Tony Astle does not want progressive customers

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2014 - 100 comments
Categories: david cunliffe, helen clark, john key, national, same old national - Tags:

Tony Astle

Tony Astle, National Party fundraiser extraordinaire and under this Government the recipient of an award as Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit is apparently a quite good chef and allegedly has good taste in food.  Unfortunately he has very bad taste in politicians, having publicly backed John Key and National to the hilt.  He has also made some rather weird public comments.  He is obviously not afraid of the prospect of putting off wealthy progressives from frequenting Antoine’s Restaurant.  But he should talk to a lawyer because he appears to be discriminating against people because of their political beliefs.

Rachel Glucina, social gossip columnist and official National Party propaganda spreader, said this recently:

The eccentric “godfather of New Zealand chefs” has banned Helen Clark – and jokes that David Cunliffe could be in his sights.

“I would have to consider banning Mr Cunliffe, should he ever become prime minister.”

Antoine’s, the favourite haunt of Prime Minister John Key, who is a frequent Sunday diner with his wife Bronagh, has entertained the great and the good for more than 40 years.

Astle is bringing out a book next year, and says he’ll dish the dirt on some of his more scurrilous patrons.

Len Brown, he says, was a frequent diner, coming as often as four times in one week before the SuperCity election. “But we don’t see him as much now.”

Astle is a staunch Tory supporter. The glittering 40th anniversary party he threw for Antoine’s last November billed Mr Key as a main attraction and many rich-lister Nat donors as guests.

Astle should talk to one of the many lawyers who frequent his restaurant.  Discrimination on the basis of political opinion is prohibited.   And banning Helen Clark and being willing to ban David Cunliffe is stupid at so many levels that it is hard to know where to start.

Astle no doubt thinks that his Remuera, Mission Bay, Epsom, St Heliers clientele will approve of his obnoxious privileged view.  This may be so but there are a group of well heeled liberals who will probably never set foot in his restaurant ever again.

For me I would prefer to frequent the likes of the Hardware Cafe or the Refreshment Room or La Rosa or the Stripe Cafe where wonderful food and exquisite company can be experienced at a price which is within the range of most of us.  Of course we need a society where this is within the range of all of us.

Astle and his kind would squirm at the suggestion that ordinary people could have a great meal and not subsidise his obnoxiously privileged lifestyle.  But he is a dinosaur whose world view where he occupies a position of privilege is clearly wrong.  There are multitudes of ordinary people whose contribution to our society is way more valuable than Astle’s contribution.  And they have the decency to respect human rights.

100 comments on “Tony Astle does not want progressive customers ”

  1. Grumpy 1

    Wanna phone and try to make a booking? Let us know how you get on………

    • fender 1.1

      Yeah I suggest hundreds of reservations get made for customers that never turn up..

    • cinesimon 1.2

      Because for grumpy, the only thing that matters is that rich people eat at an asshole’s restaurant.
      Because actually reading an article before he decides to make childish and bizarre comments is just TOOOO MUCH, MUUUMY!!!

    • Murray Olsen 1.3

      I know what you mean, Grumpy. The telephone service can be atrocious:
      http://www.yelp.com.au/biz/antoines-auckland

      • North 1.3.1

        Fukn Marie Antoine-ette Ponce ! Ramsay with a carrot up his arse.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.3.2

        Hah, that’s an awesome review 😈 😆

      • Olwyn 1.3.3

        Given such reviews it looks as if it would be more fun being banned from the place than going there – sort of like being banned from Fawlty Towers.

  2. the card 2

    If he’s had Len brown dining there it means he clearly accepts anyone at his restaurants, it would probably be advisable though to arm his waitresses with pepper spray if Brown comes back to visit.

    • cinesimon 2.1

      Oh so you think he’s a rapist, or do you just think rape is a good laugh? You’re probably projecting your own issues with women onto others.
      Grow up, you hateful little child.

  3. Hamish 3

    His website is a pile of shite too.

    http://www.antoinesrestaurant.co.nz/index.php

    He should get that sorted before banning people.

  4. karol 4

    Ah yes, there’s some good restaurants and cafes around Titirangi. Also, I’ve been to a few around Henderson & New Lynn. Most are propably a little more down market than Titirangi, but I have been to one or two with a good vibe & some dood food.

  5. ianmac 5

    “This may be so but there are a group of well healed liberals….” Maybe healed from the hope that National had intended to help all people but instead ripped off the poor.

    Astle probably follows the belief of the sort of people who live in gated communities so that they can signal their imagined superiority over the ordinary folk. They need an inferior group to bolster their advantage.

    [Right you are. I blame autocorrect! – MS]

    • ianmac 5.1

      Meant no offence. Just find accidental mistakes can often appeal to my sense of humour.

  6. Marty 6

    I know you and David got the dosh Greg, but I can’t even think of eating at places like that. No great loss, to be honest. Nothing wrong with a decent burger 🙂

  7. Grumpy 7

    Wow, how the left have evolved……..The Standard now becomes the vehicle for silver service restaurant critiques…………..meanwhile, the poor people wait………

    • Colonial Viper 7.1

      Seriously Grumpy, what do you care?

      • Grumpy 7.1.1

        Perhaps it could become a feature, you know, from a left wing point of view naturally…….

        • Colonial Viper 7.1.1.1

          Well there is an upper middle class liberal set who believe that buying a new Prius is their bit to help prevent global warming, and they always love new eateries to drive to and try out.

          • grumpy 7.1.1.1.1

            I think you are describing Greens voters…………..

            • karol 7.1.1.1.1.1

              You know this how?

              Doesn’t describe this Green voter, who walks, or uses public transport as much as possible.

              • mickysavage

                But describes in part this Labour voter who is middle class and owns a Prius …

                But I am trying to cut down on consumption!

            • cinesimon 7.1.1.1.1.2

              You’ve got to be one of the most childish little trolls I’ve seen in quite some time, kiddo.

              • TightyRighty

                i’ve watched you migrate from the daily blog. you never add anything but hate and bile to the conversation. Here is a list of people who you will call trolls at some point here who have deviated from your absolutely set and narrow line
                – CV
                – MACRO
                – Anne

                There will be others, but it will be these three you blindly lash out at first.

  8. captain hook 8

    with a bit of luck he might choke on a frogs leg or swallow a bad snail!

  9. tc 9

    Bet he has been encouraged along with others to play some distraction politics in GE year.

    Boosting his book sales is a bonus as some back scratching is indulged in to keep his clients happy.

  10. fender 10

    Living at the other end of the island I know nothing about this fuckwit and his discriminatory (emphasis on the tory) eatery, but it sounds like the kind of place a runaway bulldozer needs to make a target out of (after hours of course).

    It’s a rather foolish businessman who effectively alienates half the potential customers available to him I would have thought.

    • fender 10.1

      Maybe he’s having financial problems and is trying to attract an arsonist so he can collect insurance..

      • Populuxe1 10.1.1

        Given that you are alluding to Indochine, I think you know exactly who he is

    • CnrJoe 10.2

      for your interest Astles restaurant specialises in offal dishes

      • fender 10.2.1

        Oh ok, that must explain his mad cow disease issues..

      • joe90 10.2.2

        Am I alone in thinking it’s mightily offensive offal, once vital to the nutrition of working folk, has been appropriated by clueless nobs and is now priced out of reach of most.

        • Rosie 10.2.2.1

          Yes, apparently offal is the new thing, it’s ALL the rage darling. I’ve read about it and am quite disgusted being a pescetarian an’ all. It’s called nose to tail dining and chefs are trying to emphasise the importance of not wasting the any part of the animal to be consumed.

          Fair enough point but you’ve got to wonder how many people eat these things because it’s the new fashion.

          Do you know that salmon and oysters were once the food of the rural and working classes?

          In Ireland and Scotland, their well loved fish, “The Salmon Of Knowledge” (who ate from the hazelnut tree, the Tree Of Knowledge when the nuts fell in the river, so the story goes) was abundant and was freely and widely eaten by all until the English started up with their colonisation and oppression of the countryside and Highlands. They fished the salmon out until numbers dwindled and barred access to the rivers so the traditional food of the indigenous people became the food of the elite on vast privately owned estates, once the habitat of the locals.

          The oyster was the common food of those living along the river Thames in London until they became so scarce that the elite took up eating oysters as a sign of their power – they were the only ones able to afford the scarce resource.

          So, whats next on the menu, Pam’s sliced white bread with one’s consommé?

    • Murray Olsen 10.3

      I doubt if he’s alienating many potential customers at all. People eat at Antoine’s because it’s snobbishly Tory and they like to show each other their company expense accounts can afford it. Lefties, except perhaps for the Blairs and Goffs (hardly lefties, I know) don’t tend to be into such conspicuous consumption. It’s a restaurant for the Aaron Gilmores of this world. The food has apparently not changed noticeably since I went there somewhere round 1980, and it wasn’t really that flash then. The place was weird, all Upstairs Downstairs type of ambience. I should have gone to Al and Pete’s instead.

      • Colonial Viper 10.3.1

        People eat at Antoine’s because it’s snobbishly Tory and they like to show each other their company expense accounts can afford it. Lefties, except perhaps for the Blairs and Goffs (hardly lefties, I know) don’t tend to be into such conspicuous consumption

        Len Brown said he used to go to Antoines all the time, and still does occasionally.

        • Murray Olsen 10.3.1.1

          How is Len Brown different in his politics to Blair and/or Goff?
          Maybe it was conveniently close to the wharves so that, after discussing how to smash the union with the idiots at the port headquarters, he could drop in for a quick bite to eat.

  11. Colonial Viper 11

    Another arrogant we’re-too-good-for-your-kind Tory

  12. Macro 12

    Went there once – about 40 years ago when living in Parnell – was ok but just as good dining to be had elsewhere – obviously the man is seriously up himself now.

    • Tracey 12.1

      it appears people go there to see the other people who go there, or to be seen there.

      i went once 32 years ago with my family. never been back.

      • Macro 12.1.1

        Yes that would be it – and be seen to be paying exorbitant prices for not very much – a sign of visible extravagance which is very important those who confuse goodness with money.

        • Colonial Viper 12.1.1.1

          a sign of visible extravagance which is very important those who confuse goodness with money.

          It’s a more legal way of keeping the riff raff and the working classes out. In the old days you would just put out a sign saying “No Blacks or Chinese”.

    • Colonial Viper 12.2

      So, a man who set himself up in business during the security of socialist NZ – then cheered on as it was dismantled and sent to the scrap heap. Another example of the 60+ generation who have screwed the youth of the nation.

    • North 12.3

      It’s that Ramsay carrot Macro.

  13. Linz 13

    Today’s fine dining is tomorrow’s shit, so basically Astle and his ilk are early-stage shit merchants.

  14. sabine 14

    Ahhh, arrogance always comes before the fall.

    there is a loot of good food in Auckland, and well one chooses their company to have dinner, lunch and or breakfast with.
    Let him ban David Cunliffe, surely D.C will find another eatery just as fine and accomplished, and who knows ……makes culinary history in Auckland again.

    • Murray Olsen 14.1

      I think it would be difficult to find a worse restaurant, particularly in terms of value for money and clientele. The time I flew first class on Emirates, the food was better. In fact, if you wanted to do a 70s nostalgia evening, you could hire a Fokker Friendship from somewhere and get Astle to do the catering. The funny little rooms and tiny tables make dining there a bit like eating on a plane.

  15. Simon Buckingham 15

    You notice that he has no idea how to update a website:

    You’re invited! Please join us for a glittering evening of fine wine, delicious fare, dancing and non-stop entertainment at one of Auckland’s most spectacular new waterfront venues to celebrate

    Forty Fabulous Years!
    The 40th Anniversary of Antoine’s Restaurant

    Friday 8 November 2013, 7:00pm
    Shed 10, Queens Wharf, Auckland

    Please note the line:

    Friday 8 November 2013, 7:00pm

    What a complete hooray henry!

  16. Populuxe1 16

    (1) quoting Porkchop Glaucoma, a barely literate gossip columnist, as a reliable source.
    (2) spinning that into a conspiracy despite the obvious fact that if all left wing pollies were banned, Len Brown wouldn’t be dining there.
    (3) reverse-snobbery restaurant spruiking.
    (4) it’s his restaurant and private property, and he may be a scumbag but he can ban anyone he wants so long as it isn’t discriminating against something protected by law.
    (5) You missed out all the funny stuff about Kim Dotcom.
    (6) FailOil has run this as a story too – Can’t we do a little bit better than that?
    Classy. Bored now.

    • grumpy 16.1

      Wasn’t it Whaleoil that coined the name “Porkchop” for Glucina

    • felix 16.2

      “(2) spinning that into a conspiracy despite …”

      Could you please indicate where someone has alleged a conspiracy?

      Thanks.

      • Populuxe1 16.2.1

        Hmm, that would be summed up in the title:
        “Tony Astle Does Not Want Progressive Customers” – a fairly bold assertion of a state of affairs

        • felix 16.2.1.1

          That’s nice dear, but the line you quoted neither says nor implies anything about a conspiracy of any sort.

          Care to try again?

          • Populuxe1 16.2.1.1.1

            No, I think it’s best if I avoid one of those tedious threads you like to spin whereby you use semantic gymnastics and deliberate obtuseness to wear the other party down in a petty attempt to always get the last word. You can have the last word. I don’t care enough to begrudge you, though you have always struck me as being like one of those nasty old vulture ladies who during the French Revolution used to knit while they gleefully watched the beheadings.

            • TheContrarian 16.2.1.1.1.1

              “those tedious threads you like to spin whereby you use semantic gymnastics and deliberate obtuseness to wear the other party down in a petty attempt to always get the last word.”

              Heh, Felix to a tee.

              • North

                Poor old Popsicle. The Tory pus-thinking leaking out – as usual. While always proclaiming he/she is left wing. Fantasist I reckon.

                • Populuxe1

                  Yes, of course, I don’t mindlessly agree with something so I must be a Tory. Maybe the political spectrum is just a little bit more complicated than that.

            • felix 16.2.1.1.1.2

              Semantics, Pop? Well yes, I suppose it is.

              What you wrote was only untrue in the sense that words have meanings.

              If we accept that you can use any old word to mean any old thing then yeah, sure. You’re totally right and I’m being totally petty.

              massive 🙄

  17. millsy 17

    I wonder how he treats his workers…

    I imagine the 90-day trial period is strictly applied there.

  18. Tracey 18

    thank goodness he only discriminates on the basis of political belief and doesnt own an autographed churchill, hitler or stalin book.

    • Populuxe1 18.1

      I bet he doesn’t have “racist day” in the work place

      • Tracey 18.1.1

        i cant imagine what you would base that bet on. would you be ok if it was jews he banned from his restaurant?

        • Populuxe1 18.1.1.1

          If I said Ariel Sharon was an evil murderous bastard who deserves to rot in hell, and Bibi Netanyahu was a warmongering scumbag, would you stop trying to paint me as some kind of Zionist? It’s annoying, childish and doesn’t say much for your mental sophistication. Unless of course you’re some kind of anti-Semitic neonaz1

          • Tracey 18.1.1.1.1

            was the question too hard for you, or did it just hit your double standard nerve.

            • Populuxe1 18.1.1.1.1.1

              (1) I don’t imagine Jewish people often throw their religion into the conversation when booking tables, and (2) NZ law forbids that sort of discrimination, (3) I would not be ok with it, (4) nor would I be ok with it were they Muslims, (5) you are a dick.

              • Tracey

                i dont imagine anyone booking a table throws their politics into the conversation either.

                hitler put communists in camps and mccarthy hounded many to suicide. astle is basically hanging a sign on his door stating anyone with different political views to himself need not enter.

                you spent two days almost apoplectic over a man who bought autographed books from world war ii leaders who persecuted and killed many for religious and political reasons. you are strangely calm about a guy with discriminatory practices who raises alot of money for “his” party… calm except for the name calling.

  19. J.Caulfield 19

    Tony Astle is not worth worrying about. Just to show my age, I went to Antloines when it first opened over 30 years’ ago and again 7 years’ ago. The food style is stuck in the seventies, rich and heavy. These days there are some fabulous restaurants in Auckland that far surpass Antoines. Ignore him – he’ll hate that!

    • Huginn 19.1

      So true. So true.

      Antoine’s menu is dated – it’s like he’s missed the point of the great things that have been happening with NZ cuisine over the last twenty years – he probably has a very good understanding of his clientele.

      There are some great restaurants in Auckland at the moment – wonderful, intelligent, creative chefs making fantastic meals.To eat a meal with them is a happy, pleasurable occasion that affirms basic human relationships – maybe even with people you who don’t share your political views.

  20. greywarbler 20

    I hope his colon coils round itself and chokes him.

  21. Big dog 21

    The amazing thing is that he’s still alive!The name Tony Astle is one you would associate with Morris 1100’s,walk shorts and telethons.

  22. repateet 22

    I see the on the menu in the small print, “gst exclusive.” Don’t you have to pay gst there?

    And I’m disappointed people are getting at Rachel Glucina. Surely as one of the Herald’s chief political reporters and National Party leaksperts she deserves respect?

    • karol 22.1

      Doesn’t GST exclusive refer to the menu prices – and that means, GST will be added to what people are charged?

    • Anne 22.2

      “gst exclusive”. Don’t you have to pay gst there?

      Nah… what he meant was that as a very exclusive restaurant, their gst is of the exclusive variety. Not the ordinary common garden gst. That’s for the plebs like us. :mrgreen:

      • Colonial Viper 22.2.1

        It means that he expects patrons in his restaurant to be of a professional business variety who will write off their lunch and wines against their business accounts, thus getting the GST portion of the bill subsidised by the tax payer as well as a deducting the rest off their profits as a “business expense.”

      • greywarbler 22.2.2

        Anne LOL

  23. infused 23

    This particular post sums up the left so well.

    • Colonial Viper 23.1

      It’s fascinating isn’t it, history is replete with episodes where the wealthy and power elite push too far, take too much, denigrate too harshly.

      It never ends well for them or anyone else of course (people tend to lose their heads or end up swinging from lamp posts), but yet, they do not seem to learn one whit preferring to think of themselves as somehow different.

      • North 23.1.1

        Yes CV. They always know best. They own it all. In all things they and theirs personally reflect the zenith of human development. Hilarious that delusional snobbery should dominate lives so.

    • appleboy 23.2

      Your post sums up all that’s wrong with the right – Narrow minded, don’t give a shit about anyone else outside of your little “I’m all right” bubble. Poverty does not exist. People who are poor are just lazy. You on Planet key are doing just fine where billions in tax cuts get given to the wealthiest 5%. Assets owned by generations are sold off to a well off elite of kiwis who buy shares . Yeah that’s just great..for you and your ilk.

  24. appleboy 24

    Oh my god. Astle runs a restaurant where prices exclude GST and doesn’t take eft post. Funny how the well off can be so greedy. Over priced and so greedy he wants you to subsidise his business by YOU paying his bank fees. Staggeringly greedy.

  25. Cancerman 25

    I suggest a campaign of people organising on here and making reservations and then not turning up.

    • Anne 25.1

      I was going to make a similar suggestion, but the patrons would turn up and towards the end of the meal hold up signs with “Cunliffe for PM ” written on them. They would presumably be thrown out without having to pay for the meal.

  26. JanM 26

    By the look of that photo he could do with spending some of that restaurant profit on a decent hairdresser 🙂

    • fender 26.1

      +1 🙂

      And a shirt that fits his skinny (red) neck properly…

      And give the John Banks glasses back to John, he’ll need them find his cell…

  27. minarch 27

    I can guarentee for the right “consideration” or celebrity all those tory ideals would dissolve into nothing….

    would he turn away lucy lawless if she arrived looking for dinner ?

  28. Tamati 28

    Perhaps Phillip Mills should ban Gerry Brownlee and Paula Bennet from his gyms in retaliation?

  29. big bruv 29

    What a great idea!

    Being able to dine without ones evening being ruined by low life lefties.

    • felix 29.1

      This from the moran who thinks his civil rights are being violated every time he gets banned from someone else’s blog.

  30. Liam Hehir 30

    Surely the word “jokes” is an important part of the sentence that has so upset the writer.

  31. Will@Welly 31

    Anyone who has ever seen Peter Greenaway’s “The Cook, the thief, his wife, and her lover” will remember the final twist.
    Perhaps that should be Tony’s final offering – sausage du Key! A meal fit for a real plonker, full of sinew!

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    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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    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

  • 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
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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