Battlers vs billion dollar banks

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 pm, April 21st, 2010 - 33 comments
Categories: business, capitalism, monetary policy, Unions, workers' rights - Tags: ,

The New Zealand banking sector made a tax-paid profit of $1.05 billion in the most recently reported quarter. That is a huge amount of money. It’s over $11 million a day or $479,000 an hour – 24/7.

The result is all the more remarkable when you consider that it is a near reversal of their performance in the previous quarter, when they reported a combined loss of $1.2 billion. That loss was the result of the banks having to pay the IRD over $2.1 billion in back taxes after the high court found some of them had committed tax avoidance.

If that wasn’t enough the massive profit was recorded in some of the worst economic circumstances in a generation. Unemployment has hit a 10 year high; many workers have been forced into accepting wage freezes or cuts; the banks cost of wholesale credit has increased etc etc.

So they have done extraordinarily well given the circumstances.

But despite this massive profit would you say that your experience of banks has improved? Have your fees gone down? Has your mortgage payment become more manageable? Is your bank offering you new and better services? Are there enough staff in your local branch? Do you even have a local branch?

The New Zealand finance workers union Finsec has teamed up with our Australian counterparts, the FSU to run a Trans-Tasman campaign for Better Banking that is calling into question the whole way that banks operate down under.

We’re asking bank customers to take a few minutes to complete a survey in which we look at some of the key issues of our campaign such as:

  • The costs of fees charged and interest on debt and the way debt is sold, even to customers who can’t necessarily afford to repay
  • Banks increasing the interest rate margins customers pay
  • How our banks have cut costs in ways harmful to New Zealand (such as through offshoring of jobs) when their profits were increasing

We’ve tried to push the New Zealand government to adopt measures that would increase public accountability in our banking system, but have found the National government in particular to be on the side of the banks rather than on the side of customers.

So we’re working on both sides of the Tasman and hope that the views of the public will push the Australian and New Zealand Government’s to  lends a more sympathetic ear. The more people who fill in the survey the more chance we have to win the changes we all deserve.

Andrew Campbell

Finsec Campaigns Director

33 comments on “Battlers vs billion dollar banks ”

  1. gingercrush 1

    That was a slightly strange survey. I love my bank and I think we should be rather thankful for our banking institutions. Considering what happened elsewhere etc.

    BTW many of us use multiple banks therefore I found it frustrating that the survey didn’t accommodate those who use multiple banks. (Though I guess I could use a proxy to do the survey twice)

    • felix 1.1

      Me too. I’m a customer of two banks, one of which I find friendly, helpful, and reasonable with the fees (guess which one). The other bank are a bunch of ungodly bastards with whom every dealing is an expensive test of my patience.

      I could have taken the survey twice and given almost opposite answers.

  2. Jenny 2

    Make the banks pay

    Join the campaign

    http://www.badbanks.co.nz/

  3. tsmithfield 3

    “The New Zealand banking sector made a tax-paid profit of $1.05 billion in the most recently reported quarter. That is a huge amount of money. It’s over $11 million a day or $479,000 an hour 24/7.”

    What you are saying is: Shock, horror, this is a huge figure and much too much for one business sector to be making.

    On what basis do you make this claim? How much has been invested to generate this profit? Remember, banks, as with other businesses, are taking risks with not only their money, but also with the money of their depositors, who can be average NZ families. Therefore, they need to make enough profit to justify putting the money of their investors (including average NZ families) at risk.

    If they can only make enough profit on what has been invested to justify a low risk, then they won’t be lending money out to risky endevours such as lending to small businesses, or you and me . They will stick to the safest investments they can find. Not too good for growing the economy though, is it?

    So try and put a bit more context to your figures rather than trying to shock and awe with big numbers.

    What is the return on investment?
    What is a justifiable return to considering the risks involved in doing business?

    Then I might find the article a bit more interesting.

    • Bored 3.1

      TS,

      I dont think the numbers per se shock, nor does the return on investment or justified returns on risk. What is contentious is the manner in which the banks treat the standard deposit holder (i.e you and me). We probably resent banks because:
      1. They as demonstrated can treat us however they like with charges we cannot influence except by going elsewhere in which case we get copy cat cartel response.
      2. They dont actually bear risks when the crunch happens….they socialise them, and as happened during the recent crash they do this at the expense of the taxpayer.
      3. They create money (fractional banking) out of thin air in our name.

      When the Papacy banned usuary banks could not be run by Christians if they wanted to go to heaven, it was seen as evil. The reason for this viewpoint is still evident in the action of banks. Further the Pope understood the challenge that money would have to the spiritual world in temporal behavoirs. It would seem to me that the Papacy was correct in outlawing usuary. Do not however confuse this ban with commercial practices demanding a return, these were merely tied to the material as opposed to ephemeral (money). There may be some historic echo in how we see banks five hundred years later.

      What I am getting at is that when we see the banks as usurious, they dont dissappoint. My answer is to socialise the usuary, we the citizens should own the banks, the right to create money in our own name, and control of our own currencies.

      • Jared 3.1.1

        Pet peeve. Our BANKS in New Zealand didn’t ask for a hand out, the Finance Companies didn’t either, the Labour Government in an attempt to provide stability in the market introduced the Deposits Guarantee Scheme, but you must remember our banking system is in far better shape than the American banks people love to chastise for wanting a hand out.

        Also, I don’t agree with the nationalisation of all banks. Having commercial banks outside the control of the state provide a competitive environment that works for customers. I work for Kiwibank but bank with Asb, why? because Kiwibank branches are still located in NZPost outlets rather than real branches. I prefer going to an Asb Branch and talk to someone whose job is banking, not sending letters. Also, the fees situation has changed remarkably in the last couple of months, most banks have removed substantial fees like dishonoured AP charges. So your assertion that it is a cartel response to charges is incorrect, they are very competitive with each other.

        • Bored 3.1.1.1

          Jared, You are right our banks did not ask for a hand out. The government then as I recall put in place the deposits and loans guarantee scheme specifically because of fear that the international banks might fail and our banks suffer the knock on effects. And you cannot deny that the taxpayer worldwide bailed out the international finance system, especially Wall St.

          My experience of banks as a customer for 50 years tends to confirm my assertion that with regard to charges banks act in concert, lets just call it aped behavoir as opposed to cartel. Where one leads the others follow for better or worse as far as the customer goes. When the customer benefits you can tell that the banks are having issues of competitveness. I do however like banks that treat you as a person and customer, pretty rare now.

          On the nationalisation front I dont care what markets do, no bank except the bank of the last resort i.e you and me ( as demonstrated by the US bail outs which were tax payer guaranteed) should be able to create money in my name or yours. To do so forces us, the citizenry onto the wrong side of the golden rule (he who makes the gold makes the rules). Bankers should be the servant of the people, not their lords.

    • Clarke 3.2

      ts, it might be helpful if you did a little bit of research on how credit is created in a modern economy, as it would help you to avoid basic errors such as this one:

      How much has been invested to generate this profit? Remember, banks, as with other businesses, are taking risks with not only their money, but also with the money of their depositors, who can be average NZ families.

      You seem to have the idea that banks take in deposits (the mythical average New Zealand family) and then loan them out to hard-working businesses. In reality, this hasn’t been true since the 19th Century – today, banks create money by loaning it into existence, then borrow from the central bank to cover their fractional lending requirements. Here’s Wikipedia on the subject:

      The mainstream economics theory of monetary creation is that commercial bank money is created by commercial banks re-lending central bank money: the central bank (an institution that can be characterised as a partnership between the government and a private corporation) lends money to another commercial bank, which re-loans part of it, due to fractional reserves, and this portion is in turn itself re-lent (it is re-re-lent central bank money).

      On this basis – that the banks have negligible capital invested and negligible risks, other than the ineptitude of their own traders – their profit margins are exceptionally wide, and likely to be a drag on the profitability of the companies they lend to.

  4. Bored 4

    Just as an aside, banking and Eftpos represent a fabulous hidden rort of you and I….given that our wages are now generally deposited direct to our bank accounts and we use cards when we purchase.

    Consider this: the bank does not have to front with hard cash for the employer so they retain the deposit on which they can generate interest by loaning it elsewhere. Granted they pay interest aswell but only at a very much lower amount…kerching Bank 1-0.
    The use of eftpos attracts charges to the card holder and the merchant…kerching Bank 2-0.
    When we have too little the bank bridges the gap for some of us with overdraft facilities.kerching Bank 3-0
    The above encourages our profligacy kerching Bank 4/5/6 – 0

    I could go on till the bank is 100 nil up….if we however recieved our pay in hard cash we might be at risk of losing it to robbery or misplacement…but the bank would not see it (or only the surplus). They might then treat us a hell of a lot better.

    • Pascal's bookie 4.1

      The whole system needs a good hard lookin at.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/opinion/21foer.html

      seems to me at least that fees should be smaller now than when all transactions were handwritten and physically carried between banks.

      • andy 4.1.1

        Banks also have a thing called ‘sweeps’, every night the sweep up all the small deposits in all of the accounts and can lend short term against all those aggregated deposits to businesses who need very short term funding or an Overdraft facility, usually overnight.

        So they charge you for having your money in the account and use that money but don’t pay you for it via less fees or higher interest on chq style accounts.

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1

          Which is supported by the way the banks transfer money to other banks. If I pay someone @ 10am via internet banking the money goes out of my account @ 10am. The bank transfer doesn’t occur until 10pm (different banks use different times). That’s 12 hours that that money is “missing” but the bank will still be earning interest on it.

  5. RedLogix 5

    One special pet hate of mine is mortgages with 25yr plus terms. They are the most common and insidious forms of usury. Mortgage terms should be legally limited to a maximum of 15yrs.

  6. ak 6

    Maybe a good time for someone to kick off a “Move your money” campaign a la Huffington Post (quite successful apparently) – in our case of course to Kiwibank or TSB. The current Kiwibank ads would assist, and TSB is growing like a mushroom, so it’s already out there….a total of profits by the big four for the last decade or two would be a pretty mind-boggling selling point.

    • nzfp 6.1

      “Maybe a good time for someone to kick off a “Move your money’ campaign” absolutely. There are soo many benefits to this, the fact that KiwiBank is public means all of the “$11 million a day or $479,000 an hour 24/7” profits could be re-invested back into our economy as micro-loans or cheap 0% – 1% farmers/student/small medium business loans or green sustainable transport and power infrastructure or free university education or free dental care or no GST and so on and so on…

  7. Chris 7

    I would have thought that Finsec, as a corollary to the campaign, would be investigating ways of setting up their own banks. Can’t beat them, join them, as Kiwibank proved.

  8. Ianmac 8

    I had banked with the BNZ for decades. But the bank charges kept on mounting up which seemed a bit cruel since they had the use of my modest funds to make a profit. So I went in and cancelled my accounts. The response was but let’s find ways of reducing the bank charges. We are sure that we can.
    Nope. You are too late. It is dishonest to offer reductions only after I wish to close my accounts. Should have offered before.
    I put all my accounts into the PSIS and the charges are minimal, the service excellent and the service international.

  9. outofbed 9

    The SBS bank give me xmas cake and real coffee at xmas , no large screens between me and the teller and are very very customer orientated , I want to have their babies
    The ANZ in comparison are the devil

  10. On a relevent tangent…

    I’m sure most of you have read this but seeing as how this is the sector where Key got his chops from i thought it might be interesting for those who haven’t…

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/;kw=%5B3351,11459%5D

    …explains why he’s keen on the ‘cap and trade’ ETS scheme as well, cos i bet he’s got a wad of carbon credits ripening up nicely in his blind trust.

  11. Nationalise the parasite banks. They do nothing but push state created money and make super profits.
    They take no risks as they are backed by state created guarantees. They get bailed out if in trouble. They are too big to fail. They fuel land speculation. The fuel speculation in currency. They spawn amoral imbeciles like John Key. They are the enemy of the people.
    Amazing what a petty, docile, subservient bunch of wankers we bank customers are.

    • Jared 11.1

      When was the last time a NZ bank got bailed out (other than the BNZ back in the early 90’s)
      Also, they provide a service for us. If you don’t like it, don’t use them, use kiwibank. But, in reality Kiwibank isn’t that dissimilar.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1

        They do provide a service but the $1.02b profit is a dead weight loss to the NZ economy. Why would we want to keep losing?

        • Jared 11.1.1.1

          Because it would be hypocritical to expect a net profit from investments in the Super fund from offshore investments in companies and not expect offshore companies to trade in NZ for a profit. I totally don’t understand the nationalistic anti free market approach the left have. The banks in NZ are regulated, well run, and provide a generally fantastic service. Why does it matter who runs them? Sure they provide a profit for offshore services, but they also provide a supply of loanable funds for NZ enterprise to generate growth and profit within NZ. They also provide employment opportunities and in the case of ASB provide charitable donations.

          • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1.1.1

            I’m quite happy to have all FDI around the world to be banned.

            Why does it matter who runs them?

            It matters because foreign investment means that the profit goes overseas which means that the wealth that was created within an economy can no longer be reinvested in that economy. This forces that economy to stagnate and eventually to start failing.

  12. nzfp 13

    Hey Clarke,
    I was going to respond to “ts” highlighting the understandable and common misconception about banking. ts – don’t worry, most people in the world think banking occurs in the methods you described – unfortunately it isn’t true as highlighted by Clarke.

    Our very own New Zealand Banking Association (NZBA) and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) are also great resources for explaining credit creation.

    The NZBA published “Banking in New Zealand (4th ed)”, originally published in 1991 and revised and updated in 1997. Chapter 4. “THE CREATION OF MONEY AND CREDIT” states:

    There is a direct mathematical relationship between the fraction held in reserves (r), the initial cash injection (M) and the deposit money created (D) which is D=M/r. In the example above, M = $100 and r = .1 (or 10%) so D = $1000. This simple credit multiplier formula illustrates that the smaller the fraction banks hold as reserves, the more deposit money and credit is created. (page 19)

    The RBNZ published “Defining money and credit aggregates” states:

    The deposits, or money balances held with banks are the direct counterpart to the assets that banks hold on the other side of their balance sheets, namely their loans. When a bank makes a loan it places the amount of the loan (which constitutes “credit’) in the borrower’s deposit account (which constitutes “money’), and the latter can be “spent’. Hence, an analysis of the role of money in the economy needs to incorporate the role of credit. Thus, throughout this article money and credit will often be referred to together. Indeed in many respects they are “different sides of the same coin.’ (page 1-2)

    Clearly the Banks create credit when they make loans. However, what is rarely covered is the fact that the Banks now control over 98% of the “credit” in circulation in our society. The RBNZ is the sole source of the “notes and coins” in circulation. However, the “notes and coins” also represent the only “money” created by our Government. The RBNZ C1 Monetary aggregates demonstrate that the total volume of notes and coins held by the pubic is only 3.477 Billion dollars. This is important because the “notes and coins” are the only “money” that is interest and debt free. The RBNZ C1 Monetary aggregates also shows that the M3 (which loosley translates to the total money supply including Bank credit) is 205.430 Billion dollars, that means that the percentage of money and credit in circulation that doesn’t carry interest bearing debt is (3.477/205.430*100) 1.7%. That means that the other 98.3% of our money supply is owed to a Bank at interest and that interest is generating the “$479,000 an hour 24/7” profits to the Banks.

    Another problem to consider is that this windfall of profit is going to a cartel of almost entirely Australian Banks (ANZ National, ASB, Westpac, BNZ). That means that these profits – like the 40,000 New Zealand citizens a year – are winging their way over to the Gold Coast never to come back again. This represents a loss of money and credit in our economy requiring households and businesses to take out more loans at interest to replenish the lost Bank profits which results in a “growth” in our economy and ultimately the loss of more money and credit – just like a pyramid or ponzi scheme.

  13. tsmithfield 14

    I would like to respond to several points above:

    Bored: “What is contentious is the manner in which the banks treat the standard deposit holder (i.e you and me).”

    Bored, if you want to see true immorality from banks, go and look at the situation in the US. Over there the people have bailed the banks out, and lent them money at essentially 0%. The response of the banks has been to invest that market in stocks and other normally risky assets but with essentially no risk because they are guaranteed by Uncle Sam. However, they have got the lending taps turned off so far as the average citizen is concerned, the very people who have effectively rescued the banks. At least our banks have kept lending and have been generally fairly supportive in comparison to US banks.

    Clarke: “ts, it might be helpful if you did a little bit of research on how credit is created in a modern economy, as it would help you to avoid basic errors such as this one:”

    I know a bit more about this than you give me credit for, and I think you are missing an important point yourself in this respect.

    When credit is created, it is created against an asset (a personal debt owed to the bank, a house mortgage etc). The money is not quite created out of thin air. It has to be represented by an asset on the other side of the equation. This creates a revenue stream for the banks against which they plan their own expenditure and other investments. But what happens when the value of the asset suddenly depreciates dramatically as in the subprime saga in the US? Most of the “assets” that have been created and the associated income streams suddenly diminish hugely. Thus banks can suddenly become insolvent. So there are definite risks for banks in their business activities. Its not quite like creating money risk-free and lending it out as you seem to believe. Banks have to account for this risk by charging appropriate interest rates and generating sufficient profits.

    • Descendant Of Smith 14.1

      However having worked in the banking industry for a number of years in a past life these sorts of things also happened:

      Clients who would overdraw by $20-00 having a cheque bounced and charged $30-00 for the privilege while a business $1million over their overdraft limit not having anything bounced ever

      In those days Reserve Bank ratios were quoted as the reason for bouncing the poor working class buggers cheque who often ended up in a viscous cycle where cause the bank fees left them less money their A.P’s bounced resulting in a downward financial spiral.

      It was quite clear that the little fulla was paying for the big fulla.

      At least in those days the $30-00 fee could be justified by the work done. As once the cheques came back from databank someone would pull them out and they would be taken upstairs where the clients file would be reviewed and someone would make a conscious decision about bouncing them. They decision would be typed out and then a clerk downstairs would type out a dishonour notice in duplicate and post one notice out to the client and one to the person who banked the cheque along with the cheque.

      There was some work involved and some conscious decision making done. Only a small number of people had their cheques bounced and while it was clear to me that working class people were much more likely to have this happen to them it meant that in a reasonable sized branch maybe 30 -50 cheques per day got bounced.

      The banks then decided to totally rort by automating the process and by introducing honour fees. This in effect meant that every transaction you had over your limit – even if your pay was going in tomorrow incurred an automatic $30-00 fee for being honoured.

      I don’t know how much money the banks rorted off people through doing this but it would have been enormous – money for jam. It was even more farcical when I had a postdated cheque – legitimately post dated – banked early by my children’s school. It was a mistake on their part. When I asked why the post dated cheque was accepted and incurred a fee my choice was pay a $30-00 fee for it being honored or a $30-00 fee for it being dishonoured. You clearly coundn’t win.

      At least too in previous times banks actually went through cheques looking for fake signatures or trust accounts with only one signature instead of two. I know several instances of fraud by lawyers and trust accounts were picked up in that way. These days they don’t even get looked at.

      They clearly don’t see any role any more in preventing this type of abuse from their own account holders.

      These are only little things but for everyday normal working class people make an enormous difference.

      There are also issues of margins between the interest rate they charge and inflation – their is always a bigger gap between inflation and rates in NZ than Australia i.e. they make more money off us.

      Before the latest crash it was obvious to me that banks were following similar behavioral patterns to when the crash came in 87. They had relaxed their lending criteria to loan above 70% to 80%. This increases the exposure and also pushed house prices up through more people competing as more can access easy credit. This puts finance companies under pressure as good payers who previously couldn’t meet the banks deposit criteria moved out of the alternative finance sectors for borrowing for mortgages. This leaves the finance sector left with a greater percentage of risk based around second hand cars and HP’s etc.

      From my observation that pattern spells disaster.

      You then see the charlatans come out of the woodwork promising great returns, you see previously invisible share-market spokesman telling ordinary people it’s a great time to invest and the doom and gloom merchants are wrong, you see the forestry people on telly saying what a great investment this.

      In reality many of the well off by now are moving their money out of shares and property and getting the ordinary working class people to invest. They are stealing their wealth cause they know the crash is coming.

      I could see this and said to people it’s 87 all over again. But I’m just an ordinary guy – although I did influence a few people who have avoided the worst effects of the crash and not lost substantial amounts of money. I could have been wrong in seeing the same pattern but I wasn’t.

      It was quite telling when a property investor locally said to me he had sold all his properties and was sitting with several millions of dollars waiting for the crash. He knew it was coming and had been in the game long enough to know when to get out and wait.

      These are simple observations of how the banks both rort and mis-manage. you can argue complex calculations and world markets and a whole range of theory as much as you like but sometimes the simple observation of what I see in front of me tells me I’m being ripped off and my money isn’t being looked after.

      • tsmithfield 14.1.1

        I agree that sort of behaviour is clearly not good enough.

        I am with the BNZ. At least, to their credit, they have done away with honour fees. Also, our personal banker has to personally approve any cheque dishonor for our personal or business accounts. Even when honor fees were still in play, the few times we incurred a fee, our personal banker was happy to waive them for us.

        So, the BNZ have been quite user friendly in my experience.

  14. nzfp 15

    Hey ts,
    I think Clark was addressing the common misconception that Banks lend customer deposits when in fact increased customer deposits allow banks to create credit at 90% of the new deposit.

    But what happens when the value of the asset suddenly depreciates dramatically as in the subprime saga in the US

    Yes and this is a very important point and is described in the “Stuff” article where “[i]mpaired asset expense improved significantly during the quarter”. Impaired assets are defined:

    Investopedia explains Impaired Asset
    If the sum of all estimated future cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset, then the asset would be considered impaired and would have to be written down to its fair value. Once an asset is written down, it may only be written back up under very few circumstances.

    The effect of asset write-downs can be greatly magnified when leverage is considered. In the last days of Bear-Sterns it was found that “Bear had $11.1 billion in tangible equity capital supporting $395 billion in assets, a leverage ratio of more than 35 to one”. This is no surprise because “a 2004 SEC exemption, given only to five big firms, allowed them to lever up 30 and even 40 to 1”. High levels of debt means it takes only a small decline in the value of the firm – such as the case of write-downs for impaired assets – for the firm to go bankrupt. This was highlighted during the crash as many of the mortgages bundled in the Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDO) and Collateralised Mortgage Obligations (CMO) sold by Wall Street Banks were found to be fraudulent, not only that but Goldman Sachs was found to be betting against CDO’s they created and sold themselves with insurance policies called Credit Default Swaps (CDS) taken out against AIG.

    AIG was the single biggest recipient of former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s TARP bailout. The majority of AIG’s TARP bailouts went to counter parties of their CDS’ exotic derivatives. Goldman Sachs was the biggest recipient of AIG bailout funds for AIG CDS’. Henry Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs before becoming the Treasury Secretary. Considering all of this – it all starts to look a wee bit fraudulent – and this maybe why on April 16, 2010 the Securities and Exchange Commission “charged Goldman, Sachs & Co. and one of its vice presidents for defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product tied to subprime mortgages as the U.S. housing market was beginning to falter”.

    • tsmithfield 15.1

      Yes I was aware of that too. However, I don’t think it changes the point I was trying to make.

      • nzfp 15.1.1

        No it doesn’t at all – sorry mate – I was reinforcing your very good point and at the same time I just *had* to throw something in about the fraudulent banking practices of Wall Street.

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    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 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
    14 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
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 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
    13 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
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
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