English welcomes Reserve Bank doing his job for him

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, May 14th, 2015 - 54 comments
Categories: bill english, housing, leadership - Tags: , , , ,

Why is it left to the Reserve Bank to take (poorly targeted, belated) action on the property price bubble? Yesterday’s press release from The Greens was spot on:

Reserve Bank forced to do AWOL Govt’s job on housing

The Reserve Bank is being forced into acting on the Auckland housing crisis because the Government is refusing to, the Green Party said today.

“It’s becoming increasingly obvious that it’s the Reserve Bank, and not John Key and his Government, who has the best interests of Aucklanders at heart when it comes to home ownership,” Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

“This Government refuses to do anything meaningful to solve the Auckland housing crisis, so the Reserve Bank has to step in and try to do the Government’s job with the limited tools available to the Bank.

“Last month, the Reserve Bank called on the Government to close the tax loopholes that allow property speculators to run rampant in Auckland – that is, introduce a capital gains tax on investment property. The Government rejected those calls.

“Today, the Reserve Bank is taking action to try to curb rampant property speculation in Auckland, by restricting finance to investment property buyers in Auckland. The Government must follow suit by using the tools at its disposal.

Today Bill English welcomed the Reserve Bank’s move. Why isn’t he leading the way? Why isn’t the government taking action? The RB has even told them how.

It’s true – this government is recklessly complacent.

54 comments on “English welcomes Reserve Bank doing his job for him ”

  1. DH 1

    You seem to misunderstand the role of the RBNZ. They’re not doing this to help anyone, they’re merely protecting the banking industry from itself.

    This will result in a further rise in rents and more misery for low income Aucklanders. Property investors require a return of x%. That return can come from capital gain or rent, or both. When the capital gain stops they put rents up to compensate for the inadequate return.

    People trying to save for a deposit have to save not just the deposit but also the inflation. Aucklanders who started saving five years ago now need more than three times as much as when they started, after the rampant housing inflation and doubling of the deposit via LVR. Now they’re going to face rent increases which will come out of their meagre savings, their chances of buying a home reducing even further.

    You can’t address housing inflation without also addressing rent inflation. They’re tied to each other. The RBNZ are just ensuring that investors consolidate their existing gains and protect the banks from a crash, that’s all they’re doing.

    • Lanthanide 1.1

      What a strange comment.

      1. Investors might like to get a return of x%, whether that be via capital gains or rental. But like everything in life, there is no guarantee they will get that return, via either capital gains or rental. If the capital gains go down, they might like to increase rents to try and chase that x%, and they can try.

      2. You can’t charge higher rents than tenants can actually pay. If you put the rent up too high, you’ll end up with empty houses, or demanding tenants that feel they deserve better service based on the rent they’re paying – it can be a false economy.

      3. Assuming capital gains stop growing, or even reverse to some extent, putting the investor underwater, as long as they can keep up with the mortgage payments they’re not in too bad a position. The real kicker is when interest rates go up, and therefore the mortgage payments go up; but it looks like in the short-to-medium term that rates are more likely to go down than they are up, so that is a nice insulating factor (and likely what has been driving a lot of the increase in price in the first place).

      4. If prices go down, and rents can’t be raised, many investors will simply have to take a loss. So much for “housing always goes up” and “this time it’s different”.

      5. When the current National government removed the ability to claim for building depreciation, there were dire warnings that rents would rise as a result. The data shows that there was no such general rent rise. Why should there be a rent rise this time?

      • alwyn 1.1.1

        The first part of his comment is absolutely true.

        The RBNZ aren’t, and aren’t meant to be, concerned with the actual level of house prices or what it means to the people who buy or rent houses in Auckland. Their job is to prevent the banking system collapsing if there is a massive drop in house values in Auckland. If that happened, and the banks had to take massive losses from defaulting borrowers the New Zealand economy would be trashed. They are only worried about whether the prices are sustainable.

        This is the reason for the 30%. The RBNZ doesn’t have to worry about investors going bankrupt, and not repaying their loans to the banks, unless the house prices were to crash by more than 30%.

        It doesn’t actually matter for investors who borrow their money from overseas banks who don’t operate in New Zealand. If they were to go bust it won’t affect the people of New Zealand.

        • Lanthanide 1.1.1.1

          I agree completely with you, and with his first point – which is why I didn’t actually respond to that first point.

          It’s just the rest of it was a load of drivel, that somehow housing investors have a divine right to a return on their investment.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.2

          If that happened, and the banks had to take massive losses from defaulting borrowers the New Zealand economy would be trashed.

          No, the banks would be trashed. The economy would probably be better off.

      • DH 1.1.2

        What’s strange about it?

        Wake up mate, people don’t have endless choices here. We can either rent or we can buy. There’s no other choices. If landlords put up rents what do you think people are going to do? Move? To where? Buy a house? How?

        Certainly rents are related to how much people can pay. But so is everything in life and housing is a necessity so an increase in rents will be paid by spending less on other things.

        And my point was that stopping capital gain won’t put investors under water. Rents provide the cashflow and rent increases consolidate and/or provide the capital gain. They’ll put rents up to prevent themselves from going under water.

        There’s nothing mysterious about the property investor model. It works on the simple economic fact that there is no inflation on money. Buy a property with borrowed money, let inflation take rents up, and eventually the cashflow turns positive. Rents go up while your own borrowing stays the same. Do the maths.

        • Lanthanide 1.1.2.1

          If your thesis is correct, why is it that the average rental in Auckland is not $1,000 a week?

          It’s so easy to put rents up, eh?

          I already provided you a recent and relevant case where landlords said they’d put rents up across the board, and yet rents didn’t go up.

          • Sabine 1.1.2.1.1

            give it another year. we are now at an average rent of 550+ per week, and that is in the suburbs.

            but it’s all cool. those with access to easy credit must be working harder and smarter and having less debt than those moochers and they must be deserving of that soon to come 1000$ per week.

            the funny thing is, i have lived through times like this.

            In Germany after 1989 – the wall fell, the boarders opened and we have had 11 Million East Germans that moved.
            I lived for two years in a Caravan, as we, my partner an Officer in the German Army, and me a PA for a Shell Executive could not afford rent on our combined incomes.

          • DH 1.1.2.1.2

            And if you’d ever paid attention to the investment market you’d know that rents lag asset prices in a rising market.

            Housing goes in cycles, it’s always gone in cycles. In times of housing inflation there’s little need to increase rents because the capital gain is providing the required return for existing investors.

            It’s when housing inflation stops that you tend to see large rent increases. Happened in 2008/09, will happen again when this round of inflation slows or stops.

            • Lanthanide 1.1.2.1.2.1

              Again, assuming that there are people willing and able to pay the rent. Can’t get blood out of a stone.

              • DH

                “Can’t get blood out of a stone.”

                Yeah, well, the day might come when that occurs but it’s not there yet. People seem to find the means to pay the rising rents, don’t ask me how they do it they just do. I guess when you don’t have much of a choice you find a way.

            • Lanthanide 1.1.2.1.2.2

              Anyway, if you’re saying that rent rises go in cycles and it’s inevitable, then the RBNZ actions haven’t really changed anything, have they? Except moved the date forward.

              If we can assume that rent rises are proportional to the forgone capital gain, then it would seem if the cycle prematurely ends when the average price of a house is $800k, then the subsequent rent rises would be less than if the cycle continued and didn’t end until the average price of a house was $1.2M.

              So if rent rises truly are inevitable, if the RBNZ has helped to accelerate the next part of the cycle, it would seem that rent rises will be less than they otherwise would be. So the RBNZ should be congratulated, not castigated.

              • DH

                Well they’re not inevitable. If you follow the concept of lag then you’d understand that rents will rise to account for past asset inflation. If investors are prevented by Govt from increasing rents then the price of houses would have to fall back to where the lag begins wouldn’t they?

                And Govt could very easily limit rent increases. They could tie them to capital gain and tax investors on gains every time they increase rents. We know they are using capital gains to increase rents so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be taxed on their gains is there?

                If investors had to borrow against their capital gain to pay CGT then they’d have less equity to borrow against to invest in more houses. Win/win.

                So it’s not as if the Govt can’t do anything about it. It’s that they won’t.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2.2

          What you’ve done here is explain, in great detail, why rental properties should not be privately owned.

          • Liberal Realist 1.1.2.2.1

            100% Agree.

            Rental housing is totally unproductive, it produces nothing. Just profits for the banks which are exported overseas.

            There should be enough social housing to meet the needs of the population present and future, funded by the state, rents determined by a percentage of income model that’s reasonable & fair. Housing is a human right after all.

            One of the rorts often forgotten is the ‘accommodation supplement’ (possibly totaling 2.2B / PA by 2016) which is really a landlord (mortgage) + employer subsidy (wages).

      • Sabine 1.1.3

        your number two point is rubbish, excuse my english.

        Rents are to cover mortgages not to cover x amount of square meter per dollar.

        i.e. this is why in Germany I can rent a one bedroom, kitchen and civilised bathroom for 900$ a month (about 45 – 54 square meter) in the middle of a decent sized town, but not in NZ.

        In Auckland you can’t rent a one bedroom, shared kitchen with a showerhead, non leaking, non drafty, and non bug infested for less then 1500$ per month. They usually call this a room in a shared flat with 6 others and yes, room rents have gone up to 350$ per week.

        No one in NZ charges rent, they all charge the Mortgage and rates on to their tenants, cause profit needs to be made from minute number one of the purchase.

        Hence why people sleep in tents, in rent a room containers, in caravans, or 10 to a three bedroom house.
        I have a few young ones that would like to get married and life in a small flat. Ain’t no one building small flats for a started, and even with both working they can’t make it work, lest they would like to eat, and have electricity, and a phone, and a car and maybe go to the dentist every three years.

        New Zealand is on verge of becoming a third world country, a lot for the very rich and nothing much for the rest,….the middle having gone to either very rich (a few) or very poor (quite a few more).

        rip, NZ, it was nice while it worked.

        • Hanswurst 1.1.3.1

          in Germany I can rent a one bedroom, kitchen and civilised bathroom for 900$ a month (about 45 – 54 square meter) in the middle of a decent sized town […]

          Less, even, if you shop around a bit.

    • Jones 1.2

      “[The RBNZ are] merely protecting the banking industry from itself.”

      Because the banks are debt junkies. It will not protect the banks from a crash. All the RBNZ can do is try and send a message.

      • Lanthanide 1.2.1

        “All the RBNZ can do is try and send a message.”

        Actually they can do a lot more. Like take banking licenses away.

        They’re just exercising the minimum amount of power they think they need to get the outcomes they want. Whether or not the outcomes they desire are sufficient is a separate question.

        • Jones 1.2.1.1

          “Like take banking licenses away”

          Aye… but I’d like to see them try… there would be re-legislation of the RBNZ Act by lunchtime. I believe the ANZ and ASB (CBA) are the most exposed banks in NZ to mortgage lending… two very big players in Australia/NZ banking system. The Government would get told.

  2. Colonial Rawshark 2

    National’s move is the smart one, in terms of the politics of the Auckland property investment class. The RBNZ move is (nominally) independent of the government. Therefore English and National will effectively deflect “blame” for the move putting the brakes on to the Auckland property investment market towards the RBNZ.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      Yep. This government won’t do anything that will put them on the wrong side of the speculators. Probably because they’re the speculators.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3

    It’s true – this government is recklessly complacent.

    No they’re not. They seem to be working hard to crash the economy so that it can be sold to offshore interests ASAP turning everyone else into serfs for the new corporate owners.

    • Jones 3.1

      The crash is already baked in… it has been since the response to the GFC in 2008. What the Government are doing is helping their constituents extract as much wealth as they can from the NZ economy before it implodes.

    • Colonial Rawshark 3.2

      The National Govt is certainly not complacent in helping their property investor mates (including their own MPs) get richer day by day. Quite the opposite in fact.

  4. Steve Alfreds 4

    The real question is will it do enough to suppress the housing market when so much of it is being driven by the level of immigration and the hot money coming in from China and Asia. There’s so much coming into the country from offshore banks which won’t be affected by the RBNZ’s actions. The government has to address the way it deals with immigration, such as sending the people coming into NZ to different regions, or reducing the overall numbers. This could be coupled with restrictions on overseas property speculators. The RBNZ is doing this as a token gesture so it is seen to be doing something. But I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the meetings between the RBNZ and the government. Tensions there. The RBNZ has to be seen to be independent and have some integrity, while the government’s hands-off approach is making it look stupid.

  5. Andrew 5

    So house prices in NZ more than double between 2001 and 2008 and there is no problem:

    PDF Link

    Now prices are shooting up in Auckland, to insane levels in my view, and pretty static everywhere else and the sky is falling?

    The seeds of this issue go back 20 years.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1

      Actually, the seeds of this issue go back to 1984 and the introduction of neo-liberalism to NZ by the 4th Labour government.

      • Jones 5.1.1

        I think they go back to 1971 when the world moved off the gold standard and across to fiat currencies.

        • alwyn 5.1.1.1

          The world went of the Gold Standard long before 1971.
          The Gold Standard ended as soon as a person holding currency (read Bank notes) couldn’t go into the issuer of the notes and demand gold, at a fixed, known exchange rate, AND receive it.
          That possibility ended in most European countries in 1931 and in the USA in 1934. It was in 1971 that Nixon refused to allow other Central Banks to demand gold from the US.
          However the Gold Standard was already dead. Thank God for small mercies.

          • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1.1.1

            It was in 1971 that Nixon refused to allow other Central Banks to demand gold from the US.

            And when Nixon did that is when the rest of the world should have dropped the US$ as the Reserve Currency. It was, after all, the US unilaterally dropping its responsibilities under the Bretton Woods agreement.

            Under a floating currency system there shouldn’t be a Reserve Currency.

            However the Gold Standard was already dead.

            And it should have died in the 19th century.

            • alwyn 5.1.1.1.1.1

              You sound like a William Jennings Bryan fan.

              “: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

              It sounds great if you don’t know that Bryan was a representative of a state that was a major producer of silver and was looking for a high priced market for his supporters’ production of silver.

              I am intrigued by the idea that “Under a floating currency system there shouldn’t be a Reserve Currency.”
              I don’t see what that is really suggesting or why it follows from floating exchange rates.

              • Draco T Bastard

                It sounds great if you don’t know that Bryan was a representative of a state that was a major producer of silver and was looking for a high priced market for his supporters’ production of silver.

                And I’d say the same thing about a Silver Standard as well – bloody useless.

                I am intrigued by the idea that “Under a floating currency system there shouldn’t be a Reserve Currency.”
                I don’t see what that is really suggesting or why it follows from floating exchange rates.

                The reason why we have the US$ as the Reserve Currency is because the US$ was going to be convertible to gold (Sure, nation to nation rather than personally). By dropping that aspect of the US$ in ’71 as Nixon did it dropped the ability to be the reserve because it no longer related to gold at a fixed price.

                And it follows from floating currencies because the exchange rate between two countries is, hypothetically, set by the trade difference between those two countries rather than their fixed exchange rate to the US$ as was set under the Bretton Woods agreement.

                In fact, once the US dropped the Gold Standard in ’71 the Bretton Woods agreement essentially came to an end.

  6. Steve Alfreds 6

    It certainly hasn’t happened overnight. But now’s the time for government to act, instead of leaving it to the wonders of the free market (joke). People have short memories in this country. Remember this from stuff in 2009.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/2291062/PM-vetoes-Hobsonville-state-homes

    No state houses will be built on the old Hobsonville airbase.
    Earthworks at the site are due to start in October and construction of 660 houses should take place from early 2010.
    But plans by the previous government to include 500 state rental houses among them have been scrapped.
    “The prime minister has made the decision that there won’t be any state rental housing,” Hobsonville Land Company chief executive Sean Bignell says.
    The development is expected to include houses for first home buyers.
    Details have yet to be finalised but Mr Bignell says they’ll be given a choice of sections to build their homes within set guidelines.
    He says the government is expected to defer the purchase of the sections for up to 10 years.
    “It’s only at a preliminary development stage at this time,” he says.
    Housing New Zealand first announced its interest in the 167ha site in 2002.
    It now owns 111ha.
    Its subsidiary, the Hobsonville Land Company, was formed in 2005 to oversee development.
    Plans for the provision of some state houses were opposed by Prime Minister John Key when he was campaigning for the last general election.
    More than 770 members of the Hobsonville-West Harbour Ratepayers Association also signed a petition opposing the plan.

  7. plumington 7

    One reason housing in NZ is expensive because of the monopoly of building products, real wages haven’t gone up
    What building company and its subsidiaries owns building products (from steel, concrete timber through to even electrical to plumbing ) and are part owned by the government and all the big business boys
    Follow the money trail

    • Tracey 7.1

      When it comes to housing/property in NZ, all roads lead to Fletchers… always have and always will it seems… They’re developers now.

    • Jones 7.2

      Others include the type of homes that are built (boutique spec homes each on their own section) and the lack of alternative investments to real estate – which I maintain, aside from any capital gain, isn’t strictly an investment as it requires continual investment to keep it going.

  8. Tracey 8

    It’s clever actually. The NACT party gets to keep its constituency by pandering to their wealth promotion scheme no matter the harm to society as a whole, while the RB tries to fix it.

    • Sabine 8.1

      I don’t think the RB tries to fix anything. I think they are just trying to protect some of the banks from the eventual crash.

      Not one to give a fuck in general because effectively I am sorted – have a place to go to on the country side when shit hits the fan, i have no debt, i own my bike, and even my business is loan and lease free. I can move anytime it gets to shitty.

      But, and as always what goes up must come down, unless we are willing to continue selling to foreigners the prices in NZ must come down, as soon no Kiwi will actually still be able to purchase anything here for their low wages.

      Also, what happens to those that have their properties free hold, are on a fixed income and can’t keep up with the rates anymore? Asset rich, cash poor? Foreclosure? Sell and hope to buy somethings somewhere?

      the banks are not insulated from default, and the current model is not sustainable. Hence why the RB is doing something, and I think also the fact that new house buyers need to have a minimum deposit, so it would just make sense to have the same for speculators. It can’t be that someone can borrow money on the value of this other mortgaged properties….20% – 30% cash deposit should apply to all lending in NZ for housing. That would probably take a bit of heat away.

      • Tracey 8.1.1

        You really believe that the RB is doing this because it sees banks heading back into trouble?

        • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1

          Not that they “see banks heading back into trouble”, but to prudently avoid trouble arising later.

          Prevention is much cheaper and less stressful than cure, for banking woes.

          • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1.1.1

            +1

            I have to say that the RBNZ still seems too complacent about the banks search for extreme levels of profit.

          • Jones 8.1.1.1.2

            But the banks are already in trouble… whether they know it or not. This debt-based monetary system is a confidence game. It will only keep going as long as people keep believing in it or, perhaps more importantly, can afford to participate in it.

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1.1.2.1

              The big European banks are all essentially insolvent. The Chinese banks are hiding a huge quantity of NPLs on and off their books. The US banks are now way deeper into the derivatives game than they were 2007.

              Liquidity can cover up insolvency for a time, but it cannot resolve it.

              When this blows up, it’ll be ordinary people and idiot politicians who will be the victims.

        • Sabine 8.1.1.2

          Yes.

      • DH 8.1.2

        “Not one to give a fuck in general because effectively I am sorted – have a place to go to on the country side when shit hits the fan, i have no debt, i own my bike, and even my business is loan and lease free. I can move anytime it gets to shitty.”

        I’ve been looking at a move to the country as well but, crikey, the rates are high in many areas. Some are near double Auckland rates. Can’t bloody win.

  9. adam 9

    I’m not sure how to post just the picture – in this case cartoon. But me thinks Mr Evans has aced it again.

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/05/14/malcolm-evans-house-prices/

  10. BLiP 10

    There is no housing crisis in Auckland

    ^^^ John Key 13 April 2015

  11. sabine 11

    Well, you could also say that he is a fuckwit.

    🙂

    this was ment as a reply to blib.

  12. Brigid 12

    There’s no need to even talk to the Australian banks. We own Kiwibank. Why has it never offered housing loans at 1.5%?
    Alas one may as well bash one’s head agin the wall as suggest any political party has the courage to even suggest this, let alone implement it.

    • Nic the NZer 12.1

      In order to remain solvent (able to make payments for its depositors) the NZ banks need to be able to buy reserves from the RBNZ. They do this at the OCR (official cash rate), which is set by the Reserve Bank. In order to be able to lend at 1.5% Kiwibank would need to be able to buy reserves from the Reserve Bank at essentially zero% (yes, the RBNZ could provide these) but this would mean legislating them an advantage. If you compare the mortgage rates with the OCR (and 90-day interbank rates) for the same period you should observe that the mortgage rates track the OCR (with an additional bank margin). So what you are actually calling for is the RBNZ to lower the OCR, and if they did this it would likely bring the rates of all the banks down to a lower level.

      http://rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/90-day_rate/
      http://rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/mortgage_rates/

  13. Red delusion 13

    Brigid is a glaring example of why the left should never be allowed in power

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    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
    14 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
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    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
    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
    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
    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
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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