Speech to the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council
Good morning and thank you for asking me to give the opening address at your conference.
As the Minister of Internal Affairs I'm responsible for gambling policy in New Zealand, which as you know, funds a lot of the important work your organisation does.
I'm also the Minister responsible for the Fire Service, and the Associate Transport Minister, so I have a fair bit to do with safety and rescue.
Staying safe outdoors
Can I start by thanking you and all of your volunteers for the work you do promoting safety in the outdoors.
I particularly want to thank those in the audience involved in search and rescue.
Every year over 12,000 New Zealanders are involved in 2,000 search and rescue incidents. Many of these people put their own lives at risk to help others in trouble, and around 90% are unpaid volunteers.
New Zealand Search and Rescue has one of the highest rates of volunteer involvement in the world. This is something New Zealand should be very proud of.
Many lives have been saved because of the work of people in this room, and other volunteers around the country.
In fact, a recent study from the UK found that New Zealand ranks first equal - with Australia - for generosity in giving time and money to charity.
Of course, prevention and education is always preferable and the Mountain Safety Council has a proud record of doing this.
Today your organisation has over 1,000 volunteer instructors, based in 28 branches throughout New Zealand. These instructors provide outdoor safety education for all kinds of outdoor activities.
You have also played an important role in setting standards and raising public awareness of safety issues.
It may be a cliché but we are incredibly lucky in New Zealand to enjoy the lifestyle we do. We have wide open space and easy access to the outdoors, which gives us opportunities that other many other people in the world never have.
Enjoying the outdoors is part of our culture and heritage, whether it's hunting, fishing, tramping or skiing. Being active is part of a healthy lifestyle and this has social and health benefits for all of us.
As the local MP for Otaki I have the Tararua Ranges on our doorstep, one of the easiest Forest Parks to access in New Zealand. We have amazing tramping, hunting and recreational opportunities, but at the same time the mountains have to be treated with respect.
We have the responsibility to plan ahead and stay safe, and in doing so avoid putting others at risk.
There are five key messages from the Outdoor Safety Code that we need to keep promoting. Those are to:
•Plan your trip
•Tell someone where and when you are going
•Be aware of the weather; and in New Zealand, being a coastal country, it can change quickly
•Know your limits
•Take sufficient supplies.
I understand that the Mountain Safety Council is working to promote these important messages not just to New Zealanders, but to international visitors as well.
The aim is to provide all in-bound overseas tourists with this when they arrive in New Zealand, as well as distributing the leaflet to all tourist and DOC Information Centres.
This morning I'd like to discuss a few issues involving the government which impact on your organisation and your mission of enjoying the outdoors safely.
Rescue helicopters
Last year the Health Minister Tony Ryall announced $48 million in funding towards a New Zealand Ambulance Services Strategy over the next four years.
Part of this has gone towards funding rescue helicopters around the country.
The funding of these helicopters has been an issue for a while and it has been a tough couple of years with the recession. The economic climate has made it difficult to fundraise and attract corporate donors.
This injection should help bridge the gap until the economy recovers.
These organisations are essential to any search and rescue mission, as they can cover larger areas and provide a vital 'eye in the sky' for rescuers on the ground.
Just a few days ago we saw five trampers rescued from Kahurangi National Park near Nelson by the Summit Rescue Helicopter. Luckily the trampers had a rescue beacon.
Paramedics
As part of the same funding package the government has also funded an extra 100 paramedics around the country to support Ambulance services.
We now have in place extra paramedics in more than 40 centres throughout New Zealand, particularly in many smaller towns.
Many communities now have 24/7 cover for the first time, and many communities now have double-crewing. All of this is a major help for search and rescue operations.
Adventure Tourism review
Also in the news recently has been the government's review of adventure tourism.
The Prime Minister called for this review after concerns were raised over a number of tourist deaths from accidents in this sector.
We pride ourselves on hosting tourists and providing them with the experience of a lifetime. We have a very good international reputation and it's important we make it clear that our safety practices are world-leading.
This has been a fast-growing industry famous for its innovation. What the review found is that our adventure tourism operators do take their responsibilities seriously and manage risks effectively.
However, for some activities there are gaps that could allow businesses to operate at a lower than acceptable standard.
This is why we are bringing in a registration scheme to ensure all businesses have a strong safety focus. For most operators, this will require them to have an upfront safety audit based on the risk profile of their business.
This scheme will help us know exactly what adventure activities are on offer and all users, whether they are tourists or New Zealanders, can be assured that risks are being managed.
The government is also investigating whether instructors and guides should be required to hold qualifications and work only within the scope of those qualifications.
Lottery funding
One issue I'm sure you're keen to hear about is funding for the Mountain Safety Council.
As you would know, a good proportion of your funding comes from the proceeds of gambling. Gaming trusts distribute the proceeds of pokie machines, and Lottery grants are made from the proceeds of games like Lotto, Daily Strike and Keno.
Increased revenue from the Lotteries Commission has meant we can fund a new Festival 2011 committee for events coinciding with the Rugby World Cup next year, while maintaining the same level of funding for all the other Lottery committees.
In total this adds up to nearly half a billion dollars a year benefiting the community.
Not that I'm encouraging gambling, but every time you buy a lotto ticket you're actually helping worthy causes in the community like this one.
Overall the government's aim with gambling policy is to minimise the harm caused through gambling while maximising the returns to the community.
In particular, the Lottery Outdoor Safety Committee makes grants to not-for-profit organisations and groups that have outdoor safety and water safety as their core business.
At the August 2010 meeting, the Committee distributed grants totalling $8.4 million.
The Mountain Safety Council received just over one million dollars from the committee towards operational costs, salaries, volunteer costs and community awareness.
A similar amount of funding went to New Zealand Land Search and Rescue.
The Committee is looking to encourage greater collaboration between outdoor safety organisations to ensure that services and messages are not duplicated.
Also this year I approved a grant of just over $5000 was given from my Lottery Discretionary Fund to help your Chief Executive, Darryl Carpenter, to represent New Zealand at the International Snow Science workshop in California.
Of course, I understand there has been some disappointment within your organisation and that you had hoped for more funding from the Lottery Outdoor Safety Committee.
I understand your concerns, and would point out that as Minister I don't make the decisions on who gets how much money. That is done independently by the various Lottery committees, as it should be.
Gambling policy
I can tell you about one policy change we are considering for gaming societies, who distribute the proceeds of pokie machines.
At present there is a prohibition on multi-year grants which mean applicants often don't have the certainty they need for long-term planning.
Later in the year, the Government is prepared to propose changes to allow societies to make multi-year grants in certain circumstances.
This could give a "better bang for the buck" and help in giving more certainty to organisations like your own.
The government has also ruled out a possible law change which could have limited your funding.
Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell has a private members bill before Parliament which would require 80% of all proceeds from gaming machines to be returned to the communities in which they were raised.
We are concerned that this could be costly, inflexible and difficult to administer.
In particular, many rural causes such as rescue helicopter operations might find it harder to receive funding.
This is one reason the National Party will not be supporting this bill and it is unlikely to pass.
Conclusion
Can I finish by thanking you again for the invaluable work you do in promoting the safe enjoyment of the outdoors.
Thank you for asking me to speak and enjoy the rest of your conference.