Of Hollywood, Hobbits & NZ-US politics: Episode II

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, October 4th, 2012 - 66 comments
Categories: accountability, business, capitalism, copyright, culture, film, International, jobs, john key, Media, overseas investment, Politics, uncategorized, Unions, us politics - Tags: ,

As Key heads off to the US to promote the NZ film industry, I look back at the Hobbit union-busting dispute and the issues it raised.

Key Issues Raised by the Hobbit Dispute:

NZ is considered to provide an advantage to international movie companies because of its flexible employment relations (i.e. it is not highly unionised).

Due to the intermittent nature of movie production, Employment contracts are often used, and, especially since 1991changes in NZ law, this gives a lot of power to the employers.
Financial investors with no” creative” have come to play a big part in the Hollywood film industry.  this industry is increasingly global, involving massive organisations, and focused primarily on profit. In 2010, film corporations, MGM and Warners had major debt problems and needed some big successful blockbusters.

Sir Peter Jackson was a significant player in the dispute due to his seemingly unchallengeable (?) position as an NZ cultural icon, and his reputation for creating jobs and income for Kiwis. However, contrary to his Kiwi-bloke image, he is involved in a global industry, with his, and Weta’s, NZ location being secondary. Jackson’s reputation and international successes give him fairly direct access to the NZ government.

Both the government and Jackson manipulated the dispute and its coverage in the MSM to their advantage. As Nigel Haworth (NZ Journal of Employment Relations, 2011: Vol 36:3) says, the result was:

Thus, analytically, the New Zealand state simultaneously conceded, financially and legislatively, to the global film sector whilst taking the opportunity to further its ER liberalisation and attack the domestic trade union movement.

Contrary to the way it was portrayed in the MSM,(as argued by Haworth) trade unions need to counter the power of globalised capital by developing equivalent international institutions and practices (Haworth). In contrast, the John Key government, placed investment issues ahead of its commitments to global labour standards.

The Hobbit dispute was part of an issue that had been developing since 2009, in terms of negotiations between employers, industry representatives and workers, especially performers, with a fairly weak unions wanting some standard elements included in contracts. The government took the opportunity to try to weaken the NZ union movement, partly through trying to isolate NZ Actors’ Equity and its Aussie partner from international solidarity pledged by equivalent overseas unions.

Sir Peter and the government also exploited some divisions between workers in the industry.  They don’t all work within similar conditions.  For instance, technicians and other members of a film crew stand to gain some certainty of work.  Life is more competitive and precarious for performers. They face  competition from performers outside NZ, especially “names” from the US and UK. NZCTU stepped in and tried to support the weak NZ union and help in negotiations, with Helen Kelly playing a leading role.

However, as Haworth concludes:

It is rare indeed to observe such a textbook case of national interests being so comprehensively subordinated to the interests of international capital and its domestic agents.

There has been a strong and sustained, but ultimately superficial, promotion of Sir Peter’s “New Zealandness”.  This is often done in association with the marketing of the filming locations of his internationally successful movies, supported by the NZ government.  The result is an equally superficial and misleading rebranding of Planet Key’s NZ Inc as Middle Earth.

But where does this leave the production of NZ made, NZ funded films telling NZ stories?

Key’s Latest Hollywood Mission

With Key’s latest mission to Hollywood, who would be the winners and who the losers from any deals he helps to negotiate, and what benefit will it provide to Kiwis?  More jobs?  Boost the NZ economy?  Will it result in improving (or undermining?) the resources and systems that can be used to produce more authentic NZ movies, including ones that could be sold overseas?

Or will it just further increase the Americanisation of New Zealand culture, along with the promotion of international free-market capitalism?   Will it mean more Hollywood films, which ultimately siphon off profits to overseas multinationals?

And most importantly, what significance does this have with respect to the TPPA, currently being negotiated secretly? See also, Jane Kelsey on the implications of Key’s trip to Hollywood and the relevance to TPPA.  This would involve giving the US government and corporates more control of intellectual property in NZ.

Professor Kelsey predicts “the chilling effect would see the Hobbit saga pale into insignificance. This Prime Minister has shown a penchant for backroom deals. His current trip to the Hollywood studios no simple photo opportunity; it will be a time of intense lobbying by Hollywood to sell us down the river”.

[Update: Link added above to the NZ Journal of Employment Relations, 2011: h/t Draco T Bastard].

66 comments on “Of Hollywood, Hobbits & NZ-US politics: Episode II ”

  1. Kotahi Tāne Huna 1

    “Key heads of to…”

    His timing couldn’t be worse.

    Every new bit of information breeding questions like Hydra.

    And on his return, the feeding frenzy 🙂

  2. just saying 2

    Excellent post. Well said.

    • Kotahi Tāne Huna 2.1

      +1

      • karol 2.1.1

        Thanks, KTH & JS. I was just looking around for some articles to refresh my memory about the finer details of the Hobbit dispute, as background in preparation for anticipated reports on Key’s Hollywood mission.

        The whole of that edition of the NZ Journal of Employment Relations is focused on the Hobbit dispute, but I found the Haworth article, ‘A Political Economy of ‘The Hobbit’ Dispute’ particularly useful.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1

          The whole of that edition of the NZ Journal of Employment Relations is focused on the Hobbit dispute, but I found the Haworth article, ‘A Political Economy of ‘The Hobbit’ Dispute’ particularly useful.

          PDF Here

          • mike 2.1.1.1.1

            Thanks karol and DTB.

            It is rare indeed to observe such a textbook case of national interests being so comprehensively subordinated to the interests of international capital and its domestic agents.

            From the conclusion of said article.

            • karol 2.1.1.1.1.1

              Thanks, DTB.  The access to the article i had seemed to require a library membership login, which is why I didn’t link to it.

              [Update: Journal link added to the post above.]

    • LynW 2.2

      +100 Very informative Karol. Thank you

      • mickysavage 2.2.1

        Thanks Karol.  Utterly disturbing.  Haworth elegantly expresses what many of us felt.  

        The politics of the dispute started to descend into the levels of Nazi Germany where much evil occurred in the name of TINA.  Apologies for breaking Goodwin’s law but this is how it felt to me.

  3. marsman 3

    Excellent Post once again karol!

  4. Red Rosa 4

    Well said.

    This is a full-scale constitutional crisis, when you think of the implications.

    Is the Prime Minister working for the best interests of New Zealand, or is he using every means – legitimate and illegitimate – to advance the interests of the United States?

    These revelations make John Key look more like the agent of a foreign power than PM of NZ.

    And for sure, there is more to come.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      Is the Prime Minister working for the best interests of New Zealand, or is he using every means – legitimate and illegitimate – to advance the interests of the United States?

      I don’t think there’s any doubt – he’s working for Wall Street.

  5. Chris 5

    Whatshisname key has said that he will not be offering any sweeteners/inducements to movie moguls.Could this possibly be true????????? Or maybe he will go ahead and do it and then won’t remember that he had said that he wouldn’t do it so therefore in his view it will be allright to go ahead and do so. “Right guys,what do you want, just ask and it’s yours”Anything,anything at all!
    What is this trip going to cost US!!

    • karol 5.1

      Depends on what he means by “sweeteners/inducements”. That usually means money: such things as tax breaks for filming in NZ. But would it include NZ law changes (like the Hobbit law, weakening worker rights), or things included in the TPPA?

      eg Jane Kelsey, in her press release linked in my post above, says the visit is all to do with the TPPA and intellectual property rights:

      The next round of TPPA talks is in New Zealand in early December and (secret) new US proposals are expected to be on the table.

      The intellectual property negotiators from the US Trade Representative’s Office are currently in Wellington putting pressure on the government to stop resisting the US demands and agree to its new text.

      Hollywood is driving the US push for unprecedented extensions to intellectual property rights, carrying with them the further criminalization for breaches and massive cost increases for everyday Internet users. It also wants a ban on parallel imports.

      • Colonial Viper 5.1.1

        Can we have “sweeteners and inducements” for our own on-shore manufacturing industry please.

        • karol 5.1.1.1

          Yes.  That’s a thought, CV.
          But then, of course, it wouldn’t involve Key swanning off to the US to hang out with the rich, powerful, famous and beautiful people!

  6. Ad 6

    Perhaps it’s easier now to think of new Zealand no longer as a country at all but as a set of globally fluid molecules that join up for specific commercial projects, like films, and are then released back to the fluid of the world’s economy.

    Key is less relevant because he doesn’t generate any commercial molecular formation.

    According to outbound immigration, everyone who can still float, is doing so.

    Jackson is still choosing to stay.

    • karol 6.1

      Following your metaphor, Ad, I think maybe Key’s role is to improve the flow, and in ways that are on balance, more likely to favour the interests of multinational corporates.

  7. mike e 7

    Where is gooseman Kim.Kong BM etc no where to be found!

    • David H 7.1

      They must be off at a Nact indoctrination day. Have to get their instructions sometimes.

  8. Bill 8

    Google Richard O’Dwyer. English student being extradited to the US for hosting a file sharing website that didn’t hold any files. As with Dotcom, it was US agencies that sought to bring him to trial. O’Dwyer hadn’t broken any UK laws. But the US claim that since ‘.net’ and ‘.com’ are domain names or suffixes hosted in the US that any copyright infringement using those suffixes are crimes on US soil.

    O’Dwyer is facing 10 years. He was a smaller fish than Dotcom. The US is pursuing a number of individuals around the world for copyright infringement based on their use of ‘.com’ or ‘.net’.

    Dotcom is their biggest fish yet. So maybe JK is looking to grease the wheels of ‘justice’…a wee tweak of NZ law? And that could easily sit apart from or be in addition to any TPPA agreement.

  9. muzza 9

    NZ is now so obviously under the influence/control of “America*” these days, its sickening!

    • karol 9.1

      Well the US government and its agencies are particularly keen to re-establish their dominance in the Pacific, now that China is making some economic inroads into the area.  So we are at the centre of a bit of a struggle.
      Key seems to want to play both sides a bit, but his main allegiance seems to be to the US.  And most of NZ culture, economy and politics (not to mention spy agencies) have leaned that way for a long time.

      • Colonial Viper 9.1.1

        Notice how the US is using force and pressure to push its own interests in the Pacific.

        I think that’ll be received well by locals over the medium term, don’t you.

        • Jim Nald 9.1.1.1

          Labour/Greens: green jobs for NZ

          John Key/Natz: bl _ _ jobs for US 🙂

        • Populuxe1 9.1.1.2

          Force? I am not thinking this word is meaning what you think it is meaning. And as this has pretty much been the status quo since WW2 I doubt anyone will notice much.

  10. David H 10

    I haven’t watched a P. Jackson movie since I tried to watch the absolutely way too long King Kong. And his other movies are even longer, so I have NO inclination to watch anything he does. Maybe if he does a good remake of The Dambusters but I hear the wowsers were up in arms at the dogs name FFS. Just wait for ASH or who ever to have a conniption fit about the pilots smoking and the anti drinking league about the parties All part of life in the 1940’s but i fear the wowsers will make him make changes, and ruin the movie. At least I have a copy of the original version.

    • karol 10.1

      I’m not a great fan of PJ’s Hollywood movies, or his early schlock horror stuff.  Like Heavenly Creatures.

      LoTR and King Kong seem to me to be largely boys own, stuff, and more a mix of US and UK culture than anything specifically Kiwi.  This all suggests to me where PJ’s allegiance lies.  And his Hollywood blockbuster movies do tend to be a bit of an indulgence in VFX cleverness, and go on for too long, for my taste.

    • Reagan Cline 10.2

      David H,

      Another “part of life in the 1940s”.

      Operation Chastise caused flooding that led to the death of 1,294 people, 749 of which were Ukrainian POWs and the rest innocent civilians.

      • McFlock 10.2.1

        Part of the point of the whole operation, really.
             
         

        • Rich 10.2.1.1

          I don’t think any of the Nazi generation of German’s could be considered “innocent”. They voted for and tolerated the Nazis and (some of them) got what they deserved.

          The deaths of the prisoners could be regarded as the fault of the Nazis for bringing them into a war zone.

        • Rich 10.2.1.2

          I don’t think any of the Nazi generation of Germans could be considered “innocent”. They voted for and tolerated the Nazis and (some of them) got what they deserved.

          The deaths of the prisoners could be regarded as the fault of the Nazis for bringing them into a war zone.

  11. Jokerman 11

    “it’s my precious”-Gollum / Smeagle “it’s my precious” “I wants it, I needs it!”

  12. mike 12

    But Mr Key yesterday dismissed suggestions that his call on industry executives who may have made the original complaint about Dotcom was untimely.

    “I’d say it’s excellent timing insomuch that this is an industry that’s worth $3 billion to New Zealand … Yep, there will always be conspiracy theorists out there but I’m interested in jobs, not people who live in fantasy land and want to make things up.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10837799

    Oh look he’s doing it again – ‘my opponents are full of shit’. And the sheeple go – ‘Yep, makes sense to me…’

    • Clashman 12.1

      $3 Billion? I read somewhere that the Hobbit was supposedly worth about $350 million to NZ. If true then there must be about 9 other big budget films being made here. What are they? Sounds like more bullshit from Key.

    • karol 12.2

      I think international/ Hollywood productions filmed in NZ, do provide an access route into the industry for some individuals, which didn’t exist very much before the 1990s.  It especially provides a career for some NZ techies and film crew.

      It also has given some Kiwis access to technologies, and knowledge of systems used on such productions.
      However, many of the most successful also then go overseas.  And there are questions about how it impacts on Kiwi filmmakers trying to produce local stories – i.e. not PJ Hollywood blockbusters.  They are competing with international productions that have better technologies and can pay better wages.

      And in the process of getting some access to work on Hollywood productions, it can draw many of us further into US culture, and capitalist values.
      John Key doesn’t really seem that interested in helping to stimulate a more NZ-focused movie industry, that would train new workers. 

      A big problem, though for making a successful industry in NZ, is the difficulty in a big enough audience to make it commercially viable.  That’s why some people favour international co-productions.  But it’s hard to find a successful overseas film company that wouldn’t be the dominant partner.

      • Draco T Bastard 12.2.1

        I think international/ Hollywood productions filmed in NZ, do provide an access route into the industry for some individuals, which didn’t exist very much before the 1990s. It especially provides a career for some NZ techies and film crew.

        And we could do all that without Hollywood. Just need to have the government make funds available through, say, NZOnAir. Make the whole movie from beginning to end in NZ and then the profits also come back to NZ and the profits are far higher than the measly few hundred million we get from the Hollywood studios.

        It also has given some Kiwis access to technologies, and knowledge of systems used on such productions.

        All of which is commercially available. Here’s a free (limited) version of the software used to make Avatar. It’s part of the range of software I use to make my desktop wallpapers.

        A big problem, though for making a successful industry in NZ, is the difficulty in a big enough audience to make it commercially viable.

        Movies go international especially through the internet so I really don’t think that’s an excuse. We don’t need to use the old distribution channels which is really the only reason left for using Hollywood studios.

        • karol 12.2.1.1

          Yes, the technologies have become increasingly accessible.  Jackson and Weta were able to get a start here when the first off the shelf CGI technologies became available.  Before that each US movie studio had developed their own.
           
          I guess it’s really a similar situation to the manufacturing sector – Hillside trains etc.  The government needs to put some effort into developing a more independent NZ industry. Instead of Key doing the LA photo ops schmoozing with the stars and other rich and famous (as seen on TV3 6pm news tonight.
           
          It’s the access to a potentially sizeable audience int the US that many NZ producers are interested in chasing.  But then they have to make film and TV programmes that US-ians can relate to.

          • Draco T Bastard 12.2.1.1.1

            It’s the access to a potentially sizeable audience int the US that many NZ producers are interested in chasing.

            Which is really quite stupid considering the bigger market, and thus the possibility of finding an audience, is in Europe. And even then they’d still be able to find a market in the US as well as there will be some who will watch the films.

            What I’m getting at here is that movies don’t need to be made for a particular country but for the people who will watch the film and that comes down to genre – SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, thriller etc. Making them specifically for the US is actually limiting the market.

            • karol 12.2.1.1.1.1

              What I’m getting at here is that movies don’t need to be made for a particular country but for the people who will watch the film and that comes down to genre – SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, thriller etc. Making them specifically for the US is actually limiting the market.
               
              That sounds like a sensible suggestion. I guess some of the problem with that is that all other countries’ movie industries kind of look to the US (at least in the “west” ). Countries like Japan, China, India and South Korea are another matter.  Though I thought NZ was looking to do some co-productions with South Korea a couple of years back?
               
              And the US (government and entertainment/screen industries) works hard to maintain their international dominance.  Of course the likes of Dotcom and the Internet threaten that.  I know a few US-ians, who, once they could access them online, started watching more movies and TV from other countries – stuff they wouldn’t usually see on their TVs, or movie screens.

      • Ad 12.2.2

        From that description isn’t the film industry simply an instance of the new Zealand manufacturing sector? We will always rely on international markets, our products always have to reify the values of the markets they are exported into, we will only ever support a very few domiciled multinationals.

        Has ever been so.

        I don’t ever see this changing under any of our political parties. Do you?

  13. captain hook 13

    Jeebus, I hope that I can get the peanuts, popcorn and candyfloss concession to the upcoming Warner Brothers feature, “The Country That Went Crazy”.

  14. John Gilbert 14

    I actually work in the film industry, and think the changes made in response to the Hobbit dispute were good for the industry. For many years I was subject to various audits by the IRD to determine whether I was an employee or a contractor. I worked for various film companies for periods from a day to many months,.The uncertainty as to my tax status was problematic for me in determining how I would organise my business.

    I prefer to be a contractor as I like being a free agent. I can choose what work I want to do, rather than have it thrust upon me by an employer. I can negotiate a fee for each job based on how much I want to be involved with that particular film, and how much they want me. The uncertainty is balanced by the rewards.

    The issue of Peter Jackson’s kiwiness is irrelevant. Whether he makes ‘kiwi’ films, or films for an international marketplace doesn’t matter, nor does it matter if the commenters here like his films. What matters is that worldwide he has a large number of fans that do want to see them, and therefore he is a powerful player in the international film business. That he has chosen to stay in Wellington is remarkable, and he has built world class film infrastructure here, employing thousands directly, and many more indirectly. I thought Labour was for job creation in ‘smart’ industries here in NZ…Why would you not want to support Peter Jackson’s efforts?

    • Kotahi Tāne Huna 14.1

      That all sounds very reasonable, but for one thing: The Standard does not represent the Labour Party.

      I note that the dispute was between actors and the industry, not editors. Are you claiming to speak for the actors?

      What with the Actors Equity Association having such power it’s little wonder no movies ever get made in the USA. No, wait…

    • Colonial Viper 14.2

      John Gilbert: do you think NZ actors in the industry should have standard minimum breaks, travel allowances etc, just like foreign actors get?

      Or are you just thinking of yourself and not the difficult situation many other industry workers find themselves in?

      BTW your tax status with the IRD would have been clear if you weren’t sailing so close to the wind with how you organised your affairs.

      • John Gilbert 14.2.1

        Ill informed Mr Viper. Actors here get minimum breaks, travel allowances etc. And carrying out a business where my status as a contractor or employee was unclear does not mean I was ‘sailing close to the wind’. You are one eyed. Without Peter Jackson those workers would not have the opportunities they currently have.

        • Draco T Bastard 14.2.1.1

          Without Peter Jackson those workers would not have the opportunities they currently have.

          BS. If not him then someone else would have and if we actually had a rational economy it would’ve been those people getting together to do it without the need for the capitalist.

        • Colonial Viper 14.2.1.2

          Actors here get minimum breaks, travel allowances etc.

          Wrong. That’s a completely voluntary and unenforceable standard you are referring to, one which was set by the likes of Peter Jackson with no input from workers. Please don’t try and mislead.

          Peter Jackson stopped NZ workers from having the same protections that his overseas workers get, and that he gets as a union member himself.

          The guy is slime.

  15. John Gilbert 15

    I am speaking for myself of course. The dispute ended the uncertainty of employee vs contractor, which affected everyone in the industry. I was also reacting to some of the the negativity directed at Peter Jackson, which I think is unwarranted.

    • Colonial Viper 15.1

      Peter Jackson sold out Kiwi workers.

      Here was a half billionaire who resisted giving Kiwi workers the same protections and organisation that he has as a member of at least 3 different unions.

      For that he deserves to be lambasted.

      • karol 15.1.1

        John, I’ve never been a great fan of Jackson’s Hollywood movies, even before the Hobbit dispute.  And I do like action/adventure/fantasy movies.  I’ve always been unhappy with the spinning of Jackson and Middle Earth as somehow being a Kiwi cultural thing. It’s pure Hollywood branding.

    • karol 15.2

      John, I have said above that there are pluses for some NZ workers in the industry being able to stay in NZ and work on international productions.
       
      You have actually pretty much repeated something that I said in the post, albeit with a bit of a different slant – that Jackson is primarily working in an international industry.  I see that as meaning his primary allegiance is to the big multinational movie studios, and distributors, and not to NZ.
       
      At the time of the dispute, workers in many industry were under attack (still are) from changes to the laws.  Jackson, Boyens and Walsh played to the governments attacks on unions generally, mainly to gain more taxpayer funds to support his productions.  The NZ actors union also had a legitimate case that was smeared and undermined by the government, Jackson and the media.
       
      There are big issues about the Americanistion of NZ’s economy, values and culture, that don’t seem to be of interest to you.
       
      I can see pluses and minuses for smaller NZ filmmakers in being in an environment where there are international productions.  I am interested in exploring that a bit more.  But Key doesn’t seem to be interested in that, only in the glamorous and lucrative side of the Hollywood industry.  I would like to see the government put more focus on the NZ industry generally, rather than the high end of the international industry.

      PS: I’ve never been a member of a political party, and haven’t given my party vote to Labour for a few elections now.

    • CarolJ 15.3

      John

      There *was* no uncertainty.

      The fact is that the IRD may continue to audit you as their rules and regulations are completely separate from the question of whether you are, in employment regulation matters, an employee or sub-contractor and so entitled or not to the protections of employment regulation – such as (in the Bryson case which was constantly paraded in defence of the ‘clarification” Bryson v Three Foot Six Ltd [2005] 1 ERNZ 372 (SC) ) the right to notice and redundancy on dismissal.

      This is settled law in every other common law jurisdiction – including the UK and USA – , and still for everyone in NZ outwith the film industry the only “uncertainty” is when there is no actual agreement between the parties as to the nature of he contract – “of services” or “for services”.

      The test then applied to determine employee/contractor is pretty clear for those who wish to take the time to read it, and I would have thought that someone such as Jackson (or rather his HR managers) would have had plenty of opportunity to find that out.

      When, and only when, there is a disagreement between the parties as to the nature of the contract the main, and easily discoverable, points are that:

      • The Court must determine the real nature of the relationship;
      • The real nature of the relationship can be ascertained by analysing the tests that have been historically applied, such as control, integration and the “fundamental” test;
      • The fundamental test examines whether a person performing the service is doing so on his or her own account;

      There are decades of case law, and none of it particularly controversial, to give examples of all of the above.

      This was nothing more than the continuation of a neo-liberal agenda to totally gut the rights of workers (including you btw) in NZ, to drive down wages and working conditions generally ensuring that the capital holders retain an ever greater proportion of the wealth created on the backs of others.

      Now you speak of your choice to work as a sub-contractor – good for you – but now *no-one* else in your industry has the choice to do otherwise because you can be sure the “employers” (because in reality for most people that’s what they are) won’t employ anyone when they don’t have to, and won’t maintain minimum standards of employment if they don’t have to.

      As for Jackson – he lied to the public and the workers about whether the dispute was over, he lied about (or totally misunderstood) employment law, and given some of information that’s come out through OIA requests used his position as a “Kiwi icon” (whatever that is) to have a temper tantrum over losing the Bryson case. Like a small minded, petty adolescent is how came across to me throughout September and October 2010.

      • karol 15.3.1

        CarolJ, I deleted your duplicate post.  
         
        Thanks, very much for explaining clearly just what happened with respect to Jackson et al’s role in the employment contracts dispute.
         
        And this:

        This was nothing more than the continuation of a neo-liberal agenda to totally gut the rights of workers (including you btw) in NZ, to drive down wages and working conditions generally ensuring that the capital holders retain an ever greater proportion of the wealth created on the backs of others.

        and this:

        As for Jackson – he lied to the public and the workers about whether the dispute was over, he lied about (or totally misunderstood) employment law, and given some of information that’s come out through OIA requests used his position as a “Kiwi icon” (whatever that is) to have a temper tantrum over losing the Bryson case. Like a small minded, petty adolescent is how came across to me throughout September and October 2010.
         

        Sum it up very well.  Well said.
         

  16. This will create more jobs and help the economy.

    If people here are so against it, then i guess you wont be going to see any movie here
    filmed in New Zealand by an overseas company??

    Oh of course you wont be doing that.

    • CJ 17.1

      Brett

      Maybe we will, maybe we won’t – it depends on your taste for moves I guess.

      But what I will be doing is continuing to try and debunk the lies that those in power and those with capital continue to tell in order to take away more rights and pay from the workers in order to line their own pockets.

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    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 ...
    9 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
    9 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
    10 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
    13 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
    13 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
    14 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
    14 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
    15 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
    16 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
    18 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    14 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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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