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Update

Health Card Threshold Raised

The threshold triggering entitlement to the Community Services Card for beneficiaries and superannuitants is to be raised, but not for low-income earners. The card gives those who qualify for it access to subsidised doctors' visits and cheaper medicines.

It's also been decided to review the card's future within 6 months (with hints that it will get the chop). Changes are planned to be in place by the 2002/03 financial year.

Extra Support - War Veterans and their Families

War veterans and their families are to get extra support. Features of the assistance include:

  • one-off payments of $30,000 to New Zealanders interned in Japanese prisoner of war camps or their surviving spouse (as recognition for the extreme severity and harshness of the conditions of those who were held in captivity by Japan);
  • extra help for the children of Vietnam veterans who suffer from spina bifida and cleft lip or palate;
  • children of servicemen and women who witnessed nuclear testing in the Pacific - Operation Grapple - will receive help for special health needs; and
  • all service veterans can now earn up to $80 a week before losing entitlement to any of their pension.

If links between service in Vietnam or Operation Grapple and other specific health conditions or disabilities in veterans' children were established, the Government would consider providing assistance for such conditions. Also in the pipeline is that the Office of Veterans' Affairs would become a one-stop shop for providing most health and other services to veterans. The aim is to have the new service up and running by the end of the year.

Funding for Family Violence Programmes

Over the next 18 months Relationship Services will receive $250,000 from Child, Youth and Family to expand its family violence programmes. The money will be used to develop programmes with Maori and Pacific Island groups with whom Relationship Services works. These programmes will be run in five or six locations. The funding will help train Relationship Services staff and support them when they deliver family violence prevention programmes.

Thanks to 'Relationships'

Relief - Marlborough Fires

Government assistance ($555,000) will go towards restoring Marlborough farmland charred by fire late last year. The fires swept through more than 6000 hectares of farmland, killing more than 2000 sheep and cattle, and destroying fences and pasture. The money will be used to re-seed pastures and restore soil conservation plantings around the Wither Hills and Awatere Valley. The assistance will be paid to Marlborough District Council which will be responsible for managing the rehabilitation work. The Government will require that stocking not take place on the land re-seeded under this assistance for 9 to 12 months after sowing.

Government funding amounts to about two-thirds of the restoration cost, which means that some local investment would be needed.

State House Turnover Drops

There has been a drop in turnover since the introduction of income-related rents. Before this policy, market rents forced many people to shift house regularly because they couldn't afford to pay the rent. Turnover has dropped from 32% to 10% since December. This is also creating more stable school rolls, particularly in South Auckland.

Thanks to 'Law Scene'

ACC Refunds - Double Billed Premiums

ACC is preparing to refund around $10 million to some businesses that were double billed for premiums, possibly over 20 years ago. The problem came to light when businesses had to square up their accounts with ACC before the entry of private companies into the workplace accident insurance market in 1999. Apparently, some businesses that were operating before March 1980 (that had later changed their structure) had missed a deadline to apply for a refund.

Employers that fit all of the three following criteria have been double charged if they were classified in 1999 as a "Later Scheme" Employer, and were required to pay a "12-month Invoice" for the period 1 April 1998-31 March 1999 if:

  • they ran a business that was operating and employing staff on 31 March 1980 and continued to do so through to 30 June 1999; and
  • their businesses underwent some degree of restructuring between these dates; and
  • they did not receive a cessation adjustment from Inland Revenue.

Employers who believe they should have made a claim for a cessation adjustment will need to go back to ACC with their supporting documents. The adjustments will be paid to the entity that existed before March 1980 at the appropriate rate when it ceased to be the employer. There will be a very limited number of cases where the repayment may be to the later scheme employer.

A special unit is being set up to deal with applications and queries and an 0800 number (0800 800 190) has been set up to handle inquiries

Tourism's Impact

About 10% of the workforce are employed in jobs connected with tourism, according to new data from Statistics NZ (this data comes from 1997 which is the most recent year for which complete data is available). The figures show the sector's contribution to the economy, the number of people it employs and how much tourists and other travellers spent.

The figures show 149,000 people - or one job in ten - were either directly or indirectly employed in tourism (86,000 fulltime equivalent people are directly employed servicing tourists, and 63,000 people are indirectly employed supporting tourism). They also show tourist expenditure in 1997 totalled $11.5 billion while the sector contributed 9.3% to New Zealand's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Education Top Earner

Educating fee-paying foreign students in New Zealand is fast becoming one of the country's top foreign exchange earners. The education export sector, made up of secondary, tertiary and English language students, is estimated to bring in about $700 million a year.

The industry organisation, Education NZ, said it aimed to boost its earnings to $1 billion by 2005, and might even reach that figure a year or two early. Last month Education NZ launched a new brand to help sell New Zealand's education sector more strongly overseas.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Big Drop in Crashes at Targeted Sites

A Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) report on crashes occurring up to 30 June 2000 estimates a drop of over 7300 injury crashes associated with low-cost road works and other measures put in place at 2408 sites, since the Crash Investigation Programme began 16 years ago. This programme, run jointly by the LTSA, Transit NZ and local authorities, recommends inexpensive engineering treatments aimed at reducing crashes at selected sites.

Injury Crash Reduction by Region

LTSA Region Sites used in analysis Injury crash reduction

Northland/Auckland 27%
Waikato/Bay of Plenty 46%
Gisborne/Hawke's Bay 27%
Taranaki/Manawatu/Wanganui 43%
Wellington/Nelson/Marlborough/Kaikoura 31%
Canterbury/West Coast 28%
Otago/Southland 37%

Latest Energy Statistics

Information from the latest compilation of energy statistics from the Ministry of Economic Development includes:

  • total primary energy supply, including imports of oil and oil products, grew by 2.4%, while total domestic energy consumption for the same period rose by 3.2%;
  • total petrol consumption was fairly constant, and consumption of diesel, LPG, fuel oil and aviation oil increased;
  • the volume of net crude oil imports increased by 25% on the previous year, while New Zealand's production of crude oil and related products decreased by 18%. New Zealand's self-sufficiency in oil declined to 36% from 41% the preceding year;
  • coal production was 4.0 million tonnes, an increase of 17% on the previous year;
  • New Zealand gas production rose by 6%, with 77% coming from the Maui field. About 47% was used for petrochemical production, 36% for electricity generation, and 17% for commercial and domestic purposes; and
  • overall gas reserves as at 1 January 2000 have increased by 103 PJ to 2701 PJ.

Average retail electricity prices nation-wide to March 2000 were 7.1% less in real terms than for March year 1999. Average prices decreased in real terms for industrial users (22%) and commercial users (7%), offset by an increase (4.3%) for residential customers. (More recent domestic price information, from an MED survey of electricity retailers, indicates that prices have changed little since August 2000.)

Electricity Retailers Fines for 2000

The committee that sits in judgement on electricity retailers who fail to switch customers on time recently fined retailers a total of $65,791 (including costs) for breaching electricity industry rules last year. The MARIA Conduct Committee, a panel of independent experts, recently imposed fines totalling $27,500 on Genesis Power, Mighty River Power, Meridian Energy and TransAlta (now On energy), while Contact Energy received a warning. Costs of $38,291 were also imposed.

OSH Cancer Study

OSH is carrying out a pilot study into the possible links between various occupations and cancer rates. In 1996, the Occupational Safety and Health Service's health taskforce identified possible links between certain cancers - including bladder cancer and leukaemia - and exposure to cancer-causing agents in the workplace.

People selected from the National Cancer Registry are to be interviewed about their work environments and exposure to chemicals or dust. The study is to include a questionnaire about individuals' home lives, hobbies, health and diet. The study will look at ways to remove or control the levels of cancer-causing agents.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Battling the 'Superbug'

From 1999 to 2000 there was a 55% increase (648 to 1003) in the incidence of infections involving the multiresistant superbug MRSA. Some strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria are now well-established in New Zealand, mostly in hospitals and medical facilities, but also in the general community. This is an international problem as well.

Over-prescribing has contributed to the worldwide development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Preventing over-use of antiobiotics in the community is critical in slowing down the development and spread of the superbug.

We can all play our part. If you are prescribed antibiotics you should complete the full course. If you stop once the symptoms have lessened, then often all the bacteria may not have been killed. In the resulting reinfection the surviving bacteria may be more difficult to kill.

Pacific Action Plans

Eight regional Pacific community projects, which aim to strengthen and build Pacific communities' capacity, were launched recently. The projects include plans for increased pre-school services and more Pacific health workers. Eight regions with the highest Pacific populations in New Zealand were chosen for the capacity building pilot: Auckland City, Manukau City, North Shore, Waitakere City, Hamilton, Hutt Valley, Porirua and Christchurch.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Gas Sector Review

The Government is to review the New Zealand gas sector (not including transport gases such as LPG, however). The main areas looked at will include overall efficiency of the sector, factors affecting consumer choice such as pricing and fixed charges, and gas take-or-pay contracts. A draft discussion paper is due by the end of June.

Thanks to 'The Capital Letter'

Annual Report - Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission

The 1999/2000 annual report of Te Ohu Kaimoana, the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission, was tabled in Parliament recently. Highlights included that Te Ohu Kai Moana had an operating surplus of $18.9 million before tax, a slight increase on the previous financial year. What was once a $200 million Treaty of Waitangi settlement has now grown to a market value of around $850 million. The commission now owns 33% of New Zealand's Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), and one third of New Zealand's commercial fisheries quota.

Polytech Merger

The financially troubled Central Institute of Technology is merging into Hutt Valley Polytechnic. CIT will be disestablished and on 1 July 2001 and incorporated into HVP. The merged institute will be known as the Wellington Institute of Technology. Government will meet the costs of disestablishing CIT - up to around $8 million - and will make available up to $15 million to the new institute to cover incorporation costs and loan financing.

Employment Relations Committee Appointed

A newly appointed Employment Relations Education Advisory Committee will approve courses and funding for educational courses which promote better employment relationships between employers, managers, employees and unions. Committee members are: Wilf Malcolm (Chair), Anne Knowles, Don Rhodes, Paul Goulter, Lynn Middleton, Grace Sylvester, Tealu Morise, Pat Walsh, and Anaru Paenga.

Auzzie Mozzie Spreads North

The chances of eradicating the Australian saltmarsh mosquito have decreased further following additional finds in Northland. The mosquito, which was declared an unwanted organism in New Zealand, was first found in Napier almost 2 years ago. The mosquitoes, described as aggressive biters, were also discovered in Gisborne and in Porongahau in Central Hawke's Bay, with the last confirmed find in the southern reaches of Kaipara Harbour in the Rodney District in February.

Health Ministry teams surveying the coastline for signs of the Aussie mozzie have now found the adult mosquitoes have spread to the northern parts of the Kaipara Harbour. They have yet to find larvae. The mosquito was found as far north as Tinopai, between Helensville and Dargaville.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Southern Rock Lobster Catch Limits

Concern at very low stock levels means the commercial catch limit for southern rock lobster has been reduced. The total allowable commercial catch for the CRA7 (Otago) quota area is being reduced from 111 to 89 tonnes, and the CRA8 (Southland) TACC is being reduced from 711 to 568 tonnes. The new limits take effect in the 2001/02 fishing year that started on 1 April.

Environmental Award to go National

The Waikato Farm Environment Award Trust is to will ask all regional councils throughout New Zealand to join the competition to find the most environmentally friendly farm. The awards have been run in the Waikato for 9 years, are organised by the Waikato Farm Environment Awards Trust, and supported by Environment Waikato. The decision to go nation-wide follows increased sponsorship from BOP Fertiliser Ltd.

It's hoped that the national competition will kick off at the end of this year. Categories for entrants include, dairy farm, dry stock farm, overall, nutrient, energy and habitat. The overall winner of the competition can expect to get about $6,000 in prizes for their efforts.

Thanks to 'WWW.Stuff'

NZ's Largest Literary Prize

A $60,000 grant, the largest single literary prize in New Zealand, has been established at Victoria University of Wellington. The Glenn Schaeffer Prize in Modern Letters will be awarded every 2 years, and is designed to acknowledge and advance the work of emerging writers from (or based in) New Zealand. The first award of the prize will be in March 2002.

New Poet Laureate

Taranaki-based poet, Elizabeth Smither has become the third Te Mata NZ Poet Laureate (one is chosen every 2 years) for her outstanding contribution to New Zealand poetry. Elizabeth Smither is one of New Zealand's most prolific poets, and already one of our most honoured. Her prizes include the NZ Book Award (for 'A Pattern of Marching') and last year's Montana NZ Book Award (for 'The Lark Quartet').

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

NZ Author Wins Major Prize

Wellington author Elizabeth Knox has won Australia's richest literary prize (the Tasmanian Pacific prize worth A$40,000) for her novel 'The Vintner's Luck'. Ms Knox's book beat out 120 other novels from Australia, New Zealand and Melanesia. Her next book, 'Black Oxen', is to be released in New Zealand this month.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

MAF Counters Bogus Meat

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has moved to stop unscrupulous traders in countries with mad cow disease (BSE) from labelling their meat as coming from New Zealand (New Zealand is BSE free). MAF is developing an electronic certification system, which it hoped to have up and running by July. The system would clearly identify meat from New Zealand, certifying its quality and safety. It would be extremely difficult to counterfeit the certificates.

Attracting Skilled Workers

Under Cabinet approved proposals, immigration rules are to be changed to allow certain industry groups to employ skilled workers from overseas. The changes would be similar to those that already exist to help bring in skilled IT workers.

Changes would be made on an industry group by industry group basis. Industry groups would be able to approach the Minister of Immigration to seek exceptions to permanent or temporary immigration policy in cases where industries or sectors were experiencing skill shortages. The groups would need to provide clear reasons why a special provision would be needed, and would need to show that the sector itself contributes to New Zealand's economic development.

Details and timing for putting this policy in place are being worked through, but we'll keep you informed

Public Trust Modernisation Board

A modernisation board for the Public Trust has been appointed. This new board is responsible for the establishment of Public Trust as a Crown entity, including the appointment of a chief executive and approval of a business plan. These changes are part of a plan to make the Trust able to operate with more flexibility to today's business environment. It's hoped that new public trust laws will be in place by 1 July.

Credit Unions Remain Tax Exempt

The Government, which last year decided to look at the tax status of credit unions, has decided to leave intact their tax exempt status. New Zealand has 98 credit unions which together have assets of over $400 million and annual income of over $46 million. The exemption dates back to 1891 but last year, when the Government decided to raise the deposit limit from $40,000 to $250,000, it raised the question whether credit unions were gaining an unfair competitive advantage over other providers of financial services.

Thanks to 'TransTasman'

Shipping Industry Tax Breaks

A Shipping Industry Review team was asked to look at how to develop and maintain shipping and maritime services in New Zealand. The team's report says New Zealand shippers should be given financial help, such as reduced corporate and seafarer tax rates, to bring them into line with concessions enjoyed by overseas firms. It says such support measures are common among OECD countries and are designed to counter the practice of shipowners re-flagging their vessels in other nations that provide better tax environments.

Other recommendations include a call for closer shipping ties with Australia, and a closer partnership between the Navy and the Merchant Marine to improve training in areas such as firefighting and other emergencies. A ministerial committee is to look at the recommendations before reporting back to Cabinet with an action plan.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Compliance Panel Feedback

The government panel appointed to investigate how to reduce compliance costs for firms has received comments from over 500 small to medium sized firms. Most respondents believed the cost of complying with regulations was far too high. Small businesses were usually hardest hit as they could not afford dedicated staff to do the work and the owner or manager was left to deal with it, on top of all their other tasks.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Beef, Lamb Prices Looking Good

High beef and lamb prices look set to continue, according to the Meat and Wool Economic Service. Lamb prices have reached their highest point in nearly 30 years, while beef farmers are receiving the best payouts they have seen since 1992. Lambs are now attracting around $60 each. The improvement is largely due to the level of the NZ dollar - which had stayed lower than expected - while good offshore demand for our products and tightening stock numbers in the US had also helped price levels.

The Service also said that farmers were spending the extra money on fertiliser, farm improvements and reducing debt that had built up in the last few years of the 1990s.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

MAF Agency Achieves International Quality Accreditation

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Verification Agency (MAF VA) has been formally accredited to the ISO 17020 Quality Standard. It is believed that this accreditation is a world first for a government verification service. This standard differs from a 'normal' quality standard, in that it focuses on individual staff competencies as well as the systems used by the organisation in question.

MAF VA is responsible for food safety assurance and provides certification for the export based processing sectors (meat, game, seafood, cold storage, and animal by-products).

For more information please contact Jos Goebbels, General Manager, MAF Verification Agency, tel (04) 498 9803

Dairy Board Says No

The Dairy Board has confirmed its planned purchase of 51% of Grupo Vigor - announced last September - will not go ahead. Apparently, the parties were unable to reach agreement over the total amount payable for the company. At the time, the Board said the purchase price for a controlling stake in Brazil's fifth largest would be up to around NZ$328 million, with provision for a further NZ$198 million capital injection within 3 years. The Board is to continue looking for Brazilian investments.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

New Powder Milk Plant

A surge in dairy production has prompted Westland Co-op to announce plans for a new $60 million whole milk powder plant, to be built at its existing Hokitika processing plant. Work on the new plant is expected to start in June, with completion scheduled for August 2002. Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Mobile Market Still Growing

Vodafone attracted 136,000 new customers in the quarter ending 31 March, taking its total customer base to 889,000. This is up 88% on the same time last year and the best growth quarter the company has experienced. Rival carrier Telecom reported it had 1.15 million mobile customers to the end of December 2000.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

High Level of Oil Exploration

Oil exploration in New Zealand is at its highest level since the mid-1980s. Twenty-four wells are to be drilled this year and more are likely. This follows an upsurge last year when 22 wells were drilled - more than twice as many as 1999. The Ministry of Economic Development estimated that oil companies would spend around $130 million this year drilling for oil and gas. Another $50 million would be spent on related exploration and development expenditure.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Oil Exploration Permit Given

The Government has given a Norwegian-based company the green light to look for oil in a large area of previously unexplored deepwater in the Taranaki Basin. The prospecting permit issued to the TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company covers nearly 60,000 km2 in water depths ranging from 500 m at the edge of the Taranaki shelf down to 2000 m at the permit's westernmost point.

Under the permit conditions, the company will gather 6800 km of high quality seismic data that will be used in an international marketing programme promoting the petroleum potential of the deepwater Taranaki region.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

NZ-HK Trade talks to Start

New Zealand and Hong Kong are to start negotiations on a closer economic partnership (CEP). The proposed CEP would aim to lift trade between the two nations, and boost two-way trade in goods and services - which last year amounted to over NZ$940 million - and increase the level of investment in each other's country.

Hong Kong is already NZ's seventh largest trading partner and our sixth largest source of foreign investment, at well over NZ$1 billion last year. New Zealand already has a similar agreement with Singapore, that was signed last year and came into effect 1 January.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Working Holiday Scheme - Chile

The latest working holiday scheme (our first with a Latin American country) starts in October 2001 and allows for 200 New Zealanders between the ages of 18 and 30 to spend a year in Chile. Similarly, it will allow 200 Chileans to come to New Zealand to live and work for the same period. New Zealand also has working holiday schemes with Britain, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Hong Kong. People interested in any of these schemes should contact the relevant embassy.

Diplomatic Relations - North Korea

New Zealand recently established diplomatic relations with North Korea (officially known the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - DPRK). The DPRK is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region with which New Zealand had not established diplomatic relations.

Anti-dumping Duties - Korean Washing Machines

Korean washing machines coming into New Zealand will now be subject to provisional anti-dumping duties. The duties are to prevent material injury to local whiteware producer Fisher and Paykel Ltd until a full dumping investigation can be completed.

The duties range from 52-93%, de-pending on the Korean supplier and the size of the washing machine. Investigations were first launched by the Ministry of Economic Development late last year after Fisher and Paykel, the sole New Zealand maker producer of household washing machines, claimed some Korean washing machines and refrigerators were being sold cheaper in New Zealand than in the Korean domestic market.

Although the practise of dumping was not illegal, WTO members had agreed that action may be taken against dumped goods which cause or threaten to cause material injury to a domestic industry.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Free Range Fine

A poultry farm has been fined $35,000 by the Commerce Commission for breaching the Fair Trading Act by selling wrongly labelled eggs. The farm sold 22,000 containers of eggs marked as free range when some were not.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

Auckland Airport to Expand

Increasing tourist numbers have prompted a $20 million expansion of Auckland Airport's international terminal. The expansion is due for completion in November, ready for the peak holiday season. Meanwhile there are also congestion problems as the number of planes using the facility increases.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

NZ Post - Profits Up

NZ Post had a better than expected profit of $22.4 million for the half year to 31 December 2000. The unaudited net profit after tax result was $1.3 million more than the same period the year before.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

TVNZ Profits Up

TVNZ recorded a net profit after tax of $24.5 million for the 6 months ended 31 December 2000, an increase of $2.9 million compared to the same time last year. Although the company's advertising revenue fell during the period, group revenue grew by $10.6 million, largely due to international operations, particularly TVNZ Australia and Satellite Services.

Thanks to 'NewsRoom'

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Pastoral House
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PO Box 2526, Wellington

Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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