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Victims of sexual violence and their families are receiving financial grants and support services thanks to the Government’s Offender Levy, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

The $50 levy, which generated more than $3.6 million in the 2014/15 financial year, is imposed on all offenders at the point of sentencing.

“The Offender Levy generates funds that help ease some of the financial and emotional pressures faced by victims of serious crime. It also ensures offenders contribute to addressing the harm their offending has caused,” says Ms Adams.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have congratulated this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy competition finalists, celebrating excellence in Māori farming.

The three finalists are Tahu a Tao farm in Rakaia near Ashburton, Te Ahu Pātiki and Maukatere near Oxford in Canterbury and Tewi Trust in Okoroire near Tirau.

Prime Minister John Key will make an official visit to Sri Lanka next week to highlight the growing commercial and political ties between the two countries.

Mr Key will meet with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as well as speak with a number of local businesspeople to promote New Zealand’s interests in the region.

He will also lead a business delegation to focus on the significant opportunities to diversify trade between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, which stood at $324m in 2015.

Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson QC is in Washington D.C. this week to attend the annual Five Country Ministerial and Attorneys-General Quintet meetings.

The Five Country Ministerial brings together ministers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to discuss a range of national security issues, including counter-terrorism, countering violent extremism and cyber-security.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today confirmed the incorporation of Ōtākaro Limited, the new Crown company to oversee the work on major projects in the central city.

“We chose the name Ōtākaro in reference to the importance and vitality of the Avon/ Ōtākaro River,” Mr Brownlee says.

“Everyone involved in the recovery should be proud of how far we have come in the last few years. Greater Christchurch is performing well and attracting interest from all over the world.

“Despite claims to the contrary, consumers will not pay more for subsidised medicines as a result of TPP,” says Trade Minister Todd McClay.

“TPP will not change the PHARMAC model. 

“PHARMAC will continue to do what it does best, prioritising its spending and negotiating the best price for medicines with suppliers.”

A wide-ranging tax bill passed its final stage in Parliament today, bringing together a suite of proposals to help support the Government’s work in creating a more productive economy, Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

Welcoming today’s third reading of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015–16, Research and Development, and Remedial Matters) Bill, Mr Woodhouse says the bill contains some practical measures for businesses, while other measures clarify rules for taxpayers more generally.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has challenged Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson and the Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little to reconsider their calls for the Redcliffs school site to reopen in the wake of Sunday’s significant rockfalls.

Finance Minister Bill English today confirmed Budget 2016 will be delivered on Thursday 26 May and will be focused on delivering policies that support more jobs, higher incomes and opportunities for New Zealanders.

“This will be the National-led Government’s eighth Budget and it will deliver further policies to support a resilient and confident economy.”

Mr English says that while there are a number of positive signs in the domestic economy, there is still a lot of work to do.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has done the country proud with its Best Orchestral Performance nomination at the Grammy Awards despite not taking home the prize, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“On behalf of the Government I extend my warmest congratulations to all members of the NZSO,” Ms Barry says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says more than $5.18 million in School and Year Start Up Payments have already been paid to caregivers in 2016 with two weeks before applications close.

“Carers receiving either the Unsupported Child’s Benefit or Orphan’s Benefit can receive between $400 and $550 per child, depending on the age of the child, at the beginning of each year,” Mrs Tolley says.

A series of conversations with leading international open data experts will kick off the 2016 open government data programme, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston today.

“Last year New Zealand cemented its place as an open data world leader – a key indicator of a country’s innovation, transparency and lack of corruption. We’ll build on this in 2016 and take the open data message wider,” Ms Upston says.

Forty eight Mandarin Language Assistants were officially welcomed today to New Zealand during a visit to Parliament.

The graduates, from 16 Chinese universities, will spend the year assisting teachers of Mandarin in 112 schools. They are in Wellington for an orientation week run by Victoria University’s Confucius Institute.

“Having the assistants in our classrooms gives students and teachers the opportunity to engage with young Mandarin speakers, providing real insight into the language and culture,” says Ms Parata.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith is urging consumers and the industry to have their say on how financial advice laws could be improved.

“The Government is reviewing both the Financial Advisers Act and the Financial Service Providers Act to ensure we have the best regulatory regime in place,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“We are looking at ways to simplify the regime and make financial advice more accessible to all New Zealanders.

The Sentencing Amendment (Vehicle Confiscation) Act 2009 which allows vehicles to be seized and destroyed has seen Illegal street racing crashes, injuries and deaths more than halve, says Police Minister Judith Collins.

“The table below shows the number of deaths, injuries and crashes where ‘racing’ was recorded as a factor contributing to the crash, for each year from 2001 to 2015.

Justice Minister Amy Adams says the law managing returning offenders is helping keep New Zealanders safe.

The law passed by Parliament in November 2015 to manage deported criminals has resulted in approximately 70 per cent of all deportees who have arrived since that date being supervised by New Zealand authorities.

“An EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement would mutually benefit economic growth and productivity and support New Zealand businesses – particularly SMES”, says Trade Minister Todd McClay following meetings with European Union counterparts. 

Introduction

Thanks Peter. It’s great to officially open Wellington Southern Community Laboratory.

I want to acknowledge the people here today who’ve played a big role: Virginia Hope, Derek Milne, Debbie Chin, Ashley Bloomfield, and Adri Isbister; Chai Chuah; Dr Bev O’Keefe; Wayne Guppy, Glenda Hughes; and Dr Margaret Wilsher. It’s also great to have Robert Cooke from Healthscope here today.

Integrated laboratory services

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has officially opened a new purpose-built regional laboratory at Wellington Hospital.

The new facility, run by Wellington SCL, provides integrated community and hospital laboratory services for Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley, and Wairarapa DHBs.

“The three lower North Island DHBs have adopted a region-wide approach to provide integrated community and laboratory services,” says Dr Coleman.

Prime Minister John Key will lead a delegation to Australia this week for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will host the meeting in Sydney on Friday 19 February.

“The Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting is a well-established annual fixture which recognises the significant relationship between our two countries,” says Mr Key. 

Communications Minister Amy Adams says the Government’s Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) is making steady progress, with 87 per cent of new and upgraded towers complete.

“Compared to a year ago, there has been a 32 per cent increase in rural New Zealand households and businesses able to connect to faster and more reliable broadband,” says Ms Adams.

“As a result of the strong progress of RBI, almost 280,000 rural households and businesses can now access fixed wireless or improved fixed line broadband.”

The Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) programme is accelerating into 2016 with more New Zealanders taking up fibre broadband than ever before, according to latest figures released by Communications Minister Amy Adams.

“The UFB programme is transforming the way we live, work and learn. Each month, more people get connected, but the year-on-year growth is astounding. New Zealanders are chomping at the bit to get faster, more reliable broadband wherever they work, live and play,” Ms Adams says.

A new stage in the fight against lake weed at Lake Wanaka began today, with the launch of a plan of attack for controlling lagarosiphon weed over the next decade.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and their partners have been working collaboratively on weed control at the lake since 2005. The new 2016-2025 strategy will build on this success to ensure people can continue to enjoy the lake, Minister for Land Information Louise Upston said.

New Zealand’s Olympic rowing hopefuls can rest assured that aquatic weed will not interfere with their training at Lake Karapiro thanks to control work that began this morning, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has begun spraying weed at the Mighty River Domain and will target upstream sites over the next fortnight.

“Our rowers must be free to train at Lake Karapiro without interference if they’re to lead the charge for gold at the Rio Olympics,” Ms Upston says.