Aussies & US mount opposition to TPPA – but in NZ we just keep nodding

Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, February 14th, 2015 - 47 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, activism, australian politics, community democracy, democracy under attack, democratic participation, Europe, International, law, national/act government, Politics, us politics - Tags:

So much to sell, so little time… When this Government is finished selling, we will have sold our right to make laws for ourselves too. Be under no doubt, if the effect of bringing in a law for the health and well being of Kiwis will cost a corporate millions of dollars, part of their lobbying after the TPP is signed, will include threatening to  sue the taxpayers of NZ for compensation (and the case will be decided by a small tribunal of International lawyers appointed by a Council which member states leave to administer and appoint who will hear the case). When that happens, watch such a Bill slip into obscurity. And those corporates wielding that power? Most will never pay a cent of tax into the coffers of NZ taxpayers.

Set aside 7 March 2015 for a concerted effort to show the Government that we will not have our laws subjugated to Corporates and their alleged “right” to make money despite the health or other impacts on our citizens.

Despite the unmistakable message from tens of thousands of kiwis the government is clearly planning to give foreign investors the right to sue in the TPPA and thereby influence the laws we make for our communities.

Just before Xmas they signed a free trade deal with South Korea that has the same powers. This gives us a prime chance to tell the government we totally reject investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in every deal, and increase the heat over the TPPA

The NZ Korea FTA will go through the façade of a select committee process (that can’t change anything) from around mid-February.

Tim Groser says he can’t release any information because it is in confidence and Wayne Mapp repeats that here as though it can be no other way but EU releases text in US negotiations

On 7 January the EU released a raft of documents it has tabled in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US. The EU also promised to release the text before it is signed.

The Aussies and US Congress are asking serious questions and beginning to mount opposition and undertake reviews. But not NZ.

Australian Senate inquiry into treaty-making process
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee of the Australian Senate has launched an inquiry into the treaty making process. That’s possible because the Liberals have lost control of the Senate. The terms of reference include the role of Parliament its committees to review the proposed text, scope for independent assessment, greater openness and transparency.

And why stop at the TPP, moves are afoot to extend the kind of cover to other aspects of our lives including privacy. And why not, our Government is just rolling over;

TPPA  & TISA anti-privacy & pro-spying
Just before Xmas the US proposals for another of the mega-deals – the Trade in Services Agreement – was leaked. The US TPPA negotiator said they wanted the same for TPPA. The text aims to stop governments imposing tighter protections for privacy of data, eg by requiring it is stored in NZ or limiting its transfer offshore. That’s a bonanza for the US with minimal privacy protections and maximum spy laws. See Jane Kelsey’s analysis of the leaked text, and security issues. –

Join the rallies, marches and events in your area: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Geraldine, Hamilton, Hokianga, Invercargill, Kaitaia, Nelson, Palmerston North, Taranaki, Tauranga, Thames, Whanganui, Wellington, Whangarei

This is NOT a left-wing issue. It must be an every person issue today and in the future. Our right to govern according to the values of our people.

47 comments on “Aussies & US mount opposition to TPPA – but in NZ we just keep nodding ”

  1. Tautoko Mangō Mata 1

    Apologies but I am reposting my Open Mike comment about the TPPA here as this link to a study is relevant to your post.
    If you, like me, are concerned about the loss of sovereignty if the TPPA contains an Investor-State Dispute Settlement clause, then the following article will show you are not alone.
    The following link is to a scholarly study carried out to assess the impact of ISDS rules on environmental regulation with respect to the TTIP (a parallel Trade agreement to TPPA between US and EU.)

    “Investor-state Dispute Settlement under TTIP – a Risk for Environmental Regulation?”
    Rules on ISDS in TTIP could have a chiling effect on environmental regulation in the EU and the US”

    “The authors conclude that rules on ISDS are not necessary in an agreement between two highly evolved, rule of law legal systems. By contrast, such rules create significant risks for environmental regulation, because of the broad wording of investment rules and the largely unpredictable manner in which they are interpreted by investment tribunals. States may have to compensate investors for taking legitimate environmental measures. The study recommends not to include such rules in TTIP”

    http://www.ecologic.eu/10402

    It is well worth flicking through the full report.
    http://www.ecologic.eu/sites/files/publication/2014/investor-state-dispute-settlement-under-ttip-hbs.pdf

    • Tracey 1.1

      TMM

      Really appreciate your input. This govt and media are steering the public away from this part of the deal. The implications are not speculative we see cases worldwide where cou tries are being sued for enacting their democratically sanctioned lawz.

  2. The Murphey 2

    Q. How is NZ not to be viewed as a psychological operation ?

    This issue is the most pertinent right now with the consequences if it comes to pass will presumably make the current misery look rather tame by comparison

  3. Tautoko Mangō Mata 3

    Coverage of the issue of lack of transparency in the TPPA negotiations is increasing and here is a good article foreshadowing the letter being published in the Lancet today.
    The heading is “Doctors Worldwide Blast TPP’s ‘Chilling Effect’ on Health, Climate Protections.
    While U.S. corporations have been involved in negotiations, ‘health agencies have been forced to rely on leaks,’ physicians point out in letter to be published Saturday.”

    “The signatories hail from New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., Canada, Chile, Malaysia, and Vietnam—7 of the 12 countries that would be covered by the TPP—and the list includes leaders of the World Medical Association and World Federation of Public Health Associations. The effort was led by medical providers from New Zealand and Australia, who note that TPP provisions could “push up the cost of affordable and life-saving medicines” for vulnerable populations in those countries and elsewhere.’

    http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/13/doctors-worldwide-blast-tpps-chilling-effect-health-climate-protections

    “Leaked documents indicate the [TPP] will have far-reaching implications, including undermining our ability to protect our climate and the future health of New Zealanders—yet the entire agreement is still being kept secret from the public,” said Rhys Jones, co-convener of the Council. “Under the [TPP], the New Zealand government could find itself hamstrung in efforts to reduce climate damaging emissions and to promote health.”

    Jones continued: “The irony is that this same week in Geneva talks continue toward international agreement on climate action, and 13-14 February marks Global Divestment Day as the world increasingly turns from fossil fuels towards clean renewable energy. Yet our government is secretly locking New Zealand into an unhealthy deal to protect corporate profits.”

    It is really important for those few people that have gained an understanding of the issues at stake in the TPPA to make the effort to educate their friends and relatives before it is too late and a done deal. I want Labour to come out and declare that any agreement containing an Investor-State Dispute Settlement system must be rejected. Also No See, No Sign! Proper process to be followed, submissions allowed before any signing AND a big Labour presence at the protest marches on the 7th March.

  4. Tautoko Mangō Mata 4

    Here are examples of the insidious ISDS in which a government can be held to ransom by a corporation.
    1. Eli Lilly
    Canada is being sued by Eli Lilly & Co for $500 million after refusing to grant it a couple of pharma patents.

    2. Lone Pine
    Quebec has yet to decide whether fracking can be conducted safely under the St. Lawrence.

    “If a government is not even allowed to take a time out to study the impact without having to compensate a corporation, it puts a tremendous chill on a governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest,” said Ilana Solomon, director of the Sierra Club’s trade program in Washington, D.C.
    That is, the company concerned is trying to pressure Quebec to lift its moratorium before the latter has had a chance to evaluate all the scientific evidence on fracking, and come to a reasoned decision. That seems to be a typical effect where ISDS clauses are in operation: with the threat of huge claims hanging over them, governments often choose to capitulate and give companies what they want, rather than risk losing before the secretive tribunals that are used to adjudicate such ISDS cases. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html
    (Note: Lone Pine is actually a Calgary based but because it is registered in Delaware, it is able to sue using the NAFTA ISDS.
    In June 2011, Philip Morris International announced it was using ISDS provisions in the Australia-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment treaty (BIT) to demand compensation for Australia’s plain cigarette packaging anti-smoking legislation.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Morris_International

    “The fear is that both TPP and TAFTA/TTIP will cast a chill over policy making around the Pacific and across the Atlantic, as businesses take advantage of the punitive damages available to bully governments into scrapping existing or proposed regulations in key consumer areas like food, health, safety and the environment.”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html

    Our government can’t even handle Sky City, Warner Brothers or Rio Tinto without rolling over. They are lambs walking to the slaughter with Tim Groser in the lead. Blinkered!!!!

  5. Redelusion 5

    Look global warming is going to wipe us out any way, plus any of a million other Right wing conspiracies you folk are demented about, just chill on the TPP and enjoy what time you have

    • Tautoko Mangō Mata 5.1

      Thank you for expressing the pro-TPPA argument so succinctly, Redelusion.

    • sean kearney 5.2

      Relax and let GMO food give you [r0b: deleted – a bit too far there]. Back to Whale Oil with you mate.

    • saveNZ 5.3

      Enjoy that pack of smokes, gamble all your chips away and don’t have any kids ‘Delusion’ with your climate denying whale oil trolling attitude. We would love TPP to be a right wing conspiracy but unfortunately our fucked up government lackeys who can’t even read the fine print with small fry SkyCity or even arrest a rust bucket recidivist fishing poaching vessel, are signing future generations rights way.

      It’s pretty much The Treaty of Waitangi 2.0 2015. Come plunder our country! Zero hour contracts hooray! Fracking, bring it on!

      It is the Corporatising the Governments and the Privatisation of countries.

      BYO the right wingers in the USA are actually against the TPP. So you can not even call it a right wing conspiracy.

  6. sean kearney 6

    Thank God I’m Australian. Abbott is a buffoon but at least the Senate acts as a foil. Here in NZ there is a piss poor governmental system and some of the worst, utterly toxic politicians I have seem anywhere. They would sell poor old granny to pander to corporate interests.

  7. Wayne 7

    Tracey, since you have cited me, I will give a brief reply (see also my comment under Third Termitis).

    It is easier to have more open negotiations with the EU. The parties are essentially the EU and the US. However TPP involves 12 sovereign countries, not all of whom are open democracies.

    There have actually been a lot of background papers released, though not actual text. Everyone who is interested knows where the hard issues are.

    I expect all sorts of groups will oppose TPP. Will they throw the negotiators and the the various govts off track? Probably not.

    A lot of the opposition to TPP (though not all) comes from the “usual suspects.” And basically they are ignored. So far in New Zealand it is clear to me that most of the opposition to TPP comes from those quarters.

    As an indication of the pressure govts are willing to endure to get a fee trade seal across the line, look at South Korea when the South Korea – US FTA was being negotiated. There were massive demonstrations, but they did not stop it. And they went well beyond the “usual suspects.”

    As i noted in my comment, TPP is a big deal for John Key. He will spend a lot of political capital to sell it. In fact I think he will gain out of it. For John Key to do anything else would probably terminate National as a viable political force for at least a decade. Centre -right activists would loose heart.

    So I assume that all the heat and light in New Zealand around TPP is all about the soul of Labour, and the positioning of the Greens to pick up the Labour left (as opposed to centre-left) vote.

    • vto 7.1

      “A lot of the opposition to TPP (though not all) comes from the “usual suspects.” ”

      … considering the TPP is pushed by the “usual suspects”, namely Key and his ‘big end’ of town.

      and you may want to be wary about thinking the general public doesn’t know about it and a lot of the detail. They do. It gets mentioned in circles surprisingly often.

      And why do you keep calling it a “free trade” deal? It is nothing of the sort.

      It is also worth bearing in mind that the government cannot enter into this agreement as it impinges on the nature of every person’s vote in NZ and that is not something a government can legitimately deal with on its own. It will be flawed from the start.

      • Wayne 7.1.1

        I think a lot of people are interested in the TPP.

        On the centre-right most people trust the govt to get it right. That attitude is essentially the reason why the Nats got re-elected.

        Of course we know the left are opposed, but they generally are opposed to all free trade deals, at least all the ones that have actually been entered into. Because that is well known, they have no influence on centre-right governments on this issue.

        The more interesting group is the centre left who support Labour, and also some in the centre who vote National. I know they have anxieties about TPP, but they generally support FTA’s. The China FTA and CER has reinforced their view the free trade is generally a good thing. And as with the TPP, CER goes well beyond free trade as such, hence the name.

        • millsy 7.1.1.1

          Why do you think it is acceptable for corporations to be able to sue governments?

          Are you happy for NZ to give up its free healthcare system so people can make money?

        • vto 7.1.1.2

          Thanks for the reply Wayne but that was just blither blather on centre-right centre-right etc etc election blah blah blah

          How about a substantive reply on the question I put to you (and also put to you elsewhere) around the inability of a simple majority government to affect the constitutional legitimacy of my vote? You cant enter into the TPPA Wayne, for this reason. It is flawed from the outset.

          And why you let big pharma business in on negotiations but not doctors, surgeons and the people who actually look after our health? Why do you do that Wayne? Why is business profit in the health sector more important than doctors and surgeons in the health sector? Talk about arse-about..

          Two questions ….

        • KJT 7.1.1.3

          Have you ever seen a broad ranging cost benefit analysis of FTA’s?

          Will we ever see one?

          How much are we paying in interest, on borrowing, to China so we can maintain the “free trade” with them, for one? Not to mention the internal costs of unemployment and dropping wages.

          Of course not, because that would show how false the blind faith in “free markets”, is!

          So called business people who cannot see the logical fallacy in “free trade”.

          http://thestandard.org.nz/the-magical-world-of-new-zealands-neo-liberal-right-wing/
          “One where every country is going to get rich by out exporting every other country”.

          Yeah right.

          The TPPA is simply a corporate Magna Carta which will cement in Neo-liberal market dogma.

        • KJT 7.1.1.4

          “centre-right most people trust the govt to get it right”.

          Does it bother you that implementing your policies is only possible because of blinkered “authoritarian followers”, who prefer to remain ignorant, and a public duped with your propaganda?

          Or do you prefer it that way?

          So right wing Governments can continue to rob New Zealanders with impunity?

          • Wayne 7.1.1.4.1

            KJT (7.1.1.4),

            Well, as a member of parliament once and also as a Minister, I worked on the basis that I anticipated people would trust me as a person of honest intent, and that what I was doing was in the best interests of New Zealand, as I saw the issues. And being elected to Govt meant that I had, to a large extent, a democratic mandate to do what I said I would do.

            Now obviously I knew that many of the the things I was doing might be politically contentious (in the defense area, since Science and Innovation was not contentious), But I operated on the basis the people understood that I and the NZDF were doing the best we could. And that I had said prior to the election that this is what we would do.

            I guess many MP’s and Ministers in both National and Labour work on that basis.

            Obviously I believe in free trade and open economies; no secret there. I don’t see the need to endlessly rehearse every argument on every point of TPP in every post. And in any event I know it would have no effect on many of the commenters. I am really addressing those who might read the comments, but do not necessarily see any need to comment.

            But on the specific point of corporates suing govts. No, I don’t have a problem. If a corporate thinks a govt has acted in breach of trade commitments that the govt has agreed to in a FTA or international agreement that adversely affects the corporate, why should they be able to sue? And I don’t have any problem with the forum being an international tribunal rather than a local court. Disclaimer here; in the early 1990’s I used to teach a course, “Transnational Litigation and Arbitration” as an LLM course.

            • millsy 7.1.1.4.1.1

              Well, there you go. If the government decides raise the minimum wage, increase sick leave entitlements, or strengthen the public provision of education/health, or even take steps to ensure that water reticulation is kept in public hands, then according to the Hon. Wayne Mapp, it is perfectly fine for corporates to sue.

              There you go people.

              100-odd years ago, people like Mapp would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.

              • Wayne

                None of the things you mention would be a breach of a FTA, since they are not the sort of things that are agreed to in FTA’s. And they won’t be in TPP.

                It has to be a specific undertaking the govt has made in the FTA, something like all companies have equal access to bid on govt contracts (as in CER). That is an example only since I don’t think that concept will be in TPP. I could see the NZ govt agreeing to limited access for pharmaceutical companies to deal directly with DHB’s, rather than only through Pharmac.

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  they won’t be

                  I imagine you have some knowledge of our ‘bottom lines’ that makes that more than a personal opinion.

                  • Tracey

                    He cannot. That would be a breach of the confidentiality of the parties and would impugn his integrity. he is “surmising”.

                    • Wayne

                      Tracey, yes it is an assumption, but I do have some sense how far the various negotiating states will go based on experience and the previous practice of the states. Most of them are democracies of one sort or another.

                      Generally govts like to get re-elected. So they know how far they can go.

                      You only have to look at SkyCity to see that the Govt responds to public pressure that comes from middle NZ. By and large they bought the idea of a convention centre that did not require public money, but as soon as that was a prospect they reacted. And John Key listened.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      If that’s the idea they bought, who lied to them? Lots of public money going into this deal, and that’s before we even start counting the cost of money laundering, corruption and misery.

                    • Tracey

                      Wayne

                      But first he tried to get away with something…

                • Tracey

                  You have stated that you have not seen the draft of the TPP. You have stated that you support keeping the clauses secret. leaving aside millsy’s examples, how can you know what is or is not being agreed to and how it may impact our ability to pass legislation pursuant to our democractic system. Again Wayne, can you give a guarantee that nothing in the TPP will leave NZ open to being sued for lost profits by a corporate which may feel, for example, it’s “right” to sell cigarettes, frack or anything else has been legislation against following a mandate to a government from a democratic election?

            • KJT 7.1.1.4.1.2

              So it is fine when the corporate right to sue overrides the Government’s duty to act in the best interests of those who have elected them?

              When we cannot sue the Government when it acts against our interests?

              I do give you credit for believing you are doing the right things, same as I do to Rodney Hide, but the evidence shows otherwise.

              I think however that depth of thought, and acting in their citizens best interest, is foreign to our present Government, as their obligations are those who have bought them. Sky city is just the tip of the iceberg.

              Just as the 1984 Labour Government proceeded on the basis of religious belief in the “free market” and ” private enterprise” funded by the “businesspeople” who made a fortune out of asset thefts..

            • Tracey 7.1.1.4.1.4

              Can you provide some specific details on the Tribunal that will be used under the TPP, how members will be selected to sit in Judgment and the process of media reporting of the hearings and publication of full decisions?

        • Tracey 7.1.1.5

          so the conern in aussie and the usa is from suits and ties but here it is the ad hominem “usual suspects”.

          you and your “oppose all trade deals” is getting tiresome and is an obvious deflection.
          address the suing that is going on, almost exclusively by corps against govts
          address the tribunal
          address the influence on our law making

          are you prepared to underwrite taxpayers i. case you are wrong.

          • Wayne 7.1.1.5.1

            To be fair, Tracey, I use the term “usual suspects” as a reference to “Casablanca” (which I am sure you know). But it rather sums up the opposition, when so many of them oppose every FTA they see.

            So for “oppose all trade deals,” well it is a fact for a lot of those who oppose TPP.

            • Tracey 7.1.1.5.1.1

              QED

            • KJT 7.1.1.5.1.2

              In other words, if people around the world really knew the long term effect of FTA’s, and the TPPA in particular, they would inconveniently throw out any Government that supports FTA’s.

              Same as if National were honest and told us how their policies were going to affect the majority of us, they would be as unpopular as ACT, who have the same intentions but are honest about them.

            • vto 7.1.1.5.1.3

              The supposed blindness of those opposed to trade deals compared to the proven blindness of those in support of trade deals.

              It must be remembered that these trade deals form part of the great neoliberal paradigm….. a paradigm which has now been proved to have very limited application…. a paradigm which failed at Pike River, failed with supply of housing (housing crisis), failed with construction of housing (leaky homes), failed with financial markets (GFC)……..

              …. yet still the usual suspects blindly adhere to its failed ideology. Lest they lose face eh Wayne, lest you lose face …

              generational change is what is required – at least in the National Party. Eh Wayne.

              • Tracey

                And Wayne only ever essentially says “Trust the negotiators” when asked about details which concern people…

                It is VERY hard to trust a government with a litany of mistruths or half truths such as this one…

                Why only a couple of weeks ago it turned out they had completely stuffed up a free convention centre to rival to worlds…

        • Tracey 7.1.1.6

          🙄

        • Lloyd 7.1.1.7

          Actually when you explain the detail of the TPPA to the ‘middle-of-the -road’ ‘man-in-the-street’ they are usually strongly opposed to it. Only the far-right zealots choose to ignore the problems and keep on reciting the free-trade mantras.

          There is no centre-right remaining in the present government as far as I can see. The whole shooting match is a neo-liberal lets-sell-it-all-off cabal. There is a large group of ‘middle-of’the-roaders’ who are just beginning to see that the present occupants of the government benches would be better dressed in black-shirt than blue suits. Once this realisation fully sinks in the Nats will face a bleak few years in parliament.

    • millsy 7.2

      Why do you think it is acceptable for corporates to sue governments?

    • KJT 7.3

      Now you are telling us that South Korea is as undemocratic as New Zealand.

      A Government that does what it likes, when it is against not only the wishes of the public, but also against their best interests, is called a dictatorship.

      • Tracey 7.3.1

        I f you read Waynes last few posts on TPP it is essentially the same mantra never addressing the actual opposition from people. The threat to sovereign law making and taxpayers being blackmailed by corporates… most of whom will never pay tax here.

        anyone who bothers to read jane kelsey knows her issue is not with trade at all but with closed tribunals, stacked with corp chosen lawyers deciding if govts shld compensate companies cos nations put health before profit.

        • Tautoko Mangō Mata 7.3.1.1

          Agree, Tracey.
          Answer this, please Wayne. Do you honestly think that NZ should sign up to a TPPA which contains an ISDS? Can you not see the fishhooks when there are the
          Canadian examples of Lone Pine/Quebec fracking moratorium,
          Eli Lilly/patents invalidated plus the
          Philip Morris Hong Kong/Australia plain tobacco packaging.
          Also
          “Swedish company Vattenfall is suing Germany for billions in future lost profits due to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s proclamation that after the horrors of Fukushima, Germany no longer supports nuclear energy development, as Der Spiegel International reports. Unfortunately, that decision is apparently not up to the German government and people. Vattenfall believes its future profits come first, and if Germany goes non-nuclear, Vattenfall and presumably others must be paid off based on the inclusion of ISDS as part of trade policy within the European Union.

          There are 500 similar cases of corporate state vs. nation state currently pending in every continent, based on almost every trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement. Veolia, the giant French-based transportation company, is suing Egypt for raising its minimum wage, which would mean higher pay for workers at the Alexandria bus company it owns and thus lower profits. ”
          http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-cohen/report-from-berlin-global_1_b_5588169.html

          What makes you think that we should have confidence in our Government’s negotiating skills when we have the current debacle of the Sky City Conference Centre as an example of its incompetence?

  8. Lloyd 8

    The main argument used by multi-national pharmaceutical companies for justifying their huge drug costs is that they need the money for research to find new drugs. Recent reports show the amount big US drug companies spend on advertising their products is vastly bigger than what they spend on research. Basically the drug companies do not need the big profits to fund research, They are wasting what they get on funding conventions and other perks for GPs in the US. Pharmac pays what is more than reasonable for the drugs selected, and the rest of the world needs to be told the truth.

    Any degrading of Pharmac a result of the TPPA will cause deaths among sick New Zealanders. If you wave a gun around and threaten to kill New Zealanders you will be labelled a terrorist and donkey will get the boys in uniform to take you out. Threaten to kill New Zealanders by increasing essential drug prices? Donkey will polish up the government BMWs to escort you around town to a shiny convention centre,

    New Zealand should be selling the Pharmac model as a condition of entry to all the other potential member states in the agreement, Anything else would be a criminal act against the people of New Zealand. Spreading the Parmac model would be an action that would do far more as foreign aid than sending a bunch of guys to Iraq to show the Iraq army how to stand up straight.

    • Tracey 8.1

      Exactly. Pharmac works precisely because of the model it is based on and it is a model, like ACC, which is an anathema to governments (read corporate donors) like the USA.

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    7 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
    8 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
    8 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
    9 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
    10 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
    12 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
    24 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days 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
    6 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
    8 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
    8 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
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
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