Parker as interim leader

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, September 30th, 2014 - 80 comments
Categories: david parker, labour, leadership - Tags:

According to early reports (Twitter) David Parker is interim leader of the Labour Party, with Annette King as deputy.

In my opinion a safe set of hands. Their first task should be to make sure that the leadership contest is positive and constructive, as the last one was.

80 comments on “Parker as interim leader ”

  1. Apples 1

    Parker is excellent. His speech to the Labour Party Conference was particularly great.

    His indication that he has lost confidence in Cunliffe as leader should give even the most die-hard DC supporters cause for some reflection. Who is going to be DC’s finance spokesperson? Someone who publicly said he doesn’t have confidence in him?

    I respect DC for his hard-work and his brains. But I don’t think leadership is tenable. It really is time for some unity and clarity of purpose.

    • Harry Holland 1.1

      Is that statement about loss of confidence a misquote? All I saw was Parker saying he thought Cunliffe’s position was untenable. That’s not quite the same thing in my book. ‘Confidence’ is personal. ‘Untenable’ sounds more like an assessment of the overall situation given the likelihood of on-going caucus conflict.

      • Apples 1.1.1

        That’s a good point. I’m fairly sure he said he had lost confidence in Cunliffe, although I can’t find a direct quote. He certainly implied it was the case when it was put to him directly.

  2. coaster 2

    If he gets good prefered pm results maybe he could be conned into staying on in the role.

  3. Chris 3

    What’s there left to lead?

  4. Tracey 4

    fairfax think people disagreeing is the same as “coming to blows”. doesnt that normally mean physical blows…

    • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1

      What Fairfax are doing can be described as “thinking”, I suppose.

      Overt hostility requires some sort of thought process, after all.

  5. adam 5

    Don’t those two just look like the cat who drank the milk.

    Another victory for right thinking middle NZ

    Mr Parker said he and Ms King – “the grandmother of the party now” – were chosen because they could offer stability and impartiality in the interim.

    Yeap victory for a shift to the centre and a whole new assault on working people.

    I hope you’re happy, but please don’t call yourself left wing if you support the labour party – because you’re not.

    • …please don’t call yourself left wing if you support the labour party – because you’re not.

      Well, yeah. People who are “left wing” vote for the Greens or Mana – the Labour Party is meant to be for people who aren’t “left wing” but whose class interests lie further left than National’s. I doubt anyone in the Labour Party is keen to ditch that extensive ground so they can scrap with the Greens and Mana for the 5 or 10% of the population who vote “left wing.” I expect to see Labour to the right of me, and if they’re not to the right of me they’re going to lose big-time, every time.

      • Harry Holland 5.1.1

        +1 Psycho Milt
        Real left can be fun… unless of course you ever want to lead a govt in NZ.

        • adam 5.1.1.1

          So we must all embrace neo-liberal economics – and you use a handle like Harry Holland. Please don’t offend the man’s legacy, drop the nic mate.

          • lurgee 5.1.1.1.1

            WTF? There’s nothing between ‘left’ and ‘neo-liberal’ in your political understanding?

            • adam 5.1.1.1.1.1

              What are you saying lurgee? Liberalism is OK for you and yours – so bugger off anyone wanting to drag us back to socialism?

              • lurgee

                I’m saying that between Socialism on the left and Neo-Liberalism on the far right (as most normal people would define them) you have a whole range of different options. Anyone defining the debate as a choice between just those two options is being silly.

                • adam

                  I didn’t, I just saying liberalism is right wing – in all it’s forms. I do believe there is a spectrum and it’s even wider than you suggest. Also the freedom versus authoritarian principles – so top to bottom and if freedom is bottom, then I’m rushing down there.

          • Harry Holland 5.1.1.1.2

            That piece of finger-waving doesn’t make any sense adam. Both Psycho and I are saying that we don’t believe Labour can win leadership of a govt in these times of ours unless they are to the right of our own (left-wing) politics. And since you invoke the real HH, yes I don’t believe he would be electable as a PM in NZ in these times either. Doesn’t change my views on how things should be, but reality is important.

            • adam 5.1.1.1.2.1

              What reality Harry, the one you perceive, or the one driven by mass media and fear? What reality, the one that says we live in the end of history or in the victory of western civilisation?

              Do you think the early labour people hide behind perceptions of reality? Or that they ignored they lived in a world of haves and have nots. Or they understood their was a radical divisions in wealth and privilege? All this with a powerful, violent and radical upper class willing to use force to impose their will?

              I think they overcame their fears, and decided to change the world.

              I just think it’s a bit of a cop out to think the times are so different and that the stakes have changed. Nothing has changed, well technology – that aside, people have not changed much and people are still suffering and the rich and powerful still treat the down trodden like shit and the middle classes are still self absorbed assholes.

              Why should socialist go for anything less, whether you be a Democratic Socialist, a Marxist, Anarchist, Feminist, Green or any other shade of socialism you can think of – yeap flag waving and a desire for a better world that’s me – not some half assed victory in an election with some soft cock liberals whining that the poor are undeserving and their chardonnay is too oaky.

              • blue leopard

                That is the spirit we need.

                I nominate Adam for PM.

                • Colonial Viper

                  Let’s start with an Associate Minister post outside Cabinet and build up form there eh.

                  • blue leopard

                    Heh, good plan, I nominate Adam for Associate Minister of Anarchy.

                    (Seem to recall Adam is an Anarchist, so he might be agreeable to that)

                    Might be easier to infiltrate him into Act first – that would fast-track him to power in a matter of minutes.

      • Apples 5.1.2

        According to the 2005 NZ Values Survey, about 50% of NZers consider themselves to be “centre”. About 17% each for “centre-left” and “centre-right”, and about 5% for “left” and right”. May have changed a bit since 2005 but probably holds broadly true.

        So not many NZers identity as “left”. However, on the other hand, a lot of NZers who identify as centre actually support very left-wing policy. They want the Government to do more to alleviate poverty and inequality, for example. So the issue can often be more about framing than ideology. And also about “valence”, competence and unity.

        We need a Labour Party that can take our values and show how they are NZ values. That can build trust that we are going to competently implement our policies to better the lives of NZ.

        Broadly, I think NZers can and will support “radical” policy that will tackle poverty and inequality, improve our lives and protect the environment. We really don’t need a lurch to the right. But we do need to consider our positioning and our leadership.

        • Clemgeopin 5.1.2.1

          I agree.
          All this stupid ‘fight’ in the media between the personalities and supporters should stop as it will not only not enhance the candidates, but actually bring the party, which is more important than them, into disrepute. Instead, the leaders should talk about their vision, direction, policies and more importantly, what their values are.

          During this campaign, I would love to read from each of the candidate a BRIEF account of their own values and a list of about ten of the MOST important policies they would like to implement if chosen as the leader.

          Just being smart talking heads is not good enough.

    • Jim 5.2

      Adam what’s your problem! David Parker and Annett King are not standing for leadership roles in the Labour Party they are just filling interim roles until the leader and deputy are appointed. This is not a move to the left or right for labour, there just interim positions. Last year the leadership road show and election was great for labour in terms of membership numbers, press coverage and poles. Like most people in the party I will be deciding after hearing from the candidates rather than any left, far left, not left enough to be left drivel.

      • adam 5.2.1

        Well from people who just lost an election big time and seem hell bent on selling out working people and the dispossessed again, I expect nothing less jim. I find the lack of will by many in labour to discuss the structural, and economic issues it has. Coupled, with a mad rush off into some silly little game of thrones side track, offensive.

        I’m truly bewildered you don’t.

        The labour party was established to promote socialism and fight the excesses of liberalism – and by default protect working people. It has not done that for 30 years, actually, it has done the exact opposite. So left, simply explained in my view, a promotion of socialist economics, in it’s many and varied forms. From Marxism to Anarchism to Social Democracy and everything inbetween. Capitalism, is not a left wing doctrine, sorry if you’re confused.

        I’m drawing a line, something which the labour party and many of it’s supporters have failed to do.

        If you don’t like that I’m calling out that labour party has a liberalism infestation – well, sorry for you.

    • Chooky 5.3

      well according to who becomes leader of the Labour Party…INt/Mana and the Greens will be waiting in the wings

      …i would suggest that if Cunliffe does not become leader then the Labour Party will cease to be a Labour Party …many grassroots members will leave and the Party itself will wither into something more akin to National..is that a Social Democrat Party or a Liberal Party?

      as for Parker losing “confidence in Cunliffe as leader “…maybe Cunliffe also indicated he didnt have confidence in Parker as a Minister of Finance?….who lost confidence first?…maybe it is mutual?

      …there have been a number of criticisms of Parkers’ handling of Labour’s finance policy from labour commentators ….some say it lost Labour the election…that the grassroots NZ Labour voters did not like Parker’s economic policies…eg raising super age and Capital Gains Tax on small businesses, small farm and the second home retirement investment etc…and there was not enough positive for tertiary and university students…helping people get homes etc…stopping foreign speculation…Labour bled to NZF

  6. red blooded 6

    Hey, Chooky, let’s remember that these policies were:
    1) Democratically decided and endorsed by the wider party, and
    2) Part of the package Cunliffe fronted as Finance spokesperson last time.

    Parker didn’t own those policies, he certainly didn’t lose is the election and he not grabbing power. Get over it. Cunliffe is a politician, not the messiah. It’s OK to disagree with or criticise him. That’s what happens to politicians – it comes with the territory.

    • indiana 6.1

      Isn’t “criticism” the polite word for “dirty politics”?

      • Colonial Viper 6.1.1

        “Dirty Politics” is the abuse of Ministerial/Prime Ministerial power in order to run a two track PR game, disseminating smears and attacks against your political opponents, while looking like you are keeping your hands clean yourself.

      • Tracey 6.1.2

        not if you have read the book itsnot.

    • Jenny Kirk 6.2

      Come on Red Blooded – what a nonsense to say “Parker didn’t own those policies”
      Of course he did, he was the architect of them – and as for the Super Age Raising policy – it wasn’t put forward as a remit nor debated in a democratic fashion by the wider party, it was put to them as a fait accompli !

      • Kiwiri 6.2.1

        + 1

        The Super Age Raising policy does not have support from three generations of voters in my family and my social circle. I have had to choose between dropping my head in silence when that gets discussed or launch an argument that I know I personally cannot defend.

      • Clemgeopin 6.2.2

        as for the Super Age Raising policy – it wasn’t put forward as a remit nor debated in a democratic fashion by the wider party, it was put to them as a fait accompli !

        If that is true, then it is shocking! All policies, especially controversial policies that have long term consequences for all, such as the retirement age and capital gains tax should most definitely have been discussed and debated with the caucus to get as much of feedback and alternate suggestions as possible, and then voted on unanimously or by majority before putting it to the public.

      • Saarbo 6.2.3

        +1
        Yep,not a helpful policy in winning “workers” back to the Labour Party.

      • red blooded 6.2.4

        I’m pointing out that was also policy in 2011 (with Cunliffe as Finance Spokesperson). Besides which, even if it HAD mushroomed out of nowhere under Parker and been imposed on the Party (NOT what happened) – Cunliffe was the leader and had plenty of influence over policy.

        Raising the age may not be a popularist policy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a necessary one (recognising that people now live and work longer and rebalancing our resources towards the young) and it certainly doesn’t make it a right wing conspiracy to destroy the Labour Party. Yes, there were complications with the policy (physical labour, groups of people who tend to live shorter lives), but a lot of those complications could actually be addressed by other policies to improve health and wellbeing and to close the gaps (e.g. between Māori and others).

  7. Skinny 7

    If it’s just Cunliffe and Robertson in the leadership battle it will be a nasty affair with Robertson already having a crack over the loss and attributing plenty of blam to the leader.

    I would prefer Adern enter the race to lift positive interest and the possibility of wining asthe other 2 have a few enemies and negatives.

    • Tracey 7.1

      she seems very reluctant. cant say i blame her. she is very young. why would anyone want a reluctant leader

    • Colonial Viper 7.2

      I don’t think this is going to be ‘Vote Positive’ compared to the 2013 leadership primary.

  8. Tom Gould 8

    It will be a nice respite to have calm and experienced folks like Parker and King holding the ship together while the contestants fight it out. The House will be back in a few weeks and someone has to run the show while the egos indulge their ambitions.

    • Harry Holland 8.1

      While I think DC elected unopposed would have been cleanest for Labour, the contest with Robertson looks like creating a strong option for a third party to come through the middle as DC and GR tarnish each other.
      .
      RadioNZ is reporting that Parker has left wiggle room for a challenge – “Ruled myself out” “no intention of standing” “haven’t changed my mind” but apparently when pressed refused to rule out the possibility that he could change his mind.
      Annette King could also pull it off.
      .
      When is the last day for nominations?

  9. red blooded 9

    Just coming back into the discussion re retirement policy (& others) – sorry folks, I can’t figure out how to use the Reply function via my phone. Let’s remember, Labour developed this policy under Cunliffe and took it into the 2011 election:
    http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2011/10/28/gordon-campbell-on-labour-plans-to-raise-the-retirement-age/

    Besides, no one person ‘owns’ a policy that has been researched, debated at many levels and endorsed before being incorporated into an election campaign.

    Let’s try and back away from personality politics – and that includes blaming individuals for unpopular policies.

  10. Nosam 10

    I am a Cunliffe supporter and even I think he is toast. I do not like Robertson, he seems smarmy and insincere. Now that he stated he can beat Key is arrogant bordering delusional. The only way to save Labour is the third way! And that is someone like Parker who can run through the middle and minimise the damage. If Parker is encouraged, I think he’ll lead. I know his personal life has had some controversy, but no one cares about such things in this day and age.

  11. Not a PS Staffer 11

    Annette King, Phil Goff and Trevor Mallard served in Clark’s government and have indicted they are looking to the post parliamentary stage of their careers.

    One would have expected them to not stand at the last election, to make space for the next generation to grow with a Labour government over the next, say, three terms.
    (Like Darien Fenton did so graciously.)
    But they didn’t.

    Did they stay so that they could form part of Robertson’s coup attempt?
    Did they stay so that they could form part of Robertson’s plan to cancel the Membership’s right to participate in the Leadership vote?

    • Colonial Viper 11.1

      to make space for the next generation to grow with a Labour government over the next, say, three terms. (Like Darien Fenton did so graciously.)

      Darien Fenton has not left caucus graciously.

      Instead of retiring and putting some space between herself and what is happpening now, she is actively campaigning against Cunliffe in the leadership primary.

    • Treetop 11.2

      Grasping change does not happen quick enough for some people, to survive is to adapt.

  12. boldsirbrian 12

    If the South Africans under Mandela could bring about the whites and blacks working together, you would think that it would be easily possible for two sides of the NZ Labour Party to work together constructively. And the two sides cannot even define in what way they differ, apart from hurling insults and smears into the wind.

    Reading this blog with the “hunting pack” mentality against the nasty group on the “right” is almost depressing. Surely it’s possible to think “healing”. Perhaps follow the example of saviour, Cunliffe, who has indicated he will take Robertson as his deputy.

    I’m becoming more impressed with the Greens, day by day.

  13. boldsirbrian 13

    If the South Africans under Mandela could bring about the whites and blacks working together, you would think that it would be easily possible for two sides of the NZ Labour Party to work together constructively. And the two sides cannot even define in what way they differ, apart from hurling insults and smears into the wind.

    Reading this blog with the “hunting pack” mentality against the nasty group on the “right” is almost depressing. Surely it’s possible to think “healing”. Perhaps follow the example of saviour, Cunliffe, who has indicated he will take Robertson as his deputy.

    I’m becoming more impressed with the Greens, day by day.

  14. Michael 14

    I think David Parker should stay as leader for at least the next 12 months, while Labour reflects on its catastrophic performance and decides whether it wants to be a “Labour” party or a “National” one. Without that exercise, any leadership change will merely be cosmetic and doomed to fail. Some hard work and honesty is necessary.

    • Tel 14.1

      I agree. Parker should stay as leader for 12 months at least, and then onwards to the next election. Just for a change it would be good to see a quiet revolution take place within Labour and for the all the nonsensical egotism to be shelved until another election proves otherwise. Unfortunately the Labour carcass (not a typo) is so out of touch with what the raw ingredients required to make a new leader look like, this new round of pass the hot potato is doomed to fail.

  15. ianmac 15

    If Dirty Tricks really come home to roost as they should, we should have electable leaders and teams in place in case there is a snap election.
    Is Key capable of that? Yes.
    Do they have the money? Yes.
    Do we? No.

  16. burt 16

    rOb

    The leadership contest as positive and constructive as the last one….

    Do you enjoy having these things every year and getting thumped in an election?

    If you don’t, please define what was positive or constructive about the last leadership process.

  17. Richard 17

    Parkers blown his impartiality already, Kings her usual clear headed self however.

    The media want Robertson, obviously easier to target pre elections, I’ve noticed constant clips of Robertson and small quotes or nothing about DC.

    This is my issue the media of NZ are dictating how things should pan out.

    It’s outrageous. Some of the media need the bloody heads banging together.

    I’m starting to get overly pissed off about NZ media to the point of frustration.

  18. Marksman33 18

    RNZ yesterday, Now we are crossing to parliament for breaking news.
    Parker : l’d like to introduce Annette King as deputy leader.
    Quik as a flash.
    Gower : Congratulations Annette !
    Quick as a flash.
    King : Thankyou Paddy ( simpering)

    Sickening.

  19. Mark 19

    David Parker is right. Cunliffe’s position is untenable. The Party needs to take a collective breath right now and slow down the leadership section process until the review of the election defeat has been completed.

    Parker and King are a safe option and do not covet the top job so should be acceptable to both factions.

    If either Cunliffe or Robertson is elected leader it is unlikely that either will survive until the next election such is the rift in Caucus and the party. It would there for seem sensible to have a stand-in leadership until the the strategy for moving forward is clear and then the right leadership for that strategy can be chosen. If that takes 6 months so what, it has to be better than the knee jerk stuff that is going on right now.

    • Treetop 19.1

      Cunliffe’s position is untenable.

      No more untenable than anyone else in the caucus.

      What bothers me more is that the whole Labour caucus becomes untenable in 2017.

      • lprent 19.1.1

        That is my position as well. I can’t see how Robertson (for instance) can get the caucus or members working together, especially with his bloody silly opening moves. Same with all of the other possible candidates

        Whichever way this turns out I starting to think that this selfish self-centered caucus has managed to completely stuff the Labour party and the left for the next 6-9 years.

        Anyway, we’ll see how this plays out. You never know a miracle may happen.

        • finbar 19.1.1.1

          The push for leadership, should be left until the soul searching is over about why they did do so badly, and like it or not, it was not down to one individual,it was down to them all collectively.

          What conclusions this working party investigating the why and where it all went wrong, has only one certainty out of all the other possible or probables they come up with and it is a major one, the constant infighting of the caucus over the past six years.

          The policies that they stood on this time round were excellent however,they did not find favour with the voting public, understanding that in all they were not to far removed from the present ruling corporation,however they were touted.

          That said,the investigation shall come to the obvious understanding that we have to reconect with the public and make us relevent to them again.Understanding that the Kiwi voter is in the most conservative in their voting and that conservatism comes from the understanding, whats in it for me,not whats in it for us all, however, their social standing.

    • Clemgeopin 19.2

      If either Cunliffe or Robertson is elected leader it is unlikely that either will survive until the next election such is the rift in Caucus and the party

      Before the vote, every member (caucus, membership and unions) should be asked to sign a declaration that after the vote, the elected leader will get their complete support irrespective of which candidate they voted for.

      No declaration, no vote.

      [That does not mean policy issues can not be debated constructively at caucus and conference, but must be done without undermining the elected leader or the party]

  20. Lorraine 20

    I don’t blame Cunliffe’ wife having a go at the backstabbing b… who undermined Cunliffe during the election. This is why Labour is finished. This is why the election results were so bad. Labour is too focused on stabbing each other in the back than putting their forces together and winning an election. Cunliffe did a good job during the debates and I think he did a good job given that he was being undermined at every turn by those in his caucus. Labour is finished if it continues this way. I thought Grant Robertson may have a future as a leader but instead he has shown that he is a backstabber lately. I have been a labour supporter but I wont be voting labour again until they get their act together and I won’t be voting for labour with any of the backstabbers in charge. ABC crowd. Labour your dead.

    • Saarbo 20.1

      Yep, I agree. Refer this from Dim Post on why the mallards etc are happy to continue to promote self destruction http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/nash-equilibrium/

      Danyl has nailed a couple of things that need to be looked at in Labours review in my humble opinion, including his political version of maslows hierarchy which is also on the mark.

    • DC for PM 20.2

      +100 Lorraine. I don’t blame her either. She’d held her tongue for a year, and she’d finally had enough. If Cunliffe gets re-elected and can squash the ABC lot, they might have a chance, but otherwise we should all renew our passports.

      • red blooded 20.2.1

        Hey, I’m sure she was fed up and fighting for her man, but she sure didn’t do him or the party any good. She (and he) came off looking underhand and vicious and it simply reinforced the “knives out” image of the election contest.

        Ask yourselves how you would be seeing this is Robertson’s partner had been revealed to be behind an account that was slagging off Cunliffe under a pseudonym.

    • Kiwiri 20.3

      Grant has been known to me before he set foot in Parliament and several of my policy/political suggestions to him have (I would like to think) been adopted and advanced by him. My advice to him publicly at this stage is that – for the party, the caucus and his own career path – he ought to have taken the better approach of continuing to back Cunliffe and they both could have also discussed Grant’s deputyship. There is still time to do this to reunify the Labour Party to swiftly move forward as a powerful force of opposition in challenging the National Party and in building the campaign for 2017.

      • Clemgeopin 20.3.1

        Great suggestion! That will solve all the hubris and bad stuff at this stage.
        I would add that Labour needs two deputies, one of which should be a woman. To me, at this stage, the best option is Nania Mahuta.

        Leader : Cunliffe.
        Deputies: Robertson & Mahuta

        Those that are not happy and can’t show unity, should be asked to leave the caucus and either remain as independent MPs or form their own Neo-Lib-Lab Party.

  21. Bill 21

    Given that both Parker and King are from deep within Robertsons support base, I’d be wary of referring to them as ‘safe set of hands’.

    In conjunction with Robertsons’ camp installing Hipkins as chief whip, I’m curious whether there is information those people would be privy to, that others wouldn’t be privy to, and that could be used to continue the nonsense of the past twelve months or so to the advantage of Robertson.

    Meanwhile, we need a third candidate from no discernible camp to step forward and be endorsed by Cunliffe, who then needs to step back.

    Probably waiting in vain.

  22. Tania 22

    He was in the anyone but cunliffe camp so not surprised he stabbed cunliffe as soon as he can

  23. dave 23

    i think what contributed labours loss

    if labour and greens had got in house prices would have droped
    power company shares would have plummeted
    low paid workers would have got rises
    tax evaders would have got hit

    people who would have benefited the most don’t and wont vote

    the baby bloomers want the privilege rentie class existence to continue to hell with the rest of us .

  24. Dennis Scoles 24

    If David Cunliffe really has the best interests of the Labour Party at heart, and not simply his own best interests, he would step aside from the leadership race and allow the bickering to stop. I am still hopeful that David Shearer will step up, as he is the only statesman-like politician in the Labour Party.

    • burt 24.1

      A Labour MP not acting in their own best interest…. Are you new to politics in NZ?

    • Clemgeopin 24.2

      Your comment is nonsense. You could say that same thing to Robertson or to any other potential candidate.
      May be his standing is in the best interest of the party!

  25. Your comment is nonsense.

    Cunliffe has every right to stand again as leader and if he is elected I will support him. However, to suggest that any other candidate should step aside ignores the facts that:

    1) Cunliffe is clearly unable to unite his caucus. The ability to create a team (even when there is disharmony or conflict) is part of leadership. It’s not good enough to just keep repeating that anyone who doesn’t like Cunliffe should resign – these are the people who have stepped up and who have been elected, both by the party and by the wider electorate. They are not a cult – they are the public face of a political party. It’s not surprising that there are people with strong opinions, big personalities and ambitions in a political party – it would be surprising (and sad) if there weren’t. (Think NZ First – the cult of Peters.)
    2) The party has a constitution. Cunliffe was happy to use it to get himself elected. The same constitution allows others to stand for election.
    3) We got caned in the last election – under Cunliffe.

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    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
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    10 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
    22 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
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    4 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
    6 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
    20 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
    24 hours 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
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