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Veterans’ Affairs Minister Michael Woodhouse has announced plans to select 25 Youth Ambassadors to attend 2015 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli.

“The 1915 Gallipoli campaign holds an important place in New Zealand’s history. Gallipoli 2015 is central to New Zealand’s First World War centenary programme,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Our Youth Ambassadors will be important in carrying the traditions of Anzac Day commemorations forward. They will be encouraged to tell the Gallipoli story in their own voices, from their unique perspectives.

Work to address weathertightness issues is now complete with today’s opening of  a $4 million technology block at Northcross Intermediate School in Auckland, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye says.

The two-storey building features a food and nutrition technology kitchen, a sound and light-proof media suite with green screen capability, hard and soft technology workshops, and a graphics studio.

“This impressive new space boasts modern learning spaces for students and staff, providing a fresh approach to learning and teaching,” says Ms Kaye.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner today announced the Kauri 2000 Trust has received $57,000 to help prevent the spread of Kauri Dieback disease on the Coromandel Peninsula.

The grant is from the Department of Conservation’s Community Conservation Partnership Fund.

“The Trust is spearheading efforts to establish and maintain a community based action network to help prevent the spread of kauri dieback by raising levels of awareness, and encouraging practical changes in behaviour to reduce the risk to Kauri in the Coromandel.

Good Morning.

It is a pleasure to be here in Auckland this morning to launch this exciting new primary healthcare service. STAR (Specialist Treatment and Rehabilitation) demonstrates innovation that will deliver specialised health services for patients with chronic and long term conditions.

I would like to acknowledge:

Latest provisional figures from the Chief Coroner for the year ending 30 June 2014, show an encouraging decline in the number of deaths by suicide among young people aged between 15 and 24 years with 110 suicides compared with 144 last year. The figures also suggest that suicide deaths amongst Māori may have stabilised as have suicide deaths in Christchurch, which, like last year’s figures, are back to pre-earthquake levels.

A ban on the finning of all shark species within New Zealand waters will take effect from 1 October this year, Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy announced today.

“Implementing this ban has happened much faster than originally proposed. It reinforces New Zealand’s strong international reputation for sustainability and protecting our natural environment,” Dr Smith says.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced increases to catch limits for a range of New Zealand fisheries today, thanks to healthy stock levels.

“This shows the success of our world-leading Quota Management System (QMS). It is flexible and driven by science, which means that we can increase take as stock levels improve,” Mr Guy says.

Healthy stocks have led to increased Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits for:

Good evening, and welcome to Premier House.

It is a pleasure to be here to launch the Women’s Health Research Centre Trust.

This is a great opportunity to discuss the opportunities and challenges of women’s health in New Zealand, and to acknowledge the work of the Women’s Health Research Centre in meeting these challenges.

Acknowledgements

Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced two new appointments and five reappointments to the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

“The Board has an important role in protecting the health and safety of New Zealanders by ensuring that plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers are competent and properly licensed,” Dr Smith says.

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.

New Zealand is on track to Budget surplus this year, backed by good growth, more jobs and higher incomes under the Government’s economic programme, according to Treasury’s Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update issued today.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $80,000 for a Hawke’s Bay Regional Council project to develop clear criteria for assessing and identifying outstanding water bodies.

An outstanding water body is one that is exceptional in some way. It may be in relation to one particular feature or it may have a number of outstanding features, such as recreational, ecological or landscape features.

Statistics Minister Nicky Wagner is encouraging community groups to make use of information released today on 143 ethnic groups.

Statistics New Zealand today released detailed statistics on 143 of the 300 ethnic groups recorded in the 2013 Census.

“Ethnic group profiles provide in-depth and valuable information about the groups that make up New Zealand’s population and show us how they are changing over time.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $468,000 for a facility in Napier which turns construction, demolition and industrial waste into compost.

The funding has been awarded to BioRich from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

“This money will help BioRich expand its facility to accept waste streams such as bark, wool dust, paper towels, plasterboard and tannery waste,” Ms Adams says.

Calls by Forest & Bird for the Department of Conservation to stop Bathurst Resources' preparatory mining work on the Denniston Plateau because of smoke coming from an old mine shaft are ill-informed, Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith said today.

Plan changes to enable three new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds were signed off today by Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith at a function at the Marlborough District Council with Mayor Alistair Sowman and representatives from NZ King Salmon.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today welcomed the announcement by Foodstuffs that it will adopt the Health Star Ratings on its Pams and Budget product packaging.

“Having the support of one of the biggest food retailers in the country is a good sign of industry confidence in this new food labelling system,” Ms Kaye says.

Tēnā koutou e te mana whenua o tēnei rohe, Tainui waka, Waikato iwi,  e Te Whare o Te Kāhui Ariki, ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa.

Tēnā hoki koutou e ngā tāngata o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. He mihi hoki ki te reo whakamoemiti i tenei ata, nā reira e te minita, tēnā koe.

Thank you to Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira for introducing me - and to Leaupepe Peta Karalus, the Chief Executive of K’aute Pasifika Trust.

Prime Minister John Key has today announced $100 million in new funding will be made available over the next four years to accelerate cycleways in urban centres.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says an Urban Cycleway Investment Panel will investigate opportunities to invest in urban cycleways that would expand and improve the cycling network.

Mr Brownlee says National recognises that commuting by bike has health benefits and takes pressure off other transport networks, but says cycleways in our largest centres are fragmented and offer varied levels of service.

Associate Minister of Tourism Todd McClay has welcomed the announcement that the world's biggest mountain bike event, Crankworx, is coming to Rotorua and said this will be celebrated by the New Zealand tourism sector.

Born in Whistler, British Columbia, Crankworx is a multi-disciplinary mountain bike festival celebrating endurance, supreme flow, monster air and vertical-dropping riding.

More than 750 international riders and competitors will participate in this event in Rotorua over five days in March 2015.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced Te Oranganui has been selected to lead a $2 million anti-obesity initiative in Wanganui which will help families improve their health.

Mr Ryall shared with news with locals while out and about in Wanganui this morning with Whanganui MP Chester Borrows.

“Healthy Families NZ is a new $40 million initiative which aims to improve people’s health where they live, learn, work and play in order to prevent obesity,” says Mr Ryall.

Wellington’s landmark Dominion Museum Building will be home to a temporary First World War commemorative museum exhibition, developed by Sir Peter Jackson, from April 2015 and through the duration of the centenary period.

The Commemorative Exhibition was announced today by Prime Minister John Key and Sir Peter, who is leading the creative team currently developing the exhibition.

Housing Accords in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty have been agreed by Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and local mayors Ross Patterson and Stuart Crosby today that will provide an additional 1175 new homes and sections over the next two years.

“They key to improving housing affordability in the Bay of Plenty is land supply. These new Accords will enable an additional 1000 homes and sections in Tauranga and 175 homes in the Western Bay of Plenty to be built over the next two years by freeing up the supply of land,” Dr Smith says.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced the establishment of a working group to develop a ‘roadmap’ on how to meet the future capability needs of the dairy processing sector.

“This was a recommendation of the independent Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination Incident last year. It found that our food safety regulatory model for dairy is among the best in the world, but also recommended improving people capability to strengthen the food safety system.