The Golfball and Sickle

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, April 30th, 2008 - 56 comments
Categories: activism - Tags: , ,

Personally, I think it’s hilarious.

A brilliant piece of activism that got the public’s attention and raised the issue of why we have American spy equipment on our soil. All without any real harm done and no violence.

The wannabe semiotician in me loves that you’ve got a rag-tag bunch of ordinary people attacking a huge, featureless tool of secret State power. And with sickles!

Also, who knew those were just inflated covers? I thought they were some kind of far-out communications spheres

56 comments on “The Golfball and Sickle ”

  1. insider 1

    Brilliant stunt. They are just weather shields for satellite dishes. You often see them over radar arrays as well.

  2. Matthew Pilott 2

    Insider – they also prevent people from seeing exactly where they’re pointed, which is an operational benefit. I’m not sure which is the primary and which is the secondary purpose, off the top’o’me noggin.

  3. roger nome 3

    Cool piece of activism. One comforting thing is that the echelon program that these structures are part of is becoming more and more irrelevant. i.e. they only intercept air-borne communications, whereas more and more information is being passed through fiber-optics, which a would be eavesdropper needs to physically tap into in order to monitor.

    It’s all in James Bamford’s most recent book:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pretext_for_War

  4. Only someone from the left would find vandalism funny. I wonder what Nandor would say if a Anti Cannabis group, went on his property and pulled out his plants, or what would the left say if a group of Americans, did something similar to protest North Korea.

    This has totally blown up in the left’s face. Here was this huge spy base, they have been telling us, the big bad Americans are doing all sorts of bad things, but yet they were still able to climb the wall and get in.

    Don’t you think, if this was important to the USA, these guys would of got no where near it. Basically these protesters have proved that the States were right all along, they are doing legitimate activity.

    This is just the typical, chip on your shoulder, Anti American BS that the left gets off on.

    You guys need to grow up.

  5. Santi 5

    Steve Pierson, Professor of English, said “A brilliant piece of activism…. All without any real harm done and no violence.”

    Don’t you know the meaning of private property?

    Would you condone animal-right activists entering farms to set animals free? Where do you stop in your support of “activism”?

    Shame on you.

  6. Cool piece of activism or outright criminality? I guess that the Courts will be the judge of that.

  7. Felix 7

    Santi:

    “private property”

    Please expand.

  8. roger nome 8

    “Cool piece of activism or outright criminality?”

    Yes look at all the destroyed property, littering the surround ground. And the massacred bodies of the spy-base staff splayed throughout the grizzly scene. Won’t someone think of the US empire? Someone must bring these barbarians to justice!

  9. MikeE 9

    Criminal act of Vandalism.

    I don’t agree in certain governmnet departments existing, and you don’t see me letting off bombs under them (though I did find that scene in V for Vendetta particularily heart warming).

    Then again, it is a foreign government essentially spying on us…

    I’m of two minds on this one.

  10. Ben R 10

    I would have thought that following the bomb attacks in London, Madrid & Bali and threatened attacks in Australia, people would appreciate efforts to intercept terrorist communications?

    Having the spy base doesn’t mean we endorse every aspect of US foreign policy. Personally, I agree that the invasion of Iraq was a disaster, but I still think we need to try and prevent terrorist attacks. As Salman Rushdie says:

    It’s one thing to criticise the way in which the American government is behaving, or the British government, and I have a lot of criticisms of that in fact, nothing but criticisms,’ he says now. “But it’s another thing to fail to see that an enemy actually exists and is extremely serious about what he wishes to do.’ http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1002

    [yeah because these spy bases and all those American fighter jets have been so useful against backpack bombers. No-one denies there are terrorists, that doesn’t automatically mean Waihopai is needed. SP]

  11. Steve Pierson 11

    To state the obivous for our rightwing friends – not all vandalism is good, it depends on the reason, and breaking the law is not good but sometimes it is worth it in a just cause.

    santi. This is a side point but private property is not invoilable, ownership is not an absolute right of use. I do support the release of animals held in inhuman conditions. As to where I stop supporting activism – well, i don’t support people coming and peeing on the wall of your house becuase they don’t like you – so I guess the point is somewhere between that: freeing animals that are being treated inhumanely= good, peeing on your house because you’re not liked = bad.

    Remember, it’s you who are the extremist, the absolutist here. To me, there can be circumstances when breaching the law is ok if the cause is good and the payoff with the damage caused. It depends on individual circumstances. You believe any violation of private property is automaitcally wrong.

  12. Scribe 12

    Steve,

    How about ransacking an abortion clinic?

    As you say: not all vandalism is good, it depends on the reason, and breaking the law is not good but sometimes it is worth it in a just cause.

    Who makes the decision on whether the vandalism or law-breaking is “good”?

  13. higherstandard 13

    Good on the Prime Minister for calling it like it is.

    “Obviously it’s just imposing a cost on the taxpayer having to rebuild. That’s why I describe it as a senseless act of criminal vandalism”.

  14. Steve Pierson 14

    Like all politics, Scribe, it’s a matter of debate. It should be based on principle and reasoned argument and obviously reasonable people can sometimes disagree.

    But you would agree that in some cases activism that breaks the law is OK – like when anti EFA marchers (all ten of them) march with placards that don’t carry name and address. You think that’s ok don’t you?

  15. higherstandard 15

    SP

    Is it against the law when anti EFA marchers (all ten of them) march with placards that don’t carry name and address ?

    If so the law’s more of an ass than I suspected. Regardless I don’t see how this relates to the vandalism and associated cost to the taxpayer as highlighted in this post.

  16. Steve:

    So what you are saying here is, Vandalism is good, just as long if you believe in the political statement they are making.

    I have to disagree with that. Protest all you want, but what they did was wrong.

  17. Benodic 17

    Don’t you know the meaning of private property?

    Quick, someone tell Rosa Parks.

  18. Matthew Pilott 18

    Brett Dale, since we’re into some ignorant stereotyping, do you get off on extraordinary rendition to countries that torture, CIA-endorsed waterboarding, or the overthrow of democratic governments for fascist pro-US dictators?

    Sorry, but who needs to grow up?

  19. Macky 19

    Brett

    should we always obey the law mindlessly?

    because you seem to have the second part of that down pat

    [Macky, play nice. SP]

  20. Ben R 20

    “yeah because these spy bases and all those American fighter jets have been so useful against backpack bombers. No-one denies there are terrorists, that doesn’t automatically mean Waihopai is needed. SP”

    That overlooks the number of plots that have been foiled in Europe through intelligence sharing & intercepting communications.

    I don’t know that you’d describe ‘The Ploughshares’ as ordinary people either? They said they carried out their attack in the name of the “Prince of Peace”. They sound more like religious zealots.

  21. vto 21

    It’s a fine line between stability and anarchy. Just as well we have the state with its big bovver boots to get stuck in and do some bashing with when they are needed to control people. Eh Mr Pierson.

  22. Matthew Pilott 22

    Hey vto – you alluded to this on another thread – so what’s the alternative to ‘da 5-0’s if you don’t like state influence, out of interest?

  23. vto 23

    Ha ha my Pilott, excuse my rough manner but I was just trying to expose some hypocrisy (that is larger than political parties). Namely, that it is ok for the state to put the boot into that state-person relationship but not so for the person in the person-person relationship.

    I don’t have a complete answer developed in my head, but together with my earlier postage, what I am getting at is that today the physical approach as a means of dispute resolution is forgotten. Which ignores the vast majority of human history (and surely we are not so arrogant to think we do things better today than in the past).

    Its a big topic, and off-topic so I’ll stop there (btw, I’m not for the bash). But that’s what I was getting at. Some hypocrisy, and some forgotten history. And some stirring.

  24. Felix 24

    Short memories indeed.

    The most serious terrorist attack we’ve had here in living memory, the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior claimed one innocent life and caused irreparable damage to private property.

    One of the creepier aspects of this horrible event was that the U.S. (and other) intelligence agencies had been forewarned and chose not to tell us.

    With friends like these…

  25. vto 25

    That should have been ‘mr pilott’ not ‘my pilott’

  26. Like I said, you can protest all you like, but if you are going to support this type of vandalism against one country, you have to support it against other countries also.

    You cant pick and choose because of your own political beliefs.

    Can you imagine if a American immigrant living in New Zealand did this to an Arab Embassy, you will all be up in arms.

  27. Felix 27

    Brett, I can support anything I like based on my political (or any other) beliefs.

    I believe the the damage to the echelon spy station was politically relevant, mostly harmless and a bit theatrically amusing.

    What I can’t do is expect you to support anything based on my beliefs. And that’s ok with me.

  28. Steve Pierson 28

    Um. I can and do pick which causes to support based on my political beliefs. that’s what having political beliefs is all about.

    Try and get this straight in your head – the principle I’m arguing is not ‘all vandalism is good’. It is ‘sometimes a breach of the law can be justified for political reasons’ – in this case a minor breach for what I see as a good cause.

  29. You cant pick and choose because of your own political beliefs.

    You fu**kn moron.

  30. Sam Dixon 30

    from stuff:

    “neighbours of the base woke up this morning to a different skyline. The odd passer-by stopped to stare, and one by one the base’s neighbours pulled blinds or wandered out on to their lawns to realise the landscape was slightly altered.

    Sarah Rolston did not hear anything last night and said the sight of the balls from her front lawn this morning was “hilarious”.

    One neighbour who asked not to be named said “Dolly Parton is a bit lopsided at the moment.”

    – seem like the righties are a bit at odds with the locals down there

  31. Steve

    In saying “sometimes a breach of the law can be justified for political reason”

    then you would totally support someone from the right doing something similar in a form protest.

  32. higherstandard 32

    SP

    Try and get this straight in your head … in this case a minor breach for what I see as a good cause.

    What is this good cause Steve, perhaps you’d like to inform me and the rest of NZ so we can share in your delight that the public will be footing the bill for the repairs of this vandalism.

  33. Occasional Observer 33

    Yeah, what a momentous, heroic achievement, by standing up against the State like this. A million dollars of taxpayers’ money down the tubes.

    I look forward to the Standard praising a bomb attack against the Greytown WINZ office. Hell, with falling property prices, that can’t be worth more than a million dollars. Or how about an arson attack against a school? Or let some prisoners take the axe to a few cell blocks.

    Yeah, that’s what we’d like to see.

    [lprent: I’m sure that it is harder on your brain to deal with individuals, try anyway. Address the gripe to the poster]

  34. Felix 34

    No Brett, but you possibly would.

    Why is this so hard for you?

  35. higherstandard 35

    That’s great Brett so you’ll be stumping up with the million dollars in repairs then !

  36. Santi 36

    “..in this case a minor breach for what I see as a good cause.”

    A pathetic admission by Steve Pierson.

    It can hardly be a minor breach? You appear to condone trespassing and damaging provate property.

    A good cause? What about the bombing of anti-abortion clinics by religious fundamentalists? The attacks by the anti-whaling campaigners? Anti-globalisation mobs attacking American businesses?

    What’s a good cause to you?

  37. Steve Pierson 37

    ” Brett Dale
    April 30, 2008 at 5:14 pm Edit
    Steve

    In saying “sometimes a breach of the law can be justified for political reason’

    then you would totally support someone from the right doing something similar in a form protest.”

    – you’re still confused Brett. It would always depend on what the protest was and what it was against. My position that this was a great piece of activism that achieved it’s purpose, a purpose I find laudable, does not mean that I support any action in any political cause.

    Honestly, it’s like you can’t read.

  38. Steve:

    My point being, is you have condone vandalism only because the people who committed this crime sit on the same fence as you, thats it in a nut shell.

    Like I said, you should have the right to protest all you like, but to commit a crime and cost the tax payer hundreds of thousands of dollars is wrong.

  39. Tane 39

    Brett, the idea that a protest is immoral if it damages property is absurd. It’s the same mentality that led Dick Cheney to label Nelson Mandela a terrorist.

    Do you think Nelson Mandela is a terrorist?

  40. Steve Pierson 40

    Brett. I condone direct action, even if it might break the law, if I think the cause is worthy and the damage done is proportionate and ethical.

  41. Matthew Pilott 41

    vto – you may have been in moderation, because I missed your reply yesterday. As for “my Pilott” I almost crashed a plane once so I wouldn’t suggest it 🙂

    Going off topic to yours – as I see it, we have gone past lynch mobs, vigilante justice and codified our laws, vesting power exclusively in the state to enact them. So yes, it is an unequal relationship between the state and the people – that does not make it unjust!

    In other news:

    I heard that the cost of repairing the cover may be up to $1m. Now this is very out of line with my normal thinking, but I have a solution – a Private-Public Partnership.

    Before you think I’ve gone all Tory, hear me out.

    The government contracts Durex to fashion a new cover for the receiver dish. With their expertise, a project such as this should be easy. Now, the domes are virtually a tourist attraction, and well photographed. So, to recoup the $1m it will cost Durex to make the ‘cover’, they get prime, white-background advertising space on the side of the new dome!

    Waihopai – brought to you by Durex – keeping NZ safe for over 50 years

  42. Tane 42

    MP – brilliant.

  43. “All without any real harm done….”

    Well lets see, all three will get a criminal conviction- which will follow them around ever time they apply for a job. I understand one of them had several already, so that’s certainly no help to him.
    But hey, who care’s about them? its “cool” right Roger?

    Then there is the cost to the taxpayer of just under million dollars to replace the cover as pointed out and to fix the fences.
    Then there is the extra security costs in staff time and the cost of an investigation into the events of that night, police time and court costs including legal aid.

    But hey, no real harm and its ‘cool’. Yeah, right.

  44. Matthew Pilott 44

    Richard Hurst – that’ve done NZ an invaluable service. What if they were terrorists trying to blow the facility up? These heroes have demonstrated security deficiencies that could have resulted in the loss of the entire facility. $1 million – peanuts compared to the whole facility, and the lives, that could have been lost.

    Without their courage, our sensitive GCSB facilities could all be at risk. I think you should be a little more thankful.

  45. Oh, it was a public service…oh well in that case free beer and medals all round I should think!
    Funny, the actual group of sad nutters behind the whole thing aren’t saying it was done to help improve security there. I also note they happily sent a 24 years old young man with a long list of past convictions
    ( sadly none politically inspired) instead of going themselves. Wow that shows a lot of courage doesn’t it? The word exploitation springs to mind

  46. Matthew Pilott 46

    ’twas a pisstake, Richard, but if you were being charitable you could call it a felix culpa

    This 24 year old – you’re saying he wasn’t part of the organisation? And that he was coerced somehow into going? And that there were presumably some evil puppet-masters pulling his strings?

    What’s the typical age for being an adult these days? I know it’s 30 for hobbits, but this was Waihopai, not Matamata.

  47. Occasional Observer 47

    lprent:

    I was addressing my comment to all of the people who lauded this piece of mindless vandalism.

    To date, not a single member of the Standard’s regular posters has condemned the action. Many of the Standard’s posters and left-wing commenters have applauded it.

    Yes, it is hard to see that this is the individual position of a single commenter when so many of the Standard’s supporters evidently support the view that attacking a state-owned facility is appropriate, and not a single Standard supporter opposes it.

    You’re acting like a pissant little net-bully, lprent. Could your attempt at censorship possibly be even more vacuous? Just because you have a point of view, doesn’t mean anybody is interested in reading it.

    [lprent: So? They comment on what they choose to. I haven’t seen a post on the crappy weather in Auckland today either. It is of concern to me – I have to drive through it]

  48. vto 48

    Hey Someone Else’s Pilott, who said anything about ‘lynch mobs and vigilante justice’?

  49. Matthew Pilott 49

    I was making a vague attempt to describe a time before civilisation had codified law and vested power of law to the state…

  50. Occasional Observer 50

    lprent:

    For some reason you fail to make a distinction between events of nature–i.e., the weather–and the Standard’s key supporters, backed by the Standard’s posters, supporting a wanton act of vandalism against a taxpayer-owned facility.

    Your argument is so stupid, yet again, you get zero for effort. Stick to the geeky stuff, Lynn, if you’re not going to step up to the plate and come up with a decent argument.

    The fact is that Steve Pierson crossed the line with this post. Even Helen Clark–former peace activist and anti-American par excellence–has condemned this vandalism.

    [lprent: So? I wasn’t commenting on the post (in fact I haven’t read it).

    I was gently noting that you addressed the site as if it had a mind of its own and wrote the post – it didn’t.

    You then tried to tell the posters what they should write about. Hey, you are a guest on the site, normally valued, but not if you try to act as if you own the place. We’ve all seen adolescents acting up before (it is dreadfully boring). Act like one and you’ll be treated like one.

    If you want to control what is written on a blog – then start your own one and do it there.

    If you want to comment here, address the person – not the damn machine. Suggest to the posters what they should write about – don’t tell them. Tear holes in their thesis and assumptions, but don’t tear into them personally. It really isn’t that hard, and it is more effective. Do the negatives and I will as well and I’ve a much better toolkit.

    When you address the site, you address me and will get replied to by me. I’m perfectly willing to stick to the “geeky stuff”, and thats what I’d like to do. However I run the outside bounds of the site as one of my geeky roles. I could simply express some of my more nasty geek traits. It is a liberating experience, but takes time away from the important things in life – like code. So I prefer to just eliminate the problem.

    Would you like me to start on you? This is your last mild warning]

  51. Matthew Pilott 51

    I thought it was a funny gesture, when the costs were announced as minimal. Like patching up a bike tyre, I thought. I like to see things with enough ‘grey’ to allow a sense of proportionality to colour my judgement of an event. When I heard that it was $1m damage my thoughts changed rather dramatically and to the negative, but perhaps it was naive of me to expect something like that to cost bugger-all.

    This was, of course, the story at the time Steve posted the entry, OO, and why people generally supported it as a funny thing, or effective activim. If you’re being honest, you’ll note that Steve actually said “… All without any real harm done and no violence.

    This is no longer the case, but you have come in to this thread a day or two late.

    I suppose you could demand a retraction or update, but that’s just being a touch precious in my books. As is “steve pierson crossed the line“. You came in a bit late to make that call.

  52. lprent 52

    Ummm I just read the post and the comments.

    I’m with Helen on this, it is a very expensive prank. I can think of better things to spend the money on than providing a story for the news media to feed on.

    I’m not happy with people breaking into sites that probably have armed guards either. There is just too high a probability of someone getting hurt.

    As was commented above, it was useful for showing up a security hole. As was also commented, there is nothing to stop people from carrying out illegal acts – it is a matter for their own judgement.

    However they have to accept the consequences. In this case I hope that the book is thrown at them -they deliberately caused damage.

  53. higherstandard 53

    Gosh Matthew

    Very considered took you 12 hours to conclude it was costly vandalism enough time to mull it over.

    Guess that’s the difference between the profession I’m in having to make sometimes fairly rapid decisions on the merits of something and your own good profession.

    While I support anyone and everyones right to peaceful protest can I politely ask on behalf of the NZ taxpayer that Steve admits that protests such as this and the associated cost of the vandalism is unacceptable.

  54. Matthew Pilott 54

    Sorry HS, I didn’t realise I was on a stopwatch, or I would have posted that coment far earlier. I didn’t actually ‘conclude’ as suc, I went with what I read in the media. I’ll let you in on a little secret – as soon as I heard that it wasn’t a small repair bill (and more like a mil), I decided that they’d gone too far – but here’s the rub – I didn’t rush straight to this thread to post the comment!

    Somewhat less-than-sincere apologies,

    Matthew

  55. Tane:

    Actually technically Nelson Mandela was a Terrorist, he supported bombing government departments.

    Ghandai use to make adolescent girls sleep with him to see if he would be tempted, so he was a bit of a sicko.

    The Dali Lama follows a belief, that Slavery is okay.

    But I bet the severe liberal education system wont teach this. Still they all did so much good for the world, I guess we can forgive them.

    I just find it, nuts that you can compare what these protesters did to what Ghandai did and his battle against the British.

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  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    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
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    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
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • 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
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    20 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
  • 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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    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 ...
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  • 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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  • 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 ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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  • 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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  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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