Congratulations Jane Kelsey

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, October 13th, 2015 - 61 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, Politics, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, trade - Tags: , , ,

Jane Kelsey

In breaking news Jane Kelsey’a High Court application for a declaration that Tim Groser improperly treated her application for details of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has essentially succeeded. The decision is here.

The synopsis of the decision is as follows:

[1] The applicants have sought judicial review of a decision of the Minister of Trade (the Minister) in which he refused to release to Professor Kelsey official information contained in eight categories of documents she requested under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). The information requested by Professor Kelsey concerns material associated with negotiations that have led to a multi-lateral free trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP Agreement).

[2] When the Minister refused Professor Kelsey’s request, neither he nor his officials assessed each piece of information requested against the criteria in the Act for withholding official information. Instead, the Minister adopted a “blanket approach” to the request based upon his knowledge of the categories of documents requested by Professor Kelsey. I have concluded this approach did not comply with the Act.

[3] The applicants have applied for a series of declarations concerning the lawfulness of the Minister’s approach and the meaning of specific provisions of the Act.

[4] Rather than issue specific declarations I have quashed the Minister’s decision in relation to six of the categories of documents requested by Professor Kelsey. I explain in this judgment the aspects of Professor Kelsey’s request which have to be reconsidered. When the Minister reconsiders his decision he will be required to do so in a way that is consistent with his obligations under the Act, which I explain in this judgment.

I have not had time to read or analyse the decision.  No doubt better legal brains than mine will do so.  I suspect the Crown will appeal.

It has been noticeable how recently from various Government friendly quarters Jane Kelsey has been publicly attacked and maligned, in my view totally without justification.  But Jane Kelsey ought to be thanked for her sterling work and her perseverance.  Democracies need more citizens like her.

61 comments on “Congratulations Jane Kelsey ”

  1. weka 1

    what’s a declaration?

    • mickysavage 1.1

      In this case a request for a Court to say that what happened here breached the OIA.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2

      declaration
      A court order stating that a certain situation or fact exists, rather than requiring that something must be done or not done. For example, the Family Court or High Court can make a ‘declaration of paternity’, declaring that a particular man is or is not the father of a particular child.

      source

  2. Pat 2

    yet another example of this government thumbing its nose at the law……as the heading says, Congratulations Jane Kelsey…..but is seriously disturbing that it has come to this

  3. Tracey 3

    wet bus ticket time. the right have some fear of kelsey, highlighted as mickey pointsout, by the ad hominem attacks (led by mapp and hooton).

    oh and another minister breaches the highest ethic standard demanded by the cabinet manual. question for the PM? LOL

  4. Whispering Kate 4

    The Judge quashed the Minister in 6 categories but there are 8 – I wonder what’s so important about the other 2 categories – beggars belief really, we probably wouldn’t sleep at night if we knew the contents of the other 2.

  5. ianmac 5

    Maybe the judgement just means that the Minister was wrong to group 6 non-responses together. The next response will be that the Minister will decline each question one by one. As a layman is this possible?

  6. savenz 6

    Thank you Jane Kelsey for having courage and guts and action to bring these constant illegal breaches by our government to account!

  7. Penny Bright 7

    Got a ‘professional’ and considered opinion on this post Matthew Hooton?
    __________________________________________________________

    Jane Kelsey: Govt spin won’t stop TPP facts emerging

    Tuesday, 13 October 2015
    The New Zealand Herald

    If governments want to play by secret squirrel rules they can hardly accuse those who raise alarms based on best available information of scaremongering.

    The post-Atlanta response by the government and cheerleaders for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) shows they still don’t understand why people have opposed the deal and will continue to do so.

    First, the secrecy of negotiations and the handcuffs the Agreement will place on future elected governments is a direct assault on democracy and sovereignty.

    People don’t want ‘trust me’ democracy where the Executive makes the law in secret and presents a fait accompli.

    The High Court’s decision today that Trade Minister Groser acted unlawfully in refusing to release any information to me under the Official Information Act should act as a wake up call for him and the government.

    In his determination to keep everything secret, Minister Groser treated his legal obligations with contempt. He did not look at a single document before deeming every piece of information too sensitive, or too anodyne, to release.

    During the case the Minister’s standard line, parroted by many politicians and media commentators, that ‘negotiations are always done this way’ was abandoned in the face of evidence they are not.

    The judge’s statement that ‘the Act plays a significant role in New Zealand’s constitutional and democratic arrangements’ and its meaning and purpose must be fully honoured by those to whom it applies, is a clear rebuke to the Minister.

    It also sends a clear message to the government more generally that the growing unaccountability of Executive power is not acceptable in a democracy.

    The opposition to the TPPA is also about substance.

    It became a mass movement because people understand this is not about ‘free trade’, but that corporate interests are seeking to remake global rules in their interests.

    Suggestions by pro-TPPA politicians and commentators that doctors, parliamentarians, lawyers, and local communities, here and around the world, are dupes of myself and a couple of fellow-travellers beggars belief.

    As Minister Groser discovered, such insults backfire when the targets have more credibility than politicians.

    I take my role as a public intellectual seriously. Always have. For more than six years, at considerable personal expense, I closely monitored the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations.

    With a handful of others, I continued to attend negotiating meetings when they went underground two years ago, as the already inadequate ‘stakeholder’ process stopped without any explanation.

    Two books, many academic articles and conference papers, keynote addresses, briefings to politicians and professional bodies, commentaries on leaked texts, opinion pieces, speeches and press releases, sought to give people some insights into what was happening behind closed doors.

    Most of the technical papers written to assist negotiators will never see the light of day.

    I stand by everything I have said about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) over the past six years (especially if it is quoted accurately).

    Once the text becomes public, it will become clear that some of the excesses were beaten back (and opposition to the deal can take considerable credit for that), but many of the dangers that I and others pointed to are still there.

    We always knew the government and its allies would have a two-pronged strategy if they finalised the deal – to spin like crazy before people could see the facts, and to launch a counter-offensive to discredit opponents.

    I guess it’s flattering that the government apparently pre-scripted counters to every point they thought I would raise.

    Personal attacks and character assassination, epitomised by Rodney Hide’s vitriol in the Herald on Sunday, are the resort of people who lack convincing arguments.

    It’s time for the post-Atlanta debate to focus on the substance, which requires release of the text and the background documents, and for the parties to revoke their secrecy pact to keep negotiating documents secret for four years after the agreement comes into force.

    Work has already begun, with support from the Law Foundation, on a series of expert analyses that will enable New Zealanders to judge for themselves what they think of the final deal.

    That is what democracy requires. New Zealanders deserve nothing less.

    Jane Kelsey is a law professor at Auckland University.
    _____________________________________________

    Penny Bright

    Confirmed 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate

  8. Matthew Hooton 8

    Absolutely Greg. On this issue, congratulations Jane Kelsey. With it comes to OIA compliance, each government since Muldoon’s (which passed the Act) has been worse than the one before, and the slide risks continuing until the Act becomes a total irrelevance. This is a good shot across the government’s bow that it has to comply with the law, and hopefully it will be part of encouraging a behaviour change. Sadly, I doubt it though, and I think the OIA needs to be fully reviewed, reformed and modernised, including adding penalties for breaking it. This may also be a start for a push towards that.

    • Anne 8.1

      I take offence at you using a person’s real name instead of their pseudonym. While mickysavage has been open about his identity, he chooses to write here under a pseudonym. Perhaps you are of the opinion that your self-designated place in society is on a higher plane than the rest of us and therefore you don’t have to abide by normal common courtesy and respect. I disagree.

      • Matthew Hooton 8.1.1

        You can “take offence” if you want, whatever that means, and whatever you gain psychically from it.

        • McFlock 8.1.1.1

          whatever you gain psychically from it.

          If people gained “psychically” from being subjected to the (sometimes passive-) aggressive dickishness of tories, most readers here would have some XMen-level powers by now…

    • Paul 8.2

      Spin spin spin.
      You are a mercenary of big business, Mr Hooton.
      Many citizens find such actions contemptible.

      • North 8.2.1

        Ha ! Too late…..I get it – the Ponce Key’s “Higher Standards, Higher Standards, Higher Standards !”

        All along he was talking about taller flag poles from which to fly his and Richie’s beloved Silver Fern. What a creep !

      • Rozgonz 8.2.2

        Where would we be without big business Paul? Who creates jobs and pays your bills Paul?

    • Grindlebottom 8.3

      Hooton:…I think the OIA needs to be fully reviewed, reformed and modernised, including adding penalties for breaking it. This may also be a start for a push towards that.

      The behaviour of this National government suggests this Court decision might be the start of a move to amend the OIA to ensure they can get away with this sort of refusal to release information behaviour in the future. They are unlikely to add penalties for breaking it that would apply to Ministers.

      • Grindlebottom 8.3.1

        From a quick read of the decision the guts of it seems to be that Court has ordered Grosser to reconsider the decision, ensuring officials this time properly assess each piece of information in 6 of the 8 categories requested by Professor Kelsey against the OIA criteria for withholding official information, and that any refusal to release the information next time correctly identifies the specific reason allowed in s 18(a)-(h) of the Act for withholding each piece of information, as well as the grounds on which those reasons are based.

        The Crown probably won’t need to appeal. The Chief Ombudsman reviewed the Minister’s decision after seeing 21 documents that fell within Kelsey’s request. She upheld the decision to withhold. The Judge said he was unable to review the merits of the decision to withhold (meaning he couldn’t legally substitute his judgement on whether public interest outweighed other considerations for withholding info).

        All Grosser may have to do is get his officials to do a bit more work and he gets to withhold basically the same information again. I think the way the judge explains how the Minister must identify the “grounds” for his reasons will cause MFAT some headaches: he makes that rather muddy, IMO. But the Minister could still conceivably get away with not providing grounds by virtue of s 19(a)(2).

    • Stuart Munro 8.4

      Nice use of the ‘Labour did it too’ meme Matthew – can you substantiate it?

      • Matthew Hooton 8.4.1

        Yes, I have been a big user of the OIA for many years and it would take months to get ministers in the last government to comply with the law. Now it is many more months, rolling in some cases into years. It seems each government tries to outdo the one before in terms of abusing this particular Act.

        • leftie 8.4.1.1

          @Matthew Hooton.

          Where’s the proof? Your response doesn’t substantiate anything.

        • Draco T Bastard 8.4.1.2

          There’s a maximum of 20 days turnaround. I assume that you’re taking all these that are taking months to the Ombudsman?

        • Stuart Munro 8.4.1.3

          Months to years – so it would not be out of place to describe this government as an order of magnitude worse in the matter of OIA requests. I always like to know effect sizes.

        • Tracey 8.4.1.4

          And of course your own admission that when you were a paid employee of National and had to process OIA’s you happily abused the process by directive.

          But that’s changed now Matthew, right? You know since Key pissed you off personally and all.

          🙄

          • Matthew Hooton 8.4.1.4.1

            My record was one year (to the day) and that was going back and forth to the Ombudsman many times, and negotiating what would be released. In the end we could withhold a great deal of information and gave the requestor (the student unions) a single sentence that answered their inquiry fully. To hold up an OIA for a whole year was so unusual in the mid 1990s that I kept the file as a memento. By the mid 2000s, a one year delay was common but not standard practice. Now it is standard practice. God knows where things will get to if the situation isn’t corrected.

            • Tracey 8.4.1.4.1.1

              Everything always come back to intent Matthew. Laws are only effective in this kind of area when people enforce/apply them with the intent of the law in mind, instead of the mindset of circumventing obligations. I don’t know how that changes.

              For example the Cabinet Manual is pretty clear but has no genuine enforcement provision so is treated like a piece of toilet paper

              I had a complaint to the Ombudsmen (following a decline by DBH) still underway 2 years later. By then my client had been to Court and the information I requested was required for that. NEVER heard again from Ombudsmen.

            • DoublePlusGood 8.4.1.4.1.2

              “kept the file as a memento”
              Says everything about your lack of character and integrity really, that you would want to keep a file to fondly remember a time when you abused the system for political gain.

            • Grant 8.4.1.4.1.3

              So it’s not corruption of the intent of the OIA that bothers you it’s just the scale on which it’s practiced. Sounds about right for you.

      • Pat 8.5.1

        tis just another variation of “they do it too” …Matthew is nothing if not predictable.

        • Matthew Hooton 8.5.1.1

          But they didn’t “do it too” – not to this extent. This is the worst government ever in terms of OIA compliance. That is my point. Courts need to be used to intervene more to stop it getting even worse, and hopefully encourage improvement.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 8.5.1.1.1

            Personal responsibility means personal consequences. Get Ministers a corporate box from SERCO. With bars. No, not that kind of bar.

            • Tracey 8.5.1.1.1.1

              and employees who choose to take orders from people seeking to abuse the system ought to have protection to do the right thing.

          • Pat 8.5.1.1.2

            “But they didn’t “do it too” – not to this extent. This is the worst government ever in terms of OIA compliance.”

            and not only in terms of OIA compliance…but I must confess that statement was not predicted.

    • Tracey 8.6

      progressively worse indeed. This government was elected on a self professed claim of better transparency than its predecessor. It lied and then failed by design. But then you know this cos you were part of that abuse at one stage and didn’t object.

      BUT now you are all reformed since Mr Key pissed you off personally.

  9. Tory 9

    I have no issues with the Courts findings, that’s the process.

    With regards to the politics of Jane Kelsey, she doesn’t believe in globalisation whereas the current government (and myself) do, what’s wrong with challenging (you use the words ‘publicly attacked and maligned’) a critic on their views?

    It happens everyday in some form (from the left and right; after all it was the ex Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark who categorised John Campbell a “sanctimonious little creep”).

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1

      With regards to the politics of Jane Kelsey, she doesn’t believe in globalisation whereas the current government (and myself) do, what’s wrong with challenging (you use the words ‘publicly attacked and maligned’) a critic on their views?

      It’s not peoples views that need challenging but the facts. Kelsey has facts, the RWNJs only have ad hominem attacks.

      • sandflypoint 9.1.1

        No Kelsey doesn’t have the facts. There is a fairly long list of claims she has made on the TPP that are demonstrably false. Kelsey is a paid activist, nothing more. All power to her, but the TPP is away and the sun still rose this morning.

        • Draco T Bastard 9.1.1.1

          There is a fairly long list of claims she has made on the TPP that are demonstrably false.

          You’ll be able to list them then right?

          Kelsey is a paid activist, nothing more.

          No she’s not, she’s an academic. You really shouldn’t go round defaming people like that – it could get you in trouble.

          but the TPP is away and the sun still rose this morning.

          And the sun will rise again tommorrow and the TPPA will still be a bad deal costing us billions.

          • Rozgonz 9.1.1.1.1

            Kelsey is a communist who is fundamentally opposed to free trade and anything the National Government does. She can’t think straight so her argument carry’s no weight.

            [lprent: And obviously you are card carrying fascist from the late 1930s, who wanders around with your brain hanging out of your pants showing syphilitic sores and bad penile hygiene. In other words a sick dickhead.

            This is an ‘fact’ that carries equal credibility with your one. In other words none…. Have you read our policy? Oh thats right – you probably can’t understand words that someone hasn’t made into slogans for you.

            Banned permanently as being a troll who is simply too stupid to write on this site. ]

        • mickysavage 9.1.1.2

          Straw man argument. One of her main complaints is that she has been improperly denied the relevant information and from the looks of today’s decision she is right.

        • savenz 9.1.1.3

          Oh where have I heard the phrase

          TPP is away and the sun still rose this morning

          Yes I bet it’s nice in Hawaii and the sun still rises there, oh to be a government funded troll.

    • North 9.2

      Yeah well Bowel Motion reckons Kelsey’s just a Commie…..???

  10. BLiP 10

    Indeed, sincere thanks to Jane Kelsey along with Consumer NZ, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Ngati Kahungunu, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Tertiary Education Union, Greenpeace and Oxfam for exposing yet more unlawfulness by the John Key led National Ltd™ government. Were it not for this extraordinary collaboration it seems Jane Kelsey’s fight would have been made all the more difficult.

    Any celebrations should be tempered by the fact that the Ombusman’s Office and Crown Law have colluded with National Ltd™ in denying New Zealanders their rights. While its pretty much the job of Crown Law to protect the government, Beverley Wakem needs to explain herself. Not only did she drag her heels over this matter but she appears also to have got it completely wrong.

    • Gangnam Style 10.1

      “Beverley Wakem needs to explain herself. Not only did she drag her heels over this matter but she appears also to have got it completely wrong.” – YES!

    • Tracey 10.2

      It’s a hard left marxist conspiracy to make life hard for NZers. Clearly. Such bastards seeking to hold Ministers and their departments to account pursuant to legislation passed by Parliament as representatives of the people.

  11. Mike the Savage One 11

    A triumph of some form at last, for Jane Kelsey and friends, I congratulate her! With some pleasure I also read this in an article by Hamish Rutherford on ‘stuff.co’ today (see link below):

    “The decision led to a fresh attack of the Ombudsman, which adjudicates on Official Information Act disputes, and upheld Groser’s decision not to release information.

    The Taxpayers’ Union congratulated Kelsey on her court challenge, as it dismissed the Ombudsman’s effectiveness.

    “This is a significant victory for freedom of information and an embarrassment for the Office of the Ombudsman which has been shown up as lacking. Every day, groups from the Taxpayers’ Union to Greenpeace along with public lawyers and political journalists are hampered by a freedom of information system which is being gamed by the government,” executive director Jordan Williams said.

    “For years the Ombudsman’s office has complained that the problems are due to a lack of funding. In reality, the number of appeals relating to the Official Information Act has snowballed because government agencies and politicians know that the Ombudsman is a toothless tiger.” ”

    Quoted extract from stuff.co, here is the link to the full story:
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/72963910/judge-orders-trade-minister-to-review-his-refusal-to-release-tppa-documents

    The Chief Ombudsman is defending her Office, but I know full well, like many others, that they have been sitting on endless complaints for months if not years, and simply lamenting underfunding, and otherwise do nothing, that has been a weak performance by Dame Beverley Wakem.

    This government has been playing the OIA system for years, and they continue doing it, denying citizens transparency and accountability, and with that access to justice also in many other complaints. Having read some decisions by Ms Wakem, I am not impressed by her and her colleague Ron Paterson.

  12. NZJester 12

    When big corporations who are not governments are allowed to see the text in full but not the general public then there is a serious problem with it to begin with. Any money those big corporations make out of this deal before it all becomes public is just as bad as someone making money from the stock market by insider trading.

  13. mikesh 13

    It seems to me Ms Kelsey has not gained anything. The grounds of the court’s decision are that Groser & Co did not comply with with the provisions of the act. So now Groser will “return to the drawing board”, comply with the act’s provisions, and then refuse the application anyway, assuming he can make a reasonable case for doing so.

    • Tracey 13.1

      Except she has revealed that Mr Groser made a decision based on his ideology rather than the criteria for releasing information. Presumably he was worried that his desire to not release couldn’t be supported by the criteria laid out in the legislation, otherwise why ignore said criteria?

      Others may think that revealing that is nothing, but in fact it makes it harder for those who support this government to do so with the belief that they are supporting people with integrity, honesty, genuine belief in the positions they take on our behalf (cos IF he genuinely held such belief the process would have supported a decision to withhold the information) . People who twist a system, or in this case simply ignore it cannot be trusted and show very poor judgment. It follows that their decisions on our behalf cannot be trusted either. But hey, some folks think they can get a better life by supporting such behaviour…

      The criteria exist to prevent politicians abusing the right to know what is going on in our Parliament. Groser has done just that. Key wont invoke the “highest ethical standards” and the Speaker won’t punish him. National’s supporters might not too BUT that doesn’t change the type of character that is being revealed as Mr Groser.

      Now when people vote for he and his party they do it with full knowledge that he will do anything, including breaching laws, to control what information NZers get to see. They may not ask why, but they ought to.

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    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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