Broken principles and broken windows

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 pm, September 5th, 2010 - 48 comments
Categories: class war, jobs - Tags: , , ,

Compare two situations:

People put money into a finance company after dozens have collapsed. They know that high interest equals high risk. They know SCF is shaky as hell. It goes belly up and…. government pay-outs for all of them. Including the interest! Including non-residents who aren’t covered by the rules! No questions of whether SCF met the terms of its guarantee. No worries about ‘moral dilemma’ of letting people gamble with all the risk on the taxpayer.

People whose houses and property were damaged in Christchurch but don’t have insurance get the cold shoulder from the government. Key says “Ultimately if you don’t have insurance and you don’t fit in the category of real hardship, then there’s no question there will be a cost,” Reckons he’s worried about “moral dilemma”. Doesn’t want to make not having insurance risk-free for home owners. But risk-free investing underwritten by the taxpayer is fine, eh?

Rich investor and you put your money in a dodgy finance company? Did the company collapse? You get your money back. No questions.

Lost your job thanks to this endless recession? Couldn’t afford insurance? Property damaged in the quake? Key says you can get stuffed.

The rich get taxpayer-backed insurance for their savings. The workers don’t for their houses.

It’s called class war.

One more thing. Key reckons the rebuilding will be a “be tremendous stimulus”. Says it’s a “great irony” that jobless workers in Christchurch might get work in the rebuilding. Nah, you pillock, it’s called the broken windows fallacy. Working to rebuild what you lost is no gain. Not a substitute for real stimulus.

48 comments on “Broken principles and broken windows ”

  1. So, this broken windows fallacy.

    Does it apply if the money will be paid by local insurance companies who have reinsured with overseas companies? (Which I am assuming is the case.)

    Doesn’t this mean that we (New Zealand) are receiving money from overseas that we otherwise would not have got and that this transfer therefore does have some stimulus effect?

    (Of course, if the actuaries have done their jobs correctly I guess we have paid for it, with a profit margin, in our insurance premiums transferred to those very same reinsurers.)

    • Marty G 1.1

      ha, zet’s right. working to replace a loss is not a gain in wealth. In fact, it means that resources are expended that otherwise could have been used to gain wealth. Think about it. If this was a great economic event and there’s been no loss of human life, we would be celebrating, wouldn’t we? But we’re not because we’re going to have to spend so much time rebuilding, diverting resources from stuff we would rather be doing.

      Sure, there will be jobs created in the short-term but what’s happened is the loss of a couple of billion in capital in physical damage and the conversion of a couple of billion of EQC capital into present spending.

      • Yes, but if the person paying for the window to be fixed is overseas, how does that change things? In that case the money is coming from out of our economy and means that New Zealand is receiving money that would otherwise have gone to the shareholders in France as profit.

        Of course, to analyse properly, you’d have to have a good idea of where the insurance money was coming from and the domestic/foreign split.

      • KJT 1.1.2

        If the resources would otherwise go to profits in overseas insurance companies then you could say it is a gain in wealth.

    • Ari 1.2

      If you have a window and it breaks, and someone else offers to pay to fix it, you haven’t gained the money they gave you to fix it. You’ve broken even because you’re spending it to replace lost assets. Foreign insurance companies don’t even account for that, as you’ve had to pay them previously for the privilege, so you’re actually out of pocket for the deal unless they somehow overpay you.

  2. RedLogix 2

    Nail head hit Zet.

    In the normal course of events Key might have a point; after all it’s kinda galling for sane responsible folk who’ve paid their own insurance, to see their taxes spent on bailing out those who have chosen not to.

    But set in the context of the SCF bailout, and impact of the recession, the hypocrisy is laid bare. Moreover Key has let the mask slip badly here.

    As Warren Buffet famously put it, ‘it’s class warfare alright, and my class is winning’.

    • Rex Widerstrom 2.1

      Nail hit too RL. It’s like these reckless shits who drive around uninsured and with no asset backing and then leave other people holding the bill… not to be encouraged. But that argument, perfectly valid in its own right, kinda falls flat when you’re happy to have your mates recklessly drive a company into a metaphorical power pole, only to have everyone else pay to tow it off and panelbeat it.

  3. Macro 3

    What about the rural community hit by extreme weather (flood, drought, etc)? Minister of Ag on the spot to fork out relief packages aplenty! Another of what’s good for some – not for others.

    • KJT 3.1

      Yeah always thought that was funny. There with bells on for cockies. Not that I think we should not be! But! No help for the drainlayer in Whangarei who went bust after a winter of solid rain.

  4. Anne 4

    Didn’t Bill English and John Key decry Labour – both before and after the election – about Labour’s policy to create a stimulus package as a means of overcoming the worst effects of the recession? Smile and Wave has had a change of heart then?

  5. Puddleglum 5

    As Minister of Tourism I would have expected John Key to factor in the loss to Christchurch’s heritage in any ‘accounting’ of the benefits of fixing these particular ‘broken windows’ – and perhaps supporting the strengthening of what remains of the city’s older buildings (not to mention those of other cities).

    That work would provide a rather less ‘ironic’ stimulus. (The phrase ‘great irony’ may actually show that Key has some dim awareness of the fallacy he is hawking to the public.)

    • bbfloyd 5.1

      that awareness isn’t dim….. he knows full well what he’s saying..and how honest it isn’t..

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1

        Yep, even in the limited economics training he got at uni as part of his business degree he would have been introduced to the Broken Windows Fallacy.

  6. illuminatedtiger 6

    Not sure if this is entirely on topic but did anyone notice how Key could only talk about swimming pools when interviewed by John Campbell last night? Is this seriously all our Prime Minister thinks about. Does this man know what a typical Kiwi home looks like?

    • Marty G 6.1

      “Does this man know what a typical Kiwi home looks like?” -No.

      • joe bloggs 6.1.1

        Liar. Dissembler. There has been no end of publicity about JK’s beginnings:

        I was raised, along with my sisters, in a state house in Christchurch. Back then I thought I was poor and, by most standards we were.

        John Key: Valuing Families
        Speech to the Family First New Zealand Forum on the Family
        08 September 2008

        He goes on to say in the next breath

        “As I grew up, though, I recognised that what my mother gave to my sisters and I was far more valuable than money. She instilled in us the desire to improve ourselves by our own hard work, the confidence that we were able to do it, and the hope that it was possible to do so. She instilled in me an ethic of hard work and determination and a genuine belief that “you get out of life what you put into it”.

        Evidently the politics of envy plays a central role in YOUR belief system Marty.

        • prism 6.1.1.1

          joe bloggs – Sounds like a quote from John Key’s personal PR manager. It makes its three points which are a well-known effective speechifying strategem. It sounds very preachy, it would be peachy though, if all one had to do to become a millionaire or just a success was to follow his mother’s approach. It sounds a good approach but it needs to include having consideration for others and not measuring yourself or them firstly by the value of financial assets.

        • Puddleglum 6.1.1.2

          It’s all about what comes to mind, joe bloggs. And, what comes to mind is usually determined by recent, adult experiences rather than what happened in your childhood.

          I, too, was raised in a state house in Christchurch and, before that, a migrant’s hostel in Australia and, before that, post WWII prefabricated housing for the working class in England. But I became educated and have spent most of my adult life around educated people. I still find myself assuming that people know things that I just take as ‘general knowledge’ – but most don’t. That is, I don’t relate to other people’s likely experience of ‘general knowledge’ based on my childhood experiences of people’s knowledge but on the experiences I’ve had for the last few decades.

          Similarly, I imagine that hearing about swimming pools, spa pools, or whatever, was salient for Key because of HIS last few decades of experience around wealthier people. Naturally enough, that’s probably how he could empathise/ understand what was going on – by its effects on upper middle class New Zealand. Not by its effects on the lives of the less wealthy.

          More charitably, perhaps he thought he was basically talking to relatively wealthy Aucklanders on John Campbell’s programme and that’s how he thought he could best get the sense of the event across to those people. Who knows? What’s for sure is that swimming pools aren’t a priority for most Christchurch citizens at the moment and so such comments won’t resonate with them.

          To be honest, I don’t think this is just a failing of Key’s. There are tens of thousands of people in Christchurch who have no idea of the daily experience of even more tens of thousands of their co-citizens. I think it’s that basic ignorance that allows some New Zealanders to say things like “there are no classes in New Zealand” and other ridiculous claims.

          One of the (predictable) tragedies is that it was the eastern (lower SES) suburbs that were hit worst because of the liquefaction and general instability of the ground their houses were built on. As cities grow, typically, cheaper housing gets developed on less ‘prime’ more marginal land. Apparently there’s a recent Bexley development (an eastern suburb) that has had major damage to the foundations of most of the houses in it. Still, I guess the developer did his or her bit to boosting GDP at the time the development went ahead. Now it can be boosted again by fixing it up (or trashing it).

  7. Tigger 7

    Key is praying for a hurricane, tsunami and a couple of major fires to hit various parts of the country. Heck, if Rangitoto erupts he’ll likely wet himself in delight. He is revolting.

  8. vto 8

    Your parable may have some relevance in normal conditions however here in Canterbury at this stage of the depression (will everyone stop calling it a recession please) the influx of money is indeed a silver lining.

    People I know in the construction industry who were looking down the barrel of empty work orders are now full to over-flowing. This provides income to people wo would not otherwise have had it.

    So, fine parable and maybe it is correct in the final outcome in that people may not have new shoes, and instead have repaired windows, but it will drastically improve the incomes in Canterbury in a situation where things were dire.

    Save the parable for when all else is equal.

    • Marty G 8.1

      The country is worse off, you can’t get around that. Ultimately, we end up with $2 billion less in our national savings that has been spent replacing $2 billion of physical damage.

      Yes the rebuild will contribute to GDP but that just shows the flaws in GDP as a measure of human welfare. Anyway, the loss of ordinary business activity may offset that.

      Remember, if the broken windows fallacy doesn’t apply then it stands to reason that you should be going around damaging more buildings to create more stimulus.

      • Pascal's bookie 8.1.1

        “The country is worse off, you can’t get around that.”

        Undeniably true. There was a big fucking earthquake that wrecked a bunch of shit.

        But what’s also true is that there is an increase in aggregate demand that will be filled by using labour and capital that previously couldn’t find anything particularly productive to do.

        The source of that increase in demand is, in a sense, irrelevant. The work created is undeniably productive. It’s not nothing. Sure, it’s rebuilding assets that were lost, but so what?

        “should be going around damaging more buildings to create more stimulus.”

        Not really, because no one is saying that the damage is good thing. They are saying that fixing broken shit is work. It’s more like saying that a govt should soak up ‘excess’ labour in a depression by fixing up run down infrastructure. Would you respond to someone who suggested that by saying that they ‘may as well go around blowing up bridges?’

        I’m not saying that fallacy isn’t real, just that it’s not entirely convincing or always appropriate.

        I’m pretty sure the folks getting paid, and their families, and the people they buy goods and services off, would agree. If that offends libertarians, econowonks, and people who think an economy is a race to build the biggest pile of shit, fuck them.

        People that didn’t ahve work, are gonna have good productive work. And it’s going to be paid for with funds that otherwise would have been sitting in investments waiting for just such an occurance.

        • Loota 8.1.1.1

          But what’s also true is that there is an increase in aggregate demand that will be filled by using labour and capital that previously couldn’t find anything particularly productive to do.

          The source of that increase in demand is, in a sense, irrelevant. The work created is undeniably productive. It’s not nothing. Sure, it’s rebuilding assets that were lost, but so what?

          This is exactly why major powers love wars.

          Nothing gets the economy going like a good bash-bam.

          All things considered however, NZ should already have been spending that $2B developing new science and industry.

          That’s what I call stimulus.

          This, this is just spending to stand still. Pays some bills for some contractors, great, but don’t see it as being much more than that.

  9. Jenny 9

    .
    ZETETIC:

    Key reckons the rebuilding will be a “be tremendous stimulus”. Says it’s a “great irony” that jobless workers in Christchurch might get work in the rebuilding. Nah, you pillock, it’s called the broken windows fallacy. Working to rebuild what you lost is no gain. Not a substitute for real stimulus.

    In his essay the ‘Beware! the end is nigh! Grant Morgan explains that the ‘growth gene’ is deep in the DNA of capitalism.

    Without continual growth capitalism cannot exist.

    This means, that when capitalism is up against any limits to endless growth, like recessions or depressions – Capitalists Welcome Destruction.

    In a recession capitalists like Key see natural disasters, (or wars for that matter) as a good thing.

    UNITY: ‘Beware! The end is nigh!’

    Capitalism’s growth gene has spurred a reckless looting and spoilage of nature, particularly since the invention of the oil well drill 150 years ago. …

    Morgan’s claim of an endless need for growth and expansion also explains capitalism’s shift to financialisation in the ’80s and ’90s, (ending in the present financial collapse), occurred because the real economy could no longer generate sufficient profits to sate capitalism’s growth gene.

    • prism 9.1

      Wikipedia info on who Grant Morgan is –
      Grant Morgan is a political activist from Auckland, New Zealand.
      Morgan is a leading member of Socialist Worker (Aotearoa), and the chairperson of the Residents Action Movement. He was also the first Secretary of the Solidarity Union, and the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of New Zealand.

      And Gareth Morgan is NZ financier. Just for those who like me don’t know who’s who about all.

  10. nadis 10

    It’s not a black and white as you’d think.

    GDP = C +G +I +(Ex-Imp)

    In the aftermath of the earthquake you’ll see C , G and I all increase plus the multiplier effect as money circulates, so in GDP terms it is likely there will be an increase in measured activity (yes i know GDP is a flawed measure that doesnt take account of all externalities). The argument is no different to calls for stimulus on the back of the GFC induced recession. Exactly the same logic but on the back of the earthquake, any spending (stimulus) will be far better targeted – good for employees,small business, big business. And afterwards you have (hopefully) better quality infrastructure than when you started so there will also be a productivity gain (one of the externalities ignored by the broken window fallacy).

    The problem with invoking the broken windows fallacy is that it makes more sense in micro-economic terms than macro as it ignores a lot of external costs and benefits.

    It actually would be a good thing to go around breaking windows to promote GDP growth – as long as you stopped when you had spent the savings you had put away for the rainy day, and provided you were installing fancy new improved windows that allow businesses and investors to be more efficient in the future. After that point though, it doesn’t make sense to continue breaking windows.

    And tell the the tradesman in a small business who previously had no forward work who now has 12 months of work that “it’s not real activity”.

    The real issue here (which I don’t disagree with) is the inequity of treatment you point out between SCF investors and uninsured homeowners. The initial guarantee scheme was flawed, the extension was flawed, neither should have have extended beyond banks and building societies. So no argument that the SCF bailout was a joke. But equally no argument that if you are uninsured you are stupid. NZ is earthquake prone.

    • Lanthanide 10.1

      “And afterwards you have (hopefully) better quality infrastructure than when you started so there will also be a productivity gain (one of the externalities ignored by the broken window fallacy).”

      I don’t deny that in general that could be an outcome, but I don’t see it as particularly being the case here. Most of the damage is to chimneys and inner city brick buildings. These aren’t ‘productive’ assets anyway, so replacing them with new ones isn’t going to increase productivity. Ok so the new buildings might have new, more efficient heating and lighting, but that’s about it, and the number of buildings affected is so small that it would count as a rounding error and nothing more.

    • Bright Red 10.2

      “It actually would be a good thing to go around breaking windows to promote GDP growth – as long as you stopped when you had spent the savings you had put away for the rainy day, and provided you were installing fancy new improved windows that allow businesses and investors to be more efficient in the future.”

      No, it would be good providing you had nothing better to expend your resources on than replacing windows with better windows.

      I think we can agree that being forced to replace infrastructure that was working perfectly well with more modern infrastructure is not a good thing when it diverts resources from elsewhere or, at the very least, leaves our national accounts $2 billion worse off.

      And you’re ignoring the fact that going around breaking windows would prevent those buildings being used efficiently until the windows are replaced. The same is true of the earthquake – yes, there will be economic activity replacing damaged infrastructure but a whole lot of ordinary economic activity (which is presumably more optimal in normal times) will be disrupted for months.

  11. F.Y 11

    It may also be more profitable not to rebuild and instead demolish damaged buildings, using the sites of less profitable dwellings for better use or bank their value as bare land. Key isn’t really thinking straight. That’s pretty clear, he’s just making something bad look good for him. Luckily, no one will pull him up on it. And 98% of voters won’t even notice. Being busy is an integral part of NZ culture. Doesn’t matter if you’re picking the nose off your face as long as you can say you’re busy over a beer later.

  12. Bill 12

    At least the reconstruction of infrastructure will be useful and might have the added benefit of making up for any shortfalls that might have been occurring vis a vis maintenance.

    And repairing ‘broken windows’ is a lot more desirable and possibly rewarding for workers that the mind numbing tedium that defines far too much utterly pointless employment that is undertaken for absolutely no good reason and that constitutes a total waste of resources (both human and material).

    Actually, talking of princilples and things that get broken, there would seem to be an argument for breaking a whole heap of windows, not repairing them and concentrating on repairing the humanity that has been crushed and diminished by the imposition of utterly unrewarding and soul destroying ‘gainful’ employment.

    Now wouldn’t that be novel? To see a social initiative that encouraged people to realise their human potential rather than insisting that they become enthralled by their earning potential or lack thereof and summarily judged by that same sole criteria?

  13. zimmer 13

    Yet deciples at this site are happy for us to be taxed billions for CO2 emissions when the earth is not getting any warmer.

    No insurance should mean no payout, whats the point of insurance then? SCF was covered by a scheme, I have a problem with it but they were covered.
    Sometimes people have to learn the hard way and not rely on the tax payer as much for income as they could not be bothered getting it in the first place. This is called being responsible. Like getting a car and ramming a new BMW with no insurance, plain dumb. Insurance is cheap for a house & contents, $10-15/wk, that is all. So don’t cry if you are not insured. Just rent.
    Last week you were saying the Greens had a plan, build state houses, but to rebuild houses in Chch is different? Labour/Greens good, National bad.
    Class war my arse, just a little game going on in your deluded head. I bet a few employers will lose their shirt over this EQ as well, especially un-insured or under insured. Dumb arse Unite Union upset some workers may not get paid, well how can an employer pay when he has lost a revenue stream? The worker & boss will suffer together. That what happens in disasters.

    • F.Y 13.1

      You tell us that not be insured is dumb, and not to cry for the victims, then tell us some employers will be left with nothing because of no insurance and that’s a shame? Class war, yep, you’re part of it, pushing “the employer is better” end. And just to upset your silly little world, renters need insurance too. Landlords insurance doesn’t cover the tenants belongings or the property in some situations. But why should facts upset those who also think landlords are owed? Carry on with your class war, it only demonstrates your ignorance.

    • prism 13.2

      Hey zimmer you say
      Yet deciples at this site are happy for us to be taxed billions for CO2 emissions when the earth is not getting any warmer.
      It will be good for you to keep writing to this site as the informed people who gather here will play along with your search for the truth and as you fumble around, let you know when you’re getting warmer! You may actually learn about the earth too. But it looks as if you’ll have a big job. Well kia kaha.

      • Craig Glen Eden 13.2.1

        Zimmer Building Additional homes is a stimulus, rebuilding damaged homes does not create a extra building. It simply gets the owner back to the pre earth quake state. If you had been following what people are saying in their posts and you are not biased you can clearly see their point that this will increase the building sector activity and spend, but it is not the same as additional stimulus spending.It is your leader Smile and Wave who is trying to have it both ways.

        Labour said to stimulate National said not to, now Key says the increase in building activity will be good. The only people who are Flip flopping is Key.

        ANTI -spam word caught

    • Bright Red 13.3

      the world is getting warmer: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2010july/

      “So don’t cry if you are not insured. Just rent.”

      Did you opose the SCF bail-out too? Just want consistancy here.

      “Last week you were saying the Greens had a plan, build state houses, but to rebuild houses in Chch is different? Labour/Greens good, National bad.”

      I don’t think anyone is against rebuilding Chch.

    • Armchair Critic 13.4

      zimmer – in response to your “insurance analogy”:
      Most insurance companies put significant effort into making sure claims are strictly in terms of the policy, and will try to find any excuse not to pay out. Once they accept a claim, they pay out as little as they possibly can. The unseemly haste with which National used taxpayer’s money to pay out SCF’s creditors, and the percentage the paid out, is quite unlike what an insurance company would or should have done.
      There is plenty of water to pass under the bridge with SCF.

    • Draco T Bastard 13.5

      Yet deciples at this site are happy for us to be taxed billions for CO2 emissions when the earth is not getting any warmer.

      Actually, it’s the NACT people who think everyone should be taxed billions to pay for their pollution. Oh, and the Earth has just had another record warm year which is fairly irrefutable proof that it is getting warmer.

      SCF was covered by a scheme, I have a problem with it but they were covered.

      Actually, indications are that SCF had broken the terms of the cover and, therefore, weren’t covered.

      Sometimes people have to learn the hard way and not rely on the tax payer as much for income as they could not be bothered getting it in the first place. This is called being responsible.

      The people working 40+ hours a week and still not having enough to live on are being responsible. The people who aren’t are the people who think that paying a living wage is paying too much. People such as Jonkey.

      Class war my arse, just a little game going on in your deluded head.

      Not delusion, NACT really are working to lower the incomes of at least 95% of the population. You know, the people not in their class. This is seen by their removal of workers rights, their reluctance to increase the minimum wage, their removal of democracy in Canterbury and Auckland and their gift of $1.8b to their rich mates in SFC.

    • Vicky32 13.6

      I’d like to point out zimmer-frame, that UB for a single person is $194.00 a week – $15.00 a week for insurance = $179.00. Unaffordable.

  14. So many great points Zet.
    I wonder if any of them will be raised by the ‘Opposition’.

  15. Kleefer 15

    Zetetic, you so nearly hit the nail on the head that I grunted in frustration when you said “real stimulus”. Read Henry Hazlitt’s book Economics in one Lesson and you’ll understand that all government “stimulus” falls prey to the broken window fallacy. However thank you for pointing out Mr Key’s stupidity, it’s up there with Judith “Crusher” Collins touting the economic benefits to a region of having a $1.2 billion prison. Goes to show right-wingers are often just as economically illiterate as left-wingers. They all need to read some Austrian economics and understand how the economy actually works.

  16. Billy the Fish 16

    Interesting comparing the comments by two senior economic analysts (mass paraphrasing)

    ANZ Analsysis – This will stimulate the economy and lead to good things

    Westpac Analysis – Be careful on looking on this as a stimulus – Broken Windows Fallacy

    Looking at moving my account to the W bank as the dude there talks much sense and seems to understand economics 101

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    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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    4 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
    4 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
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    21 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
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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