September 18th

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, April 8th, 2014 - 46 comments
Categories: activism, class, class war, colonialism, democratic participation, political alternatives, referendum, uk politics - Tags: , , , , ,

The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.

On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.

It’s worth noting that the vote is not about voting for Alex Salmond or the SNP. And it’s not about whether people agree or disagree with the SNP’s ‘white paper’ on a post referendum Scotland either. The referendum is, afterall, a referendum on independence. It’s not a parliamentary election asking people to vote for a particular party or government.

Bottom line. Independence is a far broader beast than the SNP. The independence movement includes the Scottish Green Party  the Scottish Socialist Party , Solidarity  members of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats as well as a wheen of a-political organisations and individuals as well as many artists.  Not surprisingly, Labour Party affiliated unions (if not their members) have  adopted a neutral stance (eg – Unite) or somewhat stupidly and controversially, endorsed a ‘no’ vote (eg – GMB)

Not that you’d get any impression of the breadth of opinion encompassed or represented by the ‘Yes’ campaign from mainstream coverage. It tends to present the whole question of independence as a dumbed down stoush between the SNP and the Westminster establishment.

And not that you’ll get a taste of what people are thinking or saying from a mainstream coverage that revolves around poll results and the two-ing and fro-ing over the latest spurious economic argument (They are all spurious, by the way, because the economic framework is so complex, that almost any interpretation can be shaken out of the numbers).

And not that you’ll get an idea of peoples’ hopes and wants from a mainstream media content to suck in its collective inky breath in mock horror at the latest lie, the latest manipulation or the latest accusation coming from big name political personalities.

Obviously, I don’t live in Scotland any more. So I can’t provide any first hand account of what is going on in the streets and around the schemes. However. I’m picking that this youtube video of Cat Boyd speaking at a public meeting in Lanarkshire probably captures something of the essence of where people in Scotland are at the moment.

Final word on this. I think it’s fair to assume the result will be fairly close. A ‘No’ vote – unlike in 1979 when the result of the devolution vote was monkey-wrenched by the then Labour Government in Westminster – will not mean that people get pissed off,  grumble and shuffle off home. Politics, real politics have been unleashed in Scotland this time round. And I just don’t think that’s going to be coming to heel any time soon. If you don’t believe me, go around youtube or various sites hosting videos of presentations and meetings and look, not just at the numbers of people in those audiences, but the make-up of those audiences.

46 comments on “September 18th ”

  1. karol 1

    That speech by Cat Boyd on the video is pretty inspiring – not just re-Scotland but “brother to brother the world o’re, a man’s a man for a’ that” (leeway for the gendering of something written in the 18th century.) 307 years of union with England – it’s a long time to regain independence.

    Things she says like how Britain has failed the people economically socially and politically:

    Economically – the speculators etc. that caused the GFC

    Failed socially – poor standards of living, poor housing, the least happy children, and worst care for the aged.

    Failed politically- “public opinion” (IE of the focus group and poll obssesors there’s no parties in Westminster supporting the will of the majority as shown in several polls:

    12 to 1 against privatisation of the NHS; 66% backing rail nationalisation

    Austerity at home, war on the poor, war abroad. Britain is failing its people – and we are supposed to be celebrating some over-privileged royals come to visit us.

    • Bill 1.1

      It’s something I’ve been noticing in speech after speech and in debate after debate…the main thrust is avowedly anti-neoliberal and the broader picture being painted applies just as much to NZ as it does to Scotland within the UK.

    • Ennui 1.2

      I suspect that Union with England, Northern Ireland and Wales is a much broader issue than the things you have mentioned, such as the more recent neo liberal experience. Remember that same social experience is common to all Britons, not just Scots.

      Will breaking the Union reverse three hundred years of integrating the British economy, something achieved during the shared experience of industrialization, colonial imperialism, and now the end of Empire and post industrialism? Can the Scots go it alone? There is a very deep suspicion that breaking with the Union might leave Scotland a poor neighbour, with future Scots preferring the economic and social conditions south of the border.

      • Grant Cruickshank 1.2.1

        “Can the Scots go it alone? There is a very deep suspicion that breaking with the Union might leave Scotland a poor neighbour, with future Scots preferring the economic and social conditions south of the border”

        The Financial Times disagrees. Even without Oil Scotland would have the same economic strength as Italy. With it, we’d be equivalent to Germany, that impoverished, 3rd world backwater. I think it’s very likely to be the other way around: the English, already wondering why we have free prescriptions and eye tests, are going to be preferring conditions North of the Border. Life may become very difficult for Westminster politicians post-Independence.

  2. fisiani 2

    A Scotland with no pound, no right to be part of the EU, and no future. That’s why the vote will be a resounding NO.

    • Te Reo Putake 2.1

      Define ‘resounding’, fisi. The polls say the undecided are trending toward a no vote, which means a yes vote in the low fifties, as it stands. Maybe less on the day. Of course, there are some folk in NZ who think getting 47.31% constitutes a mandate, so ‘resounding’ could be quite a fluid concept.

      From YouGov:

      “Support for Scottish independence is at the highest level that YouGov has recorded to date, and the main reason is that Alex Salmond has started to shift opinion among Scotland’s women

      Our latest survey for The Times shows that 37% of all Scots would vote yes, while 52% would vote no.

      The ‘no’ vote has remained steady. This is the fifth survey that YouGov has conducted since early December. In each one, the ‘no’ vote has been 52 or 53%. But the ‘yes’ vote has been creeping up, from 33% before Christmas to 37% now, as ‘don’t knows’ have started to jump off the fence.

      When we exclude ‘don’t knows’ and count only those who take sides, the ‘no’ lead has slipped from 61-39% before Christmas to 58-42% today.”

      http://yougov.co.uk/news/2014/03/26/scottish-independence-women-push-yes-to-new-high/

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      No, that’s why it will be a resounding YES.

      • Richard McGrath 2.2.1

        God I hope it is a yes vote, with the result that all further subsidies from the English taxpayer are cut off for good, no pound, and the unlikelihood of Labour ever winning power over the Rest of the UK ever again. Sounds good to me.

    • ScottGN 2.3

      What a load of bollocks fisiani. The more Osborne, Darling and all the rest of the Better Together crowd bang on about the pound and try and scare Scotland the more the polls show the yes vote increasing. And all the threats of expulsion or non inclusion in the EU can be laid squarely at the feet of a very nervous government in Madrid worried that the independence gig might be catching and the the Catalans and Basques will redouble their efforts to break up Spain.

      • Bill 2.3.1

        heh – just found this doozy

        SCOTTISH independence would be welcomed by the “forces of darkness” around the world, former Nato secretary General Lord Robertson has said.

        http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/independence-cataclysmic-claims-lord-robertson-1-3368814

        • Colonial Viper 2.3.1.1

          Yep…Death Eaters and Islamic Terrorists alike will be unleashed by a YES vote.

          I am hoping many more ordinary people now are managing to see the power elite’s increasingly shrill and contrived attempts at manipulating public opinion for exactly what it is: venal and self serving.

        • Grant Cruickshank 2.3.1.2

          Heh. Sorry, Mr Lord Robertson General, sir, but we know EXACTLY who the “Forces of Darkness” are in this debate; those trying by hook or by crook to bring Scotland back to subservient, impoverished heel once more.

    • Bill 2.4

      K-ryst fisiani. The pound is one of the assets of the UK…one of those things that will be negotiated over post independence. And in case you’re unaware, the so-called Treasury advice, that the pound would not be up for negotiation, and that all the Westminster parties crowed about as a death blow to the ‘Yes’ campaign has been dropped like a hot potato. Turns out it was merely an opinion of a single person and carried no official weight whatsoever. (Not that every part of the ‘Yes’ campaign wants the pound)

      As for the EU or NATO, well lawyers can argue those things I guess in light of what the population of Scotland wants. Again. The SNP position is simply one position among many in the ‘Yes’ campaign.

      Should also point out that the SNP could well likely dissolve come independence and split into constituent right and left factions. Some, I guess, would join a rejuvenated Labour Party free from the shackles of Westminster Labour while others would join ranks with the remnants of the Scottish Tory Party….among other options.

      As for a future. I guess the feeling (rightly or wrongly) is that the UK has no future. A resounding ‘No’ vote? That’s not even remotely likely. I believe the numbers are down to 5% or some such, while the undecideds are about 15%. Given that logically most undecideds are obviously not committed unionists, I’d say it looks like being a ‘Yes’ vote.

      Add in the fact that Salmond and the SNP are a hurdle to many voting ‘Yes’ and entertain the possibility of the SNP announcing it’s intent to dissolve in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote, and still more people will vote ‘Yes’.

    • Sanctuary 2.5

      Your craven colonial cringe would cause a hyena to blush. I can hear the fear resonating from your keyboard.

      Scotland. Without it, Britian wouldn’t be a United Kingdom and it wouldn’t be Great. it would just be Engliand, an overpopulated quasi-police state shithole. Without Scotland, England would be exposed economically for what it is.

      And what would be worse than an independent Scotland? A SUCCESSFUL independent Scotland. A thriving, successful, independent Northern European Scotland that is part of mainstream Europe in it’s social policies would spell utter disaster for the tiny Eton-Oxbridge elite from the south east who have run the rest of Great Britain into the ground in their utterly singled minded defense of the primacy of the city of London and it’s financial sector and with it their one sole claim the English still have to being a world power.

      A successful Scotland would cause all sorts of trouble in the depressed north of England. Uncomfortable questions would be asked, particularly if things like ship building returned to the Clyde. “If with new investment and canny technology they can build ships again in Scotland”, they would ask, “why is it we can’t make steel in Sheffield again”? Whither then the Midlands?

      • karol 2.5.1

        Maybe the northern borderlands will protest and ask for a referendum to join Scotland?

      • Bill 2.5.2

        erm Sanctuary…you might want to spare a thought for the Welsh and the Northern Irish there, when you talk about a ‘post Scottish independence’ UK …

      • thatguynz 2.5.3

        +100

      • Ennui 2.5.4

        Sanctuary, you have highlighted the power of the Cityy of London and its power elites of Oxbridge and Eton. Do you really think that they would willingly and easily take their hands off the reins of their Scottish operations? They have not done it in NZ and we are “independent”.

        Here in NZ we are at the periphery of the empire of capital markets, for example our meat industry has belonged to British families like the Borthwicks and Vesties, and their shareholding successors. London as a financial capital will treat Scotland the same way we are regardless of whatever regime the Scots install.

      • Ecosse=Maidy 2.5.5

        The Westminster Elite seem to want to reinforce how bloody lucky Scots are to be part of an un equal union, inspite of Scotland being a huge drag on The Union. So you would think the Westminster Dickheads would want Scotland to go as they handicap The Union?
        So why oh why, are they employing “Project Fear” to trying to get a NO vote and preserve the Union?
        Is it because dictator Cameron is really interested in the welfare of Scots socially and economically or is it because of the potential loss of the independent nuclear deterrent(that’s not so independent as it depends on American satelitte technology)?.This nuclear deterrent is currently parked on the Clyde at a cost of billions of pounds and just thirty miles away from Glasgow, the city of my birth .
        This base allows the UK to be a member of the BBTC..The Big Boys Toys Club and hold a permanent place on the security council of the United Nations.Imagine Cameron scared shitless that he will loose his place there and no longer be able to sit at the table with the likes of Putin and Obama and have veto rights.
        They could park it in the Thames couldn’t they?…That would be an idea..Though I doubt they would tolerate that…far too close to their English constituents.
        Imagine having weapons of mass destruction parked 30 miles from south Auckland!
        We would say no and Scots have a right to say no too.

  3. Philj 3

    xox
    We migrated to NZ 50 years ago for a better life. It was the right decision. We left behind, what is noo a depressed area. I will return, ad a tourist, hopefully to an independent Scotland. Pity aboot the north sea oil.Rabbie Burns was a yin’ o’ the greats.

  4. mickysavage 4

    I hope Scotland goes it alone. Although it will have significant repercussions for the UK Labour Party and will make England a more right wing place …

    • Bill 4.1

      …and will make England a more right wing place..

      Not necessarily. I’ve been hearing ‘Better Together’ Labour mps argue that because the Scottish working class have more in common with workers from around England and Wales than they have with Scottish Lairds etc, that they should reject independence. Thing is, apart from that being incredibly Stalinist, it’s as though those mps have never considered the inspiration offered by a good example. An independent Scotland just may energise the working class in England and Wales and threaten the continuation of neo-liberalism there too.

      Or even here in NZ.

    • Tamati 4.2

      I’m sure there are a few Tory backbenchers secretly hoping the rid themselves of the dastardly Scots. Without Scotland, David Cameron would have a comfortable majority and would be marginally ahead in the polls.

      The current system is pretty unfair to the Tories, Scottish MP’s have the right to vote in Westminster on legislation that will not apply to their constituents, essentially giving Labour bonus MP’s. The UK Labour party has very little in common with “middle England”, their last two PM’s and (prior to Miliband) four leaders of the opposition were all from outside England.

      • DS 4.2.1

        I’ll give you Brown, Smith, and Kinnock, but while Tony Blair may have been born in Scotland, he was a Yorkshire MP. Foot and Callaghan were the reverse (born in South-West England), but were MPs in Wales. Wilson, Gaitskell, and Attlee were born in England, and served in England.

        • Tamati 4.2.1.1

          I’ll concede that Blair was a bit of a stretch, but my point was that Scotland has been very influential in Westminster Politics.

  5. mickysavage 5

    One of my favourite movie scenes and very appropriate for a discussion of Scottish Nationalism …

    http://youtu.be/lEOOZDbMrgE

    • miravox 5.1

      I was in Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago, the gigantic William Wallace statue is carries several banners (I assume they’re referendum banners – but could be for the football ;-)) that state ‘free’. On the plinth are Wallace’s words…

      “When I was a youth, and under the care of my uncle, all that I could carry away from him was a single proverb, but it seemed to me above all price, and I never forgot it. It was this: ‘I tell you a truth, liberty is the best of all things. My son, never live under a slavish bond.”

      I think this quote resonates quite a lot at the moment, but whether it will carry the day remains to be seen. A lot of fear is being generated about what will happen if the vote is ‘yes’ – the pound, the EU. However, given the poor state of this city, that I would have thought would reflect the wealth generated from the North Sea oil, I can’t imagine that they’ll be much worse off as an independent nation.

      A lot of Scots in Aberdeen are of course, aware of the long-hidden, top secret, 1974 McCrone report on what oil would have done for an independent Scotland. The Noes fear that it is all far too late to count on what oil is left to spur an economic revival and not enough has been put forward to suggest there is a way forward.

      • Stuart Munro 5.1.1

        Scotland was the poorest country in Europe when it took the first steps down the path to what become the Scottish Renaissance. Knox or Hutcheson might be better constitutional models than Wallace, but Boyd’s speech shows there is yet more spirit in the least of the people of the north than in all the pallid bean counters in London. Or Wellington.

        This neo-liberal economics has become a paralyzing discourse – a conscious people can achieve great things – greater things I daresay than a few bits of cycleway and a supposedly breakeven budget. How on earth did our democratic heritage end up in the hands of such pitiful vermin.

        • miravox 5.1.1.1

          “Knox or Hutcheson might be better constitutional models “

          True, but they don’t have that succinct, romanticised quote under a giant statue…

      • Ennui 5.1.2

        The oil is gone so the arguments of what it could have done are really spilt milk. What is more significant is a line I heard that the rest of Britain would quite like Scotland out of the national budget as it produces less profit per capita and costs more in tax funding per capita (education, health, social welfare etc). if this is true the Scots will certainly be proudly worse off.

        • Stuart Munro 5.1.2.1

          Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the concept of a resource curse.

          Which country in the world has the highest standard of living, and what are its resources?

          Switzerland – a skilled manufacturing sector.

          Elites always steal the proceeds of resource wealth.

          • Ennui 5.1.2.1.1

            It could be a truly wonderful thing! We too could be un-cursed…….suspect all it does is leave you as impoverished without masters (unless you are Swiss of course…the country that invented toll barriers on mountain passes and mercenaries).

        • miravox 5.1.2.2

          I wouldn’t try telling some of the Scots I’ve talked with that the arguments over oil revenues are spilt milk 😉 How they feel about this will be factored into the vote, imo.

          “What is more significant is a line I heard that the rest of Britain would quite like Scotland out of the national budget as it produces less profit per capita and costs more in tax funding per capita”

          To be determined, I think…

          http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/6881

          http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2013/04/balance-sheet

          For a ‘bob each way’ analysis

          http://www.scotsman.com/news/balancing-an-independent-scotland-s-books-1-3099852 (the comments are quite interesting)

          I’ve also read (can’t find the link right now) that Wales is concerned about Scottish independence because Wales will be even poorer than now because there will be less money from Scottish tax receipts to redistribute… to Wales (and Northern Ireland).

        • Grant Cruickshank 5.1.2.3

          And yet David Cameron himself stated that future oil revenues will be worth 200 BILLION. Not bad for something “almost gone”. And that’s without taking into account the new oil fields that could develop, one near Shetland and another in the Clyde that would likely be looked at once the MOD is booted out of it.

          I’ve yet to see any sign of the oil firms based in Aberdeen pulling out in panic at the end of their revenues – if anything, they’re investing MORE.

  6. lurgee 6

    “it’s sovereignty”

    ITS sovereignty. Possessive pronouns such as his, hers and its do not require apostrophes.

    I’m Scottish and quite ambivalent about independence. I instinctively like the idea, but my brain keeps advancing objections. I think the referendum will result in a NO, but polls are narrowing. Just like in 1980, it has been designed to fail by Westminster. A referendum offering status quo, independence or enhanced devolution would have likely been a resounding endorsement of the last option. We Scots like to take things slowly.

    • karol 6.1

      It’s not surprising there is this ambivalence – it’s in Scotland’s historical legacy. I’ve been reading about Scotland lately (most of my ancestral lines go back to there). Basically, many in Scotland embraced Scottish imperialism in the late 18thth century following the success of the East India Company in London.

      Many of the Scottish business classes were attracted to the Union with England because of the commercial opportunities it offered. Some Scots feared Union in the 18th century, others welcomed it. And many Scots went on to embrace the dominant values of the British Empire, even while being all for the cultural values more dominant in Scotland related to a civil society: education for all, equal opportunities to rise up the status ladder, unionism, liberty for the working and labouring classes, etc. – the basis of Scots’ identity – basically egalitarian, humanitarian and for “freedom” – a liberal outlook.

      • Bill 6.1.1

        Scottish nobles and landlords embraced colonialism way before the late 18thC. The Darien venture bankrupted the bastards (and the rest of the country) and opened them up to English overtures for the Treaty of Union of 1707. The Treaty, essentially saved the arses of the rich.

        Other potted observations, also worth noting that the original UK Labour Party had Scottish home rule as a part of its constitution.

    • Bill 6.2

      Thanks for pointing that out lurgee. Apostrophes duly shot to hell.

      I agree that Devo Max would have produced an overwhelmingly positive result. Pushing a straight up ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ question for the referendum was, to my mind disingenuous. I find it interesting, given the question is for independence, that Alex Salmond would want to retain the pound. I haven’t looked into it, but there’s not so much independence when a foreign government controls the conditions around your currency.

      I’d have thought a wee quick look at the Euro and how its central control left Spain, Greece, Italy and who-ever no room for maneuver, would have been enough of a ‘heads up’ on that front and enough reason to develop another way forward.

  7. Not a PS Staffer 7

    “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken by Scottish independence.
    Wow!. Who would know that we are so important to world peace? Impressive for a people who are too wee, too poor and too stupid to run our own affairs.”

    One of the Great responses, in the Herald of Scotland, to a speech by the former UK Labour minister George Robertson. http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/george-robertson-scottish-independence-would-be-cataclysmic-for-the-west.1396945351

    Lord Robertson, the former secretary general of Nato, has provoked an angry response from Yes campaigners by claiming that Scottish independence would be cataclysmic for the West in an era of international turmoil.
    The former shadow Scottish Secretary, speaking in America, said a “debilitating divorce” after the vote in September would threaten the stability of the wider world.
    He said he believed the American administration was worried about the possibility of Scottish independence and urged the US to make its views public, along with all British allies.
    “What could possibly justify giving the dictators, the persecutors, the oppressors, the annexers, the aggressors and the adventurers across the planet the biggest pre-Christmas present of their lives by tearing the United Kingdom apart?” Robertson told the Brookings Institute on Monday.

    Robertson, like the majority of Labour MPs and leaders, is the secret weapon on the Scottish Independence Campaign

    • Ron 7.1

      Scotland could rename itself Scotkistan and then ask that nice man Putin to come in and help run the country.
      Heck those Nato bases could serve the Russian navy very well.

  8. Tracey 8

    Thanks so much Bill. Wow @ Cat Boyd. JUST WOW!!!!

    • Rosie 8.1

      +1 Tracey. What an amazing woman, a born leader, articulate and inspiring. Would like to see more of her in the future, when Scotland gains independence and fulfils it’s true potential. As she says “Its not just possible, it’s probable”.!

      A message in there for us too, in regard to the last 3 decades of our history: “Failure. Hope. Transformation”.

      I wonder how long it will take to count the votes after 18th September. We can look forward to A LOT of celebration here in NZ, for the Scots living here, and the descendants if the vote is YES, timed alongside a win for the Left here on the 20th September.

      You can do it Scotland!

      We can do it New Zealand!

  9. Gillian Ranstead 9

    Yes, thanks Bill, for posting this. As a descendant of the Scottish diaspora, I sometimes wonder what would happen if the untold millions of us were able to vote in the referendum. Me, I’d vote Yes as loud & long as I could.

  10. Banned 10

    Good On Ya Scotland !

    If Aotearoa / NewZealand can do it .. so can you !

    They might even send you a young Royal or two ..

    Now, about that cryptocurrency ..

  11. DS 11

    That this is even an issue is a direct legacy of Thatcher. It’s worth remembering that for over half a century before 1979, the Government in Westminister was the party that had achieved the highest vote in Scotland (apart from Heath in 1970). So Scotland got what it voted for, and generally voted much like England (if anything Scotland was more pro-Tory).

    Then Thatcher happened and destroyed Scottish industry, and the backlash destroyed the Scottish Conservative Party. When the Tories govern at Westminster now, they’re seen as a fundamentally English Party (specifically South-East England), so the SNP have had a field day playing off against Cameron and Osborne.

    However, seeing as the Tories are so weak in Scotland, Scotland leaving would utterly screw over Labour in the residual UK, especially Wales. Since Blair destroyed turnout among the working classes (seriously, Blair received fewer total votes in his 1997 landslide than John Major received in 1992), Labour would inevitably drift Right to compensate. Which means more neo-liberalism.

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    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
    15 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
    16 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
    18 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    4 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
    7 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
    12 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
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  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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