Open mike 03/07/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 55 comments
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55 comments on “Open mike 03/07/2015 ”

  1. Tautoko Mangō Mata 1

    Joe Biden’s message is a blatant push for NZ to sign TPPA.

    “New Zealand has never been a more “consequential” partner of the United States than now, says US vice-president Joe Biden in a video recording to mark a US Independence Day celebration in Wellington tonight hosted by US ambassador Mark Gilbert.
    Mr Biden made a special mention of the work the two countries are doing to get the Trans Pacific Partnership deal among 12 countries completed.
    “Our nations, the United States and New Zealand and our people have always been bound together by the common commitment to a more democratic, open and prosperous and secure world,” he said “and as we continue our nation’s rebalance strategy in the Asia Pacific region, partners like New Zealand have never been more consequential.
    “Nowhere is that more clear than in the remarkable progress we have made together in the Trans Pacific Partnership.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11474848

    “consequential” – as in consequential threats of suing NZ by large multicorporations under the Investor State Dispute Settlement part of the TPPA?

    “more democratic”: like people only being able to make submissions AFTER the TPPA is signed and only at the discretion of the select committee in the 15 days before Cabinet can sign it off is more democratic??.
    http://itsourfuture.org.nz/explanation-of-nzs-treaty-making-process/

    “open” – as in the proposed TPPA text being available to the public and not just the interested multicorporations and to be kept secret for 4 years after signing???

    “prosperous” – as in the nonexistent cost benefit analysis of TPPA for NZ?

    “secure world” – as exemplified by Iraq where the current situations resulting from .US foreign policy.

  2. James Thrace 2

    I see the press council found against the NZ Herald and their atrocious behaviour against Amanda Bailey.

    • odot 2.1

      I feel that these points were critical in this judgement: (taken from the herald story http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11475095):

      “• The Herald columnist, Rachel Glucina, had misrepresented as PR rather than newsgathering the basis on which she was conducting the interview that led to the article (subterfuge).

      • The columnist’s and her brother’s connections with the cafe owners and the columnist’s connection with John Key were not disclosed (conflict of interest).”

      I have just one follow up question about this: did the herald specifically send Glucina to cover this story because of her affiliation with the PM? Because if so, that makes Glucinas’ bosses as implicit in this complete f*** up of a piece of ‘journalism.’

      At the end of the day, once Glucina found out the facts behind this story, she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest. That would have been the professional and non-deceitful thing to do…

      • Charles 2.1.2

        “…she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest…”

        That would still have been conflict of interest. Parsing a string of facts automatically includes bias of the person arranging the information. So unless she gave a string of facts to the “disinterested collegue”:

        Couch
        House parnell
        27 year old woman
        man
        talk
        etc etc…

        It would be the same story. She could only have said to someone not working for the Herald, “Hey look over there, that’s a story!” The editor of the Herald immediately saw the problem and tried to cover it up, in real time, what was it… four times?

        If the judgement (is accurately descibed and) says the employers were the Herald intermediary…

        • Said the Herald had spoken to the cafe owners in the early evening and while they said they had thought the article was for all media, they “were comfortable with the fact that they would appear in the paper the following day”. They were and remained the Herald’s intermediary with Ms Bailey, and were supplied with their (and her) quotes so that all could see what would be published the next day.

        Then the timeline of events means The Herald knew what Glucina was about to do before she did it. All the problem was, was that they weren’t smart enough to present the story without breaking rules of good journalism.

        It doesn’t much matter though. The horse has bolted. And if, say, your job at Gilmours is about to end for good in a few weeks, not only will you not give a shit about the finer points of journo-crapping, you already know how people with power lie. And nothing will save the reputation of the Herald now. People who read it by choice are too far gone to hear any sense.

    • tinfoilhat 2.2

      That’s not how I read it.

      From a quick review of the ruling it appears to me that the Press council have shamelessly protected their own apart from a token acceptance that there was a breach of principle 10 all other complaints haven’t been upheld, disgraceful.

      • Charles 2.2.1

        Yep, if you read the “discussion of conflict of interest”, so much was left out, it’s like they say, “We accept there is a foul odour in the room resembling shit, however we do not accept that we are ignoring a large turd somewhere nearby.” They simply shrug their shoulders and say, “There’s no way of knowing what was said by who to whom.” Quite the “investigation”.

    • ianmac 3.1

      Never mind Nigel. Serco is different in NZ. Our immensely competent Ministers would never enter into any dodgy contracts with Serco. Trust them? Sure can! Huh!

  3. Charles 4

    If only we were dogs, it would be so easy to be happy, happy, happeeey

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-5r-adQcwE

    I only realised The Juliana Hatfield Three had released a “new” album, yesterday. Where have I been hiding?

  4. Molly 5

    Herald headlines: Entrepreneur Mum makes flying visit.

    The article burbles a bit about how a Google executive is a mother AND won an award a Viaduct ceremony last night, in its usual patronising manner. Most wouldn’t even know her name – even after reading the article.

    But, hey, the supreme award was won by some woman called Helen Clark.
    “Kea chief executive Craig Donaldson labelled her a “remarkable and inspiring Kiwi” who was making her mark on the global stage while maintaining close links to home.”

    I’m sure the editors had wished that there was some instantly recognisable name to headline that article…. oh, how disappointing for them…

  5. Adrian 6

    Thanks for the Guardian link Nigel, great read. After 2 months on and off in England The Guardian was such a breath of fresh air each morning especially after the pap that passes for journalism here. If only…….

    • vaughan little 6.1

      the guardian has an interesting history. you should check out its founding story some time.

  6. Sabine 7

    Why would our National Government give this company any more money? How many blind trusts hold shares in Serco?

    http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/serco-rupert-soames-outsourcing-privatisation?CMP=fb_gu

    ————————————————————————————–
    The trouble started in the spring. A young civil servant, a fast-streamer in the Ministry of Justice, noticed strange numbers in the documents submitted by Serco and G4S (another large outsourcing company) as the firms prepared to renew two electronic tagging contracts that they held with the British government. Since 2005, the two companies had earned around £700m from monitoring thousands of criminals, suspects and recently released convicts via tracking devices attached to their ankles – a practice introduced by the Home Office to reduce prison costs in 1999. But according to the junior civil servant, whose findings were initially dismissed, they were overcharging the state.

    The paperwork that embodies government outsourcing, the physical contracts themselves, tells you a lot about how vexatious the whole business is. Capturing exactly what the state wants done on its behalf – the running of a railway system, the rehabilitation of prisoners – can produce dizzying piles of paper for even mundane tasks. The government chivvies its contractors to do a thousand things correctly. Private companies seek to minimise their risks, and ensure a quiet profit at the end of the day. Everyone covers their arse furiously. The documents that emerge are hundreds of pages long, dense with KPIs (key performance indicators) and SLAs (service level agreements) and kept secret from the customers – us, the public – whom they are supposed to benefit. Once they are signed, they are rarely looked at again.

    For the tagging contracts, it was decided that it was up to the crown, and not G4S or Serco, to decide when individuals should be fitted with a tag. This made sense, but it gave rise to an aberration. The companies came to regard monitoring cases as open or closed on the basis of letters they received from the courts and prisons, rather than anything to do with the physical fitting or taking off of tags. They billed the state until they had a document telling them not to, even if the subjects had died, disappeared or were no longer wearing a tag. G4S’s computers were set to continue billing to 2020; Serco’s to the year 3000.

    ———————————————————————————————————-

    .

  7. ianmac 9

    A very sad accident in Ashburton?
    “A mother and three children may have died from the fumes of a car left running in the garage to keep the battery “ticking over”.

    • Hateatea 9.1

      I saw and heard the Fire Command Centre truck go screaming past at 4.30 yesterday and have been following this as information emerged. Truly sad 🙁

      Last night’s coverage by TV3 was appalling presenting a rumour as fact. I thought Stuff and TVNZ were more cautious in their reporting. This is sad enough without sections of the media making things up or speculating out loud.

  8. Philip Ferguson 10

    Some views from inside Syriza in Greece about the current situation, the important referendum on austerity on Sunday, etc:
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/eyewitness-in-greece-we-need-a-no-vote/

  9. Philip Ferguson 11

    Fonterra showing once again that NZ employers are just as bad as ‘foreign’ ones: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/fonterra-treating-workers-like-cattle/

    • Draco T Bastard 11.1

      All employers are just as bad as each other and they’re all bad for society. This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.

      • adam 11.1.1

        Could not agree more Draco T Bastard.

      • TheContrarian 11.1.2

        Speak for yourself – my current employer is great.

        But Draco, if you want to start a co-op work-place you have every right to start one. Make sure you don’t do it at an orchard though – because orchard workers are stupid and pig ignorant.

        • Draco T Bastard 11.1.2.1

          Oh, I’m sure that a co-op of teenagers would do wonders working an orchard. Great short term learning experience for them. But you’re right – it would be stupid for me, or anybody my age, to be an orchard worker as it would be a waste of the education and experience I have. That would be in the general nature of a 40+ year old person doing basic manual labour.

          BTW, that guy isn’t pig ignorant because he’s an orchard worker but because he obviously hasn’t educated himself beyond what he learned at high school and indications are that he failed that as well.

          Now fuck off troll.

          • McFlock 11.1.2.1.1

            Have you ever worked in an orchard?

            Because it’s not just picking and thinning. You’d be amazed at how much folk need to know about the life cycle of fungi, hazmat handling, bureaucratic processes, and so on.

            And then of course when I had a short stint thinning fruit in an orchard, I also had the impulse in the off-time to read plato (sort of the flipside of now where I sit on my arse all day using my brain on abstractions, so tend to have more physical and creative hobbies of an evening, TS notwithstanding).

            I’m not saying the guy is an autodidactic polymath, but I suspect that his role on the orchard involves more knowledge and creativity in a wider range of subjects than being a corporate-trained lower-middle manager.

            • weka 11.1.2.1.1.1

              what guy are you talking about?

              • McFlock

                The father of that kid who got suspended for making that speech about teachers. DTB has a bee in his bonnet that orchard workers over 30 must be idiots, or something.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Didn’t you get the memo? The stupid idiot wasn’t suspended.

                  Oh, and BTW fuckwit, I haven’t mentioned 30s anywhere.

                  • McFlock

                    Meh – whatever. It was totally the most important story of the day to get the details right on. /sarc

                    As for mentioning the thirties, that’s true: you referred to it as “doing the job of someone in their teens”, so anyone working in an orchard in their twenties is also “pretty much” stupid from the world-weary perspective of some dude who was a manager at mcdonalds once or something. /sarc

                    But then nothing ever changes in six months in an orchard, spring is the same as summer and autumn is the same as winter. /sarc

                    By the way, I made sure to tag each paragraph as sarcastic, just so the sarcasm didn’t slip passed your piercing analytical skills on this issue. /sarc

            • Draco T Bastard 11.1.2.1.1.2

              So, I take it that you choose it as a lifetime career then? Just as I wouldn’t and I expect nobody else to either and for the same reasons: 1) You’d get bored in six months because nothing ever changes and 2) It’s physically damaging to you and thus likely significantly decreasing your enjoyment of later life.

              • McFlock

                Funnily enough, I was sort of shit at it. Either thinned too much so the branch was in danger of dying, or too little so it was in danger of breaking and would produce substandard fruit. But the workplace was absolutely beautiful.

                The workers who weren’t seasonals (students or holidayists on the piss at night) did actually know their shit. Latin names and everything, if that sort of thing rocks your world.

                But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.

                • TheContrarian

                  “But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.”

                  Of course Draco has an idea, his crowning achievement is managing a McD’s once. Which for some reason makes him think he can insult others for being orchard workers.

              • bored in 6 months and physically damaging? – being an orchard worker is not like sitting in an unnatural position at a desk for hours under artificial light sucking in air conditioned exhales doing ‘work’ that bores in 1 month and mentally and physically damages many, but each to their own. We will need many orchard workers not too far in the future.

              • weka

                Draco, I think you are way off base here. I have a friend in her 30s who loves orchard work. She’s fairly high up the chain now because she’s learned the skills to get the better job, but because it’s a small orchard that means lots of manual labour. This is skilled, knowledgeable work. There are other things she might choose to do for the long term if she lived somewhere else but this is the good job that is available to her where she lives and she lives there out of choice i.e. she’s not going to move somewhere else to chase a career.

                I’ve also known older people who do seasonal orcharding work because it means they can work when they want and have long periods of time in the year when they don’t have to work. When I did some fruit picking when I was 20, the work was paid by how much you picked and it was the older people who made the most money by a long shot. Experience and wisdom outstripped young bodies.

                I wouldn’t generalise from all that. There are people whose bodies get wrecked, and there are people who find the work boring. But you can’t generalise it in the way you do either.

                • TheContrarian

                  It’s not just “way off base”. It’s insulting, presumptuous, classless, arrogant and snobbish.

          • TheContrarian 11.1.2.1.2

            I’m just going to leave this here:
            http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01072015/#comment-1037643

            Basically you don’t shit about the faimly, the man, the daughter, anything outside what you have read in The Herald yet you feel you are justified in insulting someone based upon their job title and what their daughter said. Basically that makes you a fucking asshole.

        • Molly 11.1.2.2

          … likely the result of hiring and training practices, and a fundamental knowledge of what exploitation is occurring…

      • weka 11.1.3

        “This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.”

        How would that work? I can think of lots of situations where a cooperative model would be good, but also some where it wouldn’t eg a situation where a single person owns a business and employs people on a seasonal basis.

        edit, would be interested to know how the orchard one would work too. Is that a cooperatively run team that gets contracted into whatever orchard is needed?

        • Draco T Bastard 11.1.3.1

          a situation where a single person owns a business and employs people on a seasonal basis.

          I don’t think anybody should be able to own a business, not even shares in a business, as it’s little better than outright slavery.

          The business would be a separate legal entity that would be run cooperatively by the people who work there. People brought in short term would have an equivalent say in the running of the business.

  10. half crown 12

    Is this the real reason why Key is so keen on the stupid flag referendum?

    http://www.postmanproductions.org/?p=3153

  11. adam 13

    I don’t know what say – Sad, just really sad. I would not wish this upon any family.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/69932917/adelaide-crows-coach-phil-walsh-found-dead-in-his-home

  12. Barbara 14

    Has anybody noticed lately how The Listener has been slowly sanitised. We now have a lifestyle magazine filled with leader stories about health, health and more health, food columns, films and movies and other useless fluff. Once it was a great read full of critical analysis and information that was really informative. Jane Clifton’s weekly column was pithy and tongue in cheek about the “goings on” in the house with the two main parties and now all you read about is anything but. The media seems to be giving the government of the day a hell of a wide berth. Mark Sainsbury was filling in for Jane Clifton’s political column in the latest Listener and he burbled on about Colin Craig, NZ First and the Greek crisis. Nothing that could rock the boat.

    Now we can have major legislation passed and nobody ever hears anything about it – the MSM offers nothing that is important with their news programmes, the Listener has abdicated its role as well so where do we turn to, to get relevant information which is our right in a democratic country – we may as well have no news and current affairs on at all, as we never hear the important stuff which is going to affect each and every one of us.

    Democracy has disappeared in this once lovely country – I am old and feel very worried for the younger generations as they have no experience of our country when citizens could participate in the democratic process, were not kept in ignorance and newspapers did their jobs properly – they will never know how good we once had it – now the ballet box is nothing but a farce.

    • John Shears 14.1

      Thanks Barbara what a sad story about our wonderful country.

    • weka 14.2

      I stopped reading the Listener quite some years ago (which was a big deal having read it all my life). There was a big change after the 90s (around the time that Gordon Campbell left), when it stopped printing the cutting edge political articles. Much later I realised I was only reading it for the TV pages and reviews and I could access that kind of content online. It’s a magazine for people that like Jim Mora and The Panel 😉 (i.e. it suits people who want their middle class values or prejudices affirmed).

      I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.

    • Anne 14.3

      Now we can have major legislation passed and nobody ever hears anything about it – the MSM offers nothing that is important with their news programmes… we may as well have no news and current affairs on at all, as we never hear the important stuff which is going to affect each and every one of us.

      Absolutely Barbara. I stopped reading The Listener a long time ago because of the obvious bias and sanitation. In the past couple of months it has been particularly noticeable that the MSM, in all its forms, appear to be avoiding contentious political issues or reporting on them in a weak and non-informative way. And this at a time when we have been confronted by one government initiated scandal after another!

      I have also thought about commenting here because my “conspiracy detector” is getting very twitchy. What is going on? Is the MSM being overtly or perhaps covertly threatened in some way? Only yesterday there was talk on this site about the fact a couple of major news outlets in NZ have received “threatening letters” about a certain issue which has links to an arm of government. It does not auger well for the health of our democracy.

      Edit: Just noticed weka’s comment: blockquote>I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.

      This is what I suspect is happening. The journos and reporters are being told what… and what not to say.

      • Anne 14.3.1

        Ran out of time: Edit should read

        I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.

        This is what I suspect is happening. The journos and reporters are being told what… and what not to report.

    • greywarshark 14.4

      One front cover some years back on the trends in interior decorating and I thought Oh no, that’s the finish. Now it appeals to the university trained man, or woman particularly, with conventional middle class concerns about being naice, prosperous and looking stylish and being well informed to match ‘the sort we want to mix with’.

    • greywarshark 14.5

      Keep listening and watching what goes on at Radionz. If we don’t watch that continually, we will turn around and find that it has been given up to the trivially minded like the commercial stations. I love RNZs end of the week funny nutty session at 11.45 am but it is good just because it’s not like that all the time.

      And who is taking part in the RNZ Talk discussions? Really if you don’t try to be involved in what is good, it won’t stay around and wait for you. If you don’t know how to access it, ask and I’ll explain how I do it. It is a new venture for them, and the more used, the more it will be kept and make Radionz stronger.

  13. Penny Brright 15

    PROTEST! 4 July Independence from USA / TPPA CORPORATE CONTROL of NZ!

    Send US Vice-President Joe Biden back a message he cannot ignore!

    US Vice-President Joe Biden has sent an unprecedented
    message to New Zealanders

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/69910752/us-vicepresident-joe-biden-sends-nz-an-independence-day-message

    Thinking, aware New Zealanders don’t want a BAR of the TPPA and corporate enslavement of our country and our people!

    SEIZE THE MOMENT!!

    STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!!

    NO! NO! NO WAY JOE!
    THE TPPA HAS GOT TO GO!

    WHEN: Saturday 4 July 2015

    TIME: 3 – 5pm

    WHERE: Outside US Consulate
    23 Customs Street
    Auckland City

    _______________________________________________

    Please come if you care and SHARE this post!

    (Forwarded by Penny Bright)

  14. millsy 16

    A small town has a big vision to close the digital divide and it gets chopped thanks to petty small minded-ness. Wairoa was going to implement town wide free wifi, which would have made internet a public utility and allowed those low incomes to access this service. But the rednecks poured cold water on it.

    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11475216

    It goes to show that everytime local government tries to build somehing up, they get hammered.

    • Charles 16.1

      “The Wairoa branch of Federated Farmers said it was a service which “should be left to the market to determine”.”

      I can’t figure out if they mean they approved of the idea, process and it’s subsequent scrapping (because it sounds like “the market” determined it was unwanted), or if they didn’t approve of the idea, or the process and would prefer people pay a private company, individually, for everything (their definition of “the market”). I guess we’ll never know.

      • millsy 16.1.1

        Well if it was free irrigation, then FF would be backing it 200%, that’s for sure.

        Meanwhile, the left wing Madrid (or is that Barcelona?) mayor announces plan to reverse her predecessor’s act of naming a public square in honour of Margaret Thatcher.

        Oh I wish we had hard core progressive left wing local body leaders…

      • Descendant Of Sssmith 16.1.2

        It would be a major step forward if all the government funding going into internet infrastructure was conditional upon all areas and citizens receiving a free wi-fi broadband allowance of up to 1 gig per day.

        Providers can then just compete for those who need more than that.

        It would be great if all NZer’s had free internet for everyday use.

        Would be a great leveler between the haves and the have nots and would create much more equity of opportunity for all.

        If I’m not going to hit my limit for the month I quite often take off my security for neighbours to use the excess til the end of the billing month.

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    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
    24 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 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
    6 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
    8 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
    8 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
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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