Jim Anderton's E-News, Early July 2007

Jim Anderton's news releases & speeches can be found on the websites of the New Zealand Government www.beehive.govt.nz/anderton and Progressive Party www.progressive.org.nz

EARLY JULY ROUND-UP - MORE FUNDING FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DIDYMO AND SALTMARSH MOSQUITO AND A BAN ON BZP & PARTY PILLS.

Cabinet funds further biosecurity work

03.07.07 Cabinet has funded the continuation of work against Didymo and Southern Saltmarsh Mosquito.

$13.3 million over the next four years will be spent on a long-term management plan for didymo, which is an exotic freshwater algae found in South Island rivers in October 2004. It has not yet been found in the North Island. This funding also includes a contingency fund to deal with any North Island find of didymo.

A programme to eradicate the southern saltmarsh mosquito from New Zealand has been underway since 1998 with successful elimination of the mosquito from eight of the 12 sites so far. A further $11.2 million over the next three years will be spent on continuing attempts to completely eradicate the southern saltmarsh mosquito. A further $6 million is for a contingency fund to tackle the mosquito if found outside the current eradication target areas. The mosquito is a vicious biter and can transmit Ross River virus to humans, as well as posing an economic threat to New Zealand.

The two programmes, against southern saltmarsh mosquito and didymo, are significant. Didymo in particular is one where Biosecurity New Zealand is now leading the world in its knowledge on tackling this pest.
For more, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29944

Making wood part of a sustainable future

03.07.07 While we are used to having timber framing in our houses, there are few examples of commercial-style wooden buildings. Yet research indicates there are no technical or financial reasons why wood should not be used. As Minister of Forestry, I have announced a new programme which will help put New Zealand at the forefront of building truly sustainable buildings and the Government has taken another key step in its promotion of a carbon-neutral public service.

Within a year, new government-funded building projects for buildings up to four floors (including the ground floor) will have to commission designs and at least consider options for using wood or wood-based products as the main structural materials.

This announcement ties into the recent announcement that all new A-grade office buildings being constructed to house government staff in central business districts must now have a minimum five-star Green Star New Zealand rating, which represents "excellence". A four-star rating is required for other grades of office building, signifying "best practice". A further series of green building rating tools is being investigated for schools, housing and commercial office building fit-outs.

Rating a building's performance in use is very important. But we believe it is also important to consider the sustainability of materials used in construction as part of the overall sustainability mix. That's why we are also requiring government departments to at least consider a build-in-wood option.

Wood is a material of the future. Globally, humanity needs to move away from unsustainable and energy-intensive materials. We see wood growing and growing in importance. New Zealand can and should be at the forefront of the global wood revolution. There are fantastic opportunities for our wood processors, engineers, designers and construction companies to provide further engineered wood solutions for commercial-style wood-based building solutions, both within New Zealand and internationally.

I am delighted with the announcement by the University of Auckland that the second professorship position in wood design has been filled by Canadian expert, Dr. Pierre Quenneville. He will join Professor Andy Buchanan, who has been the Professor of Wood Design in Canterbury for some months.

There is already world-leading research underway in Canterbury University, led by Professor Buchanan and his international team of experts. This research should soon make it possible to replace greenhouse gas-intensive concrete and steel in buildings up to 10 stories high with wooden construction.
For more, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29948

Launch of Boating ITO qualifications at Boat Show

30.06.07 Win or lose, the pride New Zealanders take in competing in the America's Cup is special. It is the pride in our skills and talents as a marine-loving nation and it can't be just a coincidence that both the challenger and defender in the world's oldest major sports event were sailed by New Zealanders.

Unlike most other countries and certainly unlike most of the super-rich owners who contest the Cup, boating in New Zealand is something nearly everyone can aspire to. We all identify with the sea. It makes for a fantastic lifestyle and it is no surprise that it is increasingly making for some fantastic businesses too. Our marine industry is worth $1.6 billion dollars a year, and $535 million in exports.

This is a great industry, which offers a bright future for young trades people. It's an industry that expects to grow its exports by more than eight per cent a year every year from now to 2020, and create an export industry worth $1.8 billion dollars.

I launched two new industry qualifications at the Christchurch Boat Show - Level 4 National Certificates in boat-building for composite and alloy production trailer yachts - which will help to equip young tradespeople with the skills they need, and the industry needs, to achieve the potential the marine industry offers New Zealand. The qualifications are a commitment from the industry and the boating industry training organisation to help create an advantage for New Zealand out of our skills and our talents.

The Government re-introduced apprenticeships when we came to office at the dawn of this century. Not that long ago, 'apprenticeships' was a dirty word and industry training was being ignored. It's no wonder businesses today, in nearly every sector, are complaining about a skills shortage − we went for fifteen years in the eighties and nineties when we didn't invest in industry training.

Now, those days are well behind us. In the 2007 Budget, we invested another $73m in industry training so that by 2011 we will have 220,000 people in training every year, over a third more than we have today.
For the full speech, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29922

Shane Ardern needs to get the message on didymo

29.06.07 The National Party's Mr Ardern is out of touch, fails to understand science, and is deliberately misleading the public on didymo. Good science takes time, and New Zealand's scientists have conducted world-leading research on this organism, which was only discovered in New Zealand in 2004. They have become acknowledged world experts since then. If Mr Ardern knows better than them how to eradicate didymo, he owes it to New Zealand to share his knowledge.

The harsh reality, and one that Biosecurity New Zealand has long acknowledged, is that eradication is not an option. To talk eradication of didymo is to talk of removing every single microscopic didymo cell from New Zealand, from diverse freshwater environments with ripples, eddies, runs, rapids, pools etc. No doubt Mr Ardern would require that not a single other aquatic organism be harmed while we attempted this.

Because eradication is not technically practical, we need to manage didymo as best we can. Therefore the science programme has focused on the development of management and potential control tools. The outcomes of this science programme will be presented in Wellington in late July.

The North Island is not increasingly vulnerable. It is as protected as it feasibly and practically can be, and no more at risk now that it always has been.

The point Mr Ardern and others fail to grasp is that didymo is being spread by people. The best weapon we have against didymo is people doing the right thing, and cleaning gear between waterways. Public awareness is the best and most sustainable option we have to prevent the spread of didymo, and any tool science comes up with won't change that. Biosecurity New Zealand has certainly done its bit to make people aware. Overseas experts acknowledge that the campaign is working and that the spread has been slowed because of world best-practice by Biosecurity New Zealand.

Shane Ardern needs to get out there and promote the Check, Clean, and Dry message. The classic "She'll be right" attitude is not good enough. It is those who are not cleaning their gear who are at fault here, not Biosecurity New Zealand.
Jim Anderton responds to the Otago Daily Times.

Potentially important study into Alliance and PPCS

29.06.07 I note with interest the announcement that two of New Zealand's largest meat processing companies, PPCS and Alliance, have engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake an appraisal of the two companies' operations and "evaluate potential options to improve livestock returns paid to the farmer suppliers of each company".

This is potentially a very important development, given that the two companies together represent $3.1 billion in turnover and process significant volumes of New Zealand's livestock.

New Zealand meat is a great product, and I believe that the industry has a great future but to achieve its potential, it needs to invest in greater research and product development, and invest in getting more out of market opportunities. It is good to see that the companies' boards, management and shareholders are taking the lead to address these issues.

There would certainly be no advantage in me speculating on the outcome but the Government will be taking a close interest in developments, given the importance of the meat industry to New Zealand's economy and the size of the two companies.
For more, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29915

Fiordland blue cod closures continue

29.06.07 Blue cod fishing closures in Milford and Doubtful Sounds will continue for another two years, to allow stocks there to rebuild. Both Milford and Doubtful Sounds have been closed to amateur blue cod fishing since 2005. All Fiordland's inner sounds have been closed to commercial fishing since 2005 and Milford Sound has been closed to commercial fishing since 1994. The Ministry of Fisheries has been monitoring blue cod stocks in Milford and Doubtful Sounds since the summer of 2005/06, to see how they were responding to the amateur fishing closures.

We've now had two summers of blue cod surveys in these sounds, and these show that numbers of the blue cod have not yet built up sufficiently to re-open the fisheries so we'll continue the closures for another two years and see what the situation looks like then.

The Fiordland Marine Guardians support this extension of the amateur blue cod fishing closures (through until 29 June 2009). During this time, the fisheries will continue to be monitored by the Ministry of Fisheries.

The Fiordland Marine Guardians is a group of community representatives who advise central and local government agencies on how to manage the Fiordland marine environment. They were formed in 1995 (as the Guardians of Fiordland's Fisheries Inc), in response to concerns about the escalating pressures on the Fiordland marine area.
For more, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29916

BZP and related party pills to be banned

28.06.07 As Associate Minister of Health and Leader of the Progressive Party, I announced that the Cabinet had agreed to my recommendation to ban BZP and related party pills.

At the same time, a direction has been given for officials to continue work already begun with the Law Commission to require manufacturers to prove that these types of psychoactive substances are safe before they are allowed to be sold.

In addition, a complete review of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which has been advocated by many in the sector for some time, has also been approved by Cabinet. This is to be completed by December 2008 and will be aimed at providing a better, more coherent and rational legal framework for the law surrounding the implementation of, and penalties for, the misuse of drugs.

The research, analysis of submissions, advice from experts and agencies such as Police, Justice, Customs and Health all added up, in my view, to a ban and I took that recommendation to my Cabinet colleagues.

The Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs, which has the statutory task of assessing drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act and making recommendations to me as Minister, recommended that BZP and related substances should be classified Class C1. This means anyone supplying, manufacturing and exporting these products will be liable to a penalty of up to a maximum of eight years imprisonment.

Cabinet was mindful that these products have been legally available for some years and, while wanting to stop both their manufacture and sale as a matter of urgency, did not wish to immediately criminalise those who may still have some of these substances in their possession for personal use.

Those found in possession of a Class C1 drug are normally liable to a maximum of three months imprisonment and/or up to a $500 fine. Therefore, while a decision has been made to classify BZP as Class C1, which will stop the current legal manufacture and sale of these products, there will be an amnesty for possession for personal use for a period of six months from the date on which new legislation is passed. In effect there will be an amnesty for six months for those who are found in possession of less than five grams for their own personal use.

The classification to C1, including the six month amnesty, will be made via amendments to the Misuse of Drugs legislation, rather than continuing down the affirmative resolution Order in Council process. The legislative amendment process ensures full Parliamentary scrutiny of this matter.

Drafting instructions have been given, and as the drafting is relatively straightforward, the Bill is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives in the very near future and I hope to see its passage before the end of 2007.

For full release with Q & A's, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29888

For the launch of the National Drug Policy 2007 - 2012 speech, go to: http://www.progressive.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2624

Greater fisheries protection with Project Protector

28.06.07 As a Christchurch MP and Fisheries Minister I welcomed the arrival of the multi-role vessel, 'Canterbury', which is the first of the Project Protector fleet, into Lyttelton port. The new Project Protector fleet will allow New Zealand to more effectively patrol the fisheries in our Exclusive Economic Zone, which at 4.4 million square kilometres is one of the largest in the world.

There are six more vessels to come to complete the Navy part of the Project Protector package − four 55 metre inshore patrol vessels, 'Rotoiti', 'Hawea', 'Pukaki' and 'Taupo', and two 85 metre offshore patrol vessels, 'Otago' and 'Wellington'.

"Project Protector will provide extra protection for the sustainability of New Zealand's valuable fisheries and while the 'Canterbury' is unlikely to be used often for patrolling fisheries, the six ships still to come will greatly increase the ability to patrol deepwater and remote coastal fisheries.

Fishing is a way of life for many New Zealanders and a key economic driver for many coastal towns. Wild-catch fisheries have an export value of over a billion dollars a year, not to mention the money generated supplying the fishing industry and the recreational sector. So protecting those fishing opportunities and returns through sustainable management and patrolling is an extremely important role.

The new inshore and offshore patrol vessels working in conjunction with surveillance activity from the Airforce's upgraded P3 Orions will make it much more difficult for boats to flout fisheries rules at sea.

New Zealanders can have great confidence in this extra protection. In the past there has been the opportunity to offend in isolated places. We will now have the ability to get to all parts of the coastline, day or night. Those playing by the rules should be greatly comforted. Those playing against the rules should be warned that their illegal fishing days are numbered. For the release, go to:
For the release, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29891

Creativity as important in business as it is in the arts

28.06.07 In presenting the inaugural Emerging Art Awards to mark the 50th Anniversary of *Peter Hallifax Ltd, I noted that when economic researchers have looked at places where really rapid economic growth is occurring, they have found the population in those same places have an unusually high number of creative people.

Art and business success go together for a very good reason − they are both about creativity and our businesses today are increasingly seeing the importance of creativity to international success. They use design to increase the value and desirability of their product. And often the design reflects a special 'New Zealandness', which helps exporters sell premium branded products in international markets.

It is a good time to be a New Zealander. Since the beginning of this century, we have enjoyed the longest continuous run of economic growth in decades. Our economy has grown on average more than the average of developed countries − faster than the US, the UK and Japan and as fast as Australia's. Our economy is 25 percent larger today than it was when the current government came into office in 1999.

As a nation we should be ambitious. Every business success promises jobs and higher incomes. Every creative business successfully selling to the world promises a more secure future for New Zealand.

For the full speech, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29880

*Hallifax: Half a Century Meeting Tourists' Needs: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0706/S00265.htm

Landcorp's 20 years has delivered $400 million in dividends

26.06.07 The Labour-Progressive Government has high expectations of its SOEs and I congratulate Landcorp on its financial performance on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary Conference in Wellington. Over the last twenty years Landcorp has paid the public of New Zealand $400 million in dividends. This has all come from tax paid profits and the sale of some non-core assets.

Landcorp's journey has not always been smooth. In its early days there was strong pressure for asset sales and Landcorp was lined up to be sold along with many other state-owned enterprises. The property business was sold and the farming business would certainly have gone the same way were it not for the numbers of Treaty claims and court injunctions preventing sales.

But when you have sat around Cabinet pondering the costs of having to buy back an airline, buy back rail tracks and start a bank because selling all of those businesses turned out to be a mistake − then you can see why this government decided there would be no more strategic asset sales.

Landcorp is not only one of New Zealand's largest farming businesses; it is also significant in world terms. It produces each year over nine thousand tonnes of milk solids, three thousand tonnes of venison, close to nine thousand tonnes of sheep meat, more than ten thousand tonnes of beef and three thousand tonnes of wool.

Landcorp contributes to rural communities by advancing livestock breeding, nutrition and management, for example. Innovation is crucial to the continued success of our agricultural economy.

As global awareness grows about the environment, animal welfare, food safety and social responsibility, Landcorp will be able to differentiate itself from other primary producers. It has the scale, expertise and diversity of land holdings to make a real difference, for its own benefit and for the New Zealand farming community in general.
For more, go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=29874

ENDS

© Scoop Media