25 September 2009
Key Notes - News From New York

We're having a very busy week in New York.

The 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations is an opportunity to meet with other leaders and address issues that are important to New Zealanders and the world - from climate change and the conflict in Afghanistan, to the spread of nuclear weapons and free trade.

I've caught up with Helen Clark in her new job as head of the United Nations Development Programme. I've also had a chat with US President Barack Obama (see photo), met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and held bilateral meetings with a number of other leaders.

Trade and the world economy have been high on the agenda. It was great to hear earlier this week that New Zealand is starting to come out of recession. This is encouraging news, but there's still a lot of hard work ahead of us to boost the performance of our economy over the longer term.

I'll be addressing the General Assembly on Saturday morning New Zealand time.

Watch my appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman here.  

Photo credit: Official UN photograph, Erin Siegal

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming has been another big issue in our discussions.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General hosted a summit on climate change, and I announced New Zealand's push for a Global Alliance on agricultural emissions. The alliance will research how to cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and build on the work New Zealand is leading with the establishment of the Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research.

Trade Minister Tim Groser and I have raised the proposal with a number of countries, and there has been considerable interest in the idea from the United States, Brazil, and other nations.

In a related move, yesterday the Government passed our revised Emissions Trading Scheme through its first reading in Parliament. Our aim is to have these changes in place in time for the Copenhagen climate change conference in December. The revised ETS will reduce the costs to households and the impact on jobs, and it will better balance our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibilities.

MAKING AUCKLAND BETTER

We have passed into law the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009. This sets up the structure for the Auckland Council, and gives real local authority to 20 to 30 local boards under the Council. It comes after the special select committee on Auckland carried out extensive consultation with Aucklanders over the past few months and is the next step in making Auckland a world-class city. For more details, visit www.auckland.govt.nz.

BETTER BROADBAND FOR NEW ZEALAND

Last week, we released details of our $1.5 billion ultra-fast broadband investment initiative. Ultra-fast broadband is a breakthrough technology that will connect our communities and allow Kiwi businesses to reach customers around the globe. The Government is partnering with the private sector to roll out ultra-fast broadband to 75% of New Zealand homes over the next 10 years, with an initial focus on businesses, schools, and health centres. This complements our plan for a $300 million public-private investment in rural broadband over the next six years.

BOOSTING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

The Government is providing the first 2000 places for our Youth Guarantee in 2010. The Youth Guarantee will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to study for school-level qualifications at polytechs, institutes of technology, wananga, or private training establishments. It will give students who are disengaged at school the chance to continue learning in a non-school setting and get the skills they need.

DELIVERING BETTER HEALTHCARE

This week we announced the largest ever annual increase in the number of people receiving elective surgery in our public health system. An extra 11,805 patients had elective procedures in 2008/09, with the largest increase coming in the first half of 2009. The increase is over eight times greater than the average number of extra operations achieved per year by the previous government. It delivers on our election promise to boost elective surgery and provide better, sooner, more convenient healthcare.

CONNECTING WITH YOU

Several Ministers are writing e-newsletters to keep people informed about changes in their portfolio and to get feedback from their sector. This includes Bill English with his e-newsletter

© Scoop Media