Standing Rock update

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, November 3rd, 2016 - 21 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, activism, class war, climate change, colonialism, energy, Environment, human rights, Mining, racism, treaty settlements, water - Tags: , , , , ,

dapl_routes_map_largeIn the past few weeks week there has been a surge of activity in and around the Standing Rock water protector movement, and an explosion of coverage both in the MSM and on social media. I wanted to write a more in-depth post, but so much is happening it’s hard to keep up. Instead here is an update on the recent issues and events.

The militarisation of police is being noted constantly. This isn’t local police making sure that everyone remains safe, it’s an upscaling of local law enforcement to military level, including weapons and vehicles as well as bringing in out of state units and the National Guard. As far as I can tell the National Guard is for emergency situations, and there’s been some stretching of definitions to allow the State to define this as an emergency.

Law enforcement continue to arrest the water protectors in what appears to be intentionally intimidatory ways. Protectors can choose whether to engage in actions likely to lead to arrest or avoid those ones, but police are increasingly targeting the legal protests as well as the civil disobedience ones, and across the board are using inflammatory tactics. There are now multiple reports of breaches of process and probably law by police. These include arresting and charging clearly identified journalists, legal observers and medics, some of whom were also attacked.

Protestors are reporting being arrested on misdemeanour charges and then being stripped searched. One woman talked of being kept naked overnight in a cell, others have told of being made to stand naked in front of male offices. Many were kept in dog kennels with concrete floors. There are reports of water boarding and other violence against arrestees.

It is hard to see these acts as anything other than intentional in their execution. There is the feeling that the acts are designed to not only humiliate but to provoke reactions so that the protestors can then be portrayed as violent, with all the attendant white supremacy mythologising that goes with that – see, crazy, primitive Indians who are really violent when it comes down to it. The problem for the oil protectors is that this is a peaceful protest. People going out to the frontline actions are being trained in non-violence. This doesn’t mean that there are no instances of reaction, feelings are understandably running high, but instead that the ethos of everything that is being done there is peaceful resistance.

The charges are often out of proportion to the actions of the protectors, and the bonds required are costing huge amounts of money. Many of these charges will be disputed and then dropped, but in the meantime the money still has to be put up and the time used to sort it out.

There have been several instances of private security personal trying to provoke violence. At one of the front line protests a woman was pushed into the police line by a man later identified as an infiltrator. One woman tells of being targeted by police for trying to protect women and elders during an action. Also targeted are those trying to de-escalate confrontations.

Earlier in the week a man was stopped while driving fast towards the camp. He abandoned his vehicle and then raised his rifle at the people trying to stop him from getting closer to the camp. He was later arrested by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. One night there was a scrub fire on the hill above the camp. Night time camera gear suggests that this was intentionally lit.

The big action in the past week was the occupation of unceded Treaty 1851 land. One of the roads and a bridge were blockaded to prevent DAPL from progressing. Prayer sites were set up and elders engaged in prayer. This is the equivalent of church and for a country like the US the freedom of religion issues are paramount. Eventually people were pulled from prayer ceremonies and religious tools were impounded, to be then dumped on the ground at the camp a week later.

During the arrests, protestors were maced, tear gassed, shot at with rubber bullets (sometimes at close range), and sound cannoned. Horses were also shot with sub-lethal rounds, some badly enough that they had to be put down. Medics onsite are reporting multiple injuries including broken bones, as well as trauma and shock and increasing rates of triggering of PTSD for people who already have a history of being attacked violently.

Just prior to this time the FAA imposed an 11 day no fly ban over the area, which meant that the protectors were unable to use drones to film the police actions or anything that DAPL were up to. This ban has now been lifted due to legal action by the tribes, but again the tactic here is to delay and tie up resources and use the black out timing.

Despite all this, people are reporting more than the contention. Spirits have lifted this week and the number of people at camp has doubled. Women are talking about the positive impact on their children of living in traditional community and being part of something critically important to their tribes.

Out in the world things are starting to move too. The UN are now investigating human rights abuses, and Amnesty International are sending in observers. Berine Sanders wrote an open letter to President Obama asking that he finally take action (not unreasonable given Obama’s assurances to Native peoples 7 years ago).

This week a viral campaign on Facebook involved 1.5 million people over several days, and there have been multiple instances of infrastructure being shut down by solidarity protestors elsewhere in North America.

Here in Aotearoa/Te Wai Pounamu, Māori have been active on Facebook, including the Haka with Standing Rock group, and groups including E Tū with Standing Rock are raising funds to send support teams to the protection sites. Māori MPs have come out this week in support of Standing Rock and calling on the NZ government to do the same. Action Station are campaigning on City Bank’s involvement in DAPL, direct message via Action Station’s site here.

 

 

21 comments on “Standing Rock update ”

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  1. Siobhan 1
    3 November 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Obama, man of action and principle that he is, plans to ” let it play out for several more weeks “.

    “Obama said: “It’s a challenging situation. I think that my general rule when I talk to governors and state and local officials whenever they’re dealing with protests, including for example during the Black Lives Matters protests, is there’s an obligation for protesters to be peaceful and there’s an obligation for authorities to show restraint.”

    I hate to think what needs to happen before Obama draws a line in the sand and actually makes a stand. And then there Hillary Clinton the Progressive….

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/02/dakota-access-obama-suggests-ways-to-reroute-pipeline-being-investigated

    http://thefreethoughtproject.com/hillary-turns-back-standing-rock-sioux-path-forward-must-serve-broadest-public-interest/

  2. Left_forward 2
    3 November 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Thank you Weka for keeping us up to date on this deplorable situation.
    Kennedy Warne’s recent article in the NZ Geographic brilliantly documents Godzone’s own version that we still haven’t fully recognised.

    https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/parihaka/

    • weka 2.1
      3 November 2016 at 10:26 pm

      Thanks for that! Half way through. The comparisons with Gandhi and what we should know are pertinent and troubling. Looking at the photos of today’s action at Standing Rock, and hearing some native perspective on the young men and women who just keep going back out there despite what is happening, I was reminded of the portrayal in the Gandhi film where the people line up to protest, get clubbed down, and more step up. There is something also about the juxtaposition of peaceful resistance and the reactionary forces needing to keep increasing their violence as they find that it becomes less and less effective.

  3. weka 3
    3 November 2016 at 6:58 pm

    Today many of our protectors tried to cross the river to pray on top of a hill where Oceti Sakowin ancestors are buried, this place has been desecrated by the police and DAPL. The militarized police responded with brutal force, a young man was shot point blank with a rubber bullet and has been coughing up blood, another woman was shot by one of heavily armed officers on a boat. Many of our people tried crossing the river after police destroyed our makeshift bridge, some of them are in critical condition after they were gassed and maced by police and went into shock from the freezing cold waters. Other brave people kept going back by boat to rescue those that were struggling in the cold water but police in their own boat attempted to stop them. These are WAR CRIMES, we are unarmed we are peaceful, no one even lifted a finger against these cops today. I am disgusted by the state of North Dakota and by this country that continues to perpetuate its genocide against Indigenous Peoples’.

    Photos at https://www.facebook.com/conor.handley.5/posts/10205833423029893

  4. joe90 4
    3 November 2016 at 7:26 pm

    The shit these people are up against.

    That is why I refuse to chalk racism up to plain "ignorance": it is methodical and predictable and calculated and spiteful and vicious.— Zoé Samudzi (@ztsamudzi) October 31, 2016

    [CN: anti-indigenous racism]In case you're not sure what I'm referring to, I'm talking about this racist shit. pic.twitter.com/k3E5UmumPt— Zoé Samudzi (@ztsamudzi) October 31, 2016

    • weka 4.1
      3 November 2016 at 10:05 pm

      I think the one on the right would go over many people’s heads. The one about the godda job is blatant as fuck though.

      • joe90 4.1.1
        3 November 2016 at 10:17 pm

        Yup.

        In a 2005 interview, Cecilia Fire Thunder, the first female president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, noted, “[Sixty-eight] percent of the college graduates on the reservation are women. Seventy percent of the jobs are held by women. Over 90 percent of the jobs in our schools are held by women.”[59]

        As of 2011, population estimates of the reservation range from 28,000 to 40,000.
        Numerous enrolled members of the tribe live off the reservation.[60]

        80% of residents are unemployed;

        49% of the residents live below the Federal poverty level (including 61% of all those under the age of 18);

        Per capita income in Oglala Lakota County is $6,286;

        The infant mortality rate is 5 times higher than the national average;

        Native American amputation rates due to diabetes is 3 to 4 times higher than the national average;

        Death rate due to diabetes is 3 times higher than the national average; and
        Life expectancy in 2007 was estimated to be 48 for males and 52 for females.[61]

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation#Demographics

  5. Draco T Bastard 5
    3 November 2016 at 8:28 pm

    The collapse of modern society continues apace.

    • Michelle 5.1
      4 November 2016 at 10:29 am

      Modern society is collapsing as we now have a gluten of poor leadership globally and we have very divisive leaders look at our PM he is of the same ilk

  6. Alethios 6
    3 November 2016 at 9:46 pm

    Kia ora Weka, thanks for your write up. Have been following the action for a while, but had missed a number of the events you’ve mentioned here. Was privileged to stand with the people of Parihaka last weekend and tautoko Standing Rock before the memorial of Te Whiti.

    It doesn’t make the news, but there is a constant struggle at Parihaka to protect their lands and awa from gas companies, let alone have the land which was stolen from them returned. Easy to forget the same shit happened here, and still is happening here too. The struggle at Standing Rock is the frontline of a struggle for indigenous rights worldwide.

    • weka 6.1
      3 November 2016 at 10:15 pm

      Beautiful, thanks Alethios. These days I am acutely aware of the depth of my ignorance about the situations here.

  7. mauī 7
    3 November 2016 at 9:46 pm

    Excellent job on collating the goings on Weka, stuff is changing there everyday, it’s crazy. I didn’t know about the positive developments either, that’s good to hear, they seem to be supressed by the flow of bad news coming out.

    • weka 7.1
      3 November 2016 at 10:20 pm

      I dithered a bit in writing this because there are good things happening, but it seemed important to get out just how bad the state response is.

  8. esoteric pineapples 8
    3 November 2016 at 10:02 pm

    “In a country like the US the freedom of religion issues are paramount.” – except when it comes to Native Americans.

    • weka 8.1
      3 November 2016 at 10:12 pm

      Exactly. I’ve been trying to think of how to explain this*, especially in a left wing political scene that includes a large number of people who are actively against religion. Might see if I can do a post on this and the intersection with ethnicity and indigenous rights.

      * as in, imagine your parents going to church on Sunday and the local police being armed and called in to drag them out in the middle of the service, arrest them, strip search them, keep them in a dog pound, and then the altar, cross, communion cup and lecturn being dropped into a skip with a bunch of other stuff and dumped on their front lawn a week later. Even then, I’m not sure this comes close, because there’s still the issue of centuries of attempted eradication.

  9. adam 9
    4 November 2016 at 5:21 am

    I see the bank which lied about our economy, is one of the backers of the pipe line.

    These corporate’s, same pile of rotten fish guts – different country.

    Here the thing, when racism and the rights of indigenous people are continually trampled on by corporate culture, don’t you think it’s time to give up trying to reform corporate culture, and we the people should stand up and remove the corporations from the world?

  10. marty mars 10
    4 November 2016 at 9:55 am

    Thanks weka. I have so enjoyed going virtually to Standing Rock on fbook. The other day a friend said, “Wow so many of my friends liking or visiting Standing Rock, I wish we could all meet there in real life”.

    The people are stirring…

  12. Takere 12
    9 November 2016 at 9:23 am

    And the irony is this with an iwi here who’re mislead by a self appointed leader to be a show pony for the world to see.
    An indigenous culture on one side of the world supporting the oppressor the US War Machine who’re occupying with brutality and are preventing American Natives access to their own whenua!
    …. Ngati Paoa is participating, unfortunately.
    The waka Kotuiti 2 is escorting the USS Sampson War machine into the Waitemata with the NZ Navy.
    Posted on the NP iwi Trust FaceBook page.
    Lead by Hau (Eugene) Rawiri self proclaimed Atua of Ngati Paoa.
    Contact number; 021893833

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    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére Sosou Market gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • At a time of media turmoil, Melissa had nothing to proclaim as Minister – and now she has been dem...
    Buzz from the Beehive   Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
    Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech – Eid al-Fitr
    Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government saves access to medicines
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff.    “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Pharmac Chair appointed
    Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
    Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.  “Every day, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New sports complex opens in Kaikohe
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Diplomacy needed more than ever
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.    “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
    Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.  It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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 week 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 week 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 week 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 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    2 weeks ago

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