Week That Was: Getting people into jobs

Getting people into dairy jobs

The Government and the dairy sector have joined forces on a new campaign to support people affected by COVID-19 into a farming career.

GoDairy Farm Ready Training courses give New Zealanders an online introduction to farming, followed by two weeks of hands-on training on farms - giving them the skills they need to get started in the dairy industry.

It’s another way we’re helping people affected by COVID-19 get back into work, and keeping our economy moving.

Testing more Kiwis

This week saw a record number of New Zealanders tested for COVID-19 in one day - more than 10,400!

We're catching any cases of COVID-19 presenting at the border and, reassuringly, even with record levels of tests being done, there's still no evidence of any community transmission.

There was no playbook for responding to COVID-19, but our plan to combat the virus is working - the results speak for themselves.

Protecting our dolphins

Extensive new protections are being put in place to look after New Zealand’s native Hector’s and Māui dolphins. Māui dolphins are critically endangered, with only about 63 adults left in the world.

The changes, which include extended bans on set-nets and trawling, will increase fishing restrictions in dolphin habitats, helping to protect our iconic marine mammals, and ensure they survive into the future.

Re-opening Redcliffs

This week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited Te Raekura Redcliffs School in Christchurch for a very special homecoming.

Parents, staff, and locals fought for nine years to keep the school in their community, after they were forced from their original site following the June 2011 earthquake. On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern joined staff, students and special guest Dave Dobbyn, to celebrate the school’s re-opening and return to the community.

Getting Queenstown moving

The Prime Minister also visited Queenstown this week, where she announced $85 million to support two major infrastructure projects: the Queenstown Town Centre project and Stage One of upgrading the Queenstown Arterials. 

Together, the projects will create about 320 direct jobs and help get the resort town moving.

Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis joined the Prime Minister to announce further support for our tourism sector: for the next year, tourism businesses operating on public conversation land won’t have to pay tourism-related concession fees.

This will make a big difference for the approximately 1,000 tourism businesses operating on public conservation land, and is another way we’re helping keep Kiwi businesses afloat.

Protecting our water and wellbeing

This week was a busy one in the House, with MPs passing new laws to better protect our waterways and support New Zealanders’ wellbeing.

This included the Resource Management Amendment Bill, which includes changes to help clean up our waterways, and the Wellbeing Amendment Bill, which will ensure all future Governments consider people’s wellbeing alongside traditional measures like GDP.

We also passed the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill, which will help improve outcomes for New Zealanders and provide better support for groups like Māori, disabled people, and rainbow communities.

Welcoming the world to NZ

Finally, on Friday morning, we woke to the news that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in New Zealand and Australia, after we won the bid to co-host the tournament.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is one of the world’s most popular sporting events. Hosting the tournament will provide an economic boost for New Zealand, while also offering opportunities to grow women’s participation in sport and sport leadership.

As we begin the countdown to Election Day, we'll be bringing you the latest news and announcements - right here on our website and over on our Facebook page.

Look out for the next edition in this weekly series next Friday.