Robertson: Lessons from the Future of Work Commission

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, August 26th, 2016 - 10 comments
Categories: economy, grant robertson, labour, leadership, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

Grant Robertson’s speech to the Wellington Future of Work seminar as posted by Labour:


Lessons from the Future of Work Commission: Building Wealth from the Ground Up

Good morning, and thank you for attending today’s Future of Work Seminar here in Wellington. I want to particularly acknowledge Beth Houston who has spent many hours pulling together the programme for today’s event, and to Olivier and the staff here at the CQ Hotel for their forbearance. I also want to acknowledge all of the presenters who you will hear from today. They have an incredible range of backgrounds and interests and are of course busy people so I thank them very much indeed for spending some time with us today. As we have tried to do at every stage of the Future of Work Commission programme you will hear a range of views today. The easy thing for a political party to do is simply work out what we think the policy path forward is, and go and get people who already agree with us to support that view. We have attempted to turn that approach on its head in this project, by opening ourselves up to a range of viewpoints and ideas on what the future of work is and what we can do to shape it.

This necessarily means that not everyone speaking today agrees with each other on both the issues we are facing nor on how we should deal with them. That is a healthy way to debate issues, albeit one that takes a bit of managing for some of my dear friends in the media. What I know is that all our speakers share the view that decent, meaningful work is an essential part of the future of fair and prosperous country. We really value their contribution.

I want to particularly thank David Coats for his participation. I will introduce David more fully shortly, but to have someone of David’s international experience and insight on work matters is truly appreciated.

Today I want to talk to you about some of the lessons we have learned in the eighteen months that our project has been running, and the economic direction that it is taking us.

But before then a brief recap. Andrew Little established the Future of Work Commission as one of his first acts as Leader. I want to thank Andrew for asking me to Chair the Commission. Who knows how I would have filled my days otherwise! In all seriousness it has been a real privilege to lead this work.

We set ourselves a big goal- to report by the end of 2016 on the vision, direction and policies for an economic and social programme to enable New Zealanders to confidently face the changing nature of work and have sustainable, fulfilling and well paid employment in the coming decades.

– Decent Work

– Lower Unemployment

– Higher Wages

– Greater Economic Security

– High Skilled, Resilient Workers

In our centenary year the Labour Party has been re-asserting the importance of decent, fulfilling sustainable work as part of the core of a fair and decent society. Whatever the changes, Labour is, and wants to remain the party of work and the party of workers.

In early 2015 we established our Commission External Reference Group including a range of business people, union leaders, academics and community representatives. With their help we established six work streams – Income and Employment Security, Technology and Its Impact, Education and Training, Economic Development and Sustainability, Māori and Pasifika. For each workstream we have had two lead MPs who have coordinated the work. Some of them are with us today, and I thank all of them for their hard work.

We produced a work survey which has been completed by thousands of New Zealanders. We produced six discussion papers which have attracted hundreds of submissions, several background papers on particular proposals and in March held a two-day conference featuring four major international speakers Robert Reich, Guy Standing, Jan Owen and Goran Roos.

At last count we have held well over 100 public events, engagements with businesses and workers, schools and community groups on the work of the Commission. Thousands of New Zealanders have engaged with our work, and we are very grateful for that.

In March we released our Ten Big Ideas document that gives a snapshot of the work of the Commission and the major areas that we will focus on in our final report. That document has been updated to take account of a couple of announcements in recent months and is available for you today.

In November we will produce our final report. It will be a mixture of practical policy ideas, areas for further work and an indication of the direction of travel we wish to take to meet the goals of the project.

So what have we learned after eighteen months?

When we commenced our Future of Work Commission 18 months ago, the world was a different place. Britain was a member of the EU, the idea of Donald Trump as the candidate of a leading party in the US election was a joke, Bernie Sanders was the little heard of Independent Socialist Senator from Vermont, Jeremy Corbyn, UK Labour backbencher was preparing to defy his party whip for the 489th time and Australia was the number two ranked rugby team in the world.

One of the main themes to emerge from the Future of Work Commission study is that change in work is happening at an unprecedented pace. If nothing else is a reminder that world is changing faster than ever, these seismic political events should do so.

They also all have at their core some of the critical issues that we have encountered as we have undertaken our work. The impact of unemployment or underemployment and marginalisation from the benefits of globalisation being just a couple of these.

Interestingly, also in the period since the Commission was launched both the IMF and OECD have released papers on the impact of inequality on economic growth that have effectively pronounced the death of trickledown economics.

The IMF study has suggested that raising incomes for the poor and middle class yields measurable improvements to the national economy. Increasing the income share to the bottom 20% of citizens by one percent results in .38% jump in GDP growth, whereas in contrast increasing the income share of the top 20% if citizens yields a decline in GDP growth by .08%.

The OECD for its part has made its case saying that “economic growth is most damaged by the effects of inequality on the bottom 40% of incomes”.

In New Zealand new statistics have emerged in just the last few months showing that wealth is concentrating in the hands of the few. The top 10% have 60% of the wealth up from 55% five years ago. To look at it another way in just the last eight years the share of growth in our economy that has gone to labour has shrunk from 50% to 37%, meaning the average household has lost out on $13,428 per year since 2009.

This message that the economy is not delivering for many people has been a theme of the hundreds of submissions and dozens of public meetings and engagements. Those messages have been matched by the stories of the opportunity for decent work to be the core of a fairer society. The choice future governments have to make is if we are prepared to take the actions to seize that opportunity.

Starting a project like this we had many assumptions. One in particular has proved to be true. The intrinsic value that New Zealanders put on work. At a public meeting in Albany earlier in the year after my presentation a man who had sat attentively at the front came forward and asked, with tears in his eyes, if I could do anything to help him get a job. He had skills, qualifications, but work had eluded him lately. He wanted to work. Money was important to him of course, but he made clear what really mattered was that he wanted to feel useful. This scene was repeated at many of the 100 or so public meetings and engagements we have done.

Work matters – it is about the choices it gives you, but also a sense of fulfilment, dignity and meaning. In that light the importance of better recognising unpaid work, raising children and looking after elderly relatives has also been a feature. While the nature and experience of work is changing fast, the intrinsic values have not.

One of the other assumptions going into this exercise was the need to talk about what jobs people would do in the future. This is a difficult exercise, because of course we don’t actually know.

But from talking to young people in particular there was a desire less to talk about the jobs that they would do, but the work that they would create. Work as a 40 hour a week exercise, directed by someone else, undertaken in the same location each day is both not a reality for many, but also not desired. We have met many people, young and old, who are seeing enormous opportunity through technology, social entrepreneurship, new ways of organising work, shared value creation and less hierarchical business models to create decent work.

Yet alongside this the insecure experience of those in precarious work has also been driven home time and again. The people with no guaranteed hours of work, at the whim of a contractor or simply not paid enough in two jobs, let alone one, to make ends meet. Addressing this is a priority for Labour as we move into the next phase of our work.

The importance of education and training has hit home time and again. We have never claimed to be able to predict the future in this project. And there is genuine debate as to the extent of the change in work. We have taken on board studies such as that put together by NZIER that 46% of jobs in New Zealand are at high risk of automation in the next 15-20 years. That number has been challenged, particularly if the study is about whole jobs or tasks within jobs.

My view is that in the end the exact numbers do not matter, the change is real. And in the absence of certainty, offering the opportunity to learn to adapt, to take on new skills and to re-train are essential parts of our future approach.

That is why the first two major announcements that we have made from the Future of Work Commission have been in the area of education and training. In late January Andrew announced our Working Futures policy to provide three years free post-secondary school training and education. This is a vital investment in giving all New Zealanders the confidence to face a changing world of work. Just as the first Labour government recognised the role of secondary education for all, we believe it is our responsibility to make training and education for life a critical focus of the future.

We added to this announcement a project called the Young Entrepreneurs Programme that will give 100 young New Zealanders the support to take their business ideas forward with a grant equivalent to the three years free, and the support of business mentors. We have to recognise for some young people the best route is not straight to training or education, but the chance to branch out into the world.

Whatever path that is being followed by young New Zealanders they need to be much better prepared for the changing world of work at school. This is definitely not to say that we should be narrowing the focus of what is being learned. Quite the opposite in fact. Throughout our consultation we have been told that what employers are looking for are people with what we used to call soft skills or what Jan Owen from the Foundation for Young Australians calls enterprise skills. The ability to collaborate, be creative, ethical and empathetic, to solve complex problems and to be digitally and financially literate are what is wanted.

This points to the importance of not only looking to encourage participation in the so-called STEM subjects that will drive innovation and added value creation, but also the arts and design. As one person recently put it STEAM’D.

In July we announced our policy for a major reform of what we have called Careers Advice or Guidance. We want every student starting high school in New Zealand to have a career plan that they update through their schooling. We want to professionalise careers advice so it is no longer the responsibility of overworked teachers, but is coordinated by dedicated staff. It is also vital that careers is integrated into the learning experience of every student through classroom work and time spent in flexible programmes outside of school. We see the delivery of this as a partnership between schools, teachers, businesses, training providers and the community. This will be a major reform and will see $30 million of additional funding once it is fully rolled out. We owe nothing less to our young people. We simply cannot stand by while more than 70,000 young people aged 15-24 are not in work, education or training.

One of the major drivers in the project has been technological change, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is altering the experience of work at an unprecedented pace. The jury is out on what that will mean for long term for levels of employment, but digital equality remains a vital goal for this project.

The way we view technology is one of the things that we have learned a lot about in this project. Like clockwork whenever we have a major conference on the Future of Work, Simon Bridges puts out a media release about the Dominos pizza delivery robot trial. He did it in March, and he has done it again yesterday. Yes, New Zealanders we have the great honour to be the venue for DRU’s trial runs. This is interesting, but it raises an important distinction. We don’t want New Zealand to just be the place where others test their technology, we want to be the country that designs and develops that technology, that explores its uses and its limits. That works out what it means for people and how it adds to our well-being and standards of living. As computer scientist Alan Kay has said, the best way to predict the future is to invent it.

Ultimately technology itself is not the end point in the discussions of the future of work. It needs to be viewed as part of the means to creating decent work.

For all the changes, the future of work must be about people and how we can support them to build lives of dignity and worth. We need to be able to answer some core questions.

How do we support our people to be resilient in the face of change?

How do we support income security in an era of precarious work and the so-called gig economy?

How do we provide sustainable economic development that is focused on decent work?

The framework for approaching these questions that we are developing is the notion of building wealth from the ground up.

The challenge has been laid down to those of us on the progressive side of the fence to describe what is the alternative if trickle down really is dead? What is the economic paradigm that will meet the challenge of world of less secure work, more automation? What approach will give us the chance to take the opportunities provided by new technology, a new spirit of social entrepreneurship and the driving imperative of climate change?

My answer is that we need to begin to build wealth from the ground up. When I say wealth I do not just mean financial wealth, but the sense of wealth and value that comes with decent work. This is an approach that takes our purpose in managing the economy to ensure a fair share in prosperity.

Because there is a significant risk that in the future of work we could see inequality grow. If we allow the invisible hand of the market to dictate how this new world evolves we will leave many people further marginalised.

As much as the idea of the Brexit campaigners was utterly misguided their slogan was powerful. Take Back Control. That is what many people feel that they are no longer in control of their own lives or economic destiny. The opportunity exists in the future of work to address these issues in a constructive way that is based on a fairer share in prosperity.

There is also significant opportunity to use the changing technology, patterns of work and movements of people to give that fairer share.

The foundations for this wealth and value are what is guiding the outcomes of the Future of Work Commission.

It will require a tax system that remains simple, fair and collected but corrects the imbalances that exist between the productive and speculative parts of our economy. It will also require a tax system where everyone pays their fair share, including multinationals.

We need an education system that delivers the resilience and attributes that will give all people opportunities to learn, train and re-skills throughout their lives.

We need an active labour market policy that guarantees a just transition for those who lose their job, and gives income and employment security to workers. We cannot simply wait for people to lose their jobs and then look to find them new work.

We also need to provide support to help create work opportunities. We need to work smarter to get finance to people with the best ideas not just those with the connections or accumulated wealth. The growth of social entrepreneurship needs support and encouragement, as do new models of doing business including cooperatives, employee share schemes and other shared wealth ventures.

We have had significant feedback from small businesses around these ideas, and a full small business package will be part of our policy going into the next election. Dealing with issues around access to capital, training, efficient relationships with government and access to skilled staff are all part of that plan.

We also need to seize the opportunity to promote local, low carbon and environmentally sustaining projects. I have been introduced during this project to the idea of “glocalisation”. That while we live in an ever globalising world full of opportunity and challenges, there is an increasing desire to buy local and a need to invest in projects that support our environment, our climate change goals and create decent work.

In the regions we received a clear message on how our Future of Work project can support growing wealth from the ground up. Without fail in our consultations we have heard the deep feelings generated in response to the neglect of economic development outside of our big cities.

As one person from local government said to me their greatest fear was that they would go from being the most deprived region in New Zealand to the third or fourth because then no one in government would pay attention to them.

We have to have a more comprehensive approach to growing work and wealth in our regions. This means the government acting as an active partner in regional economies supporting businesses, iwi and local government to create work opportunities. Labour has already committed at $200 million fund to do this, as well as using the power of government procurement to enhance industries in our regions.

This approach is a straight alternative to the Koru Lounge economic approach of the current government. We want wealth to be generated not by those who have the inside running but those with the best ideas.

As you can see there are many lessons to learn from our work, and more to come, including from today.

I want to finish with one final lesson from the Commission’s work. There is huge reason to be optimistic about how New Zealand faces the future of work. We are blessed with terrific natural resources, innovative and creative people and solid foundations laid by previous generations.

With a commitment to implementing what we have learned through a mix of policies, directions and collaborations, we have within our grasp the ability to make the future in New Zealand one of shared prosperity, where we measure our success on the opportunity and hope we give to each and every person. I look forward to the discussions today that will add to that picture.

10 comments on “Robertson: Lessons from the Future of Work Commission ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    Get off capitalism, get off the profit motive, get off the need for paid employment, and get off consumerism based society.

    These are the changes this country (/world) needs if it is going to survive.

  2. Siobhan 2

    David Coats…”David’s international experience and insight on work matters is truly appreciated”….Is this the same David Coates who has done work for TESCO UK that he is so proud of it features in his 4 paragraph company profile???

    “Tesco considering cutting store staff by 39,000 over three years”

    “Tesco store staff to get 3.1% extra pay – but cuts to bonuses
    Supermarket says 85% of workers will be better off, but terms and conditions remain behind those of Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl”

    ………

    Consultants just don’t feature that highly on my ‘most trusted’ category. They have a tendency to deliver whatever the client is paying for, they aren’t exactly the best at offering honest political insight.

  3. save nz 3

    Great speech. +100

  4. Ad 4

    Very thoughtful, practical and encouraging.

  5. Bill 5

    Jobs, growth, dignity, globalisation – blah, blah.

    It’s a round planet!

    Work and dignity tend to go together just as jobs and indignity usually go together.

    Globalisation hasn’t suffered from some glitch that meant people got left out. Globalisation was always, and by design, going to exclude and marginalise swathes of people.

    I previously highlighted what a crock of 1920s techno-utopian shit the report all this automation was based on is – meanwhile, global warming won’t be stopped or averted by anything signposted by this upbeat “business as usual” tosh that honestly just makes me imagine Copernicus being confronted by orthodox astronomers insisting that the sun does indeed orbit the earth and that the earth occupies the centre of the universe…

    People are going to need to learn how to grow stuff and make or repair everyday things such as shoes and clothes, fashion useful tools that will withstand tests of time and construct buildings and infrastructures that will withstand 3.5 or 4 degrees of warming and rising sea levels.

    We ain’t going to app, software or automate our way through the world as it will be a generation from now. Don’t believe me? Go read up on the basic laws of physics.

  6. Garibaldi 6

    Good god. What a load of twaddle. Hasn’t Robertson got anything to do? Need ,want, have to do …blah blah blah. Who is going learn anything about what Labour will actually do when they accidentally win( if National hopefully implodes) ,from reading this address ?

    • righty right 6.1

      you think its twaddle do you

      have look at this robot laying bricks its real its coming and your key wanker has done nothing

      https://youtu.be/RorMwQn4CoI

      • Red Hand 6.1.1

        There are laws banning child labour and there can be laws banning robot labour. Would take big, strong unions and long term lobbying, with the people on side.

        • coffee connoisuer 6.1.1.1

          Banning Robot labour is not the answer. Automation is happening whether you like it or not. Its been happening for 30 years now and its not going to stop. Besides think about it from a viewpoint outside of the system. You have all of this automation and the best solution you have is essentially ban the automation?

          Robertson’s teams thinking is also limited. Its limited to within the bounds of the current system. it focuses on what jobs will there be in the current system in the future without stopping to actually take a look to ask the question if this is what is happening and peoples futures become less secure as a result, then does the system still work for us.

          We focus on the wrong things. We focus on the colour of a mans skin. We focus on how much money can be made and what is the value of a particular job. We focus on maximum profit and ignore that in order to get it it requires maximum environmental destruction or the loss of jobs through automation. We focus on ensuring people have work because we have accepted the notion that a man who has free time will get up to no good. Its almost archaic that we still think this way.

          Theres no rules in life. Only those you choose to follow. We should want a world where art and literature is enabled for the betterment of society yet in the current system people are disincentivised to do these things by the amount of money that is commonly able to be made from them and the need to ensure you can pay for essential basic needs or simply the cost of day to day living. Based on money that can be earned the system incentivises crime and prostitution as career choices far more. Think about that for a moment.

          This is the thing. Its your life. Is this really how you want to live it? We live in a world filled with Duality so ask yourself questions in a dualistic way for yourself as an individual and see what begins to emerge.
          Questions like.
          Would you prefer to work more or less in life.
          Would you like education to be free or would you prefer to pay for it.
          Do you want to work until you die or would you prefer to have more free time.
          Do you need money or simply the things that money can buy.
          Do you think children are better raised in a healthy family unit by parents who have the time to raise them and are able to provide them with all of the things they need or is it better to farm them out to strangers to look after so you can work to hopefully make enough money in order to provide those things.
          Do you want a world without poverty or one with poverty.
          Do you want a world with war or one without.
          Do you want a system where a man can build a home for himself and his family only to have it taken away from him because he falls on hard times.
          Do you want a system that destroys the natural world around us to simply extract profit from it or do you want a system where we build ecosystems.

          We have a bunch of children running around telling us what we need to keep alive a system that enriches a small handful of people at the expense of the many and Robertsons future of work simply perpetuates this and accepts the fact that work and therefore peoples futures will now be even more uncertain than they already are. And whats worse is that it is simply accepted without question. If this is to be the way it is a world where you will likely have to work until the day you die and a world where the chance of your daugfhters turning to prostitution not because it was their choice of career but because it pays better than being an artist and because they too need to put food on the table……

          If this is the world we want then we should legal;ise euthanasia. That way anyone whose future has become uncertain and who no longer wants tio live in a world with such a cruel system has a way out.

          We need to change our thinking. It is not the skills a man has that should determine a mans worth and how he is paid. No in a world of automation it should be the hours of a mans life taken up by work that should be what is of value. Whether the man is a doctor or a toilet cleaner.
          We need to change our thinking to put in place a system that enables mankind, not one that forces them to work in order to survive and enslaves them with debt.

          Every single man women and child has things in common with everyone else.
          We are all human beings.
          We all have wants and needs
          Those wants and needs are delivered through products and services.
          The system we use to do this up until this point is a monetary system.
          The monetary system we use is a debt based one.
          It gives a select few in this world the ability to create money
          They do this by creating debt.
          In this debt based monetary system everyone needs money in order to meet their needs and wants.
          This is the second barrier they need to overcome.
          The first barrier is getting a job.

          A good system for Human beings doesn’t have barriers to people meeting their basic needs.
          A good system eliminates barriers and enables people to meet their basic needs

          Our system doesn’t do this

          Our system doesn’t have to use money it simply has to enable people to meet their basic needs and even better their wants.
          It doesn’t have to be equal either.
          It simply needs to enable people to be happy in whatever that means for them without doing harm to others and with the most efficient use of resources.

          Our system doesnt even have to have ownership. Usership or right of usership would work just as well and would even lead to more efficient use of resources.

          Our monetary system doesn’t have ton be debt based.

          again its your life. Noone elses. Do you really want to spend the rest of it working 5 days a week 10 – 12 hours a day if your lucky cause thats what you need to do to make ends meet. Is that really how you want to live the rest of your life?

          Or would you prefer a world where time and the value of time taken from a mans life to work is what is valued most. because this way the driver will become freeing every man from the bond of unnecessary labour. It will be about freeing him to actually live his life. It would become about building the best world to do this in for our everyone and especially for our children.
          In time the world would be our playground. A place to have fun and explore. A place where every man is finally free. A world with love for your fellow man.

          The system needs to change.

          It is time.

  7. Michael 7

    Grant’s speech certainly covers the bases and it’s evident he’s read all the material obtained by the FoW Commission. He deserves kudos for that effort. As for his speech, it reveals one of Labour’s (many) enduring sins: it’s desire to appear all things to all people. Grant wants to be nice to capitalists and to workers, simultanously. But what if he has to choose between the two groups, as so often happens in government? No clues from this speech; in that case, we have to look at Labour’s actions while in government. The lesson here is that it will side with capital, and Big Finance in particular, every time, while disregarding, downplaying, or even denigrating, the interests of ordinary New Zealanders (whether in paid employment or not). Unless or until Labour addresses this political dichotomy, it’s not worth voting for: better to have the Nats, as an obvious enemy, in office, rather than a false friend.

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    15 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
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 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
    5 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
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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