The Cyber bullying law and Dirty Politics

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, July 1st, 2015 - 36 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, Media, the praiseworthy and the pitiful - Tags: , ,

On the left we are all busy people.  Our activists are trying to balance work and family and the desire to make the world a better place.  Our bloggers are trying to say or post something profound and take care of all of their other stuff like their jobs at the same time.  Our MPs are doing their best to do their job with the limited Parliamentary Services funding and no other funding that they have and improve the life force of their party.  It feels occasionally that we collectively do not respond to issues as quickly or in as principled a manner as would be ideal.

Yesterday the Cyberbullying Law was passed.  This law is untested but it says ( I think) that if you are mean to someone on line and cause them serious emotional distress and would have caused an ordinary reasonable person distress then you may be committing an offence.

I saw this graphic last night online.  It is one of those perfect Crosby Textor focus group graphics that you cannot fail but to admire.

National cyber bullying graphic

Get that?  If confronted about Dirty Politics National can now say it is doing something.

Perhaps Cameron Slater should be afraid of the new law although no doubt some on the right will think that the Standard is somehow worse than Whaleoil.

What rankles is that National has perfected the art of cyberbullying.  They have poured resources into online attacks on their opponents as well as impartial civil servants and academics and managed to get the main stream media to act as nodding heads and repeaters.

Suddenly they are the solution?  The left’s desire to engage rationally in the debate about the bill and try to make the bill somehow better is understandable but they should have realised that this was all a PR job and should have opposed it as a threat to the freedom of speech.

National is obviously relying on the shortness of peoples memories.  According to them dirty politics did not happen and the left do it anyway even though no proof exists.  National’s legislation is designed to stop the completely unacceptable and contemptible sorts of attacks that National engaged in.

It makes you wonder however about the left’s handling of the matter and the dissident Green MPs who voted against the bill did us all a favour.

This particular bill is a PR smokescreen to try and reduce the negative effect of Dirty Politics.  We should have seen this and we should have called it for what it is, instead of thinking the best of National’s intentions and trying to improve their bill.  Tim Watkin is right, the law is poorly drafted, will have a chilling effect on media reporting and cartoons, and is an example of cynical politics.

I wait with anticipation the first case under the legislation.

36 comments on “The Cyber bullying law and Dirty Politics ”

  1. dukeofurl 1

    Slater has so many court or tribunal appearances, so I guess he will be posterchild for this one as well.

    Hes moved upmarket to target journalist who get under his thick skin now

  2. “This law is untested but it says ( I think) that if you are mean to someone on line and cause them serious emotional distress and would have caused an ordinary reasonable person distress then you may be committing an offence.”

    Plus intent.

    • mickysavage 2.1

      Yep always (well almost) need intent! This will hopefully protect media in that their intent is to present a story rather than cause harm. I anticipate that some sort of bad faith aspect would need to be proved. But the simple way to handle this would be to keep the bill simple (ban inciting to suicide or the posting of intimate photographs). Right now the lawyers are going to have a field day trying to work out what it means.

      • Too right. As I said somewhere else here today, the precedents are really going to determine the true nature of this law.

      • tinfoilhat 2.1.2

        I agree MS although i would also add a ban on inciting violence.

        • lprent 2.1.2.1

          Think about it carefully.

          Effectively replacing something like the sedition law as a generic law against activists.

          If you advocate striking and posting pickets outside of workplaces that workers are striking from – are you advocating violence? Even if you don’t say that? Because such situations have in the past resulted in violence.

          Or suggesting that people wear team colors when going to a sports match. Sometime violence ensues. Were you advocating violence by suggesting that people wear such gang patches?

          The problem with open-ended idiotic laws like this one is that they aren’t specific enough. If you want to add something like “a ban on inciting violence” then you’ll need to be quite specific or wait a long time for the courts to provide limits.

          Laws like this need closed parameters – not ones that are wide open to abuse decades down the line.

          A good example was my niece getting charged, convicted, and eventually having the conviction overturned for a ‘intimidation by loitering’ clause in the Crimes Act 1981. It was highly debated in 1981 and the government of the day assured parliament it would only be used for gang members loitering outside of the premises of shopkeepers.

          So how did the police, nearly 30 years later, use it for peaceful and law abiding protesters outside of a shop? Because the National idiots then didn’t write the law to do what they said it was intended to prevent. As far as we are aware, that is the ONLY time that stupid law was ever used – for the ‘wrong’ purpose. It cost $30,000 to reverse that.

          I suspect that this law will be exactly the same. Just a case of Judith Collins masturbating her ego up as she produced a stupid law for publicity reasons (like the rather useless “crusher” law), and then fools in parliament putting in a law that will be used way way outside of the purposes that they recorded in Hansard. I suspect that the instances of its use for the purposes stated in the record will be minimal simply because it will be too hard legally.

          Perhaps we should make MPs and their estates liable for costs incurred in correcting their damn stupidities.

      • Kevin 2.1.3

        How do you prove intent? For example if I say someone should kidnap the PM’s daughter and rape her [deleted] and someone does rape her I could argue that I had no intent to cause harm to the PM’s daughter – I was using hyperbole to make a point. Who’s to say I wasn’t?

        [While I understand the point you’re making, Kevin, there are many alternative ways of putting that argument that don’t involve invoking violence against women. Please don’t do that again. And I think you’ll find that ‘incitement to violence’ is already a crime anyway, so the ‘intent’ defence probably has a precedent somewhere in NZ law, which will probably be quoted the first time there is case taken under the new Act. TRP]

          • Weepus beard 2.1.3.1.1

            Awesome! There’s a new TV series being filmed in Auckland at the moment.

            • maui 2.1.3.1.1.1

              That’s pretty cool it’s being shot here too! Lucy Lawless looks to be making an appearance too, I can imagine her in them.

              • Weepus beard

                Yes, the NZ Film and TV industry has had a welcome boost lately with the fall of the NZ dollar because we are largely an export industry.

                If I may make the point here, the NZ Film and TV industry is very professional at the coal face because we have excellent and very dedicated and tight-knit crews. The exchange rate and incentives dictate the level of interest by overseas productions but local crews, local production companies, and the accessibility of locations are very important too.

                This year alone NZ has hosted a major Disney feature for children, Pete’s Dragon; the new MTV series, the post-apocalyptic Shannara; and the STARZ production mentioned above, Ash vs Evil Dead.

        • Charles 2.1.3.2

          Fails under principles, 2, 3, 4.

          (And probably just general sensitivity. Look dude, unless you’re new here or move in circles that hasn’t ever heard of what’s up, don’t pick examples like that to post round here. You might find yourself out the door.)

  3. Gangnam Style 3

    Now we all have to be nice & polite & correct to each other, ‘its political correctness gone mad!’ or something. I’d hate to see the cartoonists silenced, they more often than not are the only dissenting opinions in the media.

  4. Charles 4

    Welcome to the new way of doing things under the Harmful Digital Communications Bill. Here’s a general summary:

    The communication principles are—

    Principle 1
    A digital communication should not disclose sensitive personal facts about another individual.

    Principle 2
    A digital communication should not be threatening, intimidating, or menacing.

    Principle 3
    A digital communication should not be grossly offensive to a reasonable person in the position of the affected individual.

    Principle 4
    A digital communication should not be indecent or obscene.

    Principle 5
    A digital communication should not be used to harass an individual.

    Principle 6
    A digital communication should not make a false allegation.

    Principle 7
    A digital communication should not contain a matter that is published in breach of confidence.

    Principle 8
    A digital communication should not incite or encourage anyone to send a message to an individual for the purpose of causing harm to the individual.

    Principle 9
    A digital communication should not incite or encourage another individual to commit suicide.

    Principle 10
    A digital communication should not denigrate an individual by reason of his or her colour, race, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

    (2)

    In performing functions or exercising powers under this Act, the Approved Agency and courts must—
    (a)take account of the communication principles; and
    (b)act consistently with the rights and freedoms contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

    In determining whether a post would cause harm, the court may take into account any factors it considers relevant, including—

    (a)the extremity of the language used:
    (b)the age and characteristics of the victim:
    (c)whether the digital communication was anonymous:
    (d)whether the digital communication was repeated:
    (e)the extent of circulation of the digital communication:
    (f)whether the digital communication is true or false:
    (g)the context in which the digital communication appeared.

    The court must see a pattern of behaviour, and that behaviour in its least form being “a threat of a serious breech, likely to cause harm”. How courts measure “likely to cause harm” might be something for Tracey to answer. However, the act also allows Police to advise the court that no one really was or will be all that harmed, so no hearing required after application, no further action taken. It all sounds too familiar already; it’s like the whole Act has been written to stop Nicky Hagar publishing another book; assist attacks on political opponents to the incumbent party; and lift protections out of the reach of average people.

    The one golden nugget in this otherwise Lawn Cigar Act is this though: The age and characteristics of the victim. If you could find a court sympathetic to your politics, you could argue that there are no politicians who can be offended by harmful digital communications – the bar is already far too high. It would take an awful lot to deeply offend Winston using usual potty-mouth methods, for instance. And could you prove that some of the legal libel word games he likes to play over things no one understands are those of a “reasonable person”?

    So theoretically, this Act might not be able to be abused by powerful politicians in the same way that they already make their actionable transgressions “disappear”. It all rests on what the Police and courts are told (I mean, “influenced”) to do of course, so good luck with that.

    The people who voted to support this Act can argue a lot of small points of relevance – and that was always the case, it wasn’t a bad idea overall, just unfinished – but what they can’t argue away is that they have given more power to a government who abuses power almost every week, and is becoming increasingly paranoid about dissent – just wait for 2017. From that point of view, no one should have supported this bill. Party principles of democracy in an increasingly unprincipled world are admirable, but the larger context was forgotten: During an all-out class war, you don’t act like everything is peachy and install unfinished laws to adjust later at your leisure. There may be no Later.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1

      +∞

      Well put, Charles. Thanks for posting the Principles.

      At least it’s subject to the BoRA, in particular S14:

      Freedom of expression
      Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.

    • Tracey 4.2

      well said charles…

      collins must be thrilled it is not retorspective

  5. maui 5

    Isn’t the poster meant to say:

    “Bully the Government or any of our MPs online and you could face two years in prison.”

  6. Puckish Rogue 6

    Well Cameron Slater thinks its a very poor piece of legislation:

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/06/i-need-a-lie-down-wrongly-wrongson-agrees-with-me/

    So its nice to see theres sometimes common ground 🙂

    • Tracey 6.1

      of course he doesnt… read charles post above. slater ticks so many boxes. his business model is threatened. gareth hughes otoh gives a shit about kiwis.

  7. esoteric pineapples 7

    First rule for this government is never to trust this government ON ANYTHING!

  8. JonL 8

    Want to see how quickly politicians suddenly become thin-skinned precious little bundles…….

  9. Dave_1924 9

    Not a fan of this piece of legislation and National pushing it through was dreadful. Labour party whip voting for it as well was rubbish. Though I note Ms Ardern said lets come back and look at in a year

    David Seymour argued against the HDC from the get go to his credit.

    The Greens at least had 4 MP’s who had enough nads to vote against. Its not often I applaud Dr Norman but well done that man plus Gareth Hughes, Julie Anne Genter and Steffan Browning.

    • tc 9.1

      This is not the opposition you are looking for, simply gutless. The hollowmen must be loving this.

      • Dave_1924 9.1.1

        To be frank TC I think as a collective the opposition parties have been pretty weak since the last election. Hell, National has stumbled like a drunk on Courtney place at 3am on a Sat night and not one of them have managed any sort of decent move in the polls or held them to account on any of the stumbles in a meaningful way.

        the opposition is missing in action drawing salary and racking up super benefits….

    • b waghorn 9.2

      I wonder if Seymour would of opposed it if national had of needed his vote.

  10. tc 10

    “National is obviously relying on the shortness of peoples memories…”

    like they have to great success every GE they get voted in with assists from a docile owned MSM.

  11. Get that? If confronted about Dirty Politics National can now say it is doing something.

    I do get it. What I don’t get is why Labour and most of the Greens helped them with the project. I expect National to try and fuck me up the arse, but it’s beyond disappointing to have Labour and the Greens lining up behind them (oops, I think I just committed an offence).

  12. Charles 12

    Here we go. Hey guess what, the discussion of the HDC Act isn’t an excuse to make specific reference to as many sexual/potentially offensive/illegal acts as possible. geez. must be full moon.

  13. Robert Guyton 13

    Since Fairfax cleaned out its stable of cartoonists, bar one, there’s not been a single cartoonexposing lampooning Key.

  14. Emelia Lovett 14

    They got rid of John Campbell, now we losing our right to free speech, they already bully people to death, next the pricks will be popping people off!

    Our government has so much class!

    Judith, John, they come from what you call ‘proper breeding’.

    • Sable 14.1

      If you consider the cuts to welfare and housing, people are no doubt dying…

  15. Chooky 15

    Cactus Kate and Possum Hooton will be in for the high jump if it used retrospectively ….and I expect the Slater it will be in for a hundred years of jail

    ….but then Slater could incriminate some others we all know …like his bestest friends in the Beehive…girls and boys… and in particular the one he had a good direct line to…the one who boasted of having a top drawer full of unsavoury stuff….

    where will it all end I ask myself

  16. Sable 16

    If you look any Fascist state this is pretty much the same process they utilize. Legalize spying on people, undermine journalist standards and gag any who step out of line and then take away freedom of speech. Lets see what comes next……

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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
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    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
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    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
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    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
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    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.
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    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    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
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • 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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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 ...
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    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 ...
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    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 ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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