Social Security Amendment Bill introduced
The Social Security Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament this week. The bill will reshape the nature of social assistance. The Bill places a greater emphasis on obtaining sustainable results through working with beneficiaries to make the most of personal and work opportunities. The Bill calls for changes to be made to the status of voluntary community work, the community wage, and income thresholds for the disability allowance. The Bill is expected to come into force in November this year.
Codes of good faith progress
Progress in forming codes of good faith to guide workplace relations under the Employment Contracts Act has been pleasing, the government announced this week. The committee developing the codes, representing unions and employers, have reached agreement on a large number of areas covering the basics of good faith negotiations and obligations.
Clutha decision announced
The government this week announced a package worth over $21 million to protect the town of Alexandra from future flooding by the Clutha River. The compensation package was approved after examining the report by Clutha Solutions co-ordinator, Alex Adams, commissioned by the Government earlier this year. The report found that the flooding in Alexandra was caused by silt trapped behind the Roxburgh Dam. The package is being jointly funded by the government and Contact Energy.
Te Uri o Hau Deed of Settlement initialled
The Government this week initialled a deed of settlement with representatives of Te Uri o Hau. The deed provides redress for crown breaches of its Treaty obligations, which resulted in significant loss of land and resources. The initialling will allow the agreements in the deed to be put before all members of Te Uri o Hau for their endorsement. Te Uri o Hau is a 6000 strong Northland hapu of Ngati Whatua whose traditional region is in Northern Kaipara.
Vehicle exhaust emissions tackled
The Government is working on a range of fronts to tackle the problems caused by vehicle exhaust emissions. A report released this week aims to help local traffic managers tackle vehicle exhaust emissions. The report demonstrates how emission levels can be measured, problem areas identified, and how the effectiveness of different emission reduction strategies can be measured. The initiative is part of the Government's commitment to improving the environment, and follows other projects that include establishing emission standards for all vehicles arriving in New Zealand, reducing the number of smoky vehicles on the roads and improving public transport.
Community education blueprint begun
The Government has begun development of a blueprint to guide the future of adult education and community learning in New Zealand. A 12-member working group has been appointed to advise the government on formal recognition and resourcing of the sector. An additional $8 million over four years was provided for adult education and community learning initiatives in this year's Budget. The working group will advise on how this can be best utilised to establish a sustainable long-term footing for the sectors.
Auckland electricity management
The Government has received assurances that arrangements are being put in place to manage possible electricity supply shortages in Auckland this summer. Senior executives from the generation, transmission and retail sectors of the electricity industry met with the government this week to establish a process for monitoring the supply situation and developing management options. A detailed outlook for the summer period will be released in late October, and updated monthly. Possible supply constraints are expected to occur around January to March next year.
