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Dear John,

Public Transport Progress is made

The first electric train Southern Line service between Britomart, Papakura and Pukekohe ran on Monday 3 February at 5.11am. The day before, I had the privilege of previewing the new rail service as did a big crowd of Pukekohe residents at an open day at the new Pukekohe station.

 I joined with the Minister of Transport Chris Bishop, Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Peter Goodfellow and local board members from Papakura and Franklin to celebrate the opening of the station and the extended electrified railway track which has been the work of Kiwi Rail and is now back in the hands of Auckland Transport who will manage the daily operations.

This is the result of National’s announced public transport plans for rail that were developed in 2017 and included this extension of electrification to Pukekohe and its new station as well as a new stations at Drury and Paerata Rise to be completed this year and at Ngakaroa in 2026. The 2017 plan also included a new separate line between Westfield and Wiri for freight trains which is now on track for completion later this year, too.

These public transport developments will support the growing population around Drury and further south which is expected to increase to 100,000 people who will live in 40,000 new homes in the electorate and many will use the trains to travel to an expected 50,000 new jobs.

Government releases artificial intelligence framework for use by public service
As Minister of Digitising Parliament, it is great to see the trials using Artificial Intelligence across  non-public facing roles by government agencies, have been successful.

The Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) is leading the work programme to support safe and trusted uptake of AI technology across the public service. The recently released  Public Service AI Framework, which sits above the Responsible AI Guidance for the Public Service, sets out a structured approach to safely, efficiently and transparently  deploy AI in all its forms across the New Zealand public service.

The GCDO is working with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment to develop similar guidance for the business community. Agencies have joined up to support responsible AI adoption across both government and industry, driving innovation and economic growth.

I see the enormous value to be gained from using AI and I am pushing for more use and for minimising regulation so that it is readily available and accessible.
Overseas reports show that the use of AI is still in the early adoption phase, because most companies don’t know how to use it to benefit their production and delivery of products and services or how to make AI startups profitable.

So there is great opportunity for New Zealand users to get ahead of the game while remaining careful and continuing to use the [existing guidance for Generative AI]([link removed]) . The current guidance recommends not using AI for any data classified sensitive or above, or for critical operations, and to avoid where possible putting any personal data into GenAI tools but new more enabling guidance is due out soon.

Generative AI works by drawing on data including text from books, articles, websites and other written sources. The software analyses patterns and structures in the source material then responds using natural sounding language to create new images, write music or computer programming code and more.

Real examples of using AI in Auckland include its use to help screen patients for diabetic retinopathy which is a complication of diabetes and is a huge problem for New Zealand's Pasifika communities. 

Using AI speeds up the testing, which means more immediate medical treatment can be given and it is more accurate than a manual process.

I can see that AI, (called GovGPT), used in Government in a general  setting, will help reduce services’ wait times, triage issues faster and allow public servants to focus on frontline services – and that means delivering better outcomes for New Zealanders while reducing costs to government. It will need the new guidance framework to enable its continued safe and responsible uptake.

I support adopting a suite of tools so agencies can use AI in ways that are safe, transparent and deliver real value for New Zealanders while upholding the highest standards of trust and accountability.

AI systems are evolving rapidly, and I anticipate that government policies, guidance and use cases, will continue to adapt alongside these advancements and public expectations to make AI a valuable tool and export prospect in the future.
AI is definitely part of the path to prosperity for New Zealand.

Best wishes and I hope you are enjoying a warm summer St Valentine’s Day,

Judith

Hon Judith Collins KC
MP for Papakura

 

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