Open mike 30/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 30th, 2016 - 90 comments
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90 comments on “Open mike 30/06/2016 ”

  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.

    Cruel
    This government.

    Govt again vetoes paid parental leave bill

    “Legislation seeking to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks has failed in Parliament after the government used its power of financial veto.
    Finance Minister Bill English said the extension to paid parental leave would have been too costly.
    The bill in the name of Labour MP Sue Moroney had enough support to pass into law but was not voted on at its third reading because of the veto.
    Ms Moroney told Parliament that using the veto was an extreme measure, and today was a shameful day for democracy.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/307590/govt-again-vetoes-paid-parental-leave-bill

  2. Paul 2

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

    Selfish.
    This government’s lack of action on climate change.

    Emmerson’s cartoon today sums it up.
    http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201627/cartoon1.jpg

    Maybe our Climate Change Minister Bennett could think of these people….
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/81601127/i-worry-about-family-all-the-time–a-nz-student-from-kiribati-and-the-future-of-his-homeland

  3. Paul 3

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

    Uncaring.
    This government’s lack of funding for Lifeline Aotearoa.

    “Crisis counselling service Lifeline Aotearoa says it is running out of money and without millions of dollars of donations it will close next year.

    Lifeline has been running for 52 years, answering up to 15,000 calls a month on its 24-hour a day helplines.

    People call on a raft of issues including loneliness, family violence, financial concerns, homelessness, bullying and relationship issues, mental health and suicidal thoughts.

    Last year it lost government contracts and has had to cut a third of its staff.

    It said appeals for government and private funding have failed.
    Mr Palmer said Lifeline was a unique service and should not be allowed to close.

    He said a record 564 people committed suicide last year, a significant social and economic burden on the country.

    While there were numerous other helplines, none had the expertise of Lifeline in regard to suicide, crisis, peer-support and other counselling, he said.

    It was also the country’s most significant specialist provider of suicide intervention and training and, as such, was on the frontline of suicide prevention in New Zealand.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/307597/lifeline-counselling-service-may-have-to-close

    • Ad 3.1

      What’s the medium-run stats for NZ suicide?

      Better or worse than say 1980 per capita?

      Or just another bleating NGO?

      Where’s the measure?

      • weka 3.1.1

        I’d say the increase in farmer suicide, and our long term youth suicide rate bring one of highest in the OECD suggest that Lifeline aren’t bleating.

        Mind you, you could probably make an argument for Lifeline having had its day, being a relic from before neoliberalism, and that its financial problems are a sign of its inability to get with the programme. Too many sheep, not enough wolves. /sarc

      • marty mars 3.1.2

        jeeze ad wtf is wrong with you

        Are you unaware of the suicide statistics in this country – the youth rates, the 12 year old killing himself, the underreporting because someone killing themselves isn’t considered suicide, the high rate of Māori suicide – youth and adult.

        here is some fucking facts for you

        http://wakahourua.co.nz/suicide-facts

        read it and weep

        • Ad 3.1.2.1

          Just a simple tracker overtime is what I asked for.

          Plenty of health ngo’s bleat but honestly make little measurable difference.

          • marty mars 3.1.2.1.1

            “Plenty of health ngo’s bleat but honestly make little measurable difference”

            so says you – and what would you know? 0:0

        • Rosie 3.1.2.2

          Thanks marty. Ad’s comment was callous. I’m surprised that an intelligent person is unaware of just how high our rates of suicide are here in NZ.

          Also insensitive given the high number, for Ad to not to consider how many people reading may have been suicidal at a point in their lives or lost someone to suicide.

          • marty mars 3.1.2.2.1

            Yes Rosie – not many of us unaffected. I work with people who struggle with suicide ideation daily so I’m a little sensitive on this subject 🙂

            • Rosie 3.1.2.2.1.1

              Understand you feel alert to the subject of suicide given your work – and you do valuable and worthy work, probably very tough some days. Big bless to you for the changes you may facilitate in people’s lives.

        • Gangnam Style 3.1.2.3

          Children between the ages of 5-9 commit suicide in NZ, imagine being that young & even knowing how to kill yourself! This is truly NZs deep dark shame.

          “Maria Bradshaw, whose 17-year-old son Toran Henry took his own life in 2008, said she was aware of a six-year-old girl and seven-year-old boy who had committed suicide in the past 12 months.”

          Interesting here too that more unemployed people kill themselves than those in work.

          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10831455

      • McFlock 3.1.3

        Let’s say I found a tracker in a 10second google.
        How would its information affect your position?
        What would you say if the suicide rate had been increasing over time, or decreasing, or was static?

        Because I don’t see how it’s relevant to whether lifeline is a valuable service.

  4. swordfish 4

    Latest UK Poll Stats

    YouGov (just released – via tweet from UK polling expert. Nothing on YouGov site yet)
    Corbyn should Resign ?
    ………………………………………Yes………….No……….Unsure
    Entire Sample………………49%………..30%………..21%
    Labour Voters……………..35%…………54%………..11%

    YouGov
    Second EU Referendum ?
    Entire Sample….Yes 31%….No 58%….Unsure 11%
    Those Opposed include not only 91% of Leave voters but also just under 30% of Remain supporters.
    A second question shows that even if Scotland left the UK, respondents still opposed a Second Referendum by 51% to 30%.

    Fun Brexit Stats

    A total of 9084 people voted for BOTH Remain and Leave on their ballot paper in the EU Referendum. Rates of double-voting were highest in the London borough of Brent (0.13%).
    I suspect they were just taking the piss.

    • I Feel Love 4.1

      “Labour Voters……………..35%…………54%………..11%” – Well that is interesting isn’t it?

      • Paul 4.1.1

        The 200 Labour party MPs who are pushing for Corbyn to go do not represent the country or their own party. They are Tony Blair’s creatures. It is they who should resign.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5n-UJvxGYo

        • I Feel Love 4.1.1.1

          But all the right wing trolls say Corbyn should resign? They wouldn’t be speaking with forked tongues would they? I noticed they shut up pretty quick last night when Shewan was proven to be another disingenuous wanker. Little comes out smelling like roses again.

          I hope Corbyn will keep his leadership & let the cards fall where they may come election time, what are the right so scared about? Labour winning? But that’s impossible under Corbyn they say, then wouldn’t it be better for them to shut up about it? One would think so wouldn’t one (I couldn’t possibly comment).

          • Paul 4.1.1.1.1

            Almost impossible to hear the views of working class people in England such is the stranglehold of the corporate mainstream media. The Guardian has proven a lackey of Blairite interests ( its bias was also clear during Corbyn’s selection and also during the Scottish referendum last year. The independent has proved it is anything but.

            So here are some links for those of you wanting to hear the people’s voice, as opposed to the 200 career Labour MPs.

            http://labourlist.org/2016/06/the-plot-to-oust-corbyn-is-anti-democratic-and-offensive-to-labour-members/

            https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/29/labour-mps-vs-corbyn-war-party-members-tories-brexit

            https://twitter.com/hashtag/deselectthem?src=hash

            https://twitter.com/hashtag/imwithCorbyn?src=hash

            • Rodel 4.1.1.1.1.1

              I feel love & Paul
              Corbyn won’t be the first J.C. To be crucified by selfish power brokers & self serving politicians who ignore the wishes of the silenced majority.

          • mary_a 4.1.1.1.2

            @I Feel Love (4.1.1.1) you post “…. I noticed they shut up pretty quick last night when Shewan was proven to be another disingenuous wanker. Little comes out smelling like roses again.”

            Thanks for this info which I have missed. I am having trouble finding it and want to know what has come out about Shewan. Of course msm won’t have anything about it and if it does, it will be hidden away in the dark bowels of the publication!

            Do you have more details please?

            Ditto re Corbyn. Seems the ordinary people on the street want him to stay on as leader. It’s the dirty Blairites in Labour who want him gone! Dirty Politics!

            • I Feel Love 4.1.1.1.2.1

              http://www.newshub.co.nz/opinion/opinion-case-closed-in-andrew-little-v-john-shewan-stoush-2016062918#axzz4CurifRPg

              “Until he produced that tiny piece of evidence it looked like he was lying. That’s something Mr Little calls the Prime Minister out on, and if Little’s a prime minister in waiting, then he needs to be able to show that he doesn’t lie.
              Today he did that, and I take my hat off to him.
              However, it shouldn’t have taken the public battle to get here, it was a simple case of “I did exactly what I was asked — here, let me show you.”
              But you can guarantee when there are lawyers involved, things get arduous.
              Anyway, it’s over now. Both parties seem happy. Case closed. “

              • mary_a

                @I Feel Love … Many thanks for the link 🙂

                • I Feel Love

                  Its a good report eh? Just lays out some facts. Seems surprised to be dealing with an honest politician, something she must not be used to when dealing with the Govt I suppose.

              • Greg

                Shewan claimed in a recent Herald editorial piece that there is no Australian money in zero rated company trusts. How does he know this! Does he have authority to request these trusts contents, or some inside network knowledge, or is he just parroting John Key.
                For a PM who rarely does not do much in details,
                Key seems to be right all over this report.

                It begs the question did he actually write it.
                People have a tell in how they write, and tone of style with their grammar.

                • Lanthanide

                  I don’t know what you’re talking about specifically, but the NZ law on foreign trusts has special carve-outs for foreign trusts owned/controlled/whatevered by Australians, due to the Australian government putting pressure on us to change our law just for them.

                  So that is likely what Shewan basis his claims on.

                  • Greg

                    hah so Aussies are banned from having trusts here.

                    How about John Key having written the report, Key usually doesnt do details, but he had the report down pat. Though, he has claimed not to be a expert in trusts.

                    • Lanthanide

                      No, they’re not banned, they just have extra rules that apply to them, that don’t apply to other countries.

        • seeker 4.1.1.2

          I approve the sign saying “Eton Mess”.

          Great clip thankyou Paul.

    • Pasupial 4.2

      Swordfish
      This is a good YouGov chart that shows the demographics of the Brexit vote. I can’t find the original (too many charts to sift through!), this is a repost from a(n Italian?) facebook page:

      https://twitter.com/you_trend/status/746114516308606976/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

  5. mary_a 5

    Despite what “public servants” John Key and Bill English say, ordinary working Kiwis are struggling to make ends meet. Yet the problems of inequality and impoverishment continue to be NZ’s fastest growing industry! Disgraceful and disturbing!

    Here is some evidence from RNZ.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/307607/three-jobs-but-still-struggling

  6. Muttonbird 6

    After yesterday throwing her own ministry under the bus, today she throws Housing New Zealand under the bus.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/greens-defend-housing-nz-over-under-occupied-properties-2016063007#axzz4CxfsstdI

    The bus has now ground to a halt with the bodies of so many government agencies underneath.

  7. mary_a 7

    Here is Guyon Espiner’s interview with Bill English this morning re the growing inequality in NZ!

    It’s pure spun out arrogant, uncaring BS! I am so angry that someone like English is in such a prominent position where he and his government can do so much more for disadvantaged NZers. But he doesn’t and he won’t! Laugh or cry at his responses to the questioning, the choice is yours! I was close to tears listening to his cold hearted replies to Espiner!

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201806441/porirua-family-can-only-afford-biscuits

  8. Puckish Rogue 8

    Does anyone else sometimes find that the open comments page won’t load, that it just sometimes goes straight to a blank screen?

    • Muttonbird 8.1

      It’s just you.

      Now that Andrew Little has proved John Shewan was happy with the statement Little made, would you like to offer an apology to Mr Little this morning for calling him a liar and political smearer?

      • Puckish Rogue 8.1.1

        I think he could have released this information at any time but he chose to try to make a big deal out of it for political gain

        Amateurish at best but ok he didn’t lie in this particular instance

        • Grant 8.1.1.1

          Sorry really is the hardest word eh Puckish?

        • Robert Guyton 8.1.1.2

          “Amateurish at best but ok he didn’t lie in this particular instance”

          When weasels speak, they use weasel words.

          • Puckish Rogue 8.1.1.2.1

            Andrew Little could have easily ended this right at the very beginning, he didn’t because he was trying to draw as much publicity as he could and to try to paint himself as the underdog

            Amateurish and cynical as well

            • adam 8.1.1.2.1.1

              You know when you try to spin other peoples lies, you look like an idiot Puckish Rouge, and we both know you are not.

              The problem was Paddy Gower, he is like a five year old demanding a toy, he stamps his feet and screams in the street. But really he is just a naughty little boy.

            • Muttonbird 8.1.1.2.1.2

              Ridiculous hypothesis. He’d want Shewan’s needy claim to go away as soon as possible.

              More likely Andrew Little is very busy trying to make New Zealand a better place by holding this government to account (something which they themselves do not do), and by planning strategy to change the government next election.

              He’s got better things to do than mollify over-sensitive trust accountants.

              • Puckish Rogue

                If he wanted it to go away asap then he could have released everything right away rather then drip feed it out

                • North

                  What arrogance in you PR ! Not only do you reserve the right to tell everyone on the Left how they must ‘lose’, you also purport to tell Andrew Little how he should ‘win’. And when he wins in a way not approved of by you…….you’re down his throat. Who the fuck are you ? Concern troll.

                • The weasel, Puckish Rogue, I can smell it on your breath.

        • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.3

          Actually, the only people being amateurish is Shewan and the RWNJs who jumped on the Attack AL bandwagon.

    • Pasupial 8.2

      PR
      I don’t agree with you about much (especially trusting Shewan’s word about anything), but yes; I’ve been having OM and older posts go blank on me too this past week. Worse than usual I mean, there’d always be the odd glitch (probably when you try to open a page at the same time a comment is being posted); but these are persistent for hours, even with reopening the browser (firefox).

  9. Rosemary McDonald 9

    Respect to Nanaia Mahuta and Kelvin Davis for challenging Te Ureroa Flavell on the efficacy and lack of accountability of the Maori Party flagship Whanau Ora.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/307598/whanau-ora-not-living-up-to-promise-labour

    It is way past time that Whanau Ora was held to account….where the hell were the WO providers when Te Puea Marae was taking in homeless whanau???

    And yet….while here in NZ, Whanau Ora has completely failed to address any of the issues affecting struggling Maori (in real measurable terms) it is a program that is being exported….http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/286073/whanau-ora-goes-international

    “Mr Keung, of Maniapoto and Ngāti Porou, said the idea was to share key documents and learnings that tāngata whenua had gained in order to bring better health and social outcomes for American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

    “It will be the things that have been developed with Waipareira, our owner, over 35 years of the work they’ve been doing, but more recently in the Whānau Ora space in delivering a more integrated and whānau-centric suite of services to our whānau.

    “They are looking to get more strategically developed in the way they deliver services and they see this as an opportunity to do something.””

    Hmmm…..

    Again….Nanaia and Kelvin step up and do their job as elected representatives.

  10. Adrian Thornton 10

    ‘Confiscating the wealth’ a nice little Freudian slip from Bill English this morning during an interview with Guyon on RNZ’s morning report.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201806441/porirua-family-can-only-afford-biscuits

    • Bearded Git 10.1

      Thanks Adrian-worth a listen. English is actually a nasty bit of work behind the spin. What he fails to mention is that it is this government that got the family into the situation in the first place.

      There is billions for roading, billions for defence, billions in tax cuts for the better off, but peanuts for those in poverty.

      The top rate of tax in Denmark is 59%-it is one of the most successful and happy countries in the world.

      • Adrian 10.1.1

        Of course as we know, most economic debates or discussions will quickly become a debate about class war.
        What English essentially, and unwittingly said in that slip, was to deal with inequality in a real way, some wealth would need to be removed from those who own it now.
        A very rare albeit brief look at the ideology in it’s pure form, of National and enabled by a neo liberal left.

  11. Halfcrown 11

    I watched Henry this morning, for a change.

    Henry had Don Mc Kinnon talking about Brexit. Man did Don Mc Kinnon have his finger on the pulse. He gave a very good opinion without the usual bullshit we have come to expect these days.
    But there again Don Mc Kinnon is an officer and a gentleman, old school National who did care for NZ. Not like this shower of fucking incompetent crooks we have now who would sell their grandmothers for a quick Buck.

  12. whispering kate 13

    The Parliamentary Watchdog Dr Jan Wright is critical of the Government’s latest environmental report and says it doesn’t go far enough on climate change. As a subtle boot up the nether regions of the Government she has submitted her views on what should have been included in the report and she is very scathing about it.

    Somehow methinks there will be another early retirement or a slur against her professionalism by our useless government for the temerity of her to question their report. They will say she is straying beyond the brief of the report and treat her like they did the Canadian Judge over his findings on the Bain Affair by rubbishing her professionalism and reputation. It will be sickening as per usual.

    https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/environmental-watchdog-says-nz-must-do-more-oceans-health?autoPlay=5005648246001

    • ianmac 13.1

      And No Right Turn is even more explicit Kate. The Environmental Report:
      “The criticisms are serious. The report is poorly structured, which obfuscates key issues. The indicators are poorly chosen. There is no forecasting of future trends. But above all, there are no conclusions, and no assessment of the seriousness of problems.

      That, of course, was the point: National wanted people to think it cared about the environment, so it had to produce reporting – but forecasts, assessment of seriousness, and conclusions are the last things it wanted….”
      http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/the-pce-on-environmental-reporting.html

  13. ianmac 14

    OOps! From Dimpost:
    “Te Papa has pulled the plug on the purchase of the singlet worn by Peter Snell in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

    They have questioned its authenticity saying it is not the singlet that the Olympian wore when he won his gold medals….”
    https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/f-for-fake-2/

  14. Sans Cle 15

    BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze is well worth a listen to. Discusses morality in context of winners and losers of Brexit. Raises some fundamental questions about belief sets in representative democracy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hgh5f

  15. Muttonbird 16

    Slater standing down from his corrosive blog indefinitely.

    Perhaps he might find time to get a real job which contributes to society instead of destroying it.

    • ianmac 16.1

      I believe that the writers who actually write the Whaleoil stuff are continuing so they say.

    • Rodel 16.2

      North.relax…he believes he’s just fomenting happy mischief…as they do.

  16. Muttonbird 17

    John Key’s brighter future…

    Homeless man forced to find shelter in a rubbish skip bin crushed to death.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11666202

    There’s been an alarming increase in homelessness under John Key’s watch. Deaths will follow.

    • Rosie 17.1

      What a tragedy. I had wondered what the situation was with the man found crushed in the cardboard baling.
      From the article I got the impression that it was speculation that the man was homeless. If he was, then it is extremely sad – it means his death would have been avoided and entirely preventable if he were in safe warm accommodation.

  17. Lanthanide 18

    Amusing. Can easily be watched without sound:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a6HNXtdvVQ

  18. mary_a 19

    Lorde donates $20,000 to struggling Hutt Valley charity feeding impoverished hungry Kiwi children.

    Go Lorde. A star indeed in almost every respect.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11666099

  19. Rosie 20

    Did I entirely miss it or was Jo Cox’s funeral not covered in the media? Or did her family wish her funeral to remain private?

  20. ropata 21

    if the banks & corporate war machine decide there’s profit in it, anything is possible, but need an excuse like 9/11 first

    When somebody like Shirreff says he thinks Russia may go to war with Nato, people listen https://t.co/3QF3JIbwkK pic.twitter.com/zQjPJJmVSk— New Zealand Listener (@nzlistener) June 30, 2016

  21. Sabine 22

    sad, just sad

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/81607939/Bale-body-dad-had-been-laid-off-amid-dairy-slump?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

    “When the dairy downturn started biting, Daniel Bindner’s world started unravelling.

    The Waikato father lost his job as a farm worker, broke up with the mother of his children and ended up homeless before he disappeared.

    It was almost a week after he was last seen that workers at a Hamilton recycling plant discovered the father of three’s body in a compressed bale of cardboard.”

    • Greg 22.1

      = its the ultimate risk men take with being in any relationship, why isnt it tragic…?

    • McFlock 22.2

      @ Sabine yeah.

      Hopefully they can figure out what happened pretty quickly.

      • Greg 22.2.1

        Federated Farmers union are sure helping kiwi dairy workers, during this downturn,, retaining experienced workforce and all that.
        Is John Key keeping the visa worker numbers high hoping for a dairy market swing upwards.

        • McFlock 22.2.1.1

          We don’t know what happened, yet.

          So from a certain perspective you might blame fed farmers, or the lack of income support, or whatever your comment about relationship risks meant.

          But really, it could be anything at this stage.

          • Greg 22.2.1.1.1

            He lost his farm job, and his relationship broke up, drawing a conclusion they had a farm house thrown in. she moved.

            Im just making a dig at Fed Far after Bill said kiwi’s didnt want to work hard.

            So what happens to experienced farm workers forced out of the industry,
            start importing foreign workers instead on the back of a recovery?

            • McFlock 22.2.1.1.1.1

              at the same time he couldn’t hold another job his previous boss had lined up, we don’t know why the relationship broke up, and so on.

              I get you were making a dig at a convenient target, but the guy is still in the morgue and we have no idea wtf happened. So, good for you.

    • Muttonbird 22.3

      Brighter Future, innit?

  22. Richardrawshark 23

    Any chance of an off topic, general, meeting place type hangout here, so some of us can offer things like fridges dryers, or arrange meetings, declare our love, get married, have kids, you know more us who love democracy and share a passion for all things wonderful great and small can small talk.

    As an idea.

    • Lanthanide 23.1

      There used to be Weekend Social posts where that sort of thing could be discussed. Haven’t seen one of those for quite a few months now, though. They were never particularly highly commented on, though.

      A long time ago now there was also a movement called Drinking Liberally which I think was mainly in Wellington, a frequent get-together for lefties to go to bars and drink together.

      Also The Standard has strict rules around pseudonymity, which puts a bit of a crimp on the sorts of things you list in this comment, although commentators are allowed to publicise their own identities if they choose to, in practice very few have chosen that.

      • McFlock 23.1.1

        The Drinking Liberally also happened in Dunedin for a while, but then they moved it from a bar to a vegan place and it became overly weighted with hippies for my taste so I stopped going.

        There were also a few gatherings of standardistas in the botanic gardens, some people outing their pseudonyms and others not. Those were ok for a bit.

    • Greg 23.2

      Im sure I’d score with love, it has to be better than nzdating, which has gone stale,
      I dont have a smarter phone for Tinder 🙁 cries.

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    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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    9 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
    11 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
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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
    6 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
    7 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
    21 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 ...
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    4 days ago
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