Cottoning on to new ways of exploiting workers

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 24th, 2015 - 67 comments
Categories: boycott, employment, workers' rights - Tags: , , , ,

Cotton On have hit the news for all the wrong reasons, with FIRST Union revealing that they’re pushing to remove guaranteed rest and meal breaks from workers in their distribution centre. FIRST General Secretary Robert Reid says:

“Breaks are crucial on industrial sites because they keep people safe. Worker fatigue is a risk on an industrial site like the Cotton On distribution centre. Removing breaks increases the risk to workers. After the government’s law changes removing tea and meal breaks is legal, but that does not make it ethical or sensible”

Labour’s labour spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway demonstrates how this absolutely puts the lie to John Key’s promises about his unfair employment law changes:

“John Key told Kiwis who work for a living that their tea breaks would not be taken away from them by the law change. Yet at the very first opportunity, we see a large employer trying to claw back their staff’s right to a break.

“John Key also told us that the law change was about supporting small New Zealand businesses. Yet the first to take advantage of it is a wealthy Australian corporation.

“And John Key said that industries such as hospitality and air traffic control were the ones that needed the law change. Yet people working in retail with predicable customer demand are the first to be hit.

It really defies belief – at least, if you’re a person who understands that workers aren’t robots and that there’s some basic principles which are more important than profit – like making sure every worker goes home safe and well at the end of their shift, not worn out like a machine part.

But look at Cotton On’s own weaselly, misleading defence of themselves:

In response to recent comments made by First Union NZ, the Cotton On Group would like to make it clear that no changes have been made to our workers’ rights in any of our distribution centres. Negotiations are currently in place between the Cotton On Group and First Union with no agreement having yet been made.

The Cotton On Group is committed to having highly engaged staff and we have an effective two-way communication process in place, by way of implementation of our consultative committees which exist in each of our DCs globally, allowing each and every one of our people to have a voice.

To ensure we can maintain the integrity of the negotiation process we are committed to continue our conversations with First Union until an agreement is made. Our people and their working conditions have and always will be our top priority.

That’s literally the whole statement. In the first paragraph, they try to misdirect you about the facts of the matter: FIRST’s release is very clear that these are changes being negotiated (demanded) by Cotton On in bargaining. The second paragraph reads like it was written by the people behind the infamous Target union-busting video.

And the third paragraph is simply a lie. “Your people” (or as Cotton On and Target both call them, “our team members”) and their working conditions simply can’t be your top priority if you’re trying to take away the guaranteed breaks they already get under their agreement!

When the Employment Relations Amendment Bill was proposed, then-Minister of Labour Simon Bridges made a great hue and cry about “flexibility” and “fairness” in the workplace. Cotton On is showing us exactly what that means – and sadly, they won’t be the only ones.

67 comments on “Cottoning on to new ways of exploiting workers ”

  1. Colonial Rawshark 1

    I’d love to see what breaks senior management give themselves during a working day in head office.

  2. fisiani 2

    The sky is falling……..The sky is falling said Chicken Little aka Robert Reid
    Cotton On staff will still have tea breaks and lunch breaks and you well know that. That is the law. They may have to stagger their tea breaks rather than everyone walk off the floor at 10am. Do you seriously claim that this company will not allow staff to have a cup of tea? And you wonder why people do not take the Left seriously.

    [Stephanie: as this is my post, my moderation standards apply, and I am simply not going to waste time on anti-worker trolling like “everyone walk off the floor at 10am”. Grow up or GTFO.]

    • infused 2.1

      Pretty much. Same as the outrage over 90 day trails. The left will never remove this now.

      • Repeal of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill and scrapping of the 90-day trials were key parts of Labour’s workers’ policy in the last election. Since they’ve not been in a position to actually do or not do those things, I suggest it’s not really helpful to make sneery predictions about it.

        • Puckish Rogue 2.1.1.1

          Labour also got a drubbing in the last election as well, something to think about maybe

          • Atiawa 2.1.1.1.1

            Labour did receive a drubbing in the last election.

            Democracy, open & honest government though were the main casualties.

          • Stephanie Rodgers 2.1.1.1.2

            How is that in any way relevant to the comment I was replying to? Try not to troll.

            • Puckish Rogue 2.1.1.1.2.1

              You brought up that Labour had Repeal of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill and scrapping of the 90-day trials as key parts of Labour’s workers’ policy in the last election

              I suggested that Labours drubbing was due, in part, to what Labour wanted to repeal and scrap and how out of youch Labour had become

              • adam

                PR spin again – What is in your crack pipe these days Puckish Rogue?

                I mean your almost as desperate as theblackkitten and reaching for t.i.n.a.

                Wow, you must be worried, it that tears I see?

                When you dribble can you at least come up some better arguments. It’s not the 1980’s, you know?

                • infused

                  It’s correct. No one from business is going to vote labour if they wish to repeal that law. It’s just retarded.

                  • Pasupial

                    infused

                    “No one from business is going to vote labour” anyway, so what exactly is the point of the LP pandering to them?

                    Please try to refrain from casual derogation of the mentally impaired in future comments. I don’t expect you to understand why; given your own empathy impairment, but it is needlessly offensive.

        • infused 2.1.1.2

          I’m not. Did you miss the part where Andrew Little backed down on the 90 day trial? I’m guessing so.

    • Skinny 2.2

      What a disrespectful comment. Please have an ounce of humanity for the 2 workers that lost their lives on the job in this industry. Fatigue is a major contributor to workplace deaths & injuries. No amount of money or time swaps replaces regular rest breaks. There is one way to sort this scumbag employer and that is a boycott and picketing outside their stores to let other workers know what their up too.

      Fortunately I hope Peters gets elected to stop National imposing further nasty employment law changes.

    • BassGuy 2.3

      Do you seriously claim that this company will not allow staff to have a cup of tea?

      Mine doesn’t, so why wouldn’t Cotton On?

      It seems that unscrupulous employers will use employment law to get whatever they can from their minimum wage employees and offer nothing in return.

      • The lost sheep 2.3.1

        What kind of company do you work for, and on what basis are you not allowed a cup of tea?

        • BassGuy 2.3.1.1

          I can’t say too much because the industry I’m in is a very small one.

          When I signed up with them, they said that the industry is one with flexible hours, so breaks would need to be taken when it was convenient due to the workload. This is reasonable, but what isn’t is that it’s been set up so that we work until the work’s done, and then we go home. 2 hours, 9 hours, doesn’t matter, if we don’t get a chance to have a break that’s our problem (so says the CEO).

          In the other room, I’ve actually got a written warning telling me off for wasting company time when I started taking my breaks (as was my right to do).

          There’s obviously a lot more to it than just that, but that’d give away too much information and I’d be up the creek with my employer…

      • Philip Ferguson 2.3.2

        A friend of mine handles a lot of personal grievances cases in situations where workers aren’t unionised or haven’t got satisfaction via the union. She was telling me not long ago abut what she has identified as quite common – people working on stalls in a mall where they are the sole employee on any particular day.

        Not only are they *not* guaranteed a teabreak, they find it very hard to even get to the toilet because there’s no-one else to do their job while they go for a pee or take a dump.

        Moreover, workers in the mall jobs above find it very difficult to do anything about their conditions. They can’t afford to go on strike because they have no reserves to live off and, generally, aren’t unionised. There’s a queue more workers waiting for their job if they alienate the boss, because many people will take even the shittiest work because they can’t otherwise make ends meet.

        Some people here have simply got no idea how a section of workers are treated and the conditions they have to live under, because there are no options.

        And when the snobs do have to face the facts about the conditions under which such workers labour, their stock response is “Well, they can always leave and get another job.”

        Well, firstly, they can’t because these “other” (supposedly higher-paying jobs) are pretty thin on the ground and the queues for them are very long.

        But, even more significantly, employers require *someone* to do these shitty jobs, so even if a string of people walk off and leave them, the employers still need the jobs done and will simply find more workers somewhere else. And if the labour market here won’t supply them, they’ll get the law changed to import them from countries where workers are usually paid less. And then the state will try to stop migrant workers organising, employers will try to stop them joining unions and so on. (I should make clear here, that I’m in favour of migrant workers, and don’t think that the left helps itself with its all-too-frequent petty kiwi nationalism around the immigration issue.)

        • Karen 2.3.2.1

          +1 Philip
          Back in the late 1980s I worked Sundays in a shop where I was the only one and I had to close the shop to go to the toilet. It wasn’t very busy so I could do that, and I didn’t mind having no break for lunch because I only worked there on Sundays and got double time. After the Employment Contracts Act came in penal rates disappeared and that job was no longer worth it.

          I was lucky – I had choices, but most people who do these kind of jobs have no choice.

        • The lost sheep 2.3.2.2

          Clearly, it is not ‘reasonable’ under current law for an employee to work for an extended period without access to a break or toilet!
          By it’s nature, I would think a stall is reasonably easy to shut so a sole charge employee can ‘rest, refresh and take care of personal matters’.

          Has your friend taken any of these Personal Grievance situations to M.B.I.E? I would be very interested to know their response to such a case.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3.2.2.1

            reasonably easy to shut.

            Do you ever think before you dribble?

            Open on all eight sides…

            • The lost sheep 2.3.2.2.1.1

              In the case that it cannot be shut and locked, and I’m struggling to think of any I’ve ever seen that can’t be, then it would be clearly unreasonable to have an arrangement where an employee was unable to rest or go to the toilet?

              So I would be interested to know if such a situation has been tested with M.B.I.E.

              By the way OAB. Fuck off.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Struggle away: see Rosie’s comment below.

                Reality doesn’t conform with your smug, self-serving ignorance, Marie Antoinette.

          • Rosie 2.3.2.2.2

            Lost sheep. No those mall stalls aren’t easy to shut and secure. Most are not enclosed so any absence of staff leaves the stock vulnerable to being stolen. There is also the till and the cash float to consider. They can’t be left unattended. Some older tills are easy to open.
            If they are lucky they may a friend who works in a store who might come out to keep an eye on the stall but their employer would have to agree to that first.

            Have a look next time you are in a mall. There isn’t many ways those stalls can be secured during trading hours.

        • Rosie 2.3.2.3

          Yep, agreed Philip. I can empathise with those sole employee mall workers.

          For twenty months I was a sole employee in a store. One day out of four I had a workmate. Two of us covered the seven day operation of the shop.

          I had no morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea break for those twenty months. Unlike the mall workers in the stalls I could lock the store doors to go to the loo.

          I ended up on medication for anxiety and panic attacks due to the relentless monotony of brain draining sole work and fatigue. I later developed physical health problems as a result of the stress.

          I firmly believe the Employment Relations Amendment Act was passed with employers like my previous ones in mind, in regard to the breaks clause in the Act. It simply legitimises the poor conditions that people in retail (and I would say hospitality too), work under.

          Cotton On have taken it one step further and have boldly exploited the no breaks provision in the Act. There is no excuse for their proposals in negotiating the collective agreement with First Union, especially in a distribution centre where they are not dealing with customers. It also shows they are incompetent if they can’t manage breaks around the work schedule.

          I really hope that media attention and strong negotiating from First Union will make them retract their proposal to remove breaks. If not we will have entered a new era in sweat shop labour in NZ.

          • The lost sheep 2.3.2.3.1

            Under the previous law the situation you describe would have been illegal Rosie.

            Did you make contact with a Union / M.B.I.E or anyone else to attempt to resolve the situation?

            • felix 2.3.2.3.1.1

              “Under the previous law the situation you describe would have been illegal”

              And John Key’s government has made it legal.

              • The lost sheep

                For many years I employed sole charge retail workers on an arrangement where they got paid 9 hours for working an 8 hour day, during which they took breaks and lunch as and when customers allowed.

                I always made the offer that they could work a standard 8 hour day, shutting the shop for paid tea breaks, and an unpaid lunch break at set times, but only ever had 1 employee chose that over the more lucrative offer.

                So neither myself or my sole charge employees found the new law very disruptive, as we already had a very reasonable agreement in place.

                • McFlock

                  🙄
                  cute story, bro

                  • The lost sheep

                    In your Marxist class war world view of all employers as cigar smoking haters and enslavers of humanity such a scenario is impossible McFlock, so I forgive your cynicism.

                    • felix

                      Most employers actually have pretty good relationships with most staff most of the time. Do you agree? I suspect you do.

                      Now, read that first sentence out loud and see if you can spot the problem with allowing all employers to govern all breaks all of the time.

                      ps I’ve never seen McFlock write anything that would suggest such a view. Perhaps you could cite an example or apologize for the characterisation.

                    • McFlock

                      I simply find somewhat unlikely the odds of someone who is dumb enough to confuse the fact that they didn’t find a law change “very disruptive” with the fact that some employers are using the law change to abuse workers being able to competently manage a business.

                      Stranger things have happened, I guess.

                    • felix

                      I’ve never robbed a petrol station at gunpoint, and I can’t understand why the Nanny State National govt thinks it should remain illegal.

                      It’s like they have this dystopian cartoon world view in which we are all running around with stockings over our heads and brandishing sawn-offs.

            • Rosie 2.3.2.3.1.2

              Yes it was illegal at that time, (2009 – 2011)I was well aware of that.

              I was a Union member but there was nothing they could do for me. They represented me and my co worker on other issues, such as the employer trying to dictate when we take annual leave but didn’t take them up on the no breaks issue. I also phoned the former Dept of Labour and they said they couldn’t offer any solutions.

              At the time I was offered the job I said to the employer that I would need to shut the shop for 30 minutes to take my lunch break. They said I wouldn’t be doing that and that if I didn’t like it I didn’t have to work there. But I did, I was desperate for $$$

              • Rosie

                Furthermore Lost Sheep, it would be naive to presume that because certain employment practices are illegal that those employee’s exposed to such practices would simply be able to have their grievances addressed through legal channels, and all would be well. It just doesn’t work like that in real life.

                In the case of sole workers it is quite possible as a society we put their issues in the too hard basket, after all there would have been thousands of such workers dotted all over the country, and how would you deal with that?

                Well National’s answer, as I mentioned earlier was to legitimise those poor employment practices by removing the right to a break all together.

                And to repeat what I I mentioned earlier, we now have an employer without any valid reason, attempting to remove the right to a break in their collective agreement. The ER Amendment Act may prove to be the springboard to levels of exploitation we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.

                • BassGuy

                  As if to reinforce your point, I’ve been told that three anonymous complaints have been laid against my employer by family and friends of family (because named complaints could potentially be traced back to me and I’d face consequences for that) and not a single one of those has been followed through. No interviews with staff, not a thing has been done.

                  The complaints specifically address: inaccurate time sheets and the employer making changes to them (removing worked hours), lack of breaks, and not being paid for stat holidays.

                  So, it seems for those of us at the bottom of the rung, there are very few protections.

              • Lanthanide

                You could have forced the issue by shutting the shop for 30 minutes and having your break. Eventually if they found out about it, any real action by them would allow for a personal grievance, which you almost certainly would win.

                Big amount of stress and bother though, and could make it difficult to get a future job (being seen as a troublemaker etc).

                • Rosie

                  The risk was too great Lanthanide. Sometimes we find ourselves over a barrel with employers and that was one of those times. And yes, getting branded a trouble maker basically black lists you for future work, which is grossly unfair when you’ve not done anything wrong.

                  The one day of the week I had a co worker, we tended to go overboard with our breaks to make up for lost time. That was they only way we could address the issue in the end.

              • The lost sheep

                Frankly Rosie, as it was illegal I cannot understand on why on earth your Union could do nothing for you? What Union was that?

                I am in retail and over the years I have assisted probably 30 employees in this exact situation. On only 2 occasions did it take more than simply advising the employer that the staff member would be lodging a PG to resolve the issue.
                The remaining 2 cases were resolved by requesting mediation through M.B.I.E. and took about 10 mins with mediators for the employer to back track very quickly.

                If you ever find yourself in a similar situation with a Union or anyone that won’t help you in a case you believe the law is clearly being breached, I can suggest contacted your nearest Community Law Centre for assistance.
                They generally do an excellent job.

                • Rosie

                  Good for you for compensating your workers Lost Sheep. Glad it worked out for them with minimal hassle.

                  I’m not prepared to go any further into my previous situation with you or name the Union for your benefit. I am also well aware of the Community Law Centre.

                  I get the feeling that because there hasn’t been any issue with tea break regs in your experience that you fail to see how it can be for anyone else.

                  What I have tried to get across twice now, is the main point being that the National Govt have given employers the go ahead to exploit workers, and by the looks we’re already seeing an example of give an inch take a mile.

                  Workplace issues are broader than the limited scope that legal action provides, as a remedy to those issues. Workplace issues are societal ones and they are political ones. Our voting impacts on the direction our employment laws take.

                  If you are concerned that workers get treated fairly, and it sounds like you do, you need to think about voting National out in 2017.

                  • The lost sheep

                    I don’t believe the new law allows workers to be exploited Rosie.
                    How many workers are employed throughout NZ, and how long has it taken for one case to come up that looks contentious?
                    And I guarantee that whatever Cotton On are trying to do, it WILL NOT result in those workers being denied the right to tea breaks and lunch breaks.

                    How about we watch for the outcome and see what happens? if I am wrong I will come back and say so.

    • Atiawa 2.4

      Why don’t you fuck off and share your unsubstantiated views with those who might be interested in what you have to say. You really are a plonker of the highest order.

    • adam 2.5

      Love you fisiani – you septic tank full of fatuous comments.

      Any lie you need, to help cover up the lies of dear leader.

      Any chance you can write anything which is not ideological?

      Ignoble fan boy for Key.

      Such puerile rancour to defend your voracity.

  3. Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark 3

    The company was hoping people would not cotton on their cynical PR by posting a Facebook message during the weekend to say “Happy Human Rights Day Everyone!” ???

    Looks like they certainly invited a whole load of comments:

    https://www.facebook.com/cottonon/photos/a.463289326607.244888.53518101607/10152760218341608/?type=1&theater

    • Colonial Rawshark 3.1

      PR is one of the most evil disciplines known to modern man. So seems par for the course.

  4. Olwyn 4

    The PR formula is always the same – use the “little battler’s” so-called interests to advance corporate interests, whether it is mum and dad investors, the Sallies or the little suburban shop. While the little suburban shop might be mildly inconvenienced by someone’s tea break, it is the firm with shops in every town that increases it margin. With Key doing what he can to undermine unions, we need to get better at collectively boycotting shops that mistreat their workers. It is easy to do without Cotton on’s nickers and hard to see how legislation could be introduced obliging us to buy them.

  5. Lanthanide 5

    Worksafe should put out a warning that any company at which curtailment of meal breaks is found to have contributed to a health and safety incident will be severely fined.

  6. saveNZ 6

    Disgusting. Down the road to serfdom.

    We are going backwards not forwards as a country for human rights.

  7. vto 7

    Has John Key ever belonged to a union?
    Has John Key ever read a book about workers and union history?
    Has John Key ever done the work of a real man? or woman?

    Looking at how he swings a hammer, the answer is clearly no, never. John Key has no idea what it is like to be an ordinary worker

  8. Rodel 8

    How long will it be till someone paints BOY on front of the company shop name?
    Not me but I wont be patronizing them.

  9. Philip Ferguson 9

    Employers are probably always going to push the envelope. And since there has been so little workers’ resistance in recent years – in fact there has been little resistance since the fight against the ECA – they feel confident enough to push the envelope further.

    What to do?

    Here’s veteran activist Don Franks on how this crap can be responded to:
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/ways-to-wreck-the-teabreak-busting-bill/

    • Bill 9.1

      While I agree wholeheartedly with direct action – take your tea break anyway – the problem is, that in line with many people elsewhere, people here have become deeply acculturated to ideas of always seeking permission from perceived authority before acting.

      Such habits of acquiescence, driven as they are by fear, don’t get broken up so easily. Deepening those habits by stacking layer upon layer of new expectations, rules and sanctions on the other hand, is a simple affair. That it eventually breaks people, is neither here nor there in ‘the grand scheme of things’.

      Sadly, it’s not only exhibited in the workplace but also, arguably, in relation to rescue operations where coordinators, anxious to ‘follow the rules’, often seem to wind up ticking boxes instead of acting. Most dangerous of all from my perspective, is that it’s evident in relation to AGW where ‘everyone’, it seems, is waiting for a government (or some-such) to issue permissions instead of just jumping away from the freight-train.

  10. Atiawa 10

    Importers/retailers of clothing into this country, like Cotton On, must be making huge profits at the expense of the low paid exploited garment makers of India, China, Bangladesh etc.
    Has any research taken place into the mark-up those importers/retailers achieve as a result of sourcing their items from slave labour countries?
    When their buyers return from countries like India they must share their experiences with business owners. Its little wonder a tea or lunch break is seen as unnecessary. 20 minutes of lost time due to a tea break might be the difference between a bowl of rice for those workers and a few extra thousand $’s for Cotton On.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1

      Has any research taken place into the mark-up those importers/retailers achieve as a result of sourcing their items from slave labour countries?

      John Pilger has a documentary on it. In it he mentions a pair of boxers that cost a few centres to make in the Philippines and sold for about 40 pounds in the UK.

  11. DH 11

    I’d like to see more genuine outrage from politicians on the left, too many seem to look at this as just another day at the office.

    In light of the unacceptable forestry deaths this law change was shameful and it’s a pity there’s no crime of attempted manslaughter because that’s what this is IMO.

    Fatigue kills and injures people. Anyone who doesn’t understand that, or denies it, should not be let anywhere near positions of authority. Regular rest breaks are not a luxury, they’re a necessity.

  12. Philip Ferguson 12

    I recall when I was a kid the Big Thing in capitalist palaver was The Leisure Society.

    The problem in the future wasn’t going to be unemployment or poverty. We were, we were told, now living in a period of permanent capitalist prosperity and it was all good for everyone.

    The big problem was going to be that, with the deployment of technology and machines, we were only going to have to work 20 hours a week and we’d be able to produce what once took 40 hours. The massive expansion of productivity meant we’d still be able to get the same incomes, and even bigger incomes, while working far less hours. So the problem facing us would be what on earth would we do with all this leisure time.

    Whatever did happen to that promise of The Leisure Society?
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/whatever-happened-to-the-leisure-society/

    Phil

    • vto 12.1

      Silly. The leisure time got grabbed by the capitalists before the workers even knew it existed.

  13. dv 13

    Are these the same retailers who are upset about the GST issue?
    Makes you want to shop off shore.

    • Rosie 13.1

      It’s usually the higher end retailers that get upset about competing with GST free online stores. Those selling good quality clothing, shoes, jewellery, fragrance, books, music and home ware items etc.

      Cotton On sells singlets for $8. Probably not complaining too much about the online market. Their competition would local, like the Warehouse or K Mart.

      Like I said last week, lets have a GST free NZ to make life easier for all, but thats not the right topic for this thread 🙂

  14. Philip Ferguson 14

    Some inspiring working class resistance from Dublin:
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/dublin-working-class-communities-show-how-resistance-is-done/

    This is the kind of fighting spirit we need here.

    Otherwise we can just expect more and more pushing of the envelope like Cotton On seems to be doing.

    I intend to write some more about Dublin working class communities because the resistance is continuing. It’s very much at grassroots level, while the trade union leaderships are playing political games with Labour and Sinn Fein (the Shinners look like they will virtually obliterate Labour in the next southern general election).

    Phil

    • Ennui 14.1

      Thats a bloody interesting story Phillip: I saw it reported on Russian TV who also had the riots in Stuttgart. A few years back some US corporate bought the water supply in La Paz so the locals collected water from the roofs. When the Bolivian government banned this the locals rebelled and the government fell.

      I love these Dubliners belligerence toward unfair practices. Write more.

  15. Kriss X 15

    Labour needs to raise its game and get into power, or we can all expect more of this sort of thing.

    These are the issues that matter to everyone. Not reverse onus when rape accusations are made, or the gender of our elected reps.

    Get back to grass roots and start representing the workers and little people again.

  16. Sable 16

    Welcome to the banana republic that New Zealand is being transformed into. We are now Australia’s Mexico and thanks to John Sleaze once the TPPA is signed we will be the US’s too.

    Hope the Nat creeps have put some land aside for the new shanty town we will all soon be living in.

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  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    11 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    14 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    16 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
    16 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
    19 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    5 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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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