Key vs science on water quality

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, August 24th, 2016 - 60 comments
Categories: accountability, farming, health, john key, science, useless, water - Tags: , , , , , , ,

One of the first times Key was actually seriously confronted in an interview was on the BBC’s Hardtalk in 2011. Among the topics was our “100% Pure” slogan and our water quality. Here’s an account in The Listener:

The most controversial part of the interview surrounded the “100% Pure New Zealand” slogan. Here is the crux of the exchange:

Stephen Sackur: One of the country’s unique selling points, and your advertising slogan was all about this, was “100% Pure New Zealand”, the idea that you’re a greener nation than any other in the developed world – that already isn’t true, as your population does slowly rise, and it’s going to get worse. Dr Mike Joy, of Massey University, a leading environmental scientist in your country, said just the other day, “We are delusional about how clean and green we are.”

John Key: Well that might be Mike Joy’s view, but I don’t share that view.

Sackur: But he is very well qualified, isn’t he? He’s looked, for example, at the number of species threatened with extinction in New Zealand, he’s looked at the fact that half your lakes, 90% of your lowland rivers, are now classed as polluted.

Key: Look, I’d hate to get into a flaming row with one of our academics, but he’s offering his view. I think any person that goes down to New Zealand …
Sackur: Yeah but he’s a scientist, it’s based on research, it’s not an opinion he’s plucked from the air.

Key: He’s one academic, and like lawyers, I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview. Anybody who goes down to New Zealand and looks at our environmental credentials, and looks at New Zealand, then I think for the most part, in comparison with the rest of the world, we are 100% pure – in other words, our air quality is very high, our water quality is very high

Sackur: But 100% is 100%, and clearly you’re not 100% …

The prime minister’s face offers a decent bellwether here. Code: rictus. And try this again for size: “For the most part, in comparison with the rest of the world, we are 100% pure.” To follow up the casual dismissal of a scientist’s analysis with such mathematical wizardry is, as various Twittery types observed, 110% jaw-dropping.

Mike Joy has since rebuffed Key’s remarks. He told TV3: “You can’t argue with the facts, the NIWA reports, the number of threatened species, all of those things are facts … We’ve been conned and we’ve conned ourselves into believing that we’re clean and green…but the reality is that it’s nothing like that. We’re deluding ourselves and we’re trying to delude the rest of the world.”

See the video below (end of Part 1 at 10m47s and start of Part 2).

It is this kind of bullshit denial of science that leads directly to declining water standards in NZ and eventually incidents like the major Havelock North gastro outbreak. Here’s another scientist on the topic recently:

Fresh water results worst ecology professor has seen

An ecology professor says council measures of water quality around Hawke’s Bay are lower than any he has seen before in New Zealand.

Massey University professor Russell Death has studied freshwater in the broader Tukituki-Papanui-Karamu area, which includes Havelock North.

He told Checkpoint with John Campbell macroinvertebrate community composition (MCI) values, which measured the general health of the water, were very low in the broader area around Havelock North.

“A town water supply in New Zealand is infected by many of the pathogenic organisms that live in our water supplies, it’s not surprising at all – in fact, it’s inevitable,” he said.

He said, normally, a very unhealthy river could present MCI values as low as 80, but the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s own measurements had found levels even lower.

“The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council have done their own sampling around the Karamu catchment, and that’s where they’ve found MCI values down to 60 which, as I said, I didn’t realise MCI values could get that low.”

He said students he had sent to the area had come back having seen dead animals on riverbanks and asked not to be sent to sample streams so badly affected again.

If that kind of water made its way into a town’s drinking water, it would only be a matter of time before people got sick as a result, he said.

“We have the highest level of many of these waterborne gastrointestinal diseases in the OECD.” …

Surprise surprise, John Key doesn’t believe Prof. Death either.

As long as we accept politically motivated denial of science this country is in trouble. As long as we accept shit in our water another Havelock North type outbreak is inevitable.


60 comments on “Key vs science on water quality ”

  1. dukeofurl 1

    Ill just add for the record Key disputing Professor Deaths facts.

    “Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister agree with Dr Russell Death, professor of Freshwater Ecology at Massey University, that even if we chlorinate all our water supplies, people are still going to get sick from water-borne pathogens associated with the intensified dairy sector, and that another outbreak, as we have seen in Havelock North, is inevitable?

    Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No.

    Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister understand that New Zealand has the highest level of water-borne diseases in the OECD?

    Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I have no basis to either confirm or deny that statement.

    Thats a new one. Neither confirm nor deny. I expect to hear a lot more of this one

    • Bearded Git 1.1

      LOL…..what he means is “my farmer friends have told me to say it’s not their fault” or “I haven’t read that report so I can’t comment”. Surely the electorate will have tired of these lies by omission next year?

      Steve Braunias’ Herald piece at the weekend where Health Minister Jonathan Coleman was watching the Olympics on TV in Rio while Havelock North burned said it all.

    • mac1 1.2

      Were there further follow-up questions along the lines of;
      “Does the PM consider this issue important enough to be well-informed enough to be able to confirm or deny?” or
      “Will the PM undertake to become informed enough, using the resources of the state, and report back to this Parliament in a month on his findings? If not, why not?” or “Can the PM advise the House as to what resources he has at his government’s disposal to become informed enough to be able to confirm or deny?” and finally “Does the PM know the term for one who remains deliberately ignorant of matters about which he should know?”

    • NZJester 1.3

      I think John Key and professor Death need to swap names as it is Key who is more like Mr Death to the average New Zealander.
      People have been left suffering in pain or died as a result of his continual denials of the truth. Look at all the work deaths we have seen from his denial that there is a problem in the forestry industry and a death that is almost certainly from the contaminated water in Havelock North. Those are just the tip of the iceberg of the suffering and misery his government have caused people.

  2. Draco T Bastard 2

    As long as we accept politically motivated denial of science this country is in trouble.

    I’d say it’s at the point that we should probably make that a gaolable offence as it causes so much damage to our country and misery for our peoples. It’s even possible that it’s causing death which would make such lies premeditated murder.

  3. save nz 3

    Great post. The posts from Checkpoint from Paul are fantastic to watch to.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NkMwVoP5wc

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gulj8JQmEUo

  4. Lanthanide 4

    Professor Death, awesome name.

  5. save nz 5

    Professor Death should be the government’s chief scientific advisor. Then it will aptly describe the National policies of science destruction by their Dr Death.

  6. Righty right 6

    The government is compromised. Because it went boots and all on dairy intensefication it can not act and won’t act against those interests the fact people may have died make imperative to change the government to

  7. Righty right 7

    We are asking a compromised government to admit there wrong that there whole nine years is a disaster for right wing very entitled group that’s impossible given there has been deaths its even harder now the only answer is a change in management with fresh broom I still beleave twe will need a high powered probe into the national party there corruption in now out in the open and visible
    Cronyism is one thing when leads to deaths it cross the line into criminality

  8. Professor key should be ostracized from his university.

  9. TC 9

    They will go all out now to ensure they slam as many measures through to satisfy their backers before the next election that they can bludgeon through.

    Water quality, education, prisons, health, rail etc all on the bonfire of neolib destruction capably led by the shonky banksta.

  10. Richard Christie 10

    Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister accept that the cleaner the water is before treatment, the cleaner the water is at the tap?

    Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not a technical expert, but it sounds logical.

    Metiria Turei: Will the Prime Minister arrange for the review of the wadeable standard and the national policy standard for fresh water management, given his agreement that the cleaner the water before treatment, the cleaner it is at the tap?

    Both Key and Metiria are wrong.

    The answer as to how clean it is at the tap as a function of its initial level of ‘cleanliness’ is dependent.

    Dependent on the nature of the contamination and the nature of the “treatment”.

  11. weka 11

    Good post r0b.

    I think Key’s Hardtalk moment is his equivalent of Lange’s uranium on your breath moment, with everything that says about the difference between then and now and those two men and their intellect, ethics and integrity. Key brings shame on us all.

    • Macro 11.1

      “Key brings shame on us all.”

      Look…. At the end of the day I’m comfortable with that.

      /sarc

      • weka 11.1.1

        ha ha, very good Macro.

      • Red Hand 11.1.2

        “Shame on us all” because we want a first world lifestyle and have failed to make sufficient income from anything but agricultural products. So we need to grow that sector and suck up the loss of a few rivers to get what we want. Just like we got used to no lowland forests.

        • Macro 11.1.2.1

          You are aware that the economy is a subset of the environment – not the other way round?

        • weka 11.1.2.2

          It’s not a few rivers, it’s many rivers. And try running that argument past people in Havelock North.

          There is no reason we can’t have first world lifestyles and clean rivers, apart from greed and ideology.

          btw, tourism is our biggest earner.

  12. “WATER: the extraordinary story of our most ordinary substance

    Water seems ordinary – it pours from our taps and falls from the sky. But you would be surprised at what a profoundly strange substance it is. It defies the normal rules of chemistry, it has shaped the Earth, its life and our civilisation. Without it, none of us would exist.

    Alok Jha, science correspondent for ITV News in the UK, will take you on a dual journey – first, an expedition to Antarctica, and the great ice fields, icebergs and world-shaping weather systems of the Southern Ocean. And second, on a parallel scientific voyage that takes us from the origins of water in the Big Bang, through the beginnings of life on Earth, the shaping of human civilisations and then back out into space as water becomes the key marker in our search for life in the Solar System and beyond.”

    http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=aeb1040afb4474ec7a22ca8da&id=aa3c9c701e&e=8023d58545

  13. Wayne 13

    Whilst Mike Joy has expertise in the area, there is no doubt he has a a very particular viewpoint.

    Therefore he is perhaps more like Jane Kelsey, in that he has a strong background in the area, but acts more as an advocate for a particular view point.

    Therefore not surprising that the PM answered the Hardtalk question in the way he did.

    It is interesting the difference between physical sciences and social sciences. A major current affairs programme would not even think to suggest to a political leader that they should follow the view point of Jane Kelsey by virtue of her being a well known researcher on international trade. They would know it is a contested viewpoint. But such an approach would be quite common in the physical sciences, presumably because when a physical scientist says something they are always, or at least mostly, considered to be correct.

    As for the Havelock case, I would hope NIWA (among others) has a whole team on the job trying to ascertain the cause of the contamination. The public need to know sooner rather than later.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1

      “a very particular viewpoint.”

      What does that mean, Dr. Mapp? “Perhaps” you are more like Jane Kelsey than he is. No wait, I doubt very much whether Jane Kelsey indulges herself in partisan weasel smears the way you do.

      Your conflict of interest is showing, crony-appointment-boy.

      • dv 13.1.1

        “a very particular viewpoint”

        Translation- Joy is a scientist and believes in data.

      • stigie 13.1.2

        “I doubt very much whether Jane Kelsey indulges herself in partisan weasel smears the way you do.”

        I didn’t think people were nasty at the Standard AOB ?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1.2.1

          Oh sure, Dr. Mapp wasn’t being “nasty” at all: weasel smears are just the honest opinion of cronies with massive conflicts of interest.

    • miravox 13.2

      ” there is no doubt he has a a very particular viewpoint.”

      I’d say that very particular viewpoint is very much based on his very specific expertise as an Ecologist.

      It’s a bit of a stretch to liken advocating on ecological facts to advocating on a uninformed viewpoint, as politicians are wont to do. So yeah, it’s not surprising the PM answered the way he did in his politically motivated denial.

      As for the science/social science thing – measuring shit in the water and knowing the factual meaning of 100% is not as murky as interpreting the various inputs and outcomes of human and social relationships where observations are probably not 100% (ikr 😉 ). And I say this as a social scientist who attempts to clarify some of this stuff sometimes).

    • RedBaronCV 13.3

      I don’t really think that NIWA and others will have a big team on the job as all the media indications point to the source of contamination already being known.

      If Havelock is being hooked up to the Hastings water supply at some expense and we aren’t getting stories about bores etc being checked then we are getting the spin on the solutions before we get a look at the problem.

      As to Mike Joy’s particular viewpoint – he has his head down viewing and counting the bits of shit in the water. Hopefully Nact are merely wading in that water – wouldn’t do to skew any counts

      • corokia 13.3.1

        Probably wading through shit to count invertebrates.

        On the MCI from stats.govt.nz River water quality: benthic macroinvertebrates

        ” Macroinvertebrates are measured by disturbing or sweeping a small representative area of riverbank and bed with a net, and sieving out the macroinvertebrates. They are then identified under a microscope.

        Macroinvertebrates are reliable continuous indicators of the health of their stream environment. This is because they are relatively sedentary and long-lived (surviving for a year or longer), and respond to multiple stresses or changes in their location (eg pollution, habitat removal, floods, and droughts).

        The MCI complements other measures – such as chemical monitoring, which only reflects the condition at the exact time and place of sampling, and might miss the presence of a short-lived pollutant or an unanticipated type of disturbance.”

    • Pat 13.4

      you are entertaining if nothing else Wayne…..a simple examination of the evidence demonstrates which “viewpoint” is the correct one.

      Rather than attempting to inject politics into science the country would be better served by the reverse.

    • Ad 13.5

      We may as well run that interview as a campaign video for the next election.

  14. righty right 14

    doctors death and joy deal only in the truth while key deals in lies and bullshit literally

    • Garibaldi 14.1

      The truth of the matter is we have to give up farming ruminants. WE HAVE TO TOTALLY CHANGE OUR WAY OF FARMING . If we want to survive then the damage we are doing and have done to our land and water must be addressed NOW. The situation is that serious…. we can’t afford to wait and see. This will mean a total change of direction for this Country. The whole concept of the environment being an unlimited resource for us to do as we wish with is one of our greatest mistakes as humans.

  15. corokia 15

    “Whilst Mike Joy has expertise in the area, there is no doubt he has a a very particular viewpoint.”

    So, if researchers in a particular scientific field discover evidence of harm, or damage to say a river ecosystem (using the example of a fresh water scientist) or perhaps tobacco, or asbestos being implicated in lung cancer (using the example of a medical reseacher),
    what actions should those researchers take Wayne?

    In your opinion, is speaking out about their discoveries the ethical thing to do in the public interest , or is it just them acting “as an advocate for a particular view point”?

    • North 15.1

      Don’t react to Wayne Corokia…….he’s nought more than Keydashian’s top paid troll under that spittley, pious veneer. Not in the bucks ‘cos a lifetime of troughing has him all well made up……but in more sinecures on the public purse, and probably an ambassadorial post somewhere. Before November ’17. Oh God…….how painful the ’18 recall will be.

    • Wayne 15.2

      Fair point. But I would want to know there was a consensus before I accepted the viewpoint. It is not as if he cannot express his view based on his research. Obviously he can and he will. And presumably will get funding for his research.
      Case in point; Jane Kelsey got a substantial Marsden grant. The govt doesn’t influence that and neither should they. I spent a bit of time pointing out to colleagues why Marsden and other such funds must be independent. For obvious reasons researchers with all points of view have to be funded so as to get a contest of ideas.
      Should NZ stop intensive dairying. It depends on the evidence. Perhaps on some places. Certainly more work needs to be done on abatement.
      But do we actually know the cause of this pollution. Is it actually intensive dairy?
      That is why I would want NIWA and Landcare on the case. If Mike Joy is correct he has to be validated.

      • Wayne 15.2.1

        By the way, no-one asks or suggests that I should make my contributions. In fact, given some of the responses I probably shouldn’t. I know some of my friends think I definitely shouldn’t.
        I do so because I like a debate. I also think echo chambers, whether left or right, are boring so providing a different point of view livens things up a bit.
        Though I do think some of the insults get too personal. Even suggesting an alternative viewpoint seems too much for some people.

        • North 15.2.1.1

          How crashingly proper yet delightful of you Wayno……you like a debate. Hail fellow well met……chortle chortle. Hitch up the pants on the dinner suit boy. Do you have an inkling of the caricature you are ?

          Other people are forced to love the back seat of an aging Honda Odyssey in the park on the corner of Sykes Road and whatever that other one is that leads into Alfriston. In Manurewa. Where the Polynesian people just ‘laarv’ Mister Key. According to the fiapalagi you’ve lassoed with promises of status and fortune. Like your shockingly patronised Peseta Sam. Whose family from Fasito’o regard as a fucking scab. The guy who reckoned that it’s easy peezy for ordinary people to save up a hundred and thirty grand for a deposit on a house. What ???

          Do you really give a fuck ? Well yes……of course you do. It’s your reflex to tell everyone how much you “care”. You could undoubtedly point to many, many instances where you’ve publicly proclaimed your “care” for “folk”.

          In the big tally-up you’re no less a privileged conman than Keydashian for whom you troll with such passive aggression. So enough of your cloak of the considered, earnest man bullshit. You’re a classist snob and a wicked trougher who’s ridden on the backs of New Zealanders forever. You deserve not a scintilla of respect. Shame about your pearl clutching, weeping mates and their drama queen – “Why Wayne, why…….why do you suffer it ? These people…..!”

          Fuck off is what I’m saying. You’re a bugle for Keydashian. And as vain. I’m putting myself in the heads and hearts of the people forced to love the back seat of the unregoed, unwarranted vintage Honda Odyssey as I write this. The people for whom you so, so, so ‘care’. Plump charlatan you.

        • Ad 15.2.1.2

          There’s a few things wrong with your logic of waiting.

          I think there will be a few water scientists and engineers at Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Hawkes Bay District Council, and Hawkes Bay District Health who thought they should wait before confirmation bias set it. Maybe just hold off for 24 hours before another set of results set in.

          But they were wrong. About 4,000 sick people wrong. And so are you. Politicians who are good at their job should get out their way when judgements are being made about public health issues. They should apply their megaphone to assist the public, not do the usual delay and avoid.

          If Prime Minister John Key were held to the same logic of waiting at this Hawkes Bay inquiry that you are deploying, he would be held negligent. OMG I think there’s something in the new Health and Safety legislation on this.

          Secondly, waiting for some putative time at which all science is settled is really code for ‘enforce the existing order’. Roll that logic through human medical history over the last century, and you have placed the political order into only the most reactionary purpose possible. Let’s see … apart from asbestos, there’s the Unfortunate Experiment at National Womens, lead in petrol, how to deal with mental patients, how to ‘care for’ Australian aborigines and Maori … you head down a pretty inexcusable slope of medical malpractice.

          Also, trying your own version of an ‘apples v pears’ argument comparing a legal scholar to an environmental scientist is the kind of thing that gets politicians into all sorts of trouble very quickly. Imagine if the logic of ‘I can’t trust one academic, which thus gives me license to mistrust them all’ was applied to another class of human being: politician. It’s a view of human beings that is exceptionally cynical. And easy.

          Which is of course why National Ministers generally hold this country back. They prefer not to listen. Prefer to keep the system in check. Prefer to false-equivalence, and slippery-slope, and smile to camera. Prefer to wait until all the results are in. Prefer to slur the dissenters and hound them out. John Key isn’t the worst but he sure ain’t the last. And yes, good old New Zealanders have to wait for Labour to reform and clean out the – literally this time – crap they chose to leave behind.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 15.2.1.3

          If you don’t like insults why do you author them? What “alternative viewpoint” have you offered, other than to imply that Dr. Joy’s professional opinions are predetermined and/or politically motivated?

          Projecting your behaviour onto him is straight out of your playbook.

        • Grant 15.2.1.4

          Wayne “I do so because I like a debate.”

          Right up to the point at which you encounter a question or counter argument you don’t have an easy answer for. Then the only indication of your recent presence in the debate is a distant trail of dust and small pebbles heading rapidly towards the horizon.

      • Poission 15.2.2

        There is no intensive dairy in that catchment, an obvious problem (and not a binary one)

        As it is an interesting and complex problem ,sometimes the mechanical mechanisms in similar cases such as Norway in 2007 ( Where a number of fire practices,lowered the water pressure allowing back flow and ingress into the bores and water supply ) low probability event hard to predict.

  16. Leftie 16

    Paul posted the following link on the Daily Review.

    Waatea 5th Estate “Water vs Intensive Farming”

    In studio – Agricultural spokesperson for Greenpeace – Geniveve Toop
    On skype, award winning columnist and intensive farming critic – Rachel Stewart
    Environmental Scientist and ecologist with Massey University – Dr Mike Joy
    and also joining us tonight on the phone, Green Party Spokesperson on rivers and clean water – Catherine Delahunty

    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEYQ-nkAuGc

  17. Observer Tokoroa 17

    .
    . Key – BBC boos him verbally. Just like Auckland loudly!
    . and where is McCaw when his best closest loveliest friend needs him.

    . I am here to tell you that Mr Key is not polluted or contaminated. In spite of all our numerous waters being seriously poisoned, they are in fact pure like himself.

    . We are so lucky to have this world class Fool – as our Prime Minister.

    John Key runs the: Act Party, The United Future Party, The National Party, the Maori Party – and the Slipshod Speaker of the House.

    . Aotearoa – the land of deceit.

    .

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    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
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  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
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