Cancer patients and punitive policies

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, October 14th, 2015 - 73 comments
Categories: class war, health, national, welfare - Tags: , , ,

As is being well covered in the news this morning:

Jobseeker benefit for cancer patients ‘ludicrous’

Hundreds of cancer patients are being placed on the Jobseeker benefit while they are getting treatment.

The Cancer Society calls the system ludicrous and says it forces people with the disease to jump through hoops to pay their bills.

One woman, who does not want to be identified, applied for a benefit when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was put on Jobseeker Support, which replaced the sickness benefit after the 2013 welfare reforms. She said she had to pay for a medical certificate every month to prove she could not work – even though her surgeon insisted she would be off for much longer.

“The letter from the hospital wasn’t sufficient. I then had to go back and get a doctor’s note to keep them happy, just to prove the fact that I was going in for surgery,” she said.”Then I also had to, on the day of my surgery, get someone from the hospital to fax through that I had been operated on.”

Cancer Society chief executive Claire Austin said the woman’s story was common, and the system lacked common sense and sensitivity. She said many cancer patients had never been on a benefit before, and deserved help while they were going through an extremely tough time. “The situation really is ludicrous. We’ve got people who are already in work, who are unable to work because they are either sick and have to go through treatment, or have surgery. “They have to then apply for a benefit, which is a benefit that requires them… to be available to work.” …

Crazy. So what does the Minister have to say?

Minister of Social Development Anne Tolley admitted that having to provide monthly medical certificates in the early stages of cancer was difficult, but said the government had to draw a line somewhere.

She said cancer patients could not expect special treatment, because then everyone would want it.

Compassionate conservatism in action.

Anyone my age has seen the impact of cancer on people they know (some have been unfortunate enough to experience it themselves). It is ludicrous to put people dealing with a major illness through punitive hoops and pretend that they are fit for work. We need a welfare system that acknowledges the realities of cancer and other major medical conditions. That isn’t “special treatment”, it is basic human decency.


73 comments on “Cancer patients and punitive policies ”

  1. mary_a 1

    “Minister of Social Development Anne Tolley admitted that having to provide monthly medical certificates in the early stages of cancer was difficult, but said the government had to draw a line somewhere.”

    How about drawing the line on politicians perks etc? That’s a good place to begin drawing lines!

    Leave cancer patients alone. They already have enough to cope with to get by each day.

    This whole issue is disgraceful!

    Shame on the minister!

    Shame on this very poor excuse for a government!

  2. Aaron 2

    I know of a women who’s husband died when she was aged 64 years and 11 months. He was their only source of income and she had to go on the Jobseekers benefit for one month.

    During this time she was forced to go to pointless seminars about how to look for work or write a CV and then, at the end of the month she then went onto the pension.

    They’ve set the system up so that the staff are not allowed to use their judgement but just have to follow pre determined rules. Presumably this is because they kept feeling compassion toward some of the people they were dealing with and may even been trying to make their circumstances a bit more bearable – which obviously is not part of this government’s plan.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      +1

      Yep, understanding and compassion costs and thus prevents National from cutting taxes for the rich.

      It’s interesting. National and the RWNJs are always telling us that one size doesn’t fit all and then, once in power, they turn round and force everybody into the same straitjacket.

      • Grindlebottom 2.1.1

        Agree. It’s not just cancer patients. From my knowledge of three unfortunates who’ve been on Jobseeker Support for periods of up to 12 months they’ve all been subjected to pointless interviews, petty inhumanities & psychological as well as financial insecurity & stresses that could only make sense to someone who’s never needed Jobseeker Support.

        While I believe there are Work & Income staff who hate implementing these punitive policies, they have no choice, and the potential is there for more individuals to be stressed to breaking point. No wonder security measures are needed in W&I offices.

    • seeker 2.2

      @Aaron@11.25am

      And yet Anne Tolley said in the Herald article “Prove you have cancer” :

      “We’re not going to start pulling apart what was redesigned as a pretty simple system, NOT FOR US but for people accessing it.” !!!!???

      Unbelievable……… paula rebstock worth every cent to the national ‘no idea what worthy government actually is’ government.

      I shudder to think what ‘simple system’ our poor children are going to get when $2000 a day paula r., darling of the unworthy, gets going on CYFS

  3. shorts 3

    why does the govt have to draw a line?

    Would it be too much for a reporter to ask that question – the answer would I feel show the heartlessness of (this) govt towards its charges

  4. Olwyn 4

    The willingness to actually address this kind of brutality presents a test as to whether we actually have a meaningful left in this country, or even a robust conception of human rights. Moreover, Paula Rebstock, currently being paid $2,000 a day to come up with further cuts and ways of framing them, was one of the authors of this treatment.

    It looks very much as if the sick, the poor and the landless are being forced to pay the price for the middle class to stay middle class and the rich to stay rich in this country – it is targeted austerity by stealth. Tolley’s feeling free to say that cancer patients cannot expect special treatment or everyone will want it says a lot about attitudes that are now seen as publicly acceptable. And Paula Rebstock continues to collect a fortune for sorting out more austerity targets. Where is our outrage? And how much worse must things get before we find it?

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      +1

      Yes, NZ has become cheap and nasty over the last thirty years.

      • savenz 4.1.1

        Actually it is more our government and media being cheap and nasty. If you look at Campbell Live how many Kiwis donated for good causes. The right want everyone to believe that the public are not decent and generous but that is not true.

  5. mickysavage 5

    It is not that complex. If you are being treated for certain types of cancer you should be exempt from the requirement to seek work.

    If individuals want to seek early return to work through consultation with their doctor and family good on them. It should not be compulsory though.

    • dukeofurl 5.1

      Exactly, Im sure some patients are sick of seeing doctors for their condition and now they have see them some more.

      Can you imagine having an interview about a possible job, and saying Im being treated for cancer and will need days off ! An existing job may be ok, but small chance an employer will take on someone new

    • weka 5.2

      “It is not that complex. If you are being treated for certain types of cancer you should be exempt from the requirement to seek work.”

      I’m not sure if that’s the way to do it micky. Probably easier and better for ill people is for WINZ to work off the recommendation of the doctor. Let the doctor say this person has x condition (be it cancer or something else), and they need x months exemption from job seeking. That way the individual’s needs and circumstances are taken into account.

      Someone who knows more about various cancers can comment on whether you can exempt by category easily (as oppose to individual situation).

      • Craig H 5.2.1

        Agreed – doctors and surgeons know more than public servants do (me included), and should be trusted.

  6. One Anonymous Bloke 6

    The nasty party.

  7. McFlock 7

    No, it’s not a “complex” situation.

    It’s pretty fucking simple. We’re not talking about cancer “survivirs” yet – they’re receiving treatment and still don’t know whether they’ll survive or not. And you know what? An “early gradual return to work” might be the best thing <after treatment. But not during or before treatment. But I’m sure the cancer society thanks you for your concern.

  8. McFlock 8

    She said cancer patients could not expect special treatment, because then everyone would want it.

    Seems to be their attitude to the health sector in general…

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1

      The only people who are entitled to special treatment under National are the rich and multi-national corporations who get tax cuts and huge subsidies while the rest of us get shafted.

  9. Rosemary McDonald 9

    “… it is basic human decency.”

    That’s MIA, IMHO.

    Projected scenario.

    MSD will”acknowledge there’s a problem here.” and fund the (now) vocal Cancer Society to act as facilitators for cancer patients needing to access WINZ.

    Nothing will change….

    …other than the Voluntary Euthanasia Bill will be passed like shit through a goose.

    It’s waay cheaper to give people the choice to end their lives than to create an environment that makes people want to live.

  10. Rosemary McDonald 10

    Great that this is the subject of a post in its own right, but, this is nothing new….some of us have been here for years.

    At best, this is indifference.

    At worst….malice.

    First they came for the disabled….

    And those with long term debilitating medical conditions….

    And those with crippling mental illness.

    Cancer though….has a universal appeal…pushes the right buttons…Givealittle and all that.

    What is REALLY interesting is why this has floated to the top right now.

    Eh?

    Distraction from what?

  11. Michael 11

    The current law does provide for exemption from jobseeker requirements for people with a range of circumstances, including sickness. However, the policies that are supposed to “guide” decision-makers (in practice, “dictate”) exercising their discretionary powers to exempt people are highly prescriptive and directed towards non-exemption, compliance and sanction. The underlying premise is eugenic: “work for those who can, (slow) death for those who cannot”. That way, the stock is maintained at optimum value as a capital input.

    • Rosemary McDonald 11.1

      “The underlying premise is eugenic: “work for those who can, (slow) death for those who cannot”. That way, the stock is maintained at optimum value as a capital input.”

      ….and I thought I was terminally cynical.

      • Michael 11.1.1

        Even if you are terminally cynically, you won’t be excused from running the full bureaucratic gauntlet, over and over again, until you finally trip and fall. That’s the whole point of the exercise.

  12. D'Esterre 12

    “She said cancer patients could not expect special treatment, because then everyone would want it.”

    Stupid, stupid stupid… What was she thinking, saying this? Surely one of her officials would have given her a line to spout that was just a little less callous. Obviously she hasn’t herself had cancer, although given her age, one’d think that she knew at least one other person who’s gone through it.

    What next for government welfare reforms: the return of the workhouse?

    • Michael 12.1

      Their proposed medicolegal assessment regime for permanently and severely disabled people is truly terrifying. The government is currently tweaking the details but it is just a cut and paste job from the UK’s notorious Work Capability Assessment Process (WCAP). of which 80 people a week die soon after being assessed “fit to work” and have their benefits cut accordingly.

  13. Ilicit 13

    Tomorrow, I will be seeking help from Winz. My lung cancer has spread from there to my liver as I was told today.

    I don’t hold much hope that my expenses, outside the hospital, will be met. In fact, my last treatment process cost me $200 in medicines alone, not supplied by the Health system.

    I’m doing my best, on the side, to help educate fellow NZer’s on the failings of Winz.

    The fact is, every time I hear Tolley, she can only talk about job numbers (most of which are bullshit anyway), , those people apparently make up 68,000 or thereabouts (false figures again, depends on who her audience is), but forgets the other (guessing again) 200,000 beneficiaries, of which maybe 80,000 are really really sick.

    She’s totally forgotten them, and me !!

    Sorry, I don’t have the will today to do proper figures, I just know the welfare system has left me down badly and I’m really angry about it, really angry.

    It could well be my “last post”, but the government will never know, nor will they care !!

    • Chooky 13.1

      where are the New Zealand doctors organisations speaking out about this!?

      where are the lawyers?…where is the Human Rights Commission?

      ….this should be going to the United Nations…this government should be being sued!

      …it is one thing for someone with cancer with an existing good job who wants/chooses to continue working

      ….and it is quite another forcing a seriously ill person to go through the stress and worry of going out and hunting for and trying to find a new job!…especially when their living expenses depend upon it

      …does this jonkey nactional government now expect New Zealanders to die in the streets?

      • Michael 13.1.1

        Nearly all lawyers and doctors vote National, while the Human Rights Commission was instructed not to advocate for the victims of ill-treatment by government. The United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a report last year that found 35 instances of government breaches of its obligations under international human rights law. Our government cannot be sued, while the judiciary acts as a backstop for whatever policies benefit the rich and powerful. Middle New Zealand keeps on voting for the government, indicating that it approves brutal treatment of vulnerable people. Finally, Labour offers no alternative to the status quo, judging from its actions when it was in government.

        • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.1

          Finally, Labour offers no alternative to the status quo, judging from its actions when it was in government.

          And now while it’s out of government.

      • Mike the Savage One 13.1.2

        Read this, it tells you all you need to know and understand, about what goes on, among those “well connected” networks:
        https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/how-the-n-z-health-and-disability-commissioner-let-off-a-biased-designated-doctor/

    • northshoredoc 13.2

      I’m concerned that you say that your last treatment cost you $200 in medicines, this shouldn’t be the case.

      You should talk to your treating clinician about alternative medications to those that are costing you this amount.

    • left for deadshark 13.3

      Ilicit, My kind thoughts go out to you, fellow TS commutator.

    • Mike the Savage One 13.4

      You are a hero, a deserving fighter, for expressing what you wrote, hang in there, for the sake of yourself and for others, despite of all trials, I wish you well, may God look after you, I am not a God freak, but at times things give me respect of sorts.

    • Tracey 13.5

      all power to you and yours at time illicit.

  14. Torija 14

    I’ve incurable progressive lung disease, currently under 20% of normal lung function.
    I can’t walk 40 metres on the flat without pausing to recover and one flight of stairs is all I can manage.

    WINZ have me on Job Seekers and refuse me assisted living. In order to maintain job seeking support they require regular medical certificates. This is not in case I might have deteriorated further so that they can offer further assistance. It’s merely to remain on job seeker benefit.

    They are told four times a year by my doctors (with specialist support) that the disease is incurable and progressive. I’m not quite sure what parts of chronic, incurable and progressive they do not understand.

    Eighteen months ago I supplemented the benefit by teaching 8 kids some guitar for 4 hours a week over 14 months. These 4 hours are now used by WINZ to claim that I am fit to seek work.

    Next step workhouses (privatising social services). Dickensian England, here we come.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1

      I’m not quite sure what parts of chronic, incurable and progressive they do not understand.

      They probably understand them perfectly well as individuals. What they lack experience of is Kafkaesque labyrinths like the one they currently work within.

    • Mike the Savage One 14.2

      I feel for you, I really feel sorry reading what you comment.

      Yes, sadly there have been a fair few other stories that I have heard, and most are so discouraged, they dare not fight anymore, of course many cannot, due to sickness and incapacity.

      Advocates are overworked, under-resourced and struggle to offer the help many desperate need.

      At least what the Cancer Society made public today, via Radio NZ National, that seems to be hitting a nerve with some in government. I followed Question Time, and have hardly heard some of the Ministers answer so angrily and tensely, they know that this is harming them.

      The reforms brought in a couple of years ago are inhumane, there is no doubt about it, but while some still get help and reasonable case managers at WINZ, others do not.

      We are still waiting for the whole truth to come out re an incident in Ashburton well over a year ago, the court case seems to be postponed into the endless future time, I wonder why. What have they to hide, the ones at the top levels of MSD and in government??? Locking a man up endlessly, although he may well be the criminal so far portrayed (we leave that to the courts to decide), is denying justice.

      Justice is being denied to many sick, disabled and also simply poor folk, who are struggling to survive on benefits that hardly cover essentials.

      So scream it out here, at least, scream it out, or write and comment, the more the better, as we must hold this government to account for what is going on!

      Take care, and thanks for sharing your pain. I wish you well!

      • Rosemary McDonald 14.2.1

        “scream it out here, at least, scream it out, or write and comment, the more the better, as we must hold this government to account for what is going on!”

        YES YES YES

    • Richard Christie 14.3

      Because my preceeding comment contained personal medical information I attempted to use a pseudonym, Torija, something that I usually avoid, as it is against my nature. But the use of the gravitar has effectively identified me, as clicking on the avatar links to my name. We live and learn. The comment of course, remains truthful.

      [r0b: I can fix the gravitar and delete this comment if you like?]

      • Richard Christie 14.3.1

        Thanks r0b, but don’t bother, what’s done is done.
        I don’t use aliases as a general rule, it’s part of my worldview, less chance you can be damaged by exposure if all is already all out in the open. Others milage may vary.

    • johnm 14.4

      You’re 100% right Torija. What has this once proud decent country come to?

    • Crashcart 14.5

      I hear you on that. My son was born with Spina Bifida. This is a dissability he will have his entire life. He requires ongoing support and care. He will start school next year. 4 times a year we are forced to go to the Dr and get a certificate to confirm that yes he “STILL” has Spina Bifida so that we can get the help required. This extends from Physio, ocupational therapy, other in home support, and a small benefit ($40 a fortnight I believe).

      Of course with him starting school he will need high helth needs support. Can they look through their records to see what his needs are as we have already told them over and over again. No once again it is off to the Dr to get a certificate to certify yes he “STILL” has Spina Bifida and he needs support with the same issues.

  15. r0b 15

    Thank you to those of you who are sharing your personal stories here.

    I have a friend who is fighting with cancer now.

    It could be any of us next.

  16. Tracey 16

    Ruth dyson required people with cerebal palsy to be retested … as though she lnew of a cure that the rest of the world didnt.

    lowest common denominator thinking.

    vulnerable people have less fight in them to go up against bureaucracy

    • Mike the Savage One 16.1

      I guess for her it was “an operational matter”.

      • Tracey 16.1.1

        just sad when politicians can secure their positions by preying on and using the vulnerable.

        some of these folks need to spend a week as a sole carer with no training, just like siblings and parents do.

  17. GregJ 17

    Tolley :

    Pathetic at Police

    Execrable at Education

    Soulless at Social Development.

    National = Compassionless Conservatism. Neo-liberal Nastiness.

  18. Mike the Savage One 18

    NO mention of this topic on the TV news, neither TV3 or TVNZ One, as far as I could see. This is simply stuff that the catered for “middle class” is better not “bothered with”, the program makers must think.

    They have their insurance policies and savings, “hard working” Kiwi partners, they frown on the beneficiary “bludgers”, same as Sean Plunket did on Radio Live this morning (jumping at the opportunity where the odd caller said, I was not treated that badly by WINZ).

    So it continues, those that complain are “riff raff”, not worthy, you are meant to be a “battler”, or “f*** off”.

    More important news are Kiwi cricketers accusing each other of wrongdoings and lying in a UK court, now that really matters, same as the All Blacks getting an audience with The Queen, wow, we are really important.

    • Grindlebottom 18.1

      Yeah. I was wondering if this would get any coverage on either TV news channel seeing it got covered by National Radio and Stuff. Sad it didn’t rate any mention.

      TV news is just a bland blend of a couple of headline items, some overseas and local news snippets, often just trivia, weather, sport and tons of ads. There you go. Nothing to worry about here folks. Eat your dinner. Go back to sleep.

      • Mike the Savage One 18.1.1

        I guess, “television” of the traditional type is now only targeting the over 50 or 55 age range of the population, who are either in semi retirement, or in retirement, and have got their “nest eggs” sorted, so they can relax, lean back and watch the disasters in the world unfold via a big screen, that they bought with their last available “earnings”.

        Fewer and fewer are watching TV, let alone the “news” and most are searching the internet for the quick date for the night, for a one night stand, or for some other “entertainment”, I suppose. There is also Netflix offering something better to watch, and we can also view BBC, Al Jazeera and endless overseas news online, at any time, for those that bother following it.

  19. North 19

    Planet Ponce Key – where the cancer patient is a work-shy bludger !

  20. johnm 20

    This is a direct copy of what’s happening in the U$K, basically if you can move and pick up a box you’re fit to work even with terminal cancer! OK stupid kiwis you voted in this bunch of psychopathic criminals with a personality cult for Shonkey in Chief!

    ” ‘No one should die penniless and alone’: the victims of Britain’s harsh welfare sanctions
    David Clapson was found dead last year after his benefits were stopped on the grounds that he wasn’t taking the search for work seriously. He had an empty stomach, and just £3.44 to his name. Now thousands of other claimants are being left in similarly dire straits by tough new welfare sanctions ”

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/03/victims-britains-harsh-welfare-sanctions

    “”Shameful Britain: terminal cancer patient told to attend work interviews or lose benefits ”

    ” “I have terminal cancer, my prognosis is 0-3 years and I was diagnosed in March 2014 with my brain stem glioma. In April 2014 I was placed in the support group* for 3 years and I have gone from being able-bodied to hopelessly disabled. I have many neurological deficits including diploplia, dyspraxia, dysarthria and dysphagia. To save you googling, this means that I have double vision and am going blind, I’m very clumsy and most days I drop everything I pick up, my speech is failing and one day I won’t be able to communicate verbally at all and I have such difficulty swallowing that I now have a feeding tube. I cannot leave the house alone and I’m at risk of choking and need 24 hour care. They speak of me going into residential care, but they hope to keep me in my own home for as long as possible. The trouble is degenerative, nothing will get better, only worse, the cancer can’t be cured. I’m 37.

    Now. I can deal with all that. I’m alive! And I can still do stuff!! What I cannot deal with is that I am on the work programme! I received this letter today (too late to ring the WP) demanding I attend an appointment with the Work Programme on Tuesday or they’ll stop my benefits. HOW SICK DOES A PERSON HAVE TO BE BEFORE THE HARASSMENT STOPS?” ”
    https://tompride.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/terminal-cancer-patients-now-expected-to-attend-work-interviews-or-lose-welfare-support/

    ” Man With Cancer Told To Give Up Treatment and Join Work Programme To Keep Benefits ”

    ” A Scunthorpe man has received a 40% cut in benefits after he was diagnosed with cancer, leaving him in serious financial distress during his battle with a disease that killed his father and brother. To add insult the injury, the DWP told him that he could return to his previous level of benefits, provided he gave up treatment and complied with the Jobseeker’s programme. ”

    http://www.scriptonitedaily.com/2014/05/02/man-with-cancer-told-to-give-up-treatment-and-join-work-programme-to-keep-benefits/

    • Mike the Savage One 20.1

      The “news” was heavily focused on the “balanced budget” bit, so that is what concerns most, that work, that compete, that run business, and that employ the marginalised slave labour there is. Tax cuts are the next top topic to discuss, by the MSM, which caters only for the “stakeholders” that are baby boomers or comparably well sorted. The rest are “redundant” subjects that deserve no attention. We are back near to medieval times, we are rushing there, that is the truth. Stakeholders rule, the rest are slaves, servants, or “riff raff” “polluting” the streets.

  21. johnm 21

    Ann Tolley: she looks what she is: a cold heartless dried up bitch that gets off on imposing suffering while she rakes in the dough! 🙁 How the hell did NZ ever come to this nightmare? One way was the appeal to individual greed and individualism and aka Thatcher: there’s no such thing as society. Neoliberalism. The new dark age has begun. 🙁 And Labour? Deafening silence!

  22. Tracey 22

    and yet there is money available to double rebstocks pay from great to amazing

  23. North 23

    For me, possessed of core morals without resort to religiosity……this is Grave Sin……premeditatedly abusive, violent, and pointedly destructive……for that way beyond the random, crazed, alcohol/methamphetamine fuelled crime we see on the meanest of streets.

    Meanwhile the ugly soul of Robot Rebstock creams it double purporting to sanitise the pre-ordained purposes of the sociopaths of the National Party. One of and paid by the social rapists, the plunderers. The “Let Them Eat Cake” brigade.

    We’re supposed to respect these bastards and their soldiers ??? No ! Not an ounce of it. They stink beyond contemplation……all the more so for their endlessly vaunted protestations of ‘caring’.

    When karma turns its steely, unforgiving gaze on these criminals my core morals will not be offended. They hubristically court it with exponential departure from common decency.

  24. Ilicit 24

    Thanks folks for your concern but I not one to look for sympathy just because I encounter one of lifes negative challenges, most of us will end up with a different way of dying, I was chosen for cancer.

    An odd philosophy maybe, but we all die eventually, so why argue about how that happens.

    Today I visited Winz for assistance, and yes, I got my immediate needs covered, but the costs of whatever my treatment programme is going to be, I won’t know until Monday.

    Sadly, by the time I get the programme sorted, I will have to fund my travel without money because it may take me a week for a specialist to sign “just another useless form”…..I am so over the process.

    I think the thing that bothered me most about todays visit was that the 4 staff I spoke with had no idea of the story in yesterdays papers about Cancer and Winz, the purpose of this post.

    My career proved that information starts at the top, especially for your own staff.

    Tolley once again shows just how hopeless she truly is !!!

    Worse that Paula Benefit walked away from her policies without a scratch.

    p.s. Thanks Tracey for your passion.

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    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 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
    9 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
    9 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
    10 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
    11 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
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    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
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    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
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 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
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