Winter Games New Zealand is a bi-annual event held in the Southern Lakes district and attracts some of the world’s most elite snow sport athletes. Investment in the next two Winter Games will support the events goal to become one of the top three snow sports events in the world and continue to profile New Zealand internationally as a premier winter destination.

“This event generates excellent international exposure for New Zealand, showcasing some of our most spectacular scenery. The Games also deliver a significant economic boost for the country as many of the athletes choose to stay for an extended period of time to train in New Zealand in the lead up to their event,” Mr Joyce says.

A post-event analysis by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed that in 2013 the event generated $7,804,146 in net economic benefit for New Zealand.

“Further investment through the Major Events Development Fund will ensure this event continues to achieve success, while building a platform to become independent of Government support in the future.

Mr Joyce says no other programme combines so many winter sports in one event at a World Cup or Continental Cup level.

“The Winter Games is also the only elite winter snow sport competition in which able bodied and adaptive athletes compete alongside one another. Remarkably, 17 athletes that competed in the 2013 Winter Games New Zealand went on to win medals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including five golds,” Mr Joyce says.

“Winter Games New Zealand is a home-grown event that is consistent with the Government’s strategy of investing in events that deliver economic results and successfully showcase New Zealand internationally as a desirable visitor and major events destination.”

The profiles provide information about sector strengths and how these are supported by each region’s workforce, raw materials, services and infrastructure. They also include case studies and comments from businesses that have invested in each region.

“The profiles will be used by the Government, NZTE, and regional Economic Development Agencies to identify investment opportunities where there is a regional advantage, to help guide investors more quickly and effectively to those regions where opportunities are strongest,” Mr Joyce says.

“It’s the regions that have led New Zealand’s recovery from the Global Financial Crisis. These profiles will help regions attract more new investment and further strengthen their local economies.”

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) already provides investors with information about how New Zealand as a whole compares with other countries as a business and investment location. The regional profiles will do the same for each region of the country.

“Investors have a lot of choice across countries, sectors and regions so they need a clearly-defined value proposition. It’s important for everyone working to attract investment to the regions to get to grips with how investors see the world and how best to communicate with them,” Mr Joyce says.

“By clearly articulating the key business opportunities in each region we will be in a better position to attract more new investment into regional New Zealand.”

NZTE developed the profiles in partnership with Economic Development Agencies (EDAs). Around 200 businesses, as well as EDAs, were consulted and contributed information.

The profiles are part of NZTE’s Regional Investment Attraction Programme which is encouraging more international firms to invest in New Zealand’s regional economies to increase growth and jobs.

The programme is set out in the Government’s Business Growth Agenda – Building Capital Markets workstream and supports the target to increase the ratio of New Zealand’s exports from 30 per cent to 40 per cent of GDP by 2025.

During the next phase of the programme NZTE will work with EDAs and the private sector to develop company and greenfield investment opportunities in the regions, and will provide a toolkit, training and assistance to help EDAs support the investment attraction process.

NZTE is also helping New Zealand businesses to improve capability and get into an investment-ready condition through its Better by Capital service.

The two lead ministers today released the Business Growth Agenda – Future Direction 2014 report which outlines the significant progress the National Government has made in creating the conditions for businesses to invest for jobs and growth.

It also outlines the Government’s future priorities in its work programme focusing on the six inputs businesses need to succeed and grow: exports markets, capital markets, innovation, skilled and safe workplaces, natural resources and infrastructure.

“The Business Growth Agenda is making a real difference to productivity and competitiveness which is critical to creating more business opportunities, more jobs and higher wages for New Zealanders,” Mr English says.

“More than half of the 350 BGA actions across the six areas are either complete or in the implementation phase. Our results so far are reflected in strong growth, increasing employment, an improved trade balance, stronger productivity growth, and real wages rising faster than the cost of living.

“This growth has been driven initially by the regions which have led New Zealand out of the global financial crisis on the back of our natural resources industries.”

Mr Joyce says the BGA Future Directions 2014 report outlines the Government’s next steps to encourage a diverse range of businesses to succeed and hire more people.

“Building on the progress we have made, our focus now is on a smaller number of 62 key priorities we see as essential to further fostering business confidence and growth,” Mr Joyce says.

“We will work to help more Kiwi firms internationalise and sell their products in overseas markets; encourage innovation particularly in the hi-tech sector, make it easier to raise capital; lift young people’s achievement; make workplaces safer; and continue to invest in quality public infrastructure.

“The New Zealand economy is expected to grow strongly over the next year and perform better than many other major advanced economies. What the Government is very focused on through the Business Growth Agenda is how we convert a couple of years of good growth into a sustained economic lift in our economic performance that benefits the country in the long-term.

“New Zealand faces stiff competition in global markets to sell our goods and services. If the Opposition was serious about jobs and growth in our regions they would support the initiatives in the BGA instead of promoting policies that would reduce our competitiveness and export Kiwi businesses and jobs overseas.

“New Zealanders can be assured that National is focused on building a more competitive and productive economy that boosts investment, and creates more jobs and higher wages.”

The new ICT Graduate Schools, a Budget 2014 initiative and part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda, will be based close to ICT firms in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The Christchurch programme will be located within the Christchurch Innovation Precinct.

The new schools will be provided with funding for education, research and collaborative initiatives to attract top students and academics and connect them closely with high-value high-tech firms. This will accelerate the growth of New Zealand’s ICT talent.

“We’re expecting to see a combination of final-year under-graduate and post-graduate programmes at the schools, plus an innovative use of internships and research with high-tech firms, to improve the connections between providers and businesses, and ensure a smooth transition of students into work,” Mr Joyce says.

Tertiary institutions have significantly boosted the number of higher level ICT places over the last few years.

“The total number of domestic ICT equivalent full-time places at advanced levels has increased by 19 per cent since 2010. However, the demand from employers for skilled graduates is strong and continuing to grow.

“The Government will continue to increase its investment in quality ICT education and these new graduate schools will take the training of work-ready ICT graduates to another level,” Mr Joyce says.

“The New Zealand ICT industry is making a name for itself on the world stage and is growing rapidly.

“It is crucial New Zealand lifts significantly the number of people with high level ICT skills and knowledge so they can help drive innovation in this sector and build a more productive and internationally competitive economy.”

A tender process will be used to seek innovative proposals from education providers and their industry partners to develop and operate the ICT Graduate Schools.

“We want to see the business sector involved in the design and delivery of the new programmes at the graduate schools to ensure they remain current and relevant in what is a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry,” Mr Joyce says.

It is expected the first students will enter the schools in the second semester of 2015, with full implementation expected by 2018.

The tender for the graduate schools will be managed by the Tertiary Education Commission with support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Health Minister Tony Ryall spoke about the importance of newborn and maternal nutrition and the range of anti-obesity programmes the government is investing in at the opening of the new Kawerau Medical Centre today.

“Research suggests that preconditions for overweight and obesity are set very early,” said Mr Ryall.

“On Breakfast TV this morning, Professor Wayne Cutfield from the Liggins Institute said women who are obese before they become pregnant are much more likely to have an obese infant, who then goes on to become an obese adult, who then has an obese child – continuing the obesity cycle.

“Experts, including Professor Cutfield, say if we want to make a difference in our communities we need to focus on pregnant women and try and prevent obesity at earlier stages and stop the obesity cycle. And that’s what this government is doing.

“Over the past year we have funded a number of programmes throughout the country focusing on improving women’s health in pregnancy and the postnatal period and promoting good nutrition for their infants and toddlers.”

The new newborn and maternal nutrition initiatives include:

$1.6 million for an initiative where new mums in Auckland are sent a text with healthy eating messages and provided support
$1.1 million to expand Project Energize, a successful nutrition and exercise programme, to pre-schoolers in the Waikato
$680,000 for a programme to encourage Taranaki Mums to eat and exercise well during and after pregnancy
$1.5 million in a nutrition and parenting project in South Auckland
$800,000 project in Wellington to improve the quality of nutrition and exercise advice given to pregnant women.
“We have also committed $40 million in Budget 2014 for a new community based anti-obesity programme. Ten communities, including Rotorua, have been selected to be part of the new Healthy Families initiative, which is expected to reach of around 900,000 New Zealanders.

“Encouraging families to live healthy, active lives is part of the Government’s approach to reducing obesity in New Zealand,” said Mr Ryall.

“This new funding will assist Maritime NZ to develop the information system required to support the new maritime operator safety system and the seafarer certification rules,” Mr Brownlee says.

“We are a maritime nation, with over 99 per cent of export trade, worth $38.1 billion in 2013, being carried by sea. The maritime operator safety system and associated seafarer certification support the effective operation of that capability.

“This directly supports the Government’s Business Growth Agenda’s focus on export markets, natural resources and safe and skilled workplace management.”

Of this, $48.6 million is cash for Inland Revenue to undertake these activities. The remaining $84 million is to cover tax being written off where this is unlikely to be paid, he says.

“It is estimated that the new funding in Budget 2014 will generate a gross increase in Crown revenue of $297.5 million over the next five years.”

This initiative builds on the success of the Budget 2012 unfiled returns initiative, which focused on reducing outstanding tax return volumes and targeting returns with higher revenue values.

“The great majority of New Zealanders meet their tax obligations voluntarily,” Mr McClay says. “However, when people do not meet their obligations, it is not fair on their neighbours who do.

“When that happens everyone suffers because tax avoidance means less money for health, education and other essential government services that benefit our community.”

Government funding for this work in Budget 2012 has been a worthwhile investment, Mr McClay says.

“Since 1 July 2012, Inland Revenue’s focus on unfiled returns has generated an extra $106 million.”

“Turning a blind-eye to tax non-compliance is not an option – we all must pay our fair share,” Mr McClay says.

“The community housing sector will be able to help hundreds more high-need New Zealand families get access to a warm, dry, affordable home with Budget 2014’s $30 million boost to the Social Housing Fund,” he says. “This initiative is part of the Government’s social housing reforms and our plan to grow the community housing sector.

“We are achieving this through grants from the Social Housing Fund that began in November 2011, through access to the income-related rent subsidy that started last month, and from asset transfers from Housing New Zealand that will begin and grow from this year.”

The Social Housing Fund was established in 2011 with an initial one-year budget for 2011/12, and was boosted in Budget 2012 with funding for 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. Budget 2014 provides ongoing funding of $10 million a year for 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18.

The $30 million announced today is in addition to the $77.5 million of new operating funding and $18.2 million of new capital funding for improved assistance to social housing tenants also announced today by the Minister for Social Development.

“The community housing sector has an important role to play in New Zealand’s housing challenges. It can provide wraparound social services alongside housing support, it has a better record than public providers in consistently managing the quality of housing, and it can achieve better value for money across more houses.

“This latest boost to the social housing fund is part of the Government’s wider housing programme. Our work to improve affordability is increasing land supply and productivity, while reducing development contributions, building material costs and compliance costs. We are also investing heavily in reconfiguring and improving Housing New Zealand’s homes,” Dr Smith says.

“This increased funding means up to 1,500 more low-income families will learn basic computer skills and be provided with access to the internet,” Ms Parata says.

“This will result in families being more engaged with their children’s education.

“We want to ensure that children, families and their communities can take full advantage of the suite of digital literacy initiatives the Government is rolling out,” Ms Parata says.

Computers in Homes is run by the not-for-profit 2020 Communications Trust, and began as a pilot project in 2000. It has provided thousands of families in low-income communities with access to digital technology and the skills to use it fully in education, training and employment.

“Making the most of technology and digital content is essential to raising achievement for children and young people,” Ms Kaye says.

“Computers in Homes provides students and families in the most need with a computer, training and support, and home connectivity.

“When parents gain skills in using digital technology, they are able to enhance their children’s learning beyond the regular school day. I am pleased that Computers in Homes will continue this important work for a further year and continue to provide a range of benefits to families and their communities,” Ms Kaye says.

“Currently Youth One-Stop Shops are funded to provide health care to young people, but the money hasn’t been there to provide social support,” she says. “I understand that social support work can take up about 30 per cent of the time of Youth One-Stop Shops.

“They will now be better able to meet the health and social support needs of about 40,000 young people. It is important that we continue to provide more accessible services to young New Zealanders.

“I have visited One-Stop Shops across the country and I recognise the great work they do. In many situations, helping young people with issues such as accommodation or counselling is crucial and necessary to ensure health issues can be resolved.”

The $8.6 million in funding over four years is being provided from Vote Health to address these issues. It will meet about 20 per cent of the Youth One-Stop Shops’ operating costs in 2014/15 and 30 per cent of costs from 2015/16. It will also help cover the cost of core social support work and will provide an ongoing funding stream to assure sustainability of the Youth One-Stop Shops.

“This funding will provide certainty and sustainability to crucial frontline services for young people. Youth One-Stop Shops are in small towns and cities across New Zealand helping young people get through some difficult situations.

“That is why this initiative has been an integral part of the Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health project. This money will make a real difference to young New Zealanders,” Ms Kaye says.

“Youth One-Stop Shops are one of a number of this Government’s commitments to young people that contribute to our goals of increasing achievement of NCEA Level 2, reducing offending by reducing youth crime, and reducing long-term welfare dependence.”