(What the Labour Coalition has achieved in the last two years is listed below)
pn503
A special anniversary - Jacinda Ardern, Labour
Mon, 23 Sep, 19:19
Hi Crosbie,
Today’s a really special anniversary — it’s been two years since election night, when New Zealand voted for a change of direction and asked us to start tackling the long-term problems facing our country.
I hope over these past two years, we’ve shown you that we’re serious about those tough issues — issues like mental health, the state of our rivers and child poverty. The problems in these areas have taken years, if not generations, to develop, and they won’t be solved overnight. But I’ve always believed that the hardest challenges are the ones worth taking on, and over the past two years, we’ve made good progress.
From funding new cancer treatment to building thousands of state houses, from extending paid parental leave to helping young people into training and apprenticeships, from rolling out frontline mental health services to banning offshore speculators buying up residential homes, from starting to clean up our rivers to building more classrooms and schools — we’ve done a lot. If you’re interested in reading about these and more, you can check out a list of everything that we’ve done here. [or see list below]
But there’s more to do, and for that we need time, and to win the election in 2020.
We were only able to form a government in 2017 because of supporters like you, and to be re-elected we need your support again.
From funding new cancer treatment to building thousands of state houses, from extending paid parental leave to helping young people into training and apprenticeships, from rolling out frontline mental health services to banning offshore speculators buying up residential homes, from starting to clean up our rivers to building more classrooms and schools — we’ve done a lot. If you’re interested in reading about these and more, you can check out a list of everything that we’ve done here.
But there’s more to do, and for that we need time, and to win the election in 2020.
We were only able to form a government in 2017 because of supporters like you, and to be re-elected we need your support again.
Today, can you chip in to support our 2020 campaign? Every single contribution, no matter what size, could make all the difference. It will help pay for crucial campaign spend, like the printing of billboards, placement of online adverts and hiring expert field staff, who will help turn out the vote.
I’m really proud of all that we’ve achieved since election night, and I hope you are too. With your help, we can continue to take on the biggest challenges, and work together to create the New Zealand we all want. If you’d like to be part of this progress, and are able to, please chip in here.
CHIP IN TO OUR 2020 CAMPAIGN HERE
Finally, I’d like to thank you for all that you’ve done over the past two years. Whether you’ve given money, volunteered you
News
Labour's Team
Join Labour
Volunteer
Shop
Chip in Menu
Our achievements
From creating jobs, protecting our environment, fixing hospitals, making homes healthy, warm, and affordable – we've been busy. We know that solutions to our big problems don't happen overnight – but we are determined to keep making progress towards a better New Zealand for everyone. Here is just a selection of the government's achievements for New Zealanders.
Up to date as of September 2019.
Children and Family
Boosted the incomes of 384,000 families by $75 a week through our Families Package, when fully rolled out
Widened Working for Families eligibility to include 26,000 more families
Helping families with our BestStart payment, making life easier for parents with new-born babies with extra $60 a week, for up to the child’s first three years
Extended Paid Parental Leave from to 22 weeks, further increasing to 26 weeks in 2020
Increased Paid Parental Leave payments by an extra $20 a week
Extended Nurses in Schools to cover decile 4 and 5 secondary students and almost 30,000 extra students
Passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act and confirmed child poverty reduction targets
Rolling out the free lunch in schools programme to all Year 1-8 children in 30 schools, extending to 21,000 children in 120 schools by the beginning of 2021
Scrapping the discriminatory sanction that cuts benefit income to women and their children who have not declared the name of the child’s father
Provided an across-the-board funding increase to Early Childhood Education – the first increase in ten years
Developed New Zealand’s first Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy to help make New Zealand the best place in the world to grow up
Lifting standards at Oranga Tamariki, including focusing on early intervention to ensure children are safe and stay with their families and whānau, and ensuring the needs of Māori children are better met
Banning smoking in cars with children
Began Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions
Helping seniors stay connected by funding Digital Literacy training
Improving seniors’ financial position through upgrading and enhancing the SuperGold card
Largest-ever investment in preventing, and responding to, family and sexual violence
Back to top
Health
Taking mental health seriously, with the biggest investment in mental health in any Budget, ever. In the future everyone will be able to access free mental health support, when, where and how they need it
Funded a new universal frontline mental health service, expected to help 325,000 people with mild to moderate mental health and addiction needs
Boosted funding for suicide prevention services and those who are bereaved by suicide
Setting up a Suicide Prevention Office to coordinate action to reduce New Zealand’s high rate of suicide
Developed a Suicide Prevention Strategy
Made doctors’ visits cheaper for 540,000 people
Extended free doctors' visits to all children under 14
Changed the law to provide legal access to medicinal cannabis, and are asking for the public's views on extending this access further
Made free mental health care available for over 10,000 people aged 18 to 25, with mild to moderate mental health needs - through the Piki programme
Launched the Mana Ake programme, putting mental health support in every primary and intermediate school in Christchurch and Kaikoura
Working to reduce the incidence and improve management of rheumatic fever among Māori and Pacific people
Boosted funding for air ambulances
Establishing a National Cancer Control Agency
Developed a Cancer Action Plan
Largest ever investment in radiation therapy, to ensure New Zealanders have access to quality cancer care, wherever they live
Rolling out the National Bowel Screening Programme to more DHBs
Lifted the cap on gender reassignment surgeries
Fixing our hospitals, including by addressing major infrastructure challenges at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre
Addressing longstanding problems at Middlemore Hospital and the Manukau ‘Super Clinic’
Fast-tracked the much-needed redevelopment of Dunedin Hospital
Boosted funding for Pharmac to ensure Kiwis have access to the best medicines.
Funding District Health Boards better so they can keep pace with population growth
Paying our carers and Mental Health and Addiction workers fairly
Holding a referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis at the 2020 general election
Back to top
Housing
Helped more than 2000 families into public housing this year
Increased the state house building programme nine-fold, with 2,700 currently being built – 900 of those in the regions
Helping homeless people into homes through Housing First. 1,064 households have been accepted into the programme and 720 housed so far, with 1044 more places funded in Budget 2019
Added 979 more transitional housing places
Ensuring rental properties are healthy and warm with the Healthy Homes Standards
Introduced the Winter Energy Payment that helps about a million New Zealanders stay warm each winter
Fixing the building and construction sector to deliver more houses with better, fit-for-purpose building standards
Addressing construction skills shortages and training the workforce of the future
Banned unfair letting fees
Cracked down on speculators by closing tax loopholes and banning foreign buyers.
Established the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development and Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities to take a joined up approach to tackling the housing crisis
Building the most homes since the 1970s, including through offsite manufacturing
Back to top
Employment and business
Unemployment is at its lowest level in over a decade, and wages are up 4.4% in the last year alone
92,000 new jobs have been created under this Government
Increased the minimum wage to $17.70 per hour from 1 April 2019
Backed Kiwi innovators with a tax credit aimed at lifting research and development spending to 2 percent of GDP over 10 years
Extended research and development tax credits to new businesses yet to make a profit
Brought business to the table, establishing an expert Business Advisory Council
Introduced the Equal Pay Amendment Bill so more people are paid fairly
Restoring the rights for screen sector workers, with legislation giving them back collective bargaining rights
Regionalised our skills shortage list, helping us build thriving and sustainable regions
Helping businesses get the workers they need with a new streamlined temporary work visa process
Changed the law to make sure multinational companies pay their fair share of tax
Restored rights for Kiwi workers by reinstating meal and rest breaks, strengthening collective bargaining, restoring protections for vulnerable workers and scrapping 90-day trials for big businesses
Hiring 263 more frontline MSD staff to help people into meaningful work
Lifted abatement thresholds so people on a benefit are incentivised to also work and keep more of what they earn
Back to top
Economy
Restarted contributions to the Super Fund, to help keep the cost of NZ Super affordable
Announced a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, to back creativity and productivity
Primary export revenue have soared to record highs – up over $9 billion in the last year
Balanced record levels of investment to resolve the long-term challenges facing New Zealand, while managing the books responsibly and continuing to meet our Budget Responsibility Rules
Delivered sustainable surpluses, growth well ahead of the OECD average, and low debt
Focused on how we’re improving health, generating skills and knowledge, defeating poverty, and being responsible guardians of the environment, not only economic success
Addressing long-term economic challenges like building a sustainable economy and preparing for the jobs of the future
Pursuing ambitious trade policy to help New Zealand businesses succeed overseas
Back to top
Environment
Introduced our landmark Zero Carbon Bill as part of our plan to safeguard the planet and the future the next generation will inherit
Acknowledged that climate change is bigger than politics – by holding cross-party meetings and welcoming support for a Climate Commission
Banned single-use plastic bags and microbeads; helping to ensure we protect our marine life, and live up to our clean, green reputation
Given the Department of Conservation its largest funding boost in almost two decades
Making it easier for New Zealanders to choose cleaner cars, with a feebate scheme for low emissions vehicles
Stopped new offshore exploration permits for oil and gas, while making sure we continue to support the people who work in those fields
Funded the National New Energy Development Centre in Taranaki, which will create jobs while helping New Zealand move away from reliance on fossil fuels
Established an Interim Climate Change Committee, which is considering how we can reduce our emissions and meet our goals for renewable energy production
Commissioned a new 100 megawatt wind farm in Taranaki
Launched large predator control projects in areas including Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Waiheke, and Dunedin, in collaboration with industry, iwi, and communities
Launched our Essential Freshwater plan to improve the quality of our rivers and lakes, as around 30% of our rivers and lakes aren’t safe for swimming
Supporting community-led programmes to clean up our waterways
Established the $100 million Green Investment Fund to invest with business to reduce emissions and tackle climate change while making a profit
Set out a $229 million Productive and Sustainable Land Use Package to help farmers and growers clean up our waterways and tackle climate change
Supported farmers to improve freshwater quality
Reached historic consensus with farmers on reducing emissions
Announced our plan to recharge New Zealand’s resource recovery and recycling sector
Advanced New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation through the Waste Minimisation Fund
Announced our work programme to take action on New Zealand’s waste through a circular economy approach
Invested record amounts in cleaner public transport
Kicked off the One Billion Trees programme, planting trees to take polluting gases out of the air
Strengthening New Zealand’s ETS, so that it’s fit for purpose
Resolving the conservation crisis by enhancing biodiversity, and controlling and eradicating predators
Expanding and strengthening the protection for endangered Māui and Hector’s dolphins
Protecting New Zealand’s elite soils, because as a proud food producing nation, we cannot afford to lose our most highly productive land
Proposed a new way to deal with environmentally harmful products before they become waste, such as plastic bottles, as part of a wider plan to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in landfills
Overhauling New Zealand’s Resource Management Act, as it’s unacceptable for this cornerstone law to be underperforming in a country that values protection of the environment
Launched Te Koiroa O Te Koiora – Our shared vision for living with nature, to help shape our biodiversity strategy for the next 20 years
Back to top
Education
Building new schools and classrooms for 100,000 students, with a plan to make sure we work with schools and communities to address increasing demand before it happens
Rolled out 623 Learning Support Coordinators to ensure children with diverse learning needs get the support they need to learn, supporting kids more than 1,000 schools and kura
Launched Mana in Mahi, supporting employers to take on apprentices, and He Poutama Rangatahi, to tackle youth unemployment
Funded an additional 2,000 places in the Mana in Mahi programme through the Wellbeing Budget
Scrapped National Standards, after listening to teachers and principals
Transitioned all charter schools to the state school system, to ensure the education system meets the needs of every student
Taking the financial pressure off parents by increasing funding to decile 1-7 schools if they don’t ask parents for donations
Removed fees from NCEA and NZ Scholarship, helping more than 145,000 households and around 168,000 secondary students
Supported Kiwis into study through our Fees-Free first year of tertiary education and training programme
Addressed the teachers shortage, by training and supporting thousandsmore teachers over the next four years
Funded hundreds of new places for a new employment-based teacher training programme and expanded the existing Teach First NZ programme, which enables teachers to earn while they work towards their teacher professions
Rolling out a school lunch programme, making sure 21,000 children in 120 schools will have lunch by the start of 2021
Making sure New Zealand history is taught in all schools and kura by 2022
Back to top
Regions
Investing in New Zealand’s long-neglected regions through the Provincial Growth Fund
Planting one billion trees by 2028, through the One Billion Trees Programme
Boosted KiwiRail, with a $1 billion investment in Budget 19 to improve our rail connections, which will help to get freight off the roads
Introduced an International Visitor Levy to support our regional tourism infrastructure and conservation projects
Backing Māori landowners by creating new opportunities to drive growth in their regions
Backing farmers to lower emissions and protect waterways while growing the value we get from our primary sector
Protected the productivity of the country’s vital beef and dairy sectors with a thorough and ongoing response to eradicate Mycoplasma Bovis
Upgrading the safety of roads and highways throughout the country through The Safe Network Programme will make 870 kms of high-volume, high-risk State Highways safer with things like median and side barriers, rumble strips, and shoulder widening
Boosted support for veterinarians in the regions
Back to top
Justice
Banned military-style semi-automatic weapons, magazines and parts, with over 21,000 fewer firearms in circulation from gun buy-back and seizures
Passed the Family Violence and Family Violence (Amendments) Acts, and delivering the largest ever investment in support services, to break the cycle of family violence and sexual violence
Recruited to achieve the largest, and most diverse, Police workforce in history – over 13,000 employees
Took action to reduce court backlogs, and improve the experience for all parties, through better resourcing and processes
Introduced the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill
Made our funding increase for Community Law Centres permanent, helping more than 25,000 people every year
Re-entered the Pike River drift to help families get closure and justice
Set up Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata – the Safe and Effective Justice programme
Reduced the prison population for the first time in a decade, without compromising public safety
Launched Māori Pathway initiative, taking action on the long-term challenge of Māori reoffending rates
Boosted funding to increase offenders’ access to mental health and addiction support
Cracking down on illicit drug manufacturers and suppliers while making it easier for those with substance addictions to get treatment
7,240 fewer people were victims of crime in 2018, as victimisations of crime fell by 2.7%
Back to top
Māori
Established Te Arawhiti - The Office for Māori Crown Relations to make the Crown a better Treaty partner and have better on-going relationships with Māori
Recognising the importance of Kōhanga Reo and the revitalisation of te reo Māori, by lifting the wages of Kaiako, and investing in building repairs and new technology.
Supporting marae to strengthen our whanau, hapu and communities by investing an extra $12 million for whānau-led marae development projects.
Working with iwi to carry out joint projects, such as the partnership between Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa to build thousands of homes and build warm, safe, healthier homes with Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa and Te Hau Awhiowhio o Otangarei Trust
Expanding Whānau Ora to support more whānau
Progressed completing the final stages of Treaty settlements with Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga Tamatea, Ngāti Tai ki Tamaki, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Wairoa
Getting more people using te reo Māori in their daily lives, with a vision of one million New Zealanders speaking at least basic te reo Māori by 2040
Launched Maihi Karauna (the Crown’s Strategy for Māori Language Revitalisation) 2019 – 2023 at Te Matatini earlier this year
Investing into Papakāinga development and rural housing repairs for better whānau wellbeing
Back to top
International
Increased New Zealand’s refugee quota to 1,500 a year from 2020
Enhancing our role in the Pacific through the Pacific Reset: boosting disaster aid and financial support; and implementing measures to prevent and address the effects of climate change.
Adopted the most significant statement on regional security by Pacific leaders in a generation
Opened diplomatic posts in Stockholm and Dublin
Upgraded our free trade agreement with Singapore, so Kiwis can now visit Singapore, visa-free, for up to three months
Held a Pacific Conference on Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, in line with our nuclear-freehistory
Strengthen our bilateral cooperation with the EU on emissions trading systems
Leading the “Christchurch Call”, along with France, to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online
Boosting funding and support to counter child sexual exploitation across New Zealand’s cyber and physical borders
Increased the funding to combat organised crime trafficking drugs in the Pacific region
Made drug smuggling in international waters an offence under New Zealand law
Allocated a Defence budget capable of addressing the commitments and neglect of the previous government
Back to top
No comments:
Post a Comment