It’s hard to tell how much will be bled from taxpayers, but midwives and Pacifika nurses are among the winners from govt news
Good governmental news has flowed for health workers over the past 24 hours – or rather, some health workers. Midwives have secured a hefty pay rise and “targeted measures” have been announced to benefit Pacific health workers.
Then there are new troughs from which eligible oinkers can slurp. One of these is grandly labelled the Climate Finance for Community Resilience Programme, the other is a fund intended to help commercial building tenants and owners improve the climate and energy efficiency of their buildings.
A “comprehensive package of measures to protect native biodiversity” has been launched, too.
This one – aimed at protecting native wildlife and at-risk habitats – includes a consultation on new ways to fund long-term conservation via a biodiversity credit system, a clearer set of requirements for councils to protect areas of significant biodiversity, innovation pilots, regional biodiversity coordinators, and the development of a digital information platform.
A biodiversity credit system would help to protect important habitats and species by providing financial incentives to manage land in a way that benefits both wildlife and local communities, Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
His statement is bereft of dollar signs to give us an idea of the cost,.
There are dollar signs in the statement which announces a a 15 per cent pay boost – ratified yesterday – for more than 1,150 midwives employed by Te Whatu Ora.
But the figures tell us what midwives will be paid, not what the government – all up – will be paying.
The agreement means the government will have increased the wages of our largest group of midwives by about 45 per cent since 2017, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said. .
In addition they will receive a lump sum payment of at least $3,000.
Graduate midwives in our public hospitals will now start work on almost $73,000 per year before overtime and allowances, while experienced midwives will be on a base rate of almost $97,000 before overtime and allowances.
For comparative purposes, Point of Order notes that the average annual salary for Policy Analyst jobs in New Zealand ranges from $80,000 to $85,000.
Health (Pacific Peoples) Minister Barbara Edmonds was more informative about government spending when she announced the plan to grow and develop New Zealand’s Pacific health workforce.
More than $1.5 million is being pumped into Pacific students through the annual Te Whatu Ora Pacific Health Scholarship programme.
220 tertiary scholarships have been awarded to students studying health and disability-related courses including medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery, and allied health. The scholarship funds contribute directly to students’ tuition fees.
Since 2019 scholarships have been awarded to more than 1,000 students to support their careers in our health workforce. .
The Government is also funding 35 students to undertake a new Graduate Diploma programme in Pacific Nursing at Te Pūkenga, Whitireia.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced the launch of the programme, which “will support inclusive, locally-led climate action in the Pacific”.
The Climate Finance for Community Resilience Programme will be delivered in partnership with non-governmental New Zealand organisations and with local Pacific and Timor-Leste civil society organisations.
The first initiative under the programme will be a $5.5 million Manaaki Contestable Fund round for small and medium sized New Zealand NGOs that meet Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s requirements. Further funding (unspecified) will follow to larger NGOs and wider civil society groups.
Energy and Housing Minister Megan Woods has been involved in filling the other new trough, saying government funding will allow commercial building tenants and owners to improve the climate and energy efficiency of their buildings.
The targeted programme will help commercial building owners or tenants to install and upgrade to cleaner, smarter, energy-efficient and low emissions heating.
“We want to partner with businesses to ensure commercial office buildings are largely powered by renewable energy and the programme is a critical part to achieving this,” Megan Woods said.
Point of Order waded through nine paragraphs before finding the first dollar sign in additional information provided under the heading…
Notes for editors:
GIDI: Commercial Buildings has been allocated $40M from the $650M Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund, administered by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority).
GIDI: Commercial Buildings, and Industrial are open now. Find out more on EECA’s website.
Total project costs must be at least $300,000 and co-funding will be limited to a maximum of 50% of eligible project costs.
Co-funding is only for capitalised project costs, not operating costs and projects must be fully commissioned and operational within two years of application approval.
The GIDI Fund is part of the government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund and is funded via proceeds from the Emissions Trading Scheme. A total of $650m ($1b over seven years) was allocated as part of Budget 2022.
Megan Woods has also announced 20 new public homes, which will share solar energy collected on their roofs and are built “to a high efficiency standard”, have been opened on Christchurch’s Riccarton Road today.
The three-storey building is the first high-density Full Universal Design complex built by Kāinga Ora in Christchurch.
Through the Government’s Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy fund, they will benefit from technology that enables the sharing of rooftop solar being used in New Zealand for the first time.
Woods mentioned estimates which show the technologies involved will save tenants around $350-$400 each year on their power bills.
She does not mention the cost of the new building.
A “comprehensive package of measures to protect native biodiversity” has been launched, too.
This one – aimed at protecting native wildlife and at-risk habitats – includes a consultation on new ways to fund long-term conservation via a biodiversity credit system, a clearer set of requirements for councils to protect areas of significant biodiversity, innovation pilots, regional biodiversity coordinators, and the development of a digital information platform.
A biodiversity credit system would help to protect important habitats and species by providing financial incentives to manage land in a way that benefits both wildlife and local communities, Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
His statement is bereft of dollar signs to give us an idea of the cost,.
There are dollar signs in the statement which announces a a 15 per cent pay boost – ratified yesterday – for more than 1,150 midwives employed by Te Whatu Ora.
But the figures tell us what midwives will be paid, not what the government – all up – will be paying.
The agreement means the government will have increased the wages of our largest group of midwives by about 45 per cent since 2017, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said. .
In addition they will receive a lump sum payment of at least $3,000.
Graduate midwives in our public hospitals will now start work on almost $73,000 per year before overtime and allowances, while experienced midwives will be on a base rate of almost $97,000 before overtime and allowances.
For comparative purposes, Point of Order notes that the average annual salary for Policy Analyst jobs in New Zealand ranges from $80,000 to $85,000.
Health (Pacific Peoples) Minister Barbara Edmonds was more informative about government spending when she announced the plan to grow and develop New Zealand’s Pacific health workforce.
More than $1.5 million is being pumped into Pacific students through the annual Te Whatu Ora Pacific Health Scholarship programme.
220 tertiary scholarships have been awarded to students studying health and disability-related courses including medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery, and allied health. The scholarship funds contribute directly to students’ tuition fees.
Since 2019 scholarships have been awarded to more than 1,000 students to support their careers in our health workforce. .
The Government is also funding 35 students to undertake a new Graduate Diploma programme in Pacific Nursing at Te Pūkenga, Whitireia.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced the launch of the programme, which “will support inclusive, locally-led climate action in the Pacific”.
The Climate Finance for Community Resilience Programme will be delivered in partnership with non-governmental New Zealand organisations and with local Pacific and Timor-Leste civil society organisations.
The first initiative under the programme will be a $5.5 million Manaaki Contestable Fund round for small and medium sized New Zealand NGOs that meet Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s requirements. Further funding (unspecified) will follow to larger NGOs and wider civil society groups.
Energy and Housing Minister Megan Woods has been involved in filling the other new trough, saying government funding will allow commercial building tenants and owners to improve the climate and energy efficiency of their buildings.
The targeted programme will help commercial building owners or tenants to install and upgrade to cleaner, smarter, energy-efficient and low emissions heating.
“We want to partner with businesses to ensure commercial office buildings are largely powered by renewable energy and the programme is a critical part to achieving this,” Megan Woods said.
Point of Order waded through nine paragraphs before finding the first dollar sign in additional information provided under the heading…
Notes for editors:
GIDI: Commercial Buildings has been allocated $40M from the $650M Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund, administered by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority).
GIDI: Commercial Buildings, and Industrial are open now. Find out more on EECA’s website.
Total project costs must be at least $300,000 and co-funding will be limited to a maximum of 50% of eligible project costs.
Co-funding is only for capitalised project costs, not operating costs and projects must be fully commissioned and operational within two years of application approval.
The GIDI Fund is part of the government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund and is funded via proceeds from the Emissions Trading Scheme. A total of $650m ($1b over seven years) was allocated as part of Budget 2022.
Megan Woods has also announced 20 new public homes, which will share solar energy collected on their roofs and are built “to a high efficiency standard”, have been opened on Christchurch’s Riccarton Road today.
The three-storey building is the first high-density Full Universal Design complex built by Kāinga Ora in Christchurch.
Through the Government’s Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy fund, they will benefit from technology that enables the sharing of rooftop solar being used in New Zealand for the first time.
Woods mentioned estimates which show the technologies involved will save tenants around $350-$400 each year on their power bills.
She does not mention the cost of the new building.
Latest from the Beehive
The Government is launching a suite of measures to protect native wildlife and at-risk habitats, to help halt the decline of nature due to human activity, Associate Minister for the Environment James Shaw has announced.
Government funding will allow commercial building tenants and owners to improve the climate and energy efficiency of their buildings, Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods has announced.
Twenty new public homes which will share solar energy collected on their roofs and are built to a high efficiency standard, have been opened on Christchurch’s Riccarton Road today, by the Minister of Housing Hon Dr Megan Woods
A wage increase ratified today will give more than 1,150 midwives employed by Te Whatu Ora a 15 percent pay boost, Minister of Health Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced.
The Chris Hipkins Government is providing targeted measures to support our Pacific health workforce, Associate Health Minister Barbara Edmonds says.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today the launch of the Climate Finance for Community Resilience Programme.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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