A decent job with fair pay

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, April 15th, 2008 - 30 comments
Categories: labour, national, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

2That’s what the labour movement is all about: ensuring that people who want to work can find jobs and that they receive fair reward for their labour in decent conditions, so they can afford a good standard of living for themselves and their families. A job gives people a sense of purpose, a feeling that they are part of society, useful.

Good wages and conditions make people feel respected and enable a decent standard of living. With employment comes lower crime, fewer suicides, better health, and a dozen other better social outcomes. Work enables people to fulfill everyone’s most basic dream: a good life for themselves and the ones they care about.

The right-wing destroyed that dream for many New Zealanders in the 1980s and 1990s. From 1988, the number of New Zealanders with jobs started falling even as the population kept growing. Things got worse under National: it wasn’t until 1996 that the number of kiwis with jobs reached the same level as in 1988, there were many more unemployed. Those that did have jobs often had worse pay and conditions. National’s record on employment is pathetic; the number of jobs grew only 29,000 a year on average.

166,000 people were on the unemployment benefit when Labour came to power; 166,000 people whose potential was being wasted. The lead priority of the Labour-led governments has been fixing this problem; 47,000 jobs a year have been added. Wages have grown 25% after inflation in eight years. Reports from the Labour Party congress are that the biggest applause of all came when Helen Clark announced that the number of people on the unemployment benefit is now less than 20,000, the lowest number since 1979. An astounding achievement, of which Labour and the labour movement can be justifiably proud.

30 comments on “A decent job with fair pay ”

  1. higherstandard 1

    Credit where credit’s due it is good news that there are less people on the unemployment benefit.

    SP do you have the figures for sickness and invalid and the DPB as well – and no I’m not trying to bait you I honestly don’t know which way these are moving and I believe it’s important to look at them all before forming an opinion.

    Just a link to where I can find them myself would be fine.

    Thanks

  2. Steve Pierson 2

    HS. Benefit faxsheets Dec 2007

    for some reason, the number under 20,000 (which must be march quarter) is not on the MSD site yet. I also saw somewhere, can’t remember where, that the number on sickness is fallen below 45,000.

    There’s a post looking at overall benefit numbers on kiwiblogblog – here it is

    [lprent: remind me at some stage to put a page up about how to post links. Fixed these so they don’t fall all over my screen.]

  3. Steve Pierson 3

    those kbb fellas love their graphs, here’s one on long-term beneficaires

  4. The right-wing destroyed that dream for many New Zealanders in the 1980s and 1990s. From 1988, the number of New Zealanders with jobs started falling even as the population kept growing.

    First of all, in the years 1984-90, Labour was in government, which proves that Labour is not so hot on the employment side of life as you would like your shallow-minded lefties to believe. Rather your analysis is insulting to independent and intelligent thought. Perhaps a more intelligent examination would actually have admitted that during the 1980s and 90s, the New Zealand economy was going through a bit of a fiscal slump and part of that is the unfortunate premise of that slump is high unemployment. No one is denying that unemployment is a bad thing, but really to blame National as the sole reason for unemployment is just pathetic.

    With employment comes lower crime, fewer suicides, better health, and a dozen other better social outcomes.

    Dude, you are so, so wrong here. If higher employment somehow miraculously equates to lower crime, lower suicides and better health then what the hell has gone wrong? Since Labour came into power in 1999 and the astonishing decrease in unemployment, violent crime has risen over 43%, grievous assaults up 93%, robberies up 65%; serious assaults up 53%, while sex crimes have risen by 18%; New Zealand has one of the highest rates of suicide in the OCED at a rate of 13.2 people in every 100,000 killing themselves; our health system is in pieces as waiting lists have grown longer, there are no beds and the extra $5 billion in spending has done nothing to assist the health crisis in New Zealand. So where exactly are the benefits you so wilfully scatter to your adoring mass of fellow unionists?

    166,000 people were on the unemployment benefit when Labour came to power; 166,000 people whose potential was being wasted.

    Yes, now their potential is being wasted on Sickness and Illness Benefits. Well done Labour. Worse still all your statistics are references to Clark’s speeches or other Standard posts, not to Statistics New Zealand or any other creditable source.

    Your post will be welcomed by pro-Labour friends and family, but it will do nothing to convince swingers or honest New Zealanders who have seen New Zealand deteriorate since the first Clark-led government.

    But no fear, she’ll be gone in a short while.

  5. Phil 5

    “Wages have grown 25% after inflation in eight years”

    Umm… No.

    I saw the previous post with the blue/red graph, but didn’t have time to do my own digging until now.

    From Sep quarter 1999 to Dec quarter 2007, real salary and wages (as measured by the Labour Cost Index and adjusted for inflation using the CPI) actually FELL 1.1%.
    However, the LCI is not a complete picture – it excludes salary and wages changes derived from “quality change”, things like increased performance of the employee, increased hours worked etc etc.

    So, my next step was to take a look at Average Hourly Earnings, as produced by the Quarterly Employment Survey. For the same period (Sep 99 to Dec 07) Average Hourly Earnings increased 6.9% – less than 1% per year under Labour.

    For the record, the same inflation adjustment to Ave Hrly Erngs for the period Sep90 to Sep99 shows a 7.4% increase, which indicates a minor victory to the Blue corner

  6. Tane 6

    HS, I’ve got a post I’ve been meaning to put up since last year on benefit numbers. I’ll get it together at some point…

  7. Scribe 7

    What Hoolian said.

    [lprent: This isn’t a blog for voting on anything, it is a forum for comment. Don’t waste bandwidth.]

  8. even 8

    That’s completely gaga.

    NZ society has continued to un-ravel under the labour govts mis-management.
    Our fastest growing industry is or close to the property market yet we are at historic lows in home ownership. Debt is rampent, finance holds controling aspects in every part of of society, work is not abut work and contributing to nz society, its about chasing debt based money and working longer hours.

    We should be a rich society, and a world leading democracy with a wide distribution of wealth and increasing leisure time.

    Labour havn’t rolled back the accelerated mis-management that started with Roger Douglas, in fact they have resorted to FTA’s with the worlds leading slave plantation in order to try and keep the books balanced.

    By Cullens, own admission back in the day-a skeleton he’s probably forgotten about, the monetary system is a con and makes fools out of the people.

    One of the few things going for labour is they arn’t National…..well we could find wiser leadership in a random sample from a kindergarten for that.

    DSC 08.

  9. Steve Pierson 9

    Hoolin. Ask any criminologist, sociologist or anyone who has studied the subject if unemployment and crime are related. In fact just think about it for a moment, who is more likely to commit a crime – someone with a job and an income or someone without one. In fact – go to stats.govt.nz – take the crime figures and the unemployment figures and see how they run together. as for the benefit numbers look at the links I gave HS on overall benefit numbers, you don’t know what you are talking about.

    phil. real incomes are up, don’t be silly. the labour cost index is about the most stupid metric you could choose to measure peoples incomes. for starters, it doesn’t reflect employment levels or work hours.

  10. Stephen 10

    Hoolian, I would say that “the years 1984-90, Labour was in government, ” WERE part of the er, “right wing dream”, it’s just that that version of Labour was carrying those policies out…

  11. Indeed unemployment has fallen significantly over the last 8 years. This however may well be in part explained by the large increase in emigration to Australia over the same period.

    It is also of interest that productivity has consistently dropped over the last 8 years after growing in the second half of the nineties. Higher productivity is what it takes to get higher wages.

  12. Stephen 12

    You’re saying it’s not skilled people, but the unemployed moving to Australia?

  13. Steve Pierson 13

    mawgxxxiv. provide some statistical proof.

    The number of employed people in New Zealand has risen dramtically under labour, having stagnated under National. It’s the subject of my next post.

    Productivity has not dropped, either. God, you’re living in an information vacuum filled only be farrar. The rate of productivity growth is lower but that’s inevitable when you are bringing in every worker and every piece of capital you can (including the lower quality ones) becuase the economy has grown so fast all the slack that National created in the 1990s is gone.

    Productivity gowth is a crappy measure of appropriate wage growth.

  14. “…productivity has consistently dropped over the last 8 years after growing in the second half of the nineties. Higher productivity is what it takes to get higher wages.”

    The reason for the rise in productivity over the 1990s was the rise in unemployment, combined with Pinochet-style labour laws. More unskilled/less skilled workers typically are the first to end up out of work when the economy slumps.
    There is only growth in the remaining employment sector because in eras of high unemployment the retained staff are more productive on average than the unemployed. I’m sure Robert Mugabe could say that his workforce had high productivity in exactly the same manner.

    To improve overall productivity requires investment in technology, staff, and operational procedure by both government and the private sector. National’s laseizz-faire style of government did much harm to overall productivity potentiality.

    When the Right pushes productivity as an excuse for low wages, it is astonishingly hypocritical because they have undertaken measures which restrict the growth of productivity in order to keep wages down – i.e. scrapping the old Apprenticeship scheme.

  15. Irrespective of whether it is skilled or unskilled people moving to Australia a reduction of the unemployment rate down to the levels we are seeing now means that those unemployed entering the workforce are likely to be the least skilled and therefore least productive. Given the Labour governments generous in-work benefit payments it is unlikely they are contributing anything to the tax-take. Given their low skill level it is unlikely they contributing very much to the overall wealth of the economy.

    Productivity is the important issue here not employment. More people creating less wealth and therefore earning less is not the answer to our economic woes. The Labour government by increasing the size of the unproductive core bureaucracy, increasing compliance costs and putting more of the tax burden onto the productive sector and individuals has stifled growth as indicated by the substantial fall in productivity.

  16. Steve Pierson 16

    so, mawg… is for higher unemployment?

    you forget that the economy is for society, not the other way around – jobs give people a sense of purpose and belonging, people with jobs are happier, they are less likely to beat their kids and more liekly to help them learn to read. People with an income and something to do with their time are less likely to steal, less likely to abuse drugs, etc etc.

    Work is a good in itself that leads to a whole lot of other good outcomes. It is not just people acting as cogs in a machine so that the machine can spin faster.

  17. r0b 17

    Hoolian’s post of 1:02 pm is chock full of nonsense.

    Re the claim: “With employment comes lower crime, fewer suicides, better health, and a dozen other better social outcomes” Hoolian writes Dude, you are so, so wrong here. If higher employment somehow miraculously equates to lower crime, lower suicides and better health then what the hell has gone wrong?

    Nothing has gone wrong Hoolian, it’s just that your claims are nonsense.

    Since Labour came into power in 1999 and the astonishing decrease in unemployment, violent crime has risen over 43%, grievous assaults up 93%, robberies up 65%; serious assaults up 53%, while sex crimes have risen by 18%;

    Although reporting rates for some kinds of crime are up (domestic violence, following strong advertising campaigns), crime overall is falling.

    http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20082702-16956-2.html

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1537

    New Zealand has one of the highest rates of suicide in the OCED at a rate of 13.2 people in every 100,000 killing themselves;

    The NZ rate is high but falling. Please do not perpetuate the lie that it is climbing, because that becomes part of the problem. Please actually read:

    http://www.chmeds.ac.nz/newsevents/articles/suicidedecline.htm

    our health system is in pieces as waiting lists have grown longer

    Our Health system is rated by international agencies as one of the best in the world, ahead of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. See the report here:

    http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=364436

    166,000 people were on the unemployment benefit when Labour came to power; 166,000 people whose potential was being wasted.

    Yes, now their potential is being wasted on Sickness and Illness Benefits. Well done Labour.

    From memory the number on sickness benefits is less than 29,000. The unemployed have not just moved to other benefits, that is a lie. The number of working age people on benefits is at a low and still falling:

    http://kiwiblogblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/numeracy-for-nnickc/

    Worse still all your statistics are references to Clark’s speeches or other Standard posts, not to Statistics New Zealand or any other creditable source.

    Sorry Hoolian, all the above is backed up by independently sourced stats (follow back the sources in The Standard or KBB links). In short, Hoolian, social benefits are accruing around falling unemployment exactly as predicted. In your list of negativity I don’t know if you are lying or simply ill informed, but I do know that you are wrong wrong wrong.

  18. even 18

    The policy of increasing productivity and employment as the goal of an economic system is the real problem, and is a direct consequence of a disastrous and outdated financial system superceeded on to the actual physical economy which it hamstrings from providing for everyone.

    The scientific goal of a modern productive system would be that of consumption and the distribution of that consumption through out the whole society with an emphasis on decreasing the amount of time the individuals in society have to sub-ordinate themselves to the organisation of this which renders them inpersonal cogs.

    Only through replacing the debt based financial system with credit as a public utility, like water is for example, will it enable work to become a vocation for the worker. THen we will be able to achieve a society governed on natural consequences and not artificial reward/pusnishment systems and bureaucracy.

    Democrats for Social Credit.
    DSC 08.

  19. r0b 19

    My memory is faulty, the number on sickness benefits as of March this year is 45,676, but it is falling slowly, not rising (unemployed are not being moved to this benefit).

  20. Wage growth without an increase in productivity is inflation.

  21. Matthew Pilott 21

    Given the Labour governments generous in-work benefit payments it is unlikely they are contributing anything to the tax-take. Given their low skill level it is unlikely they contributing very much to the overall wealth of the economy.

    What are you trying to say here, mawgxxxxiv?

    The first part has some merit perhaps, if the worker has children, Labour’s generous WFF policy means that they are likely paying $0 tax if they are on a very low income. As a plus, they are not on a benefit – we can all agree that’s a good thing surely.

    As for the second point, you are either saying that companies employ people to dig holes and fill them in again, or that you have such an elitist attitude to those around you that you believe those performing menial/low income tasks are worthless.

    Which is a pretty scummy attitude to have, but you’re entitled to it.

    P.S have you fallen lock, stock and cranuim for Key’s “core bureaucracy” spin? For shame.

    And let’s not even start on compliance costs… (i.e. would we be the easiest counrty in the world to do business with otherwise? I think not.)

  22. Steve Pierson 22

    mag. not if the money for higher wages comes out of profits. (i can hear you gasp for breath)

    Fact is, in the rightwing economic revolution, the portion of GDP that went on wages decreased, allowing profts to increase. That injustice needs redressing through higher wages coming out of profits.

    captcha: ‘known, shunned’ – the public’s reaction to Roger Douglas’s reincarnation?

  23. Leftie 23

    mawgxxxxiv

    “Wage growth without an increase in productivity is inflation.”

    What do you call productivity increases without wage growth then? A bad employer?

  24. even 24

    NO, inflation is a concurrent rise in prices and income(money to spend side).
    It is simply a multi-plication of figures without altering the relation between money-to-spend and price, and it is a tax on savings.

    Now if you can accept that you didn’t know that…then you can accept that you don’t really know how the monetary system works, and that you are in the vast majority of the population for this gap of knowledge about something that is in front of everyone every single day and is the life blood of any economy.

    And then, mayby, your mind can be abit more open and you can competently do a bit more research about the subject.

    DSC 08.

  25. Hoolian 25

    Hoolin. Ask any criminologist, sociologist or anyone who has studied the subject if unemployment and crime are related. In fact just think about it for a moment, who is more likely to commit a crime – someone with a job and an income or someone without one.

    What makes you think that I am not a criminologist, sociologist etc? I’m not actually negating that fact, what I’m highlighting is that violent crime has risen despite unemployment dropping. While it may work in the theoretical circles of the Left, it doesn’t correlate in reality. Surprise, surprise.

    rOb

    Thank God for some real information. I totally disagree with you, but I admire your independent research. In reply to your points:

    CRIME
    Although reporting rates for some kinds of crime are up (domestic violence, following strong advertising campaigns), crime overall is falling.

    I have no idea why you think strong advertising campaigns are to blame for domestic violence, but whatever. So while crime is down, all other crimes are up.

    RE: ScienceAlert story: Julia Tolmie states “What has changed is that the amount of people who are being prosecuted and the sentences that they are getting have both increased.” So, this is debasing the claim crime is up, how? Basically she claims to defy Stats New Zealand whose data shows that crimes are up, and not with any data of her own, just a vast ‘difference of opinion’ i.e she claims rather than crime being up, just more people are going to jail. This appears to reinforce that crime is up.

    SUICIDE
    On your link to Uni of Otago’s Associate Professor Annette Beautrais: She says These significant reductions in suicide rates over the last decade are likely to have occurred because of strategic action based on robust research by Associate Professor Beautrais and others, the development of prevention and treatment strategies, and a focus particularly on youth suicide (15-24).

    What she does say is that suicides are reducing. I’ll give you that. I was misinformed, but she also says is that suicide rates have been dropping for a decade which takes us back into the anti-employment regime of National-led governments and she does not give low unemployment as a reason for a reduction in suicides rather other reasons. Thus, Steve Peirson’s original argument doesn’t stand up.

    HEALTH

    Your sidetracks to ‘independent’ information are a nice way of increasing knowledge but it does little to help your cause. According to the “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” article and survey, NZ doesn’t do that well; the article only refers to New Zealand a handful of times and one of those times is bad news. “Across the indicators of effectiveness, the U.S. ranked first and New Zealand ranked last” Also, our health system is more like the Scandinavian countries and they do not feature in the survey, so poorly done.

    In addition to all my points of debate above, none of the information you have shown actually supports the argument that “With employment comes lower crime, fewer suicides, better health, and a dozen other better social outcomes.” In fact, all your sources prove the total opposite. See, isn’t independent information great? It doesn’t spin at the rate the Standard spider does.

    While I applaud your use of independent research, I detest your use of it to fashion it to fit your vision. I’m sorry that the reality is so much more frightening.

  26. Phil 26

    “phil. real incomes are up, don’t be silly. the labour cost index is about the most stupid metric you could choose to measure peoples incomes. for starters, it doesn’t reflect employment levels or work hours.”

    Sorry, I missed this one from you Steve… apparently the same way you missed the second half of my not too long post. I agree with you about the LCI (in fact, I even said as much…)

    I agree with you that real incomes are up, but the 25% that you claimed in the OP is plain and simple lies with no grounding in reality.

    Real average hourly have increased 6.9% during Labours time in power, compared to the National governments 7.4% in the 1990’s.

  27. r0b 27

    Thank God for some real information. I totally disagree with you, but I admire your independent research.

    OK Hoolian, appreciate your constructive attitude.

    CRIME

    I have no idea why you think strong advertising campaigns are to blame for domestic violence, but whatever.

    Please read what I wrote carefully. What we hear about is reported crime which bears some unknown relationship to real crime rates (reported and unreported). If reported crime goes up it may be because real crime goes up (with constant reporting) or it may be because the reporting rate goes up.

    The suggestion is that the current increase in reported domestic crime may have been prompted by the advertising campaign, which draws attention to the issue and highlights the fact that it’s not OK. It seems likely that this has increased reporting rates (it seems unlikely that it has increased the real underlying rate). See eg:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10501512

    So while crime is down, all other crimes are up.

    Ahhh, what? Crime rates are down as per my original post.

    SUICIDE

    What she does say is that suicides are reducing. I’ll give you that. I was misinformed, but she also says is that suicide rates have been dropping for a decade which takes us back into the anti-employment regime of National-led governments

    8.5 years of the last decade have been under Labour led governments, and suicide rates have been falling. I don’t think we can sensibly make a case either way about figures for the initial 1.5 years of “a decade”.

    and she does not give low unemployment as a reason for a reduction in suicides rather other reasons. Thus, Steve Peirson’s original argument doesn’t stand up.

    Of course she doesn’t give reasons, the article isn’t about reasons for suicide. Steve’s argument (that social indicators improve with falling unemployment) stands up fine (whether unemployment is explicitly mentioned or not).

    HEALTH

    NZ doesn’t do that well; the article only refers to New Zealand a handful of times and one of those times is bad news.

    NZ came second overall (ahead of head of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada), but by all means pick the one scale that we did worst in and focus on that! Read past the Executive Summary and you will see that in sub scales of effectiveness we did very well (second best on “prevention’), and that in general the differences are minor – all the countries surveyed are effective at this level.

    Demand for health services is endless, the funding is limited, and so the system will never be perfect. But it is damned good. And all these attempts to beat up a “crisis’ and make political capital out of it should be recognised for exactly what they are.

    SUMMARY

    In fact, all your sources prove the total opposite.

    Ahhh – what? One of us has serious reading comprehension problems.

    While I applaud your use of independent research, I detest your use of it to fashion it to fit your vision.

    Hoolian, you are the one who has made a bunch of claims that aren’t true, not me. You started your post well, why are you descending into this kind of nonsense?

    I’m sorry that the reality is so much more frightening.

    Oh please. Grow a fact or two, or give it up.

  28. ak 28

    Well done rOb, especially on how you maintain your equilibrium with these people. I’m afraid my own patience doesn’t compare.

    Hoolian, by his own admission, looked at your link to the Commonwealth Fund report and cannot have failed to see the prominent table on the first page ranking NZ’s health system second in the world, yet had the temerity to immediately write “According to the “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall’ article and survey, NZ doesn’t do that well; the article only refers to New Zealand a handful of times….”

    Unbelieveable. I mean we’ve seen the whole gamut of ranting fruitcakes in this medium, but I have to say this really takes the biscuit for sheer, bare-faced, out-and-out lying.
    Congratulations Hoolian, you’ve raised even these crusty old eyebrows: I thought I’d seen it all but you make ravers like D4J and burt look like trustworthy pillars of respectability, and what’s worse I’ve seen you on other threads invoking christian values.
    And don’t bother to make up a reply: sorry old son, but I can no longer believe a single word you might say.

  29. r0b 29

    Well done rOb, especially on how you maintain your equilibrium with these people. I’m afraid my own patience doesn’t compare

    To tell you the truth ak it doesn’t take much effort. We deal with the same nonsense time after time here. I build up a library of useful text and links, then just paste it in by the numbers. Ho hum.

  30. Watching John Key questioning Helen Clark yesterday about fall in productivity growth under Labour it was interesting to note that that the measure of productivity used by Clark did not include the state sector. If the state is left out then the productivity numbers look much better however that appears to be a trifle misleading.

    Given that public service staff has increased from around 28,000 in 2000 to around 43,000 now it is hardly surprising that productivity growth has declined. Furthermore government imposed costs on business like ‘4 weeks annuual leave’ would have had further negative impacts on productivity.

    With all these additional state employees to support it is perhaps not surprising that the ‘tax burden days’ have increased by 20 since 2000. It is useful to compare this with Australia where the the ‘ tax burden’ has remained flat.

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 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
    12 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
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    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
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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