Today is the third birthday of Neve Gayford (or is she Neve Ardern?), an event that was portended on the NZ Herald website in a report which described her dad as a “genius” for rolling three cakes into one for the occasion.
And how (we wonder) would they describe Albert Einstein?
The birthday has not been mentioned on the Beehive website – so far as we can tell from our regular monitoring – but it has been recognised in a post on Cactus Kate’s blog, Asian Invasion.
The highlight of Neve’s life for Cactus Kate so far remains her trip to the UN.
She raised the IQ of the room ten-fold and made more sense that any of them.
And managed to be one of the few attendees to not spit the dummy.
The Beehive has recognised that National Volunteer Week opened today in a statement which announces nominations have opened for the 2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards.
Another statement recognised that yesterday was World Refugee Day.
Celebrating World Refugee Day is the headline on this statement from Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi, although when we consider the plight of the world’s refugees it’s hard to see what there is to celebrate.
The number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution and human rights abuses has doubled in the past decade to reach 82.4 million at the end of last year, the United Nations was reported as saying.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s website steers readers to a grim list of trouble spots:
So what is Faafoi celebrating?
He says yesterday was an opportunity
“ .. to celebrate the proud record New Zealanders have supporting and protecting refugees and acknowledge the contribution these new New Zealanders make to our country”.
He further recognised that …
“World Refugee Day is also a chance to think about the journey refugees around the world undertake to find safe new lives here. And it’s a chance for us to look at what we can do to make sure they settle into their new lives in New Zealand well.”
But this country’s contribution to the housing of millions of refugees – ahem – is somewhat meagre.
Since last year’s World Refugee Day the government has resumed the Refugee Quota Programme and by the end of this intake year we will have welcomed 212 refugees through the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.
Over the next financial year (1 July 2021-30 June 2022) the aim is to resettle up to 1,000 refugees and “eventually” to lift that number to 1,500 refugees a year.
The government’s support for the South Auckland community hit by a tornado at the weekend has been meagre, too.
It is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund.
Drug Free Sport New Zealand is being treated more generously. It will receive an additional $4.3 million over three years from the Sport Recovery Fund.
This fund’s purpose is to help improve athletes’ understanding of the risks of doping – seriously, do these people need to be better educated on this matter so crucial to their sporting careers? – as well as enhance its testing programme to keep up with changes in technology.
Latest from the Beehive
Volunteers
Recognising the volunteers who support our health system
Nominations have opened for the 2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards, as part of National Volunteer Week.
New Zealanders donated at least 159 million hours of volunteer labour every year, Health Minister Andrew Little said in launching this year’s awards.
“These people play a huge part in keeping us healthy and well, whether it’s volunteering as first-responders in emergencies and helping people get to medical appointments, or fundraising and providing support and friendship to people facing tough times with their health.
“Every volunteer deserves our gratitude; these awards give us a chance to recognise them and say thank you.”
Nominations for the 2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards close on 16 July.
More information about the awards and past recipients is available at http://www.health.govt.nz/volunteerawards
Sport
Drug Free Sport supported to deal with new doping challenges
Drug Free Sport New Zealand will receive a funding boost of $4.3 million over three years from the Sport Recovery Fund announced last year. It will help DFSNZ improve athletes’ understanding of the risks of doping, as well as enhance its testing programme to keep up with changes in technology.
DFSNZ will be introducing improved testing and enhancing their doping investigation capabilities, including Dried Blood Spot testing, Sports Minister Grant Robertson said.
DFSNZ, New Zealand’s National Anti-Doping Organisation, provides technical advice on anti-doping, carries out New Zealand’s anti-doping programme, and is a signatory to the WADA Code. Its activities include the education of athletes across the sporting community, athlete testing, investigating evidence of doping, as well as working alongside national and international organisations to share best practice and influence policy development.
Emergency aid
Government support for South Auckland community hit by tornado
The Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to support Auckland communities impacted by the Papatoetoe tornado.
It’s too early to know the full cost of the damage, but this initial contribution will help those communities start to get back on their feet, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says.
Mayoral Relief Funds provide an additional way to help communities bounce back after an emergency.
This funding is in addition to other support that people may be eligible for through the Ministry of Social Development.
Refugees
World Refugee Day was an opportunity to celebrate the proud record New Zealanders have supporting and protecting refugees and acknowledge the contribution these new New Zealanders make to our country, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said.
World Refugee Day is also a chance to think about the journey refugees around the world undertake to find safe new lives here, he said, And it’s a chance to look at what can be done to help them settle into their new lives in New Zealand
The theme for this year’s World Refugee Day is “the power of inclusion” which acknowledges the importance of working together to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and encourages greater inclusion of refugees in our communities.
“Refugees become New Zealanders the moment they arrive here. They bring with them their unique experiences, culture and skills which enrich our communities. Making them feel included in our communities helps them feel part of our country, helps them achieve their aim of a new and better life, and helps their communities benefit from the contribution they and their families make.”
Since last year’s World Refugee Day NZ has resumed the Refugee Quota Programme.
By the end of this intake year we will have welcomed 212 refugees through the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.
“Over the next financial year (1 July 2021-30 June 2022) we will aim to resettle up to1,000 refugees through the Refugee Quota Programme. And, as the world returns to more normality, we aim to meet the Government’s commitment to eventually welcome up to 1,500 refugees a year to resettle here so they can share in and contribute to our great country,” Kris Faafoi said.
Point of Order 