By Bernard Hickey
Prime Minister John Key has announced a reform and increase in the apprenticeship system which he estimated would allow a further 14,000 apprenticeships over the next five years.
He also said the government was considering comprehensive Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms because the government may need to get more proactive if local councils weren't able to change their planning processes.
"I want to see big improvements in this area and it's going to be a high priority for the government this year," Key said in a 'State of the Nation' address at the North Harbour Club at the North Harbour Stadium in Albany in Auckland.
Seperately, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced the details of the apprenticeship reforms, which include the combination of the 'Modern Apprenticeships' scheme with other apprenticeship-type training into an extended schem called 'New Zealand Apprenticeships.' He said overall subsidy payments for apprenticeships would be increased by around NZ$12 million in the first year and would rise over time.
The reforms would allow an extra 14,000 apprenticeships over five years, over and above the 7,000 apprentices who enrol each year currently.
Currently Modern Apprenticeships are only available for people who being their training between the ages of 16 and 21. They receive a top-up in funding which is greater than the subsidy that supports their learning programme.. The reforms would mean the New Zealand Apprenticeships would provide the same level of support and the same level of subsidy for all apprentices, regardless of age.
"Fewer than half the people doing apprenticeship-type training are actually funded as proper apprentices through the Modern Apprenticeships scheme, and we're going to change that," Key said.
The current top-up for Modern Apprentices would be redistributed across all apprentices as an extension of their learning subsidy. The government would also set clearer roles and performance expectations for Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) and give employers other options if their ITOs don't perform.
Key also announced the government would give the first 10,000 new apprentices who enrolled after April 1 this year NZ$1,000 each towards their tools and off-job course costs, or NZ$2,000 if they were training in priority construction trades. The same amount would be paid to their employers.
Key said in the speech the economy would be "front and centre" for the government this year.
He said the Government itself was planning to build more than 2,000 houses over the next two financial years, but also wanted to work with local councils on the "underlying problems of land supply, building and resource consents, and provision of infrastructure."
"We need more houses built in New Zealand, at a lower cost," he said.
"That means we need more land available for building, more streamlined processes and less costly red tape."
Council delays and fees 'ridiculous'
Key said it was ridiculous that developers had to wait 6 to 18 months for a resource consent and it was ridiculous that councils were allowed to demand "almost anything as a condition for the consent."
"And it's ridiculous that we allow them to charge whatever fees they want."
Key described Labour's plan to build 100,000 new houses as dishonest and unable to stack up because the plan didn't do anything to actually fix the cost of building.
He said the government wanted to work cooperatively with local councils.
"In particular we are keenly awaiting the Auckland Council's spacial plan, and I'm expecting it to include multiple options for both greenfields and brownfields property developments," he said.
"But if councils aren't able to change their planning processes, then the Government would have to get a lot more proactive, because we are very serious about resolving this issue."
RMA reforms
Key said New Zealand needed a much better system of planning and resource management to 'enable growth and provide strong environmental outcomes in a timely and cost effective way.'
He said the government was already legislating to set a six month time limit on the processing of medium sized consents, and to establish a streamlined process for Auckland's first unitary plan.
He said the RMA was constantly cited as a source of frustration by investors and communities, pointing to the need for consistency with 170 different resource management planning documents over 78 local authorities.
"We also need to ensure that local plans aren't overly restrictive and that consent processes are proportionate to the sale of the activity," Key said, adding the government would release a comprehensive package of reforms in the "next few months."
(Updated with details and link to speech)
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