A brilliant (if flawed) event – Key must resign

Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, September 16th, 2014 - 71 comments
Categories: accountability, defence, election 2014, International, Spying - Tags: , , , ,

Last night Dotcom made a complete mess of his personal “big reveal”. He should have backed up the letter leaked earlier that day to The Herald. He didn’t, and that can only lead to increased doubts over its authenticity. That story will play out over time, of course, but it created a diversion on the night which distracted from the main message.

In other respects it was a brilliant event. All of the speakers had their strengths, but Snowden was particularly compelling, setting out his personal testimony – New Zealanders are under mass surveillance. Here’s how Key’s “story” with respect to such claims has evolved – from:

Greenwald has had access to leaked documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, and he says he will release a report that would show the GCSB has been conducting mass surveillance on New Zealanders — a claim Mr Key strongly denies. “There’s no ambiguity. No middle ground. I’m right. He’s wrong,” Mr Key told reporters today.

to:

Mr Key said Cabinet signed off a proposal for the GCSB to investigate a business case for widespread cyber protection of New Zealand entities, but he personally stopped the work in March last year because he thought it was a step too far. “In the end, that never even got to a business case.”

to:

Mr Key today acknowledged the GCSB had indeed tapped into the cable, but for the purposes of a cybersecurity programme. However, Mr Key said concerns the project would be perceived as mass surveillance led to it being scaled back to a much narrower programme.

…to the pure distraction of the release of hastily declassified documents that relate to something else entirely (CORTEX).

The Greenwald / Snowden revelations (no need to repeat them, go read the originals here and here) relate not to CORTEX but to Speargun and XKEYSCORE, about which Key says – nothing:

”we don’t discuss the specific programmes the GCSB may, or may not use”

So from Key we have changing stories, irrelevant distractions and refusal to comment. From Snowden we have compelling first person testimony and supporting documents (uncontested by any other Five Eyes leader). New Zealand is under mass surveillance. “If you live in New Zealand you are being watched”. Changes to the GCSB legislation were part of a planned expansion of that process. Time for Key to make good on his promise:

Prime Minister John Key says he and the head of GCSB would resign if the spy agency were found to have conducted mass surveillance.

XKEYSCORE

See international coverage:
The Sydney Morning Herald: “Edward Snowden reveals tapping of major Australia-New Zealand undersea telecommunications cable”,
The Wall Street Journal: “Edward Snowden Accuses New Zealand Leader of Deception Over Surveillance”,
The Guardian: Kim Dotcom accuses New Zealand government of mass spying,
ABC News: Snowden: NSA Collects Mass Data on New Zealanders

71 comments on “A brilliant (if flawed) event – Key must resign ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Gruntie 1
    16 September 2014 at 6:19 am

    Audrey Young should be talking to Key about this today

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11111384

  2. deWithiel 2
    16 September 2014 at 6:33 am

    It’s highly unlikely Audrey Young be reporting on this today but she’ll definitely be pushing her ideological beliefs as she spins Key’s narrative while soothing his fevered brow. The Herald subbies will probably do what they did yesterday when they headlined his ‘chat’ with Hosking a ‘grilling’. New Zealand journalism, as embodied by the Herald, really is going from bad to worse in its pursuit of corporate hegemony.

    • Tracey 2.1
      16 September 2014 at 7:12 am

      Audrey claims Snowden is a hero. Does that mean she believes what he has said? If it does mean that, where is her story along the lines just explained by Anthony above.

      It IS that simple…

  3. Tigger 3
    16 September 2014 at 7:03 am

    Fuck, do your fucking job MSM!

    http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10501778/US-spy-base-in-NZ

    On X-Keyscore, Key said that although he did not comment on the programmes the GCSB used, the agency did “not collect mass metadata on New Zealanders, therefore it is clearly not contributing such data to anything or anyone”.

    Stop letting him slip through the net with carefully crafted spin.

    • Paul 3.1
      16 September 2014 at 7:07 am

      They’ll just be looking for their angle.

    • mickysavage 3.2
      16 September 2014 at 7:41 am

      It seems very simple. The Americans collect the data and the GCSB interrogates it through xKeyScore.

      Here is what Key said last night:

      “There is not, and never has been, a cable access surveillance programme operating in New Zealand.

      “There is not, and never has been, mass surveillance of New Zealanders undertaken by the GCSB.

      “Regarding XKEYSCORE, we don’t discuss the specific programmes the GCSB may, or may not use, but the GCSB does not collect mass metadata on New Zealanders, therefore it is clearly not contributing such data to anything or anyone”.

      As for the cable if it is accessed at the Hawaii end the what Key said is true.

      As for mass surveillance if the data is agglomerated by the NSA then it is the NSA and not the GCSB that engages in mass surveillance of us.

      Perhaps reporters should ask Key if any 5eyes intelligence agency collects mass metadata about kiwis. This is the only rational way to explain Key’s spin with what appears to be a clear reality.

      • Tracey 3.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 8:26 am

        Key’s documents show the following

        On 3 April 2012 an Option 1 and Option 2 (the later included Option one) were explored with Option 2 the preference. Option 1 would provide “an automated investigative capability” and an “effects” defence option” – not explained in the documents.

        Option one was at that time agreed for implementation …

        if automated investigative capability is X-KEYSCORE then we have been mass surveilled since 2012.

        He doesnt need to tell us about the programme details but he can tell us if X-KEYSCORE is the “automated investigative capability”…

      • Tom Jackson 3.2.2
        16 September 2014 at 9:10 am

        No. It’s collected as an alliance.

  4. Tracey 4
    16 September 2014 at 7:16 am

    a whooooooosh moment for many journalists and NZers

    “Internet Party leader Laila Harre tried to close down questions, saying a complaint had been made to Parliament’s Speaker and no comment should be made until after an inquiry.

    But it didn’t stop questions, leaving Dotcom trying to point the media to the issue of mass surveillance.

    “[The public] don’t care about my case tonight. They care about being subjected to this evil mass surveillance.”

    Finally, he appeared to lose his cool and angrily lectured the media: “You have an obligation after what you have learned tonight to take the information you have learned from Glenn Greenwald.

    “You have failed New Zealanders in the past — look at Dirty Politics,” he said, referring to the book about the alleged National Party attack politics campaign. “You need to wake up and do your jobs.

    “My case only affects me. It doesn’t matter tonight. That’s why we didn’t make a big deal out of it. You need to get your priorities right. We have focused on the much bigger lie, which is every single New Zealander subjected to mass surveillance.””

  5. Awww 5
    16 September 2014 at 7:16 am

    Resign you prick.

  6. Hanswurst 6
    16 September 2014 at 7:22 am

    My immediate reaction to the documents released by Key was the same. They look like an abject failure and a massive own goal for him; it looks like he tried to play a game of chicken on the release of documents and lost. There is one single, passing mention of “mass surveillance”, the context of which as a hypothetical in a discussion of targeted searching for malware makes it completely irrelevant to Greenwald’s argument.

    It seems impossible that Key expected Greenwald and Snowden to be referring to something else, since the announcements yesterday were pretty much in line with what Greenwald had already signposted, and yet it beggars belief that Key thought that his declassified documents were any kind of reply to Greenwald’s revelations. So Key claims that Greenwald will give us half a story… then ostentatiously fails to give us his purported other half. Where is Key’s promised evidence that there was a plan for mass surveillance that Key himself rejected on the grounds that it was too far-reaching? I mean, we all know that Key’s not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he has advisers to prevent him from doing stupid things. He now needs to be hammered on the questions of why those documents were classified in the first place and why he declassified them, especially given that they appear on the face of it to have no substantive pertinence to Greenwald’s revelations.

    New Zealand’s favourite performing monkey must not be allowed to swing, whoop and cartwheel his way out of this one.

    • Tracey 6.1
      16 September 2014 at 7:37 am

      It also beggars belief that Key wasn’t using GCSB to try and pre-empt what Snowden et al were going to throw (and I am not talking about declassifying those 3 documents)

    • Tom Jackson 6.2
      16 September 2014 at 9:12 am

      If Key is that stupid, then he needs to resign. Does he not read the papers, or have assistants who do? The Guardian has been running this story for over a year. To anyone who read that reporting, it was obvious what Snowden and Greenwald were going to report.

      • Hanswurst 6.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 9:36 am

        It does seem rather odd, doesn’t it? Greenwald flies in, basically tells everybody exactly what he’s going to reveal, which is nothing that should have surprised Key as minister responsible for the GCSB, and yet Key sees it as necessary to release documents that do precisely nothing to assuage anybody’s concerns. All that this hurried declassification of dubiously relevant documents does, in fact, is make Key look like a shifty bastard who has something to hide. There seems to be a pattern emerging here.

        • Tracey 6.2.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:20 am

          but isnt it being reported as though his documents have proved him right, so why would people bother to read them to find out it proves no such thing?

          • Hanswurst 6.2.1.1.1
            16 September 2014 at 8:25 pm

            The journalistic silence on the content of Key’s documents has been predictably deafening, as far as I can see (being outside the country, I can only access online sources). It’s interesting to see the framing of such issues. Obviously, it would be poor form for a journalist to state or imply in their capacity as a reporter that Key’s documents are not what he claims. However, there is nothing to stop them from doing so in an opinion column. It’s enough of an open-and-shut case to warrant a headline along the lines of “Key Documents a Smokescreen”, and an opening statement like, “John Key stated that he would release documents that refuted Glen Greenwald’s conclusions that New Zealand’s intelligence services had been involved in mass spying on its populace. The documents, hurriedly declassified and released to the media yesterday, do no such thing.”

            Such a statement would be factual and supported by the documents as released. Key is a big boy, and always under cordial invitation to appear before any media he chooses. His right of reply and ability to exercise it are in the rudest if health. It should be incumbent on him to support the positive argument he is making. Until he has done so, his documents should be treated as misleading the public, whether intentional or not. Why are Greenwald and Snowden being held to a higher standard of proof than Key?

  7. Tracey 7
    16 September 2014 at 7:36 am

    So thrilled to someone else, if not the media picking up that CORTEX was only being talked about from December 2013.

    Those papers, from my (admittedly) quick reading do NOT state that mass surveillance had not happened before that time and would not happen.

    It appeared that CORTEX and its formation as a “business case” was authroised by PM in December 2013….

    On 3 April 2012 an Option 1 and Option 2 (the later included Option one) were explored with Option 2 the preference. Option 1 would provide “an automated investigative capability” and an “effects” defence option” – not explained in the documents.

    Option one was at that time agreed for implementation

    If “an automated investigative capability” refers to X-KEYSCORE then mass surveillance was implemented on NZers in 2012 or 2013?

    Also agreed for implementation was “directing NCPO to work with the GCSB and other agencies on any wider cyber security policy issues” related to Option 2

    Option 2 required a business case in 2013

    2 September 2013 Cabinet rescinded the decision for a developed business plan for Option 2.

    That suggests between January 2013 and September 2013 the GCSB was developing a business case for option 2 because they could not know the decision would later be rescinded?

    Wouldn’t it be cool if the PM had released the plan they had put together for option 2 as of that date. No security issues around it cos we werent going to use it, right?

    Oh and don’t you all feel reassured that both Collins and Banks were at the meeting to discuss and assess all this?

  8. Tracey 8
    16 September 2014 at 7:46 am

    He may end up having to resign but after the election and National will still be in power (if they win on saturday night) but with a different leader… The USA won’t care who that leader is.

    • Rich 8.1
      16 September 2014 at 9:01 am

      Yes they will. Key is their man, so much so that he doesn’t even need to take a salary here. It’s unlikely a new person would be in their pocket so much, unless it’s one of the anointed, Collins or Bennet come to mind.

  9. Tracey 9
    16 September 2014 at 8:07 am

    Can anyone explain to me how John Key’s documents have refuted this claim…

    “Snowden claimed that while working for the US NSA he “routinely” came across the communications of New Zealanders while working in the XKeyscore mass surveillance tool.

    “It allows total, granular access to the database of communications collected in the course of mass surveillance. It is not limited to or even used largely for the purposes of cybersecurity, as has been claimed, but is instead used primarily for reading individuals’ private email, text messages, and internet traffic,” he wrote.

    A network of sensors placed around the world would allow him to search on an email address. One of those sensors is in New Zealand .”

    Doesn’t it sound like it could fit this label

    ““an automated investigative capability” ” which was authorised for implementation in April 2012?

    “Snowden said X-Keyscore is collecting the communications of people in New Zealand and it is not related to foreign intelligence.

    Snowden said that within the Five Eyes intelligence network, New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) contributes to the collection of communications.

    “There is not just metadata… and specifically the GCSB not only uses X-Keyscore, they have expanded it, they have contributed to its development.” “

    Did anyone at the meeting ask Snowden if he knew when NZ adopted X-KEYSCORE?

    • infused 9.1
      16 September 2014 at 8:27 am

      You do know xkeyscore was mentioned about 3yrs ago. It’s not new.

      And where is the evidence of the capture of data in NZ?

  10. Hanswurst 10
    16 September 2014 at 8:12 am

    Don’t know whether this has been noted already, but I also find it interesting that “CORTEX” bears more than a passing resemblance to “X-KEYSCORE“… almost enough to make one wonder whether it wasn’t somebody’s cute idea of a play on words. Not terribly significant, but curious nonetheless.

    • Tracey 10.1
      16 September 2014 at 8:23 am

      and then there is the defintion

      “:the furrowed outer layer of gray matter in the cerebrum of the brain, associated with the higher brain functions, as voluntary movement, coordination of sensory information, learning and memory, and the expression of individuality. “

    • Rich 10.2
      16 September 2014 at 8:59 am

      They’ve been doing this forever, Hanswurst, so yes you’re probably right. It’s oh so clever.

    • yeshe 10.3
      16 September 2014 at 9:17 am

      well spotted; it is a simple reduction. How much easier to verbalise Cortex than X-Keyscore. And, small point only, allow Key to continue to lie about it.

  11. sabine 11
    16 September 2014 at 8:20 am

    interesting report on global spying on internet activity and connectivity

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/snowden-documents-indicate-nsa-has-breached-deutsche-telekom-a-991503.html

    Quote: Treasure Map is anything but harmless entertainment. Rather, it is the mandate for a massive raid on the digital world. It aims to map the Internet, and not just the large traffic channels, such as telecommunications cables. It also seeks to identify the devices across which our data flows, so-called routers.
    Furthermore, every single end device that is connected to the Internet somewhere in the world — every smartphone, tablet and computer — is to be made visible. Such a map doesn’t just reveal one treasure. There are millions of them

    Quote: reasure Map allows for the creation of an “interactive map of the global Internet” in “near real-time,” the document notes. Employees of the so-called “FiveEyes” intelligence agencies from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which cooperate closely with the American agency NSA, can install and use the program on their own computers. One can imagine it as a kind of Google Earth for global data traffic, a bird’s eye view of the planet’s digital arteries.

  12. infused 12
    16 September 2014 at 8:24 am

    Key won’t be going anywhere. Especially over such a stupid fucking side show.

  13. karol 13
    16 September 2014 at 8:31 am

    Excellent analysis from Keith Ng of the differences between CORTEX and SPEARGUN – the first sits with businesses and IPs; the latter sits on the major highways of our network.

    Agree with him on the email as well.

  14. Tigger 14
    16 September 2014 at 9:11 am

    Key will resign. In tears. They’ll be put on for the camera. But he’ll be crying. He’s lied. He’s caught. Time to go.

    • yeshe 14.1
      16 September 2014 at 9:57 am

      dear tigger, I like your poem very much. love piglet

    • Rosie 14.2
      16 September 2014 at 10:10 am

      Oh if only Tigger! I tend to agree with Tracey’s suggestion above at 8, Key to resign post election.

      The Hollywood version would be much better though.

      • Rosie 14.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 10:45 am

        PS, and until he does resign he’ll bluff, deflect and malign and carry on in a childish manner under the influence of a stinking gut rotting hangover, as the reality that the chickens of deceit have well and truly came back home to roost.

        How sad that NZer’s paid the price for his downfall, and what a price to pay, the loss of a basic human right, our privacy and the loss of decent public service orientated governance (ala Dirty Politics).

        Hope on the horizon though. The hope of a win for the Left on Saturday and a return to people centred policy, and hopefully a return to normality in a post Key era.

        And maybe another celebration – Independence for Scotland. We can dance a jig on the grave of this government.

  15. One Anonymous Bloke 15
    16 September 2014 at 10:00 am

    Herald readers favouring Dotcom over Key 321:147

    That the email looks like a fake is irrelevant at this point it seems – no-one likes being spied on.

  16. infused 16
    16 September 2014 at 10:01 am

    Ill come back to you tracey when im off my phone

  17. infused 17
    16 September 2014 at 10:03 am

    Lprent u need some way of inline commenting on thr mobile site

  18. Anne 18
    16 September 2014 at 10:24 am

    Lets be clear.

    New Zealanders – have – been – the – victims- of – spying – and – harassement – by – off shore – intelligence – agencies- for – many – years.

    How do I know? Because I was once such a victim. It dated back to spurious and absurd claims involving my late father and moved on to me after he died. Sure, it wasn’t mass surveillance in those days because they didn’t have the technology. But as one who has been on the receiving end, I can appreciate better than most that if they were doing it 20 to 40 years ago, then of course they are doing it now and on a far greater scale than in the past. It beggars belief that anyone would believe a malfeasant liar like john Key over a genius like Edward Snowden who has never been shown to be wrong. And it also beggars belief the GCSB is not implicated.

    This morning I heard Sir Bruce Ferguson venomously describe Edward Snowden as “a traitor”. As someone who has defended him on this site in the past, I am deeply disapppointed. It seems I gave him credit for being more intelligent and discerning, and not a brain-washed and gullible toady to US interests.

    • Rosie 18.1
      16 September 2014 at 10:52 am

      Thank you Anne. You’ll know first hand the motivations of a government such as ours and I should imagine feel the sting of it more than most, because it’s personal.

      I heard Bruce Ferguson describe Snowden as “not a credible source”. That was an outrageous thing to say given the evidence Snowden presented last night.

      • Anne 18.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 11:08 am

        Yes Rosie it does sting. Together with false claims made by a jealous former associate who was in contact with the perpetrators, they came perilously close to destroying my life.

        In this regard, I have sympathy for Kim Dotcom because I know what it feels like.

        • Tracey 18.1.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:24 am

          nothing to hide = nothing to fear is the oldest hoax in the world…

          and oh so many buy it and become complicit…

        • Rosie 18.1.1.2
          16 September 2014 at 11:46 am

          I’m very sorry to hear that Anne. It’s hard to imagine that despite your treatment you have probably, I’m guessing, remained invisible and unacknowledged for your troubles.

          I’ve had the privilege of spending some time in the company of a veteran activist who has been under the spotlight, quite unnecessarily I should add, of the “authorities” for decades. The stories I’ve heard have left me feeling cold, at the reach of the state into our lives and the personal affect of that.

          What is humbling is that person’s determination and courage to continue advocating and agitating.

          Much respect to you for enduring what you have and for getting through it.

    • Richard Christie 18.2
      16 September 2014 at 11:24 am

      Re Ferguson et all, they seem oblivious to fact that those who oppose popular movements against the over reach of the state, always end up on the wrong side of history. Always.

      • Anne 18.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 11:34 am

        … always end up on the wrong side of history. Always.

        Indeed always. Too many examples to list in NZ alone!

    • Chooky 18.3
      16 September 2014 at 12:57 pm

      +100 Anne

  19. brian 19
    16 September 2014 at 11:01 am

    Still no weasel response from John Key to his Cortex being irrelevant to his X-KEYSCORE.

    Moment of Truth PLUS 16 hours and counting.
    Key’s “Score” is descending rapidly.

    .

    • Tracey 19.1
      16 September 2014 at 11:41 am

      has anyone actually asked him?

      • Rosie 19.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 11:47 am

        Thats what I’ve been wondering………

        • karol 19.1.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:51 am

          An Intercept journalist has asked a series of related questions:

          Why did you inform the public that the GCSB Act would not lead to an expansion of powers when at the same time you were planning the Speargun mass surveillance initiative?

          Why was phase one of the Speargun project completed if it was something that never made it past the “business case”?

          Why were New Zealanders not informed about the Cortex project until the government’s hand was forced by disclosures based on documents from Snowden?

          How much data is collected on a daily basis by GCSB under the Cortex project, and how does the agency ensure this data does not “incidentally” include the content or metadata of citizens’ communications?

          The Cortex documents refer to the use of technology that “has been in use for some time.” What technology is this?

          Is any information collected by GCSB under Cortex — or any other program that accesses internet data — shared with the NSA and/or other Five Eyes agencies through systems such as XKEYSCORE?

          Does GCSB have access to XKEYSCORE and, if so, for how long has this been the case?

          Does GCSB use its access to internet data streams — under initiatives like Cortex or similar — to launch active/offensive cyber operations that involve hacking computer systems to collect information?

          When will you declassify documents detailing the Speargun project and showing that it was not completed?

          • Rosie 19.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2014 at 12:00 pm

            Thanks karol. Key wouldn’t answer those questions because they come from the “loser’s” website, and not one of his trustworthy “repeaters”, to borrow a phrase from Slater.( Ugh, shudder).

    • Rosie 19.2
      16 September 2014 at 11:54 am

      I reckon it’s that stinking hangover he’s got. He can’t get himself together this morning. Either that or he’s plotting his best BS response ever.

    • brian 19.3
      16 September 2014 at 12:22 pm

      Moment of Truth PLUS 17 hours

      It appears that Key has been with his defence lawyer all morning and has been told:
      “Talk about anything else but your x-KEYscore”

    • Rosie 19.4
      16 September 2014 at 12:24 pm

      And where are the questions for Peter Dunne? As Greenwald mentioned last night, and we all know, the GCSB Act passed by only two votes, one of them being Dunne’s.

      How much did Dunne know about Xkeyscore and Project Speargun? Was anything disclosed to him by Key during his discussions? Or did Key dupe him like he has the public?

      On 7th July last year Dunne responded to concerns I raised with him as one of his constituents, via email, about his intention on voting for the bill.

      This was his response:

      “My main concerns relate to ensuring proper protection of the privacy of communications by New Zealand citizens and residents and I am presently in discussion with the government about the best way of meeting these.

      My future position on this Bill will be determined by the outcome of these discussions.”

      We know what happened after that. He sold his vote on the condition that their would be an independent review of the GCSB and SIS in 2015 (among a number of other conditions)

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10901514,

      which Key later said wouldn’t go ahead.

      Mr Dunne, do you still have full confidence in John Key and do you believe NZer’s rights to “proper protection of the privacy of their communications” has been upheld?

  20. marty mars 20
    16 September 2014 at 12:20 pm

    Dimpost has outlined a particular lie from key. I think this line of questioning will prove very fruitful.

    Also significant: the Prime Minister has changed his story about surveillance in New Zealand three times in the three days. On Saturday there was no mass surveillance and Key said of Greenwald’s allegations: ‘There’s no ambiguity. No middle ground. I’m right. He’s wrong.’ On Sunday he admitted that Cabinet signed off on a business case for the GCSB to investigate ‘mass protection’ of New Zealanders against ‘cyber-attacks’ but that Key cancelled that program outright. ‘It never got past the business case’. Then yesterday he told the New Zealand Herald that the GCSB had tapped the Southern Cross cable for ‘cyber-protection’ but that he had then scaled back the program.

    http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/the-smoking-speargun/

  21. philj 21
    16 September 2014 at 9:00 pm

    xox
    I heard Sir Bruce Ferguson state at least three times in quick succession on Morning Report, that the leakers were ‘ traitors’. Sir F came across as a vindictive,venal stooge and its scary he was at helm of our security agency.

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    “Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
    Bowalley Road
    12 hours ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    12 hours ago

  • Picking Sides.
    Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s  “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
    Bowalley Road
    12 hours ago

  • Universities offer course in self-serving cowardice
    Henry Ergas writes –  When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago

  • The teacher trainee challenge
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago

  • Words and (in)actions
    New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision   Michael Reddell writes –  When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    15 hours ago

  • What do you hope for/fear from the budget?
    Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    15 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
    If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    17 hours ago

  • Drought fuels wildfire concerns as Canada braces for another intense summer
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
    Skeptical Science
    18 hours ago

  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus and pick ‘n’ mix for Thursday, May 16
    Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    19 hours ago

  • Controversial proposal could threaten coalition
    The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    22 hours ago

  • Of Rings of Power Annatar, Dramatic Irony, and Disguises
    As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • The future of Nick's Kōrero.
    This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union...
    Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when  the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Fucking useless
    Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • Setting things straight.
    Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago

  • Far too light a sentence
    David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Unwinding Labour’s Agenda
    Muriel Newman writes –  Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Sequel to “Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour”
    Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • The Govt’s Fast-Track is being demolished by submissions to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A generation is leaving at a rate of one A320-load per day
    An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • NZUP RORS back to life
    The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • School Is Out.
    School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • How Are You Doing?
    Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • The Rings of Power: Season Two Teaser Trailer
    I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – What ended the Little ice Age?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Talking Reo with the PM
    “The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Waitangi Tribunal’s authority in Chhour case is upheld – but bill’s introduction to Parliament...
    Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour.  The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Australia jails another whistleblower
    In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Some “scrutiny”!
    Back in February I blogged about another secret OIA "consultation" by the Ministry of Justice. This one was on Aotearoa's commitment in its Open Government Partnership Action Plan to "strengthen scrutiny of Official Information Act exemption clauses in legislation" (AKA secrecy clauses). Their consultation paper on the issue focused on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • TVNZ is loss-making, serves no public service due to bias, and should be liquidated
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • The conflicted Covid Chair
    David Farrar writes –  Kata MacNamara reports:    Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Attacking the smartest and most resilient people in the room is never a good idea
    Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A fortune-telling failure, surely, if the tarot cards can’t see a bulldozer coming
    RNZ reports –  It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • The climate battleground heats up
    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’ s Dawn Chorus & Pick ‘n’ Mix for Tuesday, May 14
    The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on why anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic
    To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive
    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Wayne Brown’s PT Plan
    Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Potaka's Private Universe.
    And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Our slow regional councils
    The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law after all
    Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZTA takes the wheel after govt gives it the road map for regional roads (and puts a speed governor ...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Tolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Change in Catalonia?
    or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Having an enrolment date is not depriving anyone of a vote
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Perhaps house prices don’t always go up
    Don Brash writes –  There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Can’t read, can’t write, can’t comprehend – and won’t think…?
    Mike Grimshaw writes –  At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Time for some perspective
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Will NZ Herald’s ‘poor journalism’ cost lives?
    Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to May 19 and beyond
    TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Webworm Popup Photos!
    Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • The Gods Must Be Woke.
    Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • More road
    We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Seeing the Aurora Australis
    There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Welcome to the current welfare mess
    Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • A shovel-ready autopsy
    Oliver Hartwich writes –  Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Why we almost blacked out and how to fix it
    TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • What Is Instagram Trying To Sell Us?
    Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Precious Little Excitement: Warner Brothers, Peter Jackson, and Gollum
    Back in February 2023, I made the cardinal mistake of getting my hopes up. Warner Brothers declared that fresh Middle-earth movies were in the works: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/it-never-rains-but-it-pours-warner-brothers-and-impending-tolkien-adaptations/ My assumption, based on which rights were available, and what had already been done, was that this was a stab at either the Angmar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Do We Need a Population Census?
    ‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • No, the govt will not be cutting back on every budget – and the Defence vote is among those to be ...
    Buzz from the Beehive Reporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Treasury and productivity
    Late last week The Treasury released a new 40 page report on “The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections” (productivity forecasts and projections that is, rather than any possible fiscal implications – the latter will, I guess, be articulated in the Budget documents). In short, if (as it has) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • The Controller and Auditor-General’s role
    Peter Dunne writes –  I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • More harm than good
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos   Chris Trotter writes –  TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationship
    New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says.  “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019.  “It is my pleasure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New Caledonia
    New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.  “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of State
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card funding
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Further sanctions against Russia
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • One year on from Loafers Lodge
    A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Pre-Budget speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand and Vanuatu to deepen collaboration
    New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says.    “This ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Penk travels to Peru for trade meetings
    Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Minister attends global education conferences
    Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Education Minister thanks outgoing NZQA Chair
    Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Joint statement of Christopher Luxon and Emmanuel Macron: Launch of the Christchurch Call Foundation
    New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.   This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Panel announced for review into disability services
    Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister welcomes Police gang unit
    Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand expresses regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners.  “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Chief of Defence Force appointed
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