Bringing together data from across government, a study looking into the lives of premature babies will help front-line doctors and parents make better informed choices about the care of their children, Statistics Minister Scott Simpson says.

The study, undertaken by researchers from Capital and Coast District Health Board and the University of Otago in Wellington, uses Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure to look at a whole range of life events – including before-school checks, social development, health conditions, and educational qualifications – to understand the issues and enable better decisions and services to meet needs.

‘Linked data is critical for medical experts and researchers to understand the life course of premature babies, as well as giving parents a better understanding of what the future holds for their children,” Mr Simpson says.

“By looking at health, education, employment and social data of premature babies, and comparing them with other births, researchers can get a good picture of what happens to these babies as they progress to school and into adult life.”

The research team is looking closely at health, education, employment and social data including hospitalisation rates, attendance at school, special needs support, high school exam results, future health issues and employment. Full results are due to be released later in 2017.

The Integrated Data Infrastructure platform was established in 2012 as part of the government drive to improve evidence-based policy making and to promote the reuse of high value publicly held data.

Stats NZ has produced a short video about the research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-YgtrgwFrY

 

A further $145,000 will be invested in the restoration of native beech forests, boosting the Government’s efforts to protect our native species, Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

The funding from the Government’s Community Environment Fund will go to the Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Group (WCG) and the Wakatipu Reforestation Trust (WRT), to help transform previously Wilding infested sites to indigenous forest.

The three-year Wakatipu Beech Seeding Project aims to restore natural heritage in the wilding-conifer-infested areas of the Wakatipu Basin and its tributaries around Queenstown, by encouraging community planting on public land, and establishing a food source for native birds.

“Community-based, large scale re-forestation to pre-human native forest cover is ambitious and challenging.  So it’s great to see these local communities coming together to protect New Zealand’s unique natural heritage,” Mr Simpson says.

“Without initiatives like the Wakatipu Beech Seeding Project we would be in danger of losing our indigenous trees and plants to the fast growing and tenacious imported exotics such as pinus radiata that have invaded and degraded many areas over the last 100 years.”

WCG and WRT will work collaboratively with the Queenstown Restoration Trust, DOC, QEII National Trust and Scion to develop efficient methods and protocols to collect and store indigenous seeds from the region, develop seeding protocols and test new techniques that can aid community-based large-scale seeding into dead wilding stands.

The project will train community-based volunteers in seed collection and sowing and how to monitor and record results of the re-forestation projects. The project will share its learnings with community groups both regionally and nationally to help them undertake projects of a similar nature in their own area.

“The ability to show success is vital to gain community involvement for restoration projects. In this project, community members will be able to record and disseminate data to report on the development of the restoration project by using a citizen science based monitoring framework.”

The groups plan to develop a smartphone-based monitoring application to allow for easy recording, automatic upload and processing, and analysis of field data, with results being shared with local communities.

The Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Group (WCG) was established in 2009 and is committed to control wilding confers in the Wakatipu Basin to prevent future negative impacts on the natural biological heritage in their area.

The Wakatipu Reforestation Trust (WRT) focus is to restore natural heritage in the Wakatipu area by encouraging community planting on public land, and establishing a food source for native birds

Pest koi carp will be processed as a native plant fertiliser in a dune restoration programme, Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

The $108,000 grant to the Coastal Restoration Trust, provided through the Community Environment Fund, will see digested koi carp, a pest fish, sourced from Waikato Regional Council's pilot capture and processing facility, being used as fertiliser in community-based dune restoration programmes.

“This project is about turning an environmental problem into part of an environmental solution.  Koi carp are a pest that the Waikato Regional Council was already working to eradicate.  This project will take the derived fertiliser and pilot using it to support the growth of native plants on some of our degraded coastal dunes,” Mr Simpson says.

“What impresses me most about this project is that it demonstrates incredible levels of innovation, collaboration and commitment, and addresses not one but a range of environmental issues. All of the parties to the project are to be congratulated.”

Koi carp were introduced as an ornamental fish, but pose a significant threat to freshwater ecosystems by uprooting water plants, lowering water quality and eating insects normally consumed by native fish. Koi carp are considered to be one of the most invasive freshwater fish in the world.

The Trust hopes to see at least 10 coast care groups using Koi carp derived material in their dune restoration programmes by the end of project.

The broader goal of the Trust is to give coastal communities a better understanding of dune systems, the current state of these habitats and practical options for restoration.

The Community Environment Fund provides funding to empower New Zealanders to take environmental action. It support projects that strengthen partnerships, raise public awareness of environmental issues, and encourage community participation in environmental initiatives. The fund has awarded more than $12 million to environmental projects since 2010.

A collaboration of Waitakere community groups will be supported with a $281,865 grant for their work to monitor and make restoration plans for local wetlands and waterways, including the Epping Wetland which has high ecological values.

Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson today announced the grant provided through the Community Environment Fund to Community Waitakere Charitable Trust for their Ngā Puna Manaaki Wahapu project.

“The exciting aspect of this project is the very high level of local engagement and cooperation that’s happening.  This project has schools, community groups, iwi, businesses and council staff working together to collect data about wetland sites, evaluate results and identify opportunities for improvement. Then actively participate in community restoration and mitigation activities,” Mr Simpson says

“I’m also really impressed by the level of individual commitment.  These aren’t scientists or experts, these are people from all walks of life. They’re local businesses and community groups. They learn how to do the monitoring, they learn how wetlands work and how to run a restoration project.  This is citizen science at its best and I am thrilled to see so many people involved.”

This is a three year project that has received in kind contributions made by Morphum Environmental Limited, Auckland Council, ACG Sunderland School and Rutherford College.

The Community Environment Fund provides funding to empower New Zealanders to take environmental action. It supports projects that strengthen partnerships, raise public awareness of environmental issues, and encourage community participation in environmental initiatives. The fund has awarded more than $12 million to environmental projects since 2010.

The Glass Packaging Forum and its glass recycling programme has been  celebrated in Auckland by Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson.

Mr Simpson visited O-I Glass in Penrose to tour the factory and meet the people making the glass recycling programme work.

“It’s great to see New Zealand business taking up the challenge of reducing their products’ environmental impacts,” Mr Simpson says. 

“New Zealand now recycles 73 per cent of all glass containers used in the country, on par with the European Union average and well ahead of the United States 50 per cent. We are proud to support the Forum as a formally accredited voluntary product stewardship scheme.”

Product stewardship is the responsible management of the environmental impact of a product. It aims to reduce the impact of manufactured products at all stages of the product life cycle.

The Glass Packaging Forum promotes the environmental benefits of recovery of glass packaging and manages the accredited Voluntary Glass Packaging Forum Product Stewardship Scheme. The scheme is funded by a voluntary levy based on tonnage of all food and beverage container glass into the market. It has over 100 members which include New Zealand’s only manufacturer of glass and all the major retailers and distributors of glass.

Over the last seven years, the Glass Packaging Forum has invested in glass collection and processing systems with over $1 million allocated to capital expenditure projects with partners to improve the collection of quality glass. The Forum has also contributed over $600,000 to raising community awareness about glass recycling.

“Under the Waste Minimisation Act, I can accredit product stewardship schemes that meet the criteria for reducing waste and environmental harm. A product stewardship scheme will only be accredited after it has been thoroughly assessed to ensure accreditation criteria have been met. In turn, accredited schemes have to report annually to me on their objectives and targets. There are 13 operative schemes.”

 

Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson has released a review into the waste disposal levy.

The review makes three specific recommendations to support targeted investment in areas that will return the greatest waste minimisation outcomes:

Strategy - develop a clear vision, strategy and set of outcomes for the future direction of the waste disposal levy. Data - invest in developing a national waste data collection and evaluation framework that targets key information to prioritise waste issues and measure the effectiveness of the waste disposal levy. Approach - develop and implement a staged approach to applying the waste disposal levy across additional classes of landfills.

“In coming years, the focus will be to encourage businesses to rethink the design of their products and systems in order to reduce the harmful impacts of wasted resources.

“The Waste Minimisation Fund will continue to invest in meaningful projects that provide waste minimisation outcomes. Further support will also be provided to territorial authorities to invest in the infrastructure needed to lift effectiveness in collecting and processing recoverable, valuable resources in their communities.”

“The overarching approach will remain to work with our partners to reduce the environmental harm associated with waste, whilst also providing social, economic, and health benefits.”

The $10 per tonne waste disposal levy was introduced in 2009 under the Waste Minimisation Act and applies to waste deposited at defined landfill facilities.  The Minister is required to review the levy’s effectiveness every three years. Since it was introduced, the levy has raised more than $192 million which has been distributed to national and local initiatives to reduce waste.

Scion is to investigate the feasibility of remediating treated timber with government funding of $163,000, Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is a preservative for timber that has been commonly used in New Zealand since the 1950s. However, CCA-treated timber becomes a hazardous waste material when sent to landfill, that can leach arsenic into the ground.

“To date, there have been no practical remediation options available to this problem, so I am delighted that Scion believes they may have one and that I am able to support them in testing its feasibility,” Mr Simpson says.

“This study could provide New Zealand with an opportunity to divert CCA-treated timber from landfills and offer an environmentally friendly solution reusing both the wood fibre and the extracted metals.”

A 2013 report suggested that currently between 12,000 and 42,000 tonnes of treated timber could be sent to landfills nationally per annum, not including the significant estimated nationwide contribution of rural waste.

The grant, provided through the Waste Minimisation Fund, will fund a two year project, based in Rotorua.  

The Waste Minimisation Fund provides financial support to projects that reduce environmental harm and provide social, economic and cultural benefits. It is funded from a levy introduced by the National-led Government in 2009, which is charged on waste disposed of at landfills to discourage waste and to fund recycling initiatives. Over $80 million has been awarded to more than 130 projects to date.

A new set of questions is being included in national surveys to improve information about disabled people and their lives, Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner and Statistics Minister Scott Simpson say.

The questions, known as the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability, will be included in the New Zealand General Social Survey, carried out every two years, and annually in the June quarter of the Household Labour Force Survey.

“Data is critical for understanding the experiences of disabled people as well as informing policy development and service planning,” Ms Wagner says.

“These questions will provide important information about how well disabled people are faring across a range of wellbeing outcomes.”

Mr Simpson says disabled people have called for better information about their lives.

“Stats NZ constantly strives to produce accurate and timely information about our industries, our economy and, of course, our people.  This set of questions, which is being used increasingly around the world, will provide a more complete picture, not only for disabled people but for all New Zealanders.”

Stats NZ expects to publish the results of the General Social Survey and Household Labour Force Survey in July and August respectively.

For more information, including the full list of questions, visit: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/health/disabilities/improving-disability-data.aspx

The Government has granted a Wellington community group nearly $35,000 to help it deal with predators, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

The grant, provided through the Community Environment Fund, is for the Mainland Island Restoration Operation (MIRO) to run an Educating Residents About Trapping project.

“This is the sort of collaboration that makes a meaningful contribution towards achieving our goal to be Predator Free by 2050. It will help create a haven for wildlife in the Eastbourne area and brings predator control into the town centre,” Ms Barry says.

“The purpose of MIRO’s three-year project is to engage and educate the local Eastbourne and the Eastern Bays communities about the importance of eradicating predators that decimate our native flora and fauna.

“This will be achieved through an education campaign combined with a trap loan/training scheme, including local schools through existing Enviroschools programmes”.

Two public meetings will be held each year along with social media campaigns to publicise the importance of urban trapping and the need for a predator-free forest and foreshore.

MIRO’s target is for one fifth of households in Eastbourne and the Eastern Bays to be actively engaged in trapping rats on their properties.

MIRO will also work with Hutt City Council to control the hedgehog, rat and stoat population on the Eastbourne and Bays foreshore so that vulnerable bird species, such as banded dotterel, can successfully breed. The Hutt City Council is contributing $9,000 towards 150 traps for the project.

“The project's long-term aim is to turn these urban trappers into the next cohort of MIRO volunteers to undertake intensive rat trapping and other environmental work, increasing recruitment from five to fifteen capable people each year,” Mr Simpson says.

“This project shows amazing commitment by MIRO volunteers to contribute to our vision of a predator-free New Zealand. I wish them every success with involving more local people in their projects over the next three years and beyond.”

 

 

The Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund has awarded $30,000 towards a feasibility study to help Wellington Zoo continue to reach their sustainability targets, Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

“Wellington Zoo is setting the bar high for sustainability initiatives and advocating the protection of wildlife by engaging visitors and the community. They have been a CarboNZero accredited zoo since 2013, and continue to strive towards reducing their environmental impacts,” Mr Simpson said.

This feasibility study will enable Wellington Zoo to investigate a suitable solution to upgrade their current composter so that it can reach the high temperatures needed to cope with the composting of organic waste generated from over 500 individual animals and over 260,000 visitors a year. The composter also needs to be able to function in the zoo’s hilly site in Wellington.

The zoo’s current closed-loop composter has largely been responsible for the reduction of waste to landfill of 79 per cent since becoming operational, but it can no longer keep up with the current composition and volume of organic material. Currently, the zoo composts nearly 45 per cent of its waste on site; however, an additional 22.5 per cent of compostable waste gets taken offsite to be composted.

“This project provides a great example of how a charitable trust, such as Wellington Zoo, can utilise Government funding to support their sustainability initiatives. These have the potential to divert large amounts of waste from ending up in landfill.”

The Waste Minimisation Fund provides financial support to projects that reduce environmental harm and provide social, economic and cultural benefits. It is funded from a levy introduced by the National-led Government in 2009, which is charged on waste disposed of at landfills to discourage waste and to fund recycling initiatives. Over $80 million has been awarded to more than 130 projects to date.