Labour obviously never worked out MMP

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, September 26th, 2014 - 104 comments
Categories: election 2014, greens, labour, national, nz first - Tags:

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Labour lost the party vote, but retained the electorates. Looking at the results it is pretty clear that this appears to have been a deliberate decision by Labour’s remaining electorate MPs.

With the exception of the six Maori electorate MPs, Damien O’Conner on the West Coast, and Iain Lees-Galloway in Palmerston North (plus Stuart Nash benefiting from a split right vote in Napier) the rest of the MPs are holed up in urban electorates that lend themselves to the personal attention from MPs.

This shows in the lack of attention that Labour MPs give to the party vote. The only general electorates where Labour is now ahead of National in the party vote (in the preliminary results) are Dunedin North (by 24 votes), and 4 South Auckland seats.

Party               

Party
Votes

%
Votes

Electorate
Seats

List
Seats

Total
Seats

National Party

1,010,464

48.06

41

20

61

Labour Party

519,146

24.69

27

5

32

Green Party

210,764

10.02

0

13

13

New Zealand First Party

186,031

8.85

0

11

11

There are many ways to display just how much the aversion that Labour has to being a MMP party. For instance the table at the right from the preliminary results.

It is evident that there are genuine MMP parties in parliament. The Greens and NZ First most definitely are with all of their seats coming from the list. So is National with a third of their seats from the list. In each case these party itself made a fairly deliberate decision to become focused on the list.

In 2002, the Greens could have made a decision to throw all of their efforts into the Coromandel electorate that they had won in 1999. But that has been a backstop to their campaign to achieve the 5% threshold and they chose to continue increasing that – now to 10%. Winston Peters losing the Tauranga electorate in 2005 proved to be a boon for NZ First. NZ First has proved to be resilient as a MMP party running almost entirely on the list.

Party Party
Votes
%
Votes
Electorate
Seats
List
Seats
Total
Seats
Labour Party 838,219 41.26 45 7 52
National Party 425,310 20.93 21 6 27
New Zealand First Party 210,912 10.38 1 12 13
ACT New Zealand 145,078 7.14 0 9 9
Green Party 142,250 7.00 0 9 9
United Future 135,918 6.69 1 7 8
Progressives 34,542 1.70 1 1 2

After their shattering 2002 defeat where they dropped to levels even worse than Labour in the 2014 election. National’s party made quite sweeping changes to the focus of their organisation.

The most important of which was that the party vote became predominant in their targeting. Their electorate MPs are judged by the party organisation for how much they bring to the party. This has been clearly evidenced by the rash of well paid resignations over recent years. This shows up in their party vote steadily rising even in electorate seats held by Labour MPs.

Labour has no such ambitions as National achieved in 2002. Or rather its parliamentary team do not.

Their electorate MPs ran quite good and effective electorate campaigns, that at best out the “Party Vote Labour” in small letters on their billboards with the face of their local candidate in prominence.  When I went through the safe Labour electorates of Mt Albert and Mt Roskill during the election campaign that was all that you ever saw.

In other electorates that the candidate was even a member of Labour  was carefully downplayed – Clayton Cosgrove in Waimakariri for instance. The ill-fated and unfortunately chosen (in the light of Dirty Politics turning up late in the election campaign) slogan of “Vote Positive” was a similar distancing from the party branding.

Pretty much the only support for a Labour party campaign was coming from the small and underfunded Labour HQ, the party activists, and the few MPs who were party minded like David Cunliffe, David Parker, and a few others.

Which is of course why they are the targets of the silo electorate MPs and electorate thinking fossils like Josie Pagani. She spent the day after the election proclaiming this…

National are really, really good at organisation. Labour’s head office told us it would win with its ground game. There was some spectacular ground-game effort by Labour people out there, let down by a head office that is awful.

1. It is implausible that President Moira Coatsworth and General secretary Tim Barnett have not already resigned. If 24% is not enough to bring about their accountability, how bad would it have to be? Do they have no sense at all how heartbroken and devastated, Labour people feel?

Stuart Nash and Kelvin Davis, (plus wins in Te Tai Hauauru and Tamaki Makaurau) were the only bright spots. Both battled head office interference, when they should have been asked to run things.

Some spectacular simple minded stupidity there. Stuart Nash had a split right vote with a popular conservative McVicar bleeding vote away from the National candidate on the basis of some purely local issues. Stuart Nash sneaked through that with a similar vote to the one he achieved and lost with last election. Kelvin Davis had a main opponent who had was tainted with the decision to campaign with Kim DotCom, and gained a pretty narrow victory that was by less than the Maori party vote in the electorate. Both MPs will have to work hard to retain their electorates.

Labour’s head office has a handful of people there. The parties entire paid staff is probably less than two hands these days. Most of the on the ground effort of volunteers is directed from the electorates and the bulk of that is within electorates with sitting MPs. They can advise, not run.

Similarly the leaders office while better staffed can run under-funded advertising and media campaigns. However they were saving most of their ammunition for the weeks before the election. National had been running serious advertising blitzes since March which has steadily improved the poor poll ratings that they had after christmas.

I knew that Dirty Politics was coming and roughly what its target was (but not a lot about the detail) because of my information and contacts about Whaleoil and Kiwiblog. But I had been requested to keep quiet.

The Labour party did not know. I also knew that Nicky Hager was trying to get it out before the election so that the voters could understand what kind of corruption underlaid the National party.

But the HQ and leaders office got caught flat-footed by Dirty Politics because of the timing. It essentially disrupted the whole party level campaign because they hadn’t started back in March.

A well-funded and locally targeted electorate campaign that the electorate MPs had forced out of the party could survive the storm. But a late running underfunded, however well conceived, country wide campaign could not.

As we saw, the electorate MPs largely chose to run a non-party campaign. They effectively caused the party vote campaign to be caught by the vagaries of the political mood. Now of course they will blame those who work for the party rather than themselves.

Labour is good at winning electorates. Their entire system from the constitution onwards is focused towards that. They haven’t transitioned to a MMP party vote environment.

Perhaps it is time for activists to have two parties. The one that specialises in electorates and the one that focuses on party vote.

Because it is becoming evident that Labour is unlikely to ever manage to make the transition to being a MMP party.

104 comments on “Labour obviously never worked out MMP ”

  1. Interesting piece, Lprent.

    Just a short note to say that Palmerston North [should] be considered an urban seat. The population of the constituency is all but concentrated in one, contiguous urban area containing most of the city.

    The Parliamentary Library classifies it as a “wholly urban electorate”.

    • Ian 1.1

      So what do we mean by ‘urban’? Not a dictionary definition, but what significance does this have in terms of electoral/party politics? You mention Palmerston North. True, Palmy is technically urban but it is not in the sense that Wellington Central, or Mangere might be. Many urban electorates within larger cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch) often have safe electorates well defined by ethnicity and/or class. Palmerston North is not one of these. The electorate encompasses almost the entire city that transcends class & ethnicity, so the challenges in rallying the Party vote are quite different to some in bigger cities. Despite promoting the Party vote (as well as the candidate – a bloody good thing too or he wouldn’t be representing us) we still only got 30% of the Party vote. This is not a matter of an MP promoting his own little fiefdom at all. His ground game started almost a year before the Election. In that time, we canvassed, door knocked, distributed propaganda urging votes for both candidate AND party. Iain holds regular ‘coffee & politics’ evenings ( not just in election cycles) promoting the Party’s policies. He brought in a range of Labour MPs including Jacinda, Chris Hipkins, Annette King and even DC to highlight Party policy. What more can we do? At least for us, this is much bigger than simply ‘not getting’ MMP or running a campaign for the local fiefdom.

      • Liam Hehir 1.1.1

        The significance is that Palmerston North is not a ‘provincial seat’ in the same way that, say, Napier or New Plymouth are. In many ways, it is quite unique because it is also a university and military town with a young and highly educated population.

        The seat does not encompass the whole city insofar as the fast growing and prosperous south side of the Manawatu river is excluded. The seat encompasses the ‘core’ of the city (which is redder) and some of the outer suburbs (which are bluer).

        Because of this geography, boundary changes have tended to simply shift around the blue parts which are and are not included in the electorate. If the city continues to grow that way it the seat might be split into a “North” and “South” seat which would probably go blue.

        That’s unlikely to happen any time soon, of course, which is why the Palmerston North seat will continue to look a bit like West Berlin for a few years.

        • Ian 1.1.1.1

          Agreed – but it still doesn’t account for the appallingly low Party vote relative to the Electoral vote…

  2. mickysavage 2

    I agree entirely lprent with one minor quibble …

    Labour won the party vote in Kelston (West Auckland not South Auckland seat) and on analysis I have seen there was a significant increase in the party vote in that electorate. That particular campaign showed how to do it. Carmel Sepuloni, aided by some great local people, ran another boisterous energetic campaign and the results showed. New Lynn’s party vote held up. Mt Albert’s and Mt Roskill’s tanked by over 7% points. The four electorates are next to each other. I hope the review gets to the guts of why some electorates went relatively well and others did not.

    The Maori electorates went well. Giovanni Tiso posed the interesting theory that this was also evidence of a right wing trend as the Maori seats were historically very left wing and going to the middle from the left helped Labour.

    One other bright performer was Poto Williams in Christchurch East where Labour’s share of the party vote went up. Well done Poto.

    The on the ground activist campaigning really helps. The party needs to have a think about how to maintain and increase membership activity.

    I am thinking more and more that the Caucus ought to cool it, stick to the status quo and then review matters when the party has concluded its review of the election result.

    • Enough is Enough 2.1

      The party seems to have gone backwards in the past 9 years in relation to strategy.

      Correct me if I am wrong but the Clark/Williams Labour party knew how to win MMP. 1999, 2002 and 2005 Labour campaigned as a party and the party vote was central. The pledge card was all about what Labour would deliver.

      The Cunliffe/Coatsworth Labour party didn’t follow what has worked well for the party in the past.

      • lprent 2.1.1

        The Cunliffe/Coatsworth Labour party didn’t follow what has worked well for the party in the past.

        The same thing happened in 2011 – well before Cunliffe. It is a choice being made by what the MPs (especially traditionalists like Goff) will accept rather than what Labour HQ or most of the leaders office staff think. Or for that matter by almost any activist.

        Because of the way that the power lies in the Labour party constitution, the MPs as individuals carry a lot of power. They are the people who are making this choice to put their own individual interests over that of the party.

        No amount of obstrufication from you is going to change that picture. Perhaps you should have a good close look at your reasons for doing it?

        • Enough is Enough 2.1.1.1

          I did not realise we were dissecting the 2011 result as well.

          I was making the point that the party has campaigned well in the MMP environment in the past, and I am certain that if we look back to how it was done over those 3 elections, then the mistakes of the past 2 elections can be remedied.

          • lprent 2.1.1.1.1

            I didn’t realize we were either until you attempted to drag a leader into it who’d had less than a year in the job.

            Basically you were just being a partisan fool ignoring the issue that I raised and trying to use it to stick the knife in on a short-term issue.

            Helen focused on the party vote and drove everything that way. That wasn’t just at the national level either. When I was doing the targeting for Mt Albert, that was the entire focus of those campaigns from 1996-2008. It paid off. It turns out that a local campaign run on a party basis will help a good local candidate as well.

            But I didn’t see a trace of that type of party focus in Mt Albert or Mt Roskill during the election. I saw more in Auckland Central where the Labour candidate did strive for party vote.

            The lack of that focus is why Mt Roskill and Mt Albert are barely managing to sustain their electorate vote despite the strange Auckland electorate boundaries redraw in the isthmus. Strengthening two already strong Labour electorates has simply managed to drop the previous party vote in both.

            It is completely stupid.

            • Enough is Enough 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Yeah I think we are in general agreement.

              And apologies, I will refrain from hijacking your thread re leadership or clear lack of, in this campaign.

              • the pigman

                FIFY:

                I will refrain from hijacking your thread re leadership or clear lack of, in this campaign NOPE just kidding I’ll keep trying to hijack it!

            • Roger Calnan 2.1.1.1.1.2

              “Basically you were just being a partisan fool ignoring the issue that I raised and trying to use it to stick the knife in on a short-term issue.”

              And that there is the perfect example of why Labour will continue to fail. Someone doesn’t agree with you, so you use ad-hominems, or you ban them.

              You really should consider that perhaps people didn’t vote for Labour, purely because their policies are terrible. They are designed to appeal to minority groups at the expense of the majority of New Zealand. On top of that they have no respect or idea for how to run an economy in a challenging global and domestic environment. Running an economy on a credit binge like Clark and Cullen did is a piece of piss in comparison.

              Middle New Zealand is smart enough to know that having Labour and the Greens running the country, would slam our economy into the proverbial wall.

    • cricklewood 2.2

      I would think that gentrification in Mt Albert and Mt Roskill etc is playing a large part. They are now becoming very expensive suburbs to live in and the demographics are changing accordingly.

      Im in Mt Roskill, Phil knocked on my door 3 times in the run up to election day and he did push the party line. I suspect that the personal effort was rewarded in spite of the demograhic change swing against labour.

      • lprent 2.2.1

        The gentrification in Mt Albert happened long ago. Mostly back in the late 90s and early 00s as the infill housing went in.

        Are you a strong Labour voter? Why were you door knocked three times?

        There are about 40 thousand voters on the roll in Mt Roskill. Can you explain why someone who votes had that amount of attention?

        • cricklewood 2.2.1.1

          Usually Labour voted Green (disunity issues), In my neck of the woods at least Phil was extremely visible and campaigned hard and he did seem to be knocking on every door as far as I could see. The only thing I did find off putting was the megaphone announcement from the red wagon disturbing the peace at dinner time.

          I can’t answer as to why he was in my particular area so often but their is a reasonably large Indian community where I am and a number of his volunteers were Indian.

    • adam 2.3

      Look I don’t like labour, I think the sold working people down the river in 1984 and when they were re-elected for a 5th term, they were given the opportunity to fix that villainy – they chose not to. So sorry for them.

      That said, I thought Carmel Sepuloni proved she was more than a labour party hack. She has shown herself not to be a self absorbed ass, like the bulk of the current labour party MP’s.

      Carmel was visible in Kelston, standing on the streets waving the labour signs alongside her volunteers. And it was vote labour signs, not vote Carmel signs. Carmel answered questions and took an interest in her constituents. Actually she proved to be a real human being, who was not only empathetic with her constituents, but generally concerned about everybody.

      Trying to think when, Shearer or Goff for that matter have done that? Maybe once or twice to say they have done it – but actually alongside their own party members – piff. Labour supporters have a real dilemma facing them – they have some amazing people and the have some down right nasty, self absorbed, lovers of cupidity.

      I say – end it – it’s over – it’s been over for some time.

      LPRENT just showed why the rot, is worse than you may think – even worse than I thought. They have not adapted, they have not changed and they can’t. And worst of all, their is a cabal who won’t let it, and would rather lose an election to make sure that it never changes.

      • David H 2.3.1

        “And worst of all, their is a cabal who won’t let it, and would rather lose an election to make sure that it never changes.”

        And now they the ABW club will sit back and blame the leader, the opposition, the phase of the moon. But blame the face they look at every morning??? In your dreams. I wonder how they sleep at night knowing that they are complicit in the worst election loss in history.

        They need to be Found, Named, and SHAMED, each and every one, they need to have the scorn of the electorate heaped upon their loser heads, and price of their treachery should be resignation. Public and humiliating resignation.

        This should be the warning that is sent back to Caucus from the membership. Let them know they are on notice. They will be found out and named.

        • weka 2.3.1.1

          Bradbury’s take on the factions 15 months ago. Needs updating.

          Team Shearer (11)
          David Shearer, Phil Goff, Annette King, Trevor Mallard, David Parker, Damien O’Connor, Darien Fenton, Kris Fa’afoi, Ross Robertson, Maryan Street, Ruth Dyson.

          The Young and The Restless (8)
          Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Phil Twyford, Clare Curran, Megan Woods, Ian Lees-Galloway, David Clark.

          Cunliffe’s People (11)
          David Cunliffe, Lianne Dalziel, Moana Mackey, Nanaia Mahuta, Louisa Wall, Sue Moroney, Rajen Prasad, Rino Tirikatene, Su’a William Sio, Raymond Huo, Carol Beaumont,

          Other(3)
          Shane Jones, Andrew Little, Clayton Cosgrove

          http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/07/15/labour-party-coup-watch-downgrade/

            • weka 2.3.1.1.1.1

              thanks. Still needs clarity on who the ABCs are I think (as opposed to those who want DC out. eg not sure where Little fits into it all).

              This morning in the NZ Herald, Claire Trevett lists the pro- and anti-Cunliffe factions:

              • Camp Cunliffe: David Cunliffe, Iain Lees-Galloway, Nanaia Mahuta, Sue Moroney, Carmel Sepuloni, Su’a William Sio, Louisa Wall.

              • Another candidate: Jacinda Ardern, David Clark, Clayton Cosgrove, Clare Curran, Kelvin Davis, Ruth Dyson, Kris Faafoi, Phil Goff, Chris Hipkins, Annette King, Andrew Little, Trevor Mallard, Stuart Nash, Damien O’Connor, David Parker, Grant Robertson, David Shearer, Rino Tirikatene, Phil Twyford, Megan Woods.

              • Unknown: Peeni Henare, Adrian Rurawhe, Jenny Salesa, Meka Whaitiri, Poto Williams.

        • Hami Shearlie 2.3.1.2

          Agreed David H!

    • Tom Gould 2.4

      Kelston was a new seat and only a booth by booth analysis on former and current boundaries would show the actual impact, if any, of the alleged “boisterous” campaign. It looks like facts being made to fit.

      Labour cannot get away from the fact that the electorate, after 7 elections, has pretty much worked out MMP. They can have both a good hard working local MP and the party that will best run the country for them. End of story.

      We actually have two elections. A first past the post election at electorate level for the local MP. And an MMP election at national level for the party vote. It seems that Labour is the one that doesn’t get it.

      But the public certainly do, hence the results on Saturday. It will come as no surprise that some on the ‘higher-ups’ in Labour think the public got it wrong, of course.

      • mickysavage 2.4.1

        Disagree about Kelston. The figures are …

        2011 party votes for Labour cast in polling booths now situated in the Kelston electorate – 10,461.

        2014 party votes for Labour cast in the Kelston electorate BEFORE specials are included – 10,647

        • greywarbler 2.4.1.1

          @Tom Gould
          “We actually have two elections. A first past the post election at electorate level for the local MP. And an MMP election at national level for the party vote. It seems that Labour is the one that doesn’t get it. ”

          That’s a perversion of the MMP system, even if it has happened this time. And if it has it’s an indication of Labour’s sickness. The MPs are virtually running as independents, but managing to keep the Labour name alive in the meantime while the Party itself is out of favour.

          Good on them now if they have, or that is the effect, but Labour must rectify this firmly and decisively with an overhaul and spring clean! Otherwise it will be sliding further and just present itself as a hollow echoing voice with no substance. If it doesn’t recover the MPs won’t have anything of substance at their back and the Party will be anarchic till it folds.

    • george Hendry 2.5

      Erm, Poto (Williams) actually.

  3. Che 3

    “the small and underfunded Labour HQ”
    I would start with questioning why HQ is so small and underfunded to start with. It appears to me that the messages from HQ simply do not resonant with sufficient people to allow a robust national campaign to be run and certainly not funded. This allows campaigning to be left to the whims of electorate candidates who I suspect understand their individual electorates better than HQ.
    In terms of your analysis is may also pay to think about National having 17 list seats and 31 electorate seats in 2005 and being in opposition, again having 17 list seats in 2008 but having 41 electorate seats and being in government.

    • Tracey 3.1

      how much did you donate to the party in the last 3 years?

      I donated about 250 to the greens

    • Colonial Viper 3.2

      I would start with questioning why HQ is so small and underfunded to start with

      One major reason is that Labour sold off and cannabalised the majority of its property assets in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s.

    • lprent 3.3

      The way that it is organised at present, the Labour HQ are mostly there to talk to the members and electorates. That is why they have so few staff and the number of staff has been reducing.

      They have little to do with messages to the general public. That is currently mostly been done by the MPs and their parliamentary staff.

      Consequently as the number of list MPs reduces the Labour message tends to be biased increasingly on electorates rather than party.

      Your precepts are wrong. Perhaps you should restart?

    • AmaKiwi 3.4

      I am shocked to read, “Labour’s head office has a handful of people there. The parties entire paid staff is probably less than TWO hands these days. ” No wonder we can’t run an MMP campaign.

      I have suspected the Greens have a much more contemporary and DEMOCRATIC organizational model. I know Labour’s is antique.

      What part of, “One party member, one vote” does the caucus not understand?

  4. Tracey 4

    thanks for these observations. cunliffe cld resign from parl. get cosgrove to go toe to toe with groser for the seat…. I bet groser wins….but cosgrove resigns from parl if he loses.

  5. greywarbler 5

    If the electorates are so strong, then it explains why we continue getting MPs who are now understood to be right wing in their thinking, and unLabour-like, according to the historical definition and performance. Many must have the mindset of an electorate inner circle who are fossilised and supportive of someone who can talk good, and is matey in the right way perhaps.

    And if that sounds contemptuous, I believe that it is correct. I have noticed how a confident, outspoken person who understands little of importance to the ethos of the organisation, but thinks they know a lot and talk well, can sway a crowd for support.
    (ethos meaning – the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations.
    “a challenge to the ethos of the 1960s” synonyms: spirit, character, atmosphere, climate, prevailing tendency, mood, feeling, temper, tenor, flavour, essence,:google)

    And being able to hold an argument, taking the ‘fight’ to the other side and get the satisfaction of winning a point, too often overshadows the real task which is to win the power to get better policies for better lives and a better and stronger economy.

    You would think all those clever aspirational Nats would know this, but they have adopted the competition-winning model while the news of our weak economy builds and they have no ideas or interest even, in wise moves to raise us from the hole they’ve dug for us. Unfortunately they are prepared to stand on other people’s shoulders to ensure their noses are above the bog.

    The question is – do Labour want to support the working people and lower income interests and needs. Does its name now represent its aim? Does a party with a christian ethos represent one with a humanist ethos, or an agnostic one? Jim Anderton tried to get New Labour going and I saw traditional but older labour people at meetings. Are there not enough true labour-thinking people left in NZ? Are they now a minority with insufficient spirit and mateship to be able to combine and achieve a combative group?
    edited

    • Tracey 5.1

      Apparently $5 billion disappears from the economy as a rest of Fonterra’s announcement … and in the media it causes nary a blip. [Tidied up for you – MS]

      • greywarbler 5.1.1

        @ Tracey 9.53
        “as a ‘result’ of Fonterra’s announcement – is that what’s meant?

        Are you drawing a comparison with this wash of money coming and going in a financial tide connected to National, while Labour are operating on short rations?

      • dave 5.1.2

        5 billion gone key want referedum on flag to draw attention away from the rock star economy

  6. Antonina 6

    On the nail Lprent. The party vote message has not fully been accepted. The whole party is still focused on electorates.

    • The Lone Haranguer 6.1

      I disagree with the suggestion that Labour hasnt got a decent grasp or understanding of MMP and the importance of the party vote.

      But, having been in power (unlike the List Parties) they also have electorate name recognition for those who were in the last Labour led government, and particularly for those who held cabinet posts at that time.

      And voters vote on the basis of name recognition? Look at the vote for Garth McVicar to see a novice who got a bunch of votes when say, the unknown Harry The Hump may have only got 350 votes for the Conservatives.

      Now look at the “List only” parties for a minute. Can anyone (outside of Parliament) tell us who the number three person was on the NZFirst list at the 2011 election. That person was in parliament for the past three years. And for the greens, what sort of name recognition do the 2011 intake of Green MPs have in the electorates? Just see how few votes the Greens and the NZFirst get in the electorate races.

      The Greens may be winning the “Ideas Battle” with Labour, but its the Labour electorate MPs who keep the Labour name out there in their communities.

      • lprent 6.1.1

        Sure. But they are keeping the Labour name in *their* communities.

        Tell me, how is that going to help to get party vote in the communities across the country that they have to wind to be able to form a government.

        What you described is what I say is happening. Labour is doing the silo electorate spiral. They can sustain known names in their electorates but can’t ever win an election because all their resource goes into protecting the electorates that they have already won.

        No party vote = eventual oblivion. Look at how many seats United future had back in 2002. They have one now, and that is only because of National having a kindly rort.

  7. newsense 7

    I saw a number of party and vote positive billboards in Mt Roskill.

    • cricklewood 7.1

      +1, I think Phil Goff is been unfairly lumped in with others like Cosgrove in terms of an electorate only campaign.

      • Colonial Viper 7.1.1

        That may be…Goff is a consumate professional (most of the time)…the few hours after the election results showed Shearer and Nash as self-interested attention grabbing idiots though.

      • Foreign waka 7.1.2

        Phil Goff is a self made man, and all respect to him for that. He worked hard to get where he is today. However, he also shifted to the right (with Douglas) and later was part of a coup against Helen Clark. He is somehow involved every time when there is a move against the leadership. Not sure whether I would be able to trust him. To opportunistic for my taste.

    • lprent 7.2

      I did too. On the back side of the ones that said Vote Phil Goff.

      They certainly weren’t in the most effective prominent positions. You could happily go along the main drags and never see a Labour billboard.

      As I said, Phil is a traditionalist. I have no real problem with that except that the attitude is spreading amongst MPs that they need to protect their jobs rather than promoting the party. That is Peter Dunne territory.

  8. GregJ 8

    Whew – thanks lprent!

    Pretty depressing but brutally frank assessment. If it carries on down this path Labour is in danger of having overhang seats!

    I’m still trying to process the election result and see how the labour movement moves forward (or if it even can within the current structure). This piece seems to indicate a systematic, revolutionary overhaul of the party is required. That is lengthy, time-consuming and grueling work (which of course should have started in 2008 if not before). Abandoning the current party and starting anew would be another path but it would be difficult and the “Labour” name does theoretically still have some “brand” value & recognition.

    But at what stage does the “Labour” brand no longer have any political value? Parties do die and perhaps this one is terminal. Perhaps the progressive labour movement has to look elsewhere.

    • nadis 8.1

      i think the problem is summed up by “labour movement”. This has ceased to exist with union membership at 16% and those 16% mostly at the really shitty end of the employment market. In any case Labour now seems more captured by identity politics. What used to be the “labour movement” is now what I would call the “economically aspirational” and they don’t see Labour as the government that provides an aspirational message and economic environment. I think NZ has mostly moved on from working class/middle class/upper class to beneficiaries/working poor/aspirational/well off. The votes are in the aspirational group and that is who Key resonates with.

      • Colonial Viper 8.1.1

        The votes are in the aspirational group and that is who Key resonates with.

        Various global mega trends means that the ‘aspirashanul group’ is going to continue to shrink. Currently around 1/3 Kiwi adults.

        • nadis 8.1.1.1

          Really? Dont let your personal bias blind you to what actually is happening out there. You really think your undefined “various global mega trends” mean India and China are becoming less aspirational?

          REality is average standard of living on a global basis has rise dramatically over the last 50,40, 30, 20 or 10 years and is showing no signs of slowing.

          • Colonial Viper 8.1.1.1.1

            “Showing no signs of slowing”

            Dude, that propaganda is so disconnected to the reality for the 80%, you really need an update. You should start with finding out how many million sq feet of retail real estate has been abandoned in the USA in the last 10 years.

    • lprent 8.2

      Actually we’d bet better off to hunt for overhangs.

      If the Labour MPs continue down the current path, then probably the best thing to do for the left is to accelerate it. An overhang may be the best approach to effectively raising the left vote.

      As it stands at present a party vote for Labour appears to be unlikely to raise the number of left MPs in the house.

  9. nadis 9

    i cant get my head around this concept at all. Under MMP why would any party not have as their overriding focus the party vote? The fact that the question is even being discussed with respect to labour is clear and incontrovertible proof that the Labour Party organisation is willfully incompetent. My 11 year old son has a better grasp of MMP than the labour party.

    • greywarbler 9.1

      @ nadis
      I tried considering this at 2 4 1 1 in response to Tom Gould. Perhaps this would relate to your thinking.

  10. Che 10

    While I’m not disagreeing with you about the competence or otherwise of the organisation I still think it’s worth bearing in mind that over the past 4 elections National have consistently had twice as many electorate seats as list seats and they appear to be doing pretty well under MMP.

    • s y d 10.1

      Che, look at the stats – Labour has 5 times more electorate than list….FIVE.

      • Che 10.1.1

        Yes – I obviously didn’t make my point clearly so apologies. The post gives an opinion that Labour hasn’t worked out MMP due to ‘the lack of attention given to the Party vote’. While such attention is probably right for the minor parties (Greens, NZ First as referenced above) I’m not convinced this is the key to governing. I use the example of the Nat’s use of electorate seats as a stable base – from 2005-2008 they had no increase in list seats but an increase of 10 electorate seats and formed a government. Even if you look back to 2002 the Nat’s have increased their list seats by 14 from then but their electorate seats by 20.

    • nadis 10.2

      I rest my case. The ratio of electorate seats to list seats is about as meaningful an indicator as the colour of my belly button lint. The only ratio that matters is the number of seats held by a party to the total number of seats in parliament, also known as the party vote.

  11. Puckish Rogue 11

    Are you feeling ok? This was quite a good post (by good I mean looking at the fundamental issues and not merely blaming everyone else) I’m quite surprised

    however judging on past history probably nothing will come of it, shame really

  12. Saarbo 12

    Thanks Iprent. This is the sort of analysis that caucus need to be focusing on, I agree regarding labours focus on the electorate vote. But also we were completely out marketed by the nats, they had their hoardings up on 14th july when they shouldn’t have gone up until the 20th and they went hard, they had broad spectrum coverage and it was obvious early on that the Nats were going for the govern alone option, I guess they had too. Our Party Vote hoardings were full of detailed pictures which on a 100km highway were a waste of time. So there are no shortage of issues as to why we missed so many voters. Who at head office designed the party vote hoardings? I get the impression that plenty of people are running for cover leaving Cunliffe to take all of the blame.

  13. Anne 13

    Jim Anderton expresses his views on Radio NZ. Well worth a listen:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20151130

    Whatever else you might say about him, this is the man who grew the party membership to a whopping 80,000 plus in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Factionalism as we know it today didn’t really exist then although it began to develop soon afterwards. That is when the membership numbers started to dramatically fall and is now barely 10,000. There are other reasons that contributed to the decrease of course, but in the 1980s many formerly solid Labour people were frozen out of the party.

    A significant part of the problem was the rise of “identity politics” which eventually claimed a stranglehold on the party. It wasn’t called that back in the 80s but if one was not prepared to align to a specific group – be it gender based, ethnic based, tertiary education based, union based etc… – then one was left out in the cold. It happened to me. These disparate groups slowly took over the party and their individual barrows often became paramount over and above the concerns of ordinary people struggling to make a living.

    I returned to the Labour Party in 2001 in the hope the identity based factions would be dissolving and the membership operating again as one inter-related group working for the party rather than merely pushing their respective barrows. It didn’t take me long to appreciate things hadn’t really changed, but I have persisted in the hope that, along with other like-minded members, we could finally bring about the necessary change. It looked like it was starting to happen with the big shake-up of 2009/10 but the identity groups have proved still largely in control.

    A very good example of this was the much pushed meme that David Shearer’s impressive “back story” was going to catapault Labour into the stratosphere of popularity. No recognition of the fact he was politically inexperienced, and still had an enormous amount to learn. It showed a lack of common sense and an enormous disconnect with reality – not to mention the damage it ended up doing to David Shearer. (One day DS may realise DC was not the cause of his downfall, but it was members in his own team)

    My patience is now fast running out!

    • greywarbler 13.1

      @Anne
      The term pluralism may apply to NZ political thinking now more than the democratic ideal.
      This summary of pluralism does seem to relate to what we are looking at in NZ and may explain what seems strange when trying to explain it in historical comparisons.
      http://www.udel.edu/htr/American/Texts/pluralism.html

      Pluralism is the theory that a multitude of groups, not the people as a whole, govern the United States. These organizations, which include among others unions, trade and professional associations, environmentalists, civil rights activists, business and financial lobbies, and formal and informal coalitions of like-minded citizens, influence the making and administration of laws and policy. Since the participants in this process constitute only a tiny fraction of the populace, the public acts mainly as bystanders….

      Nor do pluralists think that representative democracy works as well in practice as in theory. Voting is important, to be sure. But Americans vote for representatives, not for specific policy alternatives.
      A candidate’s election cannot always be interpreted as an endorsement of a particular course of action.

      edited

      • Anne 13.1.1

        Yes, greywarbler, the excerpt is a good example of what is happening here, but it’s not quite what I was trying to describe. I was referring to specialist lobby groups within Labour whose over-arching ambitions was/is to use the party to gain personal power sometimes at the expense of the party as a whole. If you dared to disagree with them over anything (as I did) you’re out – goneburger. I’m sure Jenny Kirk could tell a few stories.

        • greywarbler 13.1.1.1

          @ Anne
          Interesting. Thanks for the clip. Do you think that Jim Anderton could do the left commentary instead of Mike Williams? Jim has a good critical and analytical head.
          I have done some work for Labour and noticed that I got taken for granted, as if I was thought of as a grunt like the USA army call its soldiers on the ground.

        • Jenny Kirk 13.1.1.2

          @ Anne – 100% agree ! Thanks !

    • Chooky 13.2

      thanks Anne…really interesting….pity you didnt become an MP…I cant help thinking that there are a lot of boys games getting played in the Labour Party…and like you I am sick of it

      ….my Mother who is in her 80s and has voted Labour all her life….says next time, if they dont keep David Cunliffe on, she is voting Green…my sister also is thinking of voting Green

  14. Adrian 14

    Saarbo, I agree about the piss poor design, can’t agree about the timeline. Billboards become wallpaper after 3 weeks, nobody notices, ( advertising campaign only run for 3-6 weeks for that reason.
    I got really angry about the lack of Party Vote billboards and an over emphasis on candidates, just feeding their meglamania, sure they’ve got a lot of “skin in the game” but it’s MMP FFS.
    One candidate told me not to put up any DC pictures because ” the candidates hadhad a meeting and agreed not too, inferring that the directive had come from party central.
    If that’s the case that nest of dickheads should be the first to go. Moira Coatsworth remember was one of the instigators of the election losing ” mam-Ban”

    • Anne 14.1

      Hang on Adrian.

      You say : “the candidates had a meeting and agreed not [to put up DC pictures]”. I’ll guarantee you that directive did not come from “party central”. My impression is that some of the candidates have been operating outside of party central edicts. This is the problem.

      As for Moira Coatsworth and the man-ban. Where did you get the idea she was any part of that conference remit dubbed the man-ban by Labour’s enemies? It came initially from an Auckland LEC from memory and had nothing to do with Moira. She has no responsibility over what LEC’s submit to the remit process. Her job is organising the party’s over-all activities.

  15. Adrian 15

    Anne, that’s what I was told in a very heated discussion with a candidate while I was putting up their billboards. I suspected at the time that it must have been a ” private ” arrangement because it would have been suicide if it had come out of party central, but it was implied that that was so.
    I was under the impression that the remit had very strong backing fro the womans division ( as told to me by a woman in that cohort , no names I don’t want to identify anyone), she was defending the decision at an LEC meeting after I asked WTFWYThinking. She said Moira was right behind it.

    • Anne 15.1

      Moira may have agreed to support it Adrian but I’m sure she had no part in preparing it.

      For sure, the remit would have emanated in the first place from the womens division, but I’m sure Moira would not have dared criticise it – not in their hearing anyway.

  16. The Lone Haranguer 16

    “One candidate told me not to put up any DC pictures because ” the candidates hadhad a meeting and agreed not too, inferring that the directive had come from party central”

    Adrian, I read that as the decision was made by the candidates, quite possibly with no input at all from Labour HQ.

    And Anne, I read a quote n the past few days that said “never introduce a policy that can be lampooned”

    And the “Man Ban” was lampooned mercilessly. It wasnt intelligent politics at all by Labour.

    And now Labour are playing civil war when the whole country needs them to be her majestys loyal opposition. The country deserves better from Labour

    • Anne 16.1

      26 September 2014 at 12:34 pm

      And Anne, I read a quote n the past few days that said “never introduce a policy that can be lampooned”

      Couldn’t agree more. I voted against the remit because the wording of it was suicidal in my view. And so it turned out to be. Read my 14 and 14.1.1. Therein lie some of the problems.

      • AmaKiwi 16.1.1

        @ Anne

        Example of Labour policies that are easily lampooned. I favor the capital gains tax but it is a huge threat to many Kiwis for whom a rental property or three is their ONLY pension scheme.

        Labour would not have lost so many middle class votes if their message had been, “We will look at the tax regime to see if it needs to be adjusted in the interests of fairness.”

        You can’t promise to cut off someone’s balls and then expect he will vote for you.

        • KJT 16.1.1.1

          The retirement age of 67 went down like cold sick with working class Kiwi’s.

          • Colonial Viper 16.1.1.1.1

            I don’t understand why people didn’t vote Labour when Labour was so clearly “fiscally responsible.”

        • Anne 16.1.1.2

          Labour would not have lost so many middle class votes if their message had been, “We will look at the tax regime to see if it needs to be adjusted in the interests of fairness.”

          Precisely.

          Some will say its easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but some of us saw it virtually from day one, and moreover the evidence among family and associates more than backed up my concerns. But to say anything amounted to whistling in the wind…

          Edit: and after all – as greywarbler put it – we’re just the grunts. 🙂

          • Colonial Viper 16.1.1.2.1

            The Thorndon Bubble Labour crowd know best; If our input is wanted, I’m sure they’ll ask.

            • Anne 16.1.1.2.1.1

              Oh well, in that case I better go back to knitting – if I could remember how…

              • greywarbler

                @ Anne 4.29
                Anyone who can think their way through the tangle of politics can put one needle through a loop and pull a bit of wool through, easy peasy.
                Anyone who hasn’t been driven loopy by the election and its aftermath has been strengthened through fire. Knitting will be a doddle after that Anne.

          • Chooky 16.1.1.2.2

            you should help the Greens …they are very nice to their workers

  17. Tom Gould 17

    Take a look at the so-called Labour south Auckland stronghold of Mangere, Manukau East and Manurewa. These three seats secured roughly 43,000 Labour party votes in 2008, roughly 50,000 Labour party votes in 2011, and roughly 40,000 Labour party votes in 2014.

    The total number of party votes cast in these three seats in 2014 was roughly 10,000 fewer than in 2011. The Labour party vote across the three seats was also roughly 10,000 fewer than 2011. The three Labour candidates secured roughly 10,000 fewer votes than in 2011.

    Similarly, if you look at the six Christchurch electorates the Labour party vote was down roughly 7,000 votes compared with 2011. The six Labour candidates secured roughly 6,000 fewer votes that in 2011.

    So it looks like the decline in both candidate and party votes from 2011 to 2014 was pretty uniform in these areas.

  18. brian 18

    Looking at Simple statistics for each electorate and saying
    (a) Higher Party Vote than Candidate vote = “Good Guys” and
    (b) Higher Candidate vote than Party Vote = “Treacherous Selfish Bad Guys”
    is more than somewhat flawed

    Newer, or underperforming MPS, will tend to have a higher Party vote than Candidate Vote

    Older established MPs, or MPS who have proven to be hard working at an electorate level, will tend to have a higher Candidate vote than Party vote

    People like Goff and Shearer, who have been Party Leaders will have high name recognition. They are very likely to pick up a large number of Candidate votes from voters who are committed party voters to another party.

    My Party vote determines which Government I want. My candidate vote goes to the most deserving candidate, regardless of Party.

    People who are less political junkies than people on this blog site, are more likely to vote simply on the names they know. They are likely to know the Party they want. Their Candidate vote could go to the “name” they know, or simply double tick on the basis of Party affliation.

    There are many different ways people vote.

  19. Blackcap 19

    what if the left worked together under MMP and used this strategy. Labour go for the electorate vote only and get their party to vote Green. Thus Labour get say 27 electorate MP’s and the Greens get 35% of the party vote and thus get 40 odd MP’s. That would give the left 67 seats in the house. Or am I missing something?

  20. Adrian 20

    Anne, I believe you on the Gender-mandering, but as President she should have taken Mike Williams advice and warned that the policy was crazy even more so as I vaguely recall someone saying that for the sake of 14 votes in 2011 Carmel would have made the caucus about 48%, or am I wrong.
    I am still pissed off about the lack of DC Party vote billboards and the bullshit story that I was sold. I am still not convinced that it didn’t come from Wellington.
    Anybody have a similiar experience?
    The lack of Labour leader billboards was identified as a major mistake in 2011.
    Maybe it’s time for a good old Eastern Block style purge of the aparatchiks.

    • Colonial Viper 20.1

      +100

      Plenty of identity politics activists in both Labour and Greens still wouldn’t change a thing, however. The irony is that Labour’s party vote was so low, that the gender balance in the Labour caucus got screwed anyhows. And I can’t see how making abortion law reform a major policy launch helped the Greens with their core conservation/environmentally focussed middle class base either.

      It’s like both parties forgot how to talk to their core constituencies.

      • KJT 20.1.1

        It wasn’t identity politics that lost Labour the vote.

        And. Greens polices are because the consensus of members decide it is the right thing to do. It is called, Democracy!

        It is way past time that women’s rights in this matter were respected.

        It looks like National have found another treat to throw progressives way, anyway.
        To shut us up while they steal the country.
        A few pokes at reducing child poverty a little. While they ensure those children will continue poor as adults. “Look over here, aren’t we good, we are feeding some kids”. “But we will continue to make sure their parents do not earn enough to feed their own kids.

        Though, as with other rights, any progress is better than none.

        • Colonial Viper 20.1.1.1

          It wasn’t identity politics that lost Labour the vote.

          Two polls before the election showed a massive gender differential in Labour Party support. Even if you are correct, that gender differential needs to be explained. It probably cost Labour 2% to 3% on Election Day.

          • weka 20.1.1.1.1

            Have you considered that you might be conflating identity politics with gender differences in voting patterns.

      • Chooky 20.1.2

        @ CV…”I can’t see how making abortion law reform a major policy launch helped the Greens with their core conservation/environmentally focussed middle class base either”

        …..the abortion issue would have attracted the feminist women vote and most Green women are well educated , thinking middle class

        …it would NOT have attracted the Catholic vote…, but then that is not core Green constituency….and most NZ men are secular and would not care

        …Greens are made up of feminist women….. so yup abortion law reform was a big PolIcy WIN for the Greens

        …and I suspect it would have drawn in well educated thinking young women as well as new Green voters….really in an overpopulated world contraception with abortion back up makes sense

  21. Brian 21

    The labour party is a neo liberal party!The middle ground according to most is to move further right!. It might seem counter intuitive but with nearly a million people not voting it would be logical to move left.Labour are full of M.P.’s who would be better of in Act,[the party of arseholes,c#*nts,traitors].The left need to co-ordinate with each other,and forget the m.s.m.No party has offered a fiscally sustainable economic policy.Running a surplus when private debt is 146% of gdp is height economic illiteracy .Its only a matter of time before that collapses.It will not matter who they elect as leader,without a long term plan that eschews neo liberalism .They are looking at extinction. National will privatise everything before the next election in time for wall street to start running N.Z. inc.The T P P A will go ahead if they can bribe N Z first.The reason Key would want as many parties supporting him in this endeavor would lend more legitimacy.You won’t have to worry about voting next election.

    • karol 21.1

      Brian. We already have a “Brian” commenting here. It would stop confusion if you altered your handle.

  22. brian 22

    The above comment appears to be from a new poster?, and is not mine

  23. Adrian 23

    I’ve got the same problem. I’ve been commenting since the very start and just occasionally another Adrian turns up. I don’t really mind as he invariably makes more sense than me.
    P.s, Where is David Lange when we need him, I just heard Sean Plunkett quote his classic ” half the people in Labour are committed, the other half needs to be “.

    • Chooky 23.1

      I am waiting for another Chooky ..as long as it is NOT a right wing Chooky…then the feathers would fly!…another Chooky would have to be Chook2…because I am the Chooky

  24. bryan 24

    Fact check vs anecdote.
    Labour Isthmus electorates put much of their eday resources into phoning the entire isthmus, including non-Labour electorates. The 80 seat phone bank also phoned all of South Auckland (so that they could maximise their own door-knocking) and Taupo. Pretty good party vote hunting!
    In Mt Albert, all supplied party vote hoardings went up in good positions and in a standard ratio but 20 extra ordered from HQ never turned up.

  25. Jane 25

    If Labour’s electorate MPs had been in a separate electorate only party, and nothing else had changed, the Maori Party would have chosen the government: https://imgur.com/a/glV5e

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    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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    6 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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    1 week ago
  • 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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