Patient Safety Week starts today and coincides with the release of a new report showing patient harm reduction and cost savings have been achieved through improved health services.

Running until 5 November, Patient Safety Week 2016 encourages open communication between health professionals and consumers. It is promoted by many district health boards and other health providers and supported by the Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) and the Accident Compensation Corporation.

Public consultation opens today on a new rate of levy on fire insurance contracts, to help fund the future of New Zealand’s fire services.

The New Zealand Fire Service Commission is currently funded from a levy on fire and motor vehicle insurance contracts, which hasn’t increased since 2008.

Under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Bill currently before Parliament, the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS), National Rural Fire Authority, and 38 other rural fire authorities will merge to become one organisation known as FENZ from 1 July 2017.

Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Peter Dunne, today presented to Parliament a report on the review of public access to birth, death, marriage, civil union, and name change (BDM) records.

The report meets a requirement to review the operation of access provisions in the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 after five years, which Parliament put in place as part of changes it made in 2009.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has announced that public consultation on proposed changes to birth, death, marriage and civil union fees has opened.

“The proposed changes follow a review of fees for products and services provided by the Department of Internal Affairs which have remained unchanged since 2003.

“Over the last 13 years the costs to provide these services has increased – these changes better reflect the actual cost of providing them and will ensure users pay a fair price for whichever service they require”, says Mr Dunne.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says applications for urgent, lost, stolen or damaged passports and those that require a name change can now be made on-line, in a further improvement of the passport service.

“Urgent applications make up around seven percent (44,000) of the total number of passports issued annually. Urgent passport applications are processed and completed within three working days and can be delivered to most locations in the world within several days.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne today congratulated Lotto New Zealand on obtaining two sought-after international security certifications.

“Lotto players can trust that Lotto NZ’s systems and processes are designed to protect the integrity of its games and the personal information of its players,” said Mr Dunne.

Families are the focus of the first-ever Gambling Harm Awareness Week, Associate Minister of Health Hon Peter Dunne said today.

The week aims to draw attention to the harmful effects that gambling can have and how people can get help.

“The theme of the week is Family Time – Time Together can beat gambling harm.

“It encourages New Zealanders to spend time with their family this week instead of gambling.

The Ministers of Police, Customs, and Internal Affairs have congratulated their departments for their efforts in fighting online child sexual abuse.

The Ministers say identification and rescue of victims, both within New Zealand and internationally, will continue to be a priority of their departments’ work. Police, Customs and Internal Affairs recently worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification. 

Associate Health Minister Hon Peter Dunne has launched an action plan today aimed at better supporting those affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and reducing the numbers of babies born with this preventable condition.  

“FASD is considered internationally to be a leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental problems, with some researchers estimating that it occurs in one in 100 children.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has called on the New Zealand public to take the opportunity to have their say on the operation of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

Internal Affairs Minister Hon Peter Dunne today announced the name and visual identity of the new archive exhibition to open within the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington during early 2017.

“The permanent exhibition will be known as ‘He Tohu’, which has a number of meanings – signs, signatures, marks and symbols. The exhibition will feature three important New Zealand constitutional documents:

A new electronic Patient Report Form (ePRF) used by ambulance officers has been successfully rolled out around most of the country. The new technology, which is part of a joint initiative between St John, the Ministry of Health and ACC, gives ambulance officers access to better patient details, including their NHI information and any previous ambulance call outs.

The ePRF has replaced St John's hand-written clinical records with an electronic version written on a tablet. The ePRF is installed on 600 dedicated tablets. So far, more than 223,000 ePRFs have been completed.

Internal Affairs Minister and Presiding Member of the Lottery Grants Board, Hon Peter Dunne today announced that approximately $189 million of Lottery profits is being made available in 2016/17 to help build stronger, more cohesive communities.

Through the Lottery Distribution Committees over $108 million will flow into the community, supporting work and projects across a wide range of sectors. In addition, over $80 million will be granted to three key statutory bodies supported by the Grants Board.

Following the First Reading passage of the Fire and Emergency Bill today, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has released a discussion document on new fire services regulations as part of the reform of the fire services sector.

Legislation before the House will establish a new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), on 1 July 2017 that amalgamates rural and urban fire services.

The Bill to modernise New Zealand’s fire services has passed its first reading and heralds the most significant change in the sector for 70 years, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said today.

The Fire and Emergency New Zealand Bill will amalgamate more than 40 separate organisations, 600 fire brigades and forces, 12,000 volunteers, and 3000 paid staff into a single unified fire services organisation, to be set up on 1 July 2017.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has introduced legislation to modernise New Zealand’s fire services by setting up a single fire organisation responsible for urban and rural fire.

“The Bill will strengthen and future-proof our fire services, and ensure they remain connected to our communities.

“This is the most substantial change to the fire sector since the 1940s.

“This modern, comprehensive and enabling Bill will establish a new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), and allow it to adapt as circumstances change.