Cluster f*&k on cluster bombs

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, August 19th, 2016 - 64 comments
Categories: capitalism, International, kiwisaver, national, Politics, same old national, war - Tags: , , ,

Cluster bomb

Julie Anne Genter from the Greens has raised an important issue.  It appears that many Kiwisaver funds have investments in the manufacturers of cluster bombs.

Put to one side the morality of this sort of investment there are also legal issues which cannot be ignored.

Under section 10 of the Cluster Munitions Prohibition Act 2009 a person commits an offence who “provides or invests funds with the intention that the funds be used, or knowing that they are to be used, in the development or production of cluster munitions”.  The potential penalty is a jail term not exceeding 7 years or a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.

There was this fascinating exchange between Genter and Paul Goldsmith in Parliament yesterday about the issue.

Genter managed to Goldsmith to concede that there may be a risk that the Act applies.  There should be panic in the Beehive right now in assessing the implications of this.

So we have this strange situation where there is a law banning investment in the manufacture of these weapons yet there is tacit support by the Government of entities which are investing in the manufacture of cluster bombs.  And now that the news is out there are potentially many ordinary kiwis who now know that further contributions to their Kiwisaver accounts are being used for this purpose and this may arguably mean they are breaking the law by depositing further funds.

And what about the Crown?  It is bound by the Act.  Every time the Crown contributes to someone’s Kiwisaver account who then invests in cluster bomb manufacturers it may be complicit in the breach of the Act.

John Key is relaxed about the situation.

From Radio New Zealand yesterday:

The government is dismissing concerns about some KiwiSaver funds being invested in companies making bombs and mines, with Prime Minister John Key saying it is up to individuals to find out where their money is going.

RNZ revealed today that at least five of the nine default KiwiSaver providers invest in anti-personnel mine and cluster bomb manufacturers, despite it being illegal for government agencies to invest in them themselves.

Hundreds of thousands of KiwiSaver members might be unknowingly investing in those companies, and the Green Party and Amnesty International have called on the government to review default providers that might have investments in these weapons.

But the Prime Minister said it was not a big enough issue to review default providers.

Mr Key said the onus was on each individual investor to find out where their money was going.

“Some KiwiSaver managers will have a different view on those issues, they’ll set the demarcation line in the different place, it just depends on who they are.”

Key may be relaxed on the issue but I suggest that you contact your Kiwisaver provider and ask if they manage any funds that do not invest in cluster bombs and transfer all your savings into those funds. Or find an ethical Kiwisaver provider.  It looks like Kiwibank’s Kiwiwealth scheme may qualify.

64 comments on “Cluster f*&k on cluster bombs ”

  1. Note that even Radio NZ doesn’t even provide people with the context that it’s a crime to invest in cluster munitions. That is a highly necessary part of the story, media! Otherwise the National Party defense actually looks semi-reasonable.

    I’m not exactly steeped in the relevant law, but even I knew that from following the news on negotiations when they were happening in NZ. I would expect that there at least one person in the National Party that’s aware of this fact, and if any of them actually made either Goldsmith or Key aware of that fact, then they are in some legal hot water, as they would have a duty to correct any illegal investments as soon as they are made aware.

    Frankly it’s astounding and untenable that they are running the line that these are moral issues as opposed to legal ones.

    • mickysavage 1.1

      Yep up until yesterday I don’t think it would be a legal problem but now many will know that any further payment they make may end up manufacturing a cluster bomb.

      And this applies also to Crown payments into individual accounts.

      • I think the primary issue is indeed that the government now is obliged to cease payments to those kiwisaver accounts that are known to have invested in cluster munitions. (And technically, any payment made now that Paul Goldsmith is aware of that fact, would make him liable to imprisonment for a significant length of time, and therefore would vacate his seat) I’ll go ahead and assume that the fact that investing in cluster munitions is illegal excuses the government from its obligations to top up those kiwisaver accounts, as a well-constructed law should have made that clear,

        It’s a pretty long road to try and prove that individuals who sign up to or switch to the relevant kiwisaver providers are themselves commiting a crime, (as you have to establish their awareness of the illegal investments) but investigations should immediately be launched into each of the kiwisaver providers by the relevant authorities if the government takes the law seriously, to see if those individuals responsible for investment decisions were made aware that they were investing in cluster munitions, and if not, whether they have withdrawn those investments or at least initiated their own investigations following the revelation that they are investing in cluster munitions.

    • AmaKiwi 1.2

      Justice, National style.

      Piss us off and we’ll turn the authorities on you (Nicky Hager, etc.) and use tax paid prosecutors to financially ruin you. But we always protect our friends in banking, farming, construction, etc., from prosecution.

      The difference between National and a corrupt dictatorship is . . . ?

      • Leftie 1.2.1

        None… there is no difference. National and a corrupt dictatorship are one and the same.

      • I absolutely think you’re right that much of this is about trying to deflect attention from the illegality issue and shield their friends in finance.

        I don’t really expect that they would see this as corruption or perversion of justice, even though it plainly is, as they see such actions as routine in the running of a country, and think the left engages in them as well, regardless of evidence.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.3

      Frankly it’s astounding and untenable that they are running the line that these are moral issues as opposed to legal ones.

      Our laws should support ethical actions and make unethical ones illegal. This seems to be what this law does in making owning shares that manufacture cluster munitions illegal.

      Personally, I think we need a law that prohibits any NZer from owning shares in any business that produces weapons of war and policing, i.e, there’s an exception for weapons used for sporting. People should not be able to make a profit from death.

      • Well, they’re right that not every thing that the public find unethical should be illegal to be invested in, or illegal for government to invest in. But it is fair to single out things like nuclear weapons, tobacco, cluster munitions, etc… as having had a clear moral decision already made by the majority of the public, and that at least the government should not invest in them.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.1

          Why should that which the public consider unethical be allowed to be produced?

          • Matthew Whitehead 1.3.1.1.1

            There’s a line between things that are morally repugnant, like tobacco, and things that are merely a matter of opinion, like say, prostitution, pornography, or gambling. I’m saying that there is a legitimate distinction to be drawn, the government’s just not drawing it in the right place. So their rhetoric is fair, it just doesn’t apply here.

  2. Nessalt 2

    So the greens have done what Labour haven’t managed in almost 9 years. Landed a hit on a government minister in parliament through a well constructed set of questions.

    Well done Julie. Greens really are the major opposition party.

    • Sanctuary 2.1

      Actually they are the junior partner in an accord, but thanks for coming.

      • Nessalt 2.1.1

        Haha “Junior”

        That implies they have some thing to learn from “Senior”

        IF the greens want to learn how to destroy their electoral chances and alienate their wider support base then they should be Junior.

        Labour can’t govern without the greens. at all. the greens have never been in government but have been very effective in opposition. So for them, there is only upside and they can do whatever they like. Labour on the other hand now have to pander to the greens and to their own wider support base. Two things that aren’t perfectly compatible. Given Labours tendency to talk ineffectively out of both sides of it’s mouth on any issue, i’d say that this won’t end well for them come campaign time.

        Move along Sonny.

    • maninthemiddle 2.2

      A ‘hit’? You’re kidding, surely? Did you watch the clip MS posted? Genter is a whiner, and got increasingly frustrated as Goldsmith schooled her on who actually makes these decisions. These funds are ours, not the governments, and certainly not Julie Anne Genter’s. We should be able to choose to invest them in any legal activity we like. If the activity is not legal, then, as Goldsmith explained, there are consequences. As there should be.

      But oh how the melons would LOVE to get their hands on this money!!!

      • George Hendry 2.2.1

        ‘Did you watch the clip MS posted? Genter is a whiner, and got increasingly frustrated as Goldsmith schooled her on who actually makes these decisions’.

        Thank you for your personal attack on Ms Genter, and your description of her alleged emotional state.

        Along with the absence of analysis of any facts, you concede having no point.

        • maninthemiddle 2.2.1.1

          It’s not a personal attack, it’s an informed opinion. The recent revelations of Green MP’s KiwiSaver investments destroy her credibility utterly. I rest my case.

      • Gabby 2.2.2

        She got pissed off at his stonewalling, muginamuddle.

      • mickysavage 2.2.3

        MITM

        Did you read the bit how it is illegal to invest in cluster bomb manufacturers?

        • maninthemiddle 2.2.3.1

          So you claim. I don’t know whether it is or not, but those are decisions for investors and their fund managers, not meddling MP’s.

      • DoublePlusGood 2.2.4

        You clearly weren’t paying attention. She set him up well through the series of questions, and then backed him into a corner where he had to say there was a legal issue.
        Goldsmith was the one who was floundering.

        • George Hendry 2.2.4.1

          Yes, DPG, it looked like that to me as well.

          Is that why her ‘increasing frustration’ included some quiet smiles?

          Experienced opposition questioners know by now that they have to keep at it, without a single slip-up, until the scripted answers run out, at which point the ums and ahs kick in, as they did. The paper shuffling at that point was quite telling.

          To Mr Goldsmith’s credit he didn’t attempt to ‘get some guts’ by throwing a dead cat on the table, which the Speaker will excuse especially when the Rank Insiders do it and which might distract the questioner with the stink.

        • Leftie 2.2.4.2

          +1 DoublePlusGood, Yes she did, and Goldman was floundering alright. I also liked the way Grant Robinson backed up Julie Anne Genter, and rammed home the point that it breaks the law and carries a jail term and substantial monetary fine.

        • maninthemiddle 2.2.4.3

          Rubbish. She gave herself away when she couldn’t grasp the concept of investor choice.

          • Leftie 2.2.4.3.1

            So breaking the law has no meaning whatsoever then?
            It is obvious that you and reality don’t know each other Maninthemiddle.

            • maninthemiddle 2.2.4.3.1.1

              If any law has been broken, then I’m sure the authorities will get involved.

      • Leftie 2.2.5

        You don’t see and hear too good from the planet you live on Maninthemiddle.

  3. shorts 3

    this is an interesting issue – one that really divides the kinds of people we are… on one hand we have the “I’ve got mine fuck youse” mob who see nothing wrong with making money as long as its legal (or you’re not caught I’d imagine – eh tax cheats) so cluster bomb, tobacco, booze, munitions, oil, houses or whatever investment is all good as long as its returning a profit… and on the other there are those that want investments and our nation to be honest, upstanding and moral members of the global community – do less harm than good at the very minimum

    We can’t be surprised when those that stand for wealth show they don’t care and can see nothing wrong with the fine lines they happily traverse in the pursuit of more wealth….

    For some its a question of humanity…. for others its simply PR

  4. corokia 4

    National will be waiting for polling/focus groups/public opinion before deciding what to do here. Oooh look, Olympics, medals……maybe this one will sink and no one will notice, if not, wait for the U-turn next week.

  5. The Chairman 5

    Amnesty International wants the Government to review the default funds with a view of putting in the same standards used by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

    Why weren’t such standards put in place when the scheme was initially setup?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1

      I’m not sure what higher standard there is than a section in the Crimes Act. “You must obey the provisions in the Crimes Act” seems a fairly redundant instruction to anyone but National Party Ministers of the Crown.

      In any case, people who make the bad choice to be blown up by cluster bombs really need to stop pretending that the government can solve anything. Look, a gold medal!

      • The Chairman 5.1.1

        Nevertheless, if such standards were put in place when the scheme was initially setup, then default providers would have had to meet that criteria (ensuring there was robust on-going oversight) preventing millions of dollars being invested in unethical and potentially illegal investment.

        • Well, to some extent this is due to the overly friendly way the cluster munitions act is worded, in that it requires knowledge or intention for investing in cluster munitions to be a crime, thus technically an investor doesn’t need to take any pro-active steps to ensure they’re not investing in cluster munitions. (rather, it should be a defense that an individual could not reasonably know, so that you can still prosecute people who play dumb)

          Nothing’s technically wrong with the way that Kiwisaver itself is set up, other than perhaps that it’s made deliberately hard to understand where your funds are invested by many providers. The other, more recent laws should be the ones that oblige investors to avoid cluster munitions.

          (That said, it would definitely be good practice for the government to kick out default providers who don’t meet the NZ Super requirements, I agree. But in a sensible world it shouldn’t need to be in the law)

          • The Chairman 5.1.1.1.1

            Nevertheless, if such standards were put in place when the scheme was initially setup, providers would have had to take pro-active steps to maintain their default provider status. Thus, avoiding the current dilemma.

            In turn, investors wouldn’t have had to take any pro-active steps to be assured they’re not.

            Evidently, the initial setup of the scheme was lacking this investor protection. Moreover, it (millions of dollars unwittingly being invested in unethical and potentially illegal investment) clearly highlights why it should have initially been in the regulations/law.

          • the pigman 5.1.1.1.2

            “this is due to the overly friendly way the cluster munitions act is worded, in that it requires knowledge or intention for investing in cluster munitions to be a crime”

            You’re right, let’s just ditch the mental component of criminal offending altogether. It’s fair enough to subject people to criminal penalties for acts of others that they have no knowledge of, or intention in relation to, right?

            “overly friendly” T^T

            • Matthew Whitehead 5.1.1.1.2.1

              Actually mental components of criminal law ARE notoriously difficult to prove, wheras in law the “reasonable person” test is quite standard and easy. I can understand applying a mental test to the personal investor, (which is likely who the law is intended to capture) but it makes no sense to apply it to someone whose job is in the financial sector. Those people should know how to avoid illegal investments and it ought to be part of their job to do so proactively. If the goal is to prevent investment in cluster munitions, those in the financial services industry should be held to a higher standard and not permitted the defense that they didn’t know.

              I am happy for mental components of crimes to exist for crimes where widespread prosecution for an act isn’t the intent of the act being a crime, but it’s poor law to add a mental component when the threat of prosecution is intended as a deterrent from undesirable behaviour.

              Such a test wouldn’t prosecute people who unwittingly invested in cluster munitions while researching their investments with some care. It WOULD make someone guilty if they run an investment firm and didn’t even check whether they were investing in cluster munitions, or were not aware they needed to check for illegal investments, either of which I think is reasonable. Hell, it would probably let a personal investor off the hook, as most reasonable people don’t research their investments for arms companies.

  6. AmaKiwi 6

    “I’m comfortable with that” now applies to the Crown (you and me) breaking its own law and being liable for a fine of $500,000!

    • Leftie 6.1

      John key is always “comfortable” about breaking laws, make him pay for it out of his own pocket.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1

        And the rest of the government. $500, 000 from each of them could go quite aways to getting our children out of poverty,

    • Macro 6.2

      Key continues to display his complete lack of moral development and social responsibility. That he is comfortable in investing in nuclear weapons, cluster bombs and the like, demonstrates yet again that he is not fit to be the Prime Minister of a country which has legislation forbidding the use and deployment of such weapons.
      That so many of the country’s sheeple support such a lackadaisical man in such a responsible position speaks volumes as to the moral values that are now concomitant in our society. Shame on us.

  7. Leftie 7

    Great work from Julie Ann Genter, but this has been raised before and yet nothing changes.

    KiwiSaver, cluster bombs, mines and nukes

    ROB STOCK
    Last updated 05:00, August 23 2015

    Westpac bank is reviewing its KiwiSaver scheme’s investments, after being alerted to stakes it holds in certain companies on the New Zealand Super Fund’s “exclusion” list.

    The NZ Super Fund’s exclusion list includes nine companies which it has tagged as being involved in the manufacture and supply of “cluster munitions” and, or “anti-personnel mines”.

    But the latest annual disclosure statements from KiwiSaver schemes, show three of those excluded companies appeared in popular KiwiSaver growth funds.

    In addition, ANZ and BNZ KiwiSaver growth funds each hold one of the excluded companies, but these banks defended those investments.

    The firms are US companies General Dynamics, excluded under the “cluster munitions” category, and Northrop Grumman, excluded under the “anti-personnel mines” category, as well as Singapore Technologies Engineering, excluded under both.

    The NZ Super Fund pays MSCI ESG Research to examine stockmarket-listed companies, and excluded stocks based on its reports.

    The KiwiSaver disclosure statements, dated the end of March, show ANZ’s KiwiSaver growth fund had a holding in Northrop Grumman, Westpac’s KiwiSaver growth fund had Northrop Grumman and Singapore Technologies Engineering, and BNZ’s growth fund had General Dynamics.

    Each make up only a small proportion of the funds’ total investments.

    Westpac, which invests through external fund managers, said it was “making enquiries with our third party investment managers to understand if it is possible to introduce restrictions regarding certain assets.”

    That would bring it into line with the Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver scheme of state-owned Kiwibank, which uses “negative screening” to weed out armament makers, and holds none of the NZ Super Fund’s excluded companies.

    But both ANZ and BNZ said their external managers had assured them their KiwiSaver funds contained no companies involved with cluster bombs or mines.

    BNZ said Russell Investments had assured it that General Dynamics was not involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions, and ANZ said: “Our managers have advised us that there are no red flags for cluster munitions or landmines” for Northrop Grumman.

    Michael Salvatico from MSCI ESG Research, which has around 150 ESG analysts around the world, said Northrop Grumman was involved in the development of the Spider anti-personnel munitions system ( http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2014/Documents/12December14/SoldierArmed_December2014.pdf ), which was remotely controlled by an operator.

    It is being developed specifically to replace anti-personnel mines, which stay in the ground harming civilians long after conflict has ended.

    A NZ Super Fund spokesman said: “We understand that there are different views around their man-in-the-loop system, but it is our view that the company’s involvement in the manufacture of land mines is material enough to warrant exclusion under our responsible investment framework.”

    Salvatico said: “I can confirm that our research indicates General Dynamics currently manufactures munitions dispensing systems for the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW), an air-dropped cluster munition weapons system. This classifies them as a component manufacturer with Strong Evidence. The assessment of Strong Evidence indicates involvement in the last three years with no ambiguity.”

    General Dynamics’ website says it “is not, to the best of our knowledge” involved in activities which breach the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on the Prohibition of Use, Stockpiling, Production, And Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines”.

    Again, it seems there is debate over what is a cluster munition.

    The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund also excludes General Dynamics under the category of “production of cluster munitions”.

    As with the other companies, NZ Super Fund excludes under these two categories, but accepts the controversial weapons make up a small part of their business.

    A growing number of investors want their superannuation savings to reflect their beliefs, said Salvatico. “Super is your voice,” he said. “You can use it now.”

    Academic Matheson Russell has called for the Government to at least require KiwiSaver default funds to be socially responsible investors, and says KiwiSaver funds could be banned from investing in companies on the NZ Super Fund’s exclusion list, though this would need to be debated.

    It has however been very profitable to invest in defence stocks.

    The annualised return investors have had from the MSCI World Aerospace and Defense Index in US dollars has been 10.28 per cent, compared to an annualised return of 6.2 per cent on the MSCI World Index.

    <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/71324537/kiwisaver-cluster-bombs-mines-and-nukes

    But it’s not as if companies cannot be weeded out….

    ” MSCI’s research is used by some fund managers to weed out companies that are polluters, exploiters of human misery, or are involved in certain controversial industries.”

    “The New Zealand Super Fund, which looks after nearly $30 billion of pension money for the Government, uses MSCI to identify and avoid companies involved with certain weapons (cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, and nuclear bombs), as well as tobacco companies, gross polluters, and those which have breached human rights.”

    KiwiSaver and ethical investing

    ROB STOCK
    Last updated 05:00, August 26 2015

    <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/71417033/kiwisaver-and-ethical-investing

    NZ Super Fund has deadly portfolio

    TIM HUNTER AND STEVE KILGALLON
    Last updated 05:00 03/08/2014

    <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10341818/NZ-Super-Fund-has-deadly-portfolio

    And despite the National government freezing govt contributions in 2009….

    NZ Super Fund annual return nearly 18 pc
    Last updated 16:15 21/03/2013

    <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8456252/NZ-Super-Fund-annual-return-nearly-18-pc

    • McFlock 7.1

      Well, I’ve emailed my fund to check. Might have to move to another plan if they don’t have an ethical investment policy.

    • DoublePlusGood 7.2

      So, Westpac’s, ANZ’s and BNZ’s entire boards and all senior management involved with their KiwiSaver funds to prison for 7 years and a $500,000 fine each then? I mean, it’s an open and shut case – they all publicly admitted the situation, and then continued to break the law when they knew they had broken the law.

      • Draco T Bastard 7.2.1

        Seems reasonable.

      • Leftie 7.2.2

        Yes, they, (& Superfund), have all knowingly broken the law. As pointed out in the post, it’s not as if there are no resources to weed out these companies before hand, because there are, and they are making money out of breaking the law.

      • Brutus Iscariot 7.2.3

        Except for the widely-used part of the Sentencing Act that allows sentences to be quashed if they are “manifestly unjust or out of proportion to the gravity of the offending”

        What no-one is actually acknowledging here, is that in none of the identified cases have there been decision makers at these funds in question, making a deliberate investment in cluster munitions. The share holdings are indirect and miniscule as a result of investment into passive index funds, where you just own a slice of all the investable companies listed on that particular stock market.

        Any prosecution would have enough holes to drive a truck through, especially when the precise nature of the involvement and definitions of “cluster munition manufacture” comes into play.

        I know it might give you a hard-on to think about rich pricks going to jail, but try to have some perspective.

        • DoublePlusGood 7.2.3.1

          I’m mostly posting in jest because I know full-well that no one will ever be held accountable for this, but to be quite honest, investment in cluster munitions manufacture is a serious matter resulting in significant loss of life from use of those munitions. This is why the fines and prison sentences allowed are large.
          While you are right that a prosecution is unlikely to succeed despite the publicly admitted breaking of the law, quite frankly, the punishments allowed *are* appropriate given the downstream loss of life.

          • Brutus Iscariot 7.2.3.1.1

            How far down the chain do you want to go though? By your logic any NZ citizen who has their funds in a non-complying Kiwisaver could also now be liable for prosecution – they are “investing” in cluster munitions, just through yet another layer and delegated. Just as the KS providers currently delegate to index providers and are being threatened with sanction.

  8. Henry Filth 8

    Well, given the number of Kiwisaver accounts with exposure to (say) the S&P500, the fines should pretty well clear the government’s deficit in pretty short order.

    As for the Prime Minister, well, as usual, he’s probably right, yes it is up to the individual. But, as usual, wrong in any meaningful relationship to reality for most New Zealanders. He really does have an awful track record on that.

    “Three in a row. Time to go”

  9. Macro 9

    The New Zealand Council for Socially Responsible Investment (now closed) actively campaigned for a number of years lobbying Govt on this issue.

    “CSRI has had a number of successes including encouraging the government to pull out of its investment in tobacco and landmines. It also demonstrated the inadequacy of the legislated criteria for suitable investment by NZ Government funds. It exposed the irony that its funds were actually investing in nuclear weapons, despite the fact that, for over three decades, the New Zealand Government had campaigned against the French and USA governments about their involvement with nuclear weaponry. The Accident Compensation Corporation in NZ has subsequently ceased such nuclear weapon investment although the New Zealand Superannuation Fund still persists in this practice.”

    Robert Howell worked for many years on this issue advising Governments both here and overseas. He is now resident in Australia where he continues to work on ethical investment issues.

  10. Gangnam Style 10

    Interesting contrast, ‘gangs are scum & make their money of illegal activities’ vs ‘bankers are scum & make their money off illegal activities’. Regarding the ‘P House clean up scam” there were commentators saying simple things like ‘well they shouldn’t break the law’, where are you on this BM? PR? Or it;s OK to break the law if you rich & powerful? Just the dumb poor have to keep absolutely squeaky clean? ‘If you want to do white time you got to do a white crime’ ?

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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
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 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
    23 hours 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
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