George on tax

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, August 5th, 2011 - 57 comments
Categories: newspapers, tax - Tags: ,

Could somebody please nip outside and check and see if hell has frozen over? I ask because I’m trying to deal with the rather disturbing experience of finding myself in agreement with Garth George.

Well, mostly in agreement, George clearly doesn’t understand the American deficit. In fact his article (on debt) is a confused and rambling piece in general. But he makes up for it at the end:

The other astonishing thing about the US debacle is that the debt limit is to be raised but taxes are not. Surely the obvious way to cap or to reduce debt is to increase income, rather than take the axe to public services.

Why is it that the wealthy, some of whom have more money than they could possibly spend in several lifetimes, refuse to pay their fair share of taxes?

Giving tax breaks to the wealthy makes as much sense as doubling or tripling payments to social-welfare beneficiaries and pensioners.

That, of course, has an echo in New Zealand, where the latest tax cuts, introduced by the Key Government and which benefit mainly high income-earners, are ostensibly being paid for by deep cuts to public services.

Could that, perhaps, explain why New Zealand’s 10 richest Rich Listers managed a 20 per cent increase in their wealth in just 12 months? That this is somehow seen as praiseworthy in some quarters makes me want to puke.

And don’t talk to me about “investment” and “business growth” and the “trickle-down effect”.

If any of those things were anything but mirages, this country and others would not have hundreds of thousands, and in some places millions, of citizens unemployed, living in poverty, riddled with sickness and facing the daily fear, or reality, of hunger if not starvation.

Powerful writing, and as good a critique of right-wing greed as you will find anywhere. I don’t personally have a problem with a few rich folk getting richer, but I join George in puke land when they do so while fighting tooth and claw against paying reasonable taxes to help a country in hard times. It isn’t about envying those with wealth, it is about feeling compassion for those in need. Well done Garth George for speaking up.

57 comments on “George on tax ”

  1. Draco T Bastard 1

    Yeah, sometimes he’s right. Just not often enough to make reading his column a worthwhile objective.

    • aerobubble 1.1

      I disagree, being almost right is far worse than be obviously wrong.

      He framed the reason why the rich have to take their medicine as – having too much money.

      But to emphasis the lie he places the remarks in their own paragraph.

      The explaination why the rich need to take a cold shower is inflation.

      There is too much call on future wealth projected off cheap oil valuations when everyone now knows that oil has peaked.

      So no, the rich don’t have too much money, that’s not entirely true, there’s too many exuberance valuations hanging over the market.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1

        Frak these people at the top making a game out of collecting piles of wealth

        Don’t they know that people living within 1km of them are cold and hungry, desperate for even basic livable income?

        So no, the rich don’t have too much money, that’s not entirely true,

        They wouldn’t have too much money if they helped us construct a society where everyone could get by on decent incomes. As it is, its becoming obscene.

        • aerobubble 1.1.1.1

          Rubbiish. Past tense retortic. if only we could have gotten decent incomes.

          We obviously were hoodwinked.

          We assumed that all the exuberance was down to right wing policies like free markets and
          deregulation. That’s where we were wrong. Deregulation allowed for debt to be loaded up
          on society and free markets are not a policy, they are a abstract theory that never can exist.

          What’s chronic about the debate is the framing, how we assume because the media keeps retelling us how it is, that markets work best if we don’t look to carefully at them, don’t
          worry about regulation.

          When its patently absurd. We could never have afforded to pay for much of the infrastructure
          we have now and would not have it, if we’d waited for the market.

          The lies are from people like George who papers over the rot when it doesn’t matter, but come election time will be gunhoe for rightwing dogmatic ideology that harms us all.

          We were told by the talking heads in the media that the right wing view was credible, that
          we should stop worrying about markets because some ivory tower intellectual has this free market theory.

          The solution is actually quite simple. Theres a minimum churn in employment ?3%?.
          Governments should subsidies all employers until the unemployment rate hits 3%.
          That will mean everyone can start a company hire their mates and keep people active
          and working. Not those crappy work schemes goverment creates, that are designed to
          not work. Need people to plant trees? No problem.

          • ropata 1.1.1.1.1

            The lies are from people like George who papers over the rot when it doesn’t matter, but come election time will be gunhoe for rightwing dogmatic ideology that harms us all.

            Ironically, ‘gung-ho’ is a concept from the Chinese communist revolution

            “Gung ho” is an anglicised pronunciation of “gōng hé” (工合), the shortened version and slogan of the “gōngyè hézuòshè” (工業合作社) or Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, which was abbreviated as INDUSCO in English.

            The two Chinese characters forming the word Gung Ho are translated individually as “Work” and “Together”.

          • AAMC 1.1.1.1.2

            ” some ivory tower intellectual has this free market theory.”

            Isn’t it interesting that the Right so often denigrate the left as a bunch of out of touch academics, and yet the Mecca of the last 30 years of their economic thinking is straight out of the Chicago School of Economics.

    • Vicky32 1.2

      Yeah, sometimes he’s right.

      IMO more often than some people think! I have a collection of clippings from the 90s, many of them his columns, he’s keenly interested in justice for the poor…

  2. Afewknowthetruth 2

    ‘I don’t personally have a problem with a few rich folk getting richer’

    I think you should. Almost all wealth is obtained via exploitation of people and exploitation of the environment.

    ‘George clearly doesn’t understand the American deficit. In fact his article (on debt) is a confused and rambling piece in general.’

    That is why his articles are published by the Herald. Their main agenda is to make a profit, and that is best achieved by keeping ‘the proles’ confused and by keeping all the fundamentals flaws in the system well hidden.

    There was a bit of a market meltdown overseas yesterday (most markets down 3 to 5%), just as anyone who understands how the system works has been expecting.

    There will be no economic recovery of the global economic system, just further staggering from one crisis to the next, until the system breaks down completely.

    Those who have will do their best to hang on to their ill-gottten gains and prevent the have-nots from sharing the loot. It has been that way since the dawn of civlisation.

    • KJT 2.1

      While I mostly disagree with Garth George’s conclusions, excepting this article, I have never doubted that his heart is in the right place. A genuine concern for peoples welfare does show.

      He is an example of an old style conservative. The ones who have principles apart from greed.

      Personally I have no problem with someone getting richer if:

      They contribute something to general well being.
      The entrepreneur who develops and markets a 20% more efficient wind generator will deserve whatever wealth he gets from a grateful world.
      The person who starts and builds a useful productive business.
      Those who’s original ideas enhance our lives.
      The skilled, highly trained professionals who look after our health, build our housing and infrastructure.
      Even! politicians, who advocate for the general welfare.

      It is no coincidence that most of those who have genuinely earned are prepared to contribute back into society.

      I do have a problem with those who have unearned wealth.
      People who manage to award themselves earnings way in excess of their contribution.
      Managers and directors who think they add 100’s of times more value than their staff.
      Those with inherited wealth who think they have a natural right to accumulate it further at everyone else’s expense.
      Speculators in assets who never add anything but rising prices.
      Financiers that destroy more wealth than they add.
      Those who use trusts, shelters and transfer pricing to avoid paying their fair share.

      • Afewknowthetruth 2.1.1

        The present economic system is geared to rewarding those who cause the most environmental destruction and those who exploit others.

        Practically all economic activity is predicated on the conversion of fossil fuels into waste -at the expense of the next generation, since that waste is killing the planet.

        Many people who superficially are contribiting to society are in practice wandering around with wrecking balls. But that reality is only visible to those whi understand the complex relationships between energy, pollution and economics.

        • aerobubble 2.1.1.1

          yes, exactly. We need only so much food, heat, social connection, etc each day, its not ‘growing’, there essentially is no extra growth potential past population growth. Everything extra is more productive farmland turned into suburbs, more land dug up for the minerials, more and degraded by industry. Growth is death, a death cult. where’s the wealth in making people self-sufficient, engaged, centered, happy. Not in the ‘pragmatic’ politics of the market driven economy. I’m no communist, and capitalism that leads to self-genocide is stupid.

          • AAMC 2.1.1.1.1

            I wonder how many who chose not to see this are in fact subscribers to the Apocalypse? It seems belief in endless growth requires an anthropocentric faith.

      • Morrissey 2.1.2

        An utterly bizarre comment by KJT…
        I have never doubted that his heart is in the right place. A genuine concern for peoples welfare does show.

        What you have written is perfect nonsense. Clearly you have not read much by Garth George.

        • Vicky32 2.1.2.1

          What you have written is perfect nonsense. Clearly you have not read much by Garth George.

          I am with KJT here. I have read ‘much’ by Garth George, and it’s clear that he does in fact have great concern for people’s welfare…

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.2

          His heart does appear to be in the right place. His problem is his belief that a right-wing government will address those problems.

          • Morrissey 2.1.2.2.1

            His heart does appear to be in the right place.

            Garth George is already infamous for his humiliatingly inept performance on Media 7 last December, when he was exposed by Jon Stephenson to be corrupt, ignorant, and incorrigibly lazy. But that’s not all.

            During the 22-day bombardment and invasion of Gaza in 2008-9, George repeatedly made callous and brutal statements about the victims, even as the death toll climbed way over one thousand. He expressed a sniffy contempt for “the whole lot of them” and opined learnedly that there would “never be an end to it”.

            The evidence that Garth George has a heart, leave alone it being “in the right place”, is about as compelling as the evidence he has read one serious book on Palestine or Afghanistan.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.2.1.1

              Ah, I should’ve paid more attention to him. Those actions are the actions of a Right Wing Authoritarian. Which is what I thought he was I just didn’t realise he was quite that rabid.

            • Steve Withers 2.1.2.2.1.2

              Garth George embodies the usual mix of human inconsistency and irrationality.

              The most recent example I can think of is the fuss over “Happy Feet” the penguin.

              We might kill a thousand such penguins every year in nets while fishing without any real care or regard…..but when faced with one on the beach in difficulty we will expend serious resource to “save” it and return it to where it came from.

              This is why the planet we know has no real future as a human-habitable place. The problems we create don’t poke us individually in the eye until it’s far too late….and we will happily ignore and deride people to try to warm us before we get our eyes poked.

              It doesn’t mean we don’t care. We just don’t know or understand. We are simply too stupid (functionally – through ignorance) – collectively – to make good choices.

              Pick almost any subject. Collectively NZ society IS ‘Garth George’ in the end.

              This election should see National at 15% in the polls if voters actually understood their policies and what they will result in. They wouldn’t ask “Who else is there..?” They’d vote for ANYONE else.

              But we will “GG” it. That’s just who NZ is – collectively – these days.

          • Vicky32 2.1.2.2.2

            His problem is his belief that a right-wing government will address those problems.

            Where have you got that idea?

             

  3. LynW 3

    Yes, strange times indeed! Who would have thought a Garth George column would cover the tax debate so well. Well said Garth. This election really will tell us about the true character of New Zealanders and I live in hope we will be pleasantly surprised. It is not about change for change sake this time.With asset sales clearly on the agenda, supporting National will give them the mandate to lead New Zealand down the path of no return. Short term gain, long term pain!

    • Afewknowthetruth 3.1

      Lyn.

      NZ was put on the path of ‘no return’ back in the 1980s, by a so-called Labour government. And the pro-globalisation, pro-free trade, pro-multinational corporation, pro-money-lender government of Helen Clark did nothing to take the nation off the road that ultimately leads to catastrophe.

      The outcome of the next election will make no difference to the final outcome -well not if it the next government comprises of any of the following: National, Labour, Act, Green, Maori Party, UF. NZF etc. They are all locked into redundant paradigms which make matters worse. The only variation is the speed at which they make matters worse.

      Industrial society is headed for complete collapse because industrial society is founded on completely unsustainable practices.

  4. Garth is a bit of an enigma.  Most of the time he is bat shit crazy but occasionally very coherent.

    I wonder if Garth is related to Pete? 

  5. vto 5

    The tide is turning. The columnist Hubbard wrote a near identical piece in the SST a couple of weeks ago. And now this fulla Garth George.

    This turning is catching on in my opinion. Even Bernard Hickey, yesterday on Nat Radio, simply stated outright as a matter of fact not opinion that the rich have simply been too greedy in the last decade or two or so.

    Those of you on the left should pick up this turning tide and push it along quick smart. You gonna have to be quick and smart about it though. Key and his troops will no doubt already have a counter-attack ready for launch in defence. Drop the SIS shit Goff and Cunliffe and concentrate all your energies on this. It is far more important.

    Get stuck into them. I wrote a rhyme when Clark first came to power that was ..

    Facsists in Helengrad,
    Born to be bad,
    Encourage the dope and put up the fags,

    Get the bosses, and the bankers,
    And especially all those fucking rich wankers,
    Just do everything, stick ya nose in,
    Tear their guts out, give us more gin,

    On it went. It was actually intended to expose the envy of left politics but now that my own politics has, some decade later, swung back leftish again it seems appropriate in the opposite sense (except perhaps the last bit).

    Expose their greed

  6. vto 6

    gah, moderation… what did I say, what did I say?

  7. Bored 7

    I don’t personally have a problem with a few rich folk getting richer…good, neither do I, in fact I applaud anybody who works hard, takes the risk and creates employment, good and services that we can all partake of.

    Where I differ from the anti tax RWNJs is that I understand that there are lots of anomolies that slant playing fields to the advantage of certain individuals such as inherited wealth, educational privelege, inherited brains etc etc. It is easy to reconcile paying tax. You take responsibility for yourself to make the cash happen using the environment provided by the collective. You then responsibly return back to the collective the cash you dont need or cant use.

    The mindset behind it all is greed and a refusal of the rich person to see himself as anything other than truly exceptional because he has “achieved”. History tells me they are all pretty ordinary, I can think of f**k all wealthy dead NZers of the last 100 years, they join the rest of us in the oblivion of time and memory. Common as the dirt we are cast back to.

  8. seanmaitland 8

    So when are you going to admit that 30% of government revenue being spent on welfare is completely unaffordable? (14 billion out of 48)

    That is the reason we are up the creek – pretending it is because rich people don’t pay tax (when they clearly do) is just FUD and you know it.

    • vto 8.1

      So when are you going to admit that just 1% of the population holding more wealth than the bottom 90% is completely unaffordable?

      That is the reason we are up the creek – pretending it is because poor people need to be given money to buy bread is just FUD but you don’t even know it.

      Wake up and look around mr blinkers.

      • Colonial Viper 8.1.1

        sean is complaining that the super wealthy are now a picked on minority group who need state protection, life is so tough for them.

        Hey Reese, pass me a bottle of the vintage Bollinger, I’m feeling so under-appreciated by society today 😛

    • Lanthanide 8.2

      When are you going to realise that if we had higher tax rates for the wealthy, government revenue would be much greater than “48” and therefore the welfare bill would cease to be 30% of it.

      Seems pretty obvious really.

    • bbfloyd 8.3

      sean… there are so many reasons why your comment is lacking any kind of substance i won’t even bother to start.. (having no wish to exceed your attention span).

      just understand one simple truth, to remove the welfare net would create exponentially greater cost to the very fabric of what we laughably refer to as “society”… case in point…. without that network(created by the labour movement, who fought and died for the rights we take for granted), unless you were born into the aristocracy, then you wouldn’t be sitting in front of your computer making facile comment now…. you would, if you even existed, be working for no more than enough food to get you back to whatever task is dictated by your owners, and shelter to keep you from freezing to death until you get too old to be of use… then you’d be on your own…

      do some thought… do some historical research… come back with comments that show knowledge that isn’t just what you have had put right in front of you…

  9. Morrissey 9

    In fact his article (on debt) is a confused and rambling piece in general. But he makes up for it at the end…

    A (rare) lucid paragraph doesn’t compensate for George’s standard mode of bad-tempered bewilderment. He’s an intellectually lazy, incurious commentator on a par with Paul Holmes and Leighton Smith. Searching for dregs of gold amidst the dross he turns out is largely a futile exercise.

    Don’t encourage the old fool.

    • AAMC 9.1

      But as a byproduct of his usual commentary, he will have readers who would not usually have that argument put in front of them, especially from one of their own.

    • Vicky32 9.2

      He’s an intellectually lazy, incurious commentator on a par with Paul Holmes and Leighton Smith. Searching for dregs of gold amidst the dross he turns out is largely a futile exercise.

      I absolutely could not agree less! What is the issue so many people have with GG? He has one thing in his favour that neither Smith nor Holmes have – honesty!
      Almost no one is always wrong all the time (I’d make an exception for Key and Dubya). Even the egregiously awful Frank Haden, defended solo mothers to the hilt, for which I wrote and thanked him. (Years ago, obviously). GG is not a ‘right wing fundamentalist’, he’d blench at the very idea – he’s a Catholic, and they tend to be leftish…

      • Draco T Bastard 9.2.1

        He may have honesty but that doesn’t mean to say that he knows what he’s talking about. In fact, the total lack of fact in his columns proves beyond doubt that he doesn’t have a clue.

      • KJT 9.2.2

        Never thought I would be defending GG.

        I disagree with Garth George a lot of the time. Especially his conservative Catholic views on sex, the role of women and abortion.
        But he has the, equally Catholic views, which I do agree with, on working for the good of the poor and disadvantaged.

        His views come from a background of caring, not the Neo-liberal ones of taking what you can get.

      • Morrissey 9.2.3

        …he’s a Catholic, and they tend to be leftish…

        Actually, Vicky, the opposite is true. Certainly, there is a strong tradition of left wing Catholicism, in New Zealand and Australia as well as in the U.K. and the United States. It was a group of brave Catholic activists that worked for the release of the democratic Algerian parliamentarian-cum-refugee Ahmed Zaoui, to the fury of Helen Clark. And it was a group of Catholic activists who popped that obscene carbuncle in Marlborough, once again to the fury of Helen Clark. Catholic activists have taken the lead in attacking, with hammers, U.S. and British war planes in the U.S. and in Ireland.

        But despite this, the Church is usually an extremely reactionary institution. Garth George belongs firmly to that deeply smug, complacent, reactionary tradition.

        • Vicky32 9.2.3.1

          It was a group of brave Catholic activists that worked for the release of the democratic Algerian parliamentarian-cum-refugee Ahmed Zaoui,

          I know, I was one of them! 
          I remain convinced that you’re doing GG a dis-service. I’d like to point out that he will never support abortion as a woman’s right, and neither will I, and in fact, it’s a dreadful error that so many people use that as their only criterion whereas it’s a ‘right’ most women actually don’t want – but that the man does want…
          (Tangentially relevant, Peter Hitchens, in an ill-tempered book I read last week, admitted that very thing – that he felt it himself, the reluctance of the man to allow his life to change – and the powerful temptation to ask for an abortion instead.)
           

          • Morrissey 9.2.3.1.1

            I know, I was one of them!

            Gosh, Vicky, my opinion of you, already a very high one, has gone up even more!

            I remain convinced that you’re doing GG a dis-service.

            I’m judging him on his public utterances, whether on Jim Mora’s show (where he likes to say he is a “curmudgeon”), or glibly repeating Army propaganda in print and on television, or writing brutally ignorant attacks on the victims of war crimes.

            I’d like to point out that he will never support abortion as a woman’s right, and neither will I, and in fact, it’s a dreadful error that so many people use that as their only criterion whereas it’s a ‘right’ most women actually don’t want – but that the man does want…

            His opinions on abortion have nothing to do with my assessment of him. I condemn Garth George for his laziness and his adamantine refusal to do the decent thing and apologize for his corrupt practice, even when confronted with this by Jon Stephenson on television.

  10. Terry 10

    This the best I have seen frm George (which does not say much!) Even he seems to be “getting the message” and should that be the case maybe there is still hope for us all!

  11. ak 11

    This is quite a major. A near-deathbed epiphany. As vto points out, part of a swelling tide, today’s global stock shock another mini-tsunami.

    Ironically, we can thank the manipulated polls: no Goffy/Helenhate fear to kill the mind, the view becomes clearer.

    “Reds under the beds” sustained insanity for four decades, but has been ebbing since wallfall 1989: “maorification” on its last legs ever since Key needed the Maori Party for his ACT balancing.

    One by one the straw men collapse, the god of greed and his slippery moneychanging minions exposed.

    Smiling assassins; gilded geldings; grin without chin, and the tide’s coming in.

    • Colonial Viper 11.1

      This equities crash is gonna be a bad one. Watch Europe when it opens later today.

      In 2008 the US Govt had a chance of regulating all the bad out of the system to get it moving again.

      Instead they got it moving again by pumping the bad players full of free cash from the Federal Reserve, in essence letting the bad players go back to their old games with much more (tax payer provided) money.

      Watch Bank of America self-destruct.

    • ChrisH 11.2

      @Ak very well put, you should be a ranter poet.

    • AAMC 11.3

      We have to topple the baby boomers before the reds will cease to be under the beds!

      Although they conveniently chose not to acknkwledge that their capitalist system is being underwritten by Communist China.

    • vto 11.4

      oh you hae a turn of phrase, mr ak

  12. Jan 12

    Garth said “And don’t talk to me about ” … the “trickle-down effect”.

    Yep – As Margaret Atwood said in 2008 Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth” http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey-archives/2008/11/06/massey-lectures-2008-payback-debt-and-the-shadow-side-of-wealth/
    ” There’s a reason its called trickle down” than rather than gush, flow or flood!!

    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      That warm trickle down you feel from the Super-Rich pitter-pattering down on top of your working class head…

      it’s not money.

  13. If Garth George can see the neo-liberals are full of crap, maybe there is hope after all.

    What amazes me is no one in the MSM has made the connection between what Bush and the GOP did to US finances between 2001 and 2008….and what happening here right now.

    Cut the taxes. Allow time for the deficit to explode…then say you need to cut spending to fix the deficit you made with your tax cuts. Talk about how a house needs to balance the grocery budget…..blah blah.

    The plebs fell for it in America…and they fell for it here, too.

    I thought Kiwis were smarter than that.

    • aerobubble 13.1

      What’s astonishing is our economy, schools declare their students all need mobile devices!
      Wifi could be free everywhere and we would need this energy rich mobile devices, we could have a lot of standard PC available everywhere connected freely to wifi. But no, the markets rigged, there should be no need for dial up, every town should have a backbone of free slightly low broadband if there was a free market. i.e. a market response ease to get to all consumers is a huge payoff and
      would wipe our lots of retailers.

      We have nothing like a free market, nothing close at all that resembles it.

  14. Steve 14

    *What* is going on with Garth George lately??!! He also wrote a (mostly) agreeable piece on school breakfasts last week. If people like that grouch are waking up to the greed and lunacy of right-wing ‘trickle down’ economics there is considerable hope for the left 🙂

  15. felix 15

    I’m with vto and ak, the tide is turning and the “greed is good” mentality personified by Key is going out of fashion.

    Fast enough? Dunno. But it’s on the way out and there’s nothing they can do about it.

    It’s in the wind.

  16. billy fish 16

    I was listening to Dan Carlin’s podcast today, his latest one was commenting on the whole manufactured debt debacle in the states.
    One of the points he made – at length – is the way to solve a debt “crisis” is not to reduce spending or increases taxes. Its to increase the wage of MOST people across the board and do a big FU to the liberal capitalist globalisation lie that we must compete in a global free market with no barriers. As he correctly pointed out, your government should be working FOR your country, not for a theory.

    Worth listening to the man, I do not agree with a fair bit of what he says but he does put forward a good debating point and is a great insite into US politics.

  17. Jum 17

    Garth George was so intent on getting rid of a woman Prime Minister that he was quite happy to sell the rest of New Zealand out; now he regrets it. Boo hoo.

    He’s only interested in people’s welfare on his terms and you can forget about women’s rights on his agenda. Far too many people lied or misled or left out information that could have kept this rightwing government in check and now they’re bleating about the back to the future crap that’s now occurring.

    Garth George can also take part responsibility for the further loss of our sovereignty and assets.

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    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
    6 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
    7 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
    10 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
    10 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
    10 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
    10 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
    12 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
    13 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
    15 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
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    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
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 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
    11 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
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