Around $2.5 million will be invested in Budget 2017 to expand the capacity of schools in the Waikato region, say Education Minister Nikki Kaye and Associate Education Minister Tim Macindoe.

Mr Macindoe made the announcement today during a visit to Cambridge East School in Cambridge.

“This first round of school infrastructure investment in Budget 2017 will provide a total of five new classrooms to two schools in the region,” says Ms Kaye.

The schools receiving new classrooms are:

Cambridge East School in Cambridge (around $1 million for two new classrooms) Pirongia Primary School in Pirongia (around $1.5 million for three new classrooms).

“As with all new classroom projects, the Ministry of Education will work with the schools to ensure the new classrooms meet their needs, such as providing an environment that allows for flexible and innovative learning to raise student achievement,” says Ms Kaye.

“Cambridge is growing fast and work is underway to engage local schools about the future shape of the network. The outcomes of this work will inform future investment decisions.”

Today’s announcement is part of the first round of infrastructure investments being announced as part of this year’s Budget.

“This latest investment in Waikato schools follows the $34.6 million we have invested in the region as part of Budget 2016. This funding included establishing the new Sylvester Primary School with capacity for 700 students, extending Endeavour Primary School to accommodate a further 200 students, and providing 15 roll-growth classrooms to increase capacity at another seven schools,” says Mr Macindoe.

Investment from the last two Budgets has seen around 1300 additional student spaces added to this growing region.

“Through Budget 2017 this Government is investing $456.5 million in education infrastructure, taking our overall commitment to extending and enhancing our schools to over $5 billion.”

It is expected that the new classrooms will be operational during the 2018 school year.

Further announcements about Budget 2017 school property investments will be made over the next few weeks.

Work is now underway on dozens of individual road safety projects that aim to make busy South Island tourist routes safer for visiting drivers, Associate Transport Minister Tim Macindoe says.

The improvements are part of the Visiting Drivers Project’s $15 million road safety engineering programme announced in October 2016. A further $10 million has been budgeted through the project for co-investment with local government to support regional works and a visiting drivers education campaign.

Mr Macindoe says work is progressing well on state highways on the West Coast, Otago and Southland, which have some of New Zealand’s highest percentage of crashes involving visiting drivers.

“The road safety works include more no-passing markings, 'Keep Left' arrows, and rumble strips, signage upgrades, new safety barriers, some rest area and car park improvements, and improvements to intersections on key routes.”

A major Otago project now under way will see innovative new motorcycle-protective safety barriers installed at Windy Point on SH6 between Frankton and Queenstown. The $720,000 project has been identified as one of more than 30 underway in the first half of this year that aim to improve safety on some key visitor routes. It will be completed by the end of June 2017.

“These improvements are designed to reduce the likelihood of crashes occurring and to minimise the consequences when they do occur. Some of our roads are challenging for drivers unfamiliar with them,” says Mr Macindoe.

“We want to ensure the roads and roadsides in these popular tourist regions support a safe journey and a great experience, with good rest spots and opportunities for photography stops, and increased safety measures to protect all road users when a mistake on the road happens.”

The Visiting Drivers Project aims to improve road safety for all visitors, while maintaining New Zealand’s reputation as an attractive and safe tourist destination. The Project involves a range of organisations including central and local government, the tourism and rental vehicle sectors, and others.

Many of the project’s on-the-ground initiatives (implemented in Otago, Southland and on the West Coast) such as ‘Keep Left’ signs and road lane directional arrow signs have now been replicated by the New Zealand Transport Agency across the country for the benefit of all visiting drivers.

Attached: Full list of Visiting Drivers Project activities and construction dates in Otago, Southland and the West Coast.

Customs Minister Tim Macindoe has today seen first-hand the positive impact new offsite storage regulations are having on small to medium sized breweries.

Before February 2017, only wine makers could move stock to offsite facilities and delay the point at which they paid excise duty. All other alcohol producers paid duty as their product left the site of manufacture, regardless of whether it was to be stored before going to market.

“It was clear the situation was placing undue limitations on how beer and spirit producers, who often have seasonal peaks or product that needs to undertake an aging process, ran their operations – so levelling the playing field and making it easier to do business was the logical response,” says Mr Macindoe.

Since offsite storage provisions were extended to all alcohol goods in February, six offsite storage applications have been approved by Customs and one further application is pending.

“I visited one of the approved applicants, Waikanae’s North End Brewing Co, this morning to see the impact the regulation change is already having on their business.

“It’s clear North End, which is storing thousands of litres of craft beer in an offsite storage facility, now has greater flexibility in relation to how much it brews and when, and importantly has more control over its cash flow – which is always important for a small business that’s trying to grow. 

“I’m also aware of a Wellington brewer who’s storing more than 100,000 litres of its beer across two storage sites, so it’s clear to me the recent changes to offsite storage are working as intended,” Mr Macindoe says.

More information on changes to off-site storage provisions is available here.

Attached: Tim Macindoe and Local MP Nathan Guy inspect North End Brewing Co’s offsite storage facility in Waikanae, as well as its brewery site.

Associate Minister of Education, Tim Macindoe, will visit Rangiora Borough School today to officially open a new $6 million building that the school has named after local pioneer, Henry Blackett.

“The Henry Blackett building replaces aging facilities and extends capacity to meet roll growth by providing the school with 12 new, modern teaching spaces that will promote positive and inspiring learning experiences for its students,” says Mr Macindoe.

“School upgrades are part of the government’s plan to raise student achievement by ensuring they can learn and achieve in the best possible environments.”

Rangiora Borough School was already experiencing growth prior to the Christchurch earthquakes. The subsequent population movements impacted several schools in the area.

“We considered the net effect of population movements on centres like Rangiora following the events in Christchurch, particularly where we have historic schools that are more than 100 years old.

“We have committed more than $20 million to redevelop four North Canterbury schools: Rangiora Borough, Oxford Area, Ashgrove and Southbrook. They were not part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme yet they were still affected by changing population patterns. Each of these schools is receiving new classrooms to replace aging buildings and extend capacity.”

The Ministry of Education is delivering all of these projects for the four schools through one contract.

“Addressing the property needs of several schools located in the same geographic area at the same time can achieve efficiencies and increase value for money, which is a good result for the schools and the government.

“We will continue to look for opportunities to maximise the benefits from our infrastructure investment to support our ongoing delivery of high quality, modern and flexible school environments that provide the level of infrastructure needed to serve communities long-term.”

The $20 million investment in the four North Canterbury schools is in addition to the $14.9 million committed to redevelop Rangiora High School, and the $1.4 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme, which is repairing, renewing and rebuilding 115 schools across greater Christchurch. A new school, Rangiora West, is scheduled to open in 2021.

Associate Minister of Education, Tim Macindoe, will visit Rangiora Borough School today to officially open a new $6 million building that the school has named after local pioneer, Henry Blackett.

“The Henry Blackett building replaces aging facilities and extends capacity to meet roll growth by providing the school with 12 new, modern teaching spaces that will promote positive and inspiring learning experiences for its students,” says Mr Macindoe.

“School upgrades are part of the government’s plan to raise student achievement by ensuring they can learn and achieve in the best possible environments.”

Rangiora Borough School was already experiencing growth prior to the Christchurch earthquakes. The subsequent population movements impacted several schools in the area.

“We considered the net effect of population movements on centres like Rangiora following the events in Christchurch, particularly where we have historic schools that are more than 100 years old.

“We have committed more than $20 million to redevelop four North Canterbury schools: Rangiora Borough, Oxford Area, Ashgrove and Southbrook. They were not part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme yet they were still affected by changing population patterns. Each of these schools is receiving new classrooms to replace aging buildings and extend capacity.”

The Ministry of Education is delivering all of these projects for the four schools through one contract.

“Addressing the property needs of several schools located in the same geographic area at the same time can achieve efficiencies and increase value for money, which is a good result for the schools and the government.

“We will continue to look for opportunities to maximise the benefits from our infrastructure investment to support our ongoing delivery of high quality, modern and flexible school environments that provide the level of infrastructure needed to serve communities long-term.”

The $20 million investment in the four North Canterbury schools is in addition to the $14.9 million committed to redevelop Rangiora High School, and the $1.4 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme, which is repairing, renewing and rebuilding 115 schools across greater Christchurch. A new school, Rangiora West, is scheduled to open in 2021.

Associate Transport Minister Tim Macindoe will tomorrow travel to Germany to attend the 2017 International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit of Transport Ministers.

The Summit is being held from 31 May -2 June and will bring together members from approximately 57 countries to explore the trends shaping transport governance and to identify the most pressing challenges in the global transport sector.

“I look forward to being able to further strengthen the connections we have with our international counterparts and to be part of shaping the transport policy agenda on a global level,” Mr Macindoe says.

Mr Macindoe will be speaking on a panel focusing on the regulation required for automated and autonomous driving.

“Among other benefits, if automated and autonomous vehicles are adequately managed they have the potential significantly to improve road safety and reduce road trauma in New Zealand, so it is vital to be part of this global discussion.

“During the panel session I will be looking both to promote New Zealand’s regulatory framework, which allows and encourages innovation, and to learn from the experiences of other members.”

Mr Macindoe will also attend meetings with ministers and technical experts from a range of countries.

I was excited to hear about progress on Sylvester Primary School today, says local MP Tim Macindoe.

“The school will be located on the corner of Borman Road and Hare Puke Drive and open from Term One 2019 for local pupils.

“It will enrol year one to six pupils, and will also be home to a special school satellite and an early childhood education centre, making it a great new asset for the community.

“The school will also be designed, built, and maintained through a public private partnership.

“By using public private partnerships, schools are freed up to concentrate on teaching and learning, while the private partner manages the buildings.

“The Establishment Board of Trustees will be appointed soon and will have responsibility for appointing a foundation principal, determining school policy and governance practices, and ensuring the school reflects the needs and aspirations of the local community.

“National is focused on ensuring our pupils and teachers have access to modern and innovative learning spaces to support them to achieve their best outcomes for local children.”