Oh dear – National’s “white elephant” is still growing?

Written By: - Date published: 4:56 pm, November 23rd, 2014 - 44 comments
Categories: national, public transport, same old national, transport - Tags: , ,

There is one thing that you can say about the National party and their media sycophants is that they are routinely wrong about Auckland city.  Auckland really can’t go wrong by simply implementing whatever plan they are currently railing against. For instance this classically wrong cartoon accurately expresses the opinions being put forward in NZ Herald pieces  in the early to late 2000’s.

Back in 2007 when the Northern busway was being put in, they were portraying it as being a white elephant. But the traffic figures at the Transport Blog make it perfectly clear that was simple stupidity.

What actually happened? Although the busway was constructed late, it worked like crazy. By 2012, actual patronage on the busway was almost double what the patronage forecasts indicated:

Northern busway figures projected vs actual as at November 2012.

Needless to say, the pundits in the article have been proven to be completely and utterly wrong. Most were advocating for more roads based on projection of increased car traffic. But the trend both here and internationally isn’t that way. It is towards public transport…

The most recent Census data shows that road traffic is growing at an anemic pace while all other modes are booming:

So despite large sections of very expensive motorway and other roading changes in Auckland being opened up since 2006, it has resulted in a negligible increase in that being people’s preferred mode of commuting transport. The relatively few and much cheaper to implement alternatives in public transport are filled to near capacity a few years after they become available.

But it goes wider than that. The changes that were in the Auckland public transport plan after the National government got tossed from office in 1999 have all been late invariably due to a lack of early funding.

  • The key projects that have been undertaken, such as the Northern Busway and rail electrification, have often been finished far behind schedule. Rail electrification was supposed to be done in 2011, for crying out loud!

  • The successful Northern Busway hasn’t been followed with investment in other essential rapid transit projects, such as the (planned but not yet built) AMETI busway to the eastern suburbs and the Northwestern Busway on SH16.

  • Successive governments have spent billions on Auckland’s motorway network even after it became apparent that demand was flatlining.

From another Transport blog post, it is clear that this shows no signs of diminishing in 2014. The rapid transit network including the Northern busway and the rail network is showing increases in trips of between 13% and 25% across all modes, with an average patronage increase of 16.7%. The Northern busway alone without any significiant increases in services has increased by 12.4%. Even the feeder buses in the throes of changes on various routes show a 6.4% increase.

Auckland Transport patronage breakdown October 2014. Click for a larger image.

The overall increase YTD is 7.7% which is a phenomenal shift in traffic towards public transport.

But hey, this kind of thing doesn’t appear to impact on the short-term thinking of our short-sighted and outright stupid National government. Here is a press release by Simon Bridges, the idiot transport minister from Tauranga, on Auckland’s transport needs.

Auckland Council are welcome to have a debate about future transport infrastructure investment plans, but the Government remains sceptical about the options being presented, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said today in response to the release of ‘Funding Auckland’s Transport Future’, a report commissioned by the Auckland Council.

“This is why the National-led Government is spending more than ever before to help build the city’s transport network; around a billion dollars a year. These include very large projects like the Waterview Connection, the widening of the North Western Motorway, the electrification of commuter rail, and the acceleration of motorway projects on the Northern and Southern Corridors.

From memory, weren’t almost all of those public transport projects started and funded by the last Labour government? For that matter so were most of the roading white elephants.

“Aucklanders would need a very clear sense of what results they are getting and whether the new projects would deliver tangible value for money for commuters.  They also need to have the discussion about how much more Aucklanders are prepared to pay for their transport.”

This is from the government who in 2009 arbitrarily removed the painfully negotiated regional fuel tax that was meant to allow Aucklanders to pay for their local transport projects without having to go cap in hand to the dithering idiots in Wellington.

Aucklanders are overwhelmingly voting with their AT Hop cards. They don’t get on the motorways to try to find a park close to work. Where it is available they are getting on bus or train because you can read on the commute. The glare of the LCD screens in endemic on all public transport in Auckland these days as people catch up on news feeds, email and books on the way to work.

Helping to extend motorways further is pretty pointless. The congestion figures on the motorways and the bridges is reducing because people use the public transport whenever it is available. Even the current public transport projects in the pipeline are going to continue to reduce road congestion.

And after all, who really wants to have a hour long commute each way to live in some greenfield site at the back or beyond in the manner that appears to be National’s prefered development plan. The flood of people and the massive rises in house prices are in the areas that people want to live. That isn’t at the ends of the motorways. It is in a ever growing circle within 5-15 kms in the now “inner” suburbs of Auckland like Mt Roskill or Glenfield. The places characterised by relatively short commutes on public transport to transport hubs and work.

Building on greenfield sites out past Henderson-Massey or in South Auckland at 20-40km range is completely useless when the costs of putting the roads, public transport systems, and much of the long run infrastructure falls so heavily on taxpayers and ratepayers.

In effect it amounts to a subsidy that the National government is forcing on taxpayers and ratepayers to pay for greenfield developers and their affluent (because who else can pay for the long car commutes?) customers and a boon for their donating buddies in the car and roading industries.

44 comments on “Oh dear – National’s “white elephant” is still growing? ”

  1. Sacha 1

    Even the government’s transport experts are beginning to acknowledge reality, unlike a succession of Ministers:
    http://transportblog.co.nz/2014/11/21/mot-acknowledge-changing-trends-and-future-funding-issues/

    It makes no sense at all to invest so much right now in the wrong transport infrastructure for the next century, as if it were the last one. V8 fantasies from 1960s boys who never grew up.

    Especially when separated public transit like Auckland’s Northern busway has shown its value so easily – about half the people crossing the Harbour Bridge in the morning peak are now on buses, freeing up road space for the remaining cars, taxis and delivery trucks.

    Adding the long-delayed core rail link to the picture will vastly increase traffic on all the region’s lines – to a train every 5 minutes during peak times, and 10 minutes at others.

    People will still drive, sure – but they’ll have other options. Thought the right-wingers were all about choice?

    • lprent 1.1

      People will still drive, sure – but they’ll have other options. Thought the right-wingers were all about choice?

      That is what they say. But apparently not when it comes to handing out lucrative contracts to grateful crony capitalist friends.

      I simply can’t see any other rationale for wanting to build out almost all new housing in the boondocks.

      The crazy thing about it in Auckland at present is that the only housing that commands a premium in rentals, outside the CBD student hutches, over the cost of capital is in larger apartments (>= 50 sq m) and semi detached housing. It is a pretty clear market signal about what people *want* to move into.

      National appears to have largely ignored it. Probably too burnt from their monumentally stupid decision to deregulate the building regulations in the 1990’s that caused such a large issue with leaky buildings a decade later.

      But everything that I have seen indicates that National still thinks in terms of building 3 bedroom houses in the back of beyond. They are what was designed for a specific type of ‘family’, two parents and two or three kids. But that is a rather unusual type of family in Auckland these days

      We have an ample stock of houses of that type in Auckland (3 bedroom standalones on a section). The reason we are still having issues is that we are stuffing all of the families outside that form factor into 3 bedroom houses because there is a massive shortage of everything else. They are inefficient users of land and largely a waste of time for DINKies or empty nesters or even solo parents.

      For people in their first decade(s) of work, most don’t have kids these days until they are close to 30 or above. There is a pretty large shortage of the inner suburb apartments (with parking for weekend cars and public transport for the commute) that they want.

      Similarly those people who have had kids, or like me and Lyn have had none at all, and who don’t need or want a 3 bedroom house. How in the hell would we ever have time to maintain it.

      At most we’d like a 2 bedroom apartment at about 75 sq m with no internal stairs – something that is almost impossible to find in Auckland outside of the luxury apartments in Parnell or downtown.

      It is the mixture of housing that is wrong in Auckland as well as the public transport systems.

      • Sacha 1.1.1

        I’m saddened by the lazy rentier-capitalism tendency here. It does not bode well for New Zealand.

        It is far easier for property developers to stick to sprawling single level dwellings and get the Council to pay for most of the infrastructure, with a token ‘development contribution’ to add a park or two and maybe a local library. Who cares if another big motorway, business park or sewage plant is needed, right?

        Naturally, our current government is outraged by that unreasonable imposition on the freedom of capitalism and they will put an end to it shortly, along with other features of the Resource Management Act that reigned in the worst of our incompetent business sector.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2

      Thought the right-wingers were all about choice?

      Don’t be silly. The political-right are about giving the illusion of choice while actually preventing anyone from having a choice and that lack of choice will result in higher profits for the private sector. As lprent says in the article:

      In effect it amounts to a subsidy that the National government is forcing on taxpayers and ratepayers to pay for greenfield developers and their affluent (because who else can pay for the long car commutes?) customers and a boon for their donating buddies in the car and roading industries.

      National, as they’ve shown time and time again, will always find a way to subsidise the rich from everyone else’s taxes.

  2. srylands 2

    It would be very sad it PT patronage wasn’t growing given the amount that has been spent on it.

    But as the NZIER made clear last week, the future is in private cars, and ride sharing. Investment in Auckland rail is not smart.

    Over the next 30 years there will be more cars, and people will live ever further from their work places – i.e longer commutes – mostly by road.

    You should read the report if you have not already done so.

    http://tinyurl.com/pdne9t9

    • Sacha 2.1

      Way more has been spent supporting non-public transport modes over many decades, and more to come as governments like this one prioritise sprawl that we all get to pay for. But don’t let that disturb your ideological fantasies about ‘freedom’ and self-driving cars, etc.

    • lprent 2.2

      NZIER pretty much produce what they are paid for. In this case who did pay for it? The roading lobby probably by the look of it.

      The idiots who wrote that report are basing most of it on the type of technology that hasn’t been even remotely taken to implementation phase. If you hunt around you can find virtually the same kind of reports from the 1960s predicting much the same kinds of things by the 1990s.

      Unlike you (clearly you don’t write code or work as an engineer), I actually work on technology that does this kind of stuff. Just not for cars. I think that from what I know of the current state of robotised technology (which is what this is), we are about 20 years away from proving it for the type of wide scale release required for driverless cars.

      FFS I have been watching Auckland coop taxi’s introduction and development of their dispatch technology for their taxis for more than 20 years. I’d have to say that is a sobering experience for a techhead like me. They have a web and app hooked to the GPS in the cars and it sometimes works. But trying to book a taxi in central Auckland at rush hour is often a horrendous experience. And each tech update causes massive resistance from those who have to purchase them.

      Technologies like this take many decades to implement and they seldom work if there are existing incremental alternatives available.

      For instance where in the hell are these things meant to park and recharge after the rush hours? The authors of this fluff piece expect that somehow the existing parking will handle it. FFS Parking is at a premium in all locations that people are meant to go to with the cars at present, and there is no spare space to fill between parked cars now. So who is going to pay for the parking buildings?

      Has anyone figured up how much the grid would have to be increased in urban areas to just handle the charge costs during the day.

      The nett effect is that there will have to be an immense capital injection to put in the infrastructure

      However, if we assume that it does miraculously happen, then all of the things that they are describing apply even more for improving *public* transport than they do for private transport.

      Basically this economics science fantasy is a just a diversion that any engineer will take one look at and just start ignoring.

      But even as economics, it doesn’t make sense. They are comparing the upgrade costs for installing a previously inadequate public transport infrastructure with a sunk cost system (motorways). So naturally being liars with numbers they use compare a low capacity startup system with a already saturated existing system.

      Of course the per passenger costs on public transport are high. Just as the odd car travelling down the north western motorway after it was built had massive per passenger cost. The cost per unit goes down because the fixed costs are spread further as the number of trips go up. That is obvious in their graphs but the inadequate author who wrote it somehow managed to not point that obvious point out

      Basically Nick Allison, the author, is a technological idiot and I’d have to say that he appears to be useless at economics as well.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.3

      But as the NZIER made clear last week, the future is in private cars, and ride sharing. Investment in Auckland rail is not smart.

      About the only thing that the NZIER made clear last week was that they’re a bunch of idiots who haven’t got a clue about what they’re talking about.

      • lprent 2.3.1

        Yep that was my assessment as well. You notice that it was entitled as a “NZIER public discussion paper”. Not even a report. The overall quality reminded me more of a intern level…

        Umm reminds me I have to shepherd one of them tomorrow…

  3. srylands 3

    and BTW the changes you cite are large percentage changes on tiny numbers. All the Aucklanders I know – except for people who are too young to drive – wouldn’t be seen dead on a bus. That won’t change. PT will be useful for small numbers of people, mainly the poor who can’t afford cars. But in the long run it will be cheaper for the rest of us to buy them cars!

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1

      Rambling libertarian rejects* reality. Read all about it.

      S Rylands thinks no-one here can see what effect building more roads has. Or perhaps he can cite somewhere on Earth where reality conforms to his paycheck.

      *and peddles trite sophistry to right wing politicians, seemingly oblivious to the hypocrisy of a libertard sucking on the public teat.

    • McFlock 3.2

      You might exclusively associate with fuckwits when you visit NZ, but almost 15 million passenger trips in the year to oct ’14 suggest that you didn’t fucking read the post.

    • Sacha 3.3

      Most major cities in the world feature a wide range of people on their public transit networks.

      Auckland had a tram network until the 1950s that supported over 100,000,000 trips per year – until a National government in bed with foreign oil companies gutted it. We still haven’t got back to that level yet, despite a hugely-increased population.

    • lprent 3.4

      srylands enhances his reputation as an delusional fool. Go and have a look in Auckland buses and trains. For that matter look in Wellington or Melbourne ones.

      Young people (by my standards) are overwhelmingly the people who are in them.

    • Tracey 3.5

      now our australian resident pretending to also live on the kapiti coast is an expert on auckland travel habits in the city…

    • Draco T Bastard 3.6

      But in the long run it will be cheaper for the rest of us to buy them cars!

      60 people traveling on the motorway. 72 by bus, 72 by car. The 72 by bus use 20 tonnes of material in the bus and about double the fuel of a single car or around 1/10th of the fuel per passenger of a car with one person in it. The 72 by car use 72 tonnes of material in the cars and a lot more fuel. Those 72 cars would also use a lot more resources being transported around the as well.

      From this we can see that it’s far cheaper to have everyone using the buses for free than it would be to buy everyone a car.

      That’s real economics rather than the delusional bullshit taught in school and university.

    • lprent 3.7

      But in the long run it will be cheaper for the rest of us to buy them cars!

      Not really. Here is the fastest way to reduce congestion on the roads… Same number of people in several different modes of transport.

      Seems pretty simple to me. Simple enough that even you could get it…

  4. karol 4

    Most major cities in the world feature a wide range of people on their public transit networks.

    And so it is in Auckland. I can afford a car. But I prefer to use public transport as much as possible. At peak times, it’s much better on a bus or train from West Auckland – can read etc, instead of sitting in a car, having to pay constant attention as the queue of traffic inches down the road.

    And people on the North Shore – not known as the poorest area of Auckland, are increasingly using the busway. It’s great in peak times – bus whizzes down the bus lane past all those poor people stuck in the slow moving traffic on the motorway.

    slylands:

    PT will be useful for small numbers of people, mainly the poor who can’t afford cars.

    hhahahaha… in Auckland it’s the opposite. Many people out west say they put up with the slow car commute because it’s cheaper than using public transport.

    • lprent 4.1

      How? They must have a source of really cheap parking…

      Where I work outside the CBD, you can still get all-day parking for $8/day. But the prices in town and in the main urban centres around the city are rapidly passing $15 for earlybird.

      When I was looking at jobs out in Albany, the main reason I didn’t take a proffered job was because there was simply no parking when I went to the interviews and it was too damn far to walk from the bus station.

      In my tech area, most of the work is steadily moving back into near to central city because otherwise they can’t get techheads willing to work for them. It simply costs too much to take a car because of parking anywhere and it is too aggravating driving.

      • karol 4.1.1

        Well, that’s what they say. But maybe they get some cheap parking for their work. Next time someone says it, I’ll ask. There’s been at least one person on TS say that they drive to the CBD fro m west Auckland because it’s cheaper.

        Mind you, the trek from Swanson/Ranui to the CBD is quite expensive by public transport and quite time consuming. But I don’t know how people put up with the daily car commute.

        • Tracey 4.1.1.1

          didnt transport blog recently do an analysis of car plus parking versus public transport out west?

        • adam 4.1.1.2

          The price for the train in west Auckland is silly, the zones are all FUBAR. There is one ride which is a 5 station ride which cost $5. Baldwin road to fruitvale road. Which is ironic, I argued against zones at the last round of submissions – saying it has silly anomalies and will stifle growth in passenger numbers. Glad to see passenger numbers are still growing, but they need to now remove the zone barrier and follow South Australia into a single flat fare.

          • karol 4.1.1.2.1

            Yes, the zone boundary is at Fruitvale. So it’s cheaper for me to walk to New Lynn Station from where I live, even though Frutivale is closer. At least, it was cheaper, before I got my gold card.

            The gold card is a major incentive to use public transport (after 9am weekdays, all times at weekends). I think the idea of free, or very cheap public transport for all should be looked at. The Greens’ policy of Green Cards for free travel, off peak times, for students and apprentices is an excellent one.

            • adam 4.1.1.2.1.1

              I do have to laugh a lot though, even with these silly blocks, like overpriced fairs, and delays in developments – Public transport keeps growing. Even if half the money needed was put into the system, public transport would flourish.

              The fair system, and the continued rises under the super city does annoy me though. A flat rate, with cheaper rates for students, apprentices, elderly, mothers, and disabled would be the way forward.

              Actually for disabled, the current put the cripple through the wringer system to get a discount pass is off putting at best (I was going to write rude words here). I know many, myself included, who won’t be put through that system again – because it is painful and some what degrading. For example asking people with no legs if they now have legs, – or blind people if they can now see – Or if you have a degenerative condition, if there has been some regeneration? So polite, such a nice way to have a dig.

              As a friend said, they would rather spend millions on remodeling cars so disabled can drive, than spend a few thousand creating disabled friendly public transport options.

      • Sacha 4.1.2

        “In my tech area, most of the work is steadily moving back into near to central city because otherwise they can’t get techheads willing to work for them”

        This is really important. In creative industries relying on staff who are globally in demand, lifestyle and professional enrichment count. If a worker can’t easily be part of communities that count to them for both work and play, then they will live in any other world city.

    • Tracey 4.2

      also, the misinformation about the loop is scary. at the moment trains bottleneck at britomart which is what prevents the trains running more often than they do now.

      this govt stubbornly sticks to urban sprawl housing without the associated piblic transport.

  5. Tracey 5

    was at te ata tu penninsula yesterday. leaving aside the plethora of leaky homes it is a prime example of urban sprawl without PT. the waterview tunnel wont remove the fundamental problem in aucklans sprawl… by tge time you drive twenty mins to the train, coupled with longer train gaps cos of britomart bottleneck, you might as well drive

    • karol 5.1

      When I drive down through Waterview during the morning peak time, I despair. How is that upgrade going to improve the gridlock of cars queuing back through Avondale to New Lynn, in order to get on to the motorway?

      Te Atatu needs a busway like the North Shore. Funny how the wealthiest suburbs got a busway long before the (what was once) working class suburb of Te Atatu Peninsular?

      • Tracey 5.1.1

        been thinking the same thing. it will give people a better west to south drive off peak BUT wont change much of the trip to the city.

        did the harbourview walk yesterday… today i drove past the ngapipi rd walkway and road repair in orakei. my partner and i commented on the huge difference in quality between the remuera orakei effort and the waitakere one.

        you also cant drive fifty metres these days in mt eden epsom remuera for judder bars… safety of children much more important in that part of town?

    • Sacha 5.2

      The redesigned bus network in 2016 will change that equation – a bus close to your home every 10 minutes, connecting to the nearest station on the rapid network, then shuttling back to do the same again rather that sitting in that traffic glugging towards the cbd.

      Just need to make sure we build more rapid network services and infrastructure like the Northwestern and Dominion Road busways rather than silly and expensive 1950s motorway frills like building a cloverleaf interchange for Albany, 4-laning Mills Road in Manukau (or adding a daft flyover for the Wellington mid-city Basin, for that matter).

      • Tracey 5.2.1

        my partner is from christchurch but has now lived in auckland for twenty three years. about twenty years ago, or so, we made a joint submission to auckland council about considering turning sandringham and dominion roads into one way streets to ease congestion.

  6. halfcrown 6

    We live south of the Bombay’s (Waikato). Both of us are very seriously thinking of using the rail network next time we visit Auckland. Can anyone tell us which is the best station to drive to and then park our car We were thinking of Pupakura, but if someone has a better suggestion it would be appreciated.

    Ta.

    • Tracey 6.1

      pukekohe is the farthest out of auckland, i think papakura is next. if you come on a weekday park at pukekohe then you miss the afternoon congestion coming back from papakura to drury.

    • tc 6.2

      Just check they go regularly to pukekohe or papakura may be a better option as time is time whether it’s in traffic or on a train.

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    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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
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  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • 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. ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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