National scared of farmers?

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, August 24th, 2015 - 41 comments
Categories: health and safety, national, spin, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , , ,

National is being humiliated over its “health” and “safety” bill. Is worm farming dangerous or not? Judith Collins thinks it might be: “I’ve been assured it’s not because of worms turning dangerously; it’s actually because of heavy moving equipment and things”. John Key goes through the motions in this video (“John Key explains why Worm farms are considered more dangerous than beef farms”) – but his heart isn’t really in it. Four days ago Workplace Relations Minister Michael Woodhouse said “I think we’ve landed this at the right place”.

But yesterday Woodhouse seems to have changed his mind:

Worm farming will be taken out of ‘high risk’ category in health and safety bill

Workplace Relations Minister Michael Woodhouse accepts worm farms being high-risk is a “bit silly”.

Someone should ask Key and Collins how they feel about the news that the policy they were defending was a “bit silly”. (Seriously, please – someone should ask them).

Why are the Nats all over the place on health and safety? Why was the legislation delayed? Why the internal divisions and infighting? Andrew Little thinks he knows:

Little blames the “watered-down” bill on National MPs and Ministers being “terrified of the farming lobby”. He said farmers have reverted to a “classic culture” of thinking they shouldn’t be bound by the same rules as the rest of society.

“I totally reject that and in the absence of leadership from politicians on the government side, we actually need the farming community, responsible farmers, to step up and say we can do better, we’ll take responsibility… and we will do what is right to improve New Zealand’s health and safety record.” “That responsibility sits as much with the farming community as it does with politicians,” he said.

National is terrified of the farming lobby? That would do it. Maybe farmers reminded a few sitting MPs what just happened in Northland, and the prospect of surrendering a few rural seats to NZ first was enough to bring the National Party to heel. Something sure has to explain the fact that they ended up fronting this crock.

41 comments on “National scared of farmers? ”

  1. Ad 1

    Fun to watch though.

  2. gsays 2

    i would like someone to ask our local mp, ian mckelvie, what he thinks of the proposed workplace legislation.

    i suppose he isnt part of the small group of national mps that can be trusted to speak to the public.

    • weka 2.1

      you could email him and ask him yourself.

      • dukeofurl 2.1.1

        Mckelvie’s farming background is:
        My experience includes directorships in FMG and as Chair of Farmers Mutual Finance.
        Hes a “queen st’ farmer

        • kenny 2.1.1.1

          Wrong on this one – he has a large farm near Tangimoana and his family have farmed there for years.

          • dukeofurl 2.1.1.1.1

            Is he like Bill English, the ‘ familiy farmer’ was a myth, Bill left the farm to go to Boarding school. 3 degrees later ( unrelated to agriculture)and didnt go back till the seat became vacant and he couldnt get down there fast enough to get selected ( after election moved his family to Wellington very quickly, unlike most SI rural MPs). The actual farm has had a manager for many many years now.

            I know people of that generation, generally couldnt wait the get away from the farm for good. You dont get to be company director if you have only a farm background.

        • Farming the rural financial companies in other words….

    • Ian McKelvie is on record about the health and safety legislation.

      Rangitikei MP Ian McKelvie shows support for unions

      McKelvie said he would like to think legislation would help, but education would still be needed.
      “I just think we might not be paying enough attention to that sort of stuff.”
      Workers’ safety was paramount. “I don’t think for a minute that we would want to impact on workers’ safety.
      “I’ve seen all sorts of people exploited in all sorts of ways in my life and I don’t like it.”
      With a strong farming background, McKelvie said there had been confusion among farmers as to how far the new legislation would go, and clarity was needed.
      “I don’t think in the farming sector there is any will to be exempted from anything.”

      • Atiawa 2.2.1

        So what is McKelvie trying to say? More education, less exploitation, safety is paramount……..

        Can we look forward to him involving himself in tomorrows parliamentary debate should the bill be further discussed on the basis that like the removal of farmer taxpayer subsidies, farmers are happy to be treated the same as any other high risk industry?

  3. tc 3

    This is what happens when you hawk legislation/soverignty/assets in return for the funds and influence required to keep you in power.

    National should get peter talley to respond to the farmers as he’d be relaxed about the new laws given his desires seem to have been met.

    • Skinny 3.1

      Tally Ho my slaves to your rights to be covered by a collective agreement.The cheek of these ungrateful drones all this meddling with safety when we are trying to expand our empire.

      Goodbye workplace elected H & S reps. Death to the bearers of the hammer and the sickle, once you sign on the dotted line your life is mine. Ho ho it feels like it’s Xmas rather than Spring. Jolly good show John dear old chap. What O you have pulled off my ruthless plans exceedly well.

    • dukeofurl 3.2

      That was only a month ago, but I suppose Judith Collins and her faction have more say.

  4. Chooky 4

    National should be “terrified of the farming lobby” because jonkey Nactional is incompetent…it has NOT looked after the farmers interests or free trade in NZ dairy when trade with Russia was open to them

    On dairy cows and milk surpluses in Europe plus the Russia boycott of European dairy trade…basically the EU is a mess for dairy farmers ..

    ‘Huge Glut in European Dairy Cows and Milk Coming Up’ by Mike “Mish” Shedlock

    Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/huge-glut-in-european-dairy-cows-and.html#DgGgJY8izAuS6lvQ.99

    …”Instead of blaming farmers for producing too much milk, and instead of blaming inane sanctions on Russia, the government and news outlets blame people for paying too little for milk….In a free trade setup, unprofitable farms would go out of business, but there would also not have been a ridiculous set of sanctions on Russia in the first place.”

    ( In New Zealand John Key last year advised Fonterra NOT to trade dairy with Russia when the Russian market was open to New Zealand dairy ! ( and closed to European dairy)…was this sensible when Russia was open to buying dairy from New Zealand?..If i were a dairy farmer going to the wall I would be mad )

    • tc 4.1

      Farmers can join the queue of sectors this gov’t has either ignored or willingly gone about destroying value in such as R&D, education, engineering (hillside) etc etc

      I know a few non dairy farmers who’ve been shaking their heads at their dairying counterparts, to paraphrase one ” commodity boom/busts are as common as….their fathers/grandfathers would’nt have been so easily conned by the smiling routine of Fonterra/Blinglish/Shonky…”

  5. greywarshark 5

    I praise your great choice for the image. Perfect!

  6. save NZ 6

    National have ignored farmers for years. Now that farmers are suddenly waking up to the fact that the ‘free trade’ deals are really about not selling milk but about selling their farms and all this deregulation really is ideology – look at the PSA virus – bought in by National’s deregulation of imports, and the government being sued by the Kiwifruit industry.

    Winston should go after the farmers, while Labour and Greens should do some strategic electioneering to stop splitting the left vote. (Of course Labour might have to give up their pro right wing stances on many issues).

    People want the security of a Cullen style way of running the economy (without more taxes, capital gains increase pension) with the Greens vision for creating Green wealth.No one wants some sort of sudden change – they just want to go back 10 years to the balance then, paying of debt, investing in state assets like railways etc.

    A lot of that is also what NZ First wants so all good.

    • Chooky 6.1

      +100 save NZ…very well said!

    • tc 6.2

      All good except we must increase our tax base if we are to restore what nats have destroyed.

      Everyone wants the education, health, infrastructure etc but it must be paid for so it’s never an easy sell as national and their MSM puppets have sold a blighted future being compatible with lower taxes which’s BS.

      We were amongst the lowest taxing countries in the OECD BEFORE the tax cut/gst swindle in 09.

      Kiwis whine far too much about tax, they pay very little really whilst companies get away with not paying billions.

      • save NZ 6.2.1

        Yes but Labour and co need to get elected first.

        Who do you think Joe blogs will vote for – Nats backed by MSM saying the shine shines out of their behind or Labour who’s policies last time were pretty much National with more taxes and their backstabbing and MSM beat up did not help.

        If Labour campaigns on higher taxes with more public services then they will be vilified in the press and a hook for the Nats to scare monger with. Everyone will be voting as before, I hate the Nats but can’t vote for Labour as I am about to retire and need my pension, have that massive mortgage and don’t want property to crash or do not have anymore money to pay as I’m already stretched.

        Strategically the left must try to make the economy work by growing the economy and being smart with technology. For example in health. They don’t even have electronic records in the most part! Don’t F-ing scare people by this BLAME culture of – lets crash everything, then poorer folk can afford stuff – middle NZ still have 65% owning their own property for example. Crack down of speculation and foreign housing investment by all means which will automatically dampen Auckland by don’t go mad like last time and go after 65% of Kiwi property owners.

        There is a massive waste of public money under National and all these bribes, we can pay the Saudi’s bribes to fly sheep around the globe and run the NSA spy bases here – maybe start charging them for corporate welfare for a start. User pays for security.

        Personally think the US would be more amendable for NZ paying for spying locations here than shaft their US farmers under some sort of bogus free trade deal which Groser is champing at the bit to do to NZ farmers.

        Stop corporate welfare and all the immigration scams instead of wanting more taxes out of Joe Bogs for a change while championing immigration who have never even paid any taxes in the country and many never do such as the folks speculating on property – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11501777

        I agree the rich should pay more, but that is not happening – it is the middle class that end up paying more, doctors, teachers, etc – under Labour policies of higher taxes. They are not rich enough to get the accountants and off shore bank accounts and can’t fly off and avoid their capital gains taxes like the immigrants who often have multiple passports.

        The rich and immigrants are not effected by higher taxes targeted under PAYE at all – and that is what makes middle Kiwis see red.

  7. BLiP 7

    Nah, National Ltd™ isn’t as terrified of the farmers. Rather, it is blinded by its neoliberal ideology and the concomitant doctrine concerning organised labour. National Ltd™’s argument that there is no need for worker-designated safety officers in small, family-run farms is so disingenuous as to run counter to the very legislation it is seeking to introduce. The legislation states that workers can designate safety representatives “if” they feel it is necessary – its not a requirement, its an option.

    Leader of the National Ltd™ franchise. ACT, David Seymour gave the game away last week. In response to someone who had lost a family member in a work accident, all Seymour was capable of doing was spluttering out an ad hom attack on Andrew Little who he described as ” . . . a union apparatchik . . . “. Wottaguy – but, also, what a glimpse at the thinking driving National Ltd™’s watering down of the health and safety legislation.

    Putting National Ltd™’s intransigence down to a fear of farmers is too simplistic and obscures its real intention: keeping its jackboot stamping on unions for ever.

    • Macro 7.1

      Yes that’s what National Ltd™ are there for – and the sooner we have Amazon style labour conditions in this country the better for all of us – (read all of us 1%ers).
      http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0

      • greywarshark 7.1.1

        That’s really frightening. When we use the big parts of our brain, our higher intellect, and succeed at our goals, the result is we just want to enslave our fellows, and invent new thumbcrews to manipulate them with. What a piece of work is man? Are we fatally flawed? Is the only way to escape the hubris of affluence and success to be like the Amish and control our minds to an accepted level?

        We certainly need to put restraint, enjoyment of our present and pleasure in interacting with people on the list of aims to laminate. These would be different than those of Amazons hell-bent leader functionaries.

        • Macro 7.1.1.1

          I think the spiral backwards into the working conditions of the dark satanic mills of early industrial England is a direct result of (at least three) major global factors, The first was the great leap backwards in economic policies under Thacher, Douglas, and Regan. The second was the collapse first of the Berlin Wall, and secondly the Bamboo Wall, opening up millions of previously highly functional workers in Russia to the European work force following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the consequent deterioration of its economy. For instance, women who were previously employed as scientists, engineers, teachers and academics etc suddenly found themselves out of work and having to turn to anything to make ends meet.
          http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11202526/Meet-the-losers-from-the-fall-of-the-Berlin-Wall.html
          http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/world/europe/06iht-letter.html
          The third was the opening of borders under “free trade” agreements. This was a particularly disasterous move from a workers point of view for it quickly enabled large companies to “off-shore” jobs countries with less responsible labour laws and lower wages. The clothing industry in the US for instance, once a huge industry employing millions of workers from designers to seamstresses etc went down hill very rapidly as Nike and Levi and all the name brands moved their production off shore to factories employing slave labour. We still have this today – despite many protests. Today in the US the numbers employed in the clothing industry is measured in the thousands- mostly in high end production. The US and every other western country could not clothe itself if and when a major world event – such as another WW was to happen.
          So the employees of Amazon are in direct competition with the workers of India and China – Amazon could just as efficiently run its operation overseas if it chose. Is it unusual then that they must accept the working conditions of India and China under this present state of affairs – prescribed for them by their “betters” in Govt?
          The only way we can really address this problem of declining working conditions for workers world wide is to scrap every “free trade” deal in existence and in their place enforce fair trading for all. Trading that recognises the value of people as human beings with needs and rights and not resources to be used and then thrown on the scrap heap.

          • Chooky 7.1.1.1.1

            +100…”The only way we can really address this problem of declining working conditions for workers world wide is to scrap every “free trade” deal in existence and in their place enforce fair trading for all”

            …and ‘free trade” is not “free trade”…it is political block trade …corporate control and rort trade….and big country squeeze on little country

            http://m.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=11496705

            while John Key was exhorting Fonterra not to trade with Russia….China…our supposed friendly “free trade” partner …which we depended on for dairy …was busy setting up its own dairy industry (with expertise and cows from New Zealand) to trade with Russia!

            This government is stupid!

            • dukeofurl 7.1.1.1.1.1

              You wonder what Fonterra got by way of policy in return for not selling dairy to Russia to fill gap from EU?
              We know that Fonterra ‘overpaid’ its farmers during election year, is there something relating to supplying the local competition to come that will make Fonterra’s day ?

              • greywarshark

                @dukeofurl
                Surely not. What you say – tch tch etc.
                Cynical is the only way to be about government since Douglas et al engineered us into the capital mainstream. We’re now in what to the USA is a game of Poohsticks down the river (as in AA Milne). We aren’t hugely important but they love to see us, our allegiance, and our money float down their river.

                And Macro. I am getting big bits of interesting background and analysis from reading your comments. And it seems spot on, from what I have learned so far. Thanks for putting it up.

            • b waghorn 7.1.1.1.1.2

              The Botulism scare appears to be the reason we weren’t selling to Russia
              http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL3N10U1JF20150819

              • Chooky

                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

                …”Mr Key also revealed that although New Zealand has not officially imposed trade sanctions on Russia, government officials had called in Fonterra and other companies to ask them not to exploit the gap left in the Russian market.”…

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

                …”New Zealand was not included in the ban, and Russia has signalled it will increase cheese imports from New Zealand to make up some of the shortfall.

                New Zealand is already a significant supplier of dairy products to Russia.

                According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand exported $193 million of dairy products to Russia in 2010 and supplied more than half of Russia’s imported butter.

                While the ban offers an opportunity to increase dairy exports to Russia, businesses have been warned of potential pitfalls in trading with countries that are under trade restrictions from other nations….

                Waikato University agribusiness professor Jacqueline Rowarth questioned whether New Zealand should be doing business with Russia.

                “We need to be looking carefully at the reasons others have stopped trading with Russia,” she said.

                “We stood up against the Springboks in 1981 because we didn’t like the way people were being treated.”

                Rowarth said New Zealand could experience “short-term gain, long-term pain” from continuing to send dairy products and other food to Russia.

                “There could be repercussions for other trade if we just say we’ll keep selling you our products,” she said.

                Prime Minister John Key said he had received advice New Zealand wasn’t on Russia’s banned list.

                “But whether that ultimately means we do sell more we’ll have to work through the fine print of that,” he said.

                “I’d hate to think that New Zealand was doing something other countries weren’t, but you’ve got to remember this is being driven by the Russians and not driven by us.”

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

    • mickysavage 7.2

      But but but but …

      Trade union takeover of New Zealand businesses and COMMUNISTS ….

  8. Saarbo 8

    Prior to last years election we had 2 senior Labour MP’s visit and we managed to get 40 odd people to listen to them speak. The next week 200 plus farmers paid $100 a head to listen to Paula Bennett speak at a local restaurant, about her “bene bashing” techniques and her attacks on our most vulnerable and weakest, apparently she was given a rousing reception. At the time it made me really angry but I realised how strongly Farmers support National and how this group, who are virtually 100% socially isolated from urban environments don’t give a damn about those, who for one reason or another find themselves on hard times.

    Now I hear of all of the support groups and suppliers talking about how “vulnerable” our dairy farmers are in this low payout environment.

    Oh the fucken irony.

    Sorry, slightly off topic.

    • Chooky 8.1

      I have seen farmers give Winston Peters a rousing reception….and I know farmers who have voted Labour all their lives…so at least some have a social conscience

      …However agreed it is farmers who generally support National ( the blue ribbon seats are often rural farming seats)…and this is why it is true “National is terrified of the farming lobby”!…and Winston Peters !

      …because jonkey Nactional has done a very poor strategic job of looking after farmers’ long term trade interests….and Winston Peters will be the winner of farmers turning away from Nactional

      However Colin Moyle was once a very popular Labour Minister of Agriculture….Labour should be pulling its finger out and finding another Colin Moyle…to hammer National and woo the farming vote away to Labour

      …finding new trade partners away from China (which has stockpiled and let our dairy down and is rorting our housing and other assets )….and actively promoting and engaging new markets eg Russia ( which is open for trade with us) for our agricultural produce, would be a good proactive start. Farmers are pragmatists…offer them a better alternative than John Key and Nactional and they will take it.

      • greywarshark 8.1.1

        Think you’re right Chooky about pragmatism and farmers. We have traded with Russia before, we can do it again. We traded with Iran too at one time. We just can’t afford to be part of a highly politicised economic sanctions approach, not for long.
        A vassal state is where we will be then. and not to the Russians.

        China may not be helping us in their trade patterns. However they are trying to help themselves in their dealings. How different that is to our behaviour. We just can’t wait to give up advantage, and our government presents that as wise and smart dealing with our ‘trading partners’. We should put an Ansett plane on our flag. What an appropriate symbol for the f..k-upped country our ‘clever, smart’ business and trade deals have resulted in.

      • save NZ 8.1.2

        Agree, but if Winston Peters and Labour split the farm vote, guess what, Nats get in, again!

        Better to let Winston go after the farmers, and strategically work together with Greens too to avoid vote splitting.

        Have Labour learn’t from Northland? Better to have a more moderate party get it, than the Nats and also have the ability to Sock it to them.

        Yes, they may need to co operate big time and not have their delicate politicians ego’s massaged with entitlement – are they capable of it?

        Can Labour be fair to the Greens for example?

        Or will they ALL go for gold split the vote and get the most disgustingly corrupt government we have ever had, romp through again.

    • b waghorn 8.2

      Nathan guy is coming to talk at a beef n lamb function in Taumarunui in early September I don’t know if its possible but it would be good to see his opposite number getting along to this sort of thing.

  9. Stuart Munro 9

    I wonder what the worm farmers would drive up parliament steps if they revolt.

    • save NZ 9.1

      I would love to see a digger load of worm excrement dumped on parliament steps.

      Now that’s dangerous!

      • dukeofurl 9.1.1

        You can see for yourself

        “Robbie runs Wormworx, a 2 acre worm farm in Cromwell, New Zealand. He brings in food waste from all of the local orchards, apple mills, and even the franchised grocery market. Starting out with only 40,000 worms he now has over a million organized into 14 rows along his property.”

        Maybe its slippery ?

      • greywarshark 9.1.2

        Nah the Nat gummint have a primitive worm function in their being, and most having adopted a slimy, slithery way of moving through life, so they would just coast down the steps over the real worms. No worries.

  10. Stuart Munro 10

    I understand the most rapid change of government is achieved by blowing the shield wall with the family atomics and sending the Feydakin through the storm on worms to crush Brownlee/Harkonnen’s effete minions.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    40 mins ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    4 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    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 ...
    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
    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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 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
    10 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
    24 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
    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
    1 week ago
  • 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T07:03:16+00:00