Compass serves up very little tax

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, May 3rd, 2016 - 66 comments
Categories: national, Privatisation, same old national, tax, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: ,

I can see this becoming a regular series.  Another day, another example of how this Government’s blind ideological incompetence is causing harm to New Zealand’s society has come to light.

This time it is another unfortunate juxtaposition of issues where the privatisation of a service that the public service was able to do perfectly well has provided unacceptable results and now we find out that the multinational involved appears to have adopted measures to ensure that it pays as little tax in New Zealand as it can get away with.

This story also highlights the marvellous work that John Campbell and Radio New Zealand are doing on keeping us informed.  From Radio New Zealand:

Catering company Compass is under fire for the food it’s been serving up to hospital patients, but now questions are being asked about whether the multinational is paying enough tax.

Compass New Zealand has lent its British-based parent millions of dollars, none of which has been paid back, while the fees and royalties it has paid to the UK have quadrupled over the last four years.

Tax experts have said such transactions are commonly used by multinationals to shift profits between subsidiaries to avoid paying tax.

Thankfully there is analysis and figures.  And the story lets reality speak for itself.

Accounts filed with the Companies Office show its New Zealand arm has been lending the company’s British parent millions of dollars.

Those loans increased six-fold over the last four years to $33 million for the year ended September 2015, up from $5.5m in 2012. Royalties and fees quadrupled over that same period, from $805,000 to $3.5m.

Such so-called transfer pricing transactions are all legal.

However, Auckland tax consultant Terry Baucher described the loans as “unusual”, especially given the interest rate of between 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent was a lot higher than what Compass would pay for borrowing money in the UK and none of the money had been repaid.

There is also a PR polished response to the allegation that suggests that everything is fine and there is nothing to see.

RNZ News asked Compass to explain why a multinational that made a global profit of $2.5 billion last year needed to borrow $33m from its New Zealand arm.

In a statement, Compass said there were no loans.

“The figure shown in the accounts is a standard cash deposit facility, effectively like a current account, used by Compass to manage its working capital requirements,” Compass national development and innovation manager Lauren Scott said.

The accounts filed with the Companies Office describe the transactions as loans. The 2015 accounts state “the receivables from related parties arise mainly from loans and are receivable on call”.

There are no loans.  The fact that Compass itself called them loans is apparently irrelevant.

Compass New Zealand has not paid a dividend to its British parent in the last four years, but has paid about $1m in fees and services to its Australian arm each year. Fees and royalties to its British parent between 2012 and 2015 have quadruped to $3.5m.

Dividends and royalties were taxed by Inland Revenue (IRD), and loans were not. Compass New Zealand paid $2m in tax last year, just over 1 percent of its revenue of $170 million.

And what efficiencies has Compass created?  Well you can get meals like this (please note the meal on the top right is for Cabinet Ministers only):

Compass hospital food Coleman

And all of this should be served up with a big dose of “I told you so”.

Back in 2014 when the changes were first made Jill Ovens, then of the Service and Food Workers Union was reported in this article.

But the Service & Food Workers Union disputes these claims. Union organiser Jill Ovens told New Zealand Doctor an independent review of the business case had found nearly one in five DHB food workers would lose their jobs under the new arrangement.

“They [DHBs] are telling us they won’t know until after Compass goes in there what the extent of job losses will be,” Ms Ovens says.

She says food will be cooked and chilled by “a variety of suppliers that have nothing to do with hospitals” raising issues of quality and safety.

So job losses, quality issues with the food that is produced and Compass looks like it is taking steps to avoid tax.

Remind me again why we did this?

66 comments on “Compass serves up very little tax ”

  1. Sabine 1

    Maybe we could apply the “Whats wrong with Kansas” to NZ?

    http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/03/state-budget-crisis/473157/

  2. maui 2

    I thought I would have a look and see what Compass NZ does in the community. Looks like they sponsor Canteen and allow for their christmas cards to be sold on their sites. This arrangement is probably more beneficial to Compass than the other way round. Not much cost really for a company destroying peoples health, jobs and wages.

    http://compass-group.co.nz/being-responsible/supporting-our-community/

  3. AsleepWhileWalking 3

    What are the royalties for? Is that some kind of franchise thing?

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      It’s a bullshit way of making sure the local subsidiary does not have to pay any tax.

      Apple does it as well.

      The corporate headquarters themselves in a tax haven like Ireland or Bermuda.

      The local branch in NZ pays a shitload of “licensing fees” and “royalties” to the HQ, ostensibly for rights to use the good will, logo, trademarks etc, of the parent corporate.

      Those fees and royalties are legitimate “business expenses” of the local branch. That drastically chops back the end of year profit and hence end of year tax paid of the local branch.

      And the HQ, living in a tax haven, gets the money and has to pay fuck all tax on it anyway. Win win for the corporation, its investors and shareholders.

      • Lanthanide 3.1.1

        I had a deluded Irish flatmate who assured me that Apple and other tech companies setting up HQs in Ireland is because Ireland was the tech powerhouse and had lots of good graduates from their universities that the companies moved there to hire.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1

          Some of these “corporate headquarters” ended up being no more than an office door with a name plate on it, with a fax machine and a desk inside.

        • lprent 3.1.1.2

          Probably explains the large amount of immigration of graduates from NZ and the UK from the late 90s to pre-GFC. From what I have read and what people who used to work for those internationals in Ireland has said, they hired skilled staff from everywhere and brought them to Ireland.

          Not that it is that different from here over the last 20 years in the tech industry. Very few centres for tech excellence have sufficient capacity to generate their own grads, including Ireland. They import them.

          I think that your flatmate is just deluded.

          • Lanthanide 3.1.1.2.1

            I did say “I had a deluded Irish flatmate”.

          • Sabine 3.1.1.2.2

            Nike, at the end of the 90’s shut down all of the individual european houses and opened the European HeadQuarters in Hilversum, Holland.
            We all got shipped there, worked from tents more or less and lived in Hotels until we found accom.
            Good fun, the Office Kanteen resembled an international Airport with a few soccer playing and running superstars every now and then.
            But yeah a lot of people lost their jobs in their home countries (if they could not and would not move – mainly those that had families) and the rest of us was shipped in from all over the world.

      • AmaKiwi 3.1.2

        To the Labour Caucus:

        TPPA’s purpose is tax scams for multinationals.

        TPPA’s purpose is tax scams for multinationals.

        TPPA’s purpose is tax scams for multinationals.

        What’s Labour’s position on TPPA now? We await your reply.

  4. One Anonymous Bloke 4

    Clearly the solution is to defund Radio New Zealand. And spend the weekend shredding documents hiding the money trail making sure I have no personal involvement.

  5. Colonial Viper 5

    Let’s cut these profiteering pricks out of the system entirely.

    That will completely cut out all this noise about tax dodging and BS transactions.

    Which political party will commit to re-opening local hospital and prison kitchens and sourcing ingredients and labour locally to each hospital and prison?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1

      Labour’s been pretty vocal about it on social media. You’re a member of the NZLP, aren’t you. Well done guys.

      • Colonial Viper 5.1.1

        Labour has been vocal about reopening local hospital and prison kitchens to cut out Compass? Would love to see a link on that from Labour. Can you post one please?

  6. weka 6

    John Key’s legacy: stealing the food out of the mouths of the elderly.

    • AmaKiwi 6.1

      John Key’s legacy: replacing local companies with tax-dodging multinationals.

    • Wensleydale 6.2

      John Key obviously cares very deeply for the plight of our older folk. As you can see from the photos above, the food provided by Compass is “pre-digested”, so as to avoid the potential discomfort of toothless geriatrics having to inexorably gum their way to a full belly. He does it, like most everything he does, because he cares. Ladies and gents, our Prime Minister, John Key…

      *cue applause*

      And yes, before anyone gets indignant, I’m being facetious.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7

    Remind me again why we did this?

    So that a few bludgers in a far off country can get richer without doing any work or paying for the services that they use.

  8. Tiger Mountain 8

    Compass–the Serco of slops–shipping cook/chill food substitutes the length of a country laden with local produce and workers makes little sense until you factor in the 15 year contract and transfer pricing methods of tax avoidance

    it is revoltingly obvious that Compass is not really in the food business, it is in the profit making business of short changing hospital patients, send them packing asap

    • Colonial Viper 8.1

      We’re a signatory to the TPP, we can’t abrogate their contract with the Crown without severe penalties.

      That’s the purpose of the TPP.

      • save NZ 8.1.1

        +100 CV – have to keep the gravy train going incase their is an unexpected change of government and or public sentiment about their services….

        • save NZ 8.1.1.1

          joke.

          Why does compass serve so little tax
          It was on the gravy train!

      • ianmac 8.1.2

        Exactly CV. And should we ever add a royalty to water being bottled for sale we would be sued by the water companies, not only for the added cost but also for the loss of future earnings. It is so written!

      • Tiger Mountain 8.1.3

        @8.1; er, doubtful given Compass is UK based according to Micky’s piece and other media stories, UK is not a TPPA signatory though there is the Euro equivalent TTIP under negotiation that NZ is not involved with at this stage

        Compass can be told to stick their 15 year contract under certain conditions like Serco could be, except the Nats obviously did not want to too severely punish Serco

        • save NZ 8.1.3.1

          @ Tiger Mountain

          But didn’t in the Philip Morris case they try to argue conditions of a previous FTA were applicable even though they were not a signatory. Corporates have nothing to lose by trying anything on. It is not like the government can sue them back in Free trade business ‘courts’ and the threat and cost of defence normally makes the government back down.

          In the case of Serco and Compass the same applies – the government does not want to get into litigation and change the contract – just keep having a substandard service for 15 years. Make it someone else’s problem.

  9. save NZ 9

    Fantastic post. +100

    Apparently transnational profits is actually one of our biggest exports. More than milk powder and fishing apparently.

    Come to NZ and plunder from the NZ economy, money to send offshore…. bring your own cheap workers, or easy to bring them in…
    Free offshore tax haven for non residents by PM’s own private lawyer…..
    Our government can give you a free grant to help you get started…
    Special rates and tenders for donors to the National party or through intermediary cronies and trusts….

    We want your transnational profits in our export business “The New Zealand Company” sarc.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1

      Exactly. The amount of profits going of shore is period that we don’t need foreign investment and never have done.

  10. Sutton's li'l helper 10

    Surely the money spent on lawyers, accountants and pr firms trying to dodge and justify tax dodges is close to what they would pay in tax anyway. Is it just an ideological hatred of paying their share.

  11. Lanthanide 11

    Actually there was a photo on stuff.co.nz where someone in one of the southern hospitals was served the same meal that the minister got, with the same portion size too. It looked pretty much the same as the minister’s.

    Hard to tell if that was PR massaging of course.

    • AmaKiwi 11.1

      Compass will be on their best behavior while under media scrutiny. Then the garbage trucks will roll again. The media will ignore it because it’s old news.

      There is a fundamental cultural issue:

      Do we want to be a TPPA homogenized transnational sweatshop or a free people?

    • McFlock 11.2

      I suspect that the PR massaging involved picking the best looking meal out of the entire menu, and making sure it was cooked properly rather than being an outlier.

      I’m sure some of their meals are quite pleasant, and are usually served cooked to spec. The problem is the apparently high number of meals that fail to meet those standards.

    • weka 11.3

      John Campbell did a piece on the this last week. The day before the protest Compass invited the media along to try out the meals. JC talks to his reporter who was there. He asks him at the start if it seemed like a big PR exercise and the reporter is circumspect and just describes what happened. A couple of minutes later, after the reporter being all neutral and shit, JC asks him again, and the reporter goes “of course, it was completely PR spin”.

  12. Observer (Tokoroa) 12

    .The Culprit

    . Billy English charges Tax on New Zealanders including on Pensioners.
    He collects it by dint of compulsion and by aggressive Tax Collectors.

    . People get it ripped off them through a demeaning method called PAYE.

    For some reason Billy seems unable to get tax off people who have businesses and who are operating within the New Zealand market. He may get a little. But the Business men decide what they shall pay. Not the Minister Billy English.

    He has allowed a whole series of Firms to run ring rings around him. They have a great laugh at the poor man.

    Now, nobody could call Billy Bright. But if we supplied him with a relatively young graduate from the Accounting sector, he might be able to look a bit more fit for purpose.

    Stop hemorrhaging.NZ – you damned conceited little twirp.

    The Opposition must begin to take Billy to the Supreme Court on a charge of blatant neglect and destruction of the Common Man’s resources and equality.

    • Rod Young 12.1

      Media is owned offshore.

      Media gets big parties over line for a win in elections.

      To win ministers sell off valuable assets.

      Currently $20,000 billion of crown minerals is before cabinet when TPPA is signed in.

      So let’s look at a tax that is assessed equitably internationally down to the individual.

      And a way to have an independent media follow that tax implementation.

      University and media need to be joined at the hip.

      Doctors producing journalist news.

  13. Ralf Crown 13

    Why is someone making the decision to give it all to an overseas operator? Are there no Kiwis left who can cook, but isn’t the food cooked in New Zealand anyway, or is it just the well known New Zealand corruption model at work? Has the decision maker been promised a cushy nice well paid consultancy or board job later in life? I guess we will never fins out – really.

  14. Magisterium 14

    I don’t get the point of articles like this.

    Of course this corporation has structured its affairs in order to pay as little tax as possible. Why on earth would it do any different?

    If there’s anyone here who voluntarily pays more tax than the law requires, put up your hand.

    • weka 14.1

      “If there’s anyone here who voluntarily pays more tax than the law requires, put up your hand.”

      I’d say pretty much everyone who can’t afford a tax consultant. Not sure you can call the voluntarily exactly, but many people think it’s fair to pay tax as it was designed to be paid rather than exploting loopholes.

      There are also companies that take an ethical approach to business rather than the greedy fuck approach. Some people do actually care about the way the world works. You may not understand it, but plenty of people do.

      • lprent 14.1.1

        “If there’s anyone here who voluntarily pays more tax than the law requires, put up your hand.”

        I pay more tax than required. I haven’t filed a return in at least a decade.

        I do PAYE, investments pay tax automatically, I can’t be arsed chasing charities for the bit of money I drop on them each year, I do straight donations of my time etc for non-charity ststus like this site, and as a end-consumer I don’t bother with GST. It isn’t worth the paperwork or time to create a company to artificially shaft the tax system (as I suspect you probably do).

        When I run a check calculation my taxes every 3 years to make sure I aren’t underpaying, my return comes out within a few hundred dollars. Which means that my time expended for calculating it wouldn’t be covered at the charge out rate my employer uses.

        Frankly it is a lot easier and a lot less effort to raise my income, or to figure out how I could reduce my expenditure if I want to figure out how to get more disposable income or how to generate more savings.

        Besides I don’t carry the baggage of your ideological obsessions.

        • Honora Renwick 14.1.1.1

          Ditto. Too lazy to chase a couple of hundred dollars tax return or whatever.

        • Richard McGrath 14.1.1.2

          I was going to just trust the Aussie government to take the legal amount of money from my earnings, but someone suggested I get a tax accountant to check. Good thing I did, as the Australian Tax Office had taken $15,000 more than they legally should have. They have now returned my money. Had the boot been on the other foot, I would no doubt have been prosecuted and possibly jailed. Funny how the tax bureaucrats seem to get away with it.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1.1.2.1

            That’s one way to look at it.

            Another way to look at it is that your tax accountant reduced your contribution to society using who knows what money-laundering voodoo and you’re proud of it, despite having gained so much from society.

            Some consider it shameful. I just think you’re ungrateful and greedy, and a little bit stupid. Pay your taxes, and then look out of your window and say to yourself :”look what we made!”

            Or enjoy your cholera in Randistan*.

            *if the cultural baggage offends, read Randopolis.

            • Chuck 14.1.1.2.1.1

              I assume you work for a living OAB??

              Are you an employee on PAYE or self employed / company owner??

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Yes, and yes, as though it’s any of your business, wingnut trash.

                Too funny: the number of times querulous wingnuts ask me the same revealing questions. Dullards the lot of you.

                My comment history could have informed you were you not so tragically lazy. Stop projecting your crap reckons onto me and rebut my argument, if you can.

                • Chuck

                  The chip on your shoulder must be huge.

                  To rebut your argument is simply…pay the tax that is due, no more no less. And I am not talking about multi nationals…rather mum and dad kiwis, be them employees on PAYE or self employed contractors / business owners.

                  If someone is of the view that they want to contribute more…then nothing wrong with donating to worthwhile charities.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    Your Prime Minister’s lawyer summed it up perfectly.

                    It may not be morally as white* as it could be but it’s normal practice.

                    He means it’s normal for criminal and/or right wing trash.

                    *interesting choice of metaphor, that.

                    • Chuck

                      You are ducking my rebuttal dear chap!

                      Should mum and dad kiwis pay more tax than they legally required to?

                    • McFlock

                      How was that ducking the question? You’re quite clearly asking about moral shoulds compared with legal shoulds.

                      Even key’s former lawyer believes that satisfying the legal requirement doesnt always satisfy the moral requirement, especially when possibly using legal mechanisms in ways that were not intended by the legislature..

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      You reckons this is about people who pay too much tax?

                      Has someone set up a charity for you yet? Or is baby steps for wingnuts a lost cause?

        • Chuck 14.1.1.3

          Fair enough Iprent…hundreds of dollars is not worth the effort no argument there.

          But what would be your threshold to claim a tax refund? if for example doing your tax calculation and finding out you had over paid by $1000 or $5000 or $10,000 etc…?

          • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1.1.3.1

            Duh! Show IRD the books and claim it back, and that isn’t what’s happening here.

      • Magisterium 14.1.2

        Anyone who files a tax return can afford a tax consultant. Hell, there are places like the Citizens Advice Bureau that’ll give you advice for free.

        I’ve never had an accountant charge me more than a fraction of the financial benefit that the accountant’s services got me, and the accountant’s fees are themselves a tax-deductible expense.

        If you pay more tax than you are required to, then you’re either lazy, an idiot, don’t know any better, or you’re so privileged that you don’t have to care about money. Individuals and corporations – like Compass – should pay every cent that the law requires. That’s the deal we all have with the government. Here’s the law, here’s what it says, pay up. If you don’t like the amounts involved, the problem is the law – not the individual or the corporation.

    • AmaKiwi 14.2

      @ Magisterium

      In some countries it is legal to stone a woman to death for adultery. It’s a law made by males.

      Tax havens are legal. Tax laws written by and for the wealthy.

      What is “legal” and what is “fair” are often polar opposites. Pity you can’t tell the difference between right and wrong, but then neither can the Natzies.

      • Magisterium 14.2.1

        Then I think we’re sort of saying the same thing. “Unfair law allows Compass to pay very little tax” is a headline we might both agree on. The problem isn’t the company paying the tax, it’s the legal framework that determines how much is to be paid.

    • save NZ 14.3

      Magisterium – yes just let the poor and middle class pay taxes. We can then pretend corporates pay tax and are as important to society as people and should get more rights.

      The problem is also non corporate paying corporates undercutting others in local tenders that do pay taxes. So to compete every corporate has to avoid tax.

      It must be more of the loony right accounting that seems to be destroying privacy, human rights and justice, into greedy, competitive, win at all costs, isolated individuals.

      • Magisterium 14.3.1

        Please try and keep up.

        • Instauration 14.3.1.1

          A stated tenet of this post is;
          “Such so-called transfer pricing transactions are all legal.”
          So this post is about the inadequacy of the law to support what is fair.
          Look beyond the headline Magisterium – will save you some key-strokes.

  15. alwyn 15

    @Mickysavage.
    Some of the things you have put in the post don’t seem to make sense.
    You seem to be suggesting that Compass are doing these things in order to reduce the tax they have to pay in New Zealand.

    However when you say
    “Terry Baucher described the loans as “unusual”, especially given the interest rate of between 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent was a lot higher than what Compass would pay for borrowing money in the UK”
    That is surely interest that is considered to be paid TO the New Zealand company and that would therefore be taxable income in New Zealand. That would increase their liability here. If a lower rate was charged that would reduce their New Zealand tax liability.

    People, including the Radio New Zealand report also say that not paying dividends reduces their tax liability IN NEW ZEALAND, as dividends are taxable. They are, but dividends paid to a foreign person or organisation aren’t taxable in New Zealand as far as I am aware.
    I think the treatment is just like Australia. I get dividends from Australian companies. I have to declare them in my New Zealand tax return but I don’t have to pay any Australian tax.

    How do their activities in this vein have any effect on reducing their New Zealand tax.
    Others might of course, such as excessive fees or royalties. The effect of that may be to increase their income in their home country. The higher rate of tax, in particular though, is reducing it there and increasing it here though

  16. Observer (Tokoroa) 16

    . Save Nz + 100

    . People such as Magisterium will never understand that the PAYE mug pays the income tax in New Zealand.

    Business people (including Corporates and black marteers) pay only what they wish to.

    They do not declare their true income. They also inflate their expenses. They hide their truth. Even push their billions into tax free havens.

    Or else they return their money to their Mother Nation. Secretly.

    A Paye person – poor mug – does not have these same avoidance avenues.

    The Greeks stopped paying Income Tax. They are a complete basket case as a result. Bludging money off other people like beggars. The young struggling generations of Greeks will despise their politicians for decades to come.

    Other Euro and Mediterranean nations will regard the Greeks as total wasters.
    Do not be surprised if Aotearoa is heralded as the second Greece.

    Thanks to Billy English who is responsible for Treasury.

    .

  17. Michael 17

    I’d like to know how much koha Compass kicks back to the Nats (via the slush funds administered on their behalf by big, right-wing law firms). Compass has form for this (as do the Nats). In the UK, where Compass has behaved even worse than it has in NZ (early days though) its shovels big money into the Tory Party’s coffers. Why else would National party lackeys on our DHBs have voted to shitcan their own hospital cooks and kitchen hands and let Compass in?

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    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
    14 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
    15 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
    17 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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

  • 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
    5 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
    10 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
    12 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
    13 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
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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