Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has named diplomat James Munro as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He will also be accredited to Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
“New Zealand has a strong and growing bilateral relationship with the Gulf states,” Mr McCully says.
“Our exports to the Gulf Cooperation council were worth $1.7 billion in 2015 and Saudi Arabia is one of New Zealand’s top 20 trading partners.
“A priority for Mr Munro will be to progress these trade and economic relationships, including the New Zealand/GCC FTA.”
Mr Munro is currently New Zealand’s Ambassador to Iraq. He is an Arabic speaker and former military officer, and has previously been posted to Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. He will take up his position in mid-201.
Prime Minister Bill English has today announced his new Cabinet line-up which builds on the success of the last eight years and provides new ideas and energy heading into election year.
“Over the last eight years National has provided a strong and stable Government which is delivering strong results for New Zealanders,” says Mr English.
“This refreshed Ministerial team builds on that success and provides a mix of new people, alongside experienced Ministers either continuing their roles or taking up new challenges.
“This new Ministry is focused on providing prosperity, opportunity and security for all Kiwis, including the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett will remain the Minister of State Services and Climate Change Issues and will pick up the Police, Women and Tourism portfolios.
“I am looking forward to working with Paula as my deputy and I am delighted she is taking on the Police and Women’s portfolios.
“As only the second woman Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Paula is well placed to take on the Women’s portfolio and represent the interests of women at the highest level of the government.”
Steven Joyce will pick up Finance and Infrastructure, while Gerry Brownlee will remain the Leader of the House and retain Supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Defence, and the Earthquake Commission portfolios. He will also be appointed as the Minister of Civil Defence.
“Steven and I have worked closely together in the Finance portfolio over the last eight years, and as Economic Development Minister he has delivered strong leadership of the government’s Business Growth Agenda.
“As Infrastructure Minister Steven will have a key role in overseeing the significant investments the government will be making in the coming years.
“I am delighted to have Gerry continue in his senior roles, including Leader of the House, and also to have him pick up the Civil Defence portfolio in which he has provided such leadership during the aftermath of the Kaikoura earthquake.”
Simon Bridges and Amy Adams have both picked up additional senior ministerial responsibilities.
Simon Bridges continues as the Minister of Transport and will pick up the Economic Development and Communications portfolios and Associate Finance, while Amy Adams retains Justice, Courts and picks up Social Housing, Social Investment and Associate Finance. Amy Adams will take a lead role in driving the Government’s social investment approach.
“Simon and Amy are two high performing Ministers who are ready to take on more responsibility. I am confident they will work well with Finance Minister Steven Joyce,” says Mr English.
Jonathan Coleman continues in his Health and Sport and Recreation portfolios, and will play an important role on the front bench.
“All New Zealanders care deeply about the health system, and Jonathan’s focus on ensuring that the needs of people young and old in accessing quality health care is a very strong one.”
Michael Woodhouse has also been promoted up the Cabinet rankings, retaining Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety and picking up the ACC portfolio.
“I would like to congratulate Michael on his promotion. He has been a solid performer and I know he still has a lot more to contribute.”
Anne Tolley has picked up Local Government and will also be appointed Minister for Children, where she will continue her work on improving outcomes for children and young people.
Hekia Parata will retain the Education portfolio until May 1, at which point she will retire from the Ministry to the back bench.
“I am keen for Hekia to see through the education reforms which she is well underway on, and she will work closely with other Ministers to ensure there is a smooth transition in May.”
There will also be a transition of ministers in the Foreign Affairs portfolio.
Murray McCully will retain the Foreign Affairs portfolio until May 1at which point he will retire from the Ministry to the backbench. A decision on his replacement will be made at that time.
“I am keen for Murray to stay on for this transitional period to ensure I have the benefit of his vast experience on the wide range of issues that affect New Zealand’s vital interests overseas.”
Judith Collins takes on new responsibilities in Revenue, Energy and Resources and Ethnic Communities, and is well placed to oversee the significant business transformation work occurring at Inland Revenue.
A number of Ministers largely retain their existing responsibilities, including Chris Finlayson, Nathan Guy, Nick Smith, Todd McClay, Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner.
Paul Goldsmith and Louise Upston have been promoted into Cabinet.
“I would like to congratulate Paul and Louise on their promotions which are all well-deserved,” says Mr English.
There are four new Ministers. Alfred Ngaro who goes straight into Cabinet and Mark Mitchell, Jacqui Dean and David Bennett who have been promoted to Ministerial positions outside Cabinet.
“The National party Caucus is a tremendously talented one, and as Ministers finish their contribution it’s important for the government’s renewal that we give members of our caucus an opportunity. Alfred, Mark, Jacqui and David have worked hard and performed well in their electorates and as select committee chairs, and deserve their promotions.”
There will be 21 positions in Cabinet until May 1 and a further six outside Cabinet (including two support party Ministers) keeping the total number of Ministerial positions at 27 plus the Parliamentary Under Secretary David Seymour.
“I would like to thank our support party leaders Peter Dunne, Te Ururoa Flavell, and David Seymour for their continued contribution to a strong and stable government.”
Mr English said that he expected to make announcements on the two further new Ministers to replace Ms Parata and Mr McCully just prior to their 1 May retirements from the Ministry.
Ministers Sam Lotu-Iiga, Craig Foss and Jo Goodhew are departing the Ministry.
“I would like to thank Sam Lotu-Iiga, Craig Foss and Jo Goodhew for their service to New Zealand as ministers. I am sure they will continue to be great contributors to New Zealand society in the years ahead.”
We predicted Judith Collins as Revenue Minister
National Fieldays elects new president
National award for engineering student
Strong economic growth predicted
PM announces new Cabinet line-up
The Southern Region Dairy Expo has had a name change.
Single tender let for oil exploration
A chemical leak at Napier Port on Saturday was contained, with four affected containers decontaminated and a fifth sealed and placed inside an exclusion zone. Labour Party announces reshuffle
The LoadScan Load Volume Scanner (LVS) is the original non-contact ‘drive-through’ lorry and dump truck load measurement instrument for the measurement of bulk materials volumes, and LoadScan are the leading international manufacturer of payload volume scanner and load management solutions for the construction, mining, mulch and biomass, quarry and sandpit, oil and gas as well as many other industries. LoadScan are the leading experts in volumetric truck load measurement solutions.
The Load Volume Scanner was developed in 1998 to accurately tally the movements of aggregate and spoil being moved onto, off and around earthworks sites.The need for such a product came from the civil construction industry where engineering materials for the construction of roadways, subdivisions, landfills, building sites etc are tendered, scheduled and paid for using volume measures. These materials are generally carted by truck and trailer, and volumetric truck measure is a standard measure for the monitoring or trading of bulk quantities.
Up until this time there was no satisfactory means of measuring load volumes quickly and accurately. Quarries, cartage companies and construction contractors have traditionally used weight as their trade measure. Load volumes are computed from assumed bulk densities (mass/volume ratios), but this method can be inaccurate. It is also labour intensive and time consuming for the contractor who receives product purchased by volume measure to manually level and check each truck load.
LoadScan has continued to develop the LVS product and LVS devices are successfully operated on a full spectrum of truck and trailer designs including on-road truck and trailer units, semi-trailers and centre-dumpers, as well as off-road articulated dumpers and quarry trucks. The Load Volume Scanner (LVS) design for conventional truck and trailer units has been approved for trade use within New Zealand and Australia, trade approval was first gained in New Zealand in 1999 by the New Zealand government’s Measurement and Product Safety Service (MAPSS) and in Australia in 2010 by the National Measurement Institute (NMI). Patents have also been granted for the LVS design.
The LVS is a proven, reliable technology that receives glowing accolades from its users so it is no surprise LoadScan is rapidly gaining recognition in the civil construction, quarrying, Mining and bark & mulch products industries. The Loadscan Load Volume Scanners are working in these industries in 10 countries around the globe, all manufactured and tested at their facility in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Simpro Handling Equipment Ltd, a New Zealand manufacturer of specialised materials handling equipment, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new head office and manufacturing facility at 66 Rangi Road, Takanini, South Auckland.
Managing Director Stephen Simmons founded Simpro in Auckland in 1986, manufacturing truck-mounted equipment for the waste industry. “This is an exciting step for us” says Stephen. “We’ve been looking for a chance to consolidate for some time, since we’re currently spread over several locations, with various issues, low stud height and so on. The Takanini facility is a big step up in size, with a clearspan structure, eight-metre stud height and a five-tonne gantry covering the entire facility” he adds. “We’ll be able to make real improvements to our manufacturing processes.”An important consideration was the five-tonne gantry crane, which provides coverage to the entire facility An important consideration was the five-tonne gantry crane, which provides coverage to the entire facility.
The Takanini facility is a big step up in size, with a clearspan structure, eight-metre stud height and a five-tonne gantry covering the entire facility. We’ll be able to make real improvements to our manufacturing processes. Stephen Simmons - Managing Director
The large open-plan office is another key feature, as the company has recently centralised sales, customer support, design and administration roles in Auckland. “We moved into [our current premises at] 52 Church Street sixteen years ago” explains Stephen. “We have simply outgrown it, and it will be a real boost for our team to have a modern, open, single-level office space.”
Stephen notes that, while the central Auckland suburb of Onehunga was once a premier location for Kiwi manufacturing firms thanks to its cluster of suppliers and transport links, the industrial landscape is changing. “Location is not so important anymore, with the huge improvements to the motorway network and new commercial areas developing in the outskirts. Ten years ago, we would not have relocated to Takanini, but it’s really not a problem anymore.”
The need for a new facility was largely driven by the Simpro’s expanding export business, which now generates over 80% of turnover. “We’re expanding in the UK, US and Europe, on top of our traditional market in Australasia” explains Stephen. “New Zealand manufacturers are typically innovative, but lack economies of scale. With this exciting move, we are working to achieve both.”About Simpro Handling Equipment Ltd
Simpro Handling Equipment is a market leader in specialised materials handling equipment, including bin tippers, pallet stackers and goods lifts. Founded in Auckland in 1986, the company soon built a reputation for innovation, safety and reliability – delivering unique products which have improved productivity for thousands of workplaces around the world. Today around 80% of production is destined for export.
Simpro's range of materials handling products is complemented by a custom design service for specialised industrial lifting solutions. The company operates a sophisticated CAD design environment, and most manufacturing is conducted at various facilities in Auckland, New Zealand.
Simpro is a family-owned company. More information is available on the company website simpro.world.
A Simpro release | Friday, 9 December 2016 | Daniel Currie |
The Reserve Bank has released a new animated video explaining banking sector stress tests.
Stress testing is a tool to assess how banks might cope with a severe economic downturn.
The two-minute animated video explains how stress tests work and why the Reserve Bank uses them to monitor and respond to risks in the banking sector.
The video is part of a series of animated videos prepared by the Reserve Bank. These include ‘The OCR and how it works’, ‘What is the economy?’, ‘Compound Interest’ and ‘What is money?’.
Watch the video here: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/videos/stress-testing-animated-video
Southland community and business leaders are backing the local aluminium smelter in its battle to pay lower electricity transmission costs. It costs $918 million to run New Zealand's 12,000km national grid, and the smelter has to pay $60.8m a year of that cost.
It originally hoped to reduce that to about $10m, because it only uses one 160km power line, from Manapouri to Tiwai Point, and argued it should not have to pay for wires over 1000km away in Northland or Auckland.
But the Electricity Authority's series of reform proposals is progressively dashing those hopes.
Its latest, and probably penultimate, proposal lowers the smelter's bill only slightly, from $60.8m to $47.4m or $41.9m, depending on how it is assessed.Tim Shadbolt
Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt said that was not nearly good enough.
"We are going to fight it all the way, and we have been getting quite good at fighting these sorts of battles," Mr Shadbolt said.
"I believe it is a case of rallying the troops and getting the South Island mayors together and trying to explain to people what our case is and hoping they will take the side of justice."
| Continue to full article | Dec 19, 2016 |
Ethnic Communities Portfolio is Gesture to New Zealand First ties
Judith Collins held the police portfolio before the reshuffle, along with Corrections, but she has lost them both and picked up Revenue, Energy and Resources, and Ethnic Communities.
She has also been moved down two places on the Cabinet rankings, but new prime minister Bill English insisted she had not been demoted in the cabinet shuffle. We foresaw this tactical re-assignment..
Our report last Monday, a week ago......
Monday, 12 December 2016 07:54NZ National Government new Co-Leaders Curb Rebels
Day one of the Dream Team means coping with problems before they become bigger problems and in politics this means people which is what the word politics actually means.
Top priority is hardly surprisingly Mrs Judith Collins MP, minister of police.
The new team knows that Mrs Collins must be kept in the tent and also kept busy, very busy.
Mrs Collins demonstrated her determination of purpose when she reached for the top job and did so without any support from the National government’s king-makers, people such as Murray McCully MP or of enforcers such as Steven Joyce MP, the new minister of finance.
She compounded this by mooting that she was the one, the match maker, within the National government to bring into the fold permanent stormy petrel Winston Peters MP of New Zealand First Party.
She might just as well have offered her colleagues a cup of tractor sump oil.
Mrs Collins is the National Government MP who most equates to Margaret Thatcher, also a tax lawyer.
So as today draws on and the coronation caucus smiles however insincere, along with the sound of clinking glasses recede into the evening the new premier Bill English MP and his deputy Paula Bennett MP will crystalise their thoughts on Mrs Collins.
They will do so in concert with solving another problem..
It is one to which long running National governments have found themselves in the quite recent past to be prone.
This is of the seemingly spontaneous but in fact carefully orchestrated advent of a middle class revolt.
It is currently a low-level threat in the form of a peoples’ party currently being nurtured by pop-economist Gareth Morgan.
Mr Morgan’s movement centres on the need for an asset tax .
This it is claimed is required to cope with the problem of the well-off sidestepping paying tax.
Voiders and evaders alike slide past it by a process of expensing blended with the advantages presented by the much storied absence of a capital gains tax..
Enter now the solution to be seen to be at least facing the problem.
It is Mrs Judith Collins MP.
But now with a new title.
That of revenue minister..
Karl Kolmsee explains how the small hydrokinetic turbines developed by his company Smart Hydro Power can provide a reliable source of electricity to remote rural communities.Smart Hydro Power's floating turbines
A hydrokinetic turbine works like a wind turbine underwater – the force of the current in a river or canal turns a rotor, which in turn spins a generator to create electricity.
Smart Hydro Power designs and manufactures these turbines to provide a renewable source of electricity to inaccessible rural locations.
| Continue to full articvle with video and images on Dezeen | Dec 16, 2016 |
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced two new appointments to the WorkSafe New Zealand Board.
Stephen Reindler and Nikki Davies-Colley will join the board from 16 December for three year terms.
“These appointments bring to the Board strong governance skills and experience in sectors which WorkSafe is particularly focused on,” Mr Woodhouse says.
“Stephen Reindler is a very experienced director and engineer who has led health and safety programmes in large manufacturing, engineering, and transport companies.
“Nikki Davies-Colley brings her governance experience in the farming, forestry and energy sectors and her health and safety initiatives have become models for others in those industries.”
Chair and Deputy Chair of the WorkSafe Board, Gregor Coster and Ross Wilson, have also been reappointed.
“Both Gregor and Ross have shown a strong commitment to implementing the reforms introduced by the Health and Safety at Work Act.
“Gregor is an experienced health sector leader and has led the board from its establishment in 2013. Ross will continue to bring an employees’ perspective and a sound understanding of employment and workplace health and safety law.”
WorkSafe is a Crown agent and has an independent board, with five to nine members appointed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242