Happy Christmas

It’s been a busy year. National has worked hard to protect New Zealanders from the sharpest edges of the recession and prepare for future growth, while delivering on our election promises in law and order, health, and education.

Treasury’s half-yearly fiscal update shows that we’ve come through the recession better than many people thought. And we’re seeing some strong signs of recovery. That’s great news, but the pressure on government finances is still tight.

2010 will be another big year. We’ll be working to unleash New Zealand’s potential for growth and lift wages. We’ll also stay focused on the issues that matter – making our communities safer for families, lifting achievement in our schools, and providing better healthcare for all New Zealanders.

Thanks very much for your support this year and for reading Key Notes. I hope it’s given you a sense of where we are taking New Zealand. This is the last issue for 2009. I’ll be back in your inbox in January.

And thanks for your comments. They give my staff and I a good idea of what concerns you. Please keep them coming.

I hope you and your family take some time off and relax over the holiday season. Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Tackling Greenhouse Emissions

I’m in Copenhagen this week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Yesterday we announced that New Zealand will invest $45 million over four years in the Global Research Alliance on agriculture greenhouse gases. The Alliance brings together researchers to find solutions to emissions from farm animals and horticulture. Twenty countries so far – including the United States, Canada, and India – have joined the Alliance.

Fourteen percent of the world’s greenhouse gases and almost half of New Zealand’s emissions come from agriculture. The Alliance has huge potential to help our farmers cut emissions and help global food supply keep up with the world’s growing population.

Lifting Achievement in Schools

This week the Education Review Office released a report into reading and writing in Years 1 and 2 at primary schools. It found that almost two out of three school leaders aren’t properly monitoring how well their pupils achieve. It also found that 30 percent of teachers aren’t teaching reading and writing effectively. Children – and parents – deserve better.

The report goes some way to explaining why one-in-five young New Zealanders leave school without the basic skills they need. And it shows just how crucial our National Standards policy is. Under National Standards, primary and intermediate schools will be required from next year to assess each child’s progress in reading, writing, and maths, and report this in plain English to parents. We want to work constructively with teachers and principals to introduce National Standards. And we’re providing extra funding to roll them out and help children who are falling behind.

Improving our Highways

On Tuesday the Government gave the go ahead for Transmission Gully – a project to improve State Highway 1 north of Wellington. This is part of the Wellington Road of National Significance, which will see a four-lane expressway built in stages between Wellington Airport and Levin over the next 10 years.

Earlier this year we identified seven initial Roads of National Significance around the country. With our announcement of $11 billion in new State Highway investment over the coming decade, National wants to significantly improve our road network and help unclog New Zealand’s growth arteries. In coming months, we’ll have more to say about our progress on the Roads of National Significance.

Reining in Electricity Prices

Under Labour, electricity prices rose about three times faster than inflation. That’s just not on. And that’s why we’ve introduced a new bill into Parliament to put in place many of the recommendations of the Ministerial Review Group into the electricity market.

The changes are designed to improve the security of our electricity supply, boost competition in the market, and rein in increases to the family power bill. Since the review began, price rises have flattened. I hope that trend will continue.

Celebrating Waitangi Day

National wants a harmonious New Zealand where all Kiwis respect each other. That’s one of the reasons why Cabinet has approved the flying of a national Maori flag from Auckland Harbour Bridge, Premier House, and some other sites on Waitangi Day. The Maori flag won’t replace the New Zealand flag. It will fly alongside it, to celebrate Waitangi Day and recognise the partnership which the Crown and Maori entered into when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi.

Best wishes

John Key
Prime Minister

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Tackling Boy Racers

At midnight on Monday, two new street racing laws came into effect. These give police, the courts, and councils new tools to crack down on boy racers.

They allow repeated “cruising” of city streets to be banned by bylaws. They introduce demerit points for noise offences. And they give the police new powers to impound, seize, sell, or crush the cars of repeat street-racing offenders.

These new laws send a strong message that we won’t tolerate dangerous, disruptive, and anti-social behaviour on our streets. They are part of National’s focus on making our communities safer for families.

Improving Trans-Tasman Travel

Yesterday I tried out the new SmartGate at Auckland International Airport. It’s a pretty neat piece of technology.

I swiped my e-passport at a kiosk. The kiosk used a camera and face recognition software to check my identity. Once it was happy that I was who my passport said I was, it opened the gate to let me through.

SmartGate will make travel easier and faster for people crossing the Tasman. Instead of having your passport checked by a Customs officer, SmartGate will confirm your identity and let you get out of the airport more quickly. This will allow Customs officers to focus their efforts on higher-risk passengers. SmartGates will be up and running at Wellington and Christchurch airports next year.

Strengthening Links in the Commonwealth

On Wednesday night I got back from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago.

Highlights included an audience with the Queen, and toasting Her Majesty at the formal dinner. I told her how much New Zealanders are looking forward to welcoming Prince William here in the new year.

I also had the chance to sit down with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. We had a very good discussion about how we can work towards a free trade agreement between our two counties.

CHOGM had a major focus on climate change. Many of the Commonwealth’s 54 countries have large agricultural sectors, and it was good to discuss our plans for a Global Alliance to research how to cut agricultural greenhouse emissions. National is focused on balancing our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibilities, and we see the Global Alliance as an important way of boosting food production while cutting emissions from farm animals.

Commonwealth countries will make a big contribution to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this month. Since CHOGM, I’ve announced that I’ll be attending the Leaders Meeting at the end of the conference.

Boosting Broadband in Schools

Another 100 schools are set to get Information and Communications Technology (ICT) upgrades. The upgrades are the latest round of our $150 million boost for high-speed broadband in schools, which is part of the Government’s $1.5 billion broadband investment. Over the next six years, up to 2000 schools will be upgraded. This will give teachers and students in almost every classroom in New Zealand the capability to access ultra-fast broadband.

Making Auckland Greater

Yesterday, the Government released decisions on the final piece of legislation to complete the changes to Auckland’s governance, and establish the Auckland Council. Earlier legislation laid out the structure of the new council and the Local Boards, and defined the powers and roles of the mayor, councillors, and local board members. This bill sets out the nuts and bolts of how the Auckland Council will work. A select committee will hear public submissions on these changes in the New Year.

Giving Doctors and Nurses More Say in Running our Hospitals

We’ve previously announced that the Government is establishing a new National Health Board. The board will work to improve frontline health services and get better value from the $10 billion in public funding that our 21 district health boards spend on hospitals and primary care. This week we announced that seven of the 11 members of the board will be doctors and nurses. We believe that giving clinical professionals more say in how our health system operates will help improve frontline health services for patients, and provide better healthcare for all New Zealanders.

Blogging National MPs

Several National MPs are blogging on issues and events in their local communities at a new website, www.nationalmps.co.nz. I’ll be blogging about some of my activities in Helensville. We welcome your comments.

Best wishes,

John Key
Prime Minister
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Tackling Boy Racers

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BOOSTING TRADE

Last weekend I was in Singapore for the APEC Summit, and I had the chance to catch up with US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pictured), as well as other Pacific leaders.

Just before the Summit, President Obama announced that the United States would engage with the Trans Pacific Partnership. This is very good news. The Partnership is a group of eight Pacific nations – including New Zealand – working towards a free trade agreement. The potential gains for our exporters, the economy, and jobs from such an agreement are enormous.

SECURING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

A year ago, the new Government was sworn into office.

I remember the awesome feeling of responsibility as I took my oath.

New Zealand welcomed in a fresh team. We were ready to strengthen our economy, raise education, make our communities safer, and get more out of our health system.

Today, in Christchuch, I gave a speech marking our first anniversary in government. I described how we are delivering on our election promises and working hard on the issues that matter to you.

We’ve already achieved a lot.

We've cut taxes, boosted the number of police on the beat, increased the amount of elective surgery being performed, introduced National Standards in literacy and numeracy, accelerated new roading projects (not to mention a national cycleway), and provided support to small businesses hit by the recession.

Click here to read my opinion piece on the anniversary.

Click on the links below to read short summaries of our achievements in:

• The Economy
• Law and Order
• Education
• Health

LOOKING AHEAD

I’m hugely optimistic about New Zealand’s prospects as we come out of the recession. We have so much going for us. We produce some of the best food in the world. We’ve got beautiful scenery that tourists love to visit. We’re part of this century’s economic powerhouse region – Asia – and home to some of the smartest, hardest-working, and most creative people in the world.

Our mission is to unlock this potential.

I want to see our farmers and exporters producing more and getting better prices for their goods overseas. I want to see our tourism industry growing, and attracting bigger-spending tourists all year round. I want to see more of our Kiwi entrepreneurs selling their goods and ideas to the world so they can expand their businesses and provide new and better paying jobs.

And I want to see more of our young people realising their potential here rather than overseas.

So I’ve tasked Government ministers with working on the key drivers needed to realise these ambitions. They are about:

1. Ensuring our tax system encourages people to work hard, save, and invest in productive Kiwi businesses.

2. Focusing the Government’s activity on better, smarter, frontline services, rather than waste and backroom bureaucracy.

3. Providing all New Zealanders with the education and skills they need to perform productive well-paid jobs.

4. Building the transport, broadband, and other infrastructure networks that people and businesses need to get their jobs done as efficiently as possible.

5. Removing the red tape and cumbersome regulation that can prevent businesses from expanding, taking on new workers, and making the most of new ideas.

6. Supporting Kiwi firms to grow and develop new ideas by connecting them with our researchers and scientists, and helping them reach more global consumers by signing free trade agreements with our trading partners.

That’s a huge programme of work over many areas.

As a Government, it’s a matter of rolling our sleeves up, focusing on the issues that matter and, in some cases, making some difficult decisions.

By creating the right conditions, we can give people the confidence to work hard, invest in a business, and take up new opportunities. New Zealanders want to do that. And we were elected to represent them.

They are the people we swore an oath to serve. And they are the people this Government works for every day.

Together we can realise the brighter future this country deserves.

Read my full speech and comment here.

Best wishes

John Key
Prime Minister
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BOOSTING TOURISM

It was fantastic to visit Kaikoura yesterday for the first time as Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism.

I was in town with local MP Colin King and Associate Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson to launch Whalewatch Kaikoura’s new boat, and we headed out on the water to see some of the region’s spectacular marine mammals.

We spotted a pod of dusky dolphins, several fur seals, and a couple of sperm whales. You may not believe it, but one of them is somewhere in the background of this photo!

Earlier this week, I announced an extra $20 million in funding for tourism in this financial year. The boost will allow Tourism New Zealand to lift our profile in key tourism markets.

Tourism is one of our biggest export earners, employs about one in ten working Kiwis, and its performance ultimately affects all New Zealanders. A strong tourism brand lifts our profile overseas and helps other exporters sell their products.

A quarter of the new money will be earmarked for Tourism NZ to carry out joint venture work with Regional Tourism Organisations and private-sector companies, such as airlines and hotels.

Click here to see more photos from my whale-watching visit (on Flickr)

TAKING ACTION ON VIOLENT CRIME

Last week was busy on the law and order front.

The Government passed a new law that allows police to collect DNA from people they intend to charge with an imprisonable offence, and to match that against samples taken from more than 8000 unsolved crimes. The new law won’t just catch the guilty. It will also help clear the names of those who are innocent.

We passed another law to help clamp down on gangs involved in organised crime and methamphetamine, or P. These laws give police new powers to monitor gang communications, remove fortifications, and increase penalties for belonging to a gang.

We also announced that the police are forming a team of hardened investigators to hunt down and seize millions of dollars in crime profits. The new 22-strong unit will be known as the Assets Recovery Unit and will double the capacity of police to investigate the proceeds of crime.

STRENGTHENING TIES WITH ASIA

Last week I was in Japan and saw a shipment of New Zealand melons. I’m told they sell for a small fortune in local supermarkets. That’s a sign of how Japanese consumers value our food and how much they are willing to pay for it.

The opportunities for our exports in Asia are huge, and expanding trade access to the region was a focus of last week’s trip.

I was in Thailand for the East Asia Summit, which brings together the leaders of Asian countries, and includes Australia and New Zealand. After that I travelled to Kuala Lumpur for the signing of our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia.

We then flew to Japan to have talks with the new Japanese Prime Minister and to meet government ministers and business leaders.

New Zealand and Japan have a very warm relationship, not just at an economic and political level, but between ordinary Kiwis and Japanese people. I wanted to build on this to push along talks that could eventually lead to an FTA with Japan. Both countries have a lot to gain. Japan is the world's largest food importer and New Zealand’s food exports play a huge part in our economic success.

I also opened the 100% Pure Giant Rugby Ball at the foot of Tokyo Tower to build interest in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and was very happy when the All Blacks beat the Wallabies yet again.

FROM THE DIARY

Earlier this week I announced that Prince William will visit next year to open the Supreme Court.

I’m in my electorate today to open an exhibition at the Kaipara Sculpture Gardens. And on Sunday I’ll be speaking at the National Memorial Service for Tsunami Victims at Auckland Cathedral.

Best wishes


John Key PM

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LIFTING EDUCATION STANDARDS

I had fun this morning meeting the children at Glen Taylor School in Auckland with Education Minister Anne Tolley. We were there to launch National Education Standards in reading, writing, and maths.

Introducing National Standards was one of our major election policies. They will lift achievement levels for children in primary and intermediate schools, and report children's progress on literacy and numeracy to parents in plain English twice a year.

As many as one-in-five children are not getting the reading, writing, and maths skills they need to succeed. National Standards will help identify those children early so they get more help. The Government is providing $36 million over four years to support schools to introduce the new standards.

PROMOTING SCIENCE

New Zealand's success rests on our ability to make the best use of our scientific expertise. Yet the achievements of our scientists often go unrecognised.

That's why, today, I was pleased to launch the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science. The prizes were another election promise. The Government will provide $1 million a year across five prizes to help lift the prestige of science and attract more young people into science careers.

DELIVERING ON OUR LAW & ORDER PROMISES

We've had a busy few weeks in Parliament passing some of the legislation we promised during the election campaign. Last week, in a speech to the Police Association Annual Conference, I explained how we are delivering on the 10 steps in our Action Plan for Violent Crime:

- Clamping down on gangs and P dealers by giving police and courts more powers to monitor gang communications, dismantle fortifications, and seize the proceeds of crime. Read my opinion piece on P here. 

- Tackling violent youth crime by giving the Youth Court a new range of interventions and sentences.

- Strengthening bail laws to make it harder for violent criminals to get bail.

- Removing the right of the worst repeat violent offenders to be released on parole.

- Training an extra 600 frontline police officers.

- Giving police the power to take DNA from people arrested for imprisonable offences.

- Introducing on-the-spot protection orders to help protect victims of domestic violence.

- Establishing a Victims Compensation Scheme funded by a levy on criminals.

- Increasing sentences for crimes against children.

- Making our prisons smarter by increasing drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and work programmes for prisoners.

RESTORING ACC TO FINANCIAL HEALTH

I'd like to thank those of you who have commented about ACC levies.

National is determined to maintain a comprehensive, 24/7, no-fault accident insurance scheme. However, ACC is in serious financial difficulty. Its liabilities have ballooned to almost $24 billion. This is $13 billion more than its assets.

We now have the difficult task of rescuing it financially. The ACC Board has proposed a 64 per cent hike on worker levies and an average 44 per cent increase to employer levies. We don't think that's fair, so we're proposing several measures to reform ACC and reduce levy increases.

Law changes to support this reform will be examined by a select committee. We'll be listening to your views throughout this process.

SUPPORTING FREE-TO-AIR RUGBY WORLD CUP COVERAGE

On Monday, Cabinet agreed to support a joint bid from the Maori Television Service, TVNZ, and TV3 for free-to-air television broadcasting rights for the Rugby World Cup. I'm really pleased the broadcasters have worked together to finalise the bid. The outcome meets our objective - that all New Zealanders can see the main games on free-to-air television. Find out more here. 

ON THE ROAD

I'm heading to Thailand this afternoon for the 4^th East Asian Summit.

I'll be meeting leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and Australia. One of the things we'll discuss is a proposed economic partnership in East Asia, which has the potential - in the long-term - to create the world's largest free trade area. The countries at the summit account for over half New Zealand's exports, so any move towards free trade will be great news.

After the summit, I'm heading to Malaysia for the signing of the New Zealand-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement. Then I'm off to Japan to promote trade and business links and publicise the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Find out more here.

Best wishes,

John Key

Prime Minister

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