Legislation will deliver business tax cuts
New legislation passed by Parliament this week will deliver $1.1 billion in tax cuts to New Zealand businesses over four years. Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said the Taxation (Depreciation, Payment Dates Alignment, FBT and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill brought about the most comprehensive business tax cuts for nearly two decades. This proved the government was taking tax reform seriously. The main feature of the wide-ranging legislation was a package of business-friendly tax measures designed to promote economic growth, Peter Dunne said. The Bill was passed without opposition.

Minister resigns
Prime Minister Helen Clark this week accepted the resignation of Cabinet Minister David Parker from his ministerial portfolios. Mr Parker this week admitted he made mistakes in filing annual returns to the Companies Office. Temporarily taking new responsibilities, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen has taken on the Attorney-General portfolio, while Transport and Climate Change have been assigned to Pete Hodgson, with Energy going to Trevor Mallard. All three Ministers have held these portfolio responsibilities before.

Moth pests eradicated
The West Auckland painted apple moth and Mt Wellington Fall webworm moth populations have been eradicated, Biosecurity Minister Jim Anderton announced this week. In thanking Aucklanders for their patience with the eradication programmes, Jim Anderton said both pests threatened to cost the economy hundreds of millions of dollars, if they became established. For eradication to be declared, it is required that no pests from the original population are detected for two years. Jim Anderton said while there had been new finds of individual moths in other parts of Auckland over the past two years, these were probably new arrivals, and so far were not evidence of established populations warranting action. The painted apple moth, native to Australia, was first found in West Auckland in 1999 and aerially treated 69 times between 1999 and 2003. Ministry of Agriculture and Fishers officials estimated its potential economic impact between $58 million and $356 million over 20 years if it became widely established. It cost $ 62.4m to eradicate. A colony of Fall web worm moth, a significant North American pest, also found in Europe and Asia, was detected in Mt Wellington in March 2003 and ground treated. It's estimated potential economic impact was up to $83m over 20 years, with likely impacts on amenity plantings, horticulture, erosion control and shelter species. It cost $6.7m to eradicate.

Rewards for safer workplaces
More than 180,000 small businesses with workplace safety plans will soon be able to ask for a 10 per cent discount on their ACC levies. The change comes into effect from 1 April and forms part of the government's ACC levy discount programme specifically aimed at small business employers and self-employed in the agriculture, forestry, construction, road freight transport, motor trades and in-shore fishing industries. ACC Minister Ruth Dyson said the government was helping small businesses to take workplace safety issues seriously. She said many small businesses and self-employed people worked in high-risk industries yet were less able to cope with the impact of an injured worker. Eligible small businesses could apply to join the programme, with the levy discount on the Employers Account or Self-Employed Work Account offered as an incentive. ACC was also working with industry associations and organisations to make available workplace safety training that is specifically tailored to suit small businesses in the relevant sectors.

Car buyers better protected
A report on the Motor Vehicle Sales Act shows New Zealand car buyers are better protected, says Consumer Affairs Minister Judith Tizard. In releasing the Review of the operation of the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, the Minister said the legislation changed the regulation of sales to better protect consumers. It required unlicensed car dealers to be registered, better disclosure of vehicle and trader information, and set up a disputes process. Judith Tizard said compliance levels were higher than expected. Over 3000 traders were registered and consumer awareness of the supplier information notice (SIN) system, known as the window card, was also increasing. It provided important information for consumers about the vehicle, the trader and consumer's rights. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is proposing to shift the focus from educating traders to increased monitoring and enforcement. It will also focus on the lack of compliance by less visible traders like car market operators, car fair traders and those selling over the Internet. The Ministry will release a discussion paper on information disclosure and the window card system in May with a further discussion paper about proposals to fine-tune the legislation to be released in October.

Harmeet Sooden released
Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was pleased and grateful that the long ordeal of captivity was over for Harmeet Sooden and his New Zealand family. The New Zealand-based Canadian citizen, along with two other hostages James Loney and Norman Kember, were freed during a multi-national military rescue mission, involving a raid north of Baghdad. They were kidnapped four months ago while working with a Christian peace team. Helen Clark offered condolences to the family of the slain, fourth hostage Tom Fox. The government commended the Canadian and other governments involved in securing the release of Mr Sooden and his colleagues, she said. Mr Sooden's Auckland-based family was this week celebrating the news of his release.