Time to wake up to the Electricity Authority

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 29th, 2016 - 46 comments
Categories: capitalism, class war, discrimination, Economy, energy - Tags:

Electricity Authority website

In June there are workshops being held about the Electricity Authority’s transmission pricing proposal. Yawn, perhaps, until you get the power bill.

Check the relevant dates in the link, and show you can attend by confirming to this email address.

They will of course be expecting just the Usual Suspects to turn up like the Major Electricity Users Association, the key investors in electricity generation, and of course staff of the generators themselves.

The Authority has been quite smart by publicising their forecasts that some regions will do great with charging decreases, but Auckland gets it in the neck. They don’t tell you whether a single consumer will notice any difference in their power bills, once the local utilities and lines companies fiddle with their billing. They don’t tell you if they have a functioning mechanism for holding the billing of lines companies to account. They should.

The Electricity Authority claims in their forecasts that Invercargill’s charges will go down $64, but Ashburton’s will go up between $102 and $117, for example. The Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority, Carl Hansen, said the regions seeing an increase were those that had benefited from substantial recent grid upgrades, or where transmission prices had been lower than average.

He forgot to tell you how much lee-way the big users are going to get, with great sweetener deals for businesses like Rio Tinto Aluminium in Bluff. They can apply for more “relief” on top of the $21 million of grid costs they are already ducking. Prior to listing on the stock exchange, Meridian just sucked that up.

In the south of Auckland, New Zealand Steel faces a 263% increase in its grid charges. Guaranteed they will also get “relief”. If you’ve ever been there, it’s a small town. Also Oji Fibre Solutions (formerly Carter Holt Harvey). Also Whangarei’s New Zealand Refining.

And wait there’s more.

The Authority is also proposing to remove all special pricing arrangements for small solar and wind generators who link to a local lines network, rather than the national lines network. That will become a significant disincentive for small-scale sustainable generators. Meaning, the big corporate generators capture more of the market and the smaller ones get less of a chance. Community-initiated generation proposals like Dunedin’s Blueskin Bay get that much harder.

I’m not for a moment saying that the Authority is biased against citizens or communities. I’m definitely not saying that by publishing forecast savings by region they are playing a nasty divide-and rule game. I am saying that the Electricity Authority should be able to easily demonstrate to citizens their legislated task to run and price a national grid within national interest tests.

But perhaps it is time for citizens to turn up to these Electricity Authority briefings and not leave this stuff to the usual black suits, specialist consultants, asset management planners, and the like.

This review started nine years ago. For my ten cents, the Electricity Authority doesn’t demonstrate to citizens that it has value being placed outside of Ministerial Authority. It takes too long, worships fat corporations, doesn’t listen to citizens, and hasn’t made a peep about changing our generator mix away from coal and moving to 100% sustainable generation. Time to run the grid from a person who faces consumer pressure every day, amplified through the media: a Minister.

Maybe the Salvation Army would like to turn up to these briefings, or some of the unions, or some NGOs who stick up for the poor and homeless and cold.

Read up from their site, turn up, and let the Electricity Authority hear from citizens.

46 comments on “Time to wake up to the Electricity Authority ”

  1. save nz 1

    Great post! Of course the poor and middle NZ should pay more for electricity, while corporations which are increasingly based owned offshore should get tax relief – that’s National policy! sarc.

    As for solar, it is all about keeping the old polluting systems going, and just fudging our climate change and environmental targets…. more National policy.

    • Richard Christie 1.1

      +100%

    • Chooky 1.2

      +100 Good Post !…the Left Opposition coalition should be hammering this!

    • Richard@Down South 1.3

      I think power is too expensive atm… but then, we in Invercargill pay more than those in the North Island when more power is generated closer to us and sent north…

      Rio Tinto shouldnt get a subsidy….

  2. ianmac 2

    “…but Ashburton’s will go up between $102 and $117,”
    There are some regions where the electricity charges are remarkably low. Maybe Ashburton is one of those and would be playing catchup with their neighbours.
    It is unique among New Zealand electricity distribution companies in that it is the only company that is a cooperative…”
    Cannot find out what Ashburton’s charges are though.

    • Gristle 2.1

      Electricity Asburton is run by a community owned Trust. So is its neighbour Alpine Network and Network Waitaki, and so is Unison and …… There is a really long list of “co-ops.” These are all rejections of the reforms that Max Bradford foisted on NZ. Some communities gave the fingers to Max and the Enron boys and would not sell networks to corporate interests.

      The EAs approach to grid charges has been to try and put cost of the grid to the consumers who use it. Tiwai Point doesn’t use much grid so it’s charges go down. Just like North Otago. All those big hydro stations just a stones throw away would see North Otago prices go down. (I am not kidding about the stone throw. Two of the three GXPs could be covered by a good underarm from one of the Chappel brothers.) But unfortunately the charges don’t go down they go up. Transpower charges to North Otago go up.

      So two years ago the North Otago Transpower charges went up by $700,000 to account for grid development to support Auckland. Now they are going up by another $300,000 per annum because North Otago doesn’t have to support Auckland.

      • Ad 2.1.1

        Seems incredible that the Authority can’t balance this out better. Prior to Bradford there were supposed to be massive local benefits to consumers. Great to be reminded of the remaining local trusts.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2

        So two years ago the North Otago Transpower charges went up by $700,000 to account for grid development to support Auckland.

        [citation needed]

        • Gristle 2.1.2.1

          Sorry cannot find a news report to back this up. The information came from discussion the Graham Clark the CEO of Network Waitaki Limited which occurred in 2014.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.1.1

            See, time and time again we get people from outside of Auckland blaming Auckland for the high prices and that they’re paying for Auckland in some way. But when the numbers are actually looked at it turns out that Auckland is actually subsiding them.

            It seems like a common fallacy and this just sounds like another instance of it.

            • Poission 2.1.2.1.1.1

              how many power stations in auckland or northland? its an obvious problem.

            • Gristle 2.1.2.1.1.2

              See, time and and time again we get people from inside of Auckland denying that at times they get carried by the rest of NZ.

              DTB, a conversation can be cited as evidence, and if you choose not to believe me when I provide a real persons name who is the head of the company then I take from that you have a very low level of trust.

              If you look at http://www.networkwaitaki.co.nz/Schedule_of_Charge_to_apply_from_01-04-16.pdf

              And in the previous year you will see consistent high increases by Transpower for grid charges that exceed the rate of increase for NWL’s own network. The work that Transpower has been doing over the last 5 years has been focussed on:
              1. Beefing up from the Waikato to Auckland
              2. Putting Pole 2 in for the DC link from Benmore to Wellington

              And all the other Networks/consumers have had to pay for it.

              Networks like Top Energy and Tasman Networks have been buying sections of the Transpower grid to get out of Transpower using those assets to lever yet further money from the more remote lines companies.

              One can understand why there is a section of South Islanders keen to become a state of Austrailia. I believe that Tasmania is fully supportive of this as it will promote them from being the butt of intra-Australian jokes,

              • Draco T Bastard

                and if you choose not to believe me when I provide a real persons name who is the head of the company then I take from that you have a very low level of trust.

                And why would I trust someone who’s position is there to justify price increases? Especially after we get shit like this?

                Telecom’s public image may take another hit as an audio clip of Theresa Gattung circulating on the internet has the chief executive admitting to the company “not being straight up” with customers.

                “Think about pricing. What has every telco in the world done in the past? It’s used confusion as its chief marketing tool. And that’s fine,” said Gattung in a speech recorded on March 20.

                Businesses do have a tendency to lie to us.

                Transpower has been doing over the last 5 years has been focussed on:

                And where were they working before that? And where are they going to be working next?

                It’s the nature of physical networks and labour availability. The network crosses the entirety on the country but they don’t work on the whole thing the entire time. They work on sections of it moving their workers around as needed.

                And as I said up thread. We get people from outside of Auckland complaining about how they’re subsidising Auckland but when we follow the money it turns out that it’s Auckland subsidising them. That figure is $1 billion per year going from Auckland to the rest of the country and that’s just in taxes.

                I have no problems with that happening. In a society there’s going to be cross subsidies happening all the time that simply can’t be helped.

                No, what pisses me off is people outside of Auckland complaining that they’re subsidising Auckland when it simply isn’t true. So, yeah, I’m doubtful about this one being true.

                • Poission

                  Think about pricing. What has every telco in the world done in the past? It’s used confusion as its chief marketing tool. And that’s fine,” said Gattung in a speech recorded on March 20.

                  Prediction 42 (The Dilbert future) 1998

                  In the future,all barriers to entry will go way and companies will be forced to form confusopolies

                  definition – A group of companies with similar products who intentionally confuse customers instead of competing on price.

                  eg Insurance,mortgage loans,banking, telco ,financial services

      • millsy 2.1.3

        Actually the trusts were created before the Bradford reforms, which by the way, stopped them from expanding (a move repealed by Labour V).

        Labour IV and National IV wanted to sell the power boards but they realised that they didnt actually own them (they owned themselves), so the consumer trusts were created on the assuptions that they would sell the lines companies. Most, didnt.

      • Corokia 2.1.4

        I heard on RNZ when this was 1st reported that the increase in Ashburton was due to the power and infrastructure needed to run the irrigation schemes there. I expect the same would apply to North Otago.
        It would be grossly unfair if residents in towns in intensive dairying areas are made to pay more because local farmers have big irrigation schemes, but I guess that’s what you get with National’s love affair with dairy.

        • Gristle 2.1.4.1

          The point is you need Transpower’s grid to transport from the dams to the local network. The dams on the Waitaki River are in the Network Waitaki area. Transpower’s grid in two cases is about 75 metres (not kilometres) long.

          There is more than enough generating capacity available in our backyard so it is sent north and across into the North Island.

          The amount of new load brought on in the North Otago area has been about 10MWatts of peak load over the last five years. Most of this has come from irrigation systems or dairy sheds. This is load is next to nothing given the amount of electricity sent out of Otago to the north.

          I don’t know about Ashburton. But saying that price increases are due to irrigation seems simplistic. Most lines companies have a large component of variable income, and so they tend to make out like bandits when a lot of energy is transported. My thought would be that for lines companies there would be an opportunity to average down prices as largely under-utilised assets carry more load.

        • Gristle 2.1.4.2

          The point is you need Transpower’s grid to transport from the dams to the local network. The dams on the Waitaki River are in the Network Waitaki area. Transpower’s grid in two cases is about 75 metres (not kilometres) long.

          There is more than enough generating capacity available in our backyard so it is sent north and across into the North Island.

          The amount of new load brought on in the North Otago area has been about 10MWatts of peak load over the last five years. Most of this has come from irrigation systems or dairy sheds. This is load is next to nothing given the amount of electricity sent out of Otago to the north.

          I don’t know about Ashburton. But saying that price increases are due to irrigation seems simplistic. Most lines companies have a large component of variable income, and so they tend to make out like bandits when a lot of energy is transported. My thought would be that for lines companies there would be an opportunity to average down prices as largely under-utilised assets carry more load.

  3. Alfie 3

    The EA workshops are being held in Akl, Wgtn, ChCh and Invercargill. Are they deliberately avoiding Dunedin? I’ll bet there would be quite a few people from the Blueskin Bay area who’d be keen to voice their opinions on the Authority’s lack of support for renewable energy.

    But then who needs democracy? It’s such an overrated system which only gets in the way of unfettered corporate profits.

  4. red-blooded 4

    “Community-initiated generation proposals like Dunedin’s Blueskin Bay get that much harder.”

    Not a great example. This proposal would see wind turbines attached to a small outcrop of unstable rock, with aquifers running through it that feed all the local water sources. It’s also right on the coastline, the habitat of numerous at-risk bird species like NZ falcons. The DOC report into wind generation recommends that any turbines should be at least 50 km from the coast. And as for being “community-initiated”? The council has already ruled that this is not the case; the proposal does not arise from a community group and it does not bring benefit to the local community. In fact, the community are very much opposed. Nimbyism, I hear you say? Perhaps, to some extent, but there’s also a lot of concern about environmental impact.

    Oh, and Blueskin Bay is where the proposers live, but it’s not where the proposed site is. A bit of nimbyism going on there, too, perhaps.

    (ps, I don’t live anywhere near this site, but I’ve heard the arguments from both sides and read a lot of the documentation, and the DOC report into wind farms. I’m not anti-wind generation, but I do think sites need to be carefully chosen and issues like bird strike are relevant.)

    • Ad 4.1

      I did not state that the community universally supported it. Obviously they don’t.

      If the Council decision goes against the initiative, I’d be happy to donate to an appeal.

      Electricity generation should not be the preserve of the corporatised few or the individual who seeks to withdraw entirely. That’s what the Authority should encourage: greater competition at all levels of generation.

    • ianmac 4.2

      Does it mean that if Blueskin went ahead, the consumers would have to pay a premium just to stay on the grid? The more you do for self-sufficiency the more that Transpower wants to charge.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.3

      and the DOC report into wind farms.

      This one? Where it says:

      The impacts of wind farms on New Zealand bird species and populations are unknown. This document reviews available literature on the impacts of onshore wind farms on birds, based on studies in other countries.

      The very first sentence tells us that they don’t know. The second that they’re basing their entire report on offshore studies. And what do those offshore studies find?

      In the end, using 58 mortality estimates that met their criteria, they came up with an estimate. According to the current literature somewhere between 140,000 and 328,000 birds die each year from collisions with wind turbines.

      Sounds like a lot but that’s across all of the US. To put that number into perspective:

      Besides habitat degradation and destruction, the top human-built environmental threat to our feathered friends are buildings. As many as 970 million birds crash into them annually, according to a June 2013 study in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Other studies, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), estimate that every year as many as 175 million birds die by flying into power lines, which electrocute tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands more; 72 million are poisoned by misapplied pesticides; nearly 6.6 million perish by hitting communications towers; and as many as 1 million birds die in oil and gas industry fluid waste pits.

      Our houses are more of a threat.

      That said, I think that wind-farms need to be offshore. Not because of the danger to birds but because of the better wind. The fact that it’s also more environmentally friendly in many ways is a fortunate coincidence.

    • weka 4.4

      I have some concerns about how the project is being developped myself, whilst at the same time supporting small, community farms over thing big commerical projects for private companies.

      Did DOC comment on the Blueskin project itself?

      From my reading of the material available online, it’s pretty clear that this IS a community initiated project. Why do you think it’s not? I know that there is difference of opinion about the project in those coastal Otago communities, but that’s not the same as it not being a community based project.

      • Lulu 4.4.1

        It depends on your definition of community.
        I understand the scheme was conceived as a community scheme in the sense that the community around the wind turbines would own the plant, consume the output and, to the extent the output matched their consumption, they would offset purchasing generation from elsewhere through a retailer.
        I understand it has morphed into a scheme where an externally located generator with shareholders unconnected to this community would establish the generation plant. That party would generate and sell the output to whoever they can get a profit from including potential retail deals with residents of the Blueskin Bay community or thereabouts. The only financial benefits back to the community would be via profits if members of the community are shareholders of the scheme or through discounted retail prices back to the community but I don’t know whether that is proposed or not.
        None of these financial arrangements are relevant for the consenting process and the generator who I understand will be running the project and would trade the output is very quiet. To my knowledge the model of investment, ownership and beneficiaries (dividends or electricity tariffs) is not revealed to the public so it is not possible to conclude that this scheme is a community scheme in the original sense.
        I would love to know what the model is. For the moment the only community involvement I can see from outside is support for the consent and willingness to support the generator so the scheme goes ahead and its supporters can feel good about the environment.
        Very happy to be clarified or corrected.

        • weka 4.4.1.1

          hmm, I’m not sure about that.

          Here’s what I understand (from the project’s websites).

          1. The community came together to talk about the project.

          2. A trust was set up.

          3. The Trust is a registered charity.

          4. The trustees are all from the Blueskin Bay area.

          5. The Trust set up the Company, which is a social enterprise. At least two of the directors of that company live in the area, and the Company is based there. They also use volunteers from the community.

          6. The Company receives money from investors.

          7. The investment money is used to build the windfarm.

          8. The Company sells the electricity.

          9. The money from that comes back to the Company.

          10. The Company pay money to the investors and to the Trust.

          11. The Trust uses the money in the community.

          That all looks pretty straight forward and reasonable to me. It also means that there is a direct line of profit back to the community.

          I guess if I lived there I would want to know more detail eg how the profits are split between the community and the investors. Both the Trust and the Company have documents online that probably answer questions about how the details work (I don’t have time to read through them all). It might be easier to ask the people involved directly. I can’t see anything on the face of that makes me think they are doing something that’s not community based.

          The Charities register doesn’t appear to use permanent URLs, so here’s what I think is the founding document (PDF?). You can search the register for BLUESKIN RESILIENT COMMUNITIES TRUST to get all the documents.

          http://www.societies.govt.nz/pls/web/DBSIFRAME.I_Init?p_access_no=B98491B6C388C3F0E428FFD994B96C2F&p_receipt_number=11747364&p_sequence_number=1&p_reference_number=2178117&p_called_from=ALLTAB|doc1

          Blueskin Energy Ltd, including their constitution,

          https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/4849319/directors

          • Lulu 4.4.1.1.1

            Thanks Weka,
            We are not necessarily at odds. If I start at your point 6 I see
            “The Company receives money from investors.”
            I get that. If I jump down to 9 the income from the sale of energy comes back to the Company. I get that.
            The bit I don’t understand is point 10
            “The Company pay money to the investors and to the Trust.”
            You have a question mark there too. You say
            “I guess if I lived there I would want to know more detail eg how the profits are split between the community and the investors.” I agree thus my post.
            I am also interested to know who is taking the risk of the sale price for the output being below the return the investors expect.
            I am not saying that it is dodgy. My point is that even if the community benefits as you suggest it is still not clear by how much and whether the community is carrying any of the risk.

            • weka 4.4.1.1.1.1

              From my limited understanding I would say not. Any financial and legal risk is held by the directors of the company, and perhaps the trustees of the trust that owns it. In that sense the community doesn’t ‘own’ the project but the structure looks normal to me. Both organisations docs are on line.

              I raised concerns in another thread about the fact that the project got so far down the track without having the site’s immediate neighbours on board, and what did that mean about community consultation, so I agree it’s not perfect. They also don’t have info online I would expect eg photos with the turbines overlaid that show visual impact, the measurements in a map etc. I find that pretty stunning tbh. But so much has been done by volunteers too and it’s probably none of my business. If I lived there I’d be asking questions but I also have a lot of respect for people in communities that make things happen and they look on the rightish track to me.

    • Kiwiri 4.5

      Does anyone know or can anyone point out to the information available – what specifically will the community benefits be and how will any benefits, particularly profits, be shared with the community?

  5. And then there is the landowners subsidising everyone’s power .. and putting up with all sorts of shit from the power companies
    http://kapitiindependentnews.net.nz/pylon-blasting-pollution/

    • ianmac 5.1

      They do the sandblasting because they can. Wonder what is used to recoat the pylons?

  6. ianmac 6

    Mike Williams has a second post up on Pundit in which he says that the Electricity industry should get alongside alternative sources like wind and solar rather than attack and penalise.
    (Someone named as Chris Morris seems very well informed on the negatives in the comments but his background is unknown.)
    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/adapt-or-die-flicking-the-switch-on-solar#comment-43171

    • Kiwiri 6.1

      I know about Chris Morris who is an engineer and it could be him. Or it is that reporter in the South.

      • ianmac 6.1.1

        I wonder if he works in some sort of PR for the Electricity Industry. No matter. He certainly puts a different perspective on the alternative sources.

        • Alfie 6.1.1.1

          @ianmac: I wonder if he works in some sort of PR for the Electricity Industry.

          In his Pundit profile Chris Morris describes himself as a “power station engineer from Taupo”. While he may know a bit about the electricity business, he has been posting quite a lot of tosh when it comes to solar. See this earlier post and my responses, especially the last one.

          http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/solar-tax-makes-its-harder-to-be-green-for-now

          And by the way, I live in Blueskin Bay and I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the Trust. Their main focus is 100% community-based, providing insulation advice and generally warming up homes in this area. They’re good people.

          • Ad 6.1.1.1.1

            Great to hear from another enthusiastic supporter.
            It’s a vital initiative, and I really hope they succeed.

  7. reason 7

    The electricity authority was created by National who appointed it with right wing yes men………..

    They did their job for the nats by attacking Labours single purchaser policy to stop the new privatised power company s abusing and overcharging consumers…. They were reported in the media ( Dom post etc), as an Independent ‘Authority ‘ …….

    They backed National fully and involved themselves in a kind of ‘dirty politics, … Their right wing bias was undisclosed. The fearmongering and hyped up attack lines coming from Hansen, a former treasury and business round table flake, were New Zealand would suffer black-outs and ruination if Labour could curb or stop the taking of excessive profits and market exploitation that private power companies always want to engage in…..

    Basically They exist to protect their own highly paid jobs…. and the Profits of our little wannabe Enrons ….

    “California officials are seeking to recover some of the $30 billion Governor Gray Davis says Enron “extorted from the state.” https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2002/05/enro-m10.html

    It’s also worth noting it was Enron and their right wing accounting tricks which lead to blackouts for California…….

    http://thestandard.org.nz/geoff-bertram-on-single-buyer-for-electricity/

    • Gavin 7.1

      I think you’re correct about Carl Hansen being fairly right-wing. Otherwise he’d be saying the sensible thing, which is why not roll everything back together as ECNZ and be done with it. We’re such a small country of consumers, why do we need so many energy providers? It’s costing these companies a lot of effort and time, costs to hold their customer bases, and we all end up paying for it sometime. Have any of them gone broke? It won’t get unwound, because they’ve all spent such a lot of money to split it up. But the old simpler system worked fine, and at least the one big outfit could make decisions which were geographically and economically the best for NZ.

      • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1

        +1

        • heather Tanguay 7.1.1.1

          The interesting thing about windmills and birds if, that very few birds I understand fly as high as the large turbines in New Zealand.
          Another myth ‘they frighten animals’, the sheep gather under them in the winter as it was warmer than out side the wind draft on the frost covered grass.
          As for solar, the Authority is not interested. The xtra charge people in the Wairarapa are having to pay is unfair. We sell for 8c a unit back to the power company the power we generate during the day and can not store over night, this is a miserable payment when you consider what people are charged per unit.
          When is this Authority meeting in Auckland or are our comments to be made by email?
          Of course this is a government appointed body looking after the interests of the power companies.

          • Ad 7.1.1.1.1

            As per the link in the post above, Auckland session is 14 June.

            The further link enables you to register to be there and have your say.

      • Robert Atack 7.1.2

        They won’t wind it back, most of the CEOs are on million dollar salaries
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10287778/Powercos-defend-bosses-wage-hikes
        snip
        Million-dollar plus salaries for the bosses of energy companies are on the rise as Kiwis feel the winter chill and associated soaring power bills.

        Figures obtained by the Sunday Star-Times reveal the chief executives of five of our biggest energy companies are on salaries topping the $1m mark; with Contact Energy’s Dennis Barnes the top earner, receiving a salary of $1.58m in the 2012-13 financial year.

        During a year in which power prices continued to rise and thousands of Kiwi families battled what Green Party MP Gareth Hughes described as “energy poverty”, Barnes received a $279,674 pay rise.

        end snip

  8. reason 8

    I checked back and it was Brent Layton doing the right wing dirty politics type smear for the nats …………

    …….”“Dr Layton’s extraordinary foray into political debate is nothing more than a National Party-appointed civil servant who has failed to do his job and is now trying to protect his patch.” – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/06/11/sparks-fly-with-yet-more-shocking-right-wing-nuttery/#sthash.qddP6zpc.dpuf

  9. Tom 9

    Two cats one called Ally and one called Tom, beware fu8kers – BEWARE of dangerous CATS!

  10. AlpineNRG 10

    Awesome post! As one who follows the EA very closely I’m pleased to see this article. It hits the mark for sure. There is no doubt the EA could use some closer scrutiny. I know from personal experience that the EA has little regard for consumers or for its role as a regulator. They consistently side with industry to the detriment of the consumer, and do so in contravention or their own mandate and even the law. It’s heartening to know that people are starting to pay more attention to this pathological, de-regulatory institution.

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    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    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
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    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

  • 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
    10 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
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  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
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