Jobs and wages

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, February 6th, 2016 - 54 comments
Categories: capitalism, class war, economy, jobs, Unions, wages, workers' rights - Tags: , , , ,

It has been a tumultuous start to the political year. Massive TPP protests, Key fleeing Waitangi, flying dildos, Iowa caucuses, leagalised rape bastards, and more.

So let’s talk about jobs and wages. Two good pieces in The Herald recently. From Brian Fallow:

Wages going nowhere fast

Unemployment rate is down, but economic growth is not boosting incomes as it once did

So, the unemployment rate has plunged to 5.3 per cent from 6 per cent three months ago. … But much of the drop in unemployment is explained by declines over the past three quarters in the participation rate – the labour force as a share of the working age population (everyone over 15).

Even so, taken at face value, the December quarter numbers are evidence that the labour market has tightened, in defiance of the forecasters.

But that has yet to show up in the wages data.

The Labour Cost Index, which reflects pay rates for the same quantity and quality of work, continued to drift lower, to an annual increase of 1.5 per cent in the December quarter.

For the private sector alone it was only slightly higher at 1.6 per cent, the lowest since September 2010.

Some 46 per cent of pay rates did not increase in the latest year. Among the 54 per cent that did, the average increase was the lowest for 16 years, at 3 per cent, and the median rise 2.4 per cent.

This week’s data are prima facie evidence of a weakening of the relationship between economic growth on the one hand and employment and wage growth on the other.

The quotes focus on jobs and wages, but here’s heaps of detailed stuff in that article (go read the whole thing in The Herald). As to the conclusion, “a weakening of the relationship between economic growth on the one hand and employment and wage growth on the other”, wages have never kept up with growth / productivity, especially since the neoliberal reforms of the 80s. (We are continually told Productivity crucial for higher wages, but wages never keep up, see here, here, here, and graph at the end of this post.)

Second Herald piece by Sophie Ryan:

Interactive: New Zealand’s big jobs divide (and how it’s crashing the recovery)

Maori and Pacific unemployment has dropped to the lowest level since the 2008 recession, but still haven’t recovered to pre-crash levels.

The divide between employment rates in New Zealand European and Asian population, and Maori and Pacific population remains large, with Asian and European workers closer to returning to pre-recession unemployment rates. …

It is always those at the bottom that suffer the most from recession.

Nick Tuffley. chief economist as ASB, said the fall in labour participation rate by 0.3 percentage points to 68.4 per cent was a surprise, and could be overstated. “It is unusual to have the participation rate fall when employment growth itself has been so strong.

“We suspect there still exists a degree of slack in the labour market and that wage inflation will remain slow for some time yet.”

“Wage inflation” is economist speak for wage growth. Predicted to remain low sounds about right, that’s what National’s employment legislation has been all about after all. How long will voters keep putting up with it?


wage and productivity gap

54 comments on “Jobs and wages ”

  1. Incognito 1

    Can this be interpreted as production with lower (profit) margins that is putting pressure on wages? Or is it more a reflection of increased automation and the likes, i.e. a shift from higher to lower paid jobs? I am sure there are plenty of other possible explanations and I am keen to hear those.

    • Nic the NZer 1.1

      “Can this be interpreted as production with lower (profit) margins that is putting pressure on wages?”

      No, it can’t the wage/productivity chart shows that productivity (sales per hour work) has been increasing so the capital share is also rising. There is a shift to higher profit margins putting pressure on wages.

      • Incognito 1.1.1

        O.k. thanks. This raises my next question: how come they get away with increased profit margins without the labour force taking a well-deserved share of it in the form of wage rises? Not every company has to deliver to shareholders but every company has an ‘owner’. Where are the increased profits going if not to increased wages? I guess “capital share” is not the same as “profit” but the economic subtleties tend to get lost on me ;-(

        • Nic the NZer 1.1.1.1

          Profits are one component of the capital share, yes. Could also be more money leaving the business in renting equipment as well. Other factors are a slack labour market makes it easy to keep wages down. The capital share is all the payouts from a business which are not ultimately somebody’s wages.

          How come that they get away with it? Don’t know. I think its a political question. The government used to moderate the returns to capital in some ways and I believe its ultimately a political shift going on here as well.

          • In Vino 1.1.1.1.1

            No, I think it is just because Directors get big bonuses for driving wages down and increasing dividends to those who vote them in.

  2. Steve Alfreds 2

    I think the lower participation rate can probably be linked to WINZ and its hard nosed attitude towards those who are unemployed. I remember being made redundant a couple of years ago and after one meeting with a WINZ case officer I vowed I didn’t want anything to do with them. That’s despite the fact I was unemployed. They are encouraged to deny people benefits to meet their targets. I don’t think my experience is isolated, and I’ve spoken to more than a few people who’ve faced the same challenges. My partner and I had a young child, but we struggled through and I found work, but to me a lower participation rate means there are just more people falling through the cracks of the welfare system.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.1

      Yes, WINZ use many tactics to pressure people off benefits, even if they are entitled to be on them. They don’t care the reason, so long as they can cut them off. For example repeated requests to complete huge, complex forms (even where WINZ already hold all the information on the form) and frequent meetings with abusive and sneering case managers. I know people living 100km from their nearest WINZ office with less than $10 disposable income per week, forced to try to fund frequent travel to pointless WINZ appointments.

      As if being in poverty and despised by much of society for being on a benefit wasn’t enough.

    • DH 2.2

      I thought that would have the reverse effect Steve. If I’ve read the rules properly being on a benefit doesn’t make a person unemployed in this context. The criteria for being employed is that you work an hour or more in a week and there’s no exceptions for beneficiaries.

      No shortage of people on benefits doing the odd part time work to make ends meet, my interpretation of the employment stats is you can be both unemployed and employed depending on who’s asking….

      The employment figures are taken from the Household Labour Force Survey and I’m wondering if the large demographic changes in NZ over the last decade have had any impact on their results. The unemployment figures for ethnic groups are interesting;

      European – 4.1%
      Maori – 10.6%
      Pacific peoples – 10.6%
      Asian – 6.3%
      Middle Eastern/Latin American/African – 10.2%

  3. Tautuhi 3

    Companies are only interested in paying minimum wages today, if you don’t like the work and pay conditions there are plenty of workers lined up at the door.

  4. UncookedSelachimorpha 4

    Good post. The many people on zero-hour contracts and the minimum wage (or worse) are experiencing the disconnect between productivity, economic growth and wages.

    Underemployment seems at least as much of a problem. People on low and unpredictable hours are in the worst of all worlds due to abatement of WINZ benefits at low thresholds, resulting one of the highest effective marginal tax rates in NZ (>80%). Strange how the same people who think financial signals should drive everything…expect only the poor to do things for moral, rather than economic, reasons (i.e. go find a zero-hours poverty job instead of a benefit).

    • Little Kiwi 4.1

      Re zero hours contracts not the only issue

      Hello fellow employees/slaves

      I am currently based in a tourist mecca in the south island where many people don’t have employment contracts at all. I probably represent the typical kiwi living here. At first my job was part time – not zero hours, then after a couple of months it seemed I had to be available 7 days for odd jobs unpaid until I eventually complained, knowing I could lose the job (which isn’t worth the stress). It made my wage closer to minimum wage than what was going on my online tax form, especially given I have work expenses I can’t declare. Despite having no contract my leave date post resignation last year, has been extended. My boss pays my tax, I’m not self employed. I don’t want to give too much detail and expose who I work for as I am grateful I got some work here, although there is room for things to get more pear-shaped for me, given I am plotting escape to another job and I have to train someone to replace me. Why would I want to drop someone else into my situation as the previous staff did to me?

      It is very hard for NZ citizens to get jobs here when many employers seek to exploit migrants – especially those needing sponsorship to get residency. As much as I was desperate to get a job I don’t think I would be prepared to start a job without a contract again, because if an employer is prepared to do one thing that is illegal, they will do others. All of these illegal jobs are weakly advertised without the company name present. It seems economically irresponsible to me that employers are not systematically monitored by labour inspectors. Workers pay most of the tax and if they don’t get paid for all of their hours it doesn’t make economical sense. Many migrants are way to scared to complain about their lot down here because they risk deportation. Also, if a labour inspector turns up, it’s really easy for an employer to mock something up, make up a story. Who to believe? The exploited employee winds up being the villain. This is a hypnotically beautiful place, workers tolerate a lot to be here, temporarily anyway.

  5. Draco T Bastard 5

    We are continually told Productivity crucial for higher wages…

    Yep, that’s what we’re told but the reality is what we observe – wages decrease as productivity increases. Wages for the same job would only increase as demand for that work increased and increased productivity decreases the demand for that work as the demand for the product remains the same as it did prior to the increase in productivity.

    The only way for increased productivity to result in increased wages is if there’s an increase in demand for the product such that demand cannot be met. Politicians try to boost an increase in demand for products via exports hence the politicians desperation for free-trade agreements. But these don’t work to produce higher incomes either because demand still doesn’t increase at rates greater than productivity because the nations being exported to are quite capable of supplying the product themselves.

    The end result is lower wages across the world and higher profits for the corporations and the bludging shareholders.

  6. McFlock 6

    This week’s data are prima facie evidence of a weakening of the relationship between economic growth on the one hand and employment and wage growth on the other.

    So a predicted 1% increase in GDP in fifteen years time, even if it actually comes about, could well have absolutely no benefit for the majority of NZers.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1

      Well, over the last few decades, almost all of the benefits of increased productivity have gone to the CEOs, CFOs and the shareholders. We really can’t expect this to change when we get more of the same policies that produced that shift of benefit in the first place.

      • Yes, that is what has been happening more and more as time has gone on. But its all very easy to say force them to pay more but if they increase their prices of goods and services to compensate higher wages then the inflation cycle begins. Typically, that’s what they do, greed will ensure their nice fat salaries remain intact.
        The key is how do we get them to pay more and take that cut from their high fluting salaries without increasing their prices on goods and services?

        • Mike S 6.1.1.1

          The inflation cycle begins with an increase in demand rather than an increase in prices i.e more money in the overall money supply (inflation) means more demand for goods and services which causes price increases. Price increases are a symptom of inflation.

          This is why you could have a situation where you have a “rock star” economy, yet prices for essentials aren’t increasing much. This is because all of the new money in the economy (inflation) is going to fewer and fewer people who put it into non productive activities such as property investment rather than the new money going into wage rises for the majority.

          Wage increases used to keep up with productivity increases. Now, without regulation, all the gains of productivity increases go to greedy business owners an executives.

  7. The issue with wages is how far they go in regards to the cost of living expenses. Wages can be $1.00 or a million a week but if you can’t afford to buy decent food, pay for decent shelter and pay for other basic costs such as power, water and phone with them then there is an issue. Disposable income after all basic expenses are met is also another key indicator of how well the economy is doing.
    So when they tell us wages are increasing that really doesn’t tell the whole story of how well off people are. What does is how much disposable income people have, has that increased or decreased over time and how much are wages increasing in comparison with basic living costs. If we apply this to places like Auckland with the current housing crisis I would suspect it would paint a very dark picture for our current government and they would not like that to be made public.
    When talking about wage increases the other side of the equation of living expenses should also be addressed. Why are we paying so much for food, power and housing? Are these expenses fair or is there gouging going on in these industries that make these items/services more expensive? If so, they should be addressed but how’d you do that?

  8. Keith 8

    What is not really mentioned by Fallow is Nationals sneaky little policy of “Student Visas” that dangle the carrot of residency.

    Its a well known scam, come from a populous semi third world country, enrol in a “course”, get into the workforce, shelf stacking, taxi driving, any crap wage job you can think of, move into a “Managerial” position, all the while working zero hour SUB minimum wage, to hell with compensation for conditions, even accept not even being paid correctly and bingo, employers get away with near slavery, no one complains for fear of deportation, wages stay supressed and dire working conditions that would see those employers workerless go rewarded with a choice of applicants. Seen it, worked with such people, told on the quiet about the scam.

    For a party who revere the free market, National secretly love to distort it for their employer mates.

    • I know of companies that take advantage of immigrants from third world countries and work them longer than the 20 hour per week that their student visa allows them and don’t pay them for it. These immigrants never report these employers due to fear of been sent back and loosing their visa. This is blatant abuse of NZ law and also forces bad conditions and low wages on NZ citizens who’s ancestors fought long and hard for those rights.
      What is the labour department doing to police these scenarios? All these companies that do this should be publicly named and shamed and their products/goods boycotted by everyone. This would send a message to them and they may think twice before abusing and taking advantage of people.

      • Keith 8.1.1

        It is the perfect unemptying pool of unquestioning labour and so very exploitable. When you realise it exists it easily explains why wage growth is near frozen in NZ, poor conditions prevail and why appalling labour laws succeed!

      • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1.2

        Consumer boycotts aren’t enough: the full force of the law is more appropriate, including jail time for the perpetrators, and severe penalties for aiding and abetting, whether or not that leaves empty tables at Cabinet Club.

        • Incognito 8.1.2.1

          What would happen then with those students? Surely they were not being exploited for the sake of it?

          • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1.2.1.1

            I can’t see how jailing centre-right crims is going to make their lives worse.

  9. Bill 9

    Why would employers pay higher wages when workers can sink themselves in debt to get the things that wages used to provide? Better yet, why not deliberately pay low wages in order to produce ever greater numbers of debt ridden workers who will then become not much more than indentured labour?

    And when it all goes to hell in a hand basket for them, well so what? Almost everything being produced is for richer people overseas anyway, not workers here, so the workers hell is not the world of the employer. The trick, I guess, is to maintain that balance whereby debt ridden workers can still afford to buy imported stuff from even cheaper over-seas sources of labour.

    But keep the lid sinking chaps. And keep those profit margins heading skywards.

    Eventually, there’s a reckoning, but then…even the idea of producing for richer over-seas people isn’t really where the smart game’s at. The smart game is making money from the debts and getting government bail outs. And then the employer gets an introduction to the hell where the worker’s been living, but then the hell of the employer and the worker isn’t the world of the financier 😉

    • Reddelusion 9.1

      Of the 1000s of businesses in nz I suggest very few are making huge profits, I wish it was as easy as you lot make out

      • BM 9.1.1

        Makes me laugh how the left think being in business is such a doddle.

        They seem to think work appears out of thin air.

        • Bill 9.1.1.1

          In line with “Reddelussion’s” nonsense, I see you lump me in with some imaginary ‘left’. Don’t.

          Care to point to any place or comment where I’ve even so much as suggested that being in business was a doddle? I might think that setting up business in the way people tend to do is bloody stupid. But that’s a completely different matter and nothing to do with the opinion you claim that I hold.

          Bad idea to put words in my mouth. Just saying.

      • Stuart Munro 9.1.2

        It’s easier if you’re good at it.

      • Bill 9.1.3

        I’d have thought it pretty obvious I wasn’t talking of small businesses (those with a handful of employees at best). They tend to pay comparatively well in my experience.

        btw – There’s only one of me and I don’t belong to any “you lot” – that “you lot” doesn’t exist anywhere outside your imagination.

        • Reddelusion 9.1.3.1

          A lot of large businesses pay ok as well, including dreaded multinationals, similarly they are not making super profits or excessive return on capital which is a better measure. You lot simply refers to parroting the same tosh, group think

          • Draco T Bastard 9.1.3.1.1

            Any ‘return to capital’ is excessive. Or, to be more precise, the correct amount of return to capital is infinitesimal.

            That’s the purpose of the free market – to lower profits to zero.

            • Reddelusion 9.1.3.1.1.1

              Monopoly profits yes, market return no, otherwise capital will go elsewhere

              • Draco T Bastard

                Steve Keen has shown have the same effect as a monopoly:

                What happens if we recall some basic facts of calculus that the economists have forgotten and decide to add all the competitive firms together correctly? The result is that adding together a large number of marginal revenue curves for all the competitive firms, which are almost (but not exactly) equal to the equilibrium price curve, gets a total marginal revenue curve that is *drumroll please* the same as the monopoly curve! That’s right – in a highly amusing twist, the set of competitive firms gives the same social outcome as the monopoly according to economic theory – at least when it remembers to pay attention to basic facts of mathematics.

                Monopolies make no more profit than a ‘competitive business’.

                And, IIRC, the LSE found that no business uses the marginal pricing mechanism that economists rant on about. They all use cost+ instead.

                Also: Capital can’t move. Money can but that’s financial capital which is a different beast altogether and is also effectively worth less. In fact, all the capitalists could leave and we’d probably be better off. After all, all that needs to happen is that the government create some more money and spend it into the economy.

            • ropata 9.1.3.1.1.2

              free market equilibrium is a total fantasy… debunked hard

              • Draco T Bastard

                Oh, I know that. I just like pointing out the logical fallacies that entwine standard economic theory that the RWNJs base their delusions upon.

      • ropata 9.1.4

        if these businesses can’t pay a living wage then they don’t deserve to be in business

        • Reddelusion 9.1.4.1

          who gives you the right to determine this before even considering a liveable wage is a totally subjective concept

          • ropata 9.1.4.1.1

            strange comment from a RWNJ for whom money is the measure of all things.

            there are plenty of definitions and research on this topic, it’s a wage sufficient to make ends meet in whatever place the worker is living in.

            perhaps the fact that families are living in cars and kids are dying in damp houses might clue you in.

          • DAVE 9.1.4.1.2

            if a business can only survive on exploitation then that business is affecting the profits of businesses who do not exploit and does not serve the interests of society so they should go out of business

      • Incognito 9.1.5

        Your comments @ 9.1 and 9.1.3.1 are full of straw men.

        The OP raised the issue of wages not keeping up with productivity. This has got nothing to do with whether SMEs or large businesses pay well or make “huge profits” or “super profits or excessive return on capital”. It also has got nothing to do with whether it is “easy” or not to run a business – please don’t make it sound like it is the hardest thing to do. Running a business is what it is and that includes paying wages to employees and a whole lot more management & HR stuff.

        If wages go up in a given sector then pretty much all employers need to follow suit or they run the risk of losing staff. On first principle, increased productivity ought to lead to increased wages. If in larger companies (higher and top) management get large salary increases and bonus payments when the company has a good year then why should the other employees not also get an increase? NB it does not seem to matter whether large companies or institutions have a good or a bad year as the top earners always seem to get a relatively large increase compared to the rest of staff.

        • Descendant Of Sssmith 9.1.5.1

          Yet the experience of the last 30 years shows that for most ordinary workers the businesses paying lower wages have driven out the businesses paying higher wages.

          Many a good employer has gone under because of wage undercutting. Going back to have awards that cut across all businesses would solve much of this.

          Apart from specialist areas and the managerial class of course.

          And remember too it wasn’t just productivity we were promised increased wages for, it was also the lowering of the business tax rate.

          We should have had significant increase in wages based on the combination of those two promises.

          The other factor of course is that much of the wage increases that have occurred have simply gone into the pockets of landlords. So for many there’s not even been any personal benefit from those increases.

          • Incognito 9.1.5.1.1

            Interesting comments, thanks.

            If indeed “many a good employer has gone under because of wage undercutting” surely there would have been other business practices contributing to the demise of the business? In other words, the business going under cannot solely be contributed to paying a decent wage relative to other competing businesses?

            In any case, it seems that margins are thin and/or wages make up a large part of the cost of running a business.

            Those “promises” counted for nothing and they knew it but they are still making them and many are still getting sucked in. That said, it might be a fine line between paying staff more and the business going under based on your comments.

            • Descendant Of Sssmith 9.1.5.1.1.1

              The difference for each staff member in wages say between minimum wage and living wage is about $10,000 per annum per staff member.

              Then allow for things like loss of penal rates versus still paying staff for over-time, paying staff monthly instead of weekly or fortnightly so the cash stays in the business banks account, monthly salary so no extra days in the month are paid for, reduced sick leave entitlements to the minimum legally allowed, reducing staff to working peak times only, no provision for redundancy, having workers buy their own gear and uniforms, not investing in up to date training and so on and you can get quite a competitive advantage in undercutting the opposition through lower quotes or lower prices.

              I’ve known a few good employers, mainly older, who simply couldn’t compete – particularly when a few cash jobs drop into the other business as well.

              These employers don’t believe in paying a fair price either.

              I know one supplier lost a family members business – worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year – when a supplier caved in to a new business and was giving them supplies at a much lower rate – despite the family member having been a customer for over 50 years.

              The combination of all those things above simply meant he was losing good business to someone with few ethics and scruples.

              Not all businesses will survive that and often if the unscrupulous business goes bust somewhere down the track the good employer has already gone.

              I’ve seen it happen to quite a few people.

              • Incognito

                A rather sad picture, which shows that nothing really can be or should be judged in isolation as everything and everybody is part of a larger system with a lot of vital and less-vital connections. I tend to take ‘anecdotal facts’ with a grain of salt but you provided the necessary context that clearly shows the systematic shortcomings. Thank you.

  10. Reddelusion 10

    I was responding to bill not the OP, so no strawman here

    One response though why do Professinal sportsman get paid many more times than say the back room staff of such a professional sports franchise he works for

    • Incognito 10.1

      I was responding to bill not the OP, so no strawman here

      That’s another cop out on its own.

      Bill was commenting on the OP.

      Your second sentence is an affront to the English language and also makes no sense whatsoever.

  11. Brian Smith 11

    @reddelusion- so you’re suggesting that top management are celebrities and increased profits are attributed to increased demand caused by their celebrity status!! Moron

    • In Vino 11.1

      @reddelusion-
      In addition, you still seem to assume that a healthy society will be built out of myopic profit-gouging.
      It won’t. Give up that idea, and start thinking about how to improve society instead of some greedy guy’s profits. Profits do not lead to overall improvement, unless they are spread evenly. This is clearly not happening now- “average” wages have risen because those at the top have had huge increases, but in fact those at the bottom have virtually no increase, but increasing expenses that are not counted in the official inflation index.
      Get Real.

  12. Tautuhi 12

    Overseas students are sucking up most of the employment opportunities here in Auckland.

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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
    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
    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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