Prime Minister appoints new member to cabinet
Prime Minister Helen Clark this week announced that David Benson-Pope is the new Minister of Fisheries, filling a Cabinet vacancy left by the resignation of Lianne Dalziel. He is also an Associate Minister for Justice and Environment and has responsibility for the Law Commission. Trevor Mallard has a new role as Coordinating Minister, Race Relations. The redistribution of Lianne Dalziel's portfolios brought a number of other changes: Margaret Wilson becomes Minister of Commerce; Paul Swain is Minister of Labour and Immigration. The transport portfolio is now Pete Hodgson's. Ruth Dyson, Associate Minister of Labour is to handle issues such as work-life balance. Marian Hobbs has an expanded Associate Education role. The Labour caucus promoted Jill Pettis to senior whip and Darren Hughes has become junior whip.

Government to ensure policies reflect need
As Coordinating Minister, Race Relations, Trevor Mallard will review government policies to ensure they are addressing need. Prime Minister Helen Clark says the government is very focused on meeting the needs of low, modest and middle-income families across the board and providing equality of opportunity, irrespective of ethnicity. This year's Budget will be very much for the 'battlers'. Helen Clark says the government wants to ensure that in reaching its policy objectives, services are delivered by those most likely to get the best results. It also has to rebuild public understanding of why it is important to have everybody able to participate.

Huge boost to breastscreeing programme
A major extension of the BreastScreen Aotearoa will include women up to their 70th birthday and from their 45th birthday. Health Minister Annette King says the programme was set up in 1998 for women aged 50 to 64, and currently 62 per cent of the eligible population is covered. The extension, to be rolled out progressively from July 1 reflects the Government's commitment to continue building strong public health services. It represents a 66 percent increase in the number of women eligible for screening and could potentially save another 32 lives a year.

More flood aid to farmers and councils
The government has committed to on-going payments for flood-affected farmers in the lower North Island. These farmers are now eligible to receive rural assistance payments equivalent to 75 per cent of the unemployment benefit for the next 6 months. Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey says many people have lost everything and need immediate help. The payments go to farmers forced off their land by the flood devastation and have no income or housing. The government has advanced $650,000 to councils in the disaster zone for emergency relief funds rather than reimbursing them later. Civil Defence Minister George Hawkins wants the councils to have the money in their hands now to deal with the crisis they are facing.

Five-year moratorium on school reviews
A moratorium on new school network reviews for the next five years will enable the government to strengthen its focus on quality teaching and learning for all students. Education Minister Trevor Mallard says after feedback about the current rate of change, he'd decided a moratorium would enable consolidation in the sector and a smooth implementation of the current round of reviews. The moratorium will not affect schools, which are currently under review in 11 areas around the country. These schools are nearly at the end of the process, and in many cases are already looking ahead to their stronger school network. Trevor Mallard says he has been listening very carefully to feedback from the current consultation round and expects final decisions about these areas will be made in April.

Minimum wage increase
New Zealand's lowest paid workers will receive a 5.9 per cent pay increase from April 1. This moves the minimum adult wage from $8.50 an hour to $9.00 an hour. Labour Minister Margaret Wilson says these changes affect nearly 30,000 people who earn the lowest wages and will continue to provide an incentive to work for those currently on benefits. The minimum youth wage will also increase to keep it at 80 per cent of the adult wage.

Last Samurai epic pays off for New Zealand
The success of The Last Samurai proves that supporting large budget screen production in New Zealand pays off, says Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton. The economic impact assessment report from Venture Taranaki says the production paid a big dividend to Taranaki and New Zealand. The production of the film meant $85.5 million was spent here and the flow-on activity is estimated at $195 million. Jim Anderton says New Zealand is now at the cutting edge of the film industry and this underlines the need to expand the development of skills to support film production.