NZ First conference – Sunday.

Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, July 20th, 2014 - 40 comments
Categories: nz first - Tags:

I keep walking into the “In Committee” sections of the conference. As a amateur “journalist”, I’m really going to have to start working on that.

Listening to a quite good speech by a 17 year old from Dunedin (must find out his name – Kobe?). It sounds like he has been reading our site. But it is heavily scripted and rehearsed. None the less pretty impressive. Winston in a standup said that NZ First hadn’t been involved in writing it. He isn’t a member – too young?

In the stand up. Winston said that his announcements this afternoon will have monetary policy, tax policy, asset and land sales, and sound economy on issues like dirty dairy. By the sound of it there will be the law and order issues.

Winston really not interested in talking about polls – he just thinks (like me) that they are simply inaccurate. Nor is he interested in talking particularly about other parties.  However he does think that they will get more MPs and that is why NZF has been taking quite a lot of care about candidates.

Speech by Winston Peters at 2pm. Starts as traditional with what NZ First has done in the past.

  • NZ First is committed to a target of 2% of GDP for R&D. Not interested in picking winners, so not willing to have grants. R&D taxes instead. But don’t cheat otherwise you will spend time in prison. Will also figure how to keep technology in NZ.
  • Tax system change to target poverty. Remove GST from the basic foods in the household budget. Cost ~$3 billion per year. Paid by cutting down on tax evasion.
  • Remove GST on rates to get rid of a tax on a tax.
  • Talking on immigration, youth, and Maori issues. Can’t quite see where he is heading with this apart from reducing separatism which has been NZF policy forever. Having ago about one particular immigrant who John Key didn’t know?
  • Will cut immigration, but no particular detail thus far.
  • Superannuation to stay as it is. Changes to superannuation, reduce availability to immigrants. Change section 70 for people with overseas pensions to get superannuation.
  • Legislation to have a full picture of who owns land and homes for non citizen buyers.Non citizens to have capital gains tax.
  • Alcohol or drug addled. Offence to be drunk or drugged on someone else property. Fines up to $2000.
  • Regardless of your position on climate change, overseas buyers will be looking. Need a policy unlike National.  A progressive phase out of fossil fuels is possible. Policy later.
  • Local government, locals have a say on amalgamation.

Looks like he is winding up. Talking about the 21 years of NZ First despite being predicted to be “dog tucker”.

The campaign pitch. Slogan “It’s common sense”

 

 

 

40 comments on “NZ First conference – Sunday. ”

  1. Clemgeopin 1

    Winston is a master politician. I will not be surprised if NZF gets 6% plus at this election. I think its support is much more than what the strange media ‘polls’ are indicating. The recent Ipsos poll put it at 2.6% while for the same period, the RM poll put it at 6%!! Shoes the unreliability of these polls so far away from the election date.

    My vote though will still be for the Labour party.

  2. bad12 2

    ”I keep walking into the ‘in committee sections of the conference”, Freud is looking to have a word with you about such ‘accidental intrusions’ LPrent,

    i should imagine that Winston would have had some ‘interesting’ discussions with the behind the scenes power structure of NZFirst after the Brendon Who fiasco,

    i was of the opinion that He of the switch on/switch off smile had been chosen by the Party to be blooded in the Parliament as the future Leader once Winston had relinquished the reins,(and Winston didn’t like the intrusion one little bit),

    On my wireless this morning East Coast Bays got a mention via the will He/wont He question surrounding the gifting of the seat to Colon ‘we are not fucking insane’ Craig,

    Winston of course also got a mention in the small news item, so, whether Peters really intends to follow through and contest the seat or not if it is gifted to Craig, the cunning old so and so has just bought himself one hell of a pile of free air-time via the announcement that He ‘might’, and i imagine that such free media will continue apace while the question of the fate of the East Coast Bays electorate remains open….

  3. rnz is reporting that peters will have policies to attack poverty/inequality..

    ..it will be embarrassing for labour if all these other parties have real-policies to deal with poverty..

    ..and labour doesn’t…

    • Michael 3.1

      Labour isn’t interested in poor people any more. Its focus groups tell it the middle classes fear and despise the poor so it abandoned them some time ago and doesn’t want them back. Why else would a Labour government design its flagship income redistribution policy (aka “Working For Families” [sic]) so that children of parents too sick or disabled to work went hungry and cold?

  4. Chooky 4

    I hope Winston and NZF gets back in! ( also hope he changes some of his MPs … “cavalcade of stiffs”(Martyn Bradbury’s term)….some of whom are a motley tawdry lot of alley cats, picked up when NZF seemed done for …NZF could do better here!)…but it is the Party vote that counts

    …Winston is NZF !….He has a particular constituency and it certainly is NOT Colin Craig’s religious party , as Bradbury suggests.( dont make me laugh!)

    Nor is Winston a racist as Bradbury suggests…As Minister of Foreign Affairs he was supremely successful in Helen Clark’s Labour Government dealing with Asian politicians/ governments. They understood him and where he is coming from…New Zealand First and New Zealanders First…he represents the interests of New Zealanders and their country, just as they represent their own Asian countries …unlike John Key’s Nactional…who do not represent New Zealand’s interests!

    Nor is Winston about to be one upped by the Dotcom Int Party, as Bradbury hints….Winston’s constituency is entirely different..they are older for a start…and more conservative …but they are also socialist and egalitarian….They are thinking and patriotic New Zealanders, who harken back to a more inclusive and caring and just New Zealand, before Rogernomics and the Neolib onslaught of John Key’s Nactional…many are former National Party members…some are swinging Green voters …some are cynical disenchanted former Labour voters

    Mark my words, Winston the Silver Fox will slinking around New Zealand wooing the constituencies with his brilliance , oratory and flashing smile…he is on the hustings soap box tours…a pleasure to behold in action…and as usual flying beneath the radar of the mainstream media

    • blue leopard 4.1

      My two cents worth: I would be very surprised if Peters didn’t make it back in.

    • Visubversaviper 4.2

      Winston Peters did bugger all as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Helen gave him a fistfull of airtickets to go and “press the flesh” but had Phill Goff and Chris Carter doing all the real work.

      • Colonial Viper 4.2.1

        Winston Peters did bugger all as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

        Yes, that is true. However he did give us the Government which is something worthy in of itself…

        • Populuxe1 4.2.1.1

          Actually that’s not true – he did much to rebuild post-ANZUS relations with the US. Yes, I’m not suprised you don’t regard this is terribly significant.

      • Chooky 4.2.2

        @Visubversaviper and CV

        Really?…Phill Goff and Chris Carter would have been better than Winston?…charisma?….mastery of the facts and scope of the arguments?….they are great support backroom boys ( their records speak for themselves)

        I know a senior public servant who said that Winston was the best Minister he had ever worked with…he listened very carefully to the advice and research and analysis from experts…asked probing questions…did his homework ….was well briefed….had a great memory and made his decisions accordingly. He treated his senior advisers with great respect … ( unlike McCully)

        Winston Peters was a pleasure to work with. He is widely acknowledged as a superb Minister of Foreign Affairs

        • Colonial Viper 4.2.2.1

          Winston was good with conceptual and big picture stuff. A very weak finisher through the grind though – needed people on side good with deliberate hands on detail.

  5. Clemgeopin 5

    Just saw this on TV3 news site:

    NZ First’s key election policies:

    Remove GST from basic household food
    Remove GST from rates on residential property
    Measures to deal with the exchange rate to encourage export growth
    At least 2 percent of GDP for research and development, with targeted tax incentives
    Cut down on immigration – only people New Zealand needs
    Superannuation shouldn’t be “free for all”
    Government-run KiwiSaver provider KiwiFund to buy back assets
    Laws to clamp down on binge drinking and drugs.

    Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/NZ-First-Remove-GST-from-food/tabid/1607/articleID/353385/Default.aspx#ixzz37ybpY6BV

    • bad12 5.1

      Lolz, Winston is a cunning old so and so, i described Him thus in my comment above as well, and, will keep on doing so,

      From my wireless, RadioNZ National, those policies come with one rather large codicil, an IF, writ in large bright colors across the whole policy platform,

      That IF?, IF Winston LEADS the next Government!!!, i call snake-oil on the whole policy platform…

      • Clemgeopin 5.1.1

        Remove GST from basic household food——-Labour friendly policy
        Remove GST from rates on residential property…….National/Labour
        Measures to deal with the exchange rate to encourage export growth……National/Labour
        At least 2 percent of GDP for research and development, with targeted tax incentives………Labour
        Cut down on immigration – only people New Zealand needs…………Labour
        Superannuation shouldn’t be “free for all”………..Possibly National
        Government-run KiwiSaver provider KiwiFund to buy back assets…..Labour
        Laws to clamp down on binge drinking and drugs……National/Labour

        Labour friendly policy…….4
        National friendly policy……1
        National and Labour friendly policy……3

        Labour gets 7 ticks
        National gets 4 ticks

        Yes?

        • Kiwiri 5.1.1.1

          NZF’s super policy about keeping the age at 65 and no mean-testing does resonate.

          But there is a fine print (NZ residency-based):

          Introduce Pro Rata Entitlement (PRE) to New Zealand Superannuation based on residency in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65 (45 years) so that a person with:
          – Residency of 10 years would get 10/45th of NZS
          – Residency of 25 years would get 25/45th of NZS
          – Residency of 35 years would get 35/45th of NZS

          I do not think that is very fair. If NZF wishes to go down that path of differentiating NZ-born from NZ residents, the PRE should also take into account years of working life in NZ, i.e. those who have been at a job for most/all of the working life in NZ should not have their super reduced.

          NZF has also indicated they will:

          • “Ensure that all applicants for NZS with overseas pensions will retain their overseas pensions without any deduction from their NZS or from their spouse’s NZS under Section 70 of the Social Security Act 1964.
          • “Bring the labyrinth of bureaucratic complexities and unfairness caused by existing reciprocal agreements with other countries to an end, and will not interfere with or inquire into the overseas pensions held by applicants for NZS.
          • “Allow New Zealander Superannuitants from the Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue to keep their pensions should they wish to return home to live on their heritage island.”

          Updated 20 March 2014.
          Further updates in the 2014 election campaign.

          Source: http://nzfirst.org.nz/policy/superannuation

      • Clemgeopin 5.1.2

        Watch this interview to see what a clever and wily old master of politics he is !
        http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/nz-first-announce-soon-if-peters-stand-in-electorate-video-6032838

    • karol 5.2

      Clem: Superannuation shouldn’t be “free for all”

      Does that mean NZ First will make it means tested rather than universal.

      Lynn: Changes to superannuation, reduce availability to immigrants. Change section 70 for people with overseas pensions to get superannuation.

      Not sure what this means.

      Currently if a person gets a state pension from overseas, it gets deducted from their NZ super entitlement. That includes for many of us Kiwis who have worked overseas.

      If a person worked overseas for over a year in places like Aussie and the UK, we are pressured to apply for super/state pensions in those countries, under threat of losing any NZ super we might have been entitled to. And the Aussie application form is a confusing, detailed test of perseverance.

      • Poission 5.2.1

        Policy is here,

        very succinct summary of the policy, (a mechanism which should be used by other parties,rather then delve through great tomes of indecipherable rhetoric ruminations)

        http://nzfirst.org.nz/sites/nzfirst/files/new_zealand_first_superannuation-immigration_policy_-_summary.pdf

        • karol 5.2.1.1

          OK Thanks. Actually that does simply it.

          Making me apply for Aussie super seemed like a time consuming exercise in futility – it’s means tested. I have doubts I’ll be given it, and I only worked there a couple of years anyway. And I have a little money in another work-based scheme there that was compulsory to pay into when I worked there.

          The UK Pension I get is the result of money I paid into the scheme while working there. It gets deducted from my NZ entitlement.

          Doing a pro rata adjustment based on years resident in NZ is a much simpler way of working it.

  6. Leachy 6

    Winston is showing the way. God bless him.

  7. Skinny 7

    Some sound policy coming forward from NZF well done!
    Be interested to see if Labour come out with a positive reinforcement of the GST off food policy and the scrapping of the raising of the retirement age? We all know National won’t have a bar of any of these policies so Labour need to react swiftly in particular to the GST policy. It will show just how Left the LP really are won’t it?

    • Clemgeopin 7.1

      Sound policy or not, I am guessing that it will help him get public support to take him over the 5% threshold as follows:

      Remove GST from basic household food [1%]
      Remove GST from rates on residential property [Plus 1%=2%]
      Measures to deal with the exchange rate to encourage export growth [Plus 0%=2%]
      At least 2 percent of GDP for research and development, with targeted tax incentives[Plus 0%=2%]
      Cut down on immigration – only people New Zealand needs[Plus 2%=4%]
      Superannuation shouldn’t be “free for all”[Plus 1%=5%]
      Government-run KiwiSaver provider KiwiFund to buy back assets[Plus 2%=7%]
      Laws to clamp down on binge drinking and drugs.[Plus 1%=8%]

  8. deep throat 8

    somebody has to pay for public spending.
    this election is all about the patronage that goes with it.
    Labour showing the nats how to do it properly or the nats doing their best to loot the treasury and make off with as much of the public purse as they can before they get chucked out..
    Impeach john keys.

  9. Colonial Viper 9

    Jessica Williams thought that the young 17 yr old speaker was actually Young Labour…joked about him being the newest Labour defector

  10. karol 10

    I’m not keen on the “binge drinking” and drug punishment – fines.

    It would be no deterrent to people with addictions, and probably would just make their lives more difficult, and the addictions harder to manage.

    GST off fruit & veges is fine with me.

    Tax to deal with poverty is only part of the answer. Social Security needs a major overhaul. There should be no tax on benefits, and the amounts need to be raised. Also, need more state houses, etc.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11

    NZ First is committed to a target of 2% of GDP for R&D. Not interested in picking winners, so not willing to have grants. R&D taxes instead.

    2% isn’t enough for such a small country – needs to be at least double that and probably a lot higher. Personally, I’d go for around 25%. R&D Tax credits almost invariably don’t work and the most successful economies in the world have the government picking, and backing, winners. Quite simply, the private sector doesn’t have the long term interest in doing the research that actually produces winners.

    • Colonial Viper 11.1

      No, that big money has to go into low carbon infrastructure which uses proven robust low energy tech.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1

        No, not really. Robust high technology is a far better idea.

        • Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1

          High tech is fragile and hard to repair. A 1980’s F&P washing machine or fridge freezer has a life span far longer than a 2014 one.

          • Murray Olsen 11.1.1.1.1

            Does that have anything to do with the level of technology, or is it a combination of planned obsolescence plus cutting costs on materials? I don’t see any reason why high tech needs to be fragile at all.

          • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1.1.2

            Nope. A high tech washing machine lasts longer and requires less repair over it’s lifespan than a 1980s machine. And it won’t be any harder to repair than a machine from the 1980s – take out the old part and replace it with a new part.

  12. Disraeli Gladstone 12

    “Winston really not interested in talking about polls – he just thinks (like me) that they are simply inaccurate.”

    At this rate, either the polling industry is shot come the 21st September or Karl Rove’s meltdown and “is this maths you do as a Republican” is going to apply for the whole of the political left of New Zealand.

    I just have a bad feeling that it’s the latter.

  13. greywarbler 13

    AColonial viper 8.32
    You can say that again. Am I sick of new frig design and my washing machine is limited by its technology not expanded. I can’t tweak water temperature by turning a knob, and the automatic water level is skew wiff.? And other miscellaneous complaints about design that should be basic on machinery that is old tech. really.

    My car windows can’t be moved without the key, which is very inconvenient if it rains and their open as I have to go and get or find the key and the car gets soaked.

    • Colonial Viper 13.1

      high tech depends on complex inter-dependencies between multiple systems. A single minor failure in one system can cascade unpredictably into a catastrophic and total failure. It’s the very definition of fragile.

      Similar to your electric window tale, I once had a faulty $5 oxygen sensor electronically disable an otherwise perfectly working car so that it wouldn’t even turn over.

      And as you say, in many of these systems, the ability to manually fine tune system performance has been eradicated. So much so that the line between “working” and “irretrievably broken” is becoming a very fine one.

  14. Clemgeopin 14

    His election slogan, “It’s common sense” is pretty cunning too. Dunne must be fuming thinking of the leaping ‘worm’ that saved him a few years ago on a leaders TV debate!

    • Phil 14.1

      The campaign pitch. Slogan “It’s common sense”

      Given that ‘common sense’ is shown time and again to be neither common, nor particularly sensible, I cannot think of a better slogan for a political party supported almost exclusively by senile old busy-bodies and the eternally racist.

  15. dave 15

    polls are rubbish peters will be well over 5 percent media even understate there numbers at there conferences

  16. Jenny 16

    “Its Common Sense”

    New Zealand First leader Winston Peters throws Labour a major lifeline.

    Will they pick it up?

    Or is Labour determined to cling to Right wing neo liberal experiment, even if it sinks their chances of unseating Key?

    All it will take, to guarantee New Zealand First as a coalition partner is for Labour to take their own shelved GST off food scheme back off the shelf.

    Probably that, and a promise not to rise the age of Super entitlement and Winston Peters will have absolutely no excuse to go with National.

    Will Labour do it?

    Will it require David Cunliffe to take strong decisive action against those in the Labour’s caucus that he has labeled “Strike breakers”?

    Or will he choose to sit on his hands and take responsibility for this train wreck?

    Common Sense is rarely common.

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  • 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
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    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
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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
    10 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
    12 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
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
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