TPP – with a whimper

Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, August 12th, 2016 - 166 comments
Categories: activism, capitalism, class war, Globalisation, trade - Tags: , , ,

Plenty of folk today pronouncing the death of the TPP:
Clinton says she’ll kill trade deal she helped Obama negotiate

“I oppose it now, I’ll oppose it after the election, and I’ll oppose it as president,” she said, detailing her economic plans in a speech in Michigan.

Hillary Clinton: I Oppose TPP Now, I’ll Oppose It as President
Clinton promises to kill the TPP
The TPP is dead

It’s pretty definitive – hard to back down from. I’ll hold off from calling it 100% dead until we’re through the last of Obama’s term and at least 1 year of Clinton, but it does at this point seem to be 99% gone.

This is a victory for activism. For the people or oraganised and protested and made the downsides of the TPP – especially its impact on local jobs – a political issue that could no longer be ignored (in America at least).

No doubt there will be further treaties of this kind proposed. Free trade is a good thing, but it must be balanced with local considerations (and not just a tool for American corporations). Let’s hope the next version, whatever and whenever it is, avoids the many mistakes of the TPP.

166 comments on “TPP – with a whimper ”

  1. Enough is Enough 1

    I hate to say it but we have to thank Trump for this.

    Hillary was a key advocate for TPP when she was Secretary of State. Trump’s strong opposition to the TPPA has backed Hillary into this corner.

    • r0b 1.1

      Yeah, ironic isn’t it!

      • dukeofurl 1.1.1

        As Secretary of State she was Obamas employee, and under their system she supported his policies or she quit.
        I dont know whether she opposed the deal in private but was obliged to support it in public.
        Remember as well, the deal wasnt signed off till this year and she wouldnt have been privy to the negotiation details up to the time she quit the cabinet in 2012.

        As for Trump forcing her turn around ?
        Back in october 2015 she wasnt sounding that keen when Trump was nowhere

        Hillary Clinton comes out against TPP trade deal [Oct 2015]
        http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/07/politics/hillary-clinton-opposes-tpp/

        “As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” Clinton said, later adding, “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.””

        reminder , thats was October 2015

    • Actually I’d give the credit to Sanders. If she could have got through to the general without veering populist enough to ditch the TPP I’m pretty sure she would have preferred to, and now she has to follow through if it’s in her hands because otherwise she looks even less trustworthy than people already believe she is.

      • dukeofurl 1.2.1

        Check the references, Clinton was opposed well before Sanders was a force.

        Clinton had a lot of union support as well, which helped confirm her opposition

        • No, I’d check your own references. Even politifact, (which is very friendly to Clinton) notes that she wasn’t against TPP until during the primary campaign: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/oct/08/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-now-opposes-trans-pacific-partners/

          Her position was (likely intentionally) vague at the start of her current campaign and she only came out against TPP after it was clear that the public broadly opposed the deal. And she’s still only against it “in its current form,” whatever that means. (and we don’t know because she doesn’t clarify what it is she no longer likes about the deal, just that it doesn’t “meet [her] high standards”) IIRC she switched positions not long before the first primary debate, and the debates were when she started rebranding as a “progressive who gets things done,” rather than an establishment candidate who believes in triangulation.

      • Ian 1.2.2

        100% Matthew Whitehead

    • mosa 1.3

      And not forgetting Enough that Bernie campaigned hard against it so pressure from all sides, what a shame we couldnt be as fortright !

  2. roy cartland 2

    Would it were so.

    She opposes it in its current form. Which means once it’s ameded and made worse for citizens and better for business, anything is possible.

    • Geoff Lye 2.1

      Thats the worry what form will it be regurgitated as.

    • Pasupial 2.2

      I noticed that too:

      “The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us.

      “So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”…

      Ms Clinton had also previously supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President Bill Clinton, her husband, and which Trump routinely disparages as bad for American jobs. Ms Clinton now says she would renegotiate it.

      from the Newshub; Clinton promises to kill the TPP, link in OP.

      A revised agreement called something like; PAFTA, or perhaps just a revamped TISA might be more favourable to USAn interests (though not so good for Aotearoa). And actually have a chance to make it through Congress.

      But; yes, it is certainly a time for a pat on the back for those many citizens who actively opposed the TPPA. However, it is also a time for renewed vigilance.

      • Michelle 2.2.1

        Pity our pm doesn’t think like this oh that’s right he doesn’t think at all. When they change the TPPA to suit businesses NZ should show some guts and kick it to the kerb along with our PM. If Hilary can see this agreement is not good for American workers how come our PM cant see this.

    • Lanthanide 2.3

      If it’s amended, whoever the NZ government is at the time will have to decide whether to continue with the new version or not.

      Hopefully that will be a Labour-led government.

      • mosa 2.3.1

        Lanth that should give Labour a god given opportunity to show where it stands on these anti sovereign-worker agreements without having been locked in already when at some point they govern again in this country.
        I hope they have learned from the TPPA experiment and have some bottom lines before signing up to future agreements.
        Kiwis long term will thank them for it.

    • Bill 2.4

      All she’s essentially saying is that the US hasn’t been unreasonable or brutal enough in free trade negotiations, nor unreasonable and brutal enough in smashing up any form of protection others may try to erect around their economy.

      She is absolutely not saying that she’s suddenly ‘seen the light’ and is against free trade and/or the imposition of free trade agreements/arrangements.

      • dukeofurl 2.4.1

        Thats a false claim. Unsupprted by any evidence at all.
        This is what she DID say back in October 2015 – before Trump, before Sanders

        “Clinton said that she’s worried “about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement” and that “pharmaceutical companies may have gotten more benefits and patients fewer.”
        http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/hillary-clinton-says-she-does-not-support-trans-pacific-partnership/

        • Bill 2.4.1.1

          I just listened to the vid link with a critical ear. Nothing false about it at all.

          • dukeofurl 2.4.1.1.1

            is that a high-faluting way of saying ‘I heard what I wanted to hear’

            Others are less kind and might call it ‘mansplaining’

            • Bill 2.4.1.1.1.1

              But those others would have to less kind and more of a vacuous brained wanker than you exhibit yourself to be with that comment…and I doubt there’s many people who’d fit the bill.

              If you’re going to hurl insults (not recommended btw) then learn the fucking etymology of phrases or words that you’re going to use before you use them.

              • dukeofurl

                That little fulminations broke all the policy rules, not that its stopped you before.
                Get used to being called out for your falsehoods and confabulations and mansplaining to your repertoire.

                A Man telling a women what she says really means, even though she is the more qualified or expert.
                I hope you dont try that with your students.

    • dukeofurl 2.5

      cant be amended now.
      The Trade deal can only be accepted as or rejected entirely under the laws for these sort of deals.

      • ianmac 2.5.1

        Not what the USA think dikeofurl. They have been lobbying countries to accept amendments. If you are big and tough you can do that. Huh!

        • dukeofurl 2.5.1.1

          You are dreaming. The text cant be changed by Congress. I heard about the side letters and such , but thats not the text

      • Sacha 2.5.2

        Please read Kelsey on how the US insists on their agenda being implemented in any trade agreement process *after* the signing, including via ‘side letters’.

        • Macro 2.5.2.1

          ^^^ THIS
          Canada has been royally shafted by the NAFTA over the past few years as have the working people of the States. These “deals” are disastrous to all save the elite.

  3. Lanthanide 3

    I wonder if we can roll back to the deal as it was before the US and Japan blundered onto the scene, and continue negotiations with the other pacific countries.

  4. whateva next? 4

    Shame we can’t claim back all the money wasted on promoting and discussing it, along with all the other money squandered by National on dud projects.
    Can’t help pondering on how much we could do for “everyday” “mums and dads” “average” NZers if we had good economic governance in NZ.
    Still, what to expect when we instead elect of this bunch of swankey, golf playing money trader “businessmen”.

  5. Bill 5

    Free trade is a good thing…

    Is it?

    I’ve sat for a wee while trying to think of a single free trade scenario that could be categorised as good. I mean, when we say ‘free trade’, we’re not talking about an opposite to some denial of the right to trade. We’re talking about a very specific framework that ensures the stronger trading partner always benefits while weaker trading partner always suffers disadvantage.

    The only time free trade could possibly work is when each trading partner has a unique capacity that can never be replicated by any other trading partner. This was the basic argument used for structural adjustment programmes that were imposed on developing countries through-out the 80s and 90s.

    Ghana could grow coffee and Finland could make phones and everyone would trade and everyone would benefit. But then Cote d’Ivoire began growing coffee and Japan thought it could emulate Finland and pretty soon everyone was doing what everyone else was doing and a great rush to the bottom (in terms of wages and conditions) ensued.

    Go further back in time and free trade was demanded by the British rather than the US, because Britain was the strongest trading nation. So (as pointed out on Open Mike) Indian weavers had their thumbs cut off to ensure the cotton India produced was exported to Britain to be made into finished goods. And rice was replaced with poppies because the British demands around free trade (this time backed by gun ships) allowed opium profits to flow from China. And if Indians starved as a result – and they did – well hey…free trade is good.

    I don’t think free trade has ever been a good thing and never can be a good thing. It’s a license for the stronger or better positioned to screw over the weaker or less well positioned – always.

    • maninthemiddle 5.1

      Trade liberalism is largely responsible for liberating previously poor nations, and for providing countries such as NZ with a wide range of affordable goods and services. Trade has dramatically reduced the cost of goods and services to NZ’ers, has opened up a raft of new job opportunities, and given NZ a standard of living considerably higher than we enjoyed 20-30 years ago.

      • Bill 5.1.1

        That would be “liberalising” poor nations, not “liberating”. And what did that do?

        Oh yeah, it impoverished them and locked them into disastrous paths of development. And sure, as everyone raced to the bottom, NZers got cheaper, shoddier goods to go with their lower wages and lower job security.

        I guess you could say that “opened a raft of new job opportunities”, but I wouldn’t. And as for the higher standard of living, well I guess that depends how you want to measure that. I mean, you might say that things are better because homeless people can sleep in cars that are generally more comfortable than the cars of 30 years ago. Bit of a stretch to suggest, as you do, that such a state of affairs is being “enjoyed” though – don’t you think?

        • maninthemiddle 5.1.1.1

          “Oh yeah, it impoverished them…”

          Nope. http://fusion.net/story/306404/global-poverty-rates-plummeting/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=fivethirtyeight.

          “I guess you could say that “opened a raft of new job opportunities”, but I wouldn’t.”

          Well you’d be wrong. NZ employs more people today than ever before. Trade has opened up a raft of new careers, as new industries have sprung up to support global trade avenues.

          “I mean, you might say that things are better because homeless people can sleep in cars that are generally more comfortable than the cars of 30 years ago. ”

          Far more comfortable, if that’s where they choose to sleep.

          • Macro 5.1.1.1.1

            ” NZ employs more people for one hour each week today than ever before.”

            FIFY

            from the Labour Market Statistics

            The unemployment rate increased to 5.7 percent, from a revised rate of 5.4 percent last quarter.

            Your shoddy use of statistics shows you to be the most blatant lying prick to ever comment on this site – and I’ve seen a few in my time.

            • maninthemiddle 5.1.1.1.1.1

              ” NZ employs more people for one hour each week today than ever before.”

              You have no idea whether that is the case. None.

              • Macro

                It was your quote nincompoop! I merely altered it to be more truthful than the statement you supplied. You are aware that the Dept of Statistics now includes those who work only 1 hour a week as “employed”? Many young people are now in that category of working only a few hours each week. These are those 370,000 people who earn between $0 and $5000 per annum.

                • maninthemiddle

                  Yes I know it was my quote. My response was to challenge you to prove that the number working 1 hour only is significant. ‘Many’ doesn’t cut it.

                  • Macro

                    Gezz so you are saying here that around 370,000 people are working multiple hours to earn less that $5,000! Now I wasn’t aware of that – and if you say that is not “many” well I guess it is only around 7.5% of the total population.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Gezz so you are saying here that around 370,000 people are working multiple hours to earn less that $5,000! ”

                      Nope. Read for comprehension. I’m saying your suggestion that everyone employed is only working 1 hour per week is bs. You’re obsessed with trying to explain away the reality that unemployment is dropping and employment rising. You’re failing.

      • save nz 5.1.2

        Keep telling yourself those ‘free trade’ myths, maninthemiddle…

        Really helped Equador for example, sarc.

        Document Reveals EU Bullied Ecuador Into Trade Agreement

        http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Document-Reveals-EU-Bullied-Ecuador-Into-Trade-Agreement-20141009-0050.html

        A slippery decision: Chevron oil pollution in Ecuador

        http://www.dw.com/en/a-slippery-decision-chevron-oil-pollution-in-ecuador/a-18697563

      • framu 5.1.3

        “Trade liberalism is largely responsible for liberating previously poor nations,”

        no – PARTLY responsible

        most honest commentators will also point out that you also need a strong focus on other areas at the same time for it to actually reduce poverty

        • maninthemiddle 5.1.3.1

          Largely, partly, there’s no difference. But I agree with your last sentence.

      • mosa 5.1.4

        Yeah and swamped the country with cheap chinese crap including faulty steel for construction too kill and maim us and fill our landfills up with 5 minute lasting inferior goods.
        These so called jobs have been lost in manufacturing with the advent of trade with China which NZ was warned would happen but we stumbled on regardless.
        Its made most retail companies like Briscoes, the Warehouse ,Mitre 10, K mart Rebel sport and others massively rich while their employees are paid a pittance but created those “new job opportunites” you talk about.
        Just as well the pay is low though we can pay for all those “affordable goods and services” you refer too.
        All thats happened is NZ is now joined the ranks of those poor nations you talk about thanks to these policies which have done nothing except enslave most of this country economically and help us too lift our top 10% too even greater wealth than could have dreamed of.
        Its scary on the back of all that you and others like you think thats progress and are still pushing that mindset.

    • Sacha 5.2

      TPP is not a free trade deal.

    • idbkiwi 5.3

      “Indian weavers had their thumbs cut off”

      That would be a myth, based on a metaphor. The British East India Company did not physically cut off thumbs, they copped blame for a terrible recession in the hand-loom weaving industry in India circa 1810-1850 which left entire families destitute, forced to turn to agriculture for survival, a calling for which they had neither aptitude or experience. Thus Ghandi illustrates the allegation by saying the BEIC “compelled them to cut off their thumbs” ie: move to another occupation at severe disadvantage. Ghandi also made the observation that the linen-mill owners “would draw the noose tight round the neck of the handloom weavers”, this does not mean that the hand-loom weavers were hanged or strangled en masse, but that their prices were undermined by the sneaky industrialists with power-looms and massive output of finished product which they readily exploited when necessary to eliminate rivals, just as today when moguls price their products according to local consumption and competition; think Microsoft, McDonalds or Shell. The power-looms also destroyed the hand-loom weaving industry of Britain itself which was thriving in 1800, in deep recession by 1840 and had almost totally disappeared by 1880, they too “had their thumbs cut off”. Put another way, many saw it as a situation ripe for the “stronger or better positioned to screw over the weaker or less well positioned”.

      http://www.mkgandhi.org/bahurupi/chap13.htm

    • Gareth 5.4

      Free trade in goods can be good for countries even where they are at a disadvantage as long as they concentrate on goods where they are at less of a disadvantage. This guy explains it quite well on p10-12: http://economixcomix.com/home/tpp/

      But, as he also points out in that comic, this assumes the trade is only in goods. Once your trade deal is freeing up movement of capital, it’s a whole different ball game, and one that is generally bad for the weaker side.

    • Fantastic capture of the very essence of the problem. hahaha well said that man.
      If through the machinations of the US elections we somehow fluke the TTPA being withdrawn…we still need to combat alternative trade agreements of similar ilk. Most of us will start to relax and bask in the glory of not being shit scared. Are we ripe for the plucking then? (wish I wasn’t so cynical)
      Another thing is conglomerates rarely add value to a resource. Just look at Fonterra. I believe a raw organic milk full of cream goodness is due to be discovered again by the average Joe. I bet the striped down for parts milk Fonterra ‘produces’ won’t be in that category. At present the natural product is hard to purchase from anywhere except the dairy farm gate. yet the millions of dollars sucked off by the suits in poor forsight is seen as appropriate in getting milk powder to China? Dumb…we should be down sizing our dairy industry and planting deciduous trees for timber and food crops between the trees. (enough) .

  6. vto 6

    Why don’t we just trade within our own New Zealand borders ….

    no different to trading within our own World borders ….

    if you think about it

    properly

    • dukeofurl 6.1

      Thats good , we can take you off the list for life saving IMPORTED drugs, or those life saving scans from IMPORTED high tech equipment.

      When you think about it, it has to be the crazy idea of the month award.

      • maninthemiddle 6.1.1

        Agreed.

        • Chuck 6.1.1.1

          Now come on dukeofurl and maninthemiddle be fair…

          You forget that vto and most here look up to North Korea as a role model for what could be achieved in NZ.

          • maninthemiddle 6.1.1.1.1

            Oh, I see. Thanks for that. Another Gareth Morgan?

          • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.1.1.2

            That isn’t how you spell Scandinavia, you dull tiresome boring indolent dishonest troll.

            • Chuck 6.1.1.1.2.1

              Scandinavia it is then OAB…Bernie Sanders utopia!

              In this particular thread OAB its not a good example to bring up.

              Scandinavia or the Nordic Model is all about free trade.

              So yeah back to North Korea for you!

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                most here look up to North Korea as a role model

                In this particular thread you parroted a tiresome lie, authored by someone else, like the boring unoriginal dishonest troll I described.

                • Liberal Realist

                  +1 Seems like Chuck has his head firmly planted in the sand. What’s next, Reds under Beds subversion? Back to the 1950’s McCarthyite paradise for you Chuck. Or possibly Clintonite ‘New-McCarthyism’ of 2016?

                  This silly notion that because you’re a lefty that makes you a dictatorial communist is laughable. I’d suggest that Chuck dig his head out of that sand and do some reading about the difference between dictatorial communism and liberal social democracy!

      • Lloyd 6.1.2

        If NZ drug manufacturers weren’t handicapped by trade agreements we could probably manufacture duplicate copies of most of those imported drugs and probably considerably cheaper than the exorbitant cost charged by the mainly US “ethical” manufacturers.
        We used to manufacture a wide range of drugs for treating animals, but foreign business bought out this industry and closed it down.
        The scanning equipment might be a little more difficult.

      • weka 6.1.3

        I think vto’s suggestion is about basing our economy on local trade (and as pointed out below, NZ could be manufacturing many of its essentials). That doesn’t preclude trading abroad for neccessities, it just means we have choices rather than being locked into globalisation via pseudo free trade agreements. And that we’re not at the mercy of the banksters.

  7. dave 7

    oh dear john key really has nothing to show for 9 years it truly is a lost decade

  8. maninthemiddle 8

    The TPP will be signed, with or without the US.

    • Stuart Munro 8.1

      Yup – whether or not it benefits NZ too. There is no cure for the kind of stupid this ‘government’ has.

      • maninthemiddle 8.1.1

        There are benefits to NZ with or without the US.

        • Leftie 8.1.1.1

          What are the benefits Maninthemiddle? because it has already been established there is very little benefit to New Zealand. No perceived trade deal should require that we as a country, lose our sovereignty. That is NOT a trade deal.

          • maninthemiddle 8.1.1.1.1

            We don’t lose our sovereignty. The TPP is a trade deal. If we don’t benefit, we can pull out.

            • Macro 8.1.1.1.1.1

              The TPP has nothing to do with trade – It never was and it never will be. It is all about protecting multinationals when they decide to rip off the citizens of some country.

              • maninthemiddle

                Sigh. Quote of tin foil hats used up today.

                • Liberal Realist

                  Ad Hominem much? Guess you’ve got no retort so you whip out the old ‘tinfoil’ hat line. Weak.

                  • Macro

                    The man from the far right has very little logic skills, if any.
                    I try to point our his errors in fact when I can be bothered – but frankly most of his comments are not worth the effort.

                  • maninthemiddle

                    Well when someone labels a trade agreement ‘nothing to do with trade’ they deserve all the derision they get.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                The TPP (current version) imposes too many restraints on trade. It may be that minus the toxic influence of the bought US government a good deal can be hammered out by the remaining parties.

              • plumington

                Yes and multinationals donate to the cLinton foundation and Hillary Clinton has been a compulsive liar I don’t think this deal is over yet many powerful corporates don’t want to loose money and Clinton is there guy

                • Macro

                  Yes sadly I think that She will be all about “renegotiating” and as Parsupial noted at 2.2 above

                  “The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us.

                  “So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”…

                  Ms Clinton had also previously supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President Bill Clinton, her husband, and which Trump routinely disparages as bad for American jobs. Ms Clinton now says she would renegotiate it.

                  That renegotiation will all be about a better deal deal for the USA and that means a worse deal for everyone else.

            • Gabby 8.1.1.1.1.2

              What benefits?

        • Stuart Munro 8.1.1.2

          But you don’t know what they are.

          You have a latelife erotic crush on John Key and anything he says is fine by you.

          • maninthemiddle 8.1.1.2.1

            Of course I know what they are. Look at the MFat or TradeWorks websites. Stop reading crap from people like Kelsey.

            • Stuart Munro 8.1.1.2.1.1

              I’ve read it you plonker – had to to make my submission. It sucks. MBIE weren’t even up to presenting a SWAT analysis of it – demonstrating once again the typical level of Gnat incompetence.

              • maninthemiddle

                MBIE are a government department. Civil servants. They are not the National Party, the Labour Party or any other Party.

                The TPP is a trade agreement. NZ is a trading nation. Trade is good. Without it, we would be broke.

                • Stuart Munro

                  Suppositions – the intellectual property parts are a real upfront cost set to exceed the projected returns from agricultural market access.

                  MBIE contracted it out, as you’d know if you’d read it 😉

                  • maninthemiddle

                    It is MBIE’s report. The IP sections of the TPP are not that concerning.

                    At the end of the day we can pull out if we want, so mention of threats to our sovereignty are utter bs.

                    • Stuart Munro

                      Nothing for us till 2030 – and the ‘us’ is foreign owned crap like Silver Fern Farms. But the copyright cost is up front.

                      Gnats don’t do prudent of course, that’s why they always project but never deliver a surplus.

                      A very bad deal – as you tend to get from unequal trade treaties. NZ Korea made more sense – very different product mixes.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Nothing for us till 2030”

                      Who told you that?

                    • Stuart Munro

                      And the dateline for agricultural market access is?

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “And the dateline for agricultural market access is?”

                      Immediately on the TPP coming into force.

                      “Japan – NZ’s trade in high protein products will be duty free at entry into force. After 16 years, almost all NZ’s cheese trade will be duty free.”

                      “US – NZ’s trade in protein products will be duty free at entry into force. In addition, all tariffs will be removed at entry into force on NZ dairy products traded under WTO quotas”

                      NZ will have unrestricted beef access to the US after 5 years.

                      There’s much more too. https://www.tpp.mfat.govt.nz/sector-outcomes

                      Where did you get the 2030 date from? Again I say, don;t believe anything you read from Kelsey.

                    • Leftie

                      Stuart Munro is referring to the governments own website that states only the full benefit of TPP is estimated to be at least $2.7 billion a year extra in New Zealand’s GDP by 2030.

                      In others words, the TPPA has no real benefits for New Zealand in the the short and/or long term.

                      John key has signed away this country’s sovereignty for nothing.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Stuart Munro is referring to the governments own website that states only the full benefit of TPP is estimated to be at least $2.7 billion a year extra in New Zealand’s GDP by 2030.”
                      No, Stuart said, categorically, there will be ‘nothing’ for us before 2030. Stuart has form with bs.

                      “In others words, the TPPA has no real benefits for New Zealand in the the short and/or long term.”
                      Rubbish. Read my post below in response to Stuart’s question about agriculture. The 2030 date is a reference point only.

                      “John key has signed away this country’s sovereignty for nothing.”
                      NZ has not lost any sovereignty. We are free to leave any time we like.

                    • Leftie

                      Stuart Munro is right there is nothing for us before 2030, take notice of the wording Maninthemiddle, even the known fudgers of figures and facts the National government, know there’s nothing in it for New Zealand. The TPPA is a sell out for American corporate control, and if it dies, then our sovereignty remains intact, but until then what John key has signed us up to, including the unknown fish hooks, makes it not easy to walk away from. The fact that the full text will not become public until 4 years AFTER it is ratified should scare the beejeebies out of everyone, including right wing nuts like yourself. You certainly don’t give a shit about this country or it’s future by supporting the TPPA.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Stuart Munro is right there is nothing for us before 2030,”

                      Are you saying that substantial benefits to NZ agricultural exporters by the reduction of duties and tarifs is ‘nothing’? Are you serious? Do you know anything about business, or are you just trolling?

                    • Leftie

                      Lol that’s rich you accusing someone else of trolling Maninthemiddle.

                • Sacha

                  TPP is an investment regulation agreement. Not much of it even mentions trade and certainly not ‘free’. It is not like the actual FTAs this nation has negotiated.

                  • maninthemiddle

                    “Not much of it even mentions trade…”

                    More Kelsey bs.

                    “The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement that New Zealand is negotiating with eleven countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.” http://fairdeal.net.nz/

                    “ESTABLISH a comprehensive regional agreement that promotes
                    economic integration to liberalise trade and investment, bring economic growth and social benefits, create new opportunities for workers and businesses, contribute to raising living standards, benefit consumers, reduce poverty and promote sustainable growth;”
                    https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/_securedfiles/Trans-Pacific-Partnership/Text/0.-Preamble.pdf

                    Have you even read a summary of the thing? Here…read the text before you embarrass yourself any more:

                    https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/who-we-are/treaty-making-process/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp/text-of-the-trans-pacific-partnership

                    • Stuart Munro

                      Perhaps you should read those links MiM – you don’t seem to be familiar with the content.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Perhaps you should read those links MiM”

                      I have. I posted them. I even used a link that is critical of the TPP. All mention trade. The actual text of the agreement is full of discussion on trade. That;s why I posted the links.

                    • Leftie

                      Stuart Munro is right, you don’t have a clue Maninthemiddle, and Professor Jane Kelsey is correct in what she says, you on the other hand, are not.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Stuart Munro is right, you don’t have a clue Maninthemiddle, and Professor Jane Kelsey is correct in what she says, you on the other hand, are not.”

                      Stuart Munro claimed there was nothing in the TPP for NZ until 2030. That was bs.

                      Stuart Munro didn’t even know there were immediate agricultural benefits.

                      Jane Kelsey is an ivory tower academic, She has no practical knowledge of trade. When I want to assess whether or not to undergo an operation, I’ll consult someone who has experience, not an academic who’s never had or performed the operation.

                    • Leftie

                      You the one full of BS Maninthmiddle, and your analogy if one can call it that, doesn’t even make sense, so you are ignoring what the govt own website says? There is no immediate benefit. As Stuart Munro says “Perhaps you should read those links MiM – you don’t seem to be familiar with the content.”

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “there is no immediate benefit.”
                      Do you not understand what tariff reductions mean? I can explain if you want.

                      “As Stuart Munro says “Perhaps you should read those links MiM – you don’t seem to be familiar with the content.””
                      I am. But perhaps you are confused. They related to the comment by Sacha “Not much of it even mentions trade…”. The TPP wording is full of references to trade.

                      Look, I’m happy to keep schooling you on the TPP, but seriously, do some reading. You’re looking like an idiot.

                    • Leftie

                      Sacha and Stuart Munro are correct, it’s you who is wrong, and maybe you should follow your own advice and get reading.

                    • Stuart Munro

                      The claimed benefits of tariff reduction do not necessarily accrue to slow-moving and essentially uncompetitive dairy conglomerates like Fonterra – they are just as likely to fill the pockets of large Japanese retailers.

                      But the whole point of including the US in the TPP – which was abnormally stupid even by the standards of this corrupt and backward government – was to secure dairy access to the US market. Don’t pretend it wasn’t.

                      Japan is a second rate deal – the more so because Oz outmanouvered the stupid and backward NZ negotiator and cut a separate deal a year earlier.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Sacha and Stuart Munro are correct,”

                      No. Stuart in particular has made claims that are demonstrably wrong. I have demonstrated clearly there are benefits to NZ pre 2030. If you don’t have the intellect to grasp the evidence, that isn’t my problem.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “The claimed benefits of tariff reduction do not necessarily accrue to slow-moving and essentially uncompetitive dairy conglomerates like Fonterra – they are just as likely to fill the pockets of large Japanese retailers.”

                      Oh, so having not realised the tariff reductions kicked in immediately, you now run from that discussion.

                      Fact 1. You claimed there were NO benefits to NZ before 2030. You were wrong.
                      Fact 2. You suggested there was a delay in the introduction of benefits to NZ agriculture. You were wrong.

                      Having been shown up n both counts, rather than at least having the courage to admit it, you lie about the US involvement.

                      Pathetic.

                  • Leftie

                    +1 Sacha.

        • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.3

          There’s no benefits to NZ but there are huge costs. But that’s been true of all the neo-liberal BS of the last thirty years. Lost of costs, no benefits.

          • maninthemiddle 8.1.1.3.1

            More kelsey inspired bs. Think for yourself Draco.

            • Leftie 8.1.1.3.1.1

              That’s rich Maninthemiddle, all you are doing is spouting National’s bullshit. Professor Jane Kelsey has NOT been proved wrong. National have though.

              • maninthemiddle

                Can you quote me anything about the TPP on which Kelsey has been CORRECT?

                • Leftie

                  Everything, and she hasn’t been proved wrong.

                  • maninthemiddle

                    The point is, she hasn’t been proven right. She has made all sorts of claims and predictions, yet the sun still shines.

                    • Leftie

                      Well she has been proved right, and she has never been proved wrong, particularly by the resourceful National government.

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Well she has been proved right,”

                      I asked for an example. I’m still waiting.

                • Gangnam Style

                  “When I want to assess whether or not to undergo an operation, I’ll consult someone who has experience, not an academic who’s never had or performed the operation.” Yet you support charter schools?

                  • maninthemiddle

                    Yes. And Partnership Schools. Because there is sound evidence they work, from people who know what they’re talking about.

                    • Leftie

                      Are you referring to the business people who run charter schools that profit from public money? There is sound evidence from around the world that shows charter schools don’t work.

                      Sweden issued a public apology in a Swedish daily “Forgive us, our policy led our schools astray”

                      Insight: Sweden rethinks pioneering school reforms, private equity under fire

                      <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-schools-insight-idUSBRE9B905620131210

                    • maninthemiddle

                      “Are you referring to the business people who run charter schools that profit from public money?”
                      Partnership Schools are virtually all not-for-profit. This ‘rich prick’ attitude will blind you to all reality.

                      “There is sound evidence from around the world that shows charter schools don’t work.”
                      No, not really. Charter/Partnership Schools are not for everyone, but they have their place. They provide choice, and, as my Manurewa examples show, are outperforming state schools. The unions are livid!!

    • Leftie 8.2

      Can’t be Maninthemiddle. It just takes one of the big 6, (which the US belongs to and that NZ doesn’t), to not ratify the TPPA, then the deal is dead and gone.

    • Andre 8.3

      It’s already been signed. But it doesn’t go into force until it’s it’s ratified by enough nations to make up 85% of the GDP of the signatories. Which means Japan and the USA have to ratify before it can come into force.

      • Leftie 8.3.1

        And all it will take is just one not to ratify it and the TPPA is history.

      • McFlock 8.3.2

        when has reality ever gotten in the way of mitm? lol

        • Andre 8.3.2.1

          To be fair, he’s told us he sets his rents to meet the market, with a discount for long term good tenants. That particular point seems pretty reality-based to me.

          • McFlock 8.3.2.1.1

            Assuming he even owns property and wasn’t just pulling the “don’t blame us responsible ones” in a discussion about landlords, lol

      • maninthemiddle 8.3.3

        Hi Leftie, Andrew

        1. I don’t believe anything Hilary or Donald say. My suspicion is that, in power, they will bow to pressure and sign, rather than let China get a greater trade foothold in the Pacific.
        2. While technically you are correct, in reality it would be a simple matter to conclude an agreement without the US. As far as I’m aware, these discussions are already underway.

        • Andre 8.3.3.1

          Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of time worrying that Hillary would flip and ratify it once she’s in the White House. But I’m coming round to thinking she will probably think her political future is best served not to. With Trump, who the fuck knows what he’ll do?

          • maninthemiddle 8.3.3.1.1

            Hillary is a dangerous individual, the worst kind of combination of the worst kind of attributes. I don’t rate Donald any better or worse. Most americans I know are bewildered at how a country that leads the world in so many ways could come up with two plonkers for this election.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 8.3.3.1.1.1

              It’s very very simple: their right wingers are just like you.

            • Andre 8.3.3.1.1.2

              I’m dual US/NZ, and I’ve spent enough of my adult life in the US that I’m just disappointed, not bewildered, that the choice is another Clinton vs Trump. While there’s a long list of people I’d prefer to Hillary (starting with Warren then Sanders, and even including a few Republicans), I saw enough of her in the 90s that I’m confident she’ll be a lot better at doing the job than she is at selling herself as the best person for the job. Furthermore, as president the pressures and motivations are different than they are as Secretary of State so I think there’s a good chance her foreign policy won’t be as reckless and aggressive as her record suggests.

              • maninthemiddle

                Andre, I do hope you’re right. I have no ‘skin’ in this game. I have lived through favourable democratic and republican presidents and unfavourable ones. My concern with Hillary is her outright dishonesty. Her behaviour over Banghazi was nothing short of disgraceful, then her poor judgement with the email server and subsequent attempts to cover up the seriousness of the situation were not behaviours to engender confidence. Then again, we have Donald…..

                sigh.

          • dukeofurl 8.3.3.1.2

            Do you even have any idea of how it works from here for TPA in US.

            “worrying that Hillary would flip and ratify it once she’s in the White House”

            The President cant ‘ratify it’, otherwise Obama would have done so.

            Only Congress can ‘ratify’ and its a yes or No option.

            Sleep easy , but Im sure youll have some another nightmare you can dream up

            • Andre 8.3.3.1.2.1

              Yeah I do know. The President signing off is the final step of ratification after the Senate approves it. But the president doesn’t have to ratify just because the Senate approves it. The House isn’t a part of the process unless there’s legislation changes needed (which there are for the TPPA). Yes, I’m aware of the stuff around Trade Promotion Authorities and up-or-down votes.

              But the nub of the matter is if the president wants the treaty, he/she will push the process along and will fairly likely get it to a vote and likely approval. But if the president is opposed, the treaty dies.

              So I’m trying to keep comments short and readable instead of being long-winded including all the detail.

              And do I score any Pedant Points for pointing out that “Congress” usually refers to the House and Senate together, so strictly speaking Congress does not play a part in treaty ratification, only the Senate is involved?

        • Leftie 8.3.3.2

          The US is firmly entrenched in the TPPA, if they don’t ratify it it’s dead, so what new deal are you referring to Maninthemiddle?

          • maninthemiddle 8.3.3.2.1

            “…if they don’t ratify it it’s dead…”

            You’re stating that as mantra. It is entirely possible the TPP could emerge as a Pacific rim trade deal involving all other nations in it.

            • Stuart Munro 8.3.3.2.1.1

              The Kaiju would never go for it.

            • Leftie 8.3.3.2.1.2

              No I am not, I am stating it as a fact. You said “As far as I’m aware, these discussions are already underway” then you are talking about an entirely new deal that is not the TPPA, so what is this new deal you are referring to Maninthemiddle?

              • maninthemiddle

                “I am stating it as a fact.”

                It’s not a fact. A TPP can be put together in many forms, not just the current one.

                “so what is this new deal you are referring to Maninthemiddle?”

                What deal? I never mentioned any ‘deal’, I mentioned discussions. Here’s a ‘discussion’ about China stepping in to work on precisely such a deal.
                http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/4/without-trans-pacific-partnership-us-hands-over-po/

                Do you seriously suppose such ‘discussions’ are NOT underway?

                • Leftie

                  “It just takes one of the big 6, (which the US belongs to and that NZ doesn’t), to not ratify the TPPA, then the deal is dead and gone.”

                  “The US is firmly entrenched in the TPPA, if they don’t ratify it it’s dead” IS stating a fact.
                  Do you ever read the links you post Maninthemiddle?
                  so what you are referring to is another deal under “discussion” not the TPPA.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.4

      Actually, it’s already signed but it’s not binding unless 85% of the signatories ratify it. If the US doesn’t ratify it then it doesn’t get the 85% needed to make it binding.

      • maninthemiddle 8.4.1

        …and then the remaining nations go off and do a deal without the US.

        • Leftie 8.4.1.1

          If that happened, that would be a new deal, not the TPPA.

          • maninthemiddle 8.4.1.1.1

            It would be a TPP minus the US.

            • Leftie 8.4.1.1.1.1

              No, it wouldn’t. And you don’t honestly think the USA would really allow every other country make deals that excludes them, would you?

            • Leftie 8.4.1.1.1.2

              No, it wouldn’t. And you don’t honestly think the USA would really allow every other country make deals that excludes them, would you?

              • maninthemiddle

                ‘Every other country’? Other countries make trade deals all the time without the US.

                • Leftie

                  Not like the TPPA. And not when America wants to have control over the Pacific region.

                  • maninthemiddle

                    “Not like the TPPA.”
                    How about the EEC? No US there. MERCOSUR? No US. ASEAN. There are many more.

                    “And not when America wants to have control over the Pacific region.”
                    And that’s where we agree, my friend. Because I suspect, as I said earlier, that Hillary or Donald will swallow a rat and ratify the TPP, rather than let China initiate a new TPP.

    • Paul 8.5

      DNFTT

  9. Cinny 9

    Enjoying very much how the TPPA is dying, but it’s not dead yet. The following still remains a concern in the back of ones sometimes twisted mind.

    What if Trump doesn’t want to lose, he stands down, then either the newcomer republican candidate is pro tpp or Obama stays in office for a little bit long and gets the tpp over the line? I don’t trust Hillary one little bit either.

    Sometimes collective trade agreements end up in pacts between countries during times of conflict. I’m not down with that one little bit, too much tension between USA & China/North Korea at the moment.

    TPPA GO AWAY

    • Andre 9.1

      Imagine Trump wins, and he really was in it just for the thrill of the chase and can’t be arsed actually being prez, so he resigns. Then Pence becomes president and Paul Ryan becomes vice-president. Two of the biggest TPP backers out there.

      Sorry if the thought of that scenario disturbs your sleep.

      • Cinny 9.1.1

        Shudders… dang…. NOOOOOOOO.. however anything is possible, and i thought my imagination was twisted. Double dang 😀

        • Sacha 9.1.1.1

          There’s this incoming asteroid and despite everything Bruce Willis and Will Smith try, it wipes out the eastern seaboard. Trump assumes power from his Nevada lair, and the rest is hystory.

      • dukeofurl 9.1.2

        “Then Pence becomes president and Paul Ryan becomes vice-president. Two of the biggest TPP backers out there.”

        Why does that matter, as the President doesnt ratify, only congress. The US already has a President totally behind TPA, its Obama.
        Your reasoning is totally unsound

        • Andre 9.1.2.1

          If the Trump campaign manages to turn it around enough that Trump wins, then there’s a good chance the Senate will stay Republican-controlled.

          Since the Republicans are much more in favour of the TPPA than Democrats, a Republican controlled Senate with a pro-TPPA president is fairly likely to get it through.

          It seems a major reason the TPPA hasn’t already been approved by the Senate and ratified by Obama is just the Republican hostility to Obama. Plus opposition from some Democrats to the substance of the TPPA.

          • dukeofurl 9.1.2.1.1

            The house and senate are GOP controlled now, if they can pass now why wait till after the election for a GOP controlled Congress with a TPA friendly president.
            They have ALL that now.
            Stop with the fiction that Obama will at some stage ‘ratify’ the agreement. Thats been done when they had the global sign off in Auckland, if you remember.

            Were you awake then.

            • Andre 9.1.2.1.1.1

              The signing that happened here in Auckland was essentially Obama’s representative (Froman?) making the commitment that Obama and his administration will make all best-faith efforts to get the agreement passed through the other branches of government.

              What they have right now is a TPP friendly president, a GOP controlled Senate and House with a significant number of GOP members that are so unhinged with Obama-hatred that they won’t do anything that Obama could spin as a win, even when it aligns with their interests. And a minority of Democratic members in both chambers mostly opposed to the TPP whose opposition has grown stronger over the past few months.

              So while there’s no doubt Obama would do the final sign-off (technically ratification) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratification ) when it hit his desk, it’s unclear whether the current Senate will in fact vote yes or no for the actual agreement, or whether the House and Senate will both pass the enabling legislation, if these were put to the vote now. But it certainly looks like Obama is going to try hard to get it through while he can http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/obama-congress-trade-warning-226952

              I’ve got no idea where it would leave things if the Senate voted yes to their bits, and the House voted no. The whole dynamic of who will vote for what will change significantly next year with a new president and new congress, even if it’s still a Democratic president with the GOP in control of both houses. For starters, Hillary will get a bit of a honeymoon with the Dems, and who knows how the future Hillary-hatred will balance against the current Obama-hatred.

  10. Draco T Bastard 10

    Free trade is a good thing

    You only get free-trade when the standards on both sides are the same. If they’re not then what you have is trade that’s effectively biased in favour of one party over the other. The FTAs that we’ve been signing actually entrench the biases already in place. Far better to set those standards for ourselves and then trade with those that meet those standards.

    • miravox 10.1

      You only get free-trade when the standards on both sides are the same.
      +1

      Listing those standards show where most so-called free trade agreements fall down.
      I’m thinking environment, health & safety and employment rights in particular. Although NZ seems pretty keen on levelling the playing field at the lowest level possible.

  11. Tautoko Mangō Mata 11

    So who wrote the TPP?

    “Political scientists Todd Allee and Andrew Lugg have a new article showing that the TPP is textually more like U.S. FTAs than it is like the FTAs of other TPP parties:”

    The six most-copied chapters in the TPP (investment, financial services, general services, telecommunications, and safeguards) draw particularly heavily upon past US agreement language. This includes some TPP chapters in which two-thirds or more of an earlier US PTA chapter is copied verbatim. …

    Indeed, more than 80% of seven US investment chapters are copied verbatim into the TPP’s investment chapter, as shown in the right side of Figure 4. One of the text illustrations in the Appendix, on minimum standards of treatment for investment, also shows this dominance. Furthermore, the amount of text being copied is significant: more than 7500 words from past US investment chapters are written directly into the TPP’s investment chapter – a final piece of evidence that the US “got what it wanted” in this controversial area to an extent even greater than is realized.

    http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2016/08/who-wrote-the-rules-of-the-tpp.html
    I cannot understand why Phil Goff persists in supporting an agreement which obviously bears little resemblance to the one that was being negotiated before the USA decided to join and write its corporate wishlist..

  12. Andre 12

    Sigh. Looks like Obama is going to try giving the TPP a bit of CPR.

    http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/obama-congress-trade-warning-226952

  13. framu 13

    maybe we should DNFTT?

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    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 ...
    7 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
    8 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
    9 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
    12 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
    12 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
    12 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
    12 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
    13 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
    14 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
    17 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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

  • 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
    5 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
    10 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
    12 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
    13 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
    1 day 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
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    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
    7 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
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T09:23:12+00:00