Judith Collins must go

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, August 19th, 2014 - 67 comments
Categories: john key, Judith Collins, national, national/act government - Tags:

Back in March of this year John Key issued Judith “Tipline” Collins a final warning after she misled the media and him over how many meetings she had with Oravida Management during that fateful visit to China.

Stuff had this report:

Prime Minister John Key has signalled Justice Minister Judith Collins is on her final warning after she withheld details of a dinner in China with a company linked to her husband.

The dinner was with senior members of Oravida, a company that deals with New Zealand dairy products, and a senior Chinese government official. Collins’ husband David Wong-Tung is a director of the company.

Key met Collins this morning to express his disappointment that she did not come clean when questions were first raised about her visiting Oravida offices during her official visit to China last year.

Key said the cumulative effects of her interactions with Oravida could lead to a perception of a conflict of interest.

“I made clear to her in no uncertain terms how disappointed I was,” he said.

“She’s an outstanding minister but she’s handled this situation very poorly and I’ve made my feelings known to her directly this morning.”

Key said he had been left exposed because he had based his public defence of Collins on the incomplete information she had given him.

Collins had “misled by omission” and had a responsibility to reveal all the meetings she had in China, private or not, saying “she certainly should have made me aware of [the dinner]”.

“Judith had a responsibility when she was asked the questions not just to answer the question directly but to tell me and the New Zealand public everything that had gone on,” he said.

Instead, she had allowed events to accumulate, leading to the perception of a conflict of interest “and that’s unacceptable”.

Collins had assured him she did not discuss matters of national interest with the Chinese official and that it was just a personal dinner, and he accepted that, he said.

When asked whether this was a final warning for Collins he said “I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes if there was a repeat of it”.

“I just hope there wouldn’t be a repeat of this,” he said.

The Hager book has set out a number of claims about Collins for Key to consider and if he considers them properly Collins’ Ministerial career must be toast.

Chapter 4 of Hager’s book discusses the Collins Slater relationship.  It is possibly the most distressing part of the book. The cynical vile personal attacks Slater is willing to make and foster are bad enough but for a Minister of the Crown to willingly engage herself in this sort of approach to politics shows how morally bankrupt this Government is.

Mike Smith has highlighted the appalling attack on a public servant that occurred. Some will no doubt try and say that Collins could not predict how Slater would use the information or the outpouring of hate against an innocent public servant but she was a firm believer in “rewarding with double” and she knew Slater’s operating mode which by then was well established. She had to have a pretty good idea what was going to happen after Slater had received the information.

lprent has highlighted an astounding instance where an employee in Collins Minister’s office was told to turn around an OIA request from Slater within 30 minutes so that a reporter could be attacked. I bet every reporter in the mainstream media shook when they heard of this claim. The book describes a cynical process where legitimate OIAs were held up and Slater given the inside running so that he could break the story with suitable National spin applied. The effect of the book amongst the population at large is only just starting to be felt but I suspect that its effect on the fourth estate has been immediate and profound.

The other allegations made by Hager include these:

  • Collins being unworried at the leaking of police evidence,
  • Collins disclosing to Slater information about the Bronwyn Pullar incident and there is still a question of how the email from Michelle Boag to Collins was leaked to the media,
  • Collins disclosing to Slater all sorts of information and acting as a conduit between other National Ministers such as Amy Adams and Slater.

Are these instances and the Oravida failure to disclose incidence evidence of the same? They all show an appalling attitude to the media and anyone who Collins thought was a political problem was attacked.

Key was asked about the attacks yesterday morning by Guyon Espiner on morning report.  Stuff contains this description of the interview:

Key is standing by Collins, and said he did not know all the details of the scenario, so would not go into it.

“I don’t know all of the details behind all of that,” Key said on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report [yesterday].

“What I do know, is that it [the book] is a series of selective pieces of information, many of which can’t be backed up.”

The allegations were a “smear campaign” from the Left, he said.

How can a responsible Prime Minister admit that he does not know all the details and then use this as an excuse not to find out all the details? He has been very clever with the selection of information that he wants to know but this now looks like a charade. And where in the western world would these sorts of attacks on so called political opponents by a Minister using the resources and power of her office by tolerated?

John Key, it is time for Judith Collins to go.

67 comments on “Judith Collins must go ”

  1. vto 1

    When John Key says… “don’t know the details sorry…”

    Can a journalist please ask him to find out the details?

    • Vagabundo 1.1

      Guyon Espiner in the RNZ interview basically asked him why he won’t ask Collins for the details. His voice went up a pitch and he made a very feeble attempt at blustering. To sum up, he “doesn’t know the details” and there’s no way in hell he’s going to find out. It’s the John Banks “didn’t read the police report and I never will” situation all over again.

      • You_Fool 1.1.1

        I am still waiting for the follow up questions when Key does this “So is this holding your ministers to higher ethical standards?”

        • Vagabundo 1.1.1.1

          Here’s the transcript of it, which seems accurate enough. Espiner asked Key a question to that effect, and Key basically gave a very incoherent answer to it.

          ESPINER: So this, this is just a way that dir, that politics is, now is it? This is dirty politics, but it’s OK?

          KEY: Well

          ESPINER: This is the moral leadership you seem to be presiding over here? Oh, well, it’s fair game, the door was open, so we came in and had a look around.

          KEY: Well, a left wing blogger worked out that the WINZ sites were open. And went.

          ESPINER: And so you uphold the same standards as some blogger do you, as the Prime Minister of New Zealand?

          KEY: No, what I’m saying to you,

          ESPINER: Well they are the analogies you’re giving me.

          KEY: No, they’re not, what I’m saying to you is, that a whole lot of assumptions were made in the book, or were cast that way, that were either would knowingly have been wrong because Nicky Hager must have known that was wrong: this is [?] that was broken into, or he was, you know, in such a rush to get the job out that was basically gone and run roughshod over the facts. But what I’m saying to you is that in the end, yeah, look, at the end of the day, people do look at things, and that’s just, that’s just the way it works.

          http://thestandard.org.nz/muddying-the-waters-transcript-key-on-rnz/

    • Chris 1.2

      Yes! That goes for all of the claims in the book. Nobody’s putting that squarely to him.

    • Tracey 1.3

      her final warning was for not revealling everything to the PM? Ergo, the PM knew everything she was doing with Slater so his rules werentbroken.

  2. ScottGN 2

    She should be sacked. Sadly it seems Key doesn’t have the guts for it so we’re all going to have to do it on Saturday, September 20th.

  3. Harriet 3

    Reminds me of low polling Julia standing beside Craig Thompson.

    Well not really, as Collins has done next to nothing compared to Thompson. And Key is the polar opposite to Julia – according to the polling numbers on females.

    The polls won’t be any different in Nov if she stays or goes.

    Key will do the gentlemanly thing and stick by her. Women would expect that.

    There’s more votes in women than there is in integrity. As you all know.

    • vto 3.1

      How do you get your forehead and eyebrows to do that, Judith?

    • Colonial Viper 3.2

      Key will do the gentlemanly thing and stick by her. Women would expect that.

      Gufffaw!!! You gotta hang out with a better class of more discerning woman.

    • tricledrown 3.3

      Those who uphold the law should be above the laws
      Collin’s must go !
      Looks like McCready will have another former police minister in his sights!

    • tricledrown 3.4

      Harriet your an out of touch Dinosaur !
      It must really grate on your psyhc that your leader is off grovelling for the Maori vote today !

    • karol 3.5

      Have you read some of the stuff that Collins’ mates have written, as exposed in “Dirty Politics”? Collins and her male mates are no friends to women in general. Collins supports and runs with misogynistic men.

      The majority of women deserve better.

  4. Adrian 4

    People have surmised that Collins must have something on Key and pondered on what it could be. Isn’t it more likely that Slater has damning information on Key and that if that is available to anyone it is most likely to be Collins, Slater’s BFF.
    A great game is quessing what it may be, could it be around Key’s sudden unusual interest in NZ politics in the late nineties, unusual as this is a man who has professed no interest in the subject even to the point of being blissfully unaware of the the most criticial time in NZ politics, namely the Springbok Tour only a decade before.
    He has admitted he only wanted to be Prime Minister and rumours have swirled around monies he has alleged to have given the National Party to facilitate this, figures from 1 to 5 million have been mentioned. If proven this would be alarming, the old Democracy For Sale.
    Who would know?
    Well, the Nat Party President at the time was John Slater. 1998-2001, Cameron Slaters father.
    Coincidence? The truth always looks like coincidence until proven.
    As the said in the original Watergate, follow the money!

  5. Colonial Viper 5

    I think Collins should stay on 🙂

    • Lanthanide 5.1

      Yip. Sacking her is Key’s best escape path at this point, the longer he delays it the worse he’ll look.

  6. philj 6

    I chatted to a cafe owner and he said his two friends in London were currency traders with Key and they laughed when told that Key couldn’t remember stuff. They said he had a fantastic memory. Key seems to have forgotten how frequently he contacts Slater though. Hmmm…

    • vto 6.1

      Of course he does. Key has a trap-like memory. And you could see that yesterday when he was asked about his message to the Fat Slug after he said “dead west coast feral did the world a favour”.

      Key said he remembered it very well. And you could tell that he did remember it in absolute detail. Just like you can tell he lies when he says he can’t remember things.

      Key is a liar.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.2

      There’s one thing I’ve never doubted and that’s Key’s professionalism as a money trader. To be successful in that field he would need an absolutely incredible memory. IMO, If Key says he can’t remember something then it’s pretty much a given that he’s lying.

  7. millsy 7

    Key will not get rid of Collins. He is too smart for that.

    He knows that Collins hopes of leading the National party have been all but dashed, with these clouds hanging over her, and that her ministerial career has peaked.

    If (heaven forbid!) National win the election I think you will find that Judith Collins will be in the list of losers in the subsequent cabinet reshuffle.

    • Colonial Viper 7.1

      If (heaven forbid!) National win the election I think you will find that Judith Collins will be in the list of losers in the subsequent cabinet reshuffle.

      Uh, no. If National win:

      “It will be proof that the NZ public was smart enough to realise that Hager’s unfounded allegations against Judith Collins were both overwrought and insubstantial.”

  8. marsman 8

    Is there anything criminal in what Collins did? Would love to see her in jail, double bunking, in a used container in a private prison.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

      For example, if her Ministerial appointments showed a pattern that suggested a serious conflict of interest, and there were corroborating evidence (in the form of emails, say) that showed less than pure motives, I think she might be in trouble.

      I won’t be holding my breath though.

    • Roy 8.2

      Pity the poor woman she double-bunks with in that situation, I’d say!

  9. Dont worry. Be happy 9

    What a fascinating proposition…Key bought his leadership of the National Party and that the Slater family, and their close friend Crusher Collins, would know the details.

    Follow the money indeed.

    Then of course the question is why would John Key want to be PM? Out of another book….”By their deeds ye shall know them.”

  10. Papa Tuanuku 10

    Every day that Collins stays on the tax payer payroll is an indictment on each and every one of us. If Collins is not gone by launch time on the 24th, we need to commit to protesting the Launch in Papatoetoe. #wedontwantyouhere. Let’s take our country back.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11

    How can a responsible Prime Minister admit that he does not know all the details and then use this as an excuse not to find out all the details?

    John Key isn’t a responsible PM. He’s someone who thinks that the position of PM is to help his rich mates get richer.

    And where in the western world would these sorts of attacks on so called political opponents by a Minister using the resources and power of her office by tolerated?

    Apparently, NZ.

  12. mickysavage 12

    Another release of information has been made by whaledump. The email used by Collins to tell Slater of Pleasant’s details came from her lawfirm email and not from her ministerial or parliamentary email.

    There can be a number of reasons for this but one is that it is much more difficult to OIA a private email address.

    • redfred 12.1

      Even better shows her sly duplicity.

      • mickysavage 12.1.1

        It suggests a desire on her part that her role in this incident not be exposed.

        • Kiwiri 12.1.1.1

          Bloody hell. The question is what other ministerial-related purposes, parliamentary matters or government business have been conducted through that email address or her other personal addresses so that she can avoid OIA, public scrutiny or leaving a formal record!

          • Draco T Bastard 12.1.1.1.1

            Probably quite a bit. We need a law that says government business must be done through recorded government channels and any done outside those channels is treason.

    • Tracey 12.2

      Her law firm? Does this mean she hods a current practising certificate?

      Cathy Odgers and Judith Collins, both count slater as a friend and both are tax lawyers. Funny that.

    • Hayden 12.4

      The ol’ Sarah Palin gambit. The problem there was that someone got hold of her private account, as I recall.

  13. disturbed 13

    News flash, Nat’s are now meeting at parliament around Judith Collins. BOOM

    • Kiwiri 13.1

      The Nat MPs need help – if Collin has a kind of blackmail over the PM, what hold has she got over some or many of the Nat MPs? If she is not removed now, she will only continue to blackmail her way to more power over Cabinet and the National Party.

  14. Sable 14

    I don’t see old Keys giving Collins the the shove unless he is forced to do so by the National party. In fact I predict he will come out in her support, the question that then needs to be asked is why?

  15. One Anonymous Bloke 15

    I notice Key has stopped referring to Slater as “the guy”: now he’s “Cam”.

    There’s been substantial speculation as to why Key can’t sack Collins.

    It occurred to me this morning: what Deep Throat Mark Felt said to Bob Woodward: “Follow the money”. What else can it be?

  16. One Anonymous Bloke 16

    And Bill English just cut Collins loose.

    It’s not a style that I like and I don’t participate in it. I wouldn’t do it, I wasn’t involved in any of it it’s not my style of politics, it’s certainly not John Key’s style.

    “I certainly wouldn’t condone an attack by a blogger on public servant doing their job.”

  17. rob 17

    I find some of Judith Colins comments about fellow politicians highly offensive. If that kind of attitude was shown at my work place, either in public, or private correspondence, she would be spoken to.

  18. Tangled_up 18

    March this year:

    Prime Minister John Key has signalled Justice Minister Judith Collins is on her final warning after she withheld details of a dinner in China with a company linked to her husband.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9818950/Judith-Collins-comes-clean-about-dinner

    Today:

    Judith Collins’ decision to leak information to blogger Cameron Slater was “unwise” and she is now on her last chance, Prime Minister John Key says.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11311222

    • Tel 18.1

      Today’s spin and media releases have been so incredibly feeble I’m now starting to think the Nat’s are mentally unhinged.

    • Tracey 18.2

      a final warning, then a last chance… Next key will threaten to tell her dad and finally… A damehood

    • One Anonymous Bloke 18.3

      Too funny: Key’s feeble excuses include this pearler, that Collins didn’t leak Pleasant’s name, when Whaledump proved she did just that three hours ago.

      Follow the money.

  19. The real loser if and when collins goes is oravida. Who will do their bidding in China now?

  20. redfred 20

    Unbelievably Collins just given last last chance

    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11311222

    Collins and Slater must have the goods on Key.

    Key then blames Labour for a smear campaign…

    Keys clearly having a mental break.

    • wonderpup 20.1

      “Mr Key said that was still in place and denied she was now on her “last last” chance.”

      I snorted coffee all over my workstation. I would have paid good money to hear him say that.

  21. redfred 21

    Whaledump dumped again clearly showing Collins sent name and numbers contradicting her statement of numbers only…. last last last chance Mr Key?

  22. NZJester 22

    She must go? But guys this is only her second time on the last chance list and as long as she does not do anything wrong before next week her required time to be on John’s last chance list will have expired just like it did for the last offense she committed. Next week once the new evidence comes out of what else she has been doing she will have paid her dept to society for her wrong doing in John Keys eyes and will be ready to go back on his last chance list again for another week if he deems her crime serious enough. God help her if she gets caught out again before the end of the week and John has to put her on double or even triple last chance. He might ship her out of the country to somewhere like a holiday resort in Hawaii to think about what she has done. If she ever makes it to octet last chance in one week he will definitely fire her. After all there are 8 days in a week right?
    I mean guys John Key is not a monster and can only punish her for so long for committing the worst crime ever that a politician can commit. Getting caught out by the media.

    • Murray Olsen 22.1

      A week ago, I would have thought your post wasn’t serious. Now I’m not sure.

  23. daev 23

    So to must key and the entire national government

  24. daev 24

    So Amy Adams used Slater as well she got to go to

  25. Adrian 25

    Follow the money, the money Key paid the National party for the PMship and if he could hold on for long enough a knighthood. The only thing you can’t buy off the shelf with 100 mill.

  26. TheContrarian 26

    Yep – Collins has to go.

  27. disturbed 27

    TheContrarian
    +++1

  28. lurgee 28

    Every time I hear Key bleat, “The left do this too,” I really wish the journalists would challenge him on it:

    “When, Mr Key, have ‘the left’ abused their ministerial position to leak the identity of a public servant to an attack blog, so they can be held up to public abuse and threats? When have ‘the left’ abused the OIA process by alerting people to when information is being released and expediting the process?”

    Anyway, Collins has utterly, obviously lied, as she told Key she didn’t leak the name, just the job title (which is a bit like Slater’s attempts to get round name suppression). But it is right there in the email.

    Yesterday, Mr Key said he’d asked Ms Collins about the release of the civil servant’s name, identified as Simon Pleasants, and she told him she’d only passed on the job title to the blogger.

    Surely, she’s got to go after this? Key can’t let her carry on making him look really stupid.

  29. My husband & i think Judith Colins must go she has got away with to much over the past few years.
    Jane & peter Emerson

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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago

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