Open mike 13/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 13th, 2016 - 59 comments
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59 comments on “Open mike 13/06/2016 ”

  1. Paul 1

    Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
    We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.

    Evictions ‘causing homelessness’

    Housing New Zealand is being accused of causing homelessness by evicting people who can’t get rehoused anywhere else.
    The Tenancy Tribunal made 1430 orders involving Housing NZ last year, an average of 27 a week, and 717, or an average of 36 a week, so far this year up to May 16.
    Auckland Action Against Poverty advocacy co-ordinator Alastair Russell said the state-owned agency, which exists to house people who can’t get housed elsewhere, was “pursuing an aggressive policy of eviction based on non-payment of rent”.
    In one case, he said, a mother of a 7-month-old baby faced eviction today over $666 in rent arrears due to being placed on a sickness benefit instead of a sole parent benefit after the baby was born. Work and Income agreed to pay the arrears after Mr Russell intervened.
    “We are seeing cases where people are increasingly being charged market rent, for example when they don’t fill in the yearly returns [reporting their incomes].
    “Then Housing NZ says they have accrued rent arrears and will automatically take them to the Tenancy Tribunal, and we are having to intervene on their behalf.
    “They are not talking to Work and Income to resolve people’s issues through Work and Income assistance which could maintain their housing.
    “They are acting without a shred of social responsibility and callously locking people out on the street for very minimal reasons, and actually causing people to become homeless.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11655261

    • Gangnam Style 1.1

      “In the other case, two young Eritrean refugees, Muhyaddin Salih, 36, and Idrees Idrees, 30, faced a tribunal hearing on June 16 to end their tenancy for $2601 in rent arrears arising from their rent rising to $345 a week when both men were working, but not being reduced again when Mr Idrees’ job ended after a 90-day trial.”

      A perfect storm is brewing, all the stupid Nat policies reacting badly together to cause pain & misery, except for property developers, bad bosses & casinos.

    • Once was Tim 1.2

      “Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
      We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.”
      You’re correct @Paul.

      No better illustration than when I visited the local New World supermarket.
      There they were offering donations to charities when one spends over $150 – you put some sort of token in a bin (a bit like Z service stations)

      The biggest donations were to the gym. Admitedly the local school got the next biggest, but coming in well behind and last were charities like Starlight.

  2. Gangnam Style 2

    “A true New Zoolander…” lol, about guess who? I see Max & Paula are fronting an ‘anti cyber bullying’ campaign or some such, what a cruel joke.

    • Paul 2.1

      Wonder if Paula will do her job and communicate with the public on the issue?
      How many interviews has she declined now?

      • Gangnam Style 2.1.1

        I see Amy Adams fronting the ‘anti cyber bullying’ thing too, she was mentioned in the Dirty Politics book as being part of an online right wing troll army back in the day, so kinda ironic really.

        • Gangnam Style 2.1.1.1

          Also Adams gets mentioned here for her part in Dirty Politics/Cyber bullying right wing politics http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11319024

          “In September 2013, Slater received another misfired email meant for Labour MPs which had gone to Cabinet minister Amy Adams. It appears to have been copied, sent to Ms Collins and then to Slater who used it to make fun of the party’s new leader David Cunliffe.”

  3. Greg 3

    Figures out on work visa and immigration show huge numbers going into minimal wage jobs. How many of these work visa’s are being signed up for Kiwisaver, I know a couple who have. And I bet that the employer gets to keep the sign up fee’s.
    What a great scam. I bet the owner of the kiwifruit company recently in court signed up his overseas workers.

    • Craig H 3.1

      Only residents and citizens are eligible to join Kiwisaver, so nothing should be set up for work visa holders.

  4. AsleepWhileWalking 4

    This morning I saw several stories of Mr Brock, rapist from somewhere in the US. Different parts of this story are being offered up again and again for what feels like weeks.

    I’m yet to click on any of them.

    Wondering why the hell we are being inundated with this when we have PLENTY of NZ stories of a similar vein.

    • Gangnam Style 4.1

      If you have to read anything just read the victims statement, its a very sober & thought provoking piece of writing, would be a nice post & applies to NZ as well.

    • mpledger 4.2

      It’s because a rich, white guy, caught in the act of raping a women got a sentence of 6 months jail but will be out in 3.

      • Sabine 4.2.1

        also his instance of drinking is a diminishing factor in his decision making – he was not quite himself you see….., while her drinking was an aggravating fact in the rape – you see she did not protect herself enough to not get raped by having a drink to many.

        This whole case is such a show case for everything that is wrong in this world when discussing sexual assault and rape.

        • Greg 4.2.1.2

          Its not a activity men give each other awards for, quite the contrary, victims in the Roastbusters case got no justice, and unless its in a gang setting, or think of Louise Nicholas.
          Incidentally, what happened to the Auckland academic thesis of Aucklands underage prostitutes being raped or paid by Auckland police, claims of the report have been removed from the Herald online version,
          and what was said by the sister of David Bain? What happened to the book she was writing.

  5. Puckish Rogue 5

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80836726/mike-williams-and-the-howard-league-gives-prisoners-a-second-chance

    This is pretty good stuff, well done Mike Williams (actually well done everyone)

  6. Jenny Kirk 7

    Another good read on Scoop – Gordon Campbell on the proposal to spend $20 Billion on defence .

    ” Once again, government spending on Defence is increasing by leaps and bounds, without any rational cost/benefit analysis. Yep, even Prime Minister John Key admitted this week that “the country can be confident it does not face a military threat in the foreseeable future” – but alas, there’s no peace dividend in that equation.
    ” Regardless of the lack of any rationally foreseeable external threat to this country or to the South Pacific, we are planning to spend $20 billion over the next 15 years on kitting out Defence with a new generation of top shelf equipment.”

    http://werewolf.co.nz/2016/06/gordon-campbell-on-the-new-defence-white-paper/

    • Puckish Rogue 7.1

      The problem is the military have been underspent for so many years (National and Labour) that to upgrade the big items will cost more now then it could have been done before, as I’m sure you’re aware ships and air craft aren’t cheap

      Added to that the completely stupid and criminally irresponsible decisions made by the top ranks hasn’t helped either

      For those with any passing knowledge I’m pretty sure I only have to mention the Charles Upham as an example of some of these problems and then you add in the new LAVs (well new at the time) not fitting into the Hercules and so on

      So yes 20 billion over 15 years is not unreasonable

      • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1

        as I’m sure you’re aware ships and air craft aren’t cheap

        True but they’d be a hell of a lot cheaper if we did them ourselves instead of buying USian (which we inevitably do) and we’d reap the benefits of all that R&D and manufacturing applied to our economy. The US has a defence procurement policy that, IIRC, requires all defence equipment and parts to be made in the US. We should have a similar policy here.

        So yes 20 billion over 15 years is not unreasonable

        It’s fairly pathetic really.

        • aerobubble 7.1.1.1

          Underspending and misspending could, okay long string, explsin some of the view of Australia toward kiwis in Oz. When they talk about sponging they mean carrying NZ militarily. As to misspending, i mean all that open water means missiles, drones, capacity, since these are cheaper than frigates, subs etc. And this would explain why dumpind lots of personels geared toward last century defenses.

  7. mac1 8

    Agreed, Puckish Rogue. An article well worth reading. A call to us for support of literacy campaigns at schools as well as within prisons.

    Williams says that prospective prison numbers can be judged by 11 year old literacy levels.

    On a related issue, I have just heard that you can gauge levels of future individual education achievement by the amount of TV watched during childhood. The more, the less.

    • Molly 8.1

      Having had children who have had difficulty with reading – dyspraxia and dyslexia, I would add the proviso that any literacy programme in schools needs to be developed to accommodate different learning styles, abilities and levels.

      My son, who was read to from a very young age, had a lot of difficulty reading himself, although he enjoyed audio books etc. He was reviewed at the age of eight, by a very experienced assessor – who said that he had the basic building blocks and he would get there. A couple of months later he did, and was reading Harry Potter, and The Hobbit soon after.

      But he did this in an environment without National Standards, that would have marked him as underachieving from the moment he entered school. The damage done by this approach to children’s innate belief in their ability must be huge.

      (Also, I remember reading about a study on the hearing of many prisoners, and there being quite a large percentage who are hearing impaired. Undiagnosed and not accommodated, this would indicate another possible cohort of people who are failed by our current approach to literacy.)

      Adult literacy programmes are often overlooked for their impact, but can be very effective and life-enhancing.

      • mac1 8.1.1

        Agreed, Molly. I understand the same about prisoners’ hearing. There is a link between hearing, literacy, anger, being left behind in education, alcohol/drug issues.

        I have a friend who in retirement from being a drug and alcohol counsellor, has become a literacy mentor in the local high school. He’s seen the connections, and acted, as a 70 year old. At our Grey Power AGM last week he was espousing this cause.

    • Puckish Rogue 8.2

      What I liked about it (and respect to Mike Williams for it) was it appears to be working, it hits the “common sense” button and he was non-partisan about it so took the politics out of it

      I’m going to save the article at home and once I have the time, probably in a couple of months, I’ll email Mike and see if theres anything happening in Christchurch

  8. Bearded Git 9

    Duncan Webb a good choice for Christchurch Central-Labour seems to have its act together with its candidate selections.

  9. Jack Ramaka 10

    With regards to employment in NZ a lot of Asian students here in NZ are on Student Visa status whereby they can work up to 20 hours per week, many of these people are getting jobs here on minimum wages ahead of Kiwis, from what I have heard there is no incentive for Kiwis to work in low paid jobs as it will affect their benefit payments.

    I think we need something like Australia where the first $18,000 per year you earn is tax free, we need to give people in NZ an incentive to actually work.

    Unfortunately social engineering by both Labour and National Governments, has created a “feral class of people” here in NZ who are uneducated, state dependent, unskilled and many involved in illegal activities.

    We need to break the cycle and get these people contributing to a functional equitable society.

    • Sabine 10.1

      Have you got any stats to support your ‘facts’?

      it might also be do that a lot of businesses owned by business investors from overseas tend to employ students with work visas from their own countries.

      Fwiw, i have people apply with me, and while we pay above min wage we are not quite yet at the ‘living wage stage’, and those that apply are kiwis (of all ages) and they seem to be keen as getting a job.

      Maybe we rather have to accept that we may not have enough minimum wage jobs / low skill jobs for the Kiwis who need them and an extra 20 – 30 thousand students per year with work visas, plus those that come on working holiday visas.

      i do however agree that the first $ 20.000 should be tax free, as that is the min required in NZ to actually just provide the basics for survival.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.2

      …from what I have heard there is no incentive for Kiwis to work in low paid jobs as it will affect their benefit payments.
      I think we need something like Australia where the first $18,000 per year you earn is tax free, we need to give people in NZ an incentive to actually work.

      These two things are not related. Having zero taxes on the first few thousand dollars of income won’t change the massive abatement rates on benefits that can leave you worse off if you work a few hours a week.

      To do what you want requires a UBI. Nothing else will do.

  10. b waghorn 11

    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11655519

    Dept to income rules will lock more people out of first home buying and is more about protecting banks .

    Also to my utter shock I see key has said something I agree with ,around the banks restrictions on lending to foreign buyers , its ” a stunt”

    • Puckish Rogue 11.1

      See its always hard and not always satisfying the first time but the next time it’ll be easier and then, soon, you’ll start to enjoy it

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4uTEEOJlM

      Welcome back to the fold 🙂

    • aerobubble 11.2

      Key introduced the million dollar migrant. They came and brought housing, this pushed out wealthy kiwis, who in turn pushed out middle nz, so pushing out lower nz into garages and over night cars. Others foresaw this, wanting migrants to invest in building not buying. Key wasnt listening, too busy pulling up the ladder, after he grewup in a state house. Now we hear of empty mansions in the heart of Aucklanded all that infrastruture purposed to suport empty houses, or worse, the non english speaking isolated grandparent left to house sit and claim all the venefits while their wealthy relative pays income taxes elsewhere not nz. Dont geme wrong i loathe NZF view that families cant bring relatives over, but theres always abuses that need to be managed. Introduce a empty house tax, build not buy, and granny dumping must been here for a decade before getting super, must own their homes have savings.

  11. aerobubble 12

    Cycling. Cyclists wobble while they peddle undr their own power, comparable to skate boarders, zimmerframers, etc. They are essential pedestrians, and like all pedestrians being hit by a metal petrol powered vehicle is pretty nasty for them. In ths context is shaming that its illegal for kids to ride on the foot path. And we can see wht historucally the car lobby made up thus clueless law, that only posties can cycle on footpaths. Whuch statistically is pretty accidentless for posties, no deaths?

    So it seems strange that cyclists who avoid death, and ride much slower on footpaths due to more obstacles, driveways, pedestrians, and potential harm, would be seen as objectable because the law was written by the car lobby to stop kids getting into cycling. And please, who argues that! That cyclists accidents on footpaths is the same, when the outcomes i.e death from being runover by a truck…

    Anyway i get it. Cycling has seen a resurgence, the infrastrucure was built for cars, the culture was pro car, the people unuse to bikes, especially older drives have a harder time adapting. But why are the buke lobby anti riding on footpaths? In Japan its legal, in time people will create the best rules, like speeding cyclists, and alwats giveway to pedestrains, that will bring down the accident rates as people get used to it.

    Cyclists have been persecute to long, and still are when its obvious they cyclists will come off much worse. Sure there was one case where a cyclits stupidly cycled in front of a doorway, and the pedestrian needed a new hip, by like i said its a learning curve.
    Cyclists are so obviously a class of pedestrian.

    • aerobubble 12.1

      Oh can some clearup cycle way rules for me, on road cycle ways are one way, but cycleways on footparhs are both ways right?

    • McFlock 12.2

      New hips aren’t trivial.

      If you want to cycle, put yourself in danger, not me. I don’t walk on cycleways, you shouldn’t cycle on footpaths.

      As for direction on shared paths (not footpaths), there doesn’t seem to be any regulation in the cycle code, so do as you will (in accordance with the general directions on behaviour etc).

      • Gangnam Style 12.2.1

        Now you have DX Mail riding their motorbikes on the footpath delivering mail, also the footpath will be shared by NZ Posts new golfcart things (they have a cute name ‘Paxters’), so that footpath is getting very busy indeed!

        • aerobubble 12.2.1.1

          Worse. Cars for sometime now been blocking pathways, driving on them, in fact cyclists aren’t doing anything that cars, motorcycles and every does. Yet McFlock seems to ignore the obvious chilling over reach of big govt, making it illegal fot kids to cycle on footpaths. Just show how unethical the ban cycle lobby has been.

          • McFlock 12.2.1.1.1

            I seem to recall the cutoff for riding on the footpath is 12.

            A little kid is not going to knock me over as badly as a lycra-clad middle-aged jerk.

            • aerobubble 12.2.1.1.1.1

              Campbell Live did a story that i’m sure had someone say kids had to ride on the road, so yes, thirteen year olds on footpath because the could concievable kill someone. really. A kid will knock over a zimmerframer. The point is a balance between harms and risks, cyclists will die when hit by a metal powered vehicle, whereas pedestrians will just learn to be more careful in future, while a very few will meet morons on bikes. Most people already navigate skakeboarders, old, push chairs, cars leaving driveways that their attention is already turned up that cyclist, riding slowly, giving way to them, and being cordial will have a notice decline in ACC if they were in the road, but are not due to this draconian law. Take it as said, that should accidents spike, of pedestrain and pedestrian cyclists colliding, then there are laws regards recklessness, cyclists who speed on footpaths are idiots like their car idiot mates, it is not a reason for a draconian ban. Cars e footpaths, mopeds do, its not a criminal proceeding when we dont prosecute all the other behaviour. Its jus a nonsense law that should shame parliament

              • McFlock

                Lol
                so when pedestrians are hit by cyclists, it’s the pedestrian who needs to “learn to be more careful in future”?

                Here’s the thing, though: cyclists who choose to cycle on the footpath are puuting other people at risk of a directly associated injury or death because of the decision of the cyclist. A cyclist on the road is making an informed decision to shoulder the risks of their own choice.

                You want to ride a bike, you take the risks of your decision: don’t force me to accept your risk. That’s like me smoking and offsetting some of my lung cancer risk to you, if that were possible.

                And yes, cyclists speeding on footpaths is a reason for a ban. No speedometer to check safe speeds, no registration plate to identify the reckless speeder, so the only recourse is a general ban to preserve the safety of others from the stupidity of the few. In my local central city, skateboarders are banned from footpaths. Should be the same for cyclists everywhere except designated shared paths that are wide enough for both users.

                What do cars and mopeds do on footpaths that we don’t prosecute?

                • aerobubble

                  Speeding anywhere kills. As to banning Cycling on footpath becuase it kills is farfetched because it doesnt. Take the individual leaving a shop, was not looking where he was going, not looking if their was an old lady, or a skake boarder, or mail man on a bike and really they should of since they had real potential to break a hip. Sure they were probally too boring to get into exercise and break their hip anyway. Accidents happen, its not a reason to totally ban. We can selectively ban like we do in every endeavour, banning racing bikes that have vet thin tyres a,nd so are really wobbly at low speed, yet lighter at speed of 30kms, is a reasonable argument. Yet a man who wasn’t looking out for a mail man on a bike legally riding is no excuse just because they weren’t delivering mail. You see its quite legal for a middle age person to ride a cycle on the footph, its just banned for the rest of us.

                  • McFlock

                    It’s quite legal to drive without a safety belt in certain circumstances, too, where the job requires it. Mail deliveries need to be done, and a bike is the best way of doing them in some circumstances. Public benefit vs public safety.

                    Where’s the public benefit in you choosing to cycle on the footpath? If there were any appreciable public good, cyclists would be in such great numbers they should have their own cycle way, and pedestrians have a footpath.

                    But what I really love is your claim that if I’m walking down the footpath and you hit me, breaking my hip or I fall funny and hit my head, this is somehow my fault. And moreso because if I’m walking, I must not cycle enough and that contributed to my injury. Really, it’s not your fault that I viciously through my body in front of your bicycle at all. You should get compensation from me for any repairs your bicycle requires – take it out of my estate. /sarc

                    I know people who have been seriously injured by cyclists on the footpath – fucked up his face and gave him a concussion. And yes, he is a gym-goer (but I don’t hold that against him). Take your victim-blaming bullshit elsewhere. Cycling on the footpath is the cyclist forcing their reduction in personal risk onto pedestrians. Just another example of how cycling is an inherently selfish and arrogant exercise.

                    [lprent: Released this from moderation.

                    I changed a security setting the other day (while helping weka with her password). It said that if someone uses a ’email’ that matches that of one of our few registered (ie has a login) users, that the comment should go into moderation. I suspect that is what is happening to you, CV, weka, and others who have logins, but who are leaving not logged in comments with their email.

                    Could you confirm if that is what is likely to be happening to you? Try logging in. ]

                    • McFlock

                      lol whoops – locked myself out with too many attempts.

                      Part of it could be that my mobile autofills my email address with a typo, so every time I use that and have a stubby-finger moment it might piss off the machine.

      • aerobubble 12.2.2

        Cycles have to cycle on footpaths, in many instances its the safe way to avoid been pinchered because our road aren’t considering them. Take the lady riding in a cycle lane, door opens in front of her, and a lorry drives over kiler her. Council should have gotten a manslaughter charge.

        Accidents will always occur,this shiuld never be used as a instrument to ban lawful public transit. Take dual carriageways, are you saying cyclists should not ride the footpath, or dangerously and confusingly to drivers, ride up the wrong way of a cycle way? and instead wait a traffic lights to get over to the left side, which of course dont change because they dont notice you, then have to negioate to the right hand lane of the dual carriageway, to turn right, then u turn to get to the address which riding on the footpath woukd have taken a minute, stead of ten. Thats just stupid, unproductive nonsense.

        Its only time before a squad of cyclists sit at a red traffic light block it so it cant detect a car, and causes auckland grid lock. And all they needed was the right to ride on the footpath!

        Sure racing bikes should be on a footpath, they are far too wobbly, and need to be ridden faster, too fast, as the hip replacement person discovered. Sports cycles, highly designed for speed and unstable…

        • McFlock 12.2.2.1

          Cyclists don’t have to cycle anywhere. They can walk.

          You’re the jerk who wants to ride a bike. Don’t endanger me using the footpath with my feet.

          • aerobubble 12.2.2.1.1

            I see where you are coming from. Cyclists aren’t citizens with equal access. Accidents do happen, if you were a responsible person you’d care that your stance perpetuates the idea that firstly cyclist are not worth so can be mowed down by a truck, and secondly, that pedestrians dont need to look out for cyclist because they are not supposed be there. Your position is not credible since as i have already ponted out, its legal for cyclists delieving mail, for all black 11 year olds to cycle on pavement, hell even mopeds delieving mail and those awful motorized wheelchairs that leave no room, in fact we should ban old people using zimmerframes, and anyone potentially incapable of standing up less they hur themselves, because in your view the balance of safety is with the cyclists, as they die, and if they were using pavements…

            You need to teach your fellow invalids that cyclists are lawful users, for mail, up to the age of twelve, that skateboarders and unicyclists, and an awful lot of cafe street furniture, areall vying to make potential accidents, and maybe, when you realize life aint easy, that cyclists avoid certain death on the road aint so bad after all.

            • McFlock 12.2.2.1.1.1

              You do realise that it’s legal to drive witrhout wearing a seatbelt under certain employment-related situations? Same with cycling on a footpath.

              But mail deliverers are stopping every ten yards, so don’t have much opportunity to get up to any appreciable speed. Whereas communting cyclists can be going like the clappers.

              If you were a responsible cyclist you’d take on the risks and responsibility for your choice of vehicle, you wouldn’t expect me to shoulder that burden. But no, you want the fun without having the risk, so you’ll put others in greater danger. At least be honest about it.

              • aerobubble

                You know mail numbers are dropping, posties are using mopeds to speed up deliveries, hell just the other day there was one.

                Fact is u are uncouth to velieve that banning access was ever a position worth defending without a rasonable argument. Saying its the law just undermines any integrity you have.

                • McFlock

                  Who’s banning access?

                  Just walk. Same as how you shouldn’t walk along the road or in a cycle lane.

                  I’m not saying you shouldn’t cycle on the footpath because it’s illegal. I’m saying that it should remain illegal because it’s unsafe for everyone around you.

                  You don’t seem to want to address the point that you want to endanger me with your choice of commuting vehicle and path. If you cycle, keep off the footpath. That way you choose the risks along with the benefits, rather than forcing the risks onto me. Your proposal is just selfish.

                  • aerobubble

                    Now you want to force me to walk! Not jog, not skateboard, not rollerskate, not hop, is there no end to your authoritarianism!

                    • McFlock

                      lol

                      You [still] don’t seem to want to address the point that you want to endanger me with your choice of commuting vehicle and path.

  12. whateva next? 13

    Pondering the announcement of Woods for Mt Roskill, yet another quality candidate, as are ALL our Labour MP’s, solid back stories and commitment to an egalitarian society, in which we all benefit…then I think about new MP’s on the right, and the glaring vacuum when it comes to any signs of anything solid.

  13. Chooky 14

    This show is going to be good:

    ‘Tariq Ali: Global revolt against corporate capitalism & inequality’

    https://www.rt.com/shows/on-contact/346258-chris-hedges-tariq-ali/

    “In the first episode of ‘On Contact’, host Chris Hedges discusses the global revolt against corporate capitalism with radical intellectual and author Tariq Ali.

    Ali talks about how the world banking system pitched Greece and other European countries into financial difficulties, and how big business may be behind the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

    RT Correspondent Anya Parampil joins the show with a report on global inequality.”

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    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    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
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    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
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    23 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
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