More young offenders will get boot camp, bus drivers will get some protection – and there’s relief for southern farmers
The Government has struck more blows to show it is tough on law and order.
One announcement advised us of a bill introduced to Parliament to deal with young offenders and introduce more boot camps.
Another, explaining measures to keep bus drivers safe, also declared its concern to ensure they can take a toilet break when necessary….
The Government has taken steps to bring relief to Southland farmers, too. It is exempting them from the need to prepare farm plans to meet regional council requirements.
Protection for bus drivers
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.
Not too much urgency, apparently.
Brown said the Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, “and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over two years to do just that”.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), which administers the funding, has concluded assessments on the first round of nine bids from Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) for funding across Auckland, Greater Wellington, Nelson-Tasman, and Hawke’s Bay.
In his media statement, Brown confirmed that an agreement has been reached to approve a bid for funding to retrofit full length driver screens for 80 percent of Auckland Transport’s bus fleet by 2026, or approximately 1,100 buses.
NZTA is also considering funding “to deliver driver toilet facilities and an on-board live CCTV trial for 30 buses”. Results of this trial will inform how Auckland Transport will roll out further CCTV cameras in future.
But isn’t the provision of CCTV cameras a no-brainer?
Come to think of it, providing drivers with toilet facilities comes into the no-brainer category, too.
Roll on, boot camps
Minister for Children Karen Chhour announced the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament yesterday.
The Bill introduces a Young Serious Offender (or YSO) declaration and a Military-Style Academy order (popularly referred to as an order to undergo a disciplinary term in a “boot camp”).
The YSO declaration “will unlock stronger powers for both the Youth Court and New Zealand Police”.
A young person will be eligible for a YSO declaration if they are 14 to 17 years old at the time of offending, have committed at least two separate serious offences and are likely to go on offending.
The Military-Style Academy order included in this Bill will allow young people to be based in a Youth Justice Residence for between 3 to 12 months to take part in the programme.
The government is so keen on these boot camps that it won’t be bothered waiting for an evaluation of the results of the pilot programme in Palmerston North – but Chhour yesterday announced that one of 10 people in the pilot already has reoffended.
Granny flats:
Chris Bishop (RMA Reform) and Chris Penk (Building and Construction) have released the summary of submissions on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent.
“Nearly 2,000” submissions were received.
Bishop said:
“A common theme from homeowners and those who work in the building and construction industry is that that existing council and regulatory processes are a barrier to building and are simply too onerous.”
Was he surprised?
The next step will be integrating the feedback into the detailed policy design. As part of this the Government will consider submitters feedback that they want risks around building failure and environmental implications, especially from natural hazards, to be managed.
The Government expects to introduce legislation to amend the Building Act 2004 next year, and new National Environmental Standards for granny flats are expected to come into effect in 2025.
Mental Health
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey opened “Kahurangi”.
He has answered the question “what’s that?” in his media statement: it’s “ an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services”. The building is located on the Hillmorton Campus and brings together several teams currently based across The Princess Margaret Hospital and Hillmorton.
The name, which means “blue skies” to inspire hope, was “gifted” by local iwi. Being taken to “blue skies” for treatment presumably is more appealing than being taken to the local mental health unit.
The cost to taxpayers is unstated but Doocey said the facility “has been created for the community by the community. Māia Health Foundation has made a significant contribution of $6 million through community support for additional features such as sensory rooms and a therapeutic garden”.
Maia is a charitable foundation that invests in the future health of Canterbury
The new outpatient facility is part of broader redevelopment on the Hillmorton Campus. Last year, two new clinical buildings and an energy centre were opened with further upgrades to the adult inpatient units and a new 80-bed adult facility planned.
Giving farmers a break
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced “the Government is taking action” to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by “unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines”.
“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan, by providing alternate national timelines,” Mr McClay says.
Southland’s regional plan requires farmers to prepare a farm plan by the end of this year, if the national system is not in place.
The Cabinet’s decision gives farmers until mid-2026 to meet the requirements.
In October, the national freshwater farm plan system was paused to enable improvements to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers.
Earthquake risks
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced the passage of legislation dealing with the management of earthquake risks and the appointment of an independent chair of an advisory group to provide expert advice.
The Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which passed third reading yesterday, provides temporary relief from compliance and enforcement challenges.
More information about the earthquake-prone building review and the steering group can be found on the MBIE website here
Appointments
Attorney-General Judith Collins announced the appointment of Rebecca Guthrie as a District Court Judge.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced the latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments.
The Government has taken steps to bring relief to Southland farmers, too. It is exempting them from the need to prepare farm plans to meet regional council requirements.
Protection for bus drivers
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.
Not too much urgency, apparently.
Brown said the Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, “and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over two years to do just that”.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), which administers the funding, has concluded assessments on the first round of nine bids from Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) for funding across Auckland, Greater Wellington, Nelson-Tasman, and Hawke’s Bay.
In his media statement, Brown confirmed that an agreement has been reached to approve a bid for funding to retrofit full length driver screens for 80 percent of Auckland Transport’s bus fleet by 2026, or approximately 1,100 buses.
NZTA is also considering funding “to deliver driver toilet facilities and an on-board live CCTV trial for 30 buses”. Results of this trial will inform how Auckland Transport will roll out further CCTV cameras in future.
But isn’t the provision of CCTV cameras a no-brainer?
Come to think of it, providing drivers with toilet facilities comes into the no-brainer category, too.
Roll on, boot camps
Minister for Children Karen Chhour announced the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament yesterday.
The Bill introduces a Young Serious Offender (or YSO) declaration and a Military-Style Academy order (popularly referred to as an order to undergo a disciplinary term in a “boot camp”).
The YSO declaration “will unlock stronger powers for both the Youth Court and New Zealand Police”.
A young person will be eligible for a YSO declaration if they are 14 to 17 years old at the time of offending, have committed at least two separate serious offences and are likely to go on offending.
The Military-Style Academy order included in this Bill will allow young people to be based in a Youth Justice Residence for between 3 to 12 months to take part in the programme.
The government is so keen on these boot camps that it won’t be bothered waiting for an evaluation of the results of the pilot programme in Palmerston North – but Chhour yesterday announced that one of 10 people in the pilot already has reoffended.
Granny flats:
Chris Bishop (RMA Reform) and Chris Penk (Building and Construction) have released the summary of submissions on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent.
“Nearly 2,000” submissions were received.
Bishop said:
“A common theme from homeowners and those who work in the building and construction industry is that that existing council and regulatory processes are a barrier to building and are simply too onerous.”
Was he surprised?
The next step will be integrating the feedback into the detailed policy design. As part of this the Government will consider submitters feedback that they want risks around building failure and environmental implications, especially from natural hazards, to be managed.
The Government expects to introduce legislation to amend the Building Act 2004 next year, and new National Environmental Standards for granny flats are expected to come into effect in 2025.
Mental Health
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey opened “Kahurangi”.
He has answered the question “what’s that?” in his media statement: it’s “ an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services”. The building is located on the Hillmorton Campus and brings together several teams currently based across The Princess Margaret Hospital and Hillmorton.
The name, which means “blue skies” to inspire hope, was “gifted” by local iwi. Being taken to “blue skies” for treatment presumably is more appealing than being taken to the local mental health unit.
The cost to taxpayers is unstated but Doocey said the facility “has been created for the community by the community. Māia Health Foundation has made a significant contribution of $6 million through community support for additional features such as sensory rooms and a therapeutic garden”.
Maia is a charitable foundation that invests in the future health of Canterbury
The new outpatient facility is part of broader redevelopment on the Hillmorton Campus. Last year, two new clinical buildings and an energy centre were opened with further upgrades to the adult inpatient units and a new 80-bed adult facility planned.
Giving farmers a break
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced “the Government is taking action” to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by “unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines”.
“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan, by providing alternate national timelines,” Mr McClay says.
Southland’s regional plan requires farmers to prepare a farm plan by the end of this year, if the national system is not in place.
The Cabinet’s decision gives farmers until mid-2026 to meet the requirements.
In October, the national freshwater farm plan system was paused to enable improvements to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers.
Earthquake risks
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced the passage of legislation dealing with the management of earthquake risks and the appointment of an independent chair of an advisory group to provide expert advice.
The Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which passed third reading yesterday, provides temporary relief from compliance and enforcement challenges.
More information about the earthquake-prone building review and the steering group can be found on the MBIE website here
Appointments
Attorney-General Judith Collins announced the appointment of Rebecca Guthrie as a District Court Judge.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced the latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments.
Latest from the Beehive
22 November 2024
Nearly 2,000 submissions have been received on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent.
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Rebecca Guthrie as a District Court Judge.
The latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments will help to strengthen biodiversity efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey today opened Kahurangi, an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.
21 November 2024
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines.
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today.
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice.
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week.
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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