Displaying 1 - 24 of 102 results.

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has put Hamilton City Council on notice. Should progress in addressing the Audit New Zealand’s recommendations be insufficient, the Government will look at a review process that could lead to the appointment of commissioners.

“I am very concerned about the findings of the Audit New Zealand report into the Council’s handling of the V8 supercar races.  The report highlighted a number of issues with the Council’s expenditure on the races, governance structures and reporting processes.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced that Cabinet had agreed to an Order in Council which allows Canterbury based councils to defer their long-term planning and accountability responsibilities.

“Under this Order, Christchurch City Council, Canterbury Regional Council, Selwyn District Council, and Waimakariri District Council can choose to defer adopting a new long term plan until 2013,” Mr Hide said. 

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced the Government has advanced a further $500,000 of the Crown’s $5 million contribution towards establishing the Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA).

The Agency will be set up under the Local Government Borrowing Act which received Royal assent on 19 September and which deals with the regulatory and tax implications for setting up the Agency.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today welcomed the introduction of the Local Electoral Amendment Bill to Parliament, prior to its dissolution on 20 October 2011.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today met with Mayor Mr Neil Tiller, Chief Executive Jack McKerchar and a representative of Local Government New Zealand following a number of requests from groups and individuals for government intervention in the Kaipara District Council.

“While I am sympathetic to people’s concerns I am strongly of the belief that it is preferable for local issues to be resolved locally and therefore I do not see a need to intervene at this time,” Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Government measures to cut red tape are on track to cut compliance costs for businesses and consumers by around $200 million a year, Finance Minister Bill English and Regulatory Reform Minister Rodney Hide say.

The estimate is included in a new Ministry of Economic Development report, Regulatory Reform: Changes Affecting Compliance Costs for Business and Citizens. The report, which will be produced annually, measures progress towards the Government’s goals of better and less regulation.

  • Bill English
  • Rodney Hide
  • Finance
  • Regulatory Reform

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced the first stage of a review of the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968, the legislation which governs how conflict of interest rules are managed for members of local councils.

“The current rules are out of step with the way local government now operates,” Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced the addition of the Perro de Presa Canario (commonly referred to as Presa Canario) breed of dog to the list of dogs banned from importation into New Zealand.  The breeds and types of dog banned are listed Schedule 4 of the Dog Control Act 1996.

“The tendency of the Presa Canario to exhibit aggressive behaviour or attack, and the size and strength of the breed, makes it of particular concern because of the seriousness of the injuries it could inflict,” Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Associate Minister of Education Hon Rodney Hide today congratulated Autism New Zealand on being allocated a $764,500 grant from Pub Charity.

“This grant will allow Autism New Zealand to develop a toolkit to complement other work happening in special education and improve access to education for children and young people on the Autism Spectrum. When finalised, this toolkit will be delivered into every school in the country.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced the appointment of Anne Carter as a new member of the Local Government Commission.

“Ms Carter is an experienced former public servant with particular focus on strategy development, policy formation, and implementation of government programmes at both a national and local level,” Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today announced the appointment of Basil Morrison to the position of Chair of the Local Government Commission. 

“Mr Morrison has considerable experience in local government, having been Chairman of the Ohinemuri County Council, Mayor of Hauraki District, a member of the Waikato Regional Council, Chair of Local Government New Zealand and Chair and Vice Chair of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum from 2005 to 2009,” Minister Hide said. 

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

The government has agreed to prepare an order in council changing Christchurch City Council’s annual planning and accountability responsibilities, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide announced today.

"The primary goal of this order in council will be to condense the public consultation period for the council's draft 2011/12 annual plan so they can focus on getting on with the recovery process in Canterbury," Mr Brownlee said.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government
  • Earthquake Recovery

Associate Minister of Education Rodney Hide today announced the three high quality private consortia, shortlisted by the Ministry of Education, for the first school property public private partnership (PPP) in New Zealand

Expressions of interest were called for in April and, following a robust selection process, the following consortia have been selected to proceed to the next stage of the tendering process.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today welcomed Auckland Council’s announcement that rates across the region will rise by only 3.7 per cent - down from a projected average increase of 9.3 per cent under the old eight council structure.

“This below inflation rate increase was achieved through $81 million in efficiencies and savings, and is greater than the conservative estimate of $48 million identified by the Auckland Transition Agency in its planning document,” Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government

Associate Minister of Education Rodney Hide today announced the allocation of $22.8 million in funding under the ‘Success For All – Every School, Every Child’ initiative to upgrade existing special schools and satellite units, and create new satellites around the country. 

  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

The Government’s Review of Expenditure on Policy Advice identifies several significant issues with the cost, quality and management of policy advice and makes 36 recommendations to address them.

The review, announced last year, will help the Government’s wider programme to control growth in the costs of public sector back office functions and deliver better frontline public services, Finance Minister Bill English says.

However, it does not recommend specific cuts to policy advice spending.

  • Bill English
  • Tony Ryall
  • Rodney Hide
  • Finance
  • Regulatory Reform
  • State Services

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide and Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Phil Heatley today announced the removal of 176 unnecessary regulations from the law books.

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide says previous Governments did not pay enough attention to the quality of the stock of regulations.

“Many unnecessary regulations were allowed to remain on the law books and legislation has not been updated to keep up with the times,” Mr Hide said.

  • Phil Heatley
  • Rodney Hide
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture
  • Regulatory Reform

Education Minister Anne Tolley and Associate Education Minister Rodney Hide have today officially opened a new $6.3 million special education facility in Lower Hutt.

Kimi Ora School, which has relocated from Thorndon, has been specifically designed to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities.

“Students, families, specialists and teachers will all benefit from the new facilities which include a hydrotherapy pool, sensory room, and state of the art learning and therapy spaces,” says Mrs Tolley.

  • Anne Tolley
  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today released a Cabinet paper setting out the purpose, framework, timing and terms of reference for the ‘Smarter Government, Stronger Communities: Towards Better Local Government and Public Services’ comprehensive review of local government. 

  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

The Government intends to commission two new schools in Hobsonville that will be designed, financed, built and maintained under a public-private partnership, Infrastructure Minister Bill English, Education Minister Anne Tolley and Associate Education Minister Rodney Hide announced today.

The Government will now seek formal expressions of interest from market participants for new primary and secondary schools at Hobsonville Point, north-west of Auckland. Subject to satisfactory bids, the schools will be the first built in New Zealand under a PPP.

  • Bill English
  • Anne Tolley
  • Rodney Hide
  • Education
  • Infrastructure

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide today released the Cabinet paper and minutes relating to the adoption of Regulatory Standards Bill – formerly the Regulatory Responsibility Bill – drafted by the Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce in 2009 and adopted by the Government last month.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Regulatory Reform

The new Productivity Commission's first two inquiries will be into housing affordability and international freight services – two areas that affect New Zealand's international competitiveness, Finance Minister Bill English and Regulatory Reform Minister Rodney Hide say.

The Ministers also announced the appointments of Sally Davenport and Graham Scott as commissioners, working alongside New Zealand Productivity Commission chairman Murray Sherwin.

Ministers will initially refer two topics for inquiry to the Productivity Commission:

  • Bill English
  • Rodney Hide
  • Finance
  • Regulatory Reform

Associate Minister of Education Rodney Hide today thanked retiring Secretary for Education Karen Sewell for the enormous contribution she has made during the 45 years she has worked in the sector, and paid tribute to her dedication and commitment to the education of New Zealand children.

"In the short time that I have had the opportunity to work with Karen I have been able to see firsthand the commitment and passion that she has brought to the role of Secretary of Education," Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Education

Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide today tabled the final report of the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) in Parliament which details the work the agency did to form the new single Auckland Council.

“This report is an important historical document, and details the change management process used by the ATA for the biggest change process that local government in New Zealand has ever seen," Mr Hide said.

  • Rodney Hide
  • Local Government