Bait and switch

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 pm, March 30th, 2015 - 64 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, by-election, campaigning, john key, labour, polls, winston peters - Tags:

Congratulations to Labour for a very clever strategy in the Northland by-election – lulling and gulling John Key into thinking they were going to run a conventional proxy-partyvote campaign, where National would have the upper hand.  Key, the rockstar politician, also thought Andrew Little would be on the training wheels.  He got that badly wrong; Little’s handling was superb.

The exact timing of events doesn’t really matter – being a by-election it was always winnable for the Opposition, and once there was a two-horse race it was all over, given all the local issues. Winston Peters coming home was the icing on the cake; he’s a much misunderstood and underestimated politician in my view, a principled high achiever who grew up with mud between his toes and has never forgotten it. His story is a good one, and is a long way from over.

I’m delighted to read that Andrew Little is going to talk to Winston Peters – effective MMP politics is all about being able to talk to each other: agreeing, disagreeing  and agreeing to disagree. Once again John Key has hit the wrong note by being dismissive of Winston.

Another point to note is that the polls beat the pundits hands down. There probably aren’t all that many landlines in Northland compared to the rest of the country. And if the messaging is badly wrong – as it was here – all that the army on the ground or on the phones does is to drive votes in the opposite direction.

And I suspect lprent has got it right when he puts increased early voting down to different voting habits rather than party activity – people like the convenience. Not too much can be read into the raw numbers, but early voting will change the way parties campaign. For example, I think Labour in the last three campaigns has placed too much emphasis on the campaign period proper, when the result had effectively been decided a year out from the election.

Interesting times.

 

64 comments on “Bait and switch ”

  1. weka 1

    “I’m delighted to read that Andrew Little is going to talk to Winston Peters”

    Where was that Mike?

    • Karen 1.1

      On Morning Report this morning. Not online yet. He also said he has been talking to the Greens and didn’t rule out the Maori Party.

      • weka 1.1.1

        excellent news.

        • Rodel 1.1.1.1

          “Andrew Little is going to talk to Winston Peters.”A post- election cup of tea chat rather than the previous devious pre-election cup of tea.

          A discussion between LIttle and Peters will be honest, down to earth and pragmatic for New Zealand.
          Attributes that wouldn’t happen with the PM or his MPs

    • alwyn 1.2

      That is all very well, but will Winston take the call?
      He is already behaving as if he is the real leader of the opposition and is likely to leave Little dangling for a while in order to rub the fact in that Little needs Peters far more than Winston needs Andrew.
      I suspect it will be a case of Winston’s secretary taking any call and promising that Winston will get back to him when he has time to spare.

      • weka 1.2.1

        Peters can play bullshit games if he wants. Real politics is about acting with smart strategy and integrity. The challenge for Labour and the GP is how to do that and be in relationship with someone who is at heart a game player and power monger.

      • North 1.2.2

        You’re hoping Al (But-This-Time) Wyn……and indeed, this is all very, very, very well !

        Do not fret in your child-mind-directed-religiosity my friend. You can always find an alternative place of fundamental worship. And dispensers just brimming with pretty coloured Kool-Aid !

        But hold……your analysis minds me that Al (But-This-Time) Wyn may be the new Crosby Textor. Bro’……..give the bro’ Winnie a call bro’……..ya never know ya know !

        • alwyn 1.2.2.1

          What on earth have you been drinking, or smoking.
          Your rambling outburst is completely incomprehensible.
          Never mind. As long as you are happy your raving is fine with your friends.

          I think that what will happen when Andrew tries to arrange a meeting with Winston is the following.
          1. Winston’s secretary will put him off with a promise that Winston will call back when he has some free time.
          2. After a few calls she will tell Andrew that Winston can see him. in Winston’s office, at a nominated date and time.
          3. Andrew will turn up and be ostentatiously sat in the public area outside Winston’s office for about 20 minutes.
          4. He will then be allowed in, in front of the Press Gallery, and told that Winston is very sorry for the delay but that Winston is very busy.
          5. Andrew will look like a pillock.

          Buy the way did you see Winston’s comment in the Herald that Osborne should not try and be a candidate again as he has been turned down once?
          If you think that was aimed at Osborne I have a bridge I can sell you.
          That was aimed at Little and was part of Winston’s campaign that he is the real Opposition Leader. He is, after all, the only one who can win a seat.

  2. Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark 2

    well, key said he wouldn’t pick up the phone for winston.

    but cool and down-to-earth Andrew will take calls and make calls.
    as well, Andrew can recall phone conversations.
    and when Andrew is PM, he is fine with making the records of those phones available for the public record and archivist 🙂

  3. Michael 3

    Kudos to Labour for recognising that it remains unelectable in provincial NZ and managing to avoid utter humiliation in Northland last weekend. However: if its caucus members actually want to form a government one day, they must, eventually, try to persuade people to vote for them, rather than someone else. So far, I don’t see any evidence that the caucus has begun to grapple with that concept. Key’s grip on power remains secure.

    • the pigman 3.1

      🙄

      “Key’s grip on power remains secure.

      You sure about that, Michael? Because earlier I had the misfortune of being linked to whaleoil (h/t ianmac, here: http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/03/the-waning-of-keys-national-the-arrogance-and-irony/) and I have to say, the smell of you and your tory mates collectively cacking your pants hangs thick in the air over there and it is surprisingly sweet.

      • lurgee 3.1.1

        Whaleoil advances the interests of factions within the National Party, rather than of the National Party. Simply ignoring it is still probably the best option.

        • Incognito 3.1.1.1

          National advances the interests of a minority that is quite possibly not even based in New Zealand. At least many Northland voters started to think and vote for themselves rather than for faceless power players behind the scenes, or for Groser and his TPPA prepubescent wet dreams, of course.

        • Jones 3.1.1.2

          While that is true, the fact that it is being openly discussed now says a lot.

          • tracey 3.1.1.2.1

            because it suits Slater’s agenda and for no other reason…

            • Jones 3.1.1.2.1.1

              I agree it suits his agenda… but things have moved to a stage where that agenda may be able to get some traction. We may very well be looking at the beginning of the end for John Key as PM.

              • tracey

                I don’t disagree with you. I just want to be wary of attributing any ethical reasons for Slater’s actions. If what he does is deemed ethical it is, imo, a complete coincidence.

                National are slick. IF Key is on thinning ice… there will be a family illness, a health scare even of his own…and with great regret….

                I have always thought he would step down between elections. It is the only way to guarantee a knighthood. A Labour led government might change it all up again and he misses out… BUT I don’t rule out Mrs Queen giving him one without reference from NZ.

        • North 3.1.1.3

          Factions, factions, factions……..factions are ‘fficacious Lurg’. ‘Cos when TheBosskey gets wind he’s gonna send StevenBadJoyces after them, and sooner or later people who know too much are gonna say “F…O..!” Then there’ll be shit all up the walls. And as we know, TheOnceWasGodKey ain’t good unscripted. It’s only gonna get worse for you Tories Lurg’ ! Better find another place of worship Lurg’.

    • tracey 3.2

      Go and read up on party vote under MMP.

  4. Penny Bright 4

    Don’t agree Michael.

    In my view – two historic precedents from the Northland ‘buy’-election are:

    1) The ‘left’ getting the power and effectiveness of strategic voting, so that votes are used to maximum effect in defeating the MAIN enemy.

    2) The puncturing of the carefully crafted, spin-doctored image of ex-Wall Steet banker John Key, as an ordinary Kiwi bloke.

    Having personally followed John Key around Dargaville on Thursday 26 March, and Friday 27 March, with my scruffy little roughly painted placard – “Mike Sabin? ShonKEY?” – I know he was rattled.

    The supremely confidant ‘Mr Popular’ Prime Minister, had evaporated.

    At the end of the day, he was NOT ‘relaxed’ and ‘comfortable’ – his ‘squeaky’ voice attested to that.

    On Friday, in KeriKeri, John Key was effectively the Northland candidate, not Mark Osborne, shaking hands, meeting, greeting, with that, in my opinion, forced, phoney, fake smile.

    It was John Key vs Winston Peters.

    John Key LOST.

    It was an unprecedented electoral shocker.

    The reason for this million dollar ‘buy’ – election, was the resignation of Mike Sabin, who vanished under a murky, stinky cloud, for reasons which have not been explained in a proper way to the voting public.

    Decent people don’t like dodgy stuff.

    Lots of rural folk, (former) National Party members / supporters / voters ARE decent people.

    When the truth comes out about Mike Sabin, and the obvious (in my view) dirty political cover-up is exposed, in my opinion, John Key’s standing will plummet from the purportedly most ‘popular’ Prime Minister to the arguably most UNPOPULAR Prime Minister….

    Penny Bright

    • Macro 4.1

      And I think Penny that a lot of people in the North did know the truth as to why there was a “buy” election. I’m not in the North and I certainly know. And that sort of knowledge travels on the grape vine fast. And you are right. They are decent people up there and they would be very upset to have been used in the way Nacts have used them. I acknowledge that there is some benefit in “nod nod wink wink vote this way” but the main factor has to be the unrelenting stink that caused the event in the first place.
      The people of Northland have clearly had enough and that was the last straw. Winston – a long lost prodigal son – was the ideal candidate. He was a shoe-in the moment he announced his candidacy.

    • ianmac 4.2

      Penny I see that Claire Trevett has used your poster “Sabin? Shonkey!” in her column today. Well done Penny.
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11425508

      • ghostwhowalksnz 4.2.1

        Do you really know how newspapers work ?

        The copy goes to the pagesetters who used a photograph probably chosen at random. The idea that the reporter would chose the photo is bizarre.

        What would be really interesting if in later online editions the photo was swapped for another – on instructions from above, and in response to a phone call from Keys ‘office’

        • North 4.2.1.1

          Fair enough Ghost……but do you more or less agree with Penny’s analysis……the candidate wasn’t Osborne it was Key……or not ? If not…..let’s hear it. Let’s not get into questions of the state of the plumbing at the Herald Building, please. You know……not THAT relevant.

      • North 4.2.2

        Yeah Penny good on you !

        And oh that the knowledge of people and the good old common sense you express in your comment @ 4 above were available to the ShonKeyPython replicants in the MSM, Gower, Tova O’Brien, ‘Billy’ Ralston et al. Of course watch them in 12 months when they’ve tested the wind and they’ll be hungrier for ThePonceKey’s guts than a robber’s dog. A mark of their Cafe Society cheapness.

        You get alot of shit Penny…….I suspect it’s your fuel. Keep on !

    • Murray Simmonds 4.3

      Yep Penny,

      its a dead give-away that whenever Key raises the pitch of his voice by about half an octave or more he’s either lying or trying desperately to hide something.

      The bigger the porky, the greater the degree of pitch-raising in his vocalisation, i suspect. Almost like a throwback to his childhood days – maybe as a lad he lied a lot before his voice broke?

      Crosby-Textor are gonna have to work on this – its such a dead giveaway. Just hope it doesn’t cost the taxpayer too much to have them beat it out of him . . . .

      • Hami Shearlie 4.3.1

        The sucking in of the breath is another tell with Key showing he’s under stress!

  5. DS 5

    This by-election was the most important event in New Zealand politics since Don Brash’s Orewa Speech. The Left has been fighting a hostile narrative for a decade; now it’s the Right’s turn.

    • North 5.1

      !!!!!!!!!!! DS. History will record it as such. Sad really that a nation starting in its infancy was a people who arguably beat the Wright Brothers, who first embraced universal suffrage, who produced Rutherford, who established the Welfare State, who gave Lovelock, Maori giving a battalion that is legend, who conquered Everest, who gave the jet-engine, who humiliated a bunch of Hurrah Henrys at Oxford and made “No Nukes” de rigeuer, and many more examples of punching way above its weight…….should have drunk TheConManKey’s Wall Street/City of London Kool-Aid for so long. And ended up Obama’s gauche, effete, illiterate, simpering, photo-opping, caddie-boy. Bloody sad !

      Thank you not Business Roundtable and grande dame Michelle Boag and others who imported it and marketed it ! In your own selfish ‘I, me me me, can’t be rich enough’ interests…….

  6. Brendon Ross 6

    Key seems like the sort of guy who has been a “winner” all his adult life, so I can imagine this being a huge psychological blow. One would also assume he’ll be watching his back to – who wouldn’t think “I could do a better job” after his performance.
    I’m hopefully that Labour/Greens/NZ 1st will all make an effort to improve communication between and amongst themselves, starting now. At the end of the day, in an MMP system, dialogue and a pragmatic view at your strategic goal (centre to solid left victory), rather than short term point scoring tactics is essential.
    Northland looks to be the start of something good for progressives and liberals.

  7. saveNZ 7

    Totally agree. Great to hear Little and Peters will be having talks. I hope well away from the cameras and in confidence. Getting a relationship should be private not some media spectacle with dumbo Gowers sneering commentary and the rest of the Nat media groupies.

    Little has done the right thing. I also feel that Labour never had a significant leadership problem, they had an internal problem with MP’s and others undermining their leader. Hopefully that has stopped. I hope ex leaders like Cunliffe and Shearer and Goff are not vilified for having a go at leadership. Little has the job now, but labour needs to internally have some sort of reconciliation and actually work out strategies to not infight.

    As soon as Labour stop their infighting (which maybe they already have) they are back to being a more formidable force. In addition they need to get rid of their divisive policies that are too right wing for a centre party.

    We all know where the infighting is going to start from now…. and the colour is blue:)

    • Anne 7.1

      My understanding is all the Labour factionalism has gone. The caucus is 100% behind Andrew Little. Morale is high. A re-charged Labour Party is preparing for the Treasury Benches in 2017 or earlier.

      That came from an MP who I don’t think gave Little his first preference vote.

  8. whateva next? 8

    “……a very clever strategy in the Northland by-election – lulling and gulling John Key into thinking they were going to run a conventional proxy-partyvote campaign, where National would have the upper hand.”
    I don’t even think it was that contrived, more pragmatic approach and then let the electorate decide, rather than trying to manipulate them.
    Refreshing. Willow Jean was able to see past her own ego and look to the greater good, and by doing so has shown herself to be a future excellent Labour MP.

  9. A.Ziffel 9

    Chris Trotter suggests that the “switch” will in fact be the replacement of the Greens with NZF as Labour’s preferred coalition partner.

    Labour, if it is wise, will seize the opportunity provided by Peters’ victory to put even more distance between itself and the Greens.

    • tracey 9.1

      and NZ will be the worse for the environemtnal impact of diary and oil.

      If Trotter is right, he is asking for a Left party to be more right… which means more of the same as the last few decades but with a smile.

  10. outofbed 10

    “Congratulations to Labour for a very clever strategy in the Northland by-election”

    Not sure that is was a clever strategy
    Giving NZF a platform for growth and possibly future coalition with National.

    NZF is perceived to have given National bloody nose not Labour.

    All that this means is that Labour has to move more to the right to possibly accommodate Winston and co.
    (which might be what they want to do anyway I guess 🙁 )

    National had/has already shot it self in the foot with the whole Sabin thing
    Which is a drama to be played out, but lets face it it doesn’t look good to not be upfront about such an issue.
    Labour should have campaigned in Northland hard and taken moral highground.
    and then hit National with everything when the Sabin stuff gets out.

    I think one of the RWNJ ‘s said That the Greens were the big losers I think they have a point.

    I

    • weka 10.1

      How are the GP the big losers here?

      I think you have missed the point about what Labour’s clever strategy is. What they’ve essentially done is demonstrated how to work in an MMP environment, by still standing a candidate, backing that candidate and treating her with respect, and at the same time signalling to their voter to use their common sense in how they cast their vote (a very clear signal to voter that they are trusted). This demonstration has been a long time coming, and irrespective of any other consequences of the Northland election, it’s gold.

      If you stop thinking in FFP, power play terms, and instead think about it in MMP, collaborative terms, it makes sense. That Little has followed this up by connecting with NZF and the GP is perfect.

      • outofbed 10.1.1

        Labour and Little have not demonstrated much love towards the Greens
        a case in point “Intelligence and Security Committee’s Membership’
        One gets the impression that they wish the Greens would just go away

        My Point is that NZF is now in a very strong position
        NZF Champions for the regions…
        Has not changed the GOV and it has strengthened the odious Dunne

        Also opened up Labour to the accusation that they too are doing dirty deals ( yes I know it is completely different) But National are the masters of “they do it too”.

        So on the plus side “Labour has demonstrated that they can work in an MMP environment”
        And on the negative side they have helped Winston to a very powerful position
        where those new found skills will be sorely tested.

        Winston and NZF really need to be taken out of the game not emboldened.

        • weka 10.1.1.1

          Ok, I see what you mean. I agree (and have argued in the past month) that it’s a big risk for the left. I like the prospects of a L/GP/NZF govt, but can’t see it happening with Peters in power. I like the idea of a L/GP/Mana govt even better, but NZ is still wimping out on taking the steps necessary to really address climate change, other pressing environmental issues, and the social issues.

          I’m not sure it’s about taking NZF out of the game, because those voters still need somewhere to be represented, and they’re not getting that from Labour. But we also need to remember that many Labour voters voted for Peters and that won’t happen at the next general election (unless Labour really fuck things up, which is looking less likely).

  11. Scintilla 11

    Interesting to check out NZ First press releases in the fortnight or so leading up to the buy election. scoop NZFirst
    TPP, farming, roads, state housing, vulnerable kids & families, Northport, education. Well targeted and clear messages – apart from Northport, all relevant to the rest of the provinces too. Easy to deride Winnie as populist, equally you could say he actually represents his constituents. And that list of press releases covers the sort of ground I would have expected from a Labour campaign, albeit a long time ago.

    Common ground. That’s what matters.

    • felix 11.1

      I agree.

      As an example, here is the NZF MP who most lefties regard as the worst of them, and yet in this video he’s still better than most Labour MPs are most of the time:

      http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/33769

      • Scintilla 11.1.1

        Pleasant surprise indeed! He spoke very well – “benefits to go to the people of the coast and NZ Inc and we want to see our environment preserved” – what’s not to like about that?

        Every now & then I check out parliament tv – you’ll agree I’m sure that it’s invaluable to get a fix on who our MPs are, by clocking their behaviour. Beloved Leader showed his true colours long ago with his snide, bullying smart-arsery.

        An MP I truly respect is Julie Ann Genter – she remains composed and on-target in the face of such drivel – and she really knows her stuff. Key can’t keep up with her.

  12. Huginn 12

    ‘Winston Peters … much misunderstood and underestimated’?

    Yes, definitely. Credit where credit’s due: Winston Peters is the most talented Opposition politician of our times.

    • Weepus beard 12.1

      Your mate John Key was in opposition for 3+ years. Do you not want to throw him a bone?

      • Huginn 12.1.1

        @Weepus Beard
        ‘Your mate John Key …’
        What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

  13. Weepus beard 13

    Key reminds me of Brad Haddin.

    The Crosby-Textor strategy has Key using his sledging words to paint Little as a coward. In recent times:

    “Get some guts” in parliament, and,

    “He ran for the hills” when describing Little’s approach to the Northland by election.

    Watch for similar language and connotations of same from the PM from now until late 2017.

    • North 13.1

      TheComeDownWithAThudKey reminds me of Mora, just as disingenuous though light years short of Mensa. It’s the dark Wall Street cunning is the former’s bag.

      Jesus…..that’s PMONZ ! How did this happen ?

  14. Sable 14

    Since when was Labour a left leaning party? Savage would turn in his grave if he could see what they have become. All pie in the sky bullshit really….

  15. Puckish Rogue 15

    I think you mean congratulations to Winston Peters but well done for trying to say it was all Labours idea

  16. Ad 16

    John Key won the Northland by-election.

    Peters has racked a bevy of massive campaign wins, including the RMA, and will bank them and go for more. This is how you form a pre-Coalition relationship.

    Key’s apparent loss has few actual downsides. Lost two deadweight caucus members, gained an easy 2017 partner to squeeze out Act, Maori, and United in one swoop, and quickly offloaded otherwise unpopular policy contests.

    Key remains the game in town.

    • Puckish Rogue 16.1

      On the plus side Winston is loyal once bought and paid for but the downside is how much will that loyalty cost

      Arise Sir Winston..?

      and then once Winston retires who’ll take over at NZFirst…welcome back Shane Jones and you know hes not cheap

      This is going to cost either party plenty

      • Ad 16.1.1

        They all have a price – MMP at core allows no one to retain their soul.

        • Puckish Rogue 16.1.1.1

          For sure, I just think Winstons price is higher then most,,,Sir Winston and John Keys resignation perhaps?

      • tracey 16.1.2

        “is loyal once bought and paid for but the downside is how much will that loyalty cost”

        Hmmmm would Shipley agree?

        I think the bit I quoted from you equally applies to the National Party and its leader.

        • Puckish Rogue 16.1.2.1

          Which is why (to me) its so surprising why Labour is cuddling up so much to Winston

          Make overtures to work with him by all means but Labour seems to have forgotten hes done over Labour before because he got a better deal from National so theres no reason he won’t do the same again

          and of course it could easily work the other way as well

          • Tracey 16.1.2.1.1

            Remember the alternative to winston winning northland was osborne not prime. when that is remembered it looks different to how some are framing it.

            • Scintilla 16.1.2.1.1.1

              Ad, what does National policy have in common with NZ First’s? TPP? No. Asset sales? Why, no. Education? Nup. State housing? Nooo… Ports of Auckland? Nah, NZF wants Northport. Bout the only thing they agree on is a few roads & bridges that National offered Northland, all by themselves.

    • North 16.2

      Yeah yeah yeah Ad…….the man/woman whose only response about the destruction of a serious legal aid system was to hoot dismissively – “Oh…….let’s cry for the lawyers then…….hahaha !” Without half a fucking clue about what it meant for those hurt by it, denied their rights by it. Such insight. Such care for the veritably poor, as demonstrated by a personally indulgent mocky mocky beating of a drum from somewhere. Not from The Left I’d venture. ‘Pretty’, throwaway line analysis as in this instance. The variety of lefties who wanna make me chunder to be frank.

  17. feijoa 17

    I know Winston has his annoyances, but I for one will always be grateful to his free health care for under 6’s back in the day when I had a very sick child and we were short of cash.
    If I ever met him I would shake his hand and thank him.
    I know there are also lots of oldies who very much appreciate the gold card the freedom it gives them to get around.
    The guy has done some things that make a difference

  18. North 18

    Hear hear Feijoa ! All well and good for the purists to throw shit at Peters. And dance about loftily foretelling an ultimate Judas. To do so without walking in the shoes of those whose options in life and quality of life would be in relative deficit without for example the Gold Card……that’s to be a snooty, self-focused, non-cognisant dickhead. Oh so pure from a comfortable armchair !

    Whichever way you look at it this very day……..Peters MP Northland is preferable to TheOnceWasGodKey’s biddable proxy Osborne. No ? You insist on your yoghurt being whatever pure…….?

    Disclosure of interest: come October……me 65

  19. Stuart Munro 19

    Peters was the best result to be had in Northland – a bit of an unknown quantity but nevertheless strategically an improvement. Little and WJP handled it well – no losses of face or lapses of judgement.

    Winston may prove more pragmatic than the Key crowd – if he tempers their neo-liberalism he’ll represent an improvement whether or not he supports parties further left. This is a good result short of a 1996 style Trojan horse trick.

    National handled it poorly, and if they had the brains the good lord grants the humble lettuce they’d leak Sabin’s situation now. But perhaps they really want it hanging over their heads again in 2017. I guess fessing up is so out of character Key never even considered it.

  20. jaymam 20

    Dear Labour and Green supporters who voted sensibly in Northland: thank you very much. In electorates such as Epsom, Ohariu and now Northland, there have been only two possible winners. It makes sense to vote for the one who is closer to your own interests, even if that person is not in your preferred party.

    Now that you have helped get rid of the National candidate for Northland, in the next general election can we all get together and vote tactically to get rid of ACT and United Future? If National votes tactically, the rest of us will also have to vote tactically.

    For Epsom that will probably mean voting for the National candidate to get rid of ACT. For Ohariu that will mean we all vote for the Labour candidate to get rid of Dunne.
    Getting rid of ACT and UF will mean that National have fewer seats and the Left can regain the government benches again.

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  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    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
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    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
    4 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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