291 workers dead since Pike River: where’s the law we were promised?

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, July 26th, 2015 - 45 comments
Categories: health and safety, national, Unions - Tags: , , ,

National Party delegates were greeted at their conference today by a sea of crosses representing the 291 workers who have died on the job since the Pike River disaster, when John Key promised action on health and safety law.

Radio NZ:

Deborah McMillan has set up 291 white crosses outside the conference venue, Sky City, to represent the number of workers who have died at work since 2010, when the Prime Minister promised to make changes.

Her husband Shane was killed in 2009 when a branch fell on him while he was working in a forestry gang near Napier.

Their eight year-old daughter Skylar was three at the time.

Helen Kelly shared Shane’s story at The Standard back in 2013.

Labour Party statement:

Labour has heeded forestry widow Deborah McMillan’s protest outside National’s conference today and is stepping in to fix the government’s broken health and safety law, says Labour’s spokesperson for Labour issues, Iain Lees-Galloway

“We have amendments to the government’s bill up that will keep New Zealanders safe at work. These are small but critical changes that will help save New Zealanders’ lives and I’m calling on other parties to support them.

…“Mainstream business has called for changes to this law – National needs to realise they are siding with a fringe of bad employers against the well-being of working Kiwis,” says Iain Lees-Galloway

From Twitter:

45 comments on “291 workers dead since Pike River: where’s the law we were promised? ”

  1. dukeofurl 1

    I suppose Key will call it a ‘rent-a-crowd’

  2. ianmac 2

    Sobering losses.
    (A young lad told me that it wasn’t his fault that a girl got punched in the face with his fist. She shouldn’t have put her face in the way. Sort of National way of blaming careless workers.)

  3. Chooky 3

    this proves that the Pike River disaster was the result of systemic Neolib ethos governmental behaviour

    …no one individual can be singled out

    …same with Cave Creek ( many DOC workers on the Coast were made redundant at the time of this disaster…massive unsafe work overloads for the remaining workers and lack of safety oversight)

    ….and nothing has changed

    …this Nact government is responsible and still criminally negligent

  4. Treetop 4

    The 291 crosses are from occupations which require additional safety measures/business practice regardless of there being two or 200 people employed.

    Sickening and negligent when profit is put before health and safety on the job.

    • greywarshark 4.1

      Why many very small businesses exist is because they have been split off from larger ones with the size, resources and volume of work to manage the risks and safety matters themselves. Instead it is loaded on the ex employees turned contractors’ shoulders to bear

      • Treetop 4.1.1

        Where there is a shift in health and saftey this is no excuse for not providing a safe working environment. I realise that it is hard for contractors to keep the cost down in some areas or it is passed on to the consumer.

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.1

          That’s my point Treetop. It was a deliberate move by the gummint and business to help business evade or weaken the safety measures that had been in place.
          It was deliberate and unconscionable to leave such matters to the whim of the market place.

  5. Paul 5

    Rebecca Macfie’s book
    Tragedy at Pike River Mine.

    The negligence shown was criminal.
    And no one was jailed.

    And nothing has been done since.

    New Zealand is a neo-liberal hellhole for anyone not in the Parnell bubble.

    http://www.awapress.com/stories/storyReader$841
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11158015

    • Karen 5.1

      ‘Tragedy at Pike River Mine’ is a brilliant book that should be required reading for everybody in NZ. That nothing was done to bring the various culpable people to account is criminal.

      That the Nats are happy to walk past this protest and continue refuse to support Health and Safety legislation that would reduce the number of people dying at work is also criminal IMO.

  6. Colonial Viper 6

    An utterly brilliant, and sad protest. It seems like the only way to make an impact on our elites now is to get in their faces and force them to look at reality outside their luxurious self involved bubble.

    • adam 6.1

      I would say it’s not the only way.

    • mickysavage 6.2

      Yep it was a good protest. Simon Oosterman Beckers from the PSA and Strachan Crang from the EPMU deserve a lot of the praise along with some very hardworking and energetic cross constructors.

  7. 10 points to Deborah and her daughter.
    Maybe if there were 290 other grieving widows/widowers, it might not have been so easy to ignore ?
    The crosses aren’t enough for these bastards, they need to see decapitated bodies, orphans, etc to get the message.

  8. mary_a 8

    So many crosses, each one representing lives unnecessarily lost in the workplace! A sharp reminder of the failings of this corrupt, greedy and uncaring government!

    Good on you Deborah and Skylar for keeping this sad and tragic issue out in the open.

    I’m surprised the police haven’t been instructed to remove the crosses!

  9. Pike River was a terrible avoidable tragedy and the operators and managers should have received jail terms for what I reckon was gross and unbelievable negligence.

    But National’s new legislation is a complete disaster.

    It takes 6 people working full time for six months to deal with the compliance regulations, at least, before anyone can do any real work on any project.

    Is this good for business and workers?

    • Liberty 9.1

      Don’t forget the then Labour Government was also responsible for not insisting a road was build instead of an upwards slopping 2 km tunnel.
      The miners interfering with the Gaz detectors would also have been a factor.

    • mickysavage 9.2

      Citation please.

      Although the proposition that National has stuffed up the legislation would not surprise me.

      • Liberty 9.2.1

        It has been around the traps for years.

        • vto 9.2.1.1

          “Don’t forget the then Labour Government was also responsible for not insisting a road was build instead of an upwards slopping 2 km tunnel.”
          Bullshit. The mining company was responsible for its actions in not doing so.

          ” The miners interfering with the Gaz detectors would also have been a factor.”
          More ignorant bullshit Liberty… do you know why that may have been so? do you know what influences were brought to bear on the miners by the company that led to this? do you have any understanding of how those pressures came about?

          Without that context your statement is crappola

          • linda 9.2.1.1.1

            The minegranted consent under nationals watch

            • vto 9.2.1.1.1.1

              national labour pfffttt….

              the villain without doubt was the political philosophy known as neoliberalism. It was this approach that created the legislation, the regulations, the corporate structures, the management systems, the safety systems, the incentives, the incentives, the incentives……

              Neoliberalism killed the 29 men at Pike River.

              National still follows the neoliberal approach and refuses to recognise its failures – exposed by death at Pike River.

              National has its head in the sand, causing people to die.

          • liberty 9.2.1.1.2

            Found on the informed kiwi blog

            I get really sick of all this crap about work place accidents. Yes there are work place accidents and yes some are preventable, but there are also a large number of work place accidents that the employee could have prevented or taken themselves away from the risk.

            Section 19 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, states that every employee shall take all practicable steps to ensure (a) wearing of protective clothing and (b) that no action or inaction of the employee while at work causes harm to any other person.

            How often do we see where an employee has been held responsible for not following rules put in place and doing things they shouldn’t. We don’t. We only ever see the employer being charged failing to provide a safe work place.

            There are a couple of instance that come to mind and I am very familiar with one of them as I was involved in the enquiry and that is Pike River.

            Yes, the mine was unsafe and yes it should not have been operating like that, but then the employees (miners) put plastic bags over the gas sensors, they took contraband down into the mine, they did not follow rules that were the safety rules for the mine. And yet everyone is having a go at the mine bosses. Why have the miners not been criticised for what they got up to. The breaching of the safety rules was also the health and safety officers job. Why did he not stop the miners working in the mine. Oh yes, he got yelled at and felt intimidated. I know he lost a son, but then he was the safety officer. Why has he not been held accountable. He could have gone to the Labour Dept. They would have closed the mine, but then the miners wouldn’t get paid. So they took the chance and lost. I am so sick of all the bleating about Pike river.

            The miners are just as responsible for a safe work environment. They could have downed tools and said we are not working till the mine is made safe. But then they would have never worked in the mine again as it was never going to be safe and then they would have no work. It was their choice.

            This is exactly the same as other accidents that have occurred, especially at one of the ports in NZ. A port worker died when the machinery he was working toppled over. Surprise, surprise, he was so loaded with drugs (prescribed) he would never have been able to make a safe decision about his work environment. And of course, the Port Company has been charged. What about his culpability. Oh no. All the sympathy to the deceased. He should not have been working and or working around dangerous machinery.

            Please it is about time employees were held to account for working in unsafe conditions. I know people will be saying they would lose their jobs if the refuse to work because it was unsafe. I would suggest that if that happened the employer would be taken to task and prosecuted for that. At least they would still be alive.

            Employers are pleading guilty to Health and Safety charges because it is cheaper than defending it. This is wrong. It is about time there was fairness with this system

            http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2015/07/safer_at_work_than_home.html#comments

            • Colonial Viper 9.2.1.1.2.1

              Time to bring in corporate homicide charges. The entire Board of Pike River should have done prison time.

            • vto 9.2.1.1.2.2

              Liberty, all fine to have a good rant, go right ahead…. but you missed this main point that was put to you….

              “” The miners interfering with the Gaz detectors would also have been a factor.”
              More ignorant bullshit Liberty… do you know why that may have been so? do you know what influences were brought to bear on the miners by the company that led to this? do you have any understanding of how those pressures came about?”

              Got an answer to that? It goes to the heart of the issue. The issue that also rises in those other examples you mention too.

              Further, check how the Aussie safety systems in mines work and compare.

              I think you have a huge great gap in your understanding.

              • Colonial Viper

                Liberty is blaming dead victims

                • liberty

                  Maybe the victims need blaming.
                  Because at the end of the day. It was their choice to go into the mine.
                  It comes down to individual responsibility.

                  • Colonial Viper

                    wrong mate, not only is your ideology abhorrent and anti-human, it was the Company Directors’ choice to sign off on an unsafe mine with unsafe operations. And each of them should have spent prison time for corporate homicide.

                    Because at the end of the day. It was their choice to go into the mine.
                    It comes down to individual responsibility.

                    Dicks like you chant on about “individual responsibility” but you always exempt the ruling capitalist class from having to take responsibility.

                    Why is that?

            • McFlock 9.2.1.1.2.3

              You had me at “informed kiwi blog”.

              And then you got me with:

              How often do we see where an employee has been held responsible for not following rules put in place and doing things they shouldn’t. We don’t. We only ever see the employer being charged failing to provide a safe work place.

              Weren’t some farmers fined for not wearing helmets on their quad bikes just recently?

              And saying that workers should down tools in this work environment is stupid. Of course they would if they knew they or their colleagues were going to die, but with high unemployment and, of course, work & income stopping pay because they “quit”, how would they feed their families? You place that pressure on people, they’ll take risks. The directly-employed miners at pike river had no motive to sabotage the detectors, but the subbies who were only paid for their time actually down the mine were another story. And even then the employer should have addressed the systemic issues.

  10. Dave_1924 10

    Crosses after the event by EPMU. Why were EMPU not all over Pike River management when lads were heading into a dangerous pit? Because it was known to have issues before it ignited as documented in the commission of inquiries report.

    Why did the government from 1999 – 2008 not toughed up the mining inspectorate? They had ample opportunity to beef up the mining inspectorate

    Any legislation that protects miners better is a good thing in my mind. A number of rellies were in the coal mines in South Yorkshire and its a hazardous occupation….

    But just pointing the bone at National when this tragedy brewed for 20 plus years under governments of different hues is a bit much

    • Clemgeopin 10.1

      The buck stops with the management, not just with the government or the union.

      But you are missing the most important point of this protest today:
      291 workers are dead AFTER the Pike River disaster. Key has promised to change the law to make worker’s lives safer. Where’s the law we were promised?

      For that you can not blame anyone else but Key and his inept government. Do you understand that?

      • Dave_1924 10.1.1

        Clem – yes I understand that we have not had the required H&S update required. And I am no fan of dragging the chain on getting well balanced H&S legislation in place.

        BUT – unions are there to stop their members getting ripped off on wages and conditions plus ensuring work place safety is top notch. If a site is not safe then Union organisers should do their job and walk members off the site…. sometimes people wanting to take the cash home are too busy working to have a good look around for hazards, so union reps should be extra vigilant

        Just blaming the government is not good enough. You can pass all the legislation you want… but things can still be unsafe either through management or worker negligence. And as I used to read my dads engineers union newsletters back in the 70s and 80s I know its not always the management at fault. Some workers take stupid risks

        • Clemgeopin 10.1.1.1

          This post is about today’s protests. So, what are you saying?
          Should the protests not have taken place? Was it a good protest with a great message or not? Are the deaths of 291 workers too little? Saying that ‘Some workers take stupid risks’, a fruitful contribution for this post or is it made to diminish the importance of the message of this post? Are you a devil’s advocate?

          • Dave_1924 10.1.1.1.1

            I applaud the protest, people expressing dissatisfaction in peaceful way is great… but some comments here are pointing the bone firmly at government and also making it seem that legislation will fix everything.

            My point simply is Unions can’t escape their responsibility in ensuring safe work spaces. If its unsafe take workers out. So I see EMPU organising this when they could have done something about Pike River by being staunch on safety as a little hypocritical

            EDIT: Corrected some spelling errors

            • mickysavage 10.1.1.1.1.1

              You have to be joking. It was all the Union’s fault? Management did its best to ensure that there was no union presence, management stuffed up all the safety systems and it was the Union’s fault?

            • Colonial Viper 10.1.1.1.1.2

              Dave – don’t be so obtuse. If you want the unions to act more strongly with more freedom for the sake of worker safety, then come out and say that the Government should empower them to have more powers over work sites and over business management decisions.

              But that’s not what you want is it?

            • Clemgeopin 10.1.1.1.1.3

              Today M Boag said it was the union’s fault that the workers are getting low wages from their employers. Your framing is not much different from hers.

            • Rosie 10.1.1.1.1.4

              Dave, have you read “Tragedy at Pike River Mine” by Rebecca McFie?

              If you did you’ll know that as well as EPMU members working in that mine who died that day there were a good number of workers who were contractors. The Union didn’t carry the responsibility for those workers. Nor did they carry the responsibility for workplace safety, that was soley on management’s shoulders.

              And there were walk out’s. I think there were a couple, off the top of my head. I can’t refer to the exact number as I have loaned my copy out. You’ll probably be aware that workers can legally walk off the job if they feel their safety is at risk and their concerns about safety haven’t been addressed. This was one small thing the men could do in the face of overwhelming danger, but it would have never been enough to change the culture given the dysfunctional nature of management.

              Also from memory there was only one organiser in that district to cope with the multiple hazardous issues encountered by men on literally every shift, the bullying nature of management, including Peter Whittall who was a tyrant and the total disregard management had for safety. The pressure for the men to perform in an unsafe mine was immense.

              In such an environment there was only so much any one organiser could do to encourage the management to follow correct H&S procedures. Like shouting into the wind.

              And now, back to the point of the post, our government has just given small businesses, like the ones that contracted out to Pike River, a free pass to continue with the harm, with no responsibility to promote a culture of safety.

              Thats a massive fingers up to the dead and the grieving.

              The families of the 291 killed on the job since November 2010 have been betrayed by Key’s broken promise to make NZ workplaces safer.

  11. maui 11

    Great job. Hopefully some blue people who walked past that generated some human feelings and at least stopped and thought for a second.

  12. Greg 12

    A very good and effective protest. The government has had almost 5 years since the Pike river disaster to sort this out , and all they can come up with is a piece of watered down claptrap that won’t make one bit of difference.
    Good on the organisers, and the little girl and her mum for bringing it to the publics attention.

  13. Tricledrown 13

    In other countries when a disaster happens and deaths occur due to inept management ,the police arrest who ever is charge immediately then its up to that person to prove otherwise hear in this country no one is held accountable.
    Whittle should have been arrested .

  14. Observer (Tokoroa) 14

    Onya Parnell

    Lets kill more workers …. go for it …. and destroy their families.

    Why are National, Farrar, Slater, Hooton and Boag – so against the common man ! And why is that Bennett person deeply cruel of mind ?

    Why do the police let them away with their heinous mischief ?

    Parnell stench. Even little girls not safe there. What a poisonous godforsaken place Parnell is.

  15. Don't worry. Be happy 15

    The rich and the obscenely rich are not like the rest of humanity. They are mentally unbalanced with a deep spiritual sickness.

  16. vto 16

    291 people dead after Pike River…. John Key should be ashamed, but he is not. He is not ashamed of the appalling death record of NZ business.

    As for the excuses given by this NationalActUnited government – that it costs too much. Fuck off pricks.

    Peter Dunne, John Key and whoever the dumbarse is who leads Act have just bought the lives of dozens of working men over the next five years for sale to the lowest business bidder to do as they wish – like send them to work in dangerous places. All for money – nothing else.

    I have no respect for people who hold these values. They are the lowest scum.

  17. Phil 17

    http://www.business.govt.nz/worksafe/research/health-and-safety-data/workplace-fatalities-by-year

    Does anyone know where information on earlier years is available?
    Thus far, 2015 is shaping up to be a relatively good year.

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    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government lowering building costs
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