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I am delighted to have been invited to address you on a sector that plays an increasingly significant role in our society and which is of particular importance to me.

 The success of the not for profit sector is something that I personally am deeply interested in, so when

I began to think about my remarks today I focused on two questions.

First, why exactly should the Government, through the tax system provide support for the not-for-profit sector? 

I am very pleased to be here with you today to open the Community Action Youth and Drugs 2012 National Hui.

Good morning.

I am delighted to be here with you again, particularly for your twentieth annual conference.

Over the last twenty years some of the country’s top tax experts have come together at this conference to focus on the big issues of the day.

And there is always something new to occupy us in the world of tax.

Let us not forget that the big tax story twenty years ago was that Budget night 1992 introduced the contentious entertainment tax.

It was an event many of us remember well – and probably still bear the battle scars from!

Good afternoon.

And thank you for the chance to speak at this Platform leaders’ forum to discuss the Government’s Better Public Services programme and its likely impacts on the mental health and addictions NGO sector.

Better Public Services

The Better Public Services programme supports the delivery of the third priority of the Government’s four priorities for this term:

Good morning.

And thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

I appreciate this opportunity to share with you New Zealand’s experiences in suicide prevention.

Indeed, it is particularly timely, given that it is Mental Health Awareness Week at present.

I believe that together we can be successful in reducing the number of Aussies and Kiwis who die as a result of suicide and that is a goal worth pursuing on both sides of the Tasman.

Copthorne Hotel, Christchurch, 9.30am, Friday, 5 October 2012

 Good morning and welcome to you all.
My special thanks to  Supporting Families with Mental Illness for inviting me to open this conference, and I wish to acknowledge the efforts that have been made in gathering everyone here today, including the Supporting Families National council, Ernie Tait, the organising committee, and the Canterbury Branch.

Address to the New Zealand Healthcare Summit

Aotea Convention Centre, Auckland
10am, Wednesday 3 October 2012

Good morning.
Thank you for inviting me to speak at this year’s Healthcare Summit.
This is now the fourth year that I have spoken at this Summit, and I appreciate your continued interest in Medicines policy.

As you know, the Government’s Medicines Strategy is outlined in Medicines New Zealand.

Good morning.

I am very pleased to be here today to talk about the future of mental health services in New Zealand.

First, however, I would like to welcome Professor Roberto Mezzina to New Zealand, and to acknowledge his contribution to transformational change in mental health services, both here and overseas.

I would also like to acknowledge the ARC Group for organising this Leadership Summit.

You have brought together a good number of sector leaders to explore the next steps in developing our mental health system.

I am delighted to be able to speak to you today about the pending alcohol law changes contained in the Alcohol Reform Bill, currently wending its way through Parliament.

It is worth recalling that these changes arise out of a comprehensive review of alcohol and its place in New Zealand society conducted by the New Zealand Law Commission, which reported to the Government back in 2006. 

Good afternoon and thank you all for being here to mark this significant milestone. 

Today we launch the New Zealand Formulary and I must say I am delighted that this day has now come.

In many respects, we all take for granted that medicines are used in many settings throughout the community and in hospitals to treat a wide range of New Zealanders with various conditions. 

In many cases medicines keep us well, thereby keeping the ambulance at the top of that proverbial cliff. 

Good morning.

Good morning.

I extend a warm welcome to you at this National Outcomes Forum: “Collaborating with information to support resilient and sustainable services”.

I would especially like to acknowledge Robyn Shearer, CEO of Te Pou, the National Centre of Mental Health Research Information and Workforce Development and the important work Te Pou is doing.

A warm welcome too to Professor Tom Trauer, from Australia a recognised international expert in the use of outcomes in mental health and addiction services.

Thank you once again for inviting me back to speak to you.

It is always a pleasure to attend your conferences.

Each year as I prepare to attend your conference I think about the various tax initiatives being delivered and how they might affect you, and there are many.

Today, I would like to look forward, to things that will happen and to things that could happen.

I want to talk about upcoming changes to tax rules and about changes to the tax administration as we know it.

Good morning and thank you for the invitation to speak today at your national provider forum.

I would like to begin by acknowledging and thanking the Salvation Army’s National Co-ordination Service for organising this event.

I would also like to acknowledge Major Campbell Roberts personally.

I understand that he is to speak later in the programme on social justice and addictions.

This is one of several social policy areas in which he has worked for many years, and I am sure his presentation will be a thoughtful contribution.

I am very pleased to be here today in place of Hon Tariana Turia, who sends her best wishes.

She makes a very strong, passionate and positive contribution to all aspects of health care as they affect Māori, and I acknowledge her for that.

Among my responsibilities as Associate Minister of Health are mental health and suicide, which is a second reason why I am pleased to be here today.

This is an important hui – a hui about survival in every aspect of the word.

Good morning.

It is a pleasure to be here with you today at this Like Minds, Like Mine National Provider Seminar.

Or perhaps I should say it is very satisfying to be with you because I think we all recognise the absolute importance of the issues and work being dealt with here by you.

I believe all of us are absolutely committed to continuing to promote mental health and suicide prevention activities in better, more insightful and more successful ways.

That is our work today, and it is our work every day.

Good morning and thank you very much for inviting me to be with you again today.

I always enjoy coming to speak to you.

At the heart of every economy is the crucial business of people receiving their pay correctly and on time, allowing them to plan how they spend, save or invest.

And as you are the people who make this happen, Payroll, in many respects, is the engine room of the economy.

Tax obligations

Let me put that into perspective.

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you again.

Much has changed since I spoke to you last year, but also a great deal still remains to be done.

This time last year we were still coming to grips the devastating Christchurch earthquakes – and there have been more since, having not only just a profound effect on the people of Christchurch, but also on the country as a whole, and the very psyche of our nation.

Mr Speaker, I move that the Game Animal Council Bill be read for a first time.

I propose to refer the Bill to the Local Government and Environment Committee.

This Bill delivers on the Government’s 2008 confidence and supply agreement with UnitedFuture to “proceed with the establishment of a Big Game Hunting Council as part of a national wild game management strategy with a view to it becoming a statutory authority”.