National Ltd™’s Shane Reti Caught Out In Another Lie

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, August 26th, 2015 - 32 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, democracy under attack, Ethics, journalism, Media, national, newspapers, Parliament, Politics, russel norman, same old national, trade, treaty settlements - Tags: , , ,

John Key’s National Ltd­™ reduced yesterday’s Question Time to farce in an effort to pretend that its Whangarei MP, Shane “Bully Boy” Reti, had not been caught out in another lie.

This time, Reti lied about the process involved in the ratification of the TPP. In a recent press release to the Northern Advocate designed to assuage public concern about the TPP, Reti stated . . .

. . .   As part of ratification, the agreement comes before parliament and opposition parties and select committees for debate and modifications . . . the treaty comes before parliament many times for robust debate as “readings” and the “committee of the whole house”. After each reading the agreement is usually referred back to select committee for even further debate. It is in the many select committee processes that we look to hear the voice of the public through public submissions . . .

In fact, once signed, the TPP cannot be modified, it comes before a select committee and The House only once, and its not Parliament which decides, its John Key’s National Ltd™ Cabinet which gets to rubber-stamp approve ratification.

Any suggestion that Reti simply “got it wrong” defies belief. He is highly qualified and has worked as a GP, senior manager, academic, diplomat, and as a government appointee to the Northland DHB. Not only that, Reti is also deputy chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee – the very unit of government responsible for steering the TPP through the ratification process.

National Ltd™'s Todd McClay delivering John Key's promise of "higher standards from Ministers"

National Ltd™’s Todd McClay delivering on John Key’s promise of “higher standards from Ministers

The excuses Reti offers for his latest lie are laughable. He first tried to dismiss the deception as “bad grammar”. Then, in typical National Ltd™ manner, Reti sought to spread blame by stating that the Northern Advocate reporter and him got their “wires crossed”. His squirming continued when he further stated he was actually referring to modification of the process of ratification, not the TPP itself. The Northern Advocate does not accept that its reporter got her wires crossed and has presented the entire press release along with examples of Reti’s wriggling so that readers can decide for themselves.

The public can also decide whether or not National Ltd™’s contempt for Parliament has reached new and stunningly cynical lows. The question of whether or not the TPP can be modified after it has been signed was put to the Minister of Trade by Green Party MP Russel Norman yesterday. With Tim “Minibar” Groser unavailable, responsibility for answering the question fell to Todd McCLay. Already with significant form for his smarmy responses to questions and for helping John Key reinforce lies,  McClay covered for Reti’s lie with a defiant point blank refusal to answer the question asked.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55RLloj1UD8]

Welcome to the reality of John Key’s promise of “higher standards from Ministers”.

32 comments on “National Ltd™’s Shane Reti Caught Out In Another Lie ”

  1. lprent 1

    This particular line of complete bullshit, that ‘parliament has to ratify the TPPA’ been common amongst the National party apologists for years.

    What is more, after you point them at the relevant information, that parliament doesn’t get to vote on any treaty, they then just repeat it. A select committee gets to look at the treaty for a limited number of days, probably a cut down version at that. They have no control over approving it.

    The treaty is approved by the executive council and signed by the governor general. The executive council then adds any regulation. The cabinet presents legislation required to the house.

    After the treaty is signed is the first and only time it goes to the house, and only for parts of it that require legislative changes – which are usually minimal, unimportant, and not required to be passed for years. in NZ almost everything gets done by regulative changes.

    • JanMeyer 1.1

      Ok but if the opposition parties remain so strongly opposed to the TPP as finally signed (if we get that far) they are of course entitled to campaign at the next election for NZ to withdraw from the treaty, and do so if they attain the treasury benches. My bet is that a Labour led government will not withdraw (under any circumstances). The wiggle room Andrew Little has created is very wide indeed!

      • Hennnie van der Merwe 1.1.1

        Jan my understanding is that once it is signed it is binding on future governments and cannot be withdrawn from. This is why oversight and transparency is so important.

      • lprent 1.1.2

        I don’t think so. Labour and Little have effectively said that they’d need to see some major free trade concessions from other parties to even think about keeping this treaty. That is almost exactly what free trade aficionados like myself would require as a minimum. If that doesn’t happen, and it doesn’t look likely from the way that US, Japan and Canada are sandbagging Groser, then it is hard to see where there would be any support inside a Labour caucus. Certainly there won’t be inside the Labour party. There’d be a lot like me targeting individual MP’s for deadwood removal.

        If by some strange twist of fate there are major concessions in less than a 10 year timeframe, then it gets more problematic. But with an coalition with the Greens and probably NZ First, I still can’t see this surviving.

        And as it stands National has roughly the same issue. As it stands at present, the TPPA is wildly unpopular in the business community small, large, and rural – because they can’t see how it does anything apart from cause cost rises and no interesting new markets. They view it is a MFAT vanity project. No amount of spin is going to change that view without a solid look at benefits. Unless there are major concessions, it will form part of their reasons not to fund, act and not to vote. That is what throws National party turnout down.

        And it is a wedge issue with NZ First, so I don’t expect it will help in National cobbling a coalition together with them

    • Do you know if anyone has been tracking what legislative changes which would be required if the TPPA is signed?

      It would make sense for National to include any items upon which all parties to the TPPA agree in any relevant legislation moving through the house.
      Opportunity to get some of the housekeeping out of the way before the TPPA is signed.

      It’s what I would do if I controlled the parliamentary agenda and had no regard for either considered argument, the democratic conventions of the institution or the New Zealand public

      • lprent 1.2.1

        Not really. The problem is that I don’t think that a lot of legislation is likely to be changed. Most changes can be done with orders in council within existing legislation.

        Almost all of that legislation that is likely to change will require some pretty large changes. For instance the copyright and patent laws will probably require major amendments to massively restrict our existing open and clear systems with much murkier and prescriptive systems which are far more reliant on litigation.

        There are some areas that will require neither. For instance the investor-state systems are part of the international treaty only binding the executive council rather than parliament. Which I suspect is going to make life tricky for future governments because they will carry the can for what current or previous parliaments decide inside NZ.

        Somehow I suspect that executive pleas about treaty obligations are going to find favour with parliamentarians of the future when it is perfectly clear that the TPPA will be rammed through by Tim Groser and John Key. It won’t have cross party consensus and with large numbers of MPs across the house (I suspect many inside National as well) who would strongly oppose the executive signing it.

        At this point, if it does get signed without some major free trade concessions that actually bringing us some tangible benefits, then I suspect that it will be the shortest treaty we have ever signed. It will cost us less in the medium term to get rid of it rather than living with it. A change of government or even leadership is likely to cause it to get dumped. And I suspect we are going to have to put more of the control over international treaties out of MFAT’s hands and more into parliaments.

  2. les 2

    I personally feel reassured about the TPPA ,now that Wayne has revealed Dairy will benefit by $30 plus million ….that makes it all worthwhile.Now to more important things like the flag.

  3. dv 3

    So the answer is NO

  4. ianmac 4

    The thing that makes this so different from other Trade deals is that it is much more than a trade deal of commodities. TPPA is about three quarters of other than trade stuff. Alarming.

  5. crashcart 5

    Thank goodness this is getting a huge amount of press coverage so that as the speaker says “the public can judge”.

    Oh wait I didn’t see a single mention of this on the news last night or anything in the Herald this morning. No surprise this government isn’t held to account.

    • tracey 5.1

      chuckle… of course the Speaker is the Judge of Parliament and Parliamentarians, but he probably forgot that.

    • NZSage 5.2

      The main headlines on the NZ Herald Mobile site:

      1.”Ball burst has Addidas HQ worried” – (FFS!)

      2. “Count the Cost of going back to work” (The only interesting article)

      3. “I’m nearly 40! I can write! I’m bold!” (Follow up to blonde NZ’r in London can’t get job!)

      4. “Watch this Dad reacting to his son’s doll choice” (Probably lifted from a reporters Facebook page)

      5. “Whale in Auckland appears to have died” (Nothing to do with Cameron Slater)

      6. “(Duncan ) Garner caught in Ashley Madison drama” (Jounalist now making the news)

      7. “Buried alive: Teen wakes up in grave” (Speaks for itself)

      8. “Teacher offered sexual rewards in exchange for school work”

      9. “What’s inside the $60.5M super yacht?” (Who gives a !@#$)

      As if more evidence was needed that real journalism in New Zealand is dead and buried….. with little chance of waking up either!

      • dukeofurl 5.2.1

        I cant believe how naive you are about a newspaper mobile site.

        1) its constantly changing depending whats popular

        2) Its setup for a younger lifestyle demographic

        3) Its not the old front page of a print edition you remember

        4) They are a business trying to make money- this is mission 1to 10

        5) Journalism has nothing to do with it – have you watched TV lately very little news.

        6) To you its rubbish but to them they are only interested in renting space in front of your eyeballs, and it works.

        7) Wake up from your sleep , its 2015 not 1995

    • dv 5.3

      There was a small 3 cm on p2 of dompost.

  6. Tiger Mountain 7

    Reti–what a fleabag, TPP is an executive (Cabinet) decision as Russel Norman clearly pointed out, as was the recent decision to commit forces to Iraq and going back 100 years even to involving NZ in WWI

    Parliament it seems can be excluded when convenient to the governing administration particularly when under pressure from members of the Anglo alliance of USA, Canada, UK and Australia

    • AmaKiwi 7.1

      Sorry to sound like a broken record but “New Zealand is an elected dictatorship.”

      I hope someday soon New Zealanders will get angry enough to demand democracy for ourselves, not just for people in far away lands.

      Our system is parliamentary decision making system is despotic. We must change it.

  7. tracey 8

    But, but, but…it’s just a misunderstanding. What harm could come of it? 50% of polled kiwis, say nothing bad can happen. Nothing at all.

  8. tc 9

    A half decent media would be screaming about the contempt national continue to show in order to shove the TPPA down NZ’s throat.

    Their silence over this and the nature of the sneaky additions to talleys OHS legislation says it all really

  9. mpledger 10

    Are we actually able to get out of the TTPA once signed?

  10. dv 11

    ARE we actually going to see the text?
    I thought it was secret for 5 years?
    Has that changed?

  11. Murray 12

    seems to be too much concern about the rights and wrongs of TPP. and not enough about it being in being decided in secret.

  12. AmaKiwi 13

    I am hoping someone with definitive knowledge can answer the questions posed above by “mpledger” and “dv”.

    1. Are we actually able to get out of the TTPA once signed?

    2. ARE we actually going to see the text? I thought it was secret for 5 years? Has that changed?

  13. TE 14

    “Are we actually able to get out of the TTPA once signed?”

    6 February 1840 Maori signed treaty
    26 August 2015 Maori still trying to get out of it

    With successive nz governments changing the interpretation of the original document to suit the corporate rockstars of the day

    I have no illusions about how we can never get out of this TPPA treaty
    esp when we cannot know what is in it for years.
    Say NO to the TPPA for that reason alone; The Secrecy

  14. Gabby 15

    It might get a bit of coverage if an MP was ejected for calling Reti a lying sack of shit.

  15. Johan 16

    What is wrong with the TPPA? Would I give a signed blank cheque to my lawyer?

  16. RedBaronCV 17

    If it’s secret then how do we know if we breach it? Does someone (unspecified ) take us to court (then say our health & safety regs are causing them loss of profits from their farming) hand everthing to the judge who enters a conviction so no one knows what they have been charged for?

  17. newbie 18

    Just out of curiosity, the Speaker says that he is unable to do anything with regards to getting the Minister to answer the question. Isn’t the Minister in breach of the Standing Order
    386 Content of replies
    (1) An answer that seeks to address the question asked must be given
    if it can be given consistently with the public interest.

    Can the Speaker not insist that the Standing Orders are adhered to?

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
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  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
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    4 days ago
  • That Word.
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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
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  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
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    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
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  • The return of Muldoon
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    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
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  • Racism’s double standards
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    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
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  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
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    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
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    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
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  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
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  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
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  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
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  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
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    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
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    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
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
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    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
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    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 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
    7 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, ...
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    21 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. ...
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    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
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    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 ...
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    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, ...
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    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
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    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 ...
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    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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    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 ...
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    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 ...
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  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
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    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
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  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
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    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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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    7 days ago
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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    1 week ago
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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    1 week ago

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