A tale of two housing policies

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, July 17th, 2013 - 48 comments
Categories: housing, labour, national - Tags: , ,

Houses are seriously unaffordable, especially for first-time buyers.

Labour has proposed a capital gains tax, to try and take some of the heat out of the speculative market (cash rich investors snapping up all the houses for capital gain), and KiwiBuild to build 10,000 new houses over the next ten years. These policies will help first-time buyers.

The Reserve Bank under the current government is proposing tougher requirements (a higher deposit) on mortgage loans. This policy will make it even more difficult for first-timers. It isn’t proving popular:

Growing opposition to Reserve Bank housing restrictions

Getting a mortgage to buy a house could be about to get a lot harder. The Reserve Bank’s inching towards restricting the amount of money banks can lend to certain customers, in an attempt to cool down a red-hot property market. But that could put mortgages out of reach for many first-time buyers.

…in most cases, buyers will have to save up a bigger deposit, perhaps 20 percent, which, for a $500,000 house, would be $100,000.

… Labour wants an exemption for first-home buyers. “They’re going to make it much tougher, particularly for low and middle-income first home buyers, to get into the housing market,” says Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford. “And bizarrely they’re actually going to give an advantage to property investors and speculators.”

Housing is a deal-breaker. It is a major issue for young families and workers, it is a major issue for many of the boomer generation who are wondering if their children will ever own homes of their own.

First-time buyers are much better off under Labour’s policy settings. The only way to get them is to vote Left. Parties of the Left – take this issue and run hard!

48 comments on “A tale of two housing policies ”

  1. just saying 1

    Oh, there’s a surprise. Labour’s solution to the housing crisis is a nice gift (maybe worth $40,000, or three years of benefit moneies) to kids of the comfy for brand -spanking-new first homes. There will be more than a few that start their property portfolio with the help of the comfy middle class party’s pressie.

    But never mind. – there’s always the trickle-down. And doesn’t this policy provide wonderful opportunities for pissing all over the poor as they compete hunger-games style for the ptifully inadequate numbers of state or council homes, or to pay lum slords most of their meagre income for any kind of roof over their heads.

    And yes I know it is Labour policy to increase numbers of state houses – from inadequate to still utterly inadequate. And I’m sure social housing will be a reeaally high priority for thm. Not.

    • tracey 1.1

      What do you think the answer is? Serious question, not a dig.

      I dont have any faith in labour but I couldn’t see how the proposed change by RB is going to change housing affordability, at all. I admit I haven’t read widely on it though.

      • Pete 1.1.1

        Reinstate the State Advances Corporation. For a large chunk of the 20th century, they provided 95% mortgages. It worked, and it worked well.

        • Lightly 1.1.1.1

          the Greens’ Progressive Ownership is essentially State Advances (ie. the government passing on its low borrowing cost to first hme buyers) with the difference that the govt does the house building too for better planning, better quality. And, as its a shared equity scheme rather than a mortgage, there’s no default risk, no deposit needed.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1.1

            (ie. the government passing on its low borrowing cost to first hme buyers)

            The government doesn’t need to borrow and so shouldn’t. They can print the money and make it available at 0% interest.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.2

          Pete +1

          Also greatly increase the number of state houses, get rid of market rentals, and enable secure long term leases.

          Labour’s current proposals do not confront the trading banks fuelling the housing market with more and more debt on exactly the same house.

          It also does not confront the wealthy and the middle class investor types who are out there and own 8, 10+ houses themselves (or through their children, their trusts etc) as speculative investments.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.2.1

            Labour’s current proposals do not confront the trading banks fuelling the housing market with more and more debt on exactly the same house.

            Nope, they actually encourage the banks to increase lending thus putting NZ into ever more debt with the banks creaming it.

      • Tom 1.1.2

        The whole toolbox needs to be chucked at this issue.

        Remove incentives for professional landlord’s. All this does is encourage investors to buy up homes and bank on making a capital gain, while effectively paying no tax and having the interest and rates serviced. A CGT would go part way to addressing this, but IMO there are a range of other tax levers that need to be pulled together. Would be very unpopular in the investor community, but needs to be done. Currently, it can actually be cheaper to own a 90% lent, 3 bedroom house in Wellington with an aggressive repayment plan than it is to rent a similar house. This is outside of the social housing context, which could potentially be used more as a market balancer.

        Look at the supply side of housing. There is clearly a lack of supply in some areas. The kiwbuild programme, Greenfield development, intensification, and streamlining of consenting are all mechanisms that can address this. The lending criteria around new builds is also quite strict, there may be room offer a first-home programme that encourages new building to enable first home buyers to build (within limits of course). Same goes for apartments – banks wont lend more than 50% for either of these.

        Intensives to encourage occupants of prime family homes to sell and move to more appropriate homes. I recall a number of housing needs studies showing that there are a huge number of older single or couple occupants in 3-5 bedroom homes where the kinds have since moved on. Encouraging these people to move to a smaller, more appropriate house could potentially open up significant supply of the housing in the most demand.

        Look at whether anything can be done to incentivise migration to provincial NZ. has a degree of central planning about it, but are there opportunities to relocate some bigger govt operations to places like Hamilton, Palmerston North, Dunedin etc. Alternatively, are there tax levers or similar to encourage large employers to go there rather than place with massive housing pressure?

        My view is that there is no one single solution, it will take a concerted effort across a range of areas to truly make housing more affordable and accessible without leaving thousands of families badly overcapitalised.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.2.1

          Remove incentives for professional landlord’s. All this does is encourage investors to buy up homes and bank on making a capital gain, while effectively paying no tax and having the interest and rates serviced.

          I agree with you that the book needs to be thrown at the issue. On this specific point however I go with Steve Keen’s line: there needs to be incentives for professional landlords ie. those buying and holding property in order to gain a reasonable return through rental income, as opposed to property speculators who are looking to make their money through capital gains and simply rent out the property inbetween flipping it.

          • mikesh 1.1.2.1.1

            Agreed. There are still people who prefer to rent rather than buy, and these need to be catered for. I would think though that such professional landlords would need to be subject to licencing, and perhaps we should regulate so that renting out properties is illegal without a licence.

          • Rosetinted 1.1.2.1.2

            CV
            What bothers me is that the returns that some landlords want are based on the annual valuation of the house so that they want a certain percentage return on today’s inflated value and then another rise for next year’s valuation. If rates were set on the historical value plus maintenance and improvements it would be fairer to renters.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2.1.3

            I see no need for professional landlords. State housing could easily supply all the needed rentals and they could do it for cost because the government doesn’t need to get the money that it spent building the homes back.

      • Tinfoilhat 1.1.3

        A green led government.

      • Tinfoilhat 1.1.4

        A green led government.

        • Rosetinted 1.1.4.1

          Crripes Tinfoil. Government has three syllables. A bit advanced for you.

      • Follow-the-money 1.1.5

        Housing affordability need not just be linked to the price of houses. Getting our incomes up with coherent, successful export policies would help.

    • Rosetinted 1.2

      just saying
      You’re right about the likely reactions of the ‘comfy’ middle class. They can do well all right. Some I know can’t settle anywhere as they are constantly having wet dreams of the sort of house and property they could be in and sell up and move on. Very strange attitudes of these spoilt for choice young parents (who got considerable assistance from doting parents).

    • bad12 1.3

      Yes totally agree with you, Labour present to New Zealand a housing policy of,for and by the middle class while not really expressing one big fat f**k about the growing numbers of ‘less than middle class’ who will never even begin to ‘hope’ for home ownership,

      A % of those bright young things with their high earning tickets to the middle class, the uni degree, will go on to, like their parents befor them add to the problem of housing affordability by once gaining equity in the first property financed in part by the taxes of those who have only their labor to offer in this economy, become the landlords of the future,

      Thanks Labour for nothing, the Mene Mene’s of this world, poor manual working stiffs who cannot even begin to save for the deposit, bond, etc needed to get into a simple rental property will have the taxes they pay sucked up by the children of the middle class to pay for their home ownership,

      (Mene Mene is a manual worker featured on a couple of ‘Campbell Live’ programs, His wages and hours of work offered allowed Him his 3 children and His wife the ‘luxury’ of 1 room in an Auckland’ boarding house, there are 1000’s if not 10’s of 1000’s of Mene Mene’s who daily toil in our economy for the same pitiful result),

      This discussion has oft been aired here through the pages of the Standard and my view has hardened to where i see the Labour Party ‘KiwiBuild’ policy of shoehorning the children of the middle class into home ownership as a direct attack on those who are ‘less’ than middle class,

      Amidst this discussion we had then Labour Housing spokesperson Annette King at least conceding that perhaps Labour would need to look at the numbers as far as affordable Housing NZ rentals went, She got reshuffled into another portfolio and a resounding silence has emanated from Labour since,

      What will pull the ‘heat’ out of the Auckland housing market in particular is a serious, ongoing, sustained State House building program which simply takes away from the middle class the impetus to own second and third houses as rental property’s,

      Anything else is simply ‘class war’ waged against the poor, where the labour of the Mene Mene’s of the world is translated through the distribution of the very taxes the Mene Mene’s weekly toil to pay upward into ‘home ownership’ schemes by supposedly left wing Party’s that are soley focused upon the ‘needs’ of their own kind…

      • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1

        What will pull the ‘heat’ out of the Auckland housing market in particular is a serious, ongoing, sustained State House building program which simply takes away from the middle class the impetus to own second and third houses as rental property’s,

        Yep, the government should ensure that there is always a 2 to 3% over supply of housing at low, low rental.

  2. Bill 2

    I’d be quite happy to see some legislation that enabled the right to securely ‘rent for life’ with a private landlord…

    • Lanthanide 2.1

      Can’t see many landlords chomping at the bit for that one – they have everything to lose and nothing to gain from such an arrangement. If you have a good tenant that you want to keep on long term, there’s nothing stopping you from signing a 5 or 10 or x years lease as it is.

    • Colonial Viper 2.2

      Perhaps someone with knowledge of the European situation could explain a bit about how they do long term/life long leases over there.

      • Ant 2.2.1

        I know in a number of places it is heavily regulated, especially the apartment market – body corporates are extremely strict.

      • cricklewood 2.2.2

        I have a sister in law in Denmark who is renting out her Apartment, to get around the laws around long term tenancy she either rents to students or a fixed term contract which is just shy of the tripping point regarding long term occupation. Apparently it is a fairly common approach for those that are renting out a flat and don’t want to be stuck in a long term agreement which is governed by law.
        As with all these rules there are work arounds and unforseen consequences and generally In my experience a landlord doesn’t want to lose a good reliable tennant so will treat one well rather than risk changing tennant for an extra $20 a week

        • Rosetinted 2.2.2.1

          cricklewood
          I think a point you make about not wanting to lose good tenants, would really come into play if we could get wofs on tenanted properties so they couldn’t be left to deteriorate.

          In Australia some decades back there was a tv clip on a consumer channel where some agent would deduct all the bond for a few marks on the wall (despite most agreements allowing for fair wear and tear). So that sort of fanaticism would need to be prevented but money spent would keep good tenants, and good tenants would probably have longer tenancies at reasonable rates from reasonable landlords. Seems a great solution.

      • Rosetinted 2.2.3

        CV
        I would like to know how the Europeans deal with it. They go to the extent of sometimes signing a directive that is sort of an extended option that they will give first offer to somebody, and possibly this involves a payment. That is when someone desires a particular location. Also in Britain people have a long lease sometimes and decorate the place themselves except they can’t structurally alter it I think.

      • Colonial Viper 2.2.4

        Cheers for the info, all.

      • rosy 2.2.5

        Vienna – minimum rental contract is three years. Landlords like up to ten years but ours was negotiated down to 5 years. Rent controls are in place, generally below market rate – current yield in the inner city is 2-3 percent. Bonds are up to three months rent (so going in on NZ dollars required a loan however a nice little bonus for when we leave).

        There is high progressive tax on incomes earned from rents and progressive capital gains tax if the property is sold before 10 years.

        The city is heavily involved in subsiding in rentals, owning properties (220000 apartments) and ensuring housing large amounts of affordable housing is built by working with housing associations – from land acquisition and housing development design stage right through to rentals.

        Importantly, to keep up with housing needs and new ideas, Vienna has it’s own housing research department

        which aims to

        – Providing facts and argument for the housing policy of the City of Vienna,
        – Providing a medium-term data basis that can be updated at any time and may also be used as a basis for short-run detailed studies,
        – Providing a starting point for medium-term strategies of Austrian housing research institutes, broadening the future research community and enforcing competition among the research institutions.

        There are significant differences between the public and private housing markets, but potential investors are warned that legislation is tenant-friendly.

        Overall, the housing research department has noted that

        In an international comparison, household housing expenses as percentage of household income are low in Austria. With approx. 18% they clearly range below the EU average of approx. 23% (2010)

  3. bad12 3

    Looked at as a simple matter of numbers it is easy to see where home ownership became unaffordable,

    The seeds of this where sown by Governments 30 years ago, the growth of the New Zealand population from 3.3 million to 4.4 million in a 30 year period whilst the State stopped building State housing is the direct root cause of today’s ‘unaffordable home ownership’,

    For a population of 3.3 million we had 75,000 state houses, with a population of 4.4 million we now have only 67,000 state houses, numbers alone would suggest nay demand, that there be at least 100,000 state houses,

    So, being ‘light’ by 30,000 State houses has created demand in the economy for rental housing which the ‘middle class’ have gladly catered too,

    ‘Fixing’ home ownership for the middle class simply leaves the 10’s of 1000’s of low waged manual workers as the ‘victims’, unable to access affordable State Housing, never being able to even dream of home ownership, it is the low waged manual workers of our economy who will be truly paying for the likes of Labours Kiwibuild home ownership program through their taxes,

    In return it will be the low waged manual workers of our economy who will be trapped, paying rentals to the very people who created the supposed crisis in the first place, mere slaves to the middle class…

    • Rosetinted 3.1

      bad 12
      1960’s NZ – 3% loan with child payment capitalisation allowed for young families, up to a level of income and if one could earn more the loan became 5%. Nice houses. People settled and had their families and mowed their lawns and did their gardens and worked and looked after their children and had a life.

      Wasn’t all perfect, but what a good system with a government that worked for not against the population. Arguments there were in government and so on, but people weren’t abandoned to this shape up or ship out you scum mentality. How did a democracy get these shithouse rats we have now, and the others may be better-bred but still are rats.

  4. bad12 4

    In socio/economic terms whilst the population has grown from 3.3 million to 4.4 million and State housing slumped to a shadow of what the population statistics suggest it should be, 67,000 houses, the demographic, apparently irreversibly changed by ‘Rogernomics’, has also changed as far as the tenancy of the remaining State Housing stock is concerned,

    Up to the early years of the 70’s the majority of the State Housing stock was allocated (on the basis of need) to the low waged manual labour workforce, this demographic radically changed as the ‘restructuring’ (spit) of the economy built a new beneficiary class who then became ‘more’ in need of State housing then the previous manual workers,

    What is needed especially in places of high demand is a new model with which to operate the whole State Housing portfolio, which would see the number of State houses double in 30 years, a two tier system is needed where the current demographic of tenants are housed under the present system and a second tier system is gradually inserted into the mix where for every State House rented on specifically ‘social grounds’ there is a State House rented to a low waged working family at 25% of family income up to the market rent,

    Such a system would mean that in dollar terms the ‘low waged working tenants’ would be paying at ;least double what the beneficiary tenants pay, but both demographics paying 25% of income, thus the low waged working tenants would be providing the subsidy that Housing NZ currently garners via the general tax base, a simple self funding system of low cost rental housing…

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      there is a State House rented to a low waged working family at 25% of family income up to the market rent,

      Market rent for such low waged families is often 50 to 60% of income.

      • bad12 4.1.1

        Your comment stems from taking part of my previous comment out of it’s intended context, yes ‘market rents’ paid by those renting from the private sector is now often 50+% of wages,

        HousingNZ tho has always operated off of a different definition of ‘market rent’,

        The focus of my previous comment was on the demographic shift in the majority of HousingNZ tenancies from what used to be predominantly low waged workers to beneficiaries,

        This shift in the demographic has occurred within the same period of time as the population has grown by over 1 million and the HousingNZ rental stock has been reduced by 1000’s,

        In strict dollar terms as far as the Governments books are concerned this demographic shift has resulted in the direct government cash subsidy to HousingNZ reaching some 600 million dollars a year,

        My point is that HousingNZ is, in terms of efficient use of capital, is operating on an incorrect model, what is needed is a doubling of the HousingNZ rental portfolio where for every beneficiary housed under the terms of the social contract a low waged working family is also housed,

        Obviously, the low waged working families housed would pay 25% of their total income as rent just as the demographic of beneficiaries do, the difference being that the actual cash amount paid by the low waged working families would tend to be higher than that of beneficiaries thus creating a cross subsidy and dramatically lowering the amount of the direct cash injection from Governments on an annual basis…

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1

          Actually, I was just pointing out that low waged families would never pay market rent.

          HousingNZ tho has always operated off of a different definition of ‘market rent’,

          Then someone is lying.

          In strict dollar terms as far as the Governments books are concerned this demographic shift has resulted in the direct government cash subsidy to HousingNZ reaching some 600 million dollars a year,

          Which is a load of bollocks. Not getting the income is not giving a subsidy. Especially in the case of HousingNZ as that income just wouldn’t be there at all, instead we’d have even more homelessness.

          Obviously, the low waged working families housed would pay 25% of their total income as rent just as the demographic of beneficiaries do, the difference being that the actual cash amount paid by the low waged working families would tend to be higher than that of beneficiaries thus creating a cross subsidy and dramatically lowering the amount of the direct cash injection from Governments on an annual basis…

          Yep, I’m quite aware of that which is why I suggested it here. It’s the economists, the RWNJ and idiots on the left that want to get rid of all subsidies. I, on the other hand, realise that society only works because of those cross subsidies.

  5. Herodotus 5

    As an opponent to labours crap solution and that 100k houses to 1st time buyers was totally flawed ( there are not 10k new buyers pa potentially available to enter the market, I see r0b that this policy has been according to this post watered down to 10k new houses in total.(perhaps there is a typo ?)
    But don’t worry think of how govt intervention will be required when reality hits and a std house in the burbs is not worth $800k as currently especially on incomes of $50k pa. interest and rates commence to increase but hey 1% increase will only rest in $2-3k reduction in disposable incomes. Then the middle class will find out how close they really are to the poor.

  6. Phil 6

    One of the drivers of increased demand for housing is that we appear to be less and less willing to live with each other. It’s a trend that has been in place for 60 years.

    From StatsNZ :

    Because of the increasing number of smaller households, the average size of households is projected to slowly decline between 2006 and 2031, from 2.6 to 2.4 people per household. This continues the decline seen in recent decades, with the average household size falling from 3.7 people in 1951 and 3.0 people in 1981.

    http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/projections-overview/nat-family-hhold-proj.aspx

  7. AmaKiwi 7

    I usually agree with most of you fellow Lefties, but not this time.

    Two-thirds of every dollar you and your neighbour borrows on your credit card or for a mortgage is borrowed from an overseas lender. We cannot force them to keep lending to us (as we saw in 2008-2009).

    What happens if the NZD continues to go down and NZ unemployment rises? They will demand higher interest rates or they will not lend us the money which fuels our economy and property market. If interest rates continue to rise in the US and Germany, lenders will demand higher interest for the additional risk of lending to a tiny country which has not had a positive balance of payments in 30 YEARS. (An appalling record only matched in the OECD by Greece and our biggest trading partner, Australia.)

    We can’t print money. These lenders are not fools. They won’t want to be repaid in a debased currency.

    All the other get rich quick schemes have peaked and are going down: gold, bonds, shares, emerging markets, commodities, currencies, etc.

    The property balloon burst overseas in 2008-2009. Now it’s our turn and for exactly the same reasons.

    You can’t “fix” this problem. The pain has barely begun.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      What happens if the NZD continues to go down and NZ unemployment rises?

      We don’t need to lend foreign money – we just need the government to start creating our own and start lending it out at 0%.

      We can’t print money. These lenders are not fools. They won’t want to be repaid in a debased currency.

      The risk you take when you loan money is that you won’t get it back.

      You can’t “fix” this problem.

      Well, actually, we can. Will we be allowed to? That is the question and the banks don’t seem seem overly keen on the idea.

      EDIT: BTW, IMO, if the government took over the creation of NZ$, took that power away from the private banks and spent the money directly into the economy the NZ$ wouldn’t debase. I think it’s value would actually increase.

      • AmaKiwi 7.1.1

        “We don’t need to lend foreign money – we just need the government to start creating our own and start lending it out at 0%.”

        Effectively you go back to the pre-float days when the NZD was not internationally exchangeable.

        Then the government decided who could and who could not buy foreign currency to buy goods and services from overseas. I don’t remember those days, but some of my older relatives do.

        Ask the “old folks” what it was like when there were NO choices about the brands of consumer goods available in our stores. Ask them about how they were could not travel abroad because they had to show their airline ticket at the bank and then were allowed to buy some paltry sum of foreign currency ($50 in today’s money) for each day they would be overseas.

        Yes, it can be done. But is that the world you and your friends want again?

        • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1.1

          Effectively you go back to the pre-float days when the NZD was not internationally exchangeable.

          Why? There really is no need to do that.

          Ask the “old folks” what it was like when there were NO choices about the brands of consumer goods available in our stores.

          Why would there be no choice?

          • AmaKiwi 7.1.1.1.1

            @ Draco

            If we print limitless amounts of NZ dollars, please explain to me why a foreign lender would want them? Why wouldn’t this be hyper-inflation? Toyota wants to be paid in Yen, Boeing in USD, etc. Why would they want to be paid in Monopoly money?

            Regarding consumer choices: Rather than a lengthy explanation (which would be perfectly logical), please ASK older people what shopping was like when the NZD was not internationally exchangeable. ASK.

            • Murray Olsen 7.1.1.1.1.1

              I remember those days. It was hard to buy a new car, chickens from the butcher tasted really good, we had a roast every Sunday, fresh eggs, there were plenty of fish in the sea, people would stop to offer you a lift, you had to chase horses and pigs off the footy field before a game, we only locked the house if we went away on holiday, which we managed once a year, and we only had about 4 types of cheese. On the other hand, society was probably almost as racist as today, and gay bashers were open and proud, while young women seemed to mysteriously put on weight and then disappear for a couple of months.

              Consumer choice? I don’t remember wanting anything that wasn’t available.

        • mikesh 7.1.1.2

          “Then the government decided who could and who could not buy foreign currency to buy goods and services from overseas. I don’t remember those days, but some of my older relatives do.”

          Not necessarily. The banks would still buy and sell overseas currencies. In the old days the government controlled the buying and selling of overseas exchange because of the need to maintain the value of the local currency, in accordance with its Bretton Woods undertakings.

          • AmaKiwi 7.1.1.2.1

            Hyperinflation. If the government prints limitless amounts of NZD, how do you avoid hyperinflation?

            Have you ever been in a country with hyperinflation? I have. It is economic devastation.

            • mikesh 7.1.1.2.1.1

              Why would the government print “unlimited” amounts of NZD? What is wrong with it producing just some NZD, without overdoing it? You seem to be setting up a straw man.

  8. Sable 8

    This is what happens when you give a bunch of academic dick heads with Masters and PhD’s in economics the opportunity to actively get involved in an economy. Send them back work in universities and let the economy look after itself.

  9. Rosetinted 9

    Good news if the Dunedin City Council introduce wofs annually inspected rental places. It could cost $500 and might get added to the rental. So? At least landlords would be expected to meet their already legally demanded obligations.

    The property owners spokesperson doesn’t want it and managed to produce the usual confusing and diminishing arguments – scorn on its stupid uselessness – the wof was going to cover whether there were taps for instance. And made the argument that it was unnecessary because of that. He even said it was demeaning to the tenants who could check that themselves.

    And made a point that instead of this wof there should be one aspect of it concentrated on – insulation etc. (Dunedin has decided that there are too many cold and damp tenancies with uni students too often being offered substandard ones.) Of course warm dry places would be a major, but not the only, part of the wof.

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    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    16 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    17 hours ago
  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    18 hours ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    1 day ago
  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    1 day ago
  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago
  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    1 day ago
  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    1 day ago
  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    1 day ago
  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    1 day ago
  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    1 day ago
  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    2 days ago
  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic plan, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago
  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    3 days ago
  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    3 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    3 days ago
  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    4 days ago
  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    5 days ago
  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago
  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    6 days ago
  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    7 days ago
  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago
  • Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére Sosou Market gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
    1 week ago
  • At a time of media turmoil, Melissa had nothing to proclaim as Minister – and now she has been dem...
    Buzz from the Beehive   Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
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