Open Mike 16/09/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 16th, 2016 - 80 comments
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80 comments on “Open Mike 16/09/2016 ”

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  1. Paul 1
    16 September 2016 at 6:16 am

    Nicholas Jones shows he is just another Tory shill.
    What a patsy piece on Parata.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11710547

  2. Paul 2
    16 September 2016 at 6:19 am

    Our economy is performing brilliantly … so are we better off?

    Simple answer for 90% of us, Liam.
    No.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11710745

    A couple of articles he should read.

    Economic lies about the “rock star economy”
    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/13/economic-lies-about-the-rock-star-economy/

    We have a rock star economy addicted to meth
    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/15/we-have-a-rock-star-economy-addicted-to-meth/

    • Puckish Rogue 2.1
      16 September 2016 at 9:05 am

      “Strip out the student/worker visa scam immigration and rebuilding from a natural disaster and our actual growth rate is a mere .6%”

      – But you can’t strip it out, its already there. May as well say without the 3.6% growth we’d have 0% growth

      • Wayne 2.1.1
        16 September 2016 at 9:57 am

        Population growth of 2.1% and annual growth of 3.6% should produce per capita growth of 1.5%. So I am a bit skeptical about the Westpac economist analysis which produced the 0.6% figure.

        A fair bit of the population growth is in people with temporary and student visas. Many of them, especially students, will be in relatively low paid jobs, so i would wonder if they really increase per capita growth, as opposed to just matching population growth.

        I appreciate the actual increase in activity might be concentrated in certain sectors such as construction, but it is invariably the case certain sectors grow faster than other. A few years ago the high growth sector was dairy. In fact you can have declining sectors even in a period of high growth.

        Probably the best thing about current growth is that it will reduce unemployment, especially among younger people with limited skills. In fact construction generates quite a few moderate and low skilled jobs. It gets them on the ladder to better jobs.

        In North Shore (nearly 10% of the NZ population and a reasonable reflection of much of New Zealand – though I accept North Shore as a whole is better off than say South Auckland) the effects of growth are pretty evident, and seem widespread.

        • Garibaldi 2.1.1.1
          16 September 2016 at 4:54 pm

          Really great growth in the poverty area too Wayne. Food banks are creaming it and the Salvation Army et al are having a prolonged growth spurt. Prison growth must hold you in awe and it must be heartening to see your brighter future blossoming.

          • Macro 2.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2016 at 5:29 pm

            🙂

            Growth in our community food bank has been an astonishing 100% over the past year. I wonder if Bill will crow about that?

          • North 2.1.1.1.2
            16 September 2016 at 9:00 pm

            Poverty ? What’s poverty ? Wayne doesn’t see poverty. Wayne is a perennial ‘Young Nat to Old Nat’ trougher. Wayne’s acknowledgment of such ‘horridness’ is to the scandalously temeritous mention of it, rather than the fact of it.

      • McFlock 2.1.2
        16 September 2016 at 11:52 am

        Actually, you can. If the bits keeping the aggregate high are outliers, then yeah, it’s misleading to keep them in.

        If everywhere in the country was in recession, but wgtn had gdp increase of 1000%, then the figures would say “healthy growth” when the facts for almost everyone on the ground are “recession”.

  3. Paul 3
    16 September 2016 at 6:38 am

    Is this the way to solve Auckland’s traffic woes?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11710710

    No.

    This is.
    Here is a list of cities that currently provide public transport for free.

    https://farefreepublictransport.com/city/

    • Colonial Viper 3.1
      16 September 2016 at 8:28 am

      At the same time you have to massively ramp up the cost of using personal car transport on Auckland’s motorways, otherwise as the roads empty out it will become more appealing and more convenient to get back into cars.

      • Bill 3.1.1
        16 September 2016 at 10:44 am

        At the same time you have to massively ramp up the cost of using personal car transport…

        No you don’t. You can give the petrol away for free and reduce its availability at something like 15% per annum and we get to be fossil free (ie – car free) by around 2030.

        If you insist on looking at in terms of $$$, then maybe the prospect of a stranded asset – that 4WD that’s destined to be junk and impossible to re-sell would be a good enough incentive to get off the personal transport gravy train (sorry for the mixed metaphor 😉 )

        edit – should edit to add that the initial cost of giving petrol away for free would be less than $2 billion and that we currently subsidise the fossil industry to the tune of about $2.5 billion per annum.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1
          16 September 2016 at 11:05 am

          Yes, you could potentially do it the ‘free but reducing volume’ way. However a population trained to think in terms of electronic dollars and not physical reality could end up pretty confused with how to correctly anticipate and appropriately act.

          • Bill 3.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2016 at 11:34 am

            meh – fill the tank. Bowsers cut out when pre-programmed trajectories of delivery volumes are exceeded and back on again when trajectories are back in range. (Have current and likely availability prominently displayed in a user friendly format in every forecourt)

            In essence, getting petrol would be no different to the present, where motorists drive to the station that lets them cash in that supermarket docket or to the one that has a slightly lower price.

            As for buying a $40 000 hunk of metal (or whatever it might cost in 2020 or 2025) with the expectation that some of the outlay will be recouped further down the line, well…the world’s full of thems that does stupid.

  4. joe90 4
    16 September 2016 at 7:19 am

    Keith Olbermann – Hillary was Wrong. All of Trump’s Supporters Are “Deplorable”

    https://youtu.be/lctYermoe-o

  5. gsays 5
    16 September 2016 at 8:20 am

    i have just listened to an apologist for human trafficking responding to allegations from a labour department investigation.
    foreign fruit picker being paid $10 an hour and ‘housed’ in an unsuitable caravan.
    he suggested id cards for workers amongst other things.
    how about a card for the exploitative employer?

    i see a direct link from this, to dear leaders pontifications on kiwi workers being lazy, stoned and lacking ambition.

    • vto 5.1
      16 September 2016 at 9:29 am

      Beneficiaries were drug-tested some time last year… of the 8,000 tested, 22 failed.

      Let’s test 8,000 employers and see what the result is …. addled like they are by ‘p’ and coke and speed and pot ….

      • gsays 5.1.1
        16 September 2016 at 11:05 am

        spot on, vto.
        not that you will read that in too many papers.

        some of these emplyers appear to be addled by $ and the need to accumulate more $.

  6. Draco T Bastard 6
    16 September 2016 at 8:49 am

    Joseph Stiglitz Says Standard Economics Is Wrong. Inequality and Unearned Income Kills the Economy

    The trickle-down notion— along with its theoretical justification, marginal productivity theory— needs urgent rethinking. That theory attempts both to explain inequality— why it occurs— and to justify it— why it would be beneficial for the economy as a whole. This essay looks critically at both claims. It argues in favour of alternative explanations of inequality, with particular reference to the theory of rent-seeking and to the influence of institutional and political factors, which have shaped labour markets and patterns of remuneration. And it shows that, far from being either necessary or good for economic growth, excessive inequality tends to lead to weaker economic performance. In light of this, it argues for a range of policies that would increase both equity and economic well-being.

    It always surprises me that so many people are fooled into thinking that making the rich richer will help them. We have the evidence, it’s been around for centuries and even millennia, that having rich people actually destroys entire societies.

    Of course, Stiglitz is still stuck in the delusion that we need growth. Development yes, growth no.

  7. joe90 7
    16 September 2016 at 9:12 am

    Buyer’s remorse, with bells.

    More and more people are now admitting that they regret voting to leave the European Union in last week’s referendum, with many claiming that they never intended to leave but simply wanted to “protest”.

    Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Barbara Ansdale, from the Black Country, said she had voted leave but “wasn’t really voting to get out of the union

    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit-eu-referendum-people-regretting-leave-vote_uk_5770e6b3e4b08d2c56397a46

  8. Puckish Rogue 8
    16 September 2016 at 9:26 am

    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/09/bottom_decile_better_off_now_than_under_labour.html

    “with the top 10 per cent of households forecast to pay 37.2 per cent of income tax in 2016/17, compared with 35.5 per cent in 2007/08.”

    “the 30 per cent of households with the lowest incomes are forecast to pay just 5.4 per cent of income tax, compared with 6.3 per cent in 2007/08.”

    So if you want a fairer NZ where the richer households pay more tax and the poorer households pay less tax then the answer is obvious: vote National 🙂

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      16 September 2016 at 9:54 am

      The top 10% own 60% of all wealth and should, therefore, be paying 60% of all taxes.

      • Bearded Git 8.1.1
        16 September 2016 at 10:01 am

        @ Draco agreed, except possibly it is more than 60% that the top 10% now own??

        The survey completely ignores GST paid and any other taxes such as rates.

        The survey should look at the change in disposable income: top 10% versus bottom 30% and disposable income after housing costs (especially rent) top 10% versus bottom 30%, since the Gnats came to power. That will tell a completely different story.

        We are being softened up for tax cuts before the election by the childish simplistic Seymour.

      • Puckish Rogue 8.1.2
        16 September 2016 at 10:06 am

        Hey Draco the richer are paying more tax under National then they did under Labour which means the trend is going in the right direction

        Give your vote john Key so the trend continues 🙂

      • save nz 8.1.3
        16 September 2016 at 10:36 am

        Well there is plenty of corporate welfare for Hollywood in NZ. Millions on the legal case on Dotcom…. the irony of the money laundering charges against Dotcom from Hollywood when Hollywood and actors are one of the biggest users of tax havens shown up in the Panama papers (after politicians).

        Oh well, we all know that once you become super rich, you are not only exempt from paying normal taxes, but you can also buy politicians and use tax payer funds to hunt out any rivals and make them pick up your legal bill.

        Meanwhile on the Dotcom case apparently illegal US behaviour is not relevant to the case????

        “Mr Van der Kolk and Mr Ortmann’s lawyer, Grant Illingworth, told the High Court that, crucially, the court had not let the men present evidence of unlawful US behaviour.

        “[That includes] a massive search and seizure, manufacturing a situation of urgency in order to get procedural shortcuts … covering up the unlawful activities that preceded the [arrests], downstream attempts to cover that up including a police officer giving incorrect information to this court, [and] unlawfully sending clones of hard drives overseas.”

        They had also been prevented from presenting evidence from US extradition law experts that would have shown the charges were not extraditable crimes, defence lawyers said.”

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/313289/extra-evidence-would-not-have-helped-dotcom-crown

        And the US is keeping that money they raided illegally.

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/310864/us-courts-refuse-to-release-dotcom's-assets

        Maybe Dotcom should have gone with Joyce’s defence of ‘pretty legal’…

        • Puckish Rogue 8.1.3.1
          16 September 2016 at 10:45 am

          Not sure what you’re talking about has any relevance but that’s ok, send this into Grant Robertson and you’ll probably get a job on his media team 🙂

    • framu 8.2
      16 September 2016 at 12:19 pm

      why are you trying to talk taxes while not including all forms of taxation and share of income/wealth?

      its completely dishonest –

      • McFlock 8.2.1
        16 September 2016 at 12:21 pm

        questioned and answered 🙂

        • framu 8.2.1.1
          16 September 2016 at 12:27 pm

          yes, quite – questioned and answered multiple times over several years even

          i just cant believe that the net tax lie keeps coming back to life. – Either people are very gullible or very deceitful for it to keep being used time and again

          kind of staggered that people wont see the giant hole in the argument and just go back to the start – rinse and repeat

    • s y d 8.3
      16 September 2016 at 12:20 pm

      PR, thats just farkin abart wiv pissentichers.
      Maybe the bottom 30% have had a reduction in their share of overall income commensurate with the reduction in share of direct income taxes paid…… and conversely the top 10% have had a much larger increase in their income which has led to an increase in their overall share of direct tax paid.

      So if you want to make out that the rich are getting hit, give them shitloads more and they end up paying more tax.

      • Puckish Rogue 8.3.1
        16 September 2016 at 1:11 pm

        Just saying that in comparison to Labour National are doing a better job of taxing the rich and the poor 🙂

        • framu 8.3.1.1
          16 September 2016 at 2:14 pm

          but you’re using nonsense to say it – that doesnt actually work

          DPF is only talking income tax – which isnt all tax.

          He’s engaging in a deliberate lie

  9. rhinocrates 9
    16 September 2016 at 10:20 am

    Will he “stick it to Wall Street”? Probably by crashing it again.

    Meanwhile, the racism and misogyny he’s sponsoring continues to take its toll:

    http://www.salon.com/2016/03/30/trump_supporters_first_pepper_spray_then_yell_nr_lover_to_15_year_old_protester_in_paul_ryans_hometown/

    If you’re supporting Trump, these are the people standing at your side. Did you ever think that you’d make common cause with them?

  10. Puckish Rogue 10
    16 September 2016 at 10:48 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11710932

    Men, your country needs you! Time to stand up (or sit or lie, however your prefer) and take this issue in both hands and do it for NZ! 🙂

    I hear Shane Jones is already getting warmed up and Len Browns bursting at the seems 😉

    • Stunned mullet 10.1
      16 September 2016 at 11:27 am

      Should Len Brown’s DNA be spread about in such a way ?

      It would only serve to fill the population with (more) numpties, retard dancers and face self-slappers.

  11. Robert Guyton 11
    16 September 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Hey, Pucky. Could you take a peek into your crystal ball and or navel and tell me what you see ahead for Chester Burrows?

  12. The Chairman 12
    16 September 2016 at 1:40 pm

    With a high number of Maori in the lower social economic group and with a large number continuing to smoke, is the Māori Party advocating for the Government to double the tobacco tax increases putting their support at risk?

    Moreover, are they risking putting their people into further fiscal hardship, exacerbating all the problems that come along with that?

    I believe so. What say you?

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/maori-party-mp-marama-fox-wants-cigarettes-banned-2016091420

  13. Pasupial 13
    16 September 2016 at 2:05 pm

    This hardly feels like news given my utter lack of surprise:

    The “crumbling” state of Dunedin Hospital poses clinical, financial and organisational risk, and the facility could be forced to close if a “significant defect” was found, the strategic assessment for the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment says… signed off by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Finance Minister Bill English…

    The document warns not to expect more money to run services, and the board is encouraged to look at more privatisation.

    “The DHB will need to be innovative in the way it finds capital to make things happen.

    “As the DHB’s population is not projected to grow as much as other DHBs, the share of funding under the population-based funding formula is likely to reduce.”

    The budget is anticipated to break even in 2019-20 but “the steps to break-even are not completely clear at the moment”…

    The document was written by consulting firm Sapere Research Group for the politically appointed Southern Partnership Group.

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/health/hospital%E2%80%99s-facilities-crumbling

    I take this to mean that there will be increasing outsourcing to “Dunedin’s only private surgical hospital” (which, perhaps coincidentally, had the now National Party cabinet minister Woodhouse as CEO immediately preceding his entry to parliament). They certainly have not had any problems coming up with the money for building work, and just two months ago opened an expansion to their facilities (on the understanding that work would soon be coming their way?):

    the new Manaaki by Mercy day-stay facility would provide 1400 endoscopy and opthalmology procedures in the next year.

    The facility included two theatres, recovery areas, patient consult rooms and cancer treatment facilities, Mr Whitney said…
    The facility would also offer contingency capacity beds in support of Mercy Hospital and Dunedin Hospital in the event of a natural disaster

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/hospital-day-stay-facility-opened

    Mercy Hospital is performing cardiac surgery for Dunedin Hospital.

    While it is not unusual for work to be outsourced to Mercy, the private hospital has not performed public cardiac surgery before….

    A statement from Southern District Health Board patient services medical director Richard Bunton, who is also one of the surgeons performing cardiac surgery at Mercy, said the hospital was ”partnering” with Mercy over the next year while the ICU was upgraded.

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/health/public-heart-surgery-mercy-hospital

    That “next year while the ICU was upgraded” may somewhat protracted by the fact that when it comes to construction the Southern Partnership Group chairman says (from first link):

    “We have to keep disappointing people who are wanting to know where it’s going to be and what size it’s going to be.

    “Next year we will have a better idea of the options, but even then it’s going to be the following year before we narrow it down,” Mr Blair said.

  14. James 14
    16 September 2016 at 2:29 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/84243686/poor-polls-sensitive-issue-as-labour-mps-brace-for-genderbalanced-list

    Will Labour keep its pledge to gender balance its caucus by 2017 ? This will be interesting.

  15. alwyn 15
    16 September 2016 at 2:38 pm

    I see that Phil Goff and James Shaw are demonstrating yet again why The New Zealand Super Fund should be wound up and the money spent or returned to the taxpayer, and why politicians shouldn’t have anything to do with people’s investment decisions.
    Goff, if I heard this morning’s Morning Report correctly thinks that the Super Fund should invest in Auckland’s more useless, unprofitable, investments.
    The aim of the Super fund was to invest in profitable ventures in order, in 20-30 years time it will be able to afford National Super. Phil seems to think it is a great grey green greasy lump of cash to throw at things that will never pay off. Light rail to the airport seems to be one of his favourites.
    Shaw seems to believe that the state should decide where people are allowed to invest their own super savings. Ban any Kiwsaver fund from investing, no matter how indirectly, in anyone involved in supplying goods or services to a company in the nuclear industry. No doubt he will expand the rules to any company that makes sugar which is, to a Green, evil, Evil, EVIL. To hell with the fact that people are trying to provide for their retirement. James knows best.
    Politicians should never be allowed to get involved in business. They don’t give a damn about benefit to the population they dominate. They just want to give themselves a warm fuzzy feeling.

    • The Chairman 15.1
      16 September 2016 at 3:42 pm

      Shaw is advocating to clear the grey area in our current law.

      Apparently, trading shares between shareholders (in unethical investments) isn’t seen as investing in unethical investments, even though the end result is the same. One ends up owning shares in an unethical investment.

    • Garibaldi 15.2
      16 September 2016 at 4:46 pm

      Keep pumping that sugar Alwyn. It’s good for shortening your life.

    • reason 15.3
      16 September 2016 at 5:19 pm

      Much better to have fraudulent business models like merrill lynch and tax dodge artists like john key to rip off tax payers and investors in the ‘free market’ ????…

      It appears most likely american tax payers paid for keys bank of american shares …… it’s a fascinating story and involves merrill lynch being among the worst of the worst and almost bringing down the u.s.a financial system at the start of the GFC ….

      And it’s Information I came about thanks to you Alwyn ………..

      Key should have his own little pirate flag …………… you’d kiss it 😉

  16. Tautoko Mangō Mata 16
    16 September 2016 at 3:11 pm

    Announced today in Australia: TPP Senate Inquiry welcomed by community group

    A Senate inquiry has been called into the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, in response to a letter sent to parliamentarians from 60 community organisations representing over 2 million Australians.

    The inquiry was moved jointly by the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team, supported by the ALP and approved in the Senate on Thursday, September 15.

    The TPP is currently being examined by the Joint Standing Committee On Treaties, on which the government has a majority. The assessment of the TPP being considered by the committee has been done by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which negotiated the Treaty.

    “We are delighted that majority in the Senate has answered the call from community organisations representing over 2 million Australians and decided to conduct a Senate inquiry into the TPP,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today

    “The TPP expands corporate rights at the expense of people’s rights and deserves far more critical scrutiny than is possible by the government-dominated Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, which has not conducted independent assessments of the TPP’s economic health and environmental impacts. A Senate inquiry will enable the full critical scrutiny which the TPP deserves.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1609/S00034/tpp-senate-inquiry-welcomed-by-community-groups.htm

    No such luck here in NZ.

  17. James 17
    16 September 2016 at 4:24 pm

    Mr Trotter on the Polls and the UMR release…

    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/a-better-poll.html

    Love the opening …

    Bogus? So devastating was the latest One News/Colmar Brunton poll result for Labour that the Opposition leader, Andrew Little, declared it “bogus”. In desperation, Labour released its own – vastly more encouraging – internal poll data from UMR Research. Unfortunately, in political terms, this is a bit like presenting an affidavit testifying to your beauty and intelligence, signed by your Mum.

  18. Nick 18
    16 September 2016 at 4:30 pm

    Clinton will lose the election, either by resigning due to Parkinsons disease (rumour) or simply trumped……maybe Bernie will replace her?

  19. The Chairman 19
    16 September 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Brownlee’s being accused by New Zealand First of “spending like a drunken sailor” over the purchase of a new Naval tanker.

    Deputy leader Ron Mark claims the new ship is costing the taxpayer twice as much as it should, citing the costs of similar vessels purchased by the Royal Navy and the Norwegian Navy.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/new-navy-ship-a-rip-off-nz-first-claims-2016091216

    • Draco T Bastard 19.1
      16 September 2016 at 5:10 pm

      National’s economic (mis)management coming to the fore again.

      • The Chairman 19.1.1
        16 September 2016 at 8:02 pm

        To be fair, NZ has a somewhat questionable history when it comes to defence procurements.

        • Draco T Bastard 19.1.1.1
          17 September 2016 at 12:24 am

          True but I don’t think that there’s been a case where they’ve paid twice as much for the same item.

          • The Chairman 19.1.1.1.1
            17 September 2016 at 10:48 am

            I can neither confirm nor deny offhand.

            However, I’ve yet to hear Brownlee’s side of it.

            He may have a legitimate excuse. Then again, he may not.

  20. The Chairman 20
    16 September 2016 at 8:03 pm

    It’s been estimated Japan’s population could fall by half in just 24 years.

    On average, a country needs a birth rate of 2.2 children per woman just to hold the population steady – what’s known as “replacement fertility”.

    Japan’s at 1.4
    New Zealand is also below that line, at 2.04
    Australia’s got it worse – just 1.77
    The world’s worst is Singapore – 0.81.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/nz-among-countries-with-a-sex-problem-2016091420?ref=ves-nextauto

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  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
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  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

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    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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    7 days ago
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    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
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