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I have just returned from a rather gruelling trip to Australia with the Law and Order Select Committee, which was aimed at investigating whether Australian authorities will help target fine defaulters living there.
Defaulters owe more than $500 million and the committee is concerned about the level of unpaid fines. We were looking at the possibility of introducing a reciprocal collection arrangement between the two countries.
People leaving New Zealand who owe significant fines are now being targeted at airports, but unfortunately a significant number of defaulters already living in Australian cannot be tracked.
The Courts Department has already investigated a number of topics, including extradition, but the issue is very complex.
However we are fortunate that the Australian Government began helping New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department in collecting child support debts in 2000.
This was a step in the right direction.
On the home front, beginning teachers will get more support in their new and important teaching careers with a resource launched by Education Minister Trevor Mallard.
The amount and kind of support beginning teachers receive is an important factor in their effectiveness in the classroom and their satisfaction with teaching.
Towards Full Registration - A Support Kit for Schools aims to provide clear direction and guidelines for the induction and professional development of beginning teachers.
The enthusiasm and vitality beginning teachers bring to the school and classroom are particularly valuable and the Minister wants to ensure this momentum is sustained. The Government is focusing on improving quality teaching to lift student achievement and this resource will support that goal.
It will help the people who support and guide beginning teachers to work more effectively with them. Trevor expects it will be used extensively by School Support Services and by colleges of education when working with students in their final year of teacher training.
I am confident this resource will assist schools as they put into place robust and effective Towards Full Registration is a joint publication between the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Teachers Council, and cost around $120,000 to develop.
The resource, available from Learning Media Services, has been sent to all schools and teacher education providers.
Good progress is being made in the battle to reduce waste. This is part of the Labour led Government's commitment to supporting a clean, green and sustainable environment in New Zealand.
On taking office in December 1999 the Government flagged in the Speech from the Throne that waste management needed stronger action and that by 2010 all existing landfills would be upgraded or closed.
Two years ago the Environment Minister Marian Hobbs released the New Zealand Waste Strategy, a joint effort between the Ministry for the Environment and Local Government New Zealand. It contained a number of national targets focused on waste minimisation, disposal and monitoring.
A review of the targets released last week clearly shows that councils are taking up the challenge to reduce waste and are making good progress. The number of landfills has reduced from 300 to 100 since 1995 and 95 percent of New Zealanders will have access to recycling by 2005. By the end of the decade there will be fewer than 50 landfills around the country.
Before 2005 at least 10 major businesses will be participating with central and local government to develop and promote waste minimisation programmes within their sector including extended producer responsibility programmes currently being developed by the Ministry for the Environment.
Closing substandard landfills, providing access to recycling, and on-going co-operation between businesses, the community and the Government in seeking to reduce waste is all strong evidence of success.
To assist local authorities meet the strategy's targets, the Ministry for the Environment is working with industry and local government to develop a Packaged Goods Accord; co-ordinating a national collection of unwanted agricultural chemicals; dealing with special wastes like used oil and used tyres; developing a product stewardship policy for New Zealand that will see producers and others take care of products through their lifecycle; and helping to identify and document best practice in waste management planning.
Reducing waste is a cornerstone of the Government's commitment to sustainable development. Local government is crucial to putting this into effect and all of us must take responsibility for doing our bit to reduce waste and manage it better.
For example, making simple changes around the home and garden can make a real contribution to helping reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Changing the way we deal with kitchen and garden waste can help reduce one of the most potent greenhouse gases and the biggest New Zealand contributor to climate change - methane.
The Government's Reduce Your Rubbish campaign is designed to encourage householders to recycle and compost as much as they can. Visit the website or contact the Ministry for the Environment to see what kind of things you can do to help. If we all take a few small steps, we can make a huge difference.
Finally my heartiest congratulations and thanks to our hard-working police force for their efforts in reducing crime in Wairarapa. The news was good to hear.
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