Australian fires and the climate crisis everybody wanted to ignore

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, January 7th, 2020 - 51 comments
Categories: australian politics, climate change, Environment, International, science - Tags: , , , , ,

The start of 2020 has been a truely horrible one for Australia. The fires that are sweeping the country have been wreaking havoc. Currently more than 20 people have lost their lives and hundreds more have lost their homes and possessions. In the state of New South Wales its estimated that over half a billion animals have perished in the blaze. 

Image result for australian fires kangaroo

Fires across Australia have caused over $4 billion Australian dollars in damage. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come under considerable fire over his response to this national emergency. He has been criticised for being slow to return from his family vacation in Hawaii, and generally for his government not showing adequate support to those impacted by the fire. 

Image result for scott morrison meeting fire victims

Australian PM is not he’s not Welcome by bush fire victims.

There is no question that Scott Morrison’s response and leadership during this national emergency has been weak. But the abysmal response of the Australian Government to this issue predates Morrison’s leadership of the country.

Few sane people would dispute that climate change is a significant factor for the fires in Australia. Those who have warned about the consequences of human created climate change have warned for many years that events like this will be the result. Yet Australia has had a long history of denying the looming climate catastrophe. Scott Morrison’s government was re-elected in May 2019 with a very weak climate change policy. With some parallels to the recent UK General election, where I blogged about Boris Johnson’s weak leadership on the Climate Crisis, Scott Morrison and his government has been poor on this issue. But this is nothing new.

Back in the late 1990s, the Liberal Government led by John Howard refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty aiming to reduce carbon emissions. In 2007 there was a glimpse of hope that Australia would start to take this issue seriously. That year Australia elected Kevin Rudd’s Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the federal government elections. The ALP stood on a policy of tackling climate change. The situation seemed even more hopeful when in 2009 the Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull came out in support of the ALP’s proposed Mining tax.

But then came Tony Abbott. Tony has been a longstanding climate change denier. He recently made a speech in Israel claiming the world was in the “grip of a climate cult”, while his country burns. Tony successfully rolled Turnbull as Opposition Leader, and changed the Liberal Party policy to oppose the governments mining tax. The Liberals shot up in the polls, the ALP got the spooked and abandoned the policy. Shortly after Rudd was replaced by Julia Gillard, Australia’s first and only women PM. Gillard was very narrowly reelected in 2010 but relied on independent MPs in parliament for numbers. In 2013 Kevin Rudd once again became PM, briefly, before losing the election to Tony Abbott. 

Abbott only served two years as PM, before he was rolled by Malcom Turnbull. As PM Turnbull was more moderate in some policy areas than the rabid Tony Abbott. But on climate change he knew he didn’t have the numbers in his party to push for any significant policy change. By 2018, having only narrowly won the 2016 election and consistently polled badly thereafter, Turnbull was replaced by Scott Morrison. Scott’s backers were the same people who’d backed Abbott, thus action on climate change was out of the question.

Mining companies have considerable power in Australia. They also have a truck tonne of money. According to Forbes Magazine Australia richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart is worth $15.5 Billion US. According to the Minerals Council of Australia mining is worth 198 billion to the Australian economy and accounts for 54% of the country’s GDP. Thousands in Australia depend on mining jobs for their livelihood. Many more live in communities that rely on the mining industry. 

Mining companies put considerable time and resource into lobbying the Australian Government on policies that impact on their industry. They spent millions and worked overtime to oppose the mining tax in 2009. Politicians are scared of the mining sector. And recent history shows that those who serve their interests fare well in Australian politics. Also the voting public are influenced by what the mining sector say. Specifically they get concerned when mining companies and their political representatives say there could be job losses if mining companies are taxed or regulated. These messages impact how people think, and how they vote. 

Most Australians and their politicians realise the climate change is real. But it’s been easier and more convenient to face up to the reality of the climate crisis. It’s easier to believe that the environmentalists are exaggerating. It’s convenient to believe scientific evidence is not conclusive regarding human activity causing climate change, when actually the evidence overwhelmingly concludes that it is. So Australia continues to do nothing about climate change. And now the country is going up in flames.

The fall out of these fires will be significant for Australia. For a number of communities their lives are now turned upside down, and many have lost everything. The fires will take weeks if not months to put out. The rebuild and recovery will take could take years. The environmental impacts of these fires will be devastating. Many animal habitats and forests may never recover. Politically, Scott Morrison and his government has taken a big hit over the fires. He may survive, he may not. But ultimately thats not important. What is important is that climate change has caused this crisis. And unless Australia and other developed nations take action on this issue – events like the Australian fires will become more and more common. 

51 comments on “Australian fires and the climate crisis everybody wanted to ignore ”

  1. RedLogix 1

    That year Australia elected Kevin Rudd’s Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the federal government elections. The ALP stood on a policy of tackling climate change. The situation seemed even more hopeful when in 2009 the Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull came out in support of the ALP’s proposed Mining tax.

    A good potted history, but glosses over exactly what went wrong at that critical moment when a bipartisan agreement was all but finalised. Here is a good read on the issues in play at that moment.

    https://newmatilda.com/2014/08/21/politics-carbon-and-price-doing-whats-right/

    Ultimately the Australian Greens hung Kevin Rudd out to dry. In one sense, and the link above makes this clear, they had good reason to argue Rudd's carbon pricing scheme was not good enough. But it was achievable and had bipartisan support, a support that would have taken the polarisation out of the debate and paved the way for better reform in the following years.

    Instead we have the rest of the sorry saga … five Prime Ministers in ten years. All of them fatally wounded at some point by the CC debate. Has anyone noticed yet that changing PM's doesn't reduce fossil fuel emissions?

    By contrast the NZ Greens seem to have learned the salient lesson and Shaw's commendable approach is taking us in the right direction.

  2. Cricklewood 2

    Been interesting reading about the dipole which influences so much of the weather in Aus and that its the strongest in 6 decades.

    It doesnt seem to have been covered all that much given its actually the major driver of why this fire season is so bad.

    With climate change they think that the extreme dipole events are likely every 6 years rather than 17 which is the more traditional cycle.

    • soddenleaf 2.1

      Would have thought it would continue to speed up. It's like a swing, keep adding co2 and the seat gets higher and higher. The shift from 17 to 6 can be argued to be a change in the climate system, transition. Not, the first, if we continue to force the climate with yet more co2. The fires in oz, and elsewhere, have chilled the air as dust scatters the sunlight back out into space. This can be regarded as akin to us using up a break pad, burn out. If the plant fuel does grow back it'll take a decade before the next big fire. So how will globe cool next? How many more back stops are available to the earth to slow the heating? before out gasing tundra, or some other unforeseeable…. …it's plain frog in heating kettle. We aren't going to do anything until it's definitive and that's too late, it's call momentum, keep pressing harder and harder on the gas and the car breaks burnout, and then the terrain changes, your at the top of a warming tundra. oops. too later.

    • lprent 2.2

      It is a double whammy. Not just the Indian Ocean Dipole which (as it often does) flipped its direction and started pumping warm dry air into aussie, but also the Southern Annular wind system (usually known as SAM).

      That also flipped its direction, probably in response to the very rare Sudden Stratospheric Warming and broke the tight vortex around Antarctica. We have cold air blocks much further north than usual, and it looks like the associated jetstreams aren't moving their oscillations, instead they're getting stuck in place. This is something that happens several times a decade around the Northern pole. Not so much here. But it looks like it is working its way up into much higher variability patterns due to extra accumulated energy as east Antarctica warms up.

      That pattern is why our summer has been pretty shit this years (especially in Invercargill where I 'holidayed'). Right down to the unseasonable Auckland winds that are trying to push me off my e-bike today.. We’ve in the colder part of the wind belt and more on the edge up this end of the country.

      The effect on Aussie has been somewhat different. The cold air winds from Antarctica are just below the continent and is effectively holding the hot dry air from the Indian Ocean in place. That is what is slowly barbequing the country. Every so often a blob of low level hot air breaks free and manages to hit somewhere in NZ – happened in Invercargill on the 31st – had a high of 27C on the day we left the 12C-16C summer days behind.

      There is another hotspot well out of our east coast – but out over the ocean, so less of a problem (unless it starts spawning typhoons).

      But to my eye while this is current emergency is a coincidental confluence of weather/climate events. The problem for aussie (and us) is that with increasing energy in the climate and weather, these kinds of extreme events are going to get more frequent – and also more likely to coincide with unfortunate outcomes. More frequent droughts, fires, massive rain, typhoons, and snow as air masses get more energy to move with.

      It will also generate more pitiful excuses by idiotic people trying to blame everything else like ‘greenies’ (yeah right – like they get policy decision in aussie), government funding decisions, that more people are farting in church, and anything else their hypocritical minds can generate….

  3. RedLogix 3

    This isn't over. And just north of the red circle is a small little town called Tumbarrumba I lived in for almost six months back in 2003. A place I grew rather fond of and almost settled in permanently.

  4. Ad 4

    I hate to mention market forces on a leftie site, but when you concentrate people's minds on property there's one market that is well in advance of anything the Federal government is getting together.

    By that I mean: insurance.

    As ever, the insurance industry is already calculating premiums which factor in all known climate change risks to property.

    Within this article is a set of scenarios for each main Australian capital city, showing how premiums change, suburb by suburb, through to 2100.

    For example by the year 2011 2100, Sydney will have 91,000 homes that are uninsurable.

    The article has an interactive that breaks down the major cities suburb by suburb.

    Anything near a river, near a flat bit of coast, anything on the hills with forest.

    Whole towns like Burke, Nyngan, and Cunnamulla: uninsurable.

    Huge swathes of the Gold Coast like Palm Beach and Broadbeach Waters: uninsurable.

    Sunshine Coast: 40,000 homes uninsurable.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-23/the-suburbs-facing-rising-insurance-costs-from-climate-risk/11624108

    The data that has gone into the analysis covers five hazards: coastal inundation, riverine flooding, bushfire, extreme winds and soil subsidence caused by drought drying out clay soils and causing them to crack or shift, damaging to building foundations.

    The model combines climate change projections with:

    1. Information about the specific location, such as flood mapping and depths, elevation above sea level, soil type, and forest cover; and
    2. Data on the assumed building at that address, such as age, construction materials and design.

    This is then used to calculate the probability of property damage from climate change and extreme weather for every address in Australia.

    In the ensuing recovery packages and reviews and commissions, insurance premiums and uninsurability need to be a strong focus.

    [lprent: 2011? Oh 2100 – correcting. ]

    • pat 4.2

      "In the ensuing recovery packages and reviews and commissions, insurance premiums and uninsurability need to be a strong focus"

      And that would be good advice for NZ as well…..with risk based pricing now the norm it has the potential to undermine the whole model of spreading risk ….as premiums increase and locations priced out the pool will decrease creating a negative feedback loop.

      It is difficult to see how the house of cards can remain standing

      • AB 4.2.1

        "it has the potential to undermine the whole model of spreading risk "

        And that is the whole problem of relying on the insurance industry to drive action on CC. It individuates risk, and ultimately it will individuate harm. Sooner or later the owners of uninsurable homes will suffer a catastrophe (fire, flood, storm) and be wiped out financially. Are we going to have a roving internal population of the destitute, who are then herded into refugee/internment camps so as not to offend the sensibilities of the still financially secure? Are we going to let the devil take the hindmost – or mobilise the entire wealth of the country (which was created collectively but appropriated individually in a bizarrely disproportionate manner) to fund a just transition?

        • pat 4.2.1.1

          Collective action re insurance is problematic….it operates in the same reinsurance market as the private insurers

          Expecting a positive outcome with public cover has been well disproved by EQC

  5. Anne 6

    And just to accentuate the point about CC cretins in the Australian government:

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/07/craig-kelly-interview-piers-morgan-calls-mp-disgraceful-for-denying-climate-link-to-bushfires

    Calls a female meteorologist with PHDs in Physics and Meteorology plus years of practical forecasting experience:

    "Just a weather girl and has no idea what she is talking about".

    • John Clover 6.1

      She is obviously just jumping on the current fad of CC as seemingly the author of this thread.

      • RedLogix 6.1.1

        Well she has a degree in meterology, and has worked in the field for almost a decade.

        And you? What competency are you bringing to this debate …

        • John Clover 6.1.1.1

          None that people would recognise and I was just expressing my opinion based on what I have read in connection with this event mainly from this thread and radio rerports. as I read further down this page you seem to have a lot of experience which I respect and I think Anne's infor adds to the picture.
          I do not tjhik ‘Trust’ comes into it. It was my opinion based on my experience of life.

          • RedLogix 6.1.1.1.1

            Accepted. I've no problem with people expressing honest opinions in good faith … that's what sites like this are for. yes

          • Anne 6.1.1.1.2

            Yes, I accept your explanation too John Clover. We have a number of smart-arses who come here and try to undermine well thought out comments and I thought you were one of them. My apologies.

      • Anne 6.1.2

        Laura Tobin:

        Yes I’m a Meteorologist
        -A degree in Physics & Meteorology
        -4 yrs as an aviation forecaster at the RAF
        -12 yrs as a broadcast meteorologist
        -Attended a @WMO Climate course last year & upto date with all the science.

        You know who I trust? Not you John Clover.

        Our very own weather boy, Dan Corbett was originally a senior meteorologist in Britain with a list of impressive scientific credentials. But yes, I suppose he's only an ignorant weather boy in John-boy's eyes cos John-boy knows it all.

        • RedLogix 6.1.2.1

          Thanks for adding the details Anne … it took some courage and capability to speak out like that. Laura Tobin nailed it.

          In the meantime Craig Kelly made such a fool of himself it looks like even his own party couldn't stomach it … and he's apologised. Sort of.

  6. Jackel 7

    Australia, maybe when you've had a few of your own people burned alive until death by Mother Nature, you might want to have a look at your climate change policy.

    • RedLogix 7.1

      This comment is a bit shitty imo. Bushfires have killed at least 20 people this season. Nor has it much to do with CC; fires have killed at least 800 people since records have been kept in 1851.

      After the 2009 Black Saturday event which killed 180, it was realised the sheer intensity of these canopy fires meant that the old practice of 'stay and defend' was no longer working. In places like Kingslake and Marysville with very limited roads in and out it was suicide. Now the modern practice is to evacuate as the first choice. This has saved hundreds of lives in the past few weeks.

  7. infused 8

    majority were lit by humans.

    lots of this has been caused by bills stopping the removal of bush which caused the fires to spread.

    this needs to happen every now and then for certain trees to spread their seeds.

    fuck all media are reporting this though except a couple

    cLiMATe ChANgE!!

    yeah no

    • Leapy 8.1

      I think infused post hits a 10 out of 10 for getting as many CC denier tropes in the shortest amount of space.

      Some of what you say is based in reality, but CC is still driving the ever worsening of the fires year on year and that is pretty incontravertible according to the scientists.

      • infused 8.1.1

        bullshit. it was state this was pretty much the same as the big fires in 1890 or 1900

        also im not denying it. in this instance its been hijacked for political purposes. your blind if you cant see that

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.1

          Yes Australia has had bad fire seasons … well since forever. There have been at least five in the past century. The stats on them look impressive, but in terms of lives and homes lost what has comparatively changed is the RFS organisation is now a nationwide organisation with far better communications, equipment and skills at managing these events.

          While similar events in the past have killed hundreds, this season it's only 20 so far. While the loss of homes has numbered up to a thousand or so … this year they've lost around 2,000 but have saved over 10,000. That's a remarkable number that reflects access to water bombing and suppression from the air, and the ability to insert ground crews at critical locations without undue risk. Satellite images give planners unprecedented detail and modern communications get reliable real-time information back to the commanders. None of that was readily possible in the past.

          Making comparisons with past events isn't simple, each event has it's unique character. But what is utterly beyond all dispute … 2019 has started early, threatens to go on for at least another few months and has so far devastated an area vastly greater than ever before.

        • Psycho Milt 8.1.1.2

          also im not denying it.

          Funny how many of the people running denier lines claim not to be doing it. It's almost like they know it's a bad thing…

          • infused 8.1.1.2.1

            you need to learn to read.

            • weka 8.1.1.2.1.1

              Climate denial comes in a range of forms now. It's not hard to say, the fires are driven by CC, and there are also serious issues with arson and fuel reduction burns. People focusing on arson and fuel reduction burns and having a problem with people pointing to CC come across as not wanting to talk about CC. That's a form of denial. The onus is on commenters to make clear their own meaning.

            • RedLogix 8.1.1.2.1.2

              Bushfires are a complex thing. What triggers them, and how they spread have many factors involved.

              Whether any given fire is started by lightening, accident or arson has little bearing on what happens next. How the fire spreads depends on fuel load, topography, wind, temperature, humidity and moisture levels.

              (Incidentally arson is reasonably well understood, The RFS has a team of around 150 specialists who are skilled at determining why a fire starts and tracking down any culprits. It's not that easy to light a fire and get away with it, especially if you're doing it often … you will get caught.)

              The scale and intensity of these fires is absolutely related to CC. Every expert in the field is saying this. It's driving down moisture levels, driving up intense heatwaves, and making controlled burnoffs increasingly difficult to perform safely. That some areas have failed to contain fuel loads also relates to high risk to homes, infrastructure and cuts to RFS funding.

              All the actual conservationists I am aware of support fuel reduction burns because they know it reduces harm to flora and fauna. Everyone knows Australia burns … it's just a question of how bad. The factors relating to CC however are pushing them toward intolerable; pretending this year's season is somehow 'normal' simply denies this fact.

    • RedLogix 8.2

      lots of this has been caused by bills stopping the removal of bush which caused the fires to spread.

      Maybe you should ask the Australians actually fighting the fires.

      What is called 'cultural burning' can be quite effective, but it too has it limits. Once hot winds start firestorms in the tree canopy, with vast pyrocumulus clouds and destructive rotating winds driving fire like a freight train, any past fuel reductions at ground level become irrelevant.

      As for the Greenies stopping fuel load reduction … yeah nah.

    • John Clover 8.3

      Climate change may or may not be having some effect but the carelessness of Aussi politicians in stopping the clearing of undergrowth and tree droppings is a major cause towards the severity of Aussie's problem…. their own fault and likely we will have to pay through increased insurance premiums as usual …. B' aussies twits. cheeky

      • infused 8.3.1

        it was the same issue in California. and 3rhe rich dickheads shoving their mansions in the middle of it all and planting all around it

      • RedLogix 8.3.2

        Another person who needs to listen to the people on the ground. When it comes to climate change nothing is as simple as you imagine.

        The Aboriginal people managed the landscape for thousands of years with controlled cool burning. And even the Europeans have understood this, I've driven past more than a few controlled burn-offs in the past six years.

        But controlled burns work by constraining the fire to ground level, that only works when it's not only cool, but damp enough to prevent the fire from getting out of control. Which it can easily do. However extended droughts, very low moisture levels are dramatically reducing the window of opportunity to safely do this. It doesn't help that the current Liberal govt persists in reducing funding to the RFS services … and fuel load reduction doesn't happen for free.

        Also the Aboriginals didn't have large amounts of building and infrastructure in and near the bush to contend with. If they got it wrong, they could just walk upwind to safety and wait. Modern Australians don't have that option.

        But while fuel load reduction helps a lot, it has it's limits. When CC driven conditions cause intense dry, hot winds with temperatures in the high 40's driving out of a baking outback, to collide with the volatile eucaplypt oils … the resulting crown fires, leaping hundreds of metres at a time renders any ground level fuel reductions irrelevant.

        • Anne 8.3.2.1

          Redlogix, I fear you are wasting your time explaining the nuts and bolts to these deniers. It goes in one ear and straight out the other. In fact I doubt it even gets past the in-ear because there needs to be a brain of reasonable capacity inside that can process the information in the first place.

          • RedLogix 8.3.2.1.1

            You are probably right … but then the other options are to either variously mock or attack them, or remain silent. I don't think either of those choices help much either. I want to look back and think that I did my best to work through this issue.

            The problem is not so much brain capacity … most CC deniers are not fools. It's that they process and value information differently. Bridging that gap isn't easy or obvious … work in progress. 🙂

        • WeTheBleeple 8.3.2.2

          One Firey describing a canopy fire coming at 80 km an hour while raining fire. Completely untenable to stand and fight. Any ground matter just means fire sticks around a bit longer with fuel on the ground in such circumstances. The life and property devouring beast has already passed. Visibility as the fire approaches is near zero – zero in many reports. Wind blowing the smoke in before the fire hits.

          Here's a young lady and her bloke. She's trying to film an upbeat new years vlog as the shit hit the fan. Startling. An hour long but so much of note. Everything becomes broken very fast. Be assured it is not disaster porn – just a startling documentary.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzR1iBIttXU

    • That_guy 8.4

      Hey look! It's an irrelevant person spouting provable lies.

    • Macro 8.5

      majority were lit by humans.

      Bullshit.

      Victoria police say there is no evidence any of the devastating bushfires in the state were caused by arson, contrary to the spread of global disinformation exaggerating arsonist arrests during the current crisis.

      https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/08/police-contradict-claims-spread-online-exaggerating-arsons-role-in-australian-bushfires

    • halfcrown 8.6

      You are right Infused, you are always going to get the brain dead nutter who will light fires for fun

      However, Scotty from Marketing and the right wing government have not helped the situation by REDUCING the budget for the RFS by 75%, the same way Boris Johnson reduced the budget for the London Fire Brigade and allowed flammable cladding on towers like Grenfell Tower. We all know what a rightwing clusterfuck that was. Soon forgotten or hushed up by the right wing media.

      Also, I understand that the Fire Service of Australia proposed a national air fleet of tankers for the whole country. This was rejected by the right wing government saying it is up to the individual states to supply their own fire services. In other words, the same way Bo-Jo said to The London Fire Brigade, fuck off there are more important things to consider like less tax to pay by the likes of Murdock and Rinehart or any other parasitical 1 percenter.

      I grieve over these people who have lost everything and the tragic loss of life, plus the massive loss of wildlife some gone forever. All thanks to the fucking greed by the right.

      Bush fires are not preventable naturally lit or deliberately lit, but what could be preventable is the scale of damaged done by having more resources allocated NOT reduced.

  8. Sabine 9

    Has anyone found any data on the numbers of people homeless? Businesses lost? And so forth?

    How will the OZ government house these people, school the kids, provide access to benefits, and such?

    Health benefits for those suffering from living in smog, living with post traumatic stress disorder, etc.

    Might be good for NZ to look at how they handle the aftermath of the fires.

    • That_guy 9.1

      Bill Shorten got hauled over the coals… sorry, bad choice of words…put on the rack by the Murdoch media about how much his policies might have cost. Would love to see ScoMo get the same treatment over how much his lazy response to a national disaster did cost. And how much his lack of climate policy is going to cost.

  9. RedLogix 10

    Claire Lehmann has just posted a lead article that gets the Australian climate story note perfect:

    So what are Australians to do? Firstly, we need to depoliticise the issue of climate change. It should not be considered a “left-wing” issue, and the overwhelming evidence indicating the reality of anthropogenic climate change needs to be decoupled from moral arguments in favour of proposed solutions. It should be recognized that fair-minded and reasonable people can agree with the reality of climate change, while disagreeing about the best way to tackle it.

    https://quillette.com/2020/01/08/lessons-from-australias-bushfires-we-need-more-science-less-rhetoric/

    Absolutely every point she makes here nails it concisely and with precision. And this from an author most people here would dismiss as a ‘conservative’.

  10. Pingao 11

    For anyone interested in wildland fire or the history of humans and fire, I can recommend pretty much anything by environmental historian Stephen Pyne. I came across his books "Vestal Fire" and "Introduction to Wildland Fire" back in my university days and the first book was a real eye-opener to me. I am going to track down two of his books about fire in Australia "The Burning Bush" and "The Still-burning Bush".

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_J._Pyne

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    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 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
    10 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
    12 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
    24 hours 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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 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
    6 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
    8 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
    8 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
    22 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
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