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Update

Benefits, Superannuation Increases

Benefit payments, student allowances, NZ Superannuation/Veteran's Pension and war pensions all increased from 1 April, as part of the annual cost of living adjustment. The increase of 3.98% in the net rates equates to the increase in the cost of living for the year to December 2000 as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Examples of the increases in the after-tax weekly rates are:

  • for an unemployed person receiving the community wage, or a full time student living away from home aged over 25, up $5.92 to $154.56;
  • for a married couple on the community wage with no children, up $9.86 to $257.58;
  • for a single person aged 18-19 years on the community wage living at home, up $3.94 to $103.03;
  • for a single person over 18 receiving the invalid's benefit, up $7.39 to $193.18;
  • for a sole parent with one child, up $8.47 to $221.37;
  • for a married couple who both qualify for NZ Superannuation, up $13.82 to $360.82; and
  • for a war disablement pensioner receiving 100% disability rate, up $5.85 to $152.75.

Teenage Girls and the Internet - Survey Results

A recent survey on Internet safety among young women, commissioned by the Internet Safety Group, was conducted by Auckland University's psychology department. The survey questioned 347 females aged between 11 and 19 who had visited the www.nzgirl.co.nz website. Findings include:

  • one in three users had had a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online;
  • 26% had communicated with the person by telephone;
  • of those surveyed, 22.5% said they felt unsafe or threatened at some time;
  • half of those who had felt unsafe said they would tell their parents, 14.5% would tell the police and 10% would keep it to themselves;
  • 60% of those surveyed said they gave an address or phone number or sent a photo of themselves to someone they met online; and
  • over two-thirds of those surveyed said their Internet use was never supervised by adults.

The Internet Safety Group has requested that education about Internet safety be introduced to the national school curriculum.

Tourist Spending Up

Tourists spent a record $4.7 billion in NZ last year, according to figures released by Tourism NZ, representing a 22.4% or $873 million increase on the year ended December 1999. The average spend per tourist per visit rose by 11.1%, or around $300. Details include:

  • Japanese visitors still lead the spending stakes per visitor, leaving nearly $5,000 in NZ per tourist per visit in 2000, an increase of 20% from 1999;
  • there's been a 50% increase in spending by German visitors, with the average spend per visitor reaching $3,957 for the 2000 year;
  • Australians still remained the biggest contributor overall, spending $857 million in NZ in 2000.
Thanks to `NewsRoom'

FundView/BreakOut

This month the focus is on the Auckland and Northland regions. FundView provides a map for the community funding maze. It gives reliable and detailed information about what activities and projects funders will provide money for, and why. FundView can be accessed free of charge at the following public sites (* denotes sites that are BreakOut sites as well):

Auckland Region

Auckland

Most CABs in the Auckland area

* Central Library, tel (09) 377 0209

Great Barrier Island Service Centre: tel (09) 429 0258

Waiheke Island Service Centre: tel (09) 372 5099

Franklin

Franklin Arts & Cultural Trust

Franklin District Council: tel (09) 237 1355

Pukekohe Library

Waiuku Library

Manukau

Public Libraries

* Internal Affairs Dept.

Local CABs

Papakura

*Public Library

Papakura CAB

Waitakere

Local CABs

*Local Libraries

*Internal Affairs Dept.

Northland Region

*Internal Affairs Department, Kaitaia, tel (09) 408 0034

Kaitaia Citizens Advice Bureau

Kaitaia Library: tel (09) 408 1130

Kaikohe Disabilities Resource Centre: tel (09) 401 1979

Kaikohe Library: tel (09) 401 2416

Kawakawa Library: tel (09) 404 0371

Kerikeri Citizens Advice Bureau: tel (09) 407 9829

Kerikeri Library: tel (09) 407 9297

Dargaville Public Library: tel (09) 439 7057

Kaiwaka Family Services: tel (09) 431 2661

*Internal Affairs Department, Whangarei: tel (09) 430 2205

*Whangarei Council of Social Services: tel (09) 430 0176.

FundView contains information about geographical region, type of project, application closing dates, contact details and conditions or exclusions. The following is a sample of funding schemes available in the Auckland/Northland regions:

ASB Trusts

Contact: Michael Hamilton, Manager, ASB Trusts, PO Box 68 048, Newton, Auckland, tel 0800 272 878, fax (09) 378 6954, web http://www.asbtrusts.org.nz

Closing date: Always open for applications

Districts: Auckland, Manukau, Waitakere, Northshore, Franklin, Papakura, Rodney and Northland

Purposes/expenses funded: most purposes/expenses considered

Purposes not funded: employment, housing

Expenses not funded: research, salaries/volunteers' expenses, setting up groups, transport, travel

Criteria: must be legally incorporated, or a Charitable Trust ,or under an umbrella organisation that fits the criteria. Must be able to produce accounts.

Sir John Logan Campbell Residuary Estate

Contact: The Secretary, Sir John Logan Campbell Residuary Estate, PO Box 1934, Auckland 1, tel (09) 379 3630; fax (09) 377 7470

Closing date: Check with funder

District: Auckland region, Northland region, Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki, Western Bay of Plenty

Purposes funded: community, education

Expenses not funded: salaries/volunteers' expenses

Criteria: must be for a charitable purpose. No funding available for individuals.

BreakOut is the primary source of information about funding for study in NZ. It contains approximately 1900 awards, scholarships and grants for undergraduate study, postgraduate study, research, professional development, schools, travel, arts, and sport. The following is a sample of scholarships and grants available in the Auckland/ Northland regions:

Nga Toa Ngati Kai

Contact: Ray Isaac, Horticulture & Food Research Institute of NZ Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton

Purpose & selection criteria: Available to undergraduate or postgraduate students who identify as Maori and who are resident in NZ. To assist Maori people to attend a tertiary institution to gain qualifications relevant to HortResearch

Number of awards: one per year

Value: $3,500 until the qualification is completed in the minimum time

Closing dates: 1 November 2001.

There are many more funding schemes available both locally and nationally. If you would like more information about FIS databases and services, please contact Annette at the Funding Information Service, PO Box 1521, Wellington, tel (04) 499 4090, fax (04) 472 5367, email annette@fis.org.nz , or access their website at www.fis.org.nz .

New 'Seed Capital' Fund

A fund to invest in the early financing stages of the venture capital market is to be up and running by the end of the year. The `seed capital' fund, to be made up of money from both Crown coffers and the private sector, will invest in new businesses developing cutting-edge products and services. The fund would have a series of `drop-down' funds, with about $10 million of taxpayer money in each. They would be managed by private sector fund managers and would target businesses based on technology and high value-added products and services. The Government's share of the pot will come from a one-off capital dividend from most of the nine Crown Research Institutes (CRIs).

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Environmental Legal Assistance Scheme

A scheme providing funding for environmental and community groups to take cases to the Environment Court is now underway. The scheme is designed to help community groups to participate better in the resource management process. It is in two parts:

  • the first provides up to $20,000 to non-profit environment and community groups, including iwi and hapu, who are presenting cases to the Environment Court; and
  • the second will provide grants for education and advisory services on legal processes.

A separate grants scheme to either assist or establish environment centres has also been set up. These centres are publicly accessible places that provide information on a wide range of environmental issues, and are available as places for environmental groups to meet.

The Ministry for the Environment will administer the schemes, with an independent advisory panel to give recommendations on legal assistance funding applications.

Applicants should contact the Ministry or visit `What's New' at www.mfe.govt.nz , or contact the MfE Head Office at PO Box 10 362, Wellington, or speak directly to Kathy Perreau (tel (04) 917 7546), or Liz Clark (tel (04) 917 7420)

New Pacific Family Services Fund

A new parenting and family support package for Pacific families started up recently. A contestable fund aims to strengthen Pacific providers and community groups so they can work with families where family violence or child abuse may be an issue. Community-based groups will be supported to develop local programmes meeting local needs. Initially, groups based in South Auckland, Porirua, the Hutt Valley and Christchurch will be given priority.

AMP Scholarships Open

The 2001 AMP Scholarship is open. The scholarships are open to people of any age and background who can demonstrate that they have the ability and attitude to succeed in their chosen field. AMP is offering ten one-year scholarships worth $3,000 and two premium scholarships worth up to $20,000 over 2 years. Over the past 2 years, scholarships have been awarded to 25 NZers ranging from filmmakers to opera singers, scientists to debaters, wheelchair rugby players and racing drivers.

Applications close on 30 April and application packs are available by calling 0800 AMP GO4IT (0800 26 74 64), or from the AMP website www.amp.co.nz

Free Flu Vaccines

The Ministry of Health is encouraging people aged 65 or over and those at risk of developing complications following influenza, to take advantage of free influenza vaccinations. From March until the end of June the Ministry will again fund the vaccine for those aged 65 or over, as well as adults and children under 65 years with certain chronic medical conditions including: heart disease, stroke and related diseases, ongoing respiratory (chest) diseases such as chronic bronchitis and asthma that require regular preventative treatment, diabetes, ongoing kidney disease, most cancers, and other conditions (or medications) affecting the immune system such as rheumatoid arthritis, organ transplants, or HIV/AIDS.

Last year around 28% of those in at-risk groups under 65 years of age were vaccinated, up from 19% in the previous year. Among those 65 years and older, 59% took advantage of the free vaccinations last season.

The influenza vaccine is changed yearly to provide protection against new emerging strains of the virus. This is also why all people need to be vaccinated every year. It takes 10 to 14 days for the vaccine to provide full protection against influenza, so it is best for people to be vaccinated early. This year the free influenza vaccine will comprise the A/New Caledonia (H1N1), A/Panama (H3N2) and the B/Johannesburg strains.

People who are not eligible for the free vaccination can still talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated against influenza. Many businesses provide free vaccinations to their employees to limit the number of sick days taken.

Facts About Influenza and the Vaccine
  • An average of 34 people die of influenza in NZ each year.
  • For every death recorded as being due to influenza, a further eight are
  • attributable to influenza but are not diagnosed as such.
  • Between 266 and 874 people are admitted to hospital every year with
  • influenza.
  • The vaccine is made from disrupted (killed) influenza viruses, meaning it
  • can't cause influenza.
  • The vaccine does not provide protection against colds or other viruses.

Forestry Products Exports

Total provisional value of forestry products exported for the year ended 31 December 2000 was NZ$3,573 million. This was an increase of 29.9% from the December 1999 year. Top five export destinations (together with their market share - in brackets) were:

  NZ$ million
Australia

1,080

(30.2%)
Japan

737

(20.6%)
Korea, Republic of

463

(12.9%)
USA

381

(10.7%)
China

164

(4.6%)
Taiwan

128

(3.6%)

Highlights of the December 2000 year compared to the 1999 year include:

  • logs and poles exports decreased by 0.5% to 5,773,000 cubic metres but their value was NZ$699 million, up by 28.0%;
  • sawn timber exports increased by 10.6% to 1,521,000 cubic metres and their value was NZ$775 million, a 20.6% increase;
  • wood pulp exports increased by 7.7% to 677,000 tonnes, and went up in value by 65.3% from the previous year; and
  • fibreboard exports increased by 17.5% to 609,000 cubic metres, and were valued at NZ$285 million, up by 36.2%.
Full details are now on the MAF website at www.maf.govt.nz/statistics

Agricultural Production Survey - Horticulture

The area of land used for horticulture has increased over the last decade from 87,800 hectares at 30 June 1990 to 128,100 hectares at 30 June 2000, according to provisional results from Statistics NZ's latest horticultural survey. The increase in land used for horticulture is reflected in horticultural exports, which have increased by over 50% between 1990 and 2000. Horticultural exports for the year ended June 2000 were almost $1.9 billion. Other details include:

  • land planted in wine grapes contributed the largest single increase to horticultural land use (12,500 hectares were planted in wine grapes, which is more than double the area recorded in 1990, with increased planting especially seen in Marlborough and Hawke's Bay);
  • around 12,000 hectares were planted in kiwifruit as of 30 June 2000, compared to 11,900 hectares at 30 June 1995 and 17,500 hectares at 30 June 1990 (kiwifruit growing is becoming increasingly concentrated in the Bay of Plenty); and
  • the area planted in apples at 30 June 2000 was 14,000 hectares (this is more than the area recorded in 1990 of 11,300 hectares but less than the 1995 estimate of 15,900 hectares).

Kiwifruit and apples are NZ's biggest export earning crops. We'll give you more details in an upcoming `Rural Bulletin' when final figures become available (probably in May or June).

Less Smoking at Work

A new survey of businesses shows that fewer businesses are allowing smoking in the workplace, with more than half enforcing a total ban. Compared to 1993 figures, businesses that allowed smoking in designated areas dropped from 22% in 1993 to 12% in 2000 while 51% are totally smoke-free, up from 29%.

Thanks to `the Dominion'

Alcohol and Smoking Consumption

The volume of alcoholic beverage available for consumption in the December 2000 year was 1.5% lower than in the December 1999 year, according to Statistics NZ. This follows increases in the previous 2 years.

The main contributor to this decrease was a drop of 11.3 million litres, or 3.6%, in the volume of beer available for consumption. Beer with an alcohol content between 2.5 and 4.35%, which is the most common strength of beer available for consumption in NZ, fell by 15.7 million litres, or 6% compared with the December 1999 year. There was a rise of 4.8 million litres for beer with an alcohol content over 4.35%.

The total volume of wine available for consumption decreased by 0.6% in the year to December 2000. While the volume of NZ produced wine available for domestic consumption increased, the volume of imported wines available for consumption fell by 6.6% in the December 2000 year.

The volume of spirit-based drinks available for consumption increased by 4.4 million litres in the December 2000 year, or 22% compared with the December 1999 year. This reflects the increasing demand for ready-to-drink beverages.

During the December 2000 year the number of cigarettes made available for consumption rose 1.1% to 3,152 million. The volume of tobacco available for consumption rose 14.2% to 841 tonnes during the same period.

LTSA Public Attitude Survey

Findings from the 2000 Land Transport Safety (LTSA) public attitudes survey showed:

  • those who thought it likely to be caught drink-driving from 10pm to midnight rose from 44% in 1995 to 53% last year, and from 31% to 41% in the midnight to 2am slot;
  • 75% of NZ adults now agree that compulsory breath testing helps to lower the road toll;
  • 51% of those surveyed spontaneously mentioned speed as a major road safety problem, while 20% identified it as the main factor that makes our roads unsafe;
  • 85% of those surveyed supported automatic loss of licence for driving at 150km/h on the open road or 90km/h in a 50km/h zone;
  • two-thirds of those surveyed thought three speeding tickets in a year should result in loss of licence;
  • however, in spite of the widespread recognition of the dangers of speeding, 46% of males and 34% of females surveyed said they enjoyed driving fast on the open road;
  • only 7% of those surveyed said they often or always drove without a safety belt on short trips, down from 10% in 1998 and 17% in 1995; and
  • only 2% said they seldom wore a safety belt on the open road, down from 10% in 1995.

The 2000 survey of public attitudes to road safety is the latest in a series that began in 1974 and have been done every since 1994. The surveys evaluate NZers' attitudes to road safety issues, primarily drink-driving and speed.

Full details of the survey can be found on the LTSA website at www.ltsa.govt.nz

Answering Emergency Calls - Times

In response to a Parliamentary Question, the Minister of Police said "The range of answering times for a (111) call nationally as at November 2000 is 4 to 10 seconds, and the national average answering time is 8 seconds. ...The range of handling times for a 111 call nationally ... is 163 to 199 seconds, and the national average handling time is 177 seconds.

Thanks to `The Capital Letter'

Access to Benefit Manuals

Department of Work and Income benefit manuals are being made available to beneficiary advocacy and community groups this year. Groups have been critical that DWI was not informing beneficiaries of their entitlements. The manuals are to be made available to provide evidence that this is no longer the case.

Power Trust Payouts - Effects on Income

Dividend payouts by community-owned power lines trusts, which have been worth between $520 and $1,060, will be able to be kept by beneficiaries and superannuitants who get supplementary benefits with no impact on their incomes. This follows announcements from a number of power trusts of their intention to pay dividends to the account holders living within their distribution areas.

Under current welfare rules these dividends are required to be included in income calculations, meaning some beneficiaries and superannuitants would see the level of benefits and supplementary payments paid to them cut. Legislation is to be introduced this year to put these exemptions into law, but in the interim, steps are being taken to make sure nobody loses out.

AIR NZ - World's Best Airline

For the first time in 6 years, Air NZ topped three-times winner Singapore Airlines in the passenger satisfaction survey conducted every 2 years by the UK Consumers' Association for magazine `Holiday Which?' Using the question: "Would you recommend this airline to a friend?" as a starting point, airlines were also assessed on cabin air quality, crew, catering, check-in staff, cleanliness, entertainment and seat comfort. Of the Air NZ passengers surveyed, 75% indicated they would "definitely" recommend the airline to a friend, and a further 18% signalled they would "probably" recommend it. Qantas was ranked 16th, while Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, United and Continental were all ranked mid-table.

Thanks to `Sunday Star Times'

Top Town - Auckland

Auckland has been judged the seventh best city in the world to live in by an international survey looking at quality of life. The annual study carried out by a British human resources company, William M Mercer, compared 215 world cities on 39 criteria ranging from the standard of entertainment to the quality of the environment. Vancouver and Zurich were the two top ranked cities, while Vienna came in third position and Geneva and Sydney tied for fourth spot. Switzerland had three cities in the top ten, Zurich, Geneva and Bern, while Germany had two with Frankfurt and Munich. Wellington also finished high up in joint 23rd place. Both NZ cities ranked well ahead of some of the world's most famous cities including Paris, London and New York.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Housing Upgrade Starting

About 1000 Auckland state houses are to be extended, or modified and improved as part of a $16 million project aimed at combating diseases spread through overcrowding (the scheme also includes education on healthy living). The 2-year project, involving both housing and health professionals, is aimed at addressing South Auckland's high rates of meningicoccal disease and other infectious illnesses such as rheumatic fever and tuberculosis.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Extra Funds for Police

The Police have received a $15.7 million boost to their budget following a request from the Police Commissioner for extra money to meet increased costs, including a 3% staff pay rise in December. The funding increases will cover the pay increase, as well as the training of new recruits and extra forensic DNA testing.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Broadcasting Fees Collected

NZ On Air had spent $1.1 million recovering money from people who had failed to pay their broadcasting fee, a Parliamentary committee was told recently. This amounted to about $1 for every $3 recovered.

Thanks to `Dominion'

MAF Suspends all EU Animal Product Imports

MAF has placed a temporary suspension on the importing of certain animal products from European Union (EU) countries. This follows the discovery of foot and mouth disease in France. The suspensions will remain in place until EU countries have satisfied NZ that they are totally free of the disease. The US has put a similar ban in place and MAF is in regular contact with Europe, North America and Australia regarding their reaction to the French outbreak.

Border Control

In the wake of Britain's foot and mouth outbreak, 11 new sniffer dog teams will be operating around NZ, and new x-raying equipment is to be purchased. The measures will mean Auckland Airport has 24-hour dog patrols, while other airhubs will also see a boost in detector team coverage. Soft tissue x-ray machines that can identify fruit, meat and other illegal imports in baggage will also be installed at airports, including five secondary international airports that have had no x-ray facilities before now. Eighty-five new full and part-time quarantine staff will be hired to operate the new x-ray machines.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Declare Those Risk Items!

From 1 July, passengers arriving in NZ who fail to declare quarantine items on their declaration forms will be liable for an instant fine of $200. The fine will only apply to passengers caught with undeclared plant or animal products that threaten NZ's environment or economy. Currently, about 2000 passengers per month do not declare items of potential risk to NZ.

The $200 fines will generally be restricted to cases where the passenger has failed to declare items because of negligence. However, where a passenger has deliberately and knowingly failed to declare risk items (for example, the smuggling of wildlife) then the traditional offence prosecutions would be used for prosecuting the person. In these cases, penalties of up to $100,000 and imprisonment can be imposed.

Thanks to `Biosecurity'

Two False Declaration Prosecutions

MAF has prosecuted two people this month for making false quarantine declarations at the border. An Auckland woman was charged with making a false declaration and attempting to possess unauthorised goods. One of the fruit smuggled in was found to contain five live fruit fly larvae and live ants of a species unknown in NZ, when examined by a MAF Quarantine Officer. She was fined $250 for making a false declaration, and $500 for attempting to possess unauthorised goods. A Christchurch woman was charged with making a false declaration relating to various food products. She was fined $750 and ordered to pay $130 in costs and $250 in solicitor fees.

People Have Their Chance

Passengers have the following opportunities to declare or dispose of their goods before entering NZ:

  • before arrival air passengers are either shown a MAF Information Video or hear an announcement made over the plane's public address system detailing penalties for not declaring food, fruit, plants, meat and animal products;
  • baggage carousels in passenger arrival halls have notices that detail penalties for not declaring fruit, meat, plants and animal products;
  • they see MAF detector dogs and handlers roving and identifying suspect luggage for agricultural risk items;
  • amnesty bins are provided in passenger arrival halls for disposal of any "last minute" items;
  • people have the choice of either going through the red (dutiable/agricultural items to declare) or green (no risk goods) exits; and
  • if the green exit is chosen a passenger can still can talk to a Quarantine Officer on any issue the passenger may remain unclear about.

Organic Varroa Control Options - Research

MAF has signed a contract with the HortResearch Crown Research Institute (CRI), enabling research to register organic treatment products, aimed at controlling the varroa mite, to start soon. The research will focus on registering products that will help beekeepers wishing to use organic varroa control substances.

The organic products will also reduce the chances of miticide resistant varroa developing, as has happened overseas. Currently, two very similar products are registered for varroa control. MAF says that although these products are highly effective, excessive reliance of one chemical group is not a sound long-term option because mite resistance could develop.

In related news, checks are to be carried out to see if the varroa honey bee mite has crossed Cook Strait to the South island, which was thought to be free of the pest. The checks are part of a 2-year management programme that MAF and beekeepers are using to slow the spread of the deadly bee parasite, after the Government decided against trying to eradicate it.

For more information contact Paul Bolger, MAF's Varroa Programme Co-ordinator, tel (04) 474 4144

Shellfish Gathering Resumes

Some coastal areas have been re-opened for shellfish gathering after being closed through fears of paralytic shellfish poisoning. Paralytic shellfish poisoning can cause paralysis, and in severe cases death. The Ministry of Health said that part of Northland's coasts were now open for some shellfish species, but people had been warned not to eat the gut of crabs or crayfish. Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa are open for the collection of all species, but the west coast from Wanganui to Wellington remains closed.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

New Native Tree Discovered

Department of Conservation (DOC) workers have discovered a new species of native tree in Northland. The 8m tall tree, thought to be a relative of the Makamaka, was found in the Waima Range in Hokianga during a forest survey of a property offered for sale to DOC. Botanists at Victoria University are now preparing a formal description of the new tree, and DOC staff are doing a full census of it.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

ECAT Membership Announced

ECAT is the Government's core E-Commerce Action Team. It will have two main roles: helping to advance the Government's e-commerce strategy, and encouraging and promoting the adoption of e-commerce within the private sector. Its members are: Gil Simpson (Chair), Brian Hawkins, Graeme Sinclair, Gavin Adlam, John Chaffey, Paul Winter, Tom Lambie, Paul Goulter, Jim O'Neill, Glenys Coughlan, Philip Lewin, Mark Jeffries, Catherine Calarco, Shirley Leitch, Prashanta Mukherjee, Caron Taurima, Brendan Boyle, Rod MacKenzie, Joseph Rousseau, and Yvonne Lucas.

Home PCs and FBT

The Government position on fringe benefit tax (FBT) on company personal computers used at home was clarified recently, following a desire by companies such as Ford, ANZ Banking Group and Intel Corporation to give large numbers of their staff PCs for use at home. The rule is that, in the meantime at least, fringe benefit tax must be paid when company PCs are used at home for non-work purposes.

With work-issued PCs, FBT will apply to the time spent using the PC that was private and not work-related. The final tax calculation is not on the PC, but on the non-work use. It is self-regulated, depends on honesty and operates the same way as fringe benefit tax on a car. IRD is able to make checks on it, but it is a low priority.

Thanks to "Infotech Weekly"

Forms and E-Government

The Government has discovered that it has 2132 different forms it requires members of the public and businesses to fill out in their dealings with bureaucracy. The first count of the number of forms covered 49 core government departments and agencies, but excluded local government. Five government departments - Inland Revenue, the Economic Development Ministry, Customs, Statistics NZ and Work and Income NZ - are together responsible for creating 61% of them. The good news is that only one in 10 of the 2132 different forms are filled out by more than 10,000 people each year, and 75% see the light of day fewer than 1000 times annually. Also, 56% - including three-quarters of the 200 or so most commonly used forms - are already available electronically "in one form or another".

The inventory was conducted by Statistics NZ as the first step in an e-government drive to make more government forms available electronically over the Internet. The next task is to persuade government agencies to adopt a single standard for putting forms online and indexing them, in order to ensure visitors to the Government's web portal, www.govt.nz, can track down the ones they need more easily.

Thanks to `Infotech Weekly'

Timeline for E-government

It's planned to have the e-government project up and running by around the year 2004. When this happens people would be able to pay their taxes, register their cars and complete just about any government transaction over the Internet. Also by then, government departments and agencies would be buying all their goods and services electronically under a collective e-procurement project.

Telephone Number Retention

The contentious issue of people being able to keep their telephone number when changing phone companies has taken another small step. Seven telecommunications companies have agreed to fund an expert study looking at the net economic benefits of long-term number portability. The companies involved are Telecom, Telstra Saturn, Vodaphone, Clear Communications, Ihug, Call Plus and Zip Internet.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Moutoa Gardens Agreement

The Crown took over ownership of Moutoa Gardens in Wanganui recently. A group of Maori occupied the small park on the banks of the Whanganui River for almost 3 months in 1995, and there have been commemorations of that occupation every year since. The Government stepped into the long running dispute over the ownership of the gardens a year ago and set up a management group of Whanganui Maori, the Wanganui District Council and Crown interests. The Gardens are to remain a historic reserve, open to everyone.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Books in Aussie Homes

NZ's successful Books in Homes scheme, set up by `Once Were Warriors' author Alan Duff, is to be trialled in Australia. Books in Homes was established in NZ in 1993 to bring books into the lives of disadvantaged children, and today involves more than 80,000 books in almost 400 schools. This year, the Australian Education Ministry will spend $700,000 to trial the scheme in Queensland and the Northern Territory, targeting families who cannot afford to buy books.

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Bigger Comalco Profit

Profits have gone up for aluminium producer, Comalco NZ. The company's profit for 2000 was up a solid 88% to $166.2 million, as against $87.9 million in 1999 and just $47.8 million in 1998. The company said it paid $116 million tax and generated exports worth $841 million. However, two of the factors which boosted profits - the fall in the value of the Kiwi dollar and an increase in the world price of aluminium - were beyond the company's control (the other factor was increased output).

Thanks to `NewsRoom'

Easy Life Not All it's Cracked Up to Be

According to a report published in `The Times' (based on a study done at Stanford University in California), baboons in Kenya's Serengeti game reserve have such easy lives that they suffer from stress over sexual politics, pecking orders and bullying in much the same way as people. The are even developing similar symptoms: stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

The baboons that cope best are those with the strongest friendships and the most secure group rank; those who become ill are neurotic types who are forever concerned about what others think of them.

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