Lower rents for state tenants
On 1 December the government delivered on its promise to restore income-related rents, which ensures state house tenants on low incomes pay no more than 25 per cent of their income in rent. Housing Minister Mark Gosche says income-related rents mean 58 per cent of all state house tenants will be between $20 and $80 better off every week. More than 130,000 people living in state houses will benefit from the new policy. Statistics New Zealand figures show that universal market rents imposed by the previous government saw state rents rise 106 per cent between 1992 and1999, while inflation rose 12 per cent. Private rents rose during the same period rose 23 per cent.
ACC premiums coming down
Finance Minister Michael Cullen announced this week that ACC premiums will be cut by up to 22 per cent in April. The cuts will take effect about a year after the government introduced legislation to remove private insurers from work place accident insurance. Dr Cullen says an improvement in ACC's injury prevention programmes, along with a commitment to getting people back to work earlier, is behind the drop in premiums. The new rates, with the current rates in brackets, will be: residual claims levy, 35c per $100 of earnings (40c); employers' premiums, 90c ($1.16); self-employed premiums, $1.35 ($1.64); earners' premiums, $1.10 ($1.30); motor vehicle account, $128.45 ($132.20).
Few fret about ERA
Labour Minister Margaret Wilson this week welcomed the six-monthly Morgan & Banks job index survey, which showed that 85 per cent of employers say they have not slowed progress in hiring as a result of the Employment Relations Act. Margaret Wilson said given some of the extreme commentaries on the Act, the survey was a tribute to the commonsense of New Zealand business owners and managers. The Morgan & Banks survey found that nearly 44 per cent of employers were planning to increase permanent staff numbers.
Super bill surfaces
The bill which gives effect to government moves to set up the New Zealand Superannuation Fund was introduced to Parliament this week. Finance Minister Michael Cullen says the changes it ushers in will take super out of the political arena and offer a much greater level of certainty to this and future generations of elderly. The bill consists of three parts. The first pulls current New Zealand Superannuation entitlements into a single statute and cements into law the restoration of the floor to 65 per cent of the average wage. The second establishes the financing and governance arrangements for the proposed New Zealand Superannuation Fund. The third part provides a vehicle for other political parties to sign up either to Part One or Part Two, or both.
Modernising local government
Local Government Minister Sandra Lee has introduced to the House legislation that provides for councils' local authority trading enterprises (LATES) to be able to operate beyond a narrow commercial focus. The bill also allows LATES to take account of non-commercial considerations, including social and environmental consequences. Sandra Lee says the legislation will ensure LATES display a sense of social responsibility by considering the interests of the community in which they operate. The bill brings local authority trading enterprises under the official information provisions of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, and the Ombudsmen Act.
Electricity bill switched on
The government has also tabled an Electricity Industry Bill giving effect to the Power Package decisions announced in October. Energy Minister Pete Hodgson says the government policy statement on electricity - the other significant document relating to the government's decisions in response to the Caygill Inquiry into the electricity industry - is being finalised and will be released next week. The bill and the government policy statement introduce changes designed to ensure that electricity is delivered in an efficient, fair, reliable and environmentally sustainable manner. A new Electricity Governance Board with a majority of independent representatives will be responsible for carrying out many of the changes. Among the bill's provisions are new powers and responsibilities for the Commerce Commission, which is to implement targeted price control for electricity lines companies, including Transpower.
Successful trade missions
Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton has returned from a trade mission to India and Nepal, which he says was extremely successful. As a result of a meeting with Indian information technology company chief executives in Bangalore, it is likely that a delegation of leading Indian IT companies will visit New Zealand early next year. Mr Sutton led a trade mission of 19 business people, from mainly the education and agricultural sectors to Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi in India and then to Kathmandu in Nepal from 14-23 November. India is a significant market for New Zealand goods and services, with potential for growth. The Indian economy is strong and has been growing at 10 per cent a year. In the year to March 2000 exports to India grew by 23 per cent to $190 million.
New literacy funding
The government has announced an extra $2 million for adult literacy programmes next year. Associate Education Minister Lianne Dalziel says she wants more direction and purpose in the literacy area. Most of the money will be focussed on workplace literacy programmes and the need to increase professional development training in the field and the development of quality assurance around the delivery of adult literacy programmes. Some $600,000 will be focused on Maori and Pacific literacy programmes, and $160,000 on literacy initiatives for those whose first language is not English.
