Government invests $56.4m in Canterbury water storage, irrigation for farmers
Minister Mark Patterson said three Canterbury water storage and irrigation projects will receive loans from the Government's Regional Infrastructure Fund.
Patterson made the announcement at the Taggart
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Scoop
5 hours ago
- Scoop
Cutting Red Tape So Young Kiwis Can Start Saving
Associate Minister of Justice Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee is making changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act that will make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for their children. 'Opening a bank account for children should be a simple and positive step toward teaching them the value of saving. Unfortunately, regulations designed to prevent serious crimes can make the process unnecessarily difficult,' says Mrs McKee. 'The Government is cutting red tape that can make it harder for parents to do the easy thing and open a bank account for their children. 'According to the Act, a parent who wants to open an account for their eight-year-old child needs to gather and verify a long list of information, including their child's address, date of birth, name, and their own authority to act on their child's behalf. The Act also requires banks to obtain the nature and purpose of the business relationship, evaluate whether further due diligence is required, and monitoring the child's transactions on an ongoing basis. 'Under the Government's new reforms, banks will be allowed to apply a simplified processes when risk is low. This means that if a bank puts measures in place to make a child's bank account low-risk (e.g. by setting appropriate transaction limits) all that could be required is a birth certificate to confirm the child's name and date of birth, and prove the relationship to the parent. 'They could also skip the intrusive and unnecessary questions about the 'nature and purpose' of the account, and reduce or forego ongoing monitoring of a child's banking activity, until the account's settings are changed (e.g., removal of transaction limits when a child turns 18). The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that businesses like banks know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. 'This is a common-sense reform. Parents shouldn't be asked to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to open a bank account for their kids. We're streamlining the system so that New Zealanders can spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching their children the value of money. 'These changes reflect the Government's wider commitment to smarter regulation, focusing on outcomes rather than ticking boxes, and trusting New Zealanders to make responsible decisions without being buried under red tape.'
1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
Changes to make it easier to open a bank account for kids
The Government has revealed "common sense" changes to anti-money laundering laws to slash paperwork for small businesses and to make it easier for children to open bank accounts, the Acting Prime Minister says. David Seymour said the changes to anti-money laundering laws would "remove a lot of the insanity so that ordinary people, including parents who want their children to bank, can actually have a bit of relief". "We want young people to learn about the benefits of saving and investing and planning for the future," he said to Breakfast this morning. The ACT leader said families were being discouraged from opening accounts for young people because the paperwork was too cumbersome, calling it "the most un-Kiwi thing" that needed fixing. Under current anti-money laundering rules introduced in 2011, parents must provide documentation including photo IDs, birth certificates, proof of address, and evidence of their financial relationship with their child when opening accounts. ADVERTISEMENT In a statement this afternoon, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee said under the Government's new reforms, banks would be allowed to apply a simplified process when the risk is low. Associate justice Minister Nicole McKee. (Source: 'This means that if a bank puts measures in place to make a child's bank account low-risk (e.g.) by setting appropriate transaction limits) all that could be required is a birth certificate to confirm the child's name and date of birth, and prove the relationship to the parents.' McKee said they could also skip the 'intrusive and unnecessary questions' about the 'nature and purpose' of the account – and reduce or forego ongoing monitoring of a child's banking activity until they turn 18 or the account settings are changed. The Government has also directed the future Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism supervisor to issue clear guidance, so businesses like banks know exactly how to apply the simplified checks without fear of penalty. The ACT party had previously campaigned on reducing business compliance costs with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws. At the last election, ACT said small businesses needed a more "risk-based approach" that was "less punitive." McKee announced reform of the laws last October. ADVERTISEMENT Seymour also said this morning upcoming AML/CFT changes would include "a whole lot for business". "If you're, for example, engaged in property transactions, or you're a lawyer, or whatever. We're going to be simplifying the amount of customer due diligence there. We're going to be moving to just a single supervisor," he said. GST was very effective as a tool for the government to readily raise a large amount of money. (Source: "We have to show that we're doing our bit to fight money laundering and terrorism. We've got our own problems with organised crime in New Zealand — we have to keep on them. "But we also need to remove a lot of the insanity so that ordinary people … can actually have a bit of relief." Seymour said the reforms would help benefit small businesses and professional services, allowing New Zealanders to spend "less time dealing with red tape". "It's going to be small business. It's going to be people in the professional services who have to do a lot of this stuff, because they manage transactions, lawyers, accountants and so on." ADVERTISEMENT The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including deadly Texas floods, Australian woman attacked by a lion, and Elon Musk's new political party. (Source: 1News) McKee said in her announcement last year that the changes would make complying with the law more "user-friendly for small businesses". "I have heard from countless New Zealanders that the current regulations are unnecessarily risk-averse, resulting in complicated, repetitive processes. Simple tasks shouldn't be made confusing and difficult to complete," she said. "I'm taking a pragmatic approach to this work, by prioritising changes that will deliver significant regulatory relief to businesses while also reducing the harm caused by money laundering in our communities. "In fact, these reforms will deliver the most significant regulatory relief since the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act came into force in 2013."
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
Council Votes To Establish New Water Services Organisation
Marlborough District Councillors today approved the establishment of a new water services organisation (WSO) to deliver drinking, wastewater and stormwater services to the people of Marlborough. The decision continues the Local Water Done Well process, as mandated by the current Government. Mayor Nadine Taylor said it was a very important decision for the region. 'We have decided to take a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do things differently to build better three waters infrastructure and provide greater intergenerational equity, spreading the costs over the long term.' 'The Government requires councils to financially ringfence their water services and by setting up a new, water-focussed organisation it will be easier to sustainably deliver efficiencies and savings for residents on Council's drinking and wastewater supplies.' 'Costs will be spread over a longer period of time through borrowing, leading to lower water charges when compared to retaining water services internally at Council.' 'Other notable benefits are the new WSO will have a singular focus on the delivery of water infrastructure and be better positioned to attract the specialist staff we will need in the future.' 'By removing three waters debt from Council's books, we will have an improved ability to deliver other key Council activities to support the Marlborough community, including responding to and funding unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters.' Mayor Taylor noted that almost all of Marlborough's townships need upgrades to pipelines, pump stations and wells, with treatment plant upgrades required in Blenheim, Havelock, Riverlands and Awatere. 'Blenheim, Havelock, Riverlands, Seddon and Renwick also need wastewater upgrades. Many of Picton's and Blenheim's stormwater assets have an expected life of less than 10 years. In addition we have requests from the community to provide new water reticulation services - for example in Ward, Rarangi and Dry Hills in Blenheim.' 'While Council has done a good job of building and maintaining its current three waters infrastructure, a big step change is required if we are to face head-on the challenges of the future,' she said. 'This step change is best delivered through a new water services organisation.' Council received 44 submissions on its Local Water Done Well proposal. The WSO would be incorporated from 1 July 2026 with a one year transition to full operations from 1 July 2027. Marlborough District Council will be its sole shareholder, appoint its board of directors and set its direction via a binding Statement of Expectations, holding it accountable to the people of Marlborough. Council will also establish a water services governance and oversight committee made up of the mayor, the three committee chairs and chief executive. Notes The Government's Local Water Done Well process requires all councils to develop a Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) by 3 September 2025 which describes how drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services will be delivered in ways that are financially sustainable, meet regulatory quality standards, meet water quality standards and support housing growth and urban development. Other considerations include: • New ring-fencing rules that require water delivery services to be financially separate from Council's other functions and activities. • Water services being subject to new economic regulation and a consumer protection regime. • Access to the Local Government Funding Agency to help fund the needed investment in water infrastructure. By 2034, $410 million of investment is needed in Marlborough's water infrastructure. The renewal list for pipelines, pump stations, treatment plants and dams is considerable. About $45 million of water assets, $20 million of wastewater assets and $45 million of stormwater assets are due for replacement within the next nine years. The renewal profile will likely increase as assets built in the 1950s and 60s, including much of Blenheim and Picton's stormwater network, requires replacement over the next 40 years.
