2017 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: New Zealand National Statement

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1 2017 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: New Zealand National Statement Statement delivered by Mr. Hamish Cooper, Principal Adviser Multilateral and Legal Affairs on 20 July Thank you, Mr President. New Zealand is pleased to join this High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the second since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. When the Prime Minister of New Zealand addressed last year s General Assembly he highlighted the importance of universal implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. New Zealand is strongly committed to sustainable development. I will outline just a few of the ways New Zealand is addressing the Goals highlighted for discussion at this Forum including how we pursue sustainable development at home and how we share knowledge and resources to help others. In connection with Goal 1, New Zealand prioritises ensuring employment and opportunity through a strong and dynamic economy. But it is also critical that the benefits of growth are shared. This year, the government established a $2 billion tax package targeted at low and middle income families. This complements other initiatives aimed at reducing longterm welfare dependence, ensuring a healthy start to life, supporting vulnerable children and reducing crime. Overseas, the New Zealand aid programme works to reduce poverty. We focus our effort on the small island states of the Pacific which face economic and environmental vulnerabilities. One example is our work with Tonga to upgrade its village electricity network. When complete this will see 8,163 households in 50 villages provided with more affordable, reliable and clean energy helping Tonga meet sustainable development targets on poverty, inequality, energy and the environment. New Zealand has been helping to propel a massive effort to increase renewable energy generation in the Pacific and globally. In the last six years we have committed $230 million to renewable energy projects in our region, and in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The results are evident. In Tuvalu, New Zealand and other donors have supported new solar installations on nine islands that have seen the country s proportion of renewable electricity generation leap from 4 to 43 percent. With New Zealand s

2 Page 2 of 5 support Tokelau has gone to effectively meeting 100 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources. New Zealand organised conferences with the European Union in 2013 and 2016 that paired up big international donors with promising Pacific energy projects. This has mobilised more than $2 billion in funding for renewable energy projects in the region. Better, cleaner energy sources help Pacific Island countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions and make them less reliant on expensive imported diesel. New Zealand s agricultural base means we have a particular contribution to make to Goal 2. New Zealand has robust processes in place to oversee all stages of food production from growth, processing, transport and exporting. These processes combat food fraud and uphold New Zealand s reputation as a supplier of safe and suitable food. A Food Safety Reform Bill, which has just had its second reading in parliament, will further strengthen the protection of human health through greater traceability of food. Further afield it means making available our knowledge and expertise to assist developing countries. We have currently committed over $51 million across Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Viet Nam to develop commercial horticulture, grow incomes to farming households and improve food safety. This work draws strongly on New Zealand scientific and horticultural expertise. With regard to Goal 3, in 2016 the government updated its Health Strategy, aligning closely with the Sustainable Development Goals and aiming to ensure all New Zealanders live well, stay well and get well. We are focused, for example, on getting children the best start in life. New Zealand has increased immunisation coverage for 8-month-olds to 93 percent and has implemented a comprehensive plan to tackle childhood obesity. In the Pacific, a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, particularly diabetes and heart disease, places both health and economic Sustainable Development Goals at risk. New Zealand is working with others on primary health initiatives to screen and treat these diseases. And we target prevention including by promoting reduced tobacco use and increased physical activity for children through involvement in sport. We have recently launched a new sporting partnership in the Pacific that will promote healthy lifestyles and encourage teenagers to take part in sport. The Pacific Sporting Partnership Sports for Health Rugby programme is about ensuring children learn about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle from a young age, while also gaining skills like team work and fair play.

3 Page 3 of 5 New Zealand is committed to the principles underpinning Goal 5, including targeting women s leadership and economic empowerment and ending violence against women. At home we have had real success increasing the proportion of women on New Zealand state-sector boards at 45 percent this is the highest since we began recording this data. With regard to pay equity, a recently announced $2 billion settlement will raise incomes for 55,000 workers, predominantly women, in New Zealand's aged and disability residential care, and home and community support services. In New Zealand, more than 11 percent of women aged 15 years and over are participating in tertiary education the participation rate for men is 8.3 percent. We also seek to gain better gender outcomes from our international cooperation. New Zealand and the Pacific have seen much success from seasonal labour mobility meeting a labour need in New Zealand while giving Pacific workers the chance to gain income and skills, and returning over $40 million annually to their home countries. Looking ahead we are committed to growing labour mobility opportunities for Pacific women including in semi-skilled and higher-income occupations. In connection with Goal 9, as a small country on the Pacific rim, New Zealand is challenged by natural disasters. Destructive earthquakes in Christchurch and Kaikoura in recent years have demanded that the Government prioritises resilient and safe infrastructure, and takes an innovative approach to supporting affected communities. This has meant boosting our building codes, planning for future events and reforming our approach to managing natural disasters to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. And we bring these lessons to our development cooperation by investing in the design and construction of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure. Goal 14 addresses matters of profound importance to New Zealand and the Pacific region. Sustainable management principles have been critical both to conservation objectives and to growing the value of our domestic fishery. They are also key elements of our international cooperation. New Zealand has committed an additional $54 million over five years to improve sustainable fisheries management in the Pacific, both to improve food security and to provide economic benefits. We cooperate directly with our Pacific partners to enhance surveillance of their marine environments for example, New Zealand s Inshore Patrol Vessel, Hawea, was deployed, in partnership with Fiji, in April of this year for six months to improve maritime security and fisheries protection. We are equally determined not to let these objectives be undermined by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which robs Pacific economies of an estimated

4 Page 4 of 5 US$153 million each year. We continue to campaign for the elimination of fisheries subsidies that contribute to this problem. In all of the above areas, New Zealand draws from the experience of others, we offer our own experience and learning, and we collaborate with a wide array of partners. We look forward to deepening such collaboration. New Zealand will continue to play its part in meeting the high level of ambition set out in the 2030 Agenda. Thank you. ENDS

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