So smart. Green senator Ludlam ‘welcomes’ Abbott to WA

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 pm, March 6th, 2014 - 30 comments
Categories: australian politics, greens, video, youtube - Tags: , ,

One of the most effective political videos that I have seen from a country that is coming to specialise in them. I’m unsurprised that it went completely viral.

It was a great description by Green senator Scott Ludlam of all of the ways that Tony Abbott is beholden to the interests of those made insane by idiotic greed – and welcoming him to Western Australia. All expressed in a polite quiet voice enumerating exactly how much of a arsehole Abbott is. Abbott even makes John Key look sort of rational – in a traditional junior partner kind of way.

YouTube link

Read this article in the  Sydney Morning Herald on the topic. Just don’t use their video link. It appears that they need a lot more bandwidth.

When Ludlam rose to speak just after 10pm on Monday only one other senator – Liberal Helen Kroger – was in the chamber. But the video of the speech has become an internet hit, with almost 280,000 YouTube views in three days, largely thanks to people “sharing” it on social media.

That’s not at the level of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech – which has over two million views – but it’s more than Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations or Prime Minister Abbott’s Christmas address.

The youtube video now has 362k views and it looks like it starting to head off elsewhere.

Updated: transcript from Aussie Greens

Tonight I rise to invite Prime Minister Tony Abbott to visit the beautiful state of Western Australia. I do this in good faith, because we are only a matter of weeks away from a historic by-election that will not just determine the final makeup of this chamber after July but also will decide much more of consequence to the people of Western Australia, whether they are thinking of voting for the Greens or not. Prime Minister, you are welcome out west, but this is a respectful invitation to think carefully about what baggage you pack when you make your next flying campaign stopover.

When you arrive at Perth airport, you will alight on the traditional country of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, who have sung this country for more than 40,000 years. This is 200 times the age of the city that now stands on the banks of the Derbal Yerigan, the Swan River. Understand that you are now closer to Denpasar than to Western Sydney, in a state where an entire generation has been priced out of affordable housing. Recognise that you are standing in a place where the drought never ended, where climate change from land clearing and fossil fuel combustion is a lived reality that is already costing jobs, property and lives.

Mr Prime Minister, at your next press conference we invite you to leave your excruciatingly boring three-word slogans at home. If your image of Western Australia is of some caricatured redneck backwater that is enjoying the murderous horror unfolding on Manus Island, you are reading us wrong. Every time you refer to us as the ‘mining state’ as though the western third of our ancient continent is just Gina Rinehart’s inheritance to be chopped, benched and blasted, you are reading us wrong.

Western Australians are a generous and welcoming lot, but if you arrive and start talking proudly about your attempts to bankrupt the renewable energy sector, cripple the independence of the ABC and privatise SBS, if you show up waving your homophobia in people’s faces and start boasting about your ever-more insidious attacks on the trade union movement and all working people, you can expect a very different kind of welcome.

People are under enough pressure as it is without three years of this government going out of its way to make it worse. It looks awkward when you take policy advice on penalty rates and the minimum wage from mining billionaires and media oligarchs on the other side of the world-awkward, and kind of revolting. It is good to remember that these things are temporary. For anyone listening in from outside this almost empty Senate chamber, the truth is that Prime Minister Tony Abbott and this benighted attempt at a government are a temporary phenomenon. They will pass, and we need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture.

Just as the reign of the dinosaurs was cut short to their great surprise, it may be that the Abbott government will appear as nothing more than a thin, greasy layer in the core sample of future political scientists drilling back into the early years of the 21st century.

The year 2014 marks 30 years since the election of the first representative of what was to become the Greens-my dear friend and mentor Senator Jo Vallentine. She came into this place as a lone Western Australian representative speaking out against the nuclear weapons that formed the foundations of the geopolitical suicide pact we dimly remember as the Cold War.

Since the first day of Senator Vallentine’s first term, the Greens have been articulating a vision of Australia as it could be-an economy running on infinite flows of renewable energy; a society that never forgets it lives on country occupied by the planet’s oldest continuing civilisation; and a country that values education, innovation and equality. These values are still at the heart of our work; nowhere stronger than on the Walkatjurra Walkabout, which will set off again later this month to challenge the poisonous imposition of the state’s first uranium mine on the shoreline of Lake Way. As the damage done by the nuclear industry is global, so is our resistance.

Mr Abbott, your thoughtless cancellation of half a billion dollars of Commonwealth funding for the Perth light rail project has been noted. Your blank cheque for Colin Barnett’s bloody and unnecessary shark cull has been noted. Your attacks on Medicare, on schools funding, on tertiary education-noted. The fact that your only proposal for environmental reforms thus far is to leave Minister Greg Hunt playing solitaire for the next three years while you outsource his responsibilities to the same Premier who presides over the shark cull has been noted too.

You may not believe this, Prime Minister, but your advocacy on behalf of foreign biotechnology corporations and Hollywood’s copyright-industrial complex to chain Australia to the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been noted. People have been keeping a record of every time you have been given the opportunity to choose between predator capitalism and the public interest, and it is bitterly obvious whose side you are on.

So to be very blunt, the reason that I extend this invitation to you, Mr Prime Minister, to spend as much time as you can spare in Western Australia is that every time you open your mouth the Green vote goes up.

You and your financial backers in the gas fracking and uranium industries have inspired hundreds of people to spend their precious time doorknocking thousands of homes for the Greens in the last few weeks.

Your decision to back Monsanto’s shareholders instead of Western Australian farmers has inspired people across the length and breadth of this country to make thousands of calls and donate to our campaign.

As for the premeditated destruction of the NBN and Attorney-General George Brandis’s degrading capitulation to the surveillance state when confronted with the unlawful actions of the US NSA-even the internet is turning green, ‘for the win’. Geeks and coders, network engineers and gamers would never have voted Green in a million years without the blundering and technically illiterate assistance of your leadership team.

For this I can only thank you.

And, perhaps most profoundly, your determined campaign to provoke fear in our community-fear of innocent families fleeing war and violence in our region-in the hope that it would bring out the worst in Australians is instead bringing out the best in us. Prime Minister, you are welcome to take your heartless racist exploitation of people’s fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer funded travel entitlements can take you.

What is at stake here, in the most immediate sense, is whether or not Prime Minister Tony Abbott has total control of this parliament in coming years. But I have come to realise that it is about much more than that. We want our country back. Through chance, misadventure, and, somewhere, a couple of boxes of misplaced ballot papers, we have been given the opportunity to take back just one seat on 5 April, and a whole lot more in 2016.

Game on, Prime Minister. See you out west.

30 comments on “So smart. Green senator Ludlam ‘welcomes’ Abbott to WA ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Saarbo 1
    6 March 2014 at 11:07 pm

    wow.

    • weka 1.1
      7 March 2014 at 9:32 am

      Just awesome.

      “We want our country back”.

    • Colt 45 1.2
      7 March 2014 at 11:01 am

      “…wow…”

      I reakon.

      I’m still stunned how the Former Catholic semitarian rose to the heights of the Office of Prime Minister of Australia by charging right through the MSM – as they’re far too smart not to notice him go round them. Some people are just born bullies I suppose.

      Cunny’s twice as smart as Abbott, and he has all the resources of the exceptional kiwi MSM as well – ‘a shoe-in’ as they would say over in Aussie.

      Life’s gunna be good for us soon ‘ay mate!

      • greywarbler 1.2.1
        7 March 2014 at 2:21 pm

        What’s that Colt 45? Sounds like drivel to me? Bit unco don’t ya think?

  3. Tamati 3
    7 March 2014 at 1:42 am

    What a fuck up their WA senate election was last time! Serious need of electoral reform.

  4. jbc 4
    7 March 2014 at 2:29 am

    That speech had a lot of great points. But we already knew Abbott was a nutjob before he was voted in. More’s the pity.

    Thinking about this more in an NZ context really shows that the 2-party system is flawed and MMP hasn’t really fixed that. In fact buying into the entire policy platform any one party is an exercise in futility.

    The narrow choice at election time throws away a huge amount of voter reasoning and the result does not necessarily bear any relation to the proportionality in our minds. We have to pick a winner or two. Forced to make such a compromise decision, many will put aside the ‘nice to have’ and choose for their personal wellbeing. That sucks. That leads to Abbotts.

    • weka 4.1
      7 March 2014 at 9:34 am

      NZ needs to be brave and finally vote Green. We don’t have a 2 party system, we have choices, the question remains why we don’t take them.

      • Colonial Viper 4.1.1
        7 March 2014 at 10:33 am

        And we need to have the MMP threshold reduced to 5%.

        we have choices, the question remains why we don’t take them.

        What we need are real choices, real alternatives, not another variant of vanilla being marketed as one.

        • weka 4.1.1.1
          7 March 2014 at 10:56 am

          Sure, but in the meantime, we still have another kind of real choice, which is to implement change in the right direction. That shouldn’t be underestimated or undervalued like it is now.

        • greywarbler 4.1.1.2
          7 March 2014 at 2:31 pm

          Colonial V
          5%? I thought it already was. MMP was an attempt to change eh. But it has got gamed, and yet it wasn’t a mistake, it was a step.

          The Australian Senate got frozen at one stage with a religious individual like Craig holding the one important vote. The system needs to have an out when that happens. Simple majority just sets us up for a rort in those conditons.

      • jbc 4.1.2
        7 March 2014 at 1:53 pm

        What if we don’t like the choices? Sorry I wasn’t clear on that.

        I’m an atheist. A free-thinking non-believer. Non tribal. I find the idea of having ‘faith’ in one political party abhorrent. I find Colin Craig and Russell Norman equally odious and my chances of voting for a party led by either of them is zero. The days of the inspirational political leader seem to be long gone.

        However I do really like some Green party policies, so there is the dilemma. I’m forced to throw away a good deal of my preferences no matter how I vote.

        It’s not about being brave. Sounds more like having faith, and I’m not going there.

        For a real contrast in how NZ politics has degenerated into a collection of sideshows – watch Frost interviewing Norman Kirk. If only we had someone like that today…

        http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/frost-over-new-zealand-the-leaders-1973

        • weka 4.1.2.1
          7 March 2014 at 3:05 pm

          “However I do really like some Green party policies, so there is the dilemma. I’m forced to throw away a good deal of my preferences no matter how I vote.”

          Only if you belief that voting is about personal satisfaction. I don’t know where this idea comes from that we should get to vote for exactly what we want.

          If you want NZ to move back towards being country that gives a shit about things like fairness, community, helping vulnerable people, caring about the environment etc, it’s pretty bloody simple: vote Labour, GP or, depending on what electorate you vote in, Mana. If you want to up the chances of that change happening sooner rather than later, then vote GP, because they’re the only party that can make that shift happen now.

          Faith doesn’t have anything to do with it for me. I’m curious about what you mean by that. What makes you think you have to have faith in the GP to vote for them? What’s wrong with voting on their policies?

          • jbc 4.1.2.1.1
            7 March 2014 at 5:52 pm

            “Only if you belief that voting is about personal satisfaction. I don’t know where this idea comes from that we should get to vote for exactly what we want.”

            That’s not what I said at all. You vote for what you think is best for NZ. People have different ideas about what is best. That is why Greens don’t get 100% of the vote.

            I’m saying that there is much more diversity of opinion than what we get to choose from. Ergo, voting is always going to be a compromise unless you are a ‘true believer’ and swallow the whole of any party manifesto as the one true thing.

            “Faith doesn’t have anything to do with it for me. I’m curious about what you mean by that. What makes you think you have to have faith in the GP to vote for them? What’s wrong with voting on their policies?”

            I was referring to bravery in: “NZ needs to be brave and finally vote Green.”

            Voting on policies is exactly what I’d like to do. I was simply lamenting that no party inspires me, and the whole scene seems to have degenerated into sideshows vying for public attention.

            This is only opinion, not directed at anyone in particular. And I’ll add once more for good measure: the Greens do have policies that I agree with in stark contrast to the present government.

            • weka 4.1.2.1.1.1
              7 March 2014 at 7:59 pm

              “Ergo, voting is always going to be a compromise unless you are a ‘true believer’ and swallow the whole of any party manifesto as the one true thing.”

              ok, we are in agreement on that. Possibly where we differ is that I don’t see that as a problem.

              “I was simply lamenting that no party inspires me, and the whole scene seems to have degenerated into sideshows vying for public attention.”

              Well the GP in particular is between a rock and a hard place. If they don’t play the game they won’t get the MSM coverage and they won’t increase their vote. I don’t think we need inspiration to make a good voting choice. I suppose I think that this is the system we’ve got, so the point of voting isn’t to get the govt we want, it’s to move things in a better direction than now. That’s where NZ lacks guts imo. It’s not about faith so much as integrity.

        • Ant 4.1.2.2
          7 March 2014 at 4:15 pm

          I’ve been put off the Greens by all the crap over David Hay, he seems like a dickhead, but the way they treat members that get on the wrong side of the head prefect’s clique makes me think they are no different to anyone else these days.

          • greywarbler 4.1.2.2.1
            7 March 2014 at 4:59 pm

            If you start a group that decides to do something in society that is important to a great number of people, then there needs to be principles which get put in practice. Even if you play computer games Ant there are behaviours which you have to contend with. Everyone who doesn’t probably gets killed off.

            In real life people who join parties like the Greens try to run things so that people don’t get killed of, or run others into the ground. If you want to have a dichhead in parliament representing you, do vote National, you’re probably too good for ACT to bother with.

            • Ant 4.1.2.2.1.1
              7 March 2014 at 5:25 pm

              I don’t know… it looks a bit too much like the polls showed his list position would put them in parliament then out came the knives. My comment is he reacted like a ‘dickhead’, but the guy does have legitimate grievances. I’d like to think I’d react differently in the same circumstance, but if I gave that much time and effort campaigning for a party in Tory HQ Epsom of all places just to get shafted, I’d be pissed too.

              It’s same level of unease I had with Goff when he hung Carter out to dry so he could look like the tough guy, the same unease I had for Shearer and co. when they hung Cunliffe out to dry.

              If the Greens want to act like that fine, so I might as well just vote red.

              Anyway this is pretty OT.

              • weka …
                7 March 2014 at 7:53 pm

                There is no problem with Hay being pissed off. The problem is his serious lack of judgement in how he handled things. A leadership challenge a few months out from a general election when the GP is polling well but still needs to gain ground? I’m glad they suspended his membership. His personal grievances don’t take precedent over the needs of the party.

  5. Philj 5
    7 March 2014 at 7:07 am

    Xox
    Read the Greens transcript. Makes our Greens look meek and mild in comparison to this bold and defiant speech. Our Greens need more fibre in their muesli.

    • karol 5.1
      7 March 2014 at 9:14 am

      Did you hear or read Russel Norman’s speech at the opening of parliament in January this year?

      Youtube

      While on the one hand we have the choice of a genuinely progressive government, the alternative if the current government is given a third term will be a very different government to the one elected in 2008.

      It will be a hard-right government – economically, environmentally and socially, beholden to the damaged and discredited ACT, United Future, and Conservative parties.

      John Key’s claim to be a moderate has evaporated over the course of the last couple of years.

      He has overseen increasing water pollution, blocked attempts to set strong rules to clean up our rivers and subsidised polluting irrigation schemes.

      The government has destroyed a price on carbon and subsidised fossil fuels, with the result that New Zealand’s emissions are projected to increase 50 percent above 1990 levels by 2030; that’s according to Ministry for the Environment’s own projections.

      This government has made it that much harder for people to just get by.

      There are 50,000 more New Zealanders unemployed than when John Key first came to power.
      Median household income has fallen 4 percent after inflation under this National government.

      Electricity prices were up 3 percent last year despite falling demand, and rising mortgage rates this year will wipe out pay rises for many families.

      And this government has failed to manage the economy.

      Their irresponsible tax cuts to the top 10%, costing $1.1billion a year, have contributed to National’s record borrowing. In just six years, National has borrowed more than all prior governments combined.

      …. and so on… til

      Such a hard right government will further turn its back on science; climate science in particular, as Tony Abbot is doing across the ditch.

      Such a hard right government will take away the ladder of opportunity that many of us here climbed to achieve our potential.

      It will embrace the politics of the conservative right, who believe that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and a gay man’s place is in the closet.

      And it will turn its back on New Zealand’s opportunity to be a world leader in green economics and green jobs.

  6. karol 6
    7 March 2014 at 9:04 am

    I like that Senator Ludlam uses the same approach to speaking as the NZ Greens. Stating the facts, addressing the issues in a straightforward way, without all the loud rhetorical, combative posturing that is more usual in the NZ House.

  7. Jimbob 7
    7 March 2014 at 10:01 am

    I got bored. Far prefer this one and its a lot shorter…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_MBwQhGgA

  8. Ron 8
    7 March 2014 at 10:53 am

    I see that the WA Senate is as bad as ours for attendance. I can only see 4 members present (disregarding the one that have to be there) and that is disgraceful. I expect all MP’s should be present in New Zealand House and whoever changed the rules to allow whips to make votes on behalf of members needs a lesson in representative democracy.
    Can anyone remember which government changed the rules in NZ?
    Oh for the days when every bill/speech/debate had a full house on both sides and it was pretty rare for leave to be given except for urgent business by ministers.

    • greywarbler 8.1
      7 March 2014 at 2:19 pm

      Ron
      I haven’t been watching NZ parliament much. I am so naive I thought that it was rare for MPs to be allowed out of school. Are you saying that they just leae it up to this pairing system so they could end up with under 10 in the House? No wonder they can build up other businesses. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile then. Another leady House debacle.

  9. marty mars 9
    7 March 2014 at 1:36 pm

    Awesome speech. The point i think is the social media aspect – there have been good speeches here and when a good one is made it needs linking and sharing across the networks so more and more people see it. That speech was a very strong call to Green and really worked.

  10. Dingo 10
    9 March 2014 at 1:32 pm

    What a disgusting parasite.

    [lprent: It often pays to say who you are abusing and explaining why. Please read our policy about pointless abuse and moderators responses to it. ]

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Trade relationship with China remains strong
    “China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.   Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-24T06:40:27+00:00