SHANE ARDERN MP FOR Taranaki-King County

National Supports Playcentres and Parents' Choice

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:56:00 +1200

Shane Ardern, local MP said that it was sad that there has been scaremongering over the future of Playcentre, Kohanga Reo and home based educators. National has and will continue to support giving parents’ choice in ECE.

We are committed to high-quality early childhood education. We are investing a record $1.4 billion in this sector in the year ahead, and we want to make sure it works for all children and families in New Zealand.

The independent ECE Taskforce was established to review the effectiveness of ECE spending and to make recommendations on proposed improvements. This included recommendations for changes to funding and policy settings – but the Education Minister has been absolutely clear that this will not result in any funding cuts to Playcentres or parent-led ECE services.

National extended 20 Hours ECE to include Playcentres, KohangaRreo, and 5-year-olds for the first time. This year the Kohanga Reo trust is receiving $76 million in taxpayer funding, while over $14 million is going to Playcentres.

Home-based services, which are private businesses, also play an important role and provide a good alternative within a diverse sector. They won't be disadvantaged and will continue to play an important role as the Government strives for high-quality ECE.

Our Action Plan for the Economy

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:01:00 +1200

For the past three years National has provided the responsible economic management that New Zealand sorely needed after nine years of Labour.

We’ve taken strong action to get the economy growing again.

Agriculture is leading New Zealand out of the recession. We already know Labour wants to tax farmers an extra $800 million through the Emissions Trading Scheme, and now they want to impose yet another tax on this key industry through capital gains tax.

To make matters worse, Labour have hidden in their tax package an Emissions Trading Scheme based on a $50 per tonne price for carbon across the entire scheme. That would mean Kiwi households would have to fork out four times as much for the ETS as they do currently under the National-led Government’s more balanced scheme.

Our rural communities need the farmers and the farmers need our rural communities.
The economy is now really gathering momentum. The latest GDP data shows that economic growth was much higher than expected in the March quarter, despite the Christchurch earthquake.
By contrast, when we came into office, New Zealand had been in recession for nine months – well before other countries and the onset of the global financial crisis.

Exports had flattened out. Government spending was out of control. The Treasury’s books showed never-ending budget deficits and spiralling Government debt.

Despite the surprises since then – including the devastating Canterbury earthquakes – the economy is now much stronger than it was three years ago and is far better placed to meet future challenges.
We’ve set the platform for strong economic growth while protecting our most vulnerable.

We’ve improved our tax system so that it encourages hard work and savings, rather than providing incentives to hide income or head overseas. Our tax reforms have made sure that after-tax wages have, on average, risen faster than the cost of living. They went up 7.1 per cent in the past year – faster than the rate of inflation.

We’ve made the Government-run parts of the economy more efficient so that they don’t get in the way of the parts of the economy that compete with the rest of the world. We’ve reduced our reliance on foreign lenders by limiting debt. The Government’s books will be in surplus by 2014/15.
We’ve cut red tape to encourage enterprise and flexibility. We’ve boosted investment in vital infrastructure – such as roads, broadband, and the electricity network. And we’ve improved the education system so that our schools and tertiary institutions produce better skilled workers for the future.

New Zealanders are starting to reap the benefits of our economic plan.
Budget 2011 forecast 170,000 new jobs and 3 per cent average annual growth over the next four years.

We’re very optimistic about the economic future for New Zealand. The last thing our country needs is more taxes and more debt.

Kiwis don’t want to put their future at risk with a switch back to the unaffordable and big-spending ways of the past. They want a strong and growing economy that provides more opportunities, better wages, and the high-quality public services they need. That’s exactly what National will deliver.

New Services and Support for Victims

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:10:00 +1200

Crime affects our neighbourhoods, our society, and our economy. But most of all, crime affects the victim. Victims and their families have to deal with the emotional, physical, and financial costs long after a crime has been committed, Shane Ardern, MP Taranaki-King Country said.
National is focused on putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.

In opposition, National had to stand back and watch as – time and time again – victims were left high and dry by a system that seemed to put the offender first, leaving victims to deal with the effects of crime without enough support.

That’s why National introduced a $50 Offender Levy on all convicted offenders.
The levy was expected to collect $13.6 million for victims in its first four years. That’s been increased to $15.9 million after $3 million was collected in its first 10 months, almost $1 million more than expected.

That’s allowed us to introduce – on 1 July – 5 new grants and entitlements for victims and their families. The new services include:

• Expanding the financial assistance available to victims for court hearings to other justice-related meetings.
• Financial help for families whose loved one is killed through dangerous driving or careless firearm use.
• A court attendance allowance for sexual violence victims.
• An emergency grant for economically disadvantaged victims who need assistance but have no income to pay for it.

The new entitlements take the total number of services funded by the Offender Levy to 13.
A new Victims Centre began operating on 1 July. This one-stop shop will oversee government-funded services and support for victims. The Centre will develop and implement a new Victims Code to help victims understand their rights, the services available to them, and the complaints process.

We’ll also introduce a Victims of Crime Reform Bill later this year. This will allow victims to say more in their Victim Impact Statements and be kept better informed through the Victim Notification System.
We know we can’t take away the pain of victims’ loss or injury, but we can help smooth the way. Our court system should make sure victims aren’t caused more pain.

Shane Ardern said as a member of the Law and Order Select Committee we have been working hard to ensure that strong laws are put in place. National was elected was to improve the justice system and address the impact of crime on victims. The successful offender levy, 13 new services for victims, the Victims Centre, and the Victims of Crime Reform Bill will go a long way to putting victims at the heart of the justice system.

Supporting Our Rural Sector

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:04:00 +1200

This week Mystery Creek plays host to Fieldays, the largest agricultural showcase in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a great opportunity to look at the contribution of New Zealand’s rural sector, and what the Government is doing to help our primary industries grow. I will be there on Wednesday 15 June, and look forward to meeting up with the farmers and the industry sector that supports the farming community.

In the last three years as a farmer, the local MP of one of the largest rural electorates, Chair of the Primary Production Select Committee and Chair of the National Agricultural Caucus Committee, I have met with a large number of people involved in farming, industry and supporting sectors. It has been refreshing to see that without exception all of the groups are working hard to move forward and have a positive outlook for the future of the agricultural sector.

National knows that farming is the backbone of our economy. We rely on our rural sector to help deliver greater prosperity and opportunity for all New Zealanders.

That’s why we’re investing in primary industry and working hard for rural New Zealand. We’re improving freshwater management, supporting research and innovation, and breaking down barriers to growth.

Our Fresh Water Package, announced as part of Budget 2011, is about making the most of our economic opportunities to provide more jobs and higher incomes, while fulfilling our environmental responsibilities.

We’re investing $35 million for the Irrigation Acceleration Fund to help get irrigation projects underway. The Government is also proposing future investment of up to $400 million of equity in regional irrigation projects.

NZIER research suggests the funds could support 340,000 hectares of new irrigation, which could boost exports by $1.4 billion a year by 2018, rising to $4 billion a year by 2026.

Improving the quality of our freshwater is important to all New Zealanders. That’s why we’re committing $264 million to help clean up lakes, rivers, and aquifers.

National is also helping our primary industries work smarter. The Primary Growth Partnership is a government-industry initiative to boost growth through science and innovation. Projects are underway across a range of our key sectors.

In less than two years, the partnership has pledged $477 million to primary sector innovation. This is the largest-ever funding injection in this area, and shows our commitment to boosting productivity.

These initiatives are being supported by moves to break down barriers to growth, such as improving the tax system, cutting red tape, and building better infrastructure.

We’ve cut the company tax to 28% and implemented across-the-board personal tax cuts.

We’re making changes to the Resource Management Act to make it easier to do business.

And we’ve committed to investing around $4.5 billion over 10 years for rural infrastructure to improve connections and services for our rural communities.

National and rural New Zealand share a proud history. We will continue to support and invest in our rural sector, to grow our economy, create jobs, and deliver a brighter future for all New Zealanders.