Malaysia are better negotiators

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, July 31st, 2015 - 46 comments
Categories: Globalisation, trade - Tags: , ,

Looks like (ht Danyl Mclauchlan) Malaysia is smarter than us:

Malaysia will not sign any TPP pact in Hawaii

As pivotal negotiations in the making or breaking of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) enter the final stretch, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) has stated that Malaysia will not sign any agreement during the current round of talks, which runs until July 31, and sought to reassure critics that it will stand firm on issues of sovereignty, government procurement, state-owned enterprises and the bumiputra agenda. …

“Signing of the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) will not happen in Hawaii. Like Malaysia, each TPPA member will need to go through its own domestic process before a final decision to sign and ratify the TPPA is made,” Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said in a statement released yesterday.

46 comments on “Malaysia are better negotiators ”

  1. yip 1

    So let’s not sign it now John Key, let’s say we may sign it later on at some point.
    Why rush?

    • Chooky 1.1

      + 100…and looks like if they do sign it New Zealand farmers will be sold out in more ways than one….and that ostensibly is the only reason for signing it

      imo NZ dairy would be better off forging dairy markets with Russia

      • Enough is Enough 1.1.1

        “imo NZ dairy would be better off forging dairy markets with Russia”

        What?

        Please elaborate…are you referring that country that used its veto yesterday?

      • yip 1.1.2

        We should be selling tons of milk cheese all we can to Russia.

        • Chooky 1.1.2.1

          yes…Russia was open to trading dairy with New Zealand last year when the Europeans at the instigation of USA boycotted trade with Russia ….and Russia retaliated by stopping buying European dairy creating a glut

          …but John Key advised against New Zealand selling dairy to Russia

          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11359580

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/10363174/Russia-wants-our-cheese-but-at-what-cost

          …as CR pointed out on the Standard (17 July) China is now going to trade dairy with Russia

          “The key is what is happening to some of Fonterra’s major markets. The Chinese for instance have long had form in acquiring skills and technologies that they want for themselves – and in my view, that is what they have done to NZ with dairy over the last 10 years, with all their joint ventures and dairy operations they have started up over here.

          And Key was stupid not to sign the FTA with Russia due to US pressure. Now, Russia has signed a deal for China to supply a massive amount of dairy to Russia – using 115,000 hectares of leased Russian land in the Transbaikal region. NZ totally cut out thanks to the short sightedness of our elites.

          China has started to build a joint Chinese-Russian livestock agricultural complex. A hundred thousand cows are planned to be bred in a project costing one billion Yuan.

          http://www.rt.com/business/270463-china-russia-milk-farm/

          Dairy Farmers in New Zealand should be taking note…especially if some of them are in danger of going to the wall and being forced to sell their farms to foreigners

          • Enough is Enough 1.1.2.1.1

            Forget about Key.

            Are you saying we should ignore Russia’s advances into the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine…and the state sanctioned murder of hundreds of civilians in a commercial aircraft?

            All for the sake of selling milk powder?

            • freedom 1.1.2.1.1.1

              we still trade with the USA or does history only matter when it involves someone other than the USA?

              • Enough is Enough

                I agree with you.

                So you are saying we shouldn’t trade with the US. I am saying we should trade with the any country that commits atrocities

                • freedom

                  It’s a bit hard to define what you are saying – could you please rewrite that second line so it makes a bit more sense?

                  and please do not make assumptions on what I am or am not saying. I am not a fan of words I have not spoken being put into my mouth. Perhaps the first line was meant to be a question, but looks more like a statement.

                • AmaKiwi

                  @ Enough is Enough

                  “I am saying we should not trade with the any country that commits atrocities.”

                  That rules out the UK, USA, Israel, and 30 to 50 other countries, depending on your definition of atrocities.

            • adam 1.1.2.1.1.2

              Can you offer a link to a credible sight which proves it was the Russians who took down the civilian aircraft?

              • Wayne

                No-one has seriously suggested that it is the Russians.

                The evidence points to Ukrainian separatists, of course using Russian made missiles. But they were probably from Ukrainian arms depots that the separatists had seized. So the Russians would have no involvement. It is hardly in their interest to shoot down a Malaysian airliner. In fact it was in no-ones interests to do so.

                I am not suggesting the separatists intended to shoot down a civil airliner. They presumably assumed it was a Ukrainian military aircraft. They had shot down several in preceding months, including transports and fighters.

                For those nutbars who think the US shot down the airliner, well I guess they also think the US blew up the World Trade Centre, and that the moon landings are faked.

                • Stuart Munro

                  It was a Russian BUK missile launcher, and unlike the shoulder launched stingers they require long and continuous training. the Ukrainian separatists only have BUK launcher crews detached from Russian regular forces – what the US used to call ‘military advisers’.

                  The news site Bellingcat https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/mh17/
                  has assembled quite a clear picture from open source sites, some in Russia, some commercial satellite data.

            • greywarshark 1.1.2.1.1.3

              EisE
              What about the atrocities other countries do – Britain telling lies about why they should invade Iraq the USA – draw up a list. Why can’t you actually apply judgment to your comments, instead of just taking simple politically convenient
              fairytales as forming basic trading policy?

            • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.2.1.1.4

              Are you saying we should ignore Russia’s advances into the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine…and the state sanctioned murder of hundreds of civilians in a commercial aircraft?

              Russia has taken Crimea, with the overwhelming democratic assent of local Crimeans. Further, Russia was never going to let Sevastapol become a NATO base.

              As for Eastern Ukraine. Let’s see your evidence that Russian military forces have moved into Ukraine.

              Frankly, the citizens of the Donbas are quite right to defend themselves against Kiev militaries and para-militaries who have bombed civilian towns and cities all throughout Eastern Ukraine – and of course Russia has turned a blind eye to facilitating the Donbas rebels with resources.

            • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.2.1.1.5

              All for the sake of selling milk powder?

              You are aware that NZ was selling milk powder and butter to Soviet Russia during the height of the cold war, right?

              • Enough is Enough

                And what does that have to do with now?

                Because it was wrong then, it is wright now?

                • Chooky

                  @ Enough is Enough

                  1.) who says the Russians shot down that plane!?…only the Americans! ….initially ….and then they went quiet…. and the Americans subsequently wont release the satellite evidence

                  2.) what possible motive would the Russians have for shooting down a Malaysian civilian airliner full of Dutch, Australians and Malaysians?

                  3.) …and hence creating an international incident and inflaming a situation which they the Russians want to dampen down?…but others want to inflame

                  4.) …dont forget that airliner was deliberately diverted off its designated flight path…by air control …to above an area of conflict ….why?…for what motive?

                  5.) …what of the reports that the airliner was shot down ( not from below) but by a fighter jet alongside ? ( eyewitness accounts and fuselage evidence of holes in the cockpit)

                  5.) the Russians conclude that given the Americans have already shown bias and propaganda and made up their minds to blame the Russians … the political hotbed UN is not the place to conduct an aviation forensic examination of the evidence impartially…. and without political interference

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    Not to mention MH 17 was shot down in the middle of a fine clear day – yet no one saw the BUK anti-aircraft missile vapour trail which would have been 15km long!

                    Plenty of screwyness going on.

            • AmaKiwi 1.1.2.1.1.6

              @ Enough is Enough

              I’ve rarely heard such nonsense.

              OK to sell to China, that great bastion of human rights that would never think of taking over Tibet or Taiwan.

              OK to help spy for the USA, which routinely destroys Middle Eastern countries because “for some inexplicable reason huge amounts of our American oil is under their sand.”

              Looking for virtue? How much milk powder do you think the Vatican can buy?

          • Save NZ 1.1.2.1.2

            Yes thats the problem with ‘free trade’.

            There was an opportunity to trade with Russia, but we can’t because someone might upset someone else under some other agreement or golf game.

            The Nats have shafted the farmers and they are beginning to know it.

            Far from all this ‘free trade’ farmers are missing out on opportunites, and their whole operation is becoming more political and being influenced by government bureaucratic more than common sense. From Saudi owned sheep deals operating from this country, bribes and having no go, like Russia deals,

            Now the government want to make red tape worse by signing up to TPP, being bought, litigated and so forth willy nilly by incredibly wealthy multi nationals.

            For gods sake, these local farmers just want to sell milk and Kiwifruit, not be the centre of the middleman government policy and constant bio security and health scandals that are occurring with the growing amount of imported and exported food as part of ‘free’ trade.

            Kiwis are exporting ‘good’ food and importing back poorer quality at food prices higher than the cost of living.

      • Tracey 1.1.3

        we didnt join the sanctions against russia so should be ahead of our competitors. money b4 morals

        • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.3.1

          Sanctioning Russia was not an act of morality, Tracey, it was an act of western financial imperialism In the western media, supporting western financial imperialism is often made out to be the moral thing to do, but I have my doubts.

      • Chris 1.1.4

        NZ will sign it. Way too much already invested. Even totally crap agreement will be signed. Keys and his mates don’t (1) want to look stupid not signing it after all this time and debate, even a crap deal and (2) keys and his mates want to sign a crap deal because the crappier it is for us the better it is for him and his rich mates.

  2. Anne 2

    Looks like Malaysia is smarter than us.

    Is anyone surprised?

  3. Colonial Rawshark 3

    BTW peeps Malaysia in recent years has become a major centre of slavery and human trafficking.

    There was a significant chance that this was going to derail Malaysia’s ability to sign on to the TPPA in any case due to State Department or Congressional objections.

    • Tautoko Mangō Mata 3.1

      “The United States took Malaysia off its list of worst offenders in human trafficking on Monday, removing a potential barrier to a signature Asia-Pacific trade pact despite opposition from human rights groups and nearly 180 U.S. lawmakers.”
      “Malaysia’s expected upgrade to the “Tier 2 Watch List” from Tier 3 removes a potential barrier to President Barack Obama’s signature 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, or TPP, which Washington hopes to conclude this year.
      http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/27/us-usa-trafficking-idUSKCN0Q11LJ20150727

  4. Sable 4

    Yes shows what shameful sell outs we have in this country…..

  5. happynz 5

    There are other pressing issues happening here in Malaysia. The Prime Minister Najib sacked a large number of ministers. Muhyiddin, the deputy pm got the heave-ho as he was about to put into motion the vote to roll Najib over the 1MDB scandal.

    Muhyiddin, even though he is no longer the DPM, is still high up in UNMO, the majority Malay wing of the ruling Barisan Nasional party.

    How this affects the TPPA I can’t say. However, the knives are out as there is an internal power struggle in the government. The feeling may be that now is not the time for signing such far-reaching agreements.

  6. Wayne 6

    Even if everything is agreed this weekend, it would not be signed this weekend. In this respect Malaysia has said no more than the obvious.

    Every country, including New Zealand, will have their government consider the agreed draft for final approval.

    However, it will be difficult for any govt to try and renegotiate the deal as it affects them. That would likely unravel the whole deal, and basically destroy the agreement.

    The real choice facing the various govts, in my, view is to decide whether to be in or not.

    And New Zealand will have to consider this carefully. We are not going to get everything we want on agriculture. We will get something, but how much is yet to be known.

    So the choice is likely to be, do we go for something, or do we back out and thus get nothing.

    There is a big risk for New Zealand being outside the TPP. If the deal includes say the United States, Japan, Australia, and emerging Asian economies such as Vietnam, can we afford to be on the sidelines?

    It is a tougher choice for New Zealand than it is for say Canada. Canada already has NAFTA, and the vast bulk of their trade is under this agreement. That is not the case with New Zealand. A significant amount of our trade goes to the US and Japan, who are the central actors in TPP. So being at a comparative disadvantage in both these markets has serious implications.

    If we are not in TPP, we might find we loose current market share in the US and Japan, because we would be at a relative disadvantage to those countries that have signed up to TPP. Australia by being in TPP would have gained a comparative advantage relative to New Zealand in both Japan and the US. For that matter the US would have gained a relative advantage in agricultural trade with Japan.

    So this is a high stakes game. Being in a deal that is not wholly satisfactory is still likely to be better than not being in it. So while the diary industry representatives might be sounding off at the moment, they will not be thinking about it in a way that a govt has to do. In short the govt is not hostage to the diary industry.

    I appreciate most Standardnistas will not care a jot for such calculations since the typical Standardnista wants nothing to do with TPP, no matter what its terms. But that is not really the point, since the typical Standardnista is opposed to any of the FTA’s of the last 30 years anyway.

    So in a sense the views of Standardnista’s don’t count. The govt simply does not care what Standardnista’s think. Incidentally there is a nice article on Bowalley Rd on this point.

    • mickysavage 6.1

      Can you quantify the benefits and the downside Wayne?

      I understand the benefit is a tiny increase in access to some markets for selling our milk.

      The downside is more expensive medications, increased funding for Pharmac, opening up the Government to law suits from corporates (Australia has already spent $50 mil on one claim alone) and decreased sovereignty.

      I can’t really see the benefit and I can see lot of downside.

      So in monetary terms why should we go into this agreement? We already trade with all of the nations involved.

      • Chooky 6.1.1

        +100

      • Chooky 6.1.2

        +100…unless Labour’s bottom lines are met …it is a dead dog…because no other NZer political parties want it

      • Wayne 6.1.3

        mickysavage

        The serious downside is being at a comparative disadvantage to those nations that are in TPP. To quantify it would require actual knowledge of the deal that is struck.

        The better the deal, the more serious the comparative disadvantage. For instance we might find it impossible to sell any agricultural produce to the US and Japan, since Australia, Chile (if they go in) could take our entire market. They would face lower trade barriers than we would.

        Of course there will be no comparative disadvantage if there is no movement on agricultural barriers. But I assume there will be some.

        There would not be all this yelping from the Canadians, the Japanese and the US in Hawaii unless there was going to be some shift around this. In any event the interests of these three are not really aligned. The US wants access to the japanese market. Who knows what the Canadians want, but going into TPP means they have to give way on something. But how much?

        Presumably the Canadians are in because in part the fear the risk of comparative disadvantage of not being in. But their game plan will be to do as little as they can. But they won’t be able to totally disrupt the negotiations.

        However, if the US real position is in fact closely aligned to the Canadian, then they would have got the Canadians in to be their stalking horse. That may be part of the reason, but in reality the US position is not the same as the Canadians.

        Given that TPP is a strategic play by the US, then the US needs to ensure the TPP is a reasonable success for all the parties, so they will give away more to achieve that. The partners and allies of the US have to see something in it for them, or else they will not be partners and allies.

        It has already been reported that the patent changes could add $50 million to the Pharmac drug bill, which will be the major cost to New Zealand. So that is a start point to work out two figures in terms of the tradeoff.

        First the value of the actual gains that will come from better agricultural access. And second the offset cost of comparative disadvantage if we don’t go in. If these two figures are greater than $50 million, then we should be in.

  7. les 7

    the govt does not care what New Zealanders think….whether its asset sales,privatisation,or the TPP ,that is quite clear.

    • Wayne 7.1

      Les,

      No, the govts disregard is largely limited to Standardnistas.

      • Gangnam Style 7.1.1

        ‘lose’ not ‘loose’.

      • Stuart Munro 7.1.2

        If this were true Wayne, you would not be at pains to persuade us of the government’s rationality. You’d like the criticism to evaporate because you are not confident the public interest argument is defensible.

        As non-believers in the dogma that has driven most of this government’s most egregious errors, why should we not attribute the failure to secure benefits to the usual extreme neo-liberal stupidity? Because that is more convenient for the disgracefully corrupt Key junta?

        If the TPPA is representative of the quality of National decision making, better that you are gone, and speedily.

      • RedBaronCV 7.1.3

        If all of us here are so misguided in that we have not yet seen the light no matter how often you tell us that “black is white” why? “because I say so” then why do you bother to keep on coming over here.
        If we are so stupid and misguided and uninfluential then why do you try to hang out with us – why don’t you have discussions with someone you deem worthy of you.
        Or are you being paid for this – and if so how much and by whom?

  8. Tautoko Mangō Mata 8

    Australia seem to be putting up a good fight.
    “Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in doubt”
    The giant Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks were in danger of breaking up without agreement late on Friday as the United States withdrew an offer it had previously made to Australia on dairy access and gave no ground on sugar.
    Talks were expected to go late into the night on Friday in a last-ditch effort before a press conference planned to mark the end of the talks at 9.30am Australian eastern time.
    If there is no agreement, the Hawaii talks might be extended, or more likely postponed until late August.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/transpacific-partnership-deal-in-doubt-20150731-gioyho.html#ixzz3hSbSR74n

  9. Stuart Munro 9

    Round bottom toys are better negotiators.

  10. Kevin 10

    Of course we will sign, Grosers knighthood depends on it.

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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 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
    9 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
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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