Open mike 06/10/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 6th, 2015 - 49 comments
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49 comments on “Open mike 06/10/2015 ”

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  1. Tony Veitch 1
    6 October 2015 at 6:32 am

    It is with considerable regret that I have to inform the New Zealand public that its democracy contracted a wasting disease overnight. Dissolution is inevitable, but the disease is likely to be a protracted one. There is no known cure, once infected, except by really radical surgical means, which will, unfortunately, not be undertaken in the near future.
    At the moment, the patient is seemingly doing well, but this insidious disease will progressively sap the sovereignty from the body corporate, until only a skeleton remains.
    R.I.P.

    • mickysavage 1.1
      6 October 2015 at 6:45 am

      Well put!

    • Matthew Hooton 1.2
      6 October 2015 at 7:26 am

      Except that NZ can withdraw from the “disease” as you call it, whenever we like. Will be interesting to hear from Andrew Little whether or not he intends to activate the withdrawal procedures if (a) the thing is actually ratified and (b) he becomes prime minister. No doubt he’ll waffle because the real answer is no.

      • mickysavage 1.2.1
        6 October 2015 at 7:31 am

        Why give lawyers the ability to sue states and rule on trade disputes between corporates and states. Terrible rapacious bunch they (we) are this is bound to end in tears …

        • Matthew Hooton 1.2.1.1
          6 October 2015 at 7:34 am

          To avoid a repeat of the apple situation, where Jenny Shipley wouldn’t back growers’ WTO case against Australia. It took Helen Clark to accept their representations the case should go ahead. I guess this was one of the reasons she included ISDS in her China FTA.

    • Reddelusion 1.3
      6 October 2015 at 8:57 am

      Take a breath Tony

  2. UglyTruth 2
    6 October 2015 at 7:21 am

    As far as New Zealand is concerned, the TPPA is based on fraud.

    The Crown has no mandate to legislate in New Zealand because the sovereignty of parliament is a fiction. The Crown insinuates that sovereignty means accountability, but sovereignty is based on virtue in relation to deity. The Crown also lies about the role of deity in law, describing the common law as case law when the common law has a theistic origin from the time of King Alfred the Great, who began his judgments, called dooms, with a Saxon version of the ten commandments.

    This situation is compounded by the fact that Crown employees such as politicians and judges swear an oath of allegiance to a head of state who holds the title of “Supreme Governor” of the Church of England”, applying an act of religion to endorse a secular state which misleads people about the role of deity in law and consequently injures their natural rights, treating them as persons with no such rights.

  3. AsleepWhileWalking 3
    6 October 2015 at 7:29 am

    Enviromentalists, alternative music, and radicalised (weaponised?) children linked to terrorism.

    http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/09/24/the-australian-government-proclaims-environmentalism-and-alternative-music-are-signs-of-terrorism/

  4. Tautoko Mangō Mata 4
    6 October 2015 at 7:31 am

    Compare and contrast:

    1. “Hard sell tipped to follow TPP deal”
    Government has PR campaign ready to go but hoped-for gold-plated agreement on dairy fails to happen.
    By Audrey Young

    “Trade Minister Tim Groser will be heading back to New Zealand from the United States today to begin the hard sell on the deal, which has to be turned into text and released within 30 days.

    It is understood the Government has a public relations programme ready outlining in detail how it believes New Zealand will be better off in the deal, not outside it.

    It does not intend to leave a vacuum for the next month for opponents to fill.

    The most contentious part of the deal is the Investor State Dispute Procedure, however Mr Groser has remained confident the detail of the agreement will allay people’s fears on that score.

    It is thought New Zealand has had to settle for something akin to a bronze deal on dairy products rather than the gold-plated one it insisted early in the negotiations that it would get.

    But the overall deal will be sold to the public on the basis of better-than-hoped-for gains in other sectors.

    The Government has already said an increase in costs for pharmaceuticals as a result of IP changes under TPP would be met by the Government, not patients.

    Mr Groser, a former professional trade negotiator, has played a pivotal role in the negotiations, led by US Trade Representative Mike Froman. The three most difficult issues in the end were the patents on biologics, medicines made from living organisms, rules of origin for vehicles, and dairy access.

    Before talks on dairy intensified yesterday, he told the Herald the negotiations had “the smell of a situation we occasionally see which is that on the hardest core issues, there are some ugly compromises out there”.

    That meant everyone had to eat “dead rats”.

    In the event of a failure at Atlanta, the talks could have gone another round at Apec in Manila, but the longer they dragged on, the closer it would get to the United States presidential contest and the more difficult it could be to get a deal through the US Congress.”
    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11524288

    2. TPP deal: New Zealand and 11 other countries strike Pacific trade pact
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11524395

    “There would be no change on the current patents for biologic medicines, although an extension on copyright by 20 years will be phased in.

    Groser said Pharmac’s decision-making would become more transparent and the measures would cost $4.5 million in the first year, then an added $2.2 million annually.

    But the Pharmac model would remain the same.”

    In Updated version:more detail,
    less emphasis on the hard sell aspect
    No mention of the ISDS*
    *Note that Pharmac will have to justify its decisions and this will open it up to the possibility of litigation.

    Read “Eli Lilly Raises Stakes: Says Canada Now Owes It $500 Million For Not Granting A Patent It Wanted ”
    https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130723/05101823898/eli-lilly-decides-it-was-not-greedy-enough-now-suing-canada-500-million.shtml

    **Eli Lilly operate in NZ https://www.lilly.co.nz/

    • Majic Mike 4.1
      6 October 2015 at 9:56 am

      I hope Tim Grosser didn’t forget to put in his order for tarrif free medical marijuana.

  5. amirite 5
    6 October 2015 at 7:33 am

    Wow what a deal! Sold our sovereignty and our public health system for – wait for it – 2 billion dollars a year we may reach by 2030! What a bargain for the big corps.

    • Matthew Hooton 5.1
      6 October 2015 at 7:35 am

      In what sense have we “sold our sovereignty and our public health system”? What do you mean by that?

      • weka 5.1.1
        6 October 2015 at 9:51 am

        The inability of NZ governments to restrict overseas land sales is a pretty big sovereignty issue. Just going off micky’s post, haven’t looked that up.

      • Majic Mike 5.1.2
        6 October 2015 at 10:20 am

        Matthew the TPPa prevents us from freely trading Dairying and Beef to their market’s.
        Prevents NZ from purchasing cheaper meds elsewhere.
        Stops us while allowing big Corporates to sue if a govt dept wants to buy locally.
        The US and Canadian govts are allowing open discussion before its put to the vote.
        National are using their minions to shut down open and fair debate.
        This will backfire and Key will flip flop because other govts are releasing information that will expose Key and Grosser weakness in getting a very poor deal for farmers and Pharmac.

        • Paul 5.1.2.1
          6 October 2015 at 10:24 am

          Matthew supports big Pharma

        • northshoredoc 5.1.2.2
          6 October 2015 at 11:32 am

          Your comments are just so wrong but just to take one

          “Prevents NZ from purchasing cheaper meds elsewhere.”

          Bullshit… the vast amount of our medicines come from outside of the TPPA countries now this will continue to be the case.

          • b waghorn 5.1.2.2.1
            6 October 2015 at 12:56 pm

            Please keep up the good work . it must be tough to bat away the same stuff every day.

  6. amirite 6
    6 October 2015 at 7:42 am

    More cost for Pharmac, which will be spread over by cuts to all health services to keep to the Budget, and the right of corps to sue NZ for lost profits.

  7. Morrissey 7
    6 October 2015 at 7:44 am

    “Well that’s what I mean by HYPERBOLE! … Here we go!”
    Note how dominant Hooton is, and how little Williams has to say.
    From the Left and From the Right, Radio NZ National, Monday 5 October 2015
    Kathryn Ryan, Matthew Hooton, Mike Williams

    Part 1 of 2

    “Hissy fit? You were listening to a different show.” *
    —- Matthew Hooton, 90 minutes later.

    First topic today: the TPPA. From the beginning, Hooton takes charge, as always, embarking on a long monologue full of P.R.-speak….

    MATTHEW HOOTON: ….. It’s about twenty-first century business, it’s about modern supply chain management, so it’s a different form from what, uh, y’know, we’re used to when we’re talking about the hangovers from the post-Second World War type GATT arrangements. Ummm, but they will be doing some details and they’ll be hoping that every i can be dotted and t crossed, to use the cliché, and then they’ll have their press conference and at some point we’ll see the text and THEN, ahhhhm, it’ll all begin again in the public domain. Because the chances of it being ratified by the U.S. Congress would have to be low, so there will be an almighty public debate involving every business, every union, every academic on one side or the other of this debate that will last probably for some more years.

    …[At this point Mike Williams makes his first contribution; he loudly clears his throat]….

    KATHRYN RYAN: Mike, it has to be today or it’s probably never going to happen, I think was the consensus wasn’t it. Because we know trade ministers have to head off to some other meeting somewhere, a G-8 or a G-20 meeting somewhere, and of course the big factor with the timing is whether, as Matthew has just alluded to, there is time for this to make its way through Congress before Obama’s time is up. Ahh, so what is your gut instinct on what’s happening right now?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Well I think, ahhm, SOMETHING will be announced at three o’clock. Um, if only because I think the ministers, a large proportion of the ministers, have got a meeting in Istanbul tomorrow. Be interesting to see WHAT is announced, umm, there was a leak about twenty-four hours ago that the Australians and the Americans had reached an agreement on biologicals, I think they’re called but this is in fact drugs. Ahhhm, whether there’s ANYTHING on dairy or not will be fascinating, and I think that the two holdouts there, who are the USA and Canada, are, frankly, unlikely to budge. Canada’s only three weeks—two weeks—off a general election with a very powerful dairy lobby, a very protected industry, so, y’know, it’s, it’s VERY interesting times and we have no idea what’s gonna come out.

    ……..

    KATHRYN RYAN: … The other sticking points have been the patents on the medicines…. This is not a small matter. I don’t wanna re-, y’know, re-debate this, but with the sheer volume of quite um, y’know, dramatic, um, ahhh, treatments that are coming, ahhh, on stream and the price impacts of an extended patent, that’s been another big factor. In the end, what is the debate gonna boil down to politically in New Zealand? Whether we got done on dairy, ahhhh, Mike? Whether we got, y’know, whether we got, on balance, a better deal when we instigated the whole damn thing effectively didn’t we! A better deal, a better situation than we’re in now.

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Well I, look, I think a lot of the heat’s gone out of this debate because of Helen Clark’s statement. Umm, she supported TPP very STRONGLY, and standing beside John Key—

    KATHRYN RYAN: Well was that HELPFUL at this time of the negotiations, to have a former prime minister saying New Zealand can’t NOT be in it? Was that a helpful intervention?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: It’s very interesting because there were two aspects to it. One, Helen Clark always was a committed free trader, I mean I watched debates in caucus on these issues, and she was very firm that free trade was a good deal for, ahhh, New Zealand, but she stepped out of her comfort zone, ‘cos she NORMALLY makes NO comments at all on New Zealand politics, and that, you could argue, is kind of international politics, but—

    KATHRYN RYAN: Hmmmm, this was also at the same time though, as negotiators and trade ministers were saying we’re not gonna sign a deal that doesn’t, y’know, doesn’t meet the threshold on dairy.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: This is her legacy. She launched these talks. I mean, the original Trans Pacific Partnership with um, y’know, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei, she launched, she completed. And then she lobbied very hard as prime minister to bring the United States in, which was always the plan. Umm, so this is her legacy as prime minister and it’s going to be an historic achievement for New Zealand if it, if it happens so I don’t think it would be surprising that she would have made those comments.

    KATHRYN RYAN: No, it’s more the timing of it was my point.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Well, yeah.

    KATHRYN RYAN: But I think there was also a caveat, if I’m correctly reading what I read from, um, Tim Groser, the caveat which didn’t necessarily make the soundbite, which is “If it is a good deal.” [giggles]

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Yeah, right.

    KATHRYN RYAN: Which is quite an important caveat.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: I think that what, I mean, I thought that in a few sentences, she cut through and made the case for this deal, ahh, in a way which the current prime minister has not really done in seven years. She made the case for why New Zealand should be part of this in principle, ahhh, and she did so very efficiently, and it’s very, how COULD you disagree with what she said? Umm, I know we’re going to be victims of massive hyperbole over the next twenty-four hours because the likes of Tim Groser, umm, y’know, this has been twenty years’ work for him. For all our diplomats, this has been New Zealand’s number one foreign policy objective for twenty years.

    KATHRYN RYAN: Yeah but the question is whether it leaves us net better off given how much we had already liberalized most of our economy—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Well this is—

    KATHRYN RYAN: And, and second—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: [impatiently] Yeah.

    KATHRYN RYAN: —the real gain for us was always going to be dairy. Are we in a better position—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: [in an impatient, peremptory tone] Dairy’s seven per cent of our economy. This is just the, the, the CARTOONISH way of presenting this. And it goes to what I said at the outset: this is not, this deal is not about putting unmodified commodities across borders. That is where trade negotiations were sixty years ago.

    KATHRYN RYAN: It’s also where our biggest exporter still is.

    MATTHEW HOOTON: It is our, it is a [sic] important export for New Zealand and it is seven per cent of the economy. What this is about—and it’s DWARFED by tourism, it’s increasingly DWARFED by other services, um, what this is about, and I think that this is why the critics are absolutely right when they say this is not a trade deal, and why, I think, in many ways, the supporters of the deal have not promoted this rationally and sensibly, because the whole thing is oh, y’know, “We’ll get better dairy access” and we hear from Malcolm Bailey and he’s on the delegation. What this is about is looking at the supply chain that starts from research and development and intellectual property and goes through to the final consumer behind the borders. And this is the first in the world, other than arguably the European Union, and some of APEC’s efforts, to say that international business is no longer about exporting things across borders.

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Mmmm.

    KATHRYN RYAN: Okay, it does say that. Then we have the other arguments, and PLEASE let’s not get bogged down again, but these arguments about sovereignty, you’re gonna have governments being sued in these international tribunals or worse, where they’ll just be delayed and public health policies they might introduce these kinds of things, so that’s where you get—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Well that’s what I mean by HYPERBOLE! So while Groser is—

    KATHRYN RYAN: Well it’s NOT hyperbole, it’s happening right now to Australia, over—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: It’s NOT happening.

    KATHRYN RYAN: The plain packaging is happening right now. Okay? And that is, that is—

    MATTHEW HOOTON: Here we go! A single case, that hasn’t been won, that won’t be won, the Australian government will prevail over Philip Morris and that’ll be the end of that matter. But what, um, y’know, while we’re victims of hyperbole from the pros, we’re also told people are gonna die and this sort of thing and I think the most intelligent way to look at this is umm, y’know, it is not the “world historical breakthrough”, it is not “bigger than Ben Hur”, “best thing that—“. Y’know, it’s not, nor is it the most evil thing. It is an important way of integrating, um, our economy further with other economies.

    KATHRYN RYAN: Right. Mike, your take on how this is going to play politically, and for whom, and what is that gonna depend on?

    MIKE WILLIAMS: Well I think Helen Clark’s statement has probably defanged the MODERATE left. It will not, um, uh, alter the, y’know, the um, Jane Kelseys of this world, but I actually think it will boil down to some sort of benefit-cost ratio. Y’know, will we get more dairy exports, what will the government’s slice of that be, and what will it cost for more drugs? And if we’ve gotta pay half a billion dollars more, y’know, increase the Pharmac budget by five hundred million dollars and we don’t, ahhhh, get that back in taxes on dairying, then um, that’ll be a bad deal. But it’ll take a while to um, to work out. So let’s, y’know, we really DON’T know what’s there, we’re SPECULATING at the moment.

    ….An uneasy silence ensues, then the host realizes that Williams has nothing more to offer….

    KATHRYN RYAN: All right. Let’s look at some of the other big matters around the place. It has been quite a focus hasn’t it, on the great and the good gathering in the United States….

    END OF PART ONE

    Coming up in Part Two: Some of the most vacuous chat to be heard anywhere outside of an ACT caucus meeting, including this gem by Mike Williams: “Well I think John Key actually gave a very good speech, and so did Murray McCully.”

    * http://thestandard.org.nz/tppa-deal-close/#comment-1078620

  8. Northsider 8
    6 October 2015 at 8:19 am

    Tories Of The Day
    The ever so bright Taxpayers’ Alliance, speaking at the Conservative Conference.

    Taxpayers’ Alliance: Cut pensioner benefits ‘immediately’

    “The first of which will sound a little bit morbid – some of the people… won’t be around to vote against you in the next election. So that’s just a practical point, and the other point is they might have forgotten by then.”
    He added: “If you did it now, chances are that in 2020 someone who has had their winter fuel cut might be thinking, ‘Oh I can’t remember, was it this government or was it the last one? I’m not quite sure.’

    This is where Bill English gets his ideas from.

    https://archive.is/kRIQz

  9. savenz 9
    6 October 2015 at 10:12 am

    What we can look forward to under TPP.

    A homeless woman lay dead at a Hong Kong McDonald’s restaurant for hours surrounded by diners who failed to notice her, sparking concern over the city’s “McRefugees”.

    The woman, who police say was between 50 and 60, was found dead Saturday morning and has been held up as an example of the growing number of homeless people who seek shelter in 24-hour restaurants.

    “Officers arrived upon a report from a female customer (that a person was found to have fainted),” police said in a statement.

    “The subject was certified dead at the scene.”

    Local media said the woman was slumped at a table, 24 hours after she first entered the restaurant in the working class district of Ping Shek.

    She had not moved for seven hours before fellow diners noticed something was wrong, according to Apple Daily, citing CCTV footage.

    The woman was thought to have regularly spent nights in the McDonald’s, the South China Morning Post said.

    The city’s Social Welfare Department said it was “highly concerned” about the incident.

    “We endeavour to support street sleepers to enhance their self-reliance… the subject is a complex social problem,” a department spokeswoman said.

    There are concerns over the plight of the homeless population in the affluent southern Chinese financial hub, although the number of homeless is relatively low, estimated at more than 1,000 by local NGOs.

    Many are forced to live on the street as they cannot afford to rent even the tiniest home as housing prices are sky high.

  10. Paul 10
    6 October 2015 at 10:30 am

    Headline in the Independent

    ‘TPP signed: the ‘biggest global threat to the internet’ agreed, as campaigners warn that secret pact could bring huge new restrictions to the internet
    The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement covers 40 per cent of the world’s economy, and sets huge new rules for online businesses as well as traditional ones.’

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/tpp-signed-the-biggest-global-threat-to-the-internet-agreed-as-campaigners-warn-that-secret-pact-a6680321.html

    [lprent: If you want to raise the topic of media focus. Do it in OpenMike. Not on my post. ]

  11. whateva next? 11
    6 October 2015 at 11:29 am

    Thank goodness for Rod Oram this morning being interviewed by Kathryn Ryan, intelligent responses and questions in the public arena, what a balance for yesterday.

  12. Puckish Rogue 12
    6 October 2015 at 11:50 am

    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/deliberate-political-sabotage-darling.html

    “No, last Thursday’s (1/10/15) statement from Helen Clark was no mistake. It was an act of deliberate political sabotage.”

    Don’t hold back Chris, tell us how you really feel

  14. mac1 14
    6 October 2015 at 1:18 pm

    http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/05/henning-mankell-wallender-author-dies-at-67

    Henning Mankell, Swedish author, has died of cancer some eight months after diagnosis.

    Kenneth Branagh wrote upon his death of Mankell’s writing, his generosity and his “stringent political activism.”

    Though I did not know of his student and political activism, his writing was informed by a social conscience and concern for society and for individuals which came through in his novels.

    His last writing was a book about dealing with cancer- one which will be high on my reading list.

  15. Bearded Git 15
    6 October 2015 at 5:39 pm

    Seats predicted in Canadian election; latest polls:

    Conservatives 122 Liberals 118 NDP 96 Greens 1

    The Liberals have overtaken the Conservatives in the polls 32.4 v. 31.6 with the NDP on 25.3.

    The Greens are polling 4.9% for their one seat.

    • millsy 15.1
      6 October 2015 at 11:20 pm

      NDP/Liberals could outflank the Tories and govern? Or is it not that simple?

      • Bearded Git 15.1.1
        7 October 2015 at 5:49 am

        It’s a bit weird-no culture of coalitions, but surely this will happen.

        The Portuguese election result is another example. It has been touted as a win for the ruling Rightists, but in fact they have lost their majority to Leftist parties and will constantly be out-voted. Why the Left doesn’t form a coalition beats me, despite the fact that there are some policy differences between the Leftist parties.

  17. Smilin 17
    6 October 2015 at 11:12 pm

    To Edward thanx for up holding the rights of the people when asked the fascist question about betraying national security
    Tvone news a few minutes ago

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  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    5 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

    The Government has today agreed to introduce sentencing reforms to Parliament this week that will ensure criminals face real consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Targets data confirms rise in violent crime

    The first quarterly report on progress against the nine public service targets show promising results in some areas and the scale of the challenge in others, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “Our Government reinstated targets to focus our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health, education, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Asia Foundation Board appointments announced

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointments of Hone McGregor, Professor David Capie, and John Boswell to the Board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.  Bede Corry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has also been appointed as an ex-officio member. The new trustees join Dame Fran Wilde (Chair), ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Endeavour Fund projects for economic growth

    New Zealand’s largest contestable science fund is investing in 72 new projects to address challenges, develop new technology and support communities, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. “This Endeavour Fund round being funded is focused on economic growth and commercial outputs,” Ms Collins says. “It involves funding of more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Social Services Providers Whakamanawa National Conference 16 September 2024

    Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to speak to you here today. I am honoured to be here in my capacity as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, and Minister for Children. Thank you for creating a space where we can all listen and learn, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Parihaka infrastructure upgrades funded

    The Government will provide a $5.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure at Parihaka in Taranaki, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “This grant from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will have a multitude of benefits for this hugely significant cultural site, including keeping local ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

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