14 Nov  2017  -  The revelation that Winston Peters filed court proceedings against Bill English and Paula Bennett at 4:59pm on the eve of the election makes a farce of his coalition negotiations with National. The decision was made as soon as the special votes gave Lab-Gre-NZF a comfortable three vote margin. Free Press (almost) feels sorry for all those who voted for and even made large donations (when will they be declared?) to New Zealand First but ended up with the former President of the International Union of Socialist Youth for a Prime Minister backed by a clean sweep of seven Maori seats.

119-1

For the first time, but very unlikely the last, in this term of Parliament, ACT voted against the whole House. When National abandoned the taxpayer and voted with the Green Party, Labour, and New Zealand First, ACT stood alone against New Zealand’s already excessive entitlement culture being further expanded.

What was the Bill?

National voted to expand (taxpayer) Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks. Labour lied in the process saying the OECD average is 38 weeks (actually 17.7), but most countries have terrible policy we’d be looking over the shoulder of the dumbest guy in class anyway. Continually expanding entitlements has been the road to ruin since at least Roman times, here we are again.

Free Lunches All ‘Round

Paid Parental Leave is just part of Labour’s ‘Great Loosening.’ By abolishing Three Strikes, Andrew Little has told 2,500 of the country’s most violent criminals who have strike offences ‘have one on me.’ Even people who never supported Three Strikes think that’s nuts. Then there’s the first year free for students, but this weekend saw a new loosening from Carmel Sepuloni.

Latest Loosening

Ms Sepuloni now says that the Government won’t dock the welfare payments of beneficiaries who refuse to name the child’s other parent. This opens the taxpayer up to two kinds of behavior and we don’t know which one is worse: Deadbeat Dads get off Scott-free (who else is going to name them?). Meanwhile fraudsters get to claim maximum benefits while receiving under-the-table child support.

Lurching Left

This Government is so hard left that we are starting to miss the Clark/Key era. Lindsay Mitchell helpfully points out this 2004 exchange between ACT’s Heather Roy and then Labour welfare Minister Steve Maharey: Roy: “When will he admit that this is just a rort so that fathers can dodge child support, and why should taxpayers always have to pick up the bill?” Maharey: “It is a rort, and I have said time and time again in this Parliament that fathers must front up to their obligations, and we will make sure they do, as much as we can.” Today’s Labour caucus would expel Maharey for saying such things.

No Substance

It is not unkind to say Jacinda Ardern did nothing in her first nine years in parliament but it is inaccurate. While she never passed a valuable Private Members Bill, uncovered a major scandal or appeared to do much of anything in nine years, she worked hard on herself and her image.

Off to the Spin Doctor

Free Press has been approached by people astonished to see her reading papers at the airport that weren’t about the country’s future but hers. They appeared to be studies of herself through the eyes of the media. We’d be a lot better off right now if she’d read a bit about international relations.

Secure the Borders

You can’t win power in Australian politics without securing the borders. No Australian politician can give in to Ardern’s posturing on refugees without paying a heavy political price at home. Australian politicians know that giving into Ardern’s offer to take Australian refugees will do two things: One, encourage more to come in the hope they’ll be let into New Zealand and, Two, give the Manus Island detainees entry to Australia with New Zealand passports. They won’t back down because they can’t.

Not Actually Humane

If Ardern wants to help refugees she should adopt ACT’s Canada-inspired policy of allowing community groups to sponsor extra refugees above and beyond the taxpayer funded quota –if they pick up the bill. The Canadians find that private refugee programs perform better than Government ones (Free Press readers won’t be surprised). Her current alternative is just encouraging people to take dangerous boat journeys (and needlessly irritating our most important ally).

Me Too

The National Party has leapt to the defence of Partnership Schools. The help is welcome as the Schools are the best thing that the previous Government did. In fact, they form the only policy that an incoming ‘left wing’ Government can’t easily stomach. If David Seymour ever feels important enough to write political memoirs we’ll all know how extraordinary this turn of events is.

14 Nov 2017  -  The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand maintains its strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).   “The Green Party has long opposed the TPPA. The new proposed deal, which came out of the weekend’s talks, still contains key ISDS concessions to corporations that put our democracy at risk, so our position remains the same,” said Green Party trade spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman.

“We support fair trade that brings real benefit to all New Zealanders – not trade deals that put our rights and our Government’s ability to legislate to protect our people and our environment at risk.

“ISDS mechanisms are a particular threat to environmental protections, with 85% of ISDS cases being brought by corporations focused on exploiting the environment and natural resources.

“The Green Party will be seeking to introduce new measures that require all trade agreements in the future to be part of the solution to climate change, global and local inequality and the protection of human rights.

“Standing in opposition to the TPPA does not make a difference to our relationship with Labour. Indeed it is a sign of the strength of that relationship that we can respectfully disagree on an important issue like the TPPA but still get on with the business of government.

“We made it clear to Labour in negotiations that we cannot support the TPPA, and they understand our policy difference.

“We will continue to use our position in Government to fight for better trade agreements that protect the interests of people and the planet, not just corporations,” said Ms Ghahraman.

| A Green party release  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  New Zealand’s champion truck driver for 2017 has been found following a highly competitive final of the NZ Truck Driving Championship held at Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton last Friday.  Northland’s Simon Reid of SJ Reid Transport proved his knowledge and skill across the many different aspects of the competition to take the victory and the title of NZ’s Champion Truck Driver 2017.  The competition was incredibly tight with only a handful of points separating the top few competitors. For his efforts Simon took home a $6,000 cheque courtesy of major event sponsors TR Group and Master Drive Services.

24 regional and company heat winners fought it out across a range of theory and practical tests to find four class winners as well as the New Zealand Young Driver of the Year and the overall champion.

“To even have a chance of winning in amongst such a competitive field requires a high level of competence across a range of disciplines,” says competition coordinator Mark Ngatuere. “It’s not just driving, it’s a detailed technical knowledge of the machinery and the complex matrix of rules and regulations that govern our industry.”

In the rigid sections Sam Linton from Emmerson’s Transport took out the Class 2 competition and Andrew Crandon of Linfox Logistics won the Class 3 & 4 category.

Matthew Jackson of Ben Allen Transport came out on top of the Truck-Trailer Combination section, while John Baillie of Baillie Transport won the Tractor-Semi Combination category for the second year running.

In the ERoad NZ Young Truck Driver of the Year, David Rogers of Tranzliquid picked up the $1,500 winners cheque courtesy of ERoad. This category is limited to drivers 25 years old and younger and grows in strength and numbers every year.

“The Young Driver of the Year category is an important event to recognise some of the excellent young people in our industry and is designed to help inspire those who may be thinking about getting into road transport,” says RTF Chief Executive Ken Shirley.

“The competition steering committee would like to thank John Essex, Geoff Wright, Sandy Walker, Simon Carson, Grant Turner, Jeff Fleury, Hayley O’Connor, the Women in Road Transport network and Chief Adjudicator Don Wilson for their help in putting together such a well-run event. We also appreciate the work that our associations put into to running the regional qualifying heats and supporting the overall event.”

“Andrew Carpenter and his team at TR Group and Master Drive Services, as the major Championship sponsors, deserve a great deal of thanks for their continued support of the event. Without our sponsors events such as this would struggle to get off the ground,” says Shirley.

| An RTF release  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  The 2017 ExportNZ DHL Export Barometer released today shows Kiwi exporters are feeling confident and expecting orders to increase over the next 12 months, Business New Zealand says.

Optimism is very positive with 71% of New Zealand exporters expecting international orders to increase - this is a jump from 63% in 2016.

The research shows that overall 2017 has been a good year, with just over half (55%) of exporters achieving an increase in international orders.

While the survey was carried out prior to the election, ongoing political support for the export environment will be crucial to ensure Kiwi businesses achieve the perceived upcoming boost to orders.

Exporters responding to the survey cited several key ways in which assistance from the New Zealand Government could help their business. Research and development assistance came out top at 26%, closely followed by help attending trade shows with other NZ companies, and more free trade agreements (both 25%).

ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard said: "The results show that trading with the USA has increased significantly over the past year, with more than half of Kiwi exporters sending orders to the USA and over half (55%) seeing the Trump administration as having a neutral impact on exports, while 41% thought it had a negative impact on exports,” Beard added.

"The fact that R&D has been flagged up as a key area for assistance is significant as more than half (52%) of exporters developed new products and services in a bid to boost export orders. Innovation can be a powerful tool for overcoming the ‘strength of competition in overseas markets’, which is the number one concern among exporters (42%).

Online commerce holds steady The 2017 ExportNZ DHL Export Barometer shows that while some exporters have embraced online commerce, not much has changed in the last two years.

One-fifth of exporters generate more than half of their international orders online, including 6% who generate all export orders this way. There is still plenty of room for growth as 26% said that none of their export orders are generated online.

DHL Express NZ country manager Mark Foy said: "Online commerce is a massive growth area for Kiwi exporters with huge potential to reach international audiences. Currently most businesses, 80%, are only spending one-fifth of their marketing budget online.

"Social media holds much untapped potential to reach overseas consumers looking for innovative and unique goods. However, 68% of companies say they do not use social media to generate orders or enquiries."

While Australia remains by far our number one trading partner (72%), we are shifting towards the ever-growing China (30%) and away from our traditional chief trading partner, the UK (26%), post-Brexit.

A joint initiative between ExportNZ and DHL, a total of 379 New Zealand exporters were surveyed for the ExportNZ DHL Export Barometer 2017.

13 Nov 2017  -  Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Corp has won a patent case against ResMed in the UK in the ongoing intellectual property dispute for its face and nasal masks across various jurisdictions.

The High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court ruled a disputed ResMed patent was invalid, with the New Zealand manufacturer entitled to recover its legal costs with the amount yet to be determined by the court, the company said in a statement.

“While today’s ruling is just one more step on the journey, it reinforces our confidence in our position and we are satisfied with progress so far,” chief executive Lewis Gradon said.

In 2016, F&P Healthcare claimed that three of ResMed's European patents were invalid in the UK and should be revoked. ResMed counterclaimed for infringement but did eventually revoke two of the patents, leaving only one before the court.

ResMed argued that patent EP 2 708 258 B1 was infringed by two of F&P Healthcare’s masks used for obstructive sleep apnea therapy, the Eson and Simplus masks. Had the patent been valid it would have been infringed. However, "the court found that the patent was invalid in its entirety." F&P Healthcare said.

Subject to any appeal, this European patent will be revoked in the UK and "this result confirms that UK patients can continue to purchase and enjoy the benefits of our high-performance masks," the New Zealand company said.

The skirmish is the latest in a far-ranging dispute between the two firms, with legal action spanning from North America to Europe to New Zealand.

In October F&P Healthcare said that the Regional Court in Munich had ruled ResMed did not infringe its patents on a German utility model patent. A further case is before the same court regarding another patent with a ruling expected in 2018, pending proceedings filed by F&P Healthcare in the European Patent Office.

In its annual report, F&P Healthcare said it had absorbed pre-tax patent litigation costs of $20.7 million during the year to March 31 and it expects to incur litigation-related expenses at a similar run-rate during the 2018 financial year.

F&P Healthcare shares slipped 0.1 percent to $13.20 but have gained 55 percent so far this year.

| Published on  Sharechat  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  Contact Energy is getting a lot of attention for its pioneering green borrowing programme, certified by Climate Bonds Initiatives (CBI) and launched in mid-August. There are expectations this will lead to further similar issues in New Zealand as the appetite for socially responsible investing and meaningful action on climate change grows.  Green bonds are created to fund projects or assets that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits. Most green bonds that are issued worldwide are green “use of proceeds” or asset-linked bonds. This means investors that buy these green bonds can be confident their investment is linked to assets that will benefit the environment.

James Kilty, Contact’s Chief Generation and Development Officer says the certification reflects the low carbon nature of the company’s generation assets. “Over 80% of Contact’s electricity is produced from renewable sources and for us a responsible, innovative and sustainable approach to managing these precious resources is key.”

In the case of Contact Energy, its $1.8 billion programme allows debt investors and lenders to access a broad range of certified green debt instruments, including committed bank facilities, commercial paper and retail bonds issued by the company. The programme has been certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), one of its largest certifications to date.

Louise Tong, Head of Capital Markets and Tax at Contact, said all future funds raised by Contact are intended to be included in the Green Borrowing Programme. In addition, there is potential for the company’s existing hydropower generation assets in Clyde and Roxburgh to be included in the programme in future.

“We’re part of a Technical Working Group associated with CBI that’s trying to determine what appropriate hydropower criteria should be. Once the criteria are determined, we’ll bring our hydropower assets into the programme. This would allow Contact to include the new debt issuance planned for next year in our Green Borrowing Programme.”

“As well as shining a light on Contact’s broader sustainability initiatives, the Green Borrowing Programme is an opportunity to attract a broader pool of “green” investors who appreciate the importance of low carbon energy in addressing the challenges presented by climate change” she said.

Contact is actively focusing on the role it can play to help New Zealand transition to a low carbon economy. James Kilty notes, “There’s also a great opportunity to do more to tackle climate change in NZ, particularly in the transport sector and energy-intensive manufacturing businesses where’s there’s an opportunity to convert to cleaner electricity, backed by renewable generation, and we’re keen to work with industry and customers to help bring about this change.”

Katharine Tapley, Head of Sustainable Finance at ANZ Bank who assisted Contact to establish its Green Borrowing Programme, said it has been a catalyst for sparking significant interest from other New Zealand corporates.

“Following the Contact programme being launched, we’ve had a lot of enquiries about the potential for other green bonds to be issued into the New Zealand market,” she said.

She noted that, while the green debt market in New Zealand is lagging Australia and Asia, there is opportunity given the focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability more broadly.

Internationally, there has been enormous growth by investors and issuers in green bonds over the past year. At the end of the first quarter of 2017, green bonds issuance stood at $US21.76 billion, up nearly 42 percent from the same period last year. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that the green bond market could increase by $US4.7 - $US5.6 trillion by 2035.

The benefits to issuing green bonds include:

1. Increased transparency about carbon reduction.

For Contact this means having assets that meet scientifically-based emissions criteria. Contact has committed to regular disclosure and reporting in relation to those criteria.

2. Funding for sustainability initiatives

Green bonds can provide capital for sustainability-related projects. In the case of Contact, this includes refinancing exiting assets, but a number of other New Zealand companies are considering green bonds to finance projects ranging from water efficiency initiatives through to green-rated buildings.

3. Demand from private investors

For investors, green bonds allow them to invest in environmentally-friendly products and services – this segment of investment funds is growing significantly, reflecting the increased focus on socially responsible investment.

4. Enhances company reputation

As Contact Energy is experiencing, when companies introduce green borrowing, they get a lot of attention. This allows companies to share their stories about the other reputational and financial benefits of sustainable business.

| A Contact Energy release  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  After a few fraught days, the TPP was given new life. However, the struggles to get the deal across the line and other issues at the Apec summit raise questions about obstacles to multilateral trade and what that means for New Zealand, as Sam Sachdeva reports.  The ideological battle for the future of Asia-Pacific trade played out on the big screen at Da Nang.

Of course, there was the stuttering, stumbling, but ultimately successful (or near enough) negotiations to reach agreement on the TPP (now known as the CPTPP - the Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership).

While the New Zealand team was cautiously hailing the outcome, other events at the Apec summit may have given them cause for concern when it comes to multilateralism.

In his speech to the Apec CEO’s Summit, US President Donald Trump railled against what he saw as unfair trading arrangements, saying the US had “not been treated fairly” by the WTO and other countries had not reciprocated the favours extended by his country.

While the US was open to bilateral agreements with any Asia-Pacific country, he made no bones about its approach to multilateralism.

“What we will no longer do is enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty, and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible.”

Worryingly, there are some concerns about whether Trump wants to kill the WTO: an article in the New York Times suggested American negotiators had warned their Mexican and Canadian counterparts that they could not expect their trade to “simply snap back to WTO rules” if the US leaves NAFTA.

Continue here to read the full Newsroom article by Sam Sachdeva ||  November 13 2017   |||

10 Nov 2017  -  On 1 December the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 will come into force. The aim is to reduce both the immediate harm to people and longer-term illness caused by hazardous substances in the workplace.

It’s no small matter. A hazardous substance is any product or chemical that has explosive, flammable, oxidising, toxic or corrosive properties – and they’re everywhere. Around one in three New Zealand workplaces use, manufacture, handle or store them. This includes factories, farmers and growers, as well as printers, collision repairers, hairdressers and retailers. They are in commonly used products such as fuels and LPG, solvents, cleaning solutions and agrichemicals.

“Used safely, hazardous substances can contribute to the nation’s economic growth and prosperity,” WorkSafe’s General Manager Operations and Specialist Services Brett Murray says, “but they also pose real risks to the people working with or around them.

“The harm from inhaling toxic vapours or having contact with some substances is often unseen. Workers may be unaware they are being exposed, and the effects of exposure may not be seen for many years.”

Hazardous substances are a major contributor to the estimated 600-900 deaths and 30,000 cases of serious ill health from work-related disease each year in New Zealand. This is in addition to the fatalities and immediate harm through accidents, such as fires and explosions, and unsafe use.

“It’s time this changed,” says Mr Murray. “The Regulations bring an expectation on all those working with hazardous substances to know what those substances are, the risks they pose and how to manage those risks.”

What’s changing? On 1 December the rules for managing hazardous substances in the workplace are moving from the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA). Many of the existing requirements will continue. However there are some changes to improve the management of these substances at work.

“If you use or store these substances, you need to look at what has changed under the new Regulations to ensure you are meeting your obligations to protect workers,” Mr Murray says.

As well as looking at what is changing, Mr Murray says people need to remember there is already legislation in place they should be complying with.

“If you are following the current rules, you may only need to do a few things differently, but now is the ideal time to review your management of hazardous substances and ensure you are doing your duty to protect people from harm.”

Businesses will already be familiar with the HSWA approach to managing work-related health and safety risks. From 1 December this includes hazardous substances. It’s another step in helping to ensure our people get home healthy and safe.

WorkSafe’s website has information, guidance and FAQs. Its online Hazardous Substances Toolbox has tools to help. You can also subscribe to the Hazardous Substances Update.

The Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 are available on the New Zealand Legislation website.

| A WorksafeNZ release  ||  November 10,  2017   |||

10 Nov 2017  -  An unnamed Asian member of the so-called TPP-11 has thrown a spanner in the works of 11th-hour negotiations on the future of the controversial Pacific Rim trade and investment deal.

Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker told New Zealand media early local time that there had been “an unusual turn of events” at the trade ministers’ meeting in Da Nang last night.

The ministers believed they had reached an agreement at around 10pm and there was “celebratory clapping”, only for an official of an unnamed nation to dispute that a settlement had been reached.

The issue arose in checking details of text changes agreed to the agreement.

Parker would not name the country but said it was not New Zealand and not Canada, which has been sending signals it is reluctant to be rushed into an agreement.

Vietnam, the host country for the APEC leaders’ summit where the TPP-11 talks are occurring, and Malaysia are both known to have been resistant to concluding an 11-member deal because both are making major concessions on labour and environmental standards and trade which were most valuable when the US was in the TPP tent.

US president Donald Trump withdrew his country from the TPP as his first act upon election, but the remaining 11, led by Japan, have sought to keep the deal alive.

Parker declined to discuss the outstanding sticking point, but said it was of importance to New Zealand, suggesting the issue may relate to market access for agricultural access, which is the primary value of the deal for New Zealand exporters but sensitive for most other TPP members.

There were suggestions overnight of irritation that news of the consensus was leaking ahead of a TPP-11 leaders’ meeting this afternoon local time. Leaders’ thunder had effectively been stolen by the early leaks.

Significantly, Parker gave the strongest indication yet New Zealand is ready to sign the TPP-11 deal, despite getting less than the new Labour-led government wanted in terms of watering down investor-state dispute settlement provisions.

New Zealand had “improved” its position, he said.

| A SharChat release  ||  november 10,  2017   |||

10 Nov 2017  -  Speech to 2017 Environmental Compliance Conference, Auckland by Wayne Fisher – General Manager of CS-VUE

Members of the organising committee, the Planning Institute, invited speakers, and delegates. Welcome to the 2017 Environmental Compliance Conference here in Auckland - two days of great insight and best practice at such a critical time for our sector. As we know, environmental compliance is witnessing significant levels of attention and change not seen since the introduction of the RMA in 1991. It is an honour for CS-VUE to once again be a part of this conference and this year as the major sponsor. From our position as providers of cloud-based compliance software across the public and private sectors, we have seen the enforcement of compliance increase markedly over the past decade. The regulatory landscape is becoming increasingly tough and increasingly costly. A quick scan of recent court cases across the country reveals fines from $17,000 for mining to $60,000 for effluent discharge and these are not isolated incidents. We have also witnessed a sizeable swing in the ways compliance is managed and how evidence is gathered, processed, and reported. The simple fact is, the compliance environment is now more demanding, more difficult to manage, has many more stakeholders, and comes with bigger fines. Better systems go a long way in assisting with these issues but as with all systems, if you don’t use them properly, or you don’t have systems in place that you can wholeheartedly rely on, you’ll quickly come unstuck. Our collective challenge over the coming years is to adjust to and manage the changing landscape. The good news is there are ways to effectively achieve this and even ways to work more closely with the regulators. For those of you as regulators, this will also be welcome news. CS-VUE has recently completed a significant piece of innovation with NZTA to manage the compliance across the $700m ‘Puhoi to Warkworth’ new motorway build. Our enhanced management system allows three-way communication between NZTA, the contractors, and the regulator, Auckland Council. What’s more, our regulatory software module can be easily applied across any regulator, council, or corporate and for any type of consenting right down to trade waste. Another driver we have witnessed in the market is more data residing outside of organisations, which has the added benefit of building in resilience and keeping critical information safe from the likes of earthquakes, floods or fires. Technology is now playing its part to manage this data and can deliver a great return on investment simply by performing many functions that were once done manually. The upside of this is that there is more control from an operational level – that is compliance on the ground being fed directly into compliance systems. This leads to better information for management teams and enhanced oversight at board level to better manage risk and governance. Data enables organisations to create viable and valuable audit trails directly from the field to final sign off. And of course, evidence can now be gathered directly from IoT devices. The major benefits here of course are in time and cost savings and increased compliance levels, but also in the reduction of ‘risk’ - all of which keep the likes of chairs, boards, mayors and councillors very happy! Our company, CS-VUE, works closely with large government departments and agencies, many city and district councils, and many corporate entities. Sectors we work in include oil and gas, quarrying, mining, and some of the country’s key ports. And for over a decade, our team has built a reputation based on experience, trust, tailoring solutions and delivering innovation, as well as great results for our clients. CS-VUE has a large booth outside. Please join us to find out just how rapidly compliance technology is shifting in your space, and how we can benefit your organisation - be it managing your own compliance or monitoring that of others. We’ll also give you a sneak peek into the future – with some of the exciting things on our development horizon. Over the next couple of days there are sessions on compliance enforcement, pollutant monitoring, and amongst many others, we’ll hear from NZ Petroleum & Minerals… And of course most importantly our guest speaker, Te Radar!

| A CS-VUE release  ||  November 10.  2017   |||