Business Update

Strategic Directions October 2009 Newsletter

General

The New Zealand Energy Outlook presents long-term forecasts of energy supply, demand, prices and energy sector greenhouse gas emissions.  These forecasts are principally aimed at informing New Zealand’s energy policy debate.

This edition of the Energy Outlook marks a new approach of releasing annual topic-specific articles rather than a three-yearly release of a single report.

In this first stage release, the Ministry has published a Reference Scenario, which is essentially the measuring stick against which the impact of new policies and technologies can be measured, and three further articles which examine the sensitivities of this forecast to oil prices, emissions pricing and economic growth (GDP).

“The Reference Scenario reflects what might happen if trends in key economic drivers, policy settings, technology and fuel choices don’t change,” said Simon Lawrence, Manager of the Energy Information and Modelling Group.

“Extending the analysis contained in the Reference Scenario, the sensitivity analysis explores the effect of four alternative economic growth outlooks, variations in future oil price, and the effect of four levels of international greenhouse gas emissions prices on New Zealand’s energy sector.

“We’re also keen to hear people’s ideas on other energy scenarios we could consider in the next round of modelling work.”

The Energy Outlook Reference Scenario and sensitivity articles are available free-of-charge at www.med.govt.nz/energyoutlook.  Information on the modelling approach and key assumptions made are discussed at the end of each article.

Feedback and enquiries on the Energy Outlook should be sent to energyinfo@med.govt.nz.

Related links

• New Zealand Energy Outlook
• Reference Scenario
• Economic Growth Sensitivity case
• Oil Price Sensitivity case
• Emissions Pricing Sensitivity case

Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully made the call at a Parliamentary function on September 9th, attended by Prime Minister John Key, and International Rugby Board officials Bernard Lapasset and Mike Miller.

“RWC 2011 is an unprecedented opportunity for New Zealand.  It will be the biggest event ever held here, and we plan to make the most of it,” Mr McCully said.

“The Cup will inject over $500 million into the economy. It will attract over 60,000 international visitors and a global television audience of over four billion. New Zealand will be in the international spotlight like never before, and we will be ready.”

The government’s 2011 strategy includes the establishment of the New Zealand 2011 office (MED) which will be responsible for co-ordinating a national festival, and developing and implementing both a business leveraging programme and a host and volunteer programme.

“We have also put in place a steering group of prominent New Zealanders – called the 2011 Group – to provide advice and help drive this work,” Mr McCully said.

“RWC 2011 is an unprecedented opportunity to raise our international profile, boost our economy and make lasting gains in trade and tourism. Our New Zealand 2011 programme is designed to ensure we make the most of that opportunity.”

For more information, visit the new website – www.nz2011.govt.nz

The government is committing up to $1.5 billion, which is expected to be at least matched by private sector investment, to deliver ultra-fast broadband to 75 percent of New Zealanders within ten years.   

“Delivering fibre to the home is an essential part of the infrastructure for a strongly growing 21st century economy. It will play a key role in improving the productivity of our country as we move out of recession and into a period of growth,” said Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce in Parliament last month.

The Government also proposes getting fast broadband to the remaining 25 percent of New Zealanders living outside the footprint of the urban ultra-fast broadband initiative with a $300 million investment in fibre optics to rural schools over the next six years. 

"Providing fibre to the vast majority of rural schools will effectively deliver the capacity to provide faster broadband to the communities they serve. Fibre backhaul is currently the primary limiting factor in the delivery of rural broadband and getting fibre to schools will address that,” said Mr Joyce.

The government’s tender process for the urban initiative will be announced this month. Tenders for the rural broadband initiative will be sought in November.  Information on both will be made available at www.med.govt.nz/ultra-fast-broadband and www.med.govt.nz/rural-broadband respectively.

Related links

• Ultra-fast broadband investment initiative
• Rural broadband initiative

Growth and Innovation October 2009 Newsletter

General October 2009 Newsletter

Companies Office October 2009 Newsletter

General

Review of Industrial & Provident Societies

 The new IT-system will be introduced in Mid 2010, starting with the Companies Office, and will subsequently be expanded to other registers, such as the Industrial and Provident Societies register. There are currently 299 societies registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Act 1908 (“the Act”).

The main purpose of the review is to determine whether a society is still operating and to ask them to provide the Registrar with up-to-date addresses for the society. A letter has been issued to all Industrial & Provident Societies which were registered prior to 2009 in regards to this.

Under the Act a society has an obligation to file an annual financial statement which is known as an annual return, and this must be sent to the Registrar each year for filing. Further information on a society’s obligations is available on our website:
www.companies.govt.nz/cms/other-registered-entities/industrial-and-provident-societies

If you are a member of an Industrial & Provident society or were a member of a society which is no longer operating, then please contact the Registrar. We would like to know whether it still exists and if so, what its current addresses are. This can be done by emailing compliance@companies.govt.nz or by writing to the Registrar of Industrial and Provident Societies at:

Ministry of Economic Development
Northern Business Centre
Private Bag 92061,
Victoria Street West,
Auckland 1142.

The Starting a Business indicator assesses the procedures and costs associated with setting up a business.  This great result has been attributed to the introduction of the Companies Office and Inland Revenue joint initiative which enables new companies to apply for an IRD Number and register for GST at the point of incorporation. Other contributing factors were the introduction of a lower corporate tax rate and insolvency law reforms.

To read more visit the Companies Office website.

Insolvency law provides all creditors with some measure of equality in order to avoid destructive fights between creditors and wasteful races to courts to recuperate their debts. 

Employees are one of the categories of creditors that have statutory preference so that wages and salary are paid before payments are made to unsecured creditors of an insolvent company. 

The maximum amount employees can claim in an insolvency proceeding under the Companies Act 1993 and the Insolvency Act 2006 was previously set at $16,420.  There is a statutory requirement to adjust this amount every three years based on a prescribed formula.  The prescribed formula provides for the revised figure to reflect any overall percentage increase, over the relevant adjustment period, in average weekly earnings (total, private sector), calculated by reference to the last Quarterly Employment Survey published by Statistics New Zealand. 

The new employee preferential claim figure has been adjusted to $18,700.  This reflects the overall increase in average weekly earnings in the private sector of 13.9 per cent over the three-year period ending 30 June 2009. 

Please see http://www.companies.govt.nz/cms/how-do-i/close-a-new-zealand-company/liquidation/how-does-liquidation-affect-you

ITS October 2009 Newsletter

General

Insolvency law provides all creditors with some measure of equality in order to avoid destructive fights between creditors and wasteful races to courts to recuperate their debts. 

Employees are one of the categories of creditors that have statutory preference so that wages and salary are paid before payments are made to unsecured creditors of an insolvent company. 

The maximum amount employees can claim in an insolvency proceeding under the Companies Act 1993 and the Insolvency Act 2006 was previously set at $16,420.  There is a statutory requirement to adjust this amount every three years based on a prescribed formula.  The prescribed formula provides for the revised figure to reflect any overall percentage increase, over the relevant adjustment period, in average weekly earnings (total, private sector), calculated by reference to the last Quarterly Employment Survey published by Statistics New Zealand. 

The new employee preferential claim figure has been adjusted to $18,700.  This reflects the overall increase in average weekly earnings in the private sector of 13.9 per cent over the three-year period ending 30 June 2009. 

Please see http://www.companies.govt.nz/cms/how-do-i/close-a-new-zealand-company/liquidation/how-does-liquidation-affect-you

There are 27 cases currently in court and 15 cases under investigation.

Related link

• Further information on the National Enforcement Unit

IPONZ October 2009 Newsletter

General

One of the changes was to allow enforcement officers to apply for a production order where they had reasonable grounds to suspect that evidence existed that might be relevant to an investigation of an offence against the Trade Marks or Copyright Acts.  This change would ensure that investigative powers for enforcement officers were more closely aligned with the powers of Customs officers.

The Bill aims to give effect to the government’s decisions to join the Madrid Protocol and to strengthen the existing enforcement provisions in the Trade Marks Act 2002 and Copyright Act 1994 to deter trade mark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. 

The Select Committee’s report can be viewed at
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/Documents/Reports/c/6/d/49DBSCH_SCR4493_1-Trade-Marks-International-Treaties-and-Enforcement.htm.

Clients and agents will now be able to log in to www.iponz.govt.nz  to view and download the correspondence relating to their Patent, Design or Trade Mark portfolio.

Following an extensive digitisation project over the last 12 months we have been able to create an electronic file for the majority of IP records in our system. As a result of this work we are now in a position to provide clients / agents with this new service.

Further information on why you should use this new service and who can use it can be found on the IPONZ website http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/iponz/latest-news/view-ip-history-online-service-now-available

This new status is intended to make it easier for clients to track the progress of their application online using the View IP History service. See www.iponz.govt.nz/online-services

For information on the updated status descriptions for Trade Mark applications and the application process see http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/iponz/latest-news/new-status-description-for-trade-mark-applications.

MVTR October 2009 Newsletter

General

How do you know your registration expiry date?

The certificate of registration sent to you when you registered as a motor vehicle trader shows the date that your registration expires.  You must renew your registration before this date.

We will send you a reminder

The Registrar will send a renewal reminder 20 working days before your registration expiry date. This notice will be sent to the contact address listed for your registration (either a postal or email address).

How do you renew?

The quickest way to renew your registration is using our online service but if you prefer, you can complete and file a paper form.

1. Before the expiry date initiate the renewal process and pay your renewal fee of NZ$583.
2. Then, within 20 days, complete and fax back your signed statutory declaration(s) to +64 9 913 4212.

As soon as you receive your reminder notice, go to www.motortraders.med.govt.nz and follow the steps outlined in the reminder. 

Learn more now about how to renew.

What happens if you don't renew?

The Motor Vehicle Securities Act 2003 (MVSA) does not allow for expired registrations to be re-instated.
 
If you don't renew your registration before the expiry date, you will need to complete a new application to register as a motor vehicle trader.  This means you will be issued with a new registered trader number.

If you operate as a motor vehicle trader without a current registration you will be in breach of the MVSA and will be liable for prosecution.  There are fines associated with trading whilst unregistered.

Mark your calendar now

Check your certificate of registration to see when your registration is due to expire.

A free search of the Motor Vehicle Traders Register will also show you the date you first registered and the dates of any subsequent renewals.  This will help to provide you with an indication of when you are next due to renew.

PPSR October 2009 Newsletter

General

User ID and Password

You must have a logon (User ID and password) to search or register on the PPSR.  You need to log on before using any online service.

It is FREE to register for a logon.  Any service that requires a fee is identified by a 'Pay Now' screen so you can decide whether or not to proceed.

Secured Party Group ID and Password

Secured Party Groups are a central identity within the PPSR.  They are essentially the creditor, lender or person taking a security interest over certain collateral.  To register financing statements you must first have a User ID then you must register the secured party as a Secured Party Group (also referred to as an SPG). 

A secured party (or someone acting on their behalf) creates a Secured Party Group to represent itself the first time it accesses the PPSR.  At this time the Secured Party Group is assigned its own unique SPG ID and password.  After the initial Secured Party Group registration the first and all subsequent financing statements are registered against that Secured Party Group.

Financing Statement Registration Number and PIN and Debtor PIN

The Financing Statement Registration Number is unique to each Financing Statement. It is used to identify a Financing Statement and is automatically assigned once registration is complete.

The Financing Statement PIN is a critical piece of information required by the secured party to maintain and discharge the financing statement.

The Debtor PIN and a copy of the verification statement must be supplied to the debtor by the secured party within 15 working days - unless the debtor waives, in writing, the right to receive one.  The Debtor PIN is only used by the debtor, or a person with an interest in the collateral, during the change demand process.

Read more about IDs, Passwords and PINs on the PPSR website

Energy & Resources October 2009 Newsletter

General

The New Zealand Energy Outlook presents long-term forecasts of energy supply, demand, prices and energy sector greenhouse gas emissions.  These forecasts are principally aimed at informing New Zealand’s energy policy debate.

This edition of the Energy Outlook marks a new approach of releasing annual topic-specific articles rather than a three-yearly release of a single report.

In this first stage release, the Ministry has published a Reference Scenario, which is essentially the measuring stick against which the impact of new policies and technologies can be measured, and three further articles which examine the sensitivities of this forecast to oil prices, emissions pricing and economic growth (GDP).

“The Reference Scenario reflects what might happen if trends in key economic drivers, policy settings, technology and fuel choices don’t change,” said Simon Lawrence, Manager of the Energy Information and Modelling Group.

“Extending the analysis contained in the Reference Scenario, the sensitivity analysis explores the effect of four alternative economic growth outlooks, variations in future oil price, and the effect of four levels of international greenhouse gas emissions prices on New Zealand’s energy sector.

“We’re also keen to hear people’s ideas on other energy scenarios we could consider in the next round of modelling work.”

The Energy Outlook Reference Scenario and sensitivity articles are available free-of-charge at www.med.govt.nz/energyoutlook.  Information on the modelling approach and key assumptions made are discussed at the end of each article.

Feedback and enquiries on the Energy Outlook should be sent to energyinfo@med.govt.nz.

Related links

• New Zealand Energy Outlook
• Reference Scenario
• Economic Growth Sensitivity case
• Oil Price Sensitivity case
• Emissions Pricing Sensitivity case

The Ministry received 128 submissions, which may now be read and/or downloaded from the Ministry’s website.

Ministry officials and the Electricity Technical Advisory Group have been reviewing this feedback and will be making final recommendations to the Minister of Energy and Resources shortly.

Related links

• Discussion document
• Submissions

Tourism October 2009 Newsletter

General

For the second month in a row, since the survey began in March, optimists have outweighed pessimists.

Forty-nine percent of those surveyed expect demand for tourism products will increase over the next three months, compared with 44% last month and 38% the month before.

“It is encouraging that sector sentiment is moving in the right direction, but it is equally important that we are careful that we don’t get overly optimistic,” says Bruce Bassett, Ministry of Tourism Research Manager. “The signs are better but the challenges still to be faced are real.”

Tourism Industry Association New Zealand Chief Executive Tim Cossar says a feeling of guarded optimism was clear among those attending the recent Inaugural NZ Tourism Leaders Symposium in Wellington.

“We have experienced some of the toughest trading conditions in memory but there is a degree of confidence that the industry will emerge stronger from this period,” Mr Cossar says.

The Tourism Industry Monitor is an industry wide initiative. It is designed to provide the industry with monthly information on the performance of the tourism sector, including the short-term outlook. It is led by the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Industry Association, Tourism New Zealand and the New Zealand Hotel Council.

For a copy of the Tourism Industry Monitor visit www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/tim.

Consumer Issues October 2009 Newsletter

General

After you’ve dealt with the emergency – or if it was just a near miss – collect and record the evidence. Instead of throwing the faulty product out, you can take it back for a refund and report a safety issue to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Read our Word of Advice column to find out more about what to do with unsafe products.

A direct debit can be a handy way of making sure your bills get paid without all the hassle each month. But what is the difference between a direct debit and an automatic payment? What happens if there isn’t enough money in your account? Who can cancel the direct debit?

Find out the answers to these questions in our Word of Advice column.

Before you buy, work out what specific features you need, whether you can afford to buy it on credit, and find out whether an extended warranty will give you any extra protection over the Consumer Guarantees Act.

To find out more about buying big ticket items read our Word of Advice column.

RSM October 2009 Newsletter

Spectrum Licensing

The final date for submissions was 30 September 2009. Over forty submissions were received.

Feedback on the options and proposals contained in the paper will help inform Government in making final recommendations. Ministers are due to report to Cabinet at the end of the year, with decisions to follow.

Related link: Digital Futures discussion paper

The applicants, Network Waitaki Limited and Alpine Energy Limited, are both qualifying applicants. If no qualifying competing applications are received by the Ministry within 30 working days of the applications being advertised on the website, the licences will be assigned to the qualifying applicants at the reserve price.

Related links

• Round 3 allocation rules
• Notices (including information on lots applied for) from qualifying applicants

Radio Licensing

The purpose of these audits is to promote compliance with licence conditions maintaining the integrity of the Register of Radio Frequencies.

From the beginning of this financial year on 1 July 2009 until 30 September 2009, RSM has completed:

• Transmit without a licence
• Transmit power is in excess of licensed power
• Transmitter is not installed at the location recorded on the licence
• Transmitter is not operating on the frequency recorded on the licence

Related link

• Licence compliance 

A wildcard character is a special character that represents one or more other characters.

This SMART Tip explains what are wildcard characters and which ones can be used when searching for licences.

Related link to licence search in SMART

• Licences can now be modified in the same month as annual fees are due
• Associated licences cannot be renewed independently from primary licences
• Schedules of licences due for renewal now show the channel
• On the “Licence Renewal Search” screen, "pending" licences are hyperlinked to the “pending renewals” screen
• Spectrum licences now have a hyperlink to their related Management Right

Licences can now be modified in the same month as annual fees are due

Prior to 21 September, if a radio licence was required to be modified, its annual licence fee had to be paid in full before an application could be submitted.

Even though a licence annual fee is due, an application can now be submitted to modify the licence. For engineers there is no change in the procedure when modifying the licence - the change occurs after the licence is certified when a notification is emailed to the client to "confirm" the application. At this point SMART recalculates the annual fee based on the new modified licence's parameters - the client then sees the new fee on the Fee Payment screen.

If annual fees are due on a licence that is undergoing modification, the list of licences due for renewal will indicate that the licence is being modified (and not able to be renewed).

Note - the above information also applies if an engineer is acting on behalf of a client when paying the annual fees or generating an invoice.

Associated licences cannot be renewed independently from primary licences

For the above item to be possible, a change has been made in regard to paying for licences due for renewal. When viewing licences due for renewal that have associated licences (e.g. fixed point-to-point licences), selecting them automatically selects any associated licences. This means that associated licences cannot be independently renewed - there is now no check box next to associated licences. All the licences selected for renewal can be viewed on the Licence Renewal Summary screen that follows.

If, for example, a point-to-point licence that is due its annual fee is modified (but not the associated licence), when the Fee Payment screen is shown, both the modified licence and the associated licence's fee is shown to be paid. This is so both licences are renewed at the same time.

Schedules of licences due for renewal now show the channel

When viewing the List of Licences Due for Renewal (as an attachment to an email or letter) the channel is shown in addition to the frequency of the licence.

On the “Licence Renewal Search” screen, "pending" licences are hyperlinked to the “pending renewals” screen

During the process of paying for licences due for renewal, if the payment process is started but aborted, the status as shown in the Licence Renewal Search screen is "Pend". This status is now hyperlinked directly to the Pending Renewals screen. This is the same as selecting the Pending Renewal button.

Spectrum licences now have a hyperlink to their related Management Right

• The hyperlink to view the annual fees for a licence is now on the "Fees Paid On" date.
• Spectrum licences will now have a hyperlink on the "Mgmt. Right ID" (Management Right ID) - clicking the hyperlink will take you to the Management Right Summary screen.

Product Compliance

The purpose of these audits is to protect the utility of the radio spectrum by ensuring compliance with New Zealand regulatory requirements.  The audit programme achieves outcomes through a mix of education, warnings and Infringement Notices. Audits provide importers, distributors and retailers with an opportunity to learn more about the requirements of their licence.

Common breaches of product compliance include:

• Supply of products operating outside the General User Licence
• Supply of products with insufficient labelling
• Supply of products with no compliance folders or insufficient compliance folders

From the beginning of this financial year on 1 July 2009 until 30 September 2009, RSM has completed:

• Current legal requirements for suppliers
• Product compliance notices
• A guide to product compliance

Inform & Comm Tech October 2009 Newsletter