2 storms and a rocket

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 14th, 2012 - 42 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, economy, Left, pasifika, peak oil, poverty, trade, us politics - Tags: , , , ,

These days, the big and powerful players usually get most the political and media attention, while the struggles of the least powerful too often get marginalised.  In a world of changing climate, resource depletion and long financial decline, people living in coastal areas and on small low-lying island are very vulnerable. It is often only when disasters occur that we get a glimpse into the daily lives of some of the people with the lowest incomes and least resources.

The Asia-Pacific is a big area, as much water as land, and it is has been described recently, in the context of the TPP talks in Auckland, as the focal point of a new cold war.

“Prime Minister John Key needs a reality check if he really believes New Zealand can remain best friends with both sides in the escalating face-off between the US and China over the ‘most significant free trade and investment deal ever’”, according to University of Auckland Professor Jane Kelsey

This morning on AlJazeera, I saw 3 news items relating to this area that highlighted various concerns for some of the least powerful people: two of these stories involve the chaotic, but not inexplicable forces of nature, and one an ongoing tension between powerful aligned governments and an independent dictatorship.

People struggling to get their lives back together after a devastating and fatal typhoon in the Philippines.

Typhoon Bopha unleashed floods and landslides across the main southern island of Mindanao on December 4, obliterating entire communities.

At least 714 people were killed, making the typhoon the deadliest natural disaster in the Philippines since a tropical storm killed more than 1,200 people last year.

The civil defence office said that around 115,000 houses have been destroyed, and more than 116,000 people remain in government shelter as they are likely to wait months for new housing to be constructed.

The government said that a total of 890 people remain missing, many of them include at least 313 deep sea fishermen who are feared lost at sea….

“This is a scale the Philippines has not previously seen, we’re talking about tens of thousands of homes destroyed across southeast Mindanao,” Joe Curry of Catholic Relief Service told Al Jazeera.

Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centres or staying with relatives.

“In my 15 years of service to the Red Cross, I have not seen such great destruction and devastation,” Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, told Al Jazeera.

“Almost everyone there is homeless, there is no clean water … there is very limited medical care.”

Families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 313 fishermen at sea.

Many survivors of the latest storm in the Philippines, didn’t have much before the typhoon.  Now  have to use their own resources to find the necessities for survival, as shown in the videos at the above link, and here.

Cyclone Evan that is still wreaking havoc in Samoa.  Once again Samoa is having to cope with fatalities and destruction.  How many times have they had to rebuild their lives?

Cyclone Evan, which has already reportedly claimed the lives of three people, continues to batter Samoa today and is expected to intensify with winds up to 145km/h.

At least three people, two of them children, were reported to have been killed in the cyclone overnight.

Samoa’s Meteorology Division this morning issued a special weather bulletin, predicting winds will pick up to between 120km/h and 145km/h within the next 6-12 hours….

The cyclone was moving northwest and at 4am (local time) was located 40km north-east of Samoa’s capital, Apia.

If it continued on the same track it would be positioned 25km east of Apia at 8am this morning.

It would then turn southwest and “intensify”.

Last night there were reports of widespread flash floods, blocked roads, damaged buildings and evacuations.

North Korea surprised a few people yesterday by launching a satellite, ostensibly to monitor the weather, though many western governments and South Korea fear it has military capabilities and potential. It’s not clear whether China will oppose UN new sanction being applied to North Korea.  Meanwhile, tensions between China and Japan continue over some disputed little islands in the East China Sea.

How should New Zealanders, especially the Left/labour movement, respond to the inter-state tensions in the region?

And how should our government, citizens and Left/labour movement people respond to the most recent climatic disasters and devastation in the region?

42 comments on “2 storms and a rocket ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. vto 1
    14 December 2012 at 10:43 am

    How should people respond?

    I think the age old wisdom of responding in the manner in which we would like to be responded to ourselves in similar circumstances would be appropriate.

    It is the only way forward.

  2. Anne 2
    14 December 2012 at 11:00 am

    Posted this on Open Mike:

    14 December 2012 at 10:17 am

    Better keep a close watch on this next week folks.
    (hit the button and move to other end (Monday)

    http://www.metservice.com/national/maps-rain-radar/maps/sw-pacific-recent-latest

    It looks like it will affect our weather towards the end of next week. It will no longer be the same intensity (as it is predicted to become over the next 72 hours) but could still pack one hell of a punch. After hitting Fiji, these things usually turn south to south-east as they approach the mid-latitudes, so that would see it slide down to the east of NZ. If that happens it could be the East Coast of the N.I. that gets the main battering.

    Yes, I’m a little ray of sunshine 🙂

  3. asp viper 3
    14 December 2012 at 11:33 am

    I love it when lefties mix up weather and politics…..

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1
      14 December 2012 at 12:31 pm

      Climate Change is very much a political issue and the fact that we heard more about Sandy than Bopha is also a political issue.

      • rosy viper 3.1.1
        14 December 2012 at 8:44 pm

        I watched 121212 Concert for New York – put on for Hurricane Sandy relief. It was great to see a whole lot of hometown heroes and international (once were) great old rockers getting together to do this.

        What disturbed be though was the ticker at the bottom of the tv screen had phone numbers for countries all over the world. You could phone in from, say, the Philippines and donate for disaster relief. In New York.

        The rich and powerful eh? I wonder what justification they might have dreamed up that it’s o.k. to ask people living in Greece for money? How hard would it have been to say if you phone internationally your donation can go to local climate/disaster recovery events? That would be a people-powered understanding of political and economic dimensions of disaster relief.

        An opportunity to show the U.S. cared about more than just itself and an opportunity to raise the profile of climate change discussion completely missed. I sort of felt ashamed for them. How could they ask for money from people in countries with less ability to recover than them… just how could they?

    • karol 3.2
      14 December 2012 at 12:36 pm

      And many righties like to ignore political realities.  Sometimes weather is political, as Naomi Klein will tell you.

      For her part, Klein “came of age politically,” she told me, with the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle, when she was 29, shortly after which her international best-seller No Logo made her an intellectual star of the anti-globalization movement. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, her 2007 magnum opus, exposed the ways neoliberal free-market profiteers have exploited chaos and catastrophe in disaster zones, from hurricane-shocked New Orleans to “shock-and-awe”-shocked Iraq….

      It also says something about the direction the climate movement may be taking — or, rather, the direction McKibben and Klein argue it should be taking, as they seek to merge climate and economic justice in a way that goes beyond both traditional environmentalism and the old-school, climate-clueless left….

      “Climate change lends urgency to our fights for social justice, like nothing else before,” Klein said. “We have to win these battles against free trade, we have to win these battles to re-localize our economies. This isn’t just some little hobby. …
       
      “So it’s not about abandoning all of those fights, it’s actually about supercharging those fights, and weaving them all into a common narrative. That’s the story we need to tell.

      And what DTB said above.

      • Poission 3.2.1
        15 December 2012 at 1:43 pm

        wiki leaks has dumped the forthcoming AR5 (Ipcc) report.The conclusiosns are that the so called enhancement of extreme events is non existant in the data be it flloods drought or tropical cyclones.
        i Insufficient evidence and thus low confidence for consistent trends in the magnitude or frequency of floods on a global scale
        iiRecent re-assessments of tropical cyclone data do not support the AR4 conclusions of an increase in the most intense tropical cyclones or an upward trend in the potential destructiveness of all storms since the 1970s
        iii New results indicate that AR4 conclusions regarding global increasing trends in droughts since 1970s are no longer supported
        This is a reversal of the previous report understanding and is more consitent with the literature.

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    14 December 2012 at 12:29 pm

    UN condemns North Korea rocket launch

    And yet they say nothing when the US, UK, EU, Russia, Japan etc etc all do the same.

    Fucken hypocrites.

    • vto 4.1
      14 December 2012 at 12:33 pm

      Exactly. Just the day before this North Korean rocket was in te news there was news of a new rocket launch in the US.

      The US was overtly military in nature.

      Why was that launch not commented on by anyone?

      The US government has no credibility. And neither does our.

    • King Kong 4.2
      14 December 2012 at 12:44 pm

      I can understand why, from a purely selfish view, you would support the right of unhinged mentals to have weapons but North Korea and longer range nukes…really?

      • karol 4.2.1
        14 December 2012 at 12:54 pm

        I don’t read that as support for North Korea having long range weapons of mass destruction.  It’s more a condemnation of the US et al’s hypocrisy in wanting to have such weapons themselves, while condemning others.

      • Draco T Bastard 4.2.2
        14 December 2012 at 2:19 pm

        The US is a bunch of unhinged mentals and they have long range nukes and I certainly don’t support them having them. I don’t support anybody having them. That said, I do support all countries being able to defend themselves from agression of other countries.

        Also, this was a satellite launch which all the countries complaining about it do quite often themselves. What it really comes across as is the major power centres being upset that other countries may not be dependent upon them.

        • TheContrarian 4.2.2.1
          14 December 2012 at 2:36 pm

          “this was a satellite launch”
          You trust what North Korea says?

          • lprent 4.2.2.1.1
            14 December 2012 at 2:45 pm

            There is little difference between launching a satellite and launching a FOBS. There is effectively no difference between them.

            • Pascal's bookie 4.2.2.1.1.1
              14 December 2012 at 2:55 pm

              It demonstartes capability for and ICBM bar targetting and warhead.

              But it’s still ‘so what’ as afras NK is concerned. An ICBM doesn;t give them anything they don’t already have. They can already deter attack via their conventional forces.

              So really, it’s advertising goods for sale, which is less than ideal, but not worth anyone wetting the bed over I reckon.

              • TheContrarian …
                14 December 2012 at 3:04 pm

                It is just posturing IMO.

                New leader gotta show his might, etc. but it seems little naive to say “it’s just a satellite”.

                Shit even if it it was a completely peaceful launch of a comms satellite you’d think there would be better things to spend money on. Like, you know, food.

                • lprent …
                  14 December 2012 at 5:06 pm

                  Regardless there is absolutely little difference between a missile and satellite launch.

                  you’d think there would be better things to spend money on. Like, you know, food. 

                  Ah yes. And we should heartily condemn the USA, the USSR, and China, not to mention France, UK, and for that matter the European Union who all had people going hungry while their posing leaders wasted money on satellite programs…..

                  In other words; don’t be an idiot using odd standards without thinking through what it means in the same context through history. Quite simply you’re trying to draw some arbitrary line that doesn’t exist in the continuum and your criteria as stated has never been met ever in the development of space/weapons programs… 

                  • TheContrarian …
                    14 December 2012 at 5:12 pm

                    So you think it is a-ok that North Korea is focusing its efforts on grand goals of satelitte/missle technology despite its poor record of food production, mechanicisation, farming and feeding their own population. With one the worlds worst human rights records and many of the population live in abject poverty under a tyrannical system of personailty worship.

                    What the fuck Lynn? I am not ‘drawing an arbitrary line’ I am drawing attention to the fact that while the population is oppressed it’s leaders care more about missile technology than their own people.

                    • Pascal's bookie …
                      14 December 2012 at 5:42 pm

                      “I am drawing attention to the fact that while the population is oppressed it’s leaders care more about missile technology than their own people.”

                      Thanks captain obvious!

                      NKs got 99 problems but rocket launches are a stupid one to highlight. It’s not like if they weren’t building a rocket, the money would be put to use feeding people.

                    • McFliper …
                      14 December 2012 at 7:07 pm

                      don’t recall you posting similar concerns about the cost of an F22.

                    • lprent …
                      14 December 2012 at 8:07 pm

                      I am not ‘drawing an arbitrary line’

                      Ah – you are. There were literally millions of people going hungry in the USA when it developed it’s missile and space programs in the 1950’s and 60’s. Especially in the south, in the hill country and on the reservations. Each contained oppressed hungry populations where the national leaders cared more about missile technology than their own people.

                      The French developed most of their missile technology whilst they were in control of Algeria and running brutal oppression against the population there including what were considered to be deliberate starvation campaigns.

                      etc etc….

                      Quite simply there hasn’t been a major space/rocket development program that I know about that hasn’t been done against a background where it wasn’t possible to argue that “…leaders care more about missile technology than their own people…”.

                      I’m not saying it is a good thing. I’m merely stating the contrary view that you look like an idiot for cherry picking which governments you choose to denigrate, when really they are ALL doing it. Quite simply you are picking a line where you choose to regard one side of it as being ‘bad’ whilst ignoring everything else that probably just as bad. It appears completely hypocritical – unless of course you can provide rationalisation to say why NK is ‘bad’ when the US of the 50’s and 60’s was not…. (and then look at the others I mentioned)

                    • the pigman …
                      14 December 2012 at 9:09 pm

                      Ever been to the DPRK, Contrarian?

                      I haven’t but I met an elderly Japanese couple (in their late-80s, had lived through WW2, and both inherently racist towards Chinese/Koreans) on a boat from Tianjin to Kobe who had been a couple of years ago during the summer. They described driving through the countryside with their chaperone/translator and commented to me on the people leading relatively normal lives, teenagers going on camping trips, and a complete absence of the starving poverty that the MSM likes to portray. The only way to create this impoverished, starving country is to play at the economic sanctions that the Western world use to crush their appointed axis of evil.

                      Now, you will say “well that has to do with the chaperone/where they were allowed to go”, but for how long is that line sustainable?

                  • higherstandard …
                    14 December 2012 at 5:43 pm

                    Have you been drinking again or have you just had a TIA ?

          • Draco T Bastard 4.2.2.1.2
            14 December 2012 at 4:09 pm

            You trust what North Korea says?

            Somewhat less than my trust of what the US says.

            Shit even if it it was a completely peaceful launch of a comms satellite you’d think there would be better things to spend money on. Like, you know, food.

            Food and rockets use a different set of resources and money isn’t a resource.

            • TheContrarian 4.2.2.1.2.1
              14 December 2012 at 4:15 pm

              Yes Draco but focusing on building rockets and military might which, regardless of your feeling towards it, involves money instead of feeding your population and providing an adequate standard of living is a bit silly, no?

              • bad12 …
                14 December 2012 at 5:37 pm

                Yeah i agree with the sentiment you express, the numbers in the US who now rely upon the charity of ‘soup kitchens’ as their main means of sustenance is now in the MILLIONS, with the number of homes foreclosed upon and lost to their owners is said to be around 30 million since 2007,

                Meanwhile the US military budget is the biggest it’s ever been…

              • Draco T Bastard …
                14 December 2012 at 6:00 pm

                regardless of your feeling towards it,

                It’s not a feeling – it’s a simple fact. I know it’s not one that most people accept but there you go. It’s not my fault that people have come to believe that the financial system is actually the economy.

                but focusing on building rockets and military might…instead of feeding your population and providing an adequate standard of living is a bit silly.

                That would depend on if doing so is actually taking significant resources away from feeding the people.

                • TheContrarian …
                  14 December 2012 at 6:40 pm

                  The simple fact is when assessing the NK situation it needs to be assessed as it stands under the current paradigm. Not Dracos idea of what should be but what actually is. So regardless of what you believe should be (no matter how right or wrong you are) we need to look at what is. Which is that things cost money.

                  Secondly do you really think that state with appalling human rights, mass poverty which can barely feed itself should focus on missles? Don’t be daft, Draco. While they fiddle with their toys people die.

                  • Pascal's bookie …
                    14 December 2012 at 7:08 pm

                    “The simple fact is when assessing the NK situation it needs to be assessed as it stands under the current paradigm. Not Dracos idea of what should be but what actually is. So regardless of what you believe should be (no matter how right or wrong you are) we need to look at what is. Which is that …” … NK is a totalitarian state which doesn’t give a shit about its citizens. So whinging about the cost of a rocket program misses the point by quite some space.

                    Would you rather they spend the money on death camps? What a wanker.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    14 December 2012 at 8:48 pm

                    It doesn’t matter how much money that NK has – it won’t do anything for their economy. Same as having more money in NZ isn’t doing anything for the economy. We have thousands starving in NZ and yet this government is spending billions building useless roads solely to boost the “economy” (read, have more money).

                    As long as people fail to understand what the economy is and what it’s for then we will have these failures that you seem to be so concerned with and yet do nothing to address only saying no, we must stay with the way things are because that’s the way things are.

  5. vto 5
    14 December 2012 at 2:38 pm

    Who can name the one nation in the history of the world to use nukes to kill people?

    • King Kong 5.1
      14 December 2012 at 2:57 pm

      Right on. Al Qaeda never killed anyone with nukes. down with the USA.

      • karol 5.1.1
        14 December 2012 at 3:05 pm

        Ummm…. has Al Qaeda launched a satellite too?  Struggling to see the relevance.

        • lprent 5.1.1.1
          14 December 2012 at 3:39 pm

          He probably thinks that dangerous Islamic terrorists from the secular state of Iraq flew planes into the world trade centre, so the US invading them was a good idea.

          In other words, KK isn’t the brightest person around. Reminds me a lot of George Bush…

          • Pascal's bookie 5.1.1.1.1
            14 December 2012 at 4:31 pm

            To be fair, I think his argument is that AQ is worse than the US, (in terms of intent at least), so therefore “USA! USA!”, and anyone who suggests otherwise is objectively pro-Al Qaeda.

            Now that’s a spectacularly shit argument by any reckoning, but it’s a popular one on the right. I blame a combination of evil and stupid.

            • lprent 5.1.1.1.1.1
              14 December 2012 at 5:12 pm

              AQ has managed to kill a handful of people compared to (to take an example) the number of civilians that the US coalition killed by pure accident in any arbitrary month during their mistaken occupation of Iraq (that was sold to the US public using the bit of illogical stupidity I referred to above).

  6. Wayne 6
    14 December 2012 at 3:44 pm

    Karol, your question is what should a Left/labour movement do.

    Well, a Labour led Govt would condemn the launch.

    A Labour led Govt would also continue the negotiation of TPP, and rely on the Nats for the votes in Parliament. After all the Greens, and their advisor Jane Kelsey, will not get the Overseas Trade portfolio, and will have only limited influence in this area. In particular they will not be able to stop ratification of TPP. If the 11 TPP nations agree on a deal, NZ is hardly going to back out of it.

    The Greens, or at least some of them, would get a reality check of what it means to be in Govt. But I am sure Dr Norman has already thought of the compromises the Greens will have to make, if they want to be in Govt. Presumably they will focus on local issues, like water quality, transport, social housing, rather than destroy themselves (or their Govt) on foreign policy issues.

    That is what the Alliance did after Sept 11, and look where that got them. It really was inconceivable that any NZ Govt would simply ignore a US request made in the few weeks after Sept 11, but that is what some parts of the Alliance wanted. I appreciate the Greens would be more internally united, but they will essentially have to put up with the Labour view on foreign and trade policy, if they want to stay in Govt. Even an “agree to disagree” provision in a coalition still requires any criticism to be quite moderated. Look to the Maori Party and Hone as the example. Hone had a fundamentally different world view and had to leave. So someone like Catherine Delahunty would have to be careful in how she would criticise Prime Minister Shearer, or Overseas Trade Minister Goff on these kinds of issues

    Chris Trotter has a good article on what happened to the German Greens.

    • karol 6.1
      14 December 2012 at 4:12 pm

      Yes, i don’t see a Shearer-led government, especially still with Goff in a senior role, backing off from TPP.  However, there’s still a way to go before the TPP is finalised, and then there’s negotiations with ASEAN countries, especially China to deal with.

      For flax-roots labour/left people, the issues still require some thinking through.   And I think we should be aiming to build alliances with low income people throughout the region.

      I would continue to put pressure on a Labour-led government not to sell-out NZ on any trade deals – more transparency before any agreements are made.

      But for the US, TPP is more than a trade deal.  And they oppose any WMDs being owned by anyone who is not their allies.  I would expect them to put pressure on NZ to apply new sanctions to Nth Korea. 

      • Neoleftie 6.1.1
        14 December 2012 at 7:33 pm

        A few years bak I read “closing the gaps” which was basically about pax America expansion policy saving the world bring peace and prosperity to all in time…this trade deal is simple an extension of big businebig expanding the market and letting nothing stop or get in its way even regional govts, we have the rise of than national business now bigger than countries, more powerful more resources and connected, the rise and rise of pax elite.
        Be scare people be scared as our fought for right aslide eroded taken and or sold by our very own.
        Time to challenge the paradigm of created money and wealth creation before we are two late.
        Time for the left block to get connected, to unite to find a champion and start to organise.
        We in dinners town have had enoght and starting to organise now.
        Bring back CV .

  7. karol 7
    14 December 2012 at 5:34 pm

    I’ll see if I can upload this here:  blooper headline currently showing on Stuff’s main page about a Twister in Otago this afternoon:

    11 min ago TVNZ has announced the show to replace Close Up will be called Seven Sharp.
    Twitters hits Otago
    0 min ago Two houses lost their roofs after a small twister struck in Cromwell, Central Otago

    the story is actually headlined:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8082115/Roofs-ripped-off-by-twister-in-Otago 

  8. kiwi_prometheus 8
    15 December 2012 at 1:49 am

    The nuclear countries were suppose to dismantle their arsenals according to that non poliferation treaty everyone signed up to.

    But they haven’t, and they still insist that no other country be allowed into the exclusive nuclear club. Hypocrites! Of course they just want the power it gives them over the non nuclear states.

    But slowly they are any way – India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran…

    Of course Israel gets away with it because it is a USA pet.

    If every country got nuclear weapons the risk of nuclear war would be extreme. But if only a few have them, they can bully and manipulate the non nuclear states.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Agreement delivers Local Water Done Well for Auckland
    The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Gaza and the Pacific on the agenda with Germany
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today.    "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Decision allows for housing growth in Western Bay of Plenty
    The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech to New Zealand China Council
    Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today.    Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Modern insurance law will protect Kiwi households
    The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government recommits to equal pay
    The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says.  “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Transforming how our children learn to read
    Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.  “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZ not backing down in Canada dairy dispute
    Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children
    The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
    Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Speech – Eid al-Fitr
    Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government saves access to medicines
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff.    “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Pharmac Chair appointed
    Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
    Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.  “Every day, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New sports complex opens in Kaikohe
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Diplomacy needed more than ever
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.    “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
    Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.  It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-05-05T02:53:51+00:00