefit of ethnic diversity.

From today, the Office of Ethnic Affairs will be known as the Office of Ethnic Communities, a change that follows the renaming of the ministerial portfolio from Ethnic Affairs to Ethnic Communities after last year’s general election.