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Dear John --
Health
My colleagues and I are continuing to focus on the problems that
Kiwi voters told us needed fixing last year. Health, Education and Law
and Order require big changes after six years of costly systems
reviews rather than delivery of real and tangible solutions.
I know that supporting people to good health is very important. I
am pleased therefore to report on the practical solutions that Dr
Shane Reti is working on to improve the health outcomes for thousands
of New Zealand families.
One of the most difficult illnesses that we face is cancer and Dr
Reti recently announced two new cancer treatments will be added to the
13 life-extending cancer drugs already promised, due to a further
$604million boost in funding.
One such drug, Keytruda, will be funded for eligible people in
respect of five different types of cancer including advanced
triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Pharmac also announced that Opdivo, which treats kidney cancer,
will be funded from 1 November and with Keytruda it will be accessible
to 600 patients in the first year rising to 2,300 over five years.
A target has been set for 90 per cent of patients to receive cancer
management within 31 days of the decision to treat and an extra $18
million a year is to be provided to help people who need to travel for
treatment.
Pharmac will be funded for 11 new treatments for other (non-cancer)
conditions over four years like diabetes.
Another part of supporting the Health sector is increasing its
skilled workforce which already numbers around 85,000 people.
Scholarships from Health NZ, managed by Rural Women New Zealand, have
recently been awarded to 27 health care students to boost the future
rural health workforce.
Support for the training of 500 mental health workers is also under
way.
Law and Order continues to be in the spotlight as
we continue to work on supporting victims not offenders. The passing
of the Gang Legislation Amendment last week represents a big part of
the recent work.
As a Coalition Government, we’re backing our Police with additional
powers and resources to disrupt and control organised crime groups. We
have enabled the establishment of local Gang Disruption Units and
National Gang Units that will identify, target, and catch priority
offenders and put a stop to the misery they cause in our
communities.
The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement to deploy
an additional 70 police to Community Beat Teams (63 for Auckland) and
72 more to the Gang Disruption Units in specific areas (14 for
Auckland).
Crime rates are dropping and the statistics show Child and Youth
Offending are down 15 per cent after rising measurably since 2021 and
violent offending is down with the number of victims reduced by 20,000
as at April this year.
Education
It is good to see the first statistics out around Education show
there has been a 2 per cent improvement in students’ school attendance
figures for the year to the end of term one 2024. Not a bad result for
a target so recently implemented.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Education have announced the
Government’s new Maths Action Plan ‘Make it Count’, and implementation
of Structured Literacy in schools. To facilitate these, improved
teacher training is occurring so teachers are well prepared to support
new learners and struggling readers beginning with Years 0-6 in
2025.
Government unlocking potential of AI
Science, Innovation and Technology is a great portfolio because it
supports the sector that is the future of New Zealand’s technological
and scientific growth and central to exploring the potential for New
Zealand to become a centre of excellence for discoveries and
developments.
As an example, it is predicted that by 2038 AI (Artificial
Intelligence) will contribute $76 billion to New Zealand’s GDP. The
newly announced AI Activator will become a way to unlock these greater
returns and productivity for New Zealand businesses and organisations
through access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools
and resources as well as options for funding and grants.
Announcements from the Aerospace Summit in
Christchurch
Just this week Minister of Transport Simeon Browne and I announced
the Government’s light-touch regulatory approach to advanced
aviation.
Drones and uncrewed aircraft have been around for a few years now
but these ‘novel aviation technologies” have the potential to
revolutionize aviation and significantly impact global aviation,
communications and emergency management as well as advancing
science.
By having minimal regulations that allow flexibility and
innovations without high compliance costs and administration, we will
encourage foreign aerospace-related businesses to come here to New
Zealand to take advantage of that plus our natural advantages of clear
skies, isolated geography and a talented science-related
workforce.
Our Government wants to establish the ‘sandbox’ or a special
restricted airspace where tests for advanced aviation can be carried
out safely in clearly defined separation from other aviation
activities.
I was proud to announce the New Zealand Space and Advanced Aviation
Strategy, which outlines the ambitions for these interlinked sectors,
and the actions that will realise them.
The New Zealand Space and Advanced Aviation Strategy is available
on the MBIE website: New Zealand Space and Advanced Aviation Strategy
2024-2030 | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
(mbie.govt.nz)
The Government’s focus is on creating the right environment to
unlock the significant economic growth offered by the high-tech,
high-productivity aerospace sector – this is the bright future for New
Zealand that I am very pleased to support and promote.
The Government is focussed on rebuilding the country and our
economy. Already interest rates and inflation are down and my
colleagues and I are backing New Zealand and New Zealanders as we
focus on our goal which is getting New Zealand back on track.
Best wishes,
Judith
Hon Judith Collins KC
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