Labour Leader - February 2008

Party: Labour

Sender: Helen Clark <[email protected]>

Date Received: 2008-02-14 15:07

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Statement to The House

This week it was my privilege to present the Statement to Parliament outlining the government’s priorities for the year ahead.

We have big policies to roll out and progress this year:

A major funding boost for community based organisations that provide essential services like parenting programmes, womens’ refuges, budget advice and mentoring programmes for young people.
A programme of action called Schools Plus to lift participation and achievement in education by our young people, and;
A comprehensive set of initiatives to increase the supply of affordable housing.

These new programmes look to the future and tackle the real issues and challenges facing our families and our country.

They are part of our long-term programme to transform our economy so that every family, young and old, in our country can enjoy a better life.

Increased funding for community-based organisations

Community-based organisations make a vital contribution to our society, helping vulnerable families, children, and young people get on top of their problems and get ahead in life.

The time has come to do much more and therefore we have decided to make a big investment in long-term, sustainable funding to support these organisations.

From 2008/09 there will be an extra $37.5 million for funding community organisations providing social services, increasing to an annual level of $192.8 million in 2011/12 and beyond.

This will not only give huge relief to community organisations which are struggling to provide quality services to families and children and young people, it will also ensure that we can do more to prevent family violence and youth offending.

This is critical to building a safer and more sustainable society for all of us.

Click here to read Ruth Dyson's announcement of more funding for community-based organisations

Schools Plus

Schools Plus is a new initiative to build the education and training system our young people need to learn the skills for a twenty first century economy.

Under Schools Plus the school of the future will be the base from which young people begin youth apprenticeships, obtain work skills or continue with a more traditional programme of academic work leading to university or tertiary education.

We expect to invest significant new resources in Schools Plus but we believe the investment will be repaid by more productive citizens and a stronger skills base.

Schools Plus is an important programme for our young people, and for New Zealand as a whole. We can't build our country's future on a low skill, low wage economy, which is why we need change in education and a quantum leap in the aspirations we have for our young people.

Affordable Housing

The fast rising cost of houses in recent years has made the dream of home ownership more difficult to achieve. The problem is not unique to New Zealand – it's an issue in Australia, Britain, and Canada too.

Beginning this year we are launching a comprehensive action plan to increase the supply of affordable homes.

We will investigate ways to increase the number of large scale urban housing projects which incorporate affordable homes. An example of such a development is at Hobsonville in Auckland where 500 homes for first home owners on modest incomes and 500 homes for Housing New Zealand will be built as part of the overall project to build 3000 new homes.

We will also support the development of a larger not-for-profit housing sector, such as projects being developed by community groups.

The Government’s aim is to increase choices and reduce costs in the housing market, so that as many New Zealanders as possible can own their own home, and all New Zealanders can have access to quality housing that is within their means and meets their needs.

Click here to read Maryan Street's announcement of plans to improve the supply of affordable housing

About this e-newsletter

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Labour Leader, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Phone: 04 473 3579, Email: [Email]
Labour Party Head Office, PO Box 784, Wellington
Phone: 04 384 7649, Fax: 04 384 8060, Email: [Email]

Text Version

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LABOUR LEADER - FEBRUARY 2008
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Introduction
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Welcome to my first email newsletter. E-mail is a great way to
keep in touch, and I plan to send out regular e-newsletters to
keep you up-to-date with the decisions and work of the Labour-led
Government.
In this issue:
=================================================================
- Statement to The House
- Increased funding for community-based organisations
- Schools Plus
- Affordable Housing
- About this e-newsletter
Statement to The House
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This week it was my privilege to present the Statement to
Parliament
[http://www.labour.org.nz/speeches/20080212_speech_prime_ministers_statement_to_parliament.html]
outlining the government's priorities for the year ahead.
We have big policies to roll out and progress this year:
* A major funding boost for community based organisations that
provide essential services like parenting programmes, womens'
refuges, budget advice and mentoring programmes for young people.
* A programme of action called Schools Plus to lift participation
and achievement in education by our young people, and;
* A comprehensive set of initiatives to increase the supply of
affordable housing.
These new programmes look to the future and tackle the real
issues and challenges facing our families and our country.
They are part of our long-term programme to transform our economy
so that every family, young and old, in our country can enjoy a
better life.
Increased funding for community-based organisations
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Community-based organisations make a vital contribution to our
society, helping vulnerable families, children, and young people
get on top of their problems and get ahead in life.
The time has come to do much more and therefore we have decided
to make a big investment in long-term, sustainable funding to
support these organisations.
From 2008/09 there will be an extra $37.5 million for funding
community organisations providing social services, increasing to
an annual level of $192.8 million in 2011/12 and beyond.
This will not only give huge relief to community organisations
which are struggling to provide quality services to families and
children and young people, it will also ensure that we can do
more to prevent family violence and youth offending.
This is critical to building a safer and more sustainable society
for all of us.
Click here to read Ruth Dyson's announcement of more funding for
community-based organisations
[http://www.labour.org.nz/latest_news/20080212_news_investing_in_sustainable_community_services.html]
Schools Plus
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Schools Plus is a new initiative to build the education and
training system our young people need to learn the skills for a
twenty first century economy.
Under Schools Plus the school of the future will be the base from
which young people begin youth apprenticeships, obtain work
skills or continue with a more traditional programme of academic
work leading to university or tertiary education.
We expect to invest significant new resources in Schools Plus but
we believe the investment will be repaid by more productive
citizens and a stronger skills base.
Schools Plus is an important programme for our young people, and
for New Zealand as a whole. We can't build our country's future
on a low skill, low wage economy, which is why we need change in
education and a quantum leap in the aspirations we have for our
young people.
Affordable Housing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The fast rising cost of houses in recent years has made the dream
of home ownership more difficult to achieve. The problem is not
unique to New Zealand – it's an issue in Australia, Britain, and
Canada too.
Beginning this year we are launching a comprehensive action plan
to increase the supply of affordable homes.
We will investigate ways to increase the number of large scale
urban housing projects which incorporate affordable homes. An
example of such a development is at Hobsonville in Auckland where
500 homes for first home owners on modest incomes and 500 homes
for Housing New Zealand will be built as part of the overall
project to build 3000 new homes.
We will also support the development of a larger not-for-profit
housing sector, such as projects being developed by community
groups.
The Government's aim is to increase choices and reduce costs in
the housing market, so that as many New Zealanders as possible
can own their own home, and all New Zealanders can have access to
quality housing that is within their means and meets their needs.
Click here to read Maryan Street's announcement of plans to
improve the supply of affordable housing
[http://www.labour.org.nz/latest_news/20080212_news_action_plan_to_increase_affordable_housing.html]
About this e-newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You are receiving this email because you are on a list held by my
office. If you do not wish to receive further emails click on
the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter and you will
be automatically unsubscribed.
If you have friends you think would be interested in this
newsletter you can forward it to them using the Send to a Friend
button, and invite them to join our mailing list.
The newsletter also links you to Labour's Parliamentary website
(www.labour.org.nz [http://www.labour.org.nz]) which has more
information about our activities.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We sent this email to [Email].
If you no longer wish to hear from us, click the link the below
to instantly unsubscribe:
http://helenclark.createsend.com/t/1/u/bjrui/jdojtul/
Thanks,
Helen Clark