Transport Minister Simon Bridges says Auckland’s Waterview Tunnel will open to traffic in early July, marking the biggest milestone in the city’s transport network in more than half a century.

The $1.4 billion Waterview Connection is New Zealand’s biggest and most complex roading project, including twin 2.4km-long three-lane tunnels.

“Once open, it will transform the way people and freight move around Auckland, and will represent the biggest change in travel patterns since the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959,” Mr Bridges says.

A ceremonial opening on Sunday, 18 June will be followed by public open day’s to allow people the chance to experience the tunnel up close before opening to traffic.

“The Waterview Connection is New Zealand’s largest ever roading project and is a significant part of the strong investment the Government is putting into Auckland. This investment in the strategic motorway system will help support Auckland’s increasing population and economic growth,” Mr Bridges says.

“It largely completes the Western Ring Route, a new 48km route linking the west of Auckland, Manukau, the city and the North Shore.

“Together, the Waterview Tunnel and wider Western Ring Route will give more options to people and freight moving around and through Auckland, creating a more efficient, resilient and reliable network,” Mr Bridges says.

A series of public open day events will be held in the lead up to the operational opening of the tunnel to traffic. The events will be free but people will need to book their place online by visiting www.nzta.govt.nz/waterview| A release from the Beehive  ||  June 12,  2017   |||

Trade Minister Todd McClay has announced the establishment of the Services Export Reference Group at a press conference to launch an OECD study in Paris today highlighting the significant opportunity services exports offer the New Zealand economy.

“Services account for 70 per cent of our GDP, 80 per cent of New Zealand jobs and 31 per cent of our exports,” Mr McClay says.

“It is therefore imperative that we work closely with the services sector to bring down barriers and help them find greater success in overseas markets.”

Mr McClay has invited 40 New Zealand services exporters and industry groups to join the reference group including from the healthcare, tech, R&D, entertainment and hospitality sectors.

“In 2016 services exports increased by $1.1 billion to $21.6 billion. That’s almost a third of all New Zealand exports, so it’s vitally important we nurture and support further growth,” Mr McClay says.

“There are huge global growth opportunities for services exports and the digital economy, and the Government’s working hard to ensure that our exporters are in a strong position to take advantage of them.”

“The OECD’s Services Trade Policies and the Global Economy study points out that services generate two-thirds of global GDP and concludes that better integration between countries can substantially reduce the administrative burden on our exporters and SMEs. That is an outcome the Government continues to advocate and fight for on behalf of our exporter.”

“As part of Trade Agenda 2030, our new trade strategy, the Government is committed to engaging more with New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses on trade. The reference group is an important part of our plans to grow trade and maximise the benefits of the increasing market access we are working so hard to achieve.”

The first meeting will be held on 20 June and will be hosted by the Auckland University of Technology.

OECD study is available here: http://www.oecd.org/publications/services-trade-policies-and-the-global-economy-9789264275232-en.htm

|  A Beehive release  || June 8,  2017   |||

Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced an investment of $31.7 million to upgrade New Zealand’s supercomputing capabilities.

“The existing supercomputers are at the end of their operating lives and energy intensive by today’s standards. The new supercomputers will deliver up to 10 times the computing capability and more than four times the storage capacity of their predecessors,” says Mr Goldsmith.

The computing research service is designed and provided by the New Zealand eScience Infrastructure (NeSI), a collaboration between NIWA, Landcare and the Universities of Auckland and Otago.

“Computational needs of the science community are growing exponentially and from a range of key areas from natural hazards and climate science, through to computational chemistry, astronomy, and biomedical research,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“There are also a number of key government science initiatives that require computational support including the National Science Challenges, Centres of Research Excellence and the genomics platform.”

New Zealand currently has two supercomputers available to the research community, FitzRoy, based at NIWA’s Greta Point, Wellington site, and Pan, based at the University of Auckland.

They will be superseded by three supercomputers, with replacements for Fitzroy and Pan at NIWA in Wellington, and a smaller back up computer for NIWA housed at the University of Auckland’s Tamaki Data Centre.

“This new investment will significantly enhance New Zealand’s ability to meet the growing demands of the scientific research community and help them to tackle some of the issues crucial to our country’s future prosperity,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Installation for the new supercomputers begins in August and they are expected to be operational around February 2018. More information can be found HERE.

| A Beehive release  ||  June 8, 2017   |||

Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee today named diplomat Chris Langley as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Brazil.

“Brazil is a global player on issues of importance to New Zealand, and we work closely together on a range of international issues including global trade, international security and climate change,” Mr Brownlee says.

“New Zealand has a strong and growing economic relationship with Brazil, which is the seventh largest economy in the world. We have significant investments in Brazil’s dairy sector and are deepening links through education and tourism.

“We recently restarted a trade dialogue with Mercosur – the Southern Common Market, which includes Brazil – aimed at developing trade ties with those countries.

“Brazilians and New Zealanders also share a passion for sport, as demonstrated during last year’s Rio Olympics,” Mr Brownlee says.

Mr Langley has had previous postings in Chile and Indonesia, and took a two-year sabbatical from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to work in the private sector in Sydney.

He recently served as trade private secretary to the Minister of Trade and is currently working in the Trade Negotiations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

|  A Beehive release  ||  June 8 2017   |||

US to share more tax information about multinationals with New Zealand

Inland Revenue will receive more information about US multinationals operating in New Zealand following the signing of a new bilateral arrangement with the US Internal Revenue Service to share country-by-country reports.

Revenue Minister Judith Collins says this is great news as it means Inland Revenue will have better information about how multinationals allocate profits from their operations here.

“This will further enhance Inland Revenue’s risk assessment processes to make sure that the right amount of tax is being paid,” she says.

The arrangement will see country-by-country reports exchanged between the two countries on an annual basis starting from 2018.

Inland Revenue will reciprocate by sharing information on New Zealand-based multinationals with the IRS.

“The exchange of country-by-country reports is a key part of the OECD’s work on base erosion and profit shifting so I’m pleased to see we’ve been one of the first to sign a bilateral arrangement with the US,” Ms Collins says.

| A Beehive release  || June 7, 2017   |||

The Engineering e2e programme achieving its goal of 500+ engineering graduates per year by 2017 a year early will be welcome news for industry, says Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Paul Goldsmith.

“It’s very pleasing to see all the hard work by Engineering e2e, Futureintech, tertiary institutions, engineering professional organisations and others has really paid off,” Mr Goldsmith says.

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) has confirmed 511 graduates from priority engineering courses in 2016, a full year ahead of schedule, for a total of 2,151 graduates in 2016. Set up by the Government in 2014, the Engineering – Education to Employment (e2e) initiative promotes engineering as a career to students.

“Engineering e2e’s successful public awareness campaign has already lifted the profile of engineering from 10th to 3rd place in potential student’s career considerations.

“More than 500 additional graduates each year is a step in the right direction though we still have quite a bit of work to do to address the balance of graduates across Diploma of Engineering (Level 6), Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Level 7) and Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Level 8) qualifications.

“Our big challenge, supported by employer feedback, is growing enrolments at institutes of technology, which specialise in level 6 and 7 qualifications,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“So I am pleased to see Engineering e2e is working closely with the ITP sector, and with engineering professional bodies to really focus on employer engagement to grow the pipeline of work-ready engineers.”

Engineering e2e has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) and IPWEA is collaborating with e2e on its sponsored degrees pilot programme which is being funded by the TEC.

Sponsored degrees would enable both on-the-job training and the completion of a Level 7 qualification in engineering, like the Bachelor of Engineering (Technology), and are particularly relevant for rapidly changing, high-tech industries.

“Engineers help build the infrastructure that makes up our modern world. New Zealand needs more engineers to meet the growing demand for construction and infrastructure, and this Government is focussed on meeting those challenges into the future,” says Mr Goldsmith.

| A Beehive release  ||  June 7, 2017   |||

The Government accounts for the ten months to 30 April 2017 show a surplus of $2.5 billion, although about $1 billion of that is due to timing differences that are expected to reverse out in May, Finance Minister Steven Joyce says.

“While the accounts for the year-to-date are $1.6 billion stronger than was forecast at the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, the bulk of this change is due to a timing difference of company taxes,” Mr Joyce says. “Treasury and Inland Revenue expect most of that to reverse in May, and at this stage Treasury expects the 2016/17 accounts to be broadly as forecast.”

Core Crown revenue was $1.1 billion higher than expected for the ten month period, while Core Crown expenditure was $400 million less than what was expected.

Net debt is currently at 24 per cent of GDP.

“It is important not to take too much from a single month’s figures particularly because of the timing differences noted by the Treasury,” Mr Joyce says. “However the accounts overall do underline the Government’s improving fiscal position as a result of our strong economic plan.

“It is only by having this strong economic plan that we get to make the sort of choices we were able to make in the recent budget, and only a strong economic plan will give us the capacity to make more positive decisions into the future.”

| A release from the Beehive  ||  June 6,  2017   |||

Trade Minister Todd McClay says the OECD Trade and Economic Ministers Council Meeting in Paris this week will be an important opportunity for New Zealand to show continued leadership on trade liberalisation.

Mr McClay leaves today for the two-day event where he will meet with ministers from over 40 countries.

“The theme of this year’s meeting is ‘Making Globalisation Work’ and it fits well with the priorities outlined in Trade Agenda 2030, the Government’s new trade strategy,” Mr McClay says.

“Those priorities include wanting all New Zealanders to share in the economic benefits of trade. Protectionism stops this from happening, making it more difficult for Kiwis to compete internationally.

“It’s simple - more trade means more jobs for New Zealanders and a more prosperous standard of living. That’s why the Government continues to fight hard for better access to overseas markets for our goods and services.”

While in Paris, Mr McClay will meet bilaterally with a number of other trade ministers including European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. Mr McClay expects to also hold talks with newly appointed US Trade Representative Ambassador Lighthizer, prior to a visit to Washington later this month.

“I will be pushing hard for the start of trade negotiations with the EU when I meet with Commissioner Malmström. We've made good progress, but it's important we launch negotiations with Europe this year to level the playing field for Kiwi exporters,” Mr McClay says.

|  A release from the Beehive  ||  June 06,  2017   |||

Small Business Minister Dean has today welcomed the release of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s 2017 Small Business factsheet.

“The factsheet brings together statistics that relate to small businesses, and provides us with an overview of how valuable they are to the New Zealand economy,” Ms Dean says.

“Businesses with fewer than 20 employees make up 97 per cent of all enterprises in New Zealand, and contribute almost $65 billion to our GDP.

“Small businesses employ 29 percent of all workers in New Zealand, and it is important that we continue to support these businesses and help them thrive.

“Other key statistics highlighted in the factsheet are that small businesses created 42 per cent of all jobs in 2015, and salaries in small businesses average $45,867 per annum.

“Currently New Zealand is rated number one in the world for ease of doing business and this is something this government is very proud of.

“Our businesses are young, with 33 per cent of small businesses having existed for less than five years. We must continue to create a supportive environment to help small businesses mature and drive our economy forward.

The fact sheet is released annually by MBIE and a copy can be found here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-growth-agenda/sectors-reports-series/the-small-business-sector-report-and-factsheet

|  A Beehive release  ||   June 02, 2017   |||

Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee has today welcomed the appointment of a New Zealander to an important role at the United Nations.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has confirmed the appointment of New Zealander Jan Beagle to the position of Under-Secretary-General for Management for a term of four years.

“This is a significant role with the United Nations given the new Secretary-General‘s reform priorities. It is one of a handful of very senior roles within the UN Secretariat,” Mr Brownlee says.

“As the Secretary-General noted in making the appointment, Ms Beagle has had a distinguished career in the United Nations serving in a number of high-level roles in New York and Geneva, most recently as the Deputy Executive Director of UN AIDS.

“This appointment is a tribute to Ms Beagle’s abilities and her excellent performance in the United Nations.

“I’d like to congratulate Ms Beagle on her new role and we look forward to working with her,” Mr Brownlee says.

| A beehive release  ||  June 02,  2017   |||