Beware the Ides of May

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 pm, January 15th, 2019 - 41 comments
Categories: conservative party, Deep stuff, Economy, elections, International, Jeremy Corbyn, Politics, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, uk politics, workers' rights, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , , , ,

Sometime around breakfast time here in NZ, Theresa May is going to have her Brexit plan flushed down the Westminster dunny.

May is on a hiding to nothing, the nothing being a No Deal Brexit, which will cripple the British economy and possibly re-ignite the Troubles and maybe even end the United Kingdom.

Jeremy Corbyn is being pushed hard to do something, anything. There’s a reasonable chance that by our morning smoko, he’ll have tabled a no confidence motion in the Tory/DUP Government. It’ll probably fail, but maybe not if there are enough arch Brexiteers in the Conservatives who are willing to cross the floor.

All in all, it’s a spectacular mess.

There’ll be live coverage at the usual places; the Guardian here, the BBC here and the Mirror here.

Meanwhile, here’s a useful explainer about the options and this is a short video about the possible outcomes:

However it ends for May in the next 12 hours, Britain has lost influence, lost credibility and lost its way.

There’s no shame in having a fresh referendum. The shame is that there was ever one in the first place.

UPDATE: Vote at around 8.30 am. And the DUP, whose votes are crucial to the Tories, have said they will not support a No Confidence motion if Labour put one up.

UPDATE: Theresa May’s plan has been rejected by 432 votes to 202 – a majority of 230. This is the largest defeat of a Government proposal in 95 years.

41 comments on “Beware the Ides of May ”

  1. Morrissey 1

    Britain has lost influence, lost credibility and lost its way.

    That happened a generation ago, when that brave Mr Blair committed other people’s children—not his own, of course—to the destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

    “I like Tony ‘cos he tells the truth!”

    —-President George W. Bush, outside No. 10 Downing Street, 2003

  2. Dennis Frank 2

    I think we’re 13 hours ahead currently, and the vote is scheduled for 7pm there, so the result ought to come through sometime after 8am. If she wins, pundits will be surprised and history will render her a competent PM. If she loses, the converse applies.

    “Voting will start at about 19:00 GMT, starting with votes on three or four backbench amendments that could reshape the deal and then the vote on the withdrawal agreement itself.” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46868194

    The impression I get is that parliamentarians want to sort the mess out themselves. Since it is their sovereign right, hard to blame them. The system has given May the authority to represent them and decide for them, but she hasn’t done it very authoritatively – because consensus has been impossible to create.

    So can parliament reach consensus via its crowd-sourced wisdom? That’s the question. If she fails, and it succeeds, we’ll see regeneration. The spirit of democracy to the fore.

  3. Sacha 3

    Heh. From the Guardian link (settle, Mr Breen):

    Theresa May stands up, to loud and sustained applause from Conservatives.

    (Note to readers unfamiliar with the loyalty of British parliamentarians: this does not mean she is going to win the vote.)

  4. Ad 4

    It doesn’t make up for the damage, but it’s great to see the English-speaking deregulator conservatives go through catastrophic political failure at the same time.

    Trump is now a one-term President who will enable the left-leaning revival the Democrats have been waiting for, Scott Morrison can’t even fake his way into a magazine, May has a very good chance of splitting the Conservative Party.

    Up to US Democrats and UK and Aussia Labor to actually force this mess into a real change in power though.

  5. Dennis Frank 5

    “7:51 [BBC live] Speaker calls for ‘zen’ in chamber.

    Speaker John Bercow is trying to calm down MPs in the House of Commons as the prime minister speaks. “Zen. Restraint. Patience,” he beseeches. ”

    I doubt anyone seriously expects British politicians to be able to do zen. They would only know how to do that if they had learnt it. I very much doubt any have even called for it to be incorporated into the British education system.

    I know, I’m just being silly, assuming politicians can grasp the relation between cause and effect. But he could suggest they all attend night classes in zen.

  6. Dennis Frank 6

    “MPs are currently voting on Conservative MP John Baron’s amendment.” If it succeeds, they might elevate him to the House of Lords, after which he may become Baron Baron.

  7. Dennis Frank 7

    “8.39 The government is defeated on its proposed Brexit deal by a majority of 230.
    The result of the vote is 202 in favour and 432 against.”

    Apparently this sets a new record for votes against the govt. “Financial Times chief political correspondent tweets… Worst-ever defeat for a British government was 1924 when Ramsay Macdonald’s Labour minority government lost by 166 votes.”

  8. Tiger Mountain 8

    “Eh oop lads”…our mushy pea, chip buttie and Curry loving Brits, appear to have snookered themselves good and proper!

  9. Jeremy Corbyn has tabled a motion of no confidence. It’s also signed by the leaders of the LIb Dems, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

    It will be debated tomorrow, our time.

    • Dennis Frank 9.1

      Excellent. I’ve been out gardening & wondering if the pc-leftists would be defeated by the common-sense leftists.

      Pc-driven groupthink requires Labour to set up a committee, which would then organise focus groups to see what people want Labour to do. I was hoping Corbyn would demonstrate leadership instead, and promptly organise a no-confidence vote. Now that has actually happened, we can be reassured that Labour MPs with common sense are prevailing.

      I presume the Tories will now agonise over whether to endorse May’s `keep calm & carry on’ strategy. It would help if she were to start wearing a hat, like the Queen. Then people would be able to expect her to pull the consensus rabbit out of it at any point, despite her 2.5 years of failure thus far.

      I expect Tory leadership candidates will be doing the numbers already! If she loses the vote tomorrow, what’s the likeliest outcome? Does Labour have a strategy in place? Will there be an election?

      • Dennis Frank 9.1.1

        BBC 9:43 “What happens with a vote of no confidence? Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, UK general elections are only supposed to happen every five years. The next one is due in 2022. But a vote of no confidence lets MPs vote on whether they want the government to continue. The motion must be worded: “That this House has no confidence in HM Government.”

        “If a majority of MPs vote for the motion then it starts a 14-day countdown. If during that time the current government or any other alternative government cannot win a new vote of confidence, then an early general election would be called. That election cannot happen for at least 25 working days.”

      • Draco T Bastard 9.1.2

        Now that has actually happened, we can be reassured that Labour MPs with common sense are prevailing.

        Would that be the UK Labour MPs who still have faith in the failed status quo?

        • Dennis Frank 9.1.2.1

          Yes. Common sense always motivates folks to stay with the status quo, which is why it usually persists. Those of us who seek to replace it with something better usually get traction only when normalcy fails.

          • Siobhan 9.1.2.1.1

            No, not ‘common sense’, its a failure to adapt, the ‘normalcy’ of free market open border neoliberal capitalism has already failed…its why the planet is doomed..

            https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2015/10/17/the-science-behind-why-we-fail-to-adapt/#41e546704d56

            • Dennis Frank 9.1.2.1.1.1

              I agree. But both/and applies. If you ask them, common sense is the explanation they give. And doom is but one likely future, of several such.

              That mixing of skills result was dramatic: “they most likely diminished the effectiveness of individual units. However, as a collective, his forces increased their efficiency by a factor of seventeen, measured by the amount of raids they were able to execute.”

              I’ve long been pushing the multi-disciplinary way to go. He took it further, by changing the operational context. Clever! But it really just illustrates that leadership is vital, that it must be innovative, and incorporate lateral-thinking. A recipe that democracy is designed to eliminate.

    • Ad 9.2

      Looking forward to the Conservative Party splitting.
      Ideally, dying.

      • Dennis Frank 9.2.1

        Today’s vote split them 196:118 which is 62%:38%. However tomorrow’s won’t necessarily be similar. If the rebels vote her out that would suggest a viable replacement is in their minds, and I’m not aware that any dissident leaders have attained that status yet.

        They’ve got 24 hours to get their act together and agree on a candidate. Either that or rely on the darwinist selection strategy of a lottery with no preference agreed in advance…

    • Tiger Mountain 9.3

      “Oh Jeremy Corbyn…”…would love to see Labour led by Jeremy Corbyn, deal to Thatcher and Blair’s corrosive legacy, but it will be a difficult road indeed with Brexit fallout

      Britain’s Military establishment has openly threatened a coup if Mr Corbyn ever became PM so it will be scintillating if he does manage it–can a right social democratic party under leftist renewal effect real change? Corbyn will have only one chance to find out…

      • I think the problem is that Corbyn is heavily conflicted. As an individual, he’s pro Brexit. Yet he leads a party which is not. Add into that the undeniable fact that a lot of Labour voters in the North of England voted to leave and you’ve got a real conundrum.

        I think Corbyn has done the best he could in the circ’s, which, so far, has been to stand aside and let the Tories wallow in their crapulence, while trying to avoid being hit by flying shit.

        However, at some point he is going to have to join the call for a fresh referendum, because it’s the only way out.

        • Tiger Mountain 9.3.1.1

          yes, it is a situation almost needing a Lenin like tenacity and political ability, to sort through the contradictions and possibilities for coming up with a path forward a majority can support

          a second vote appears necessary one way or another, but how would the question be put? “stay–with a commitment to challenge the bureaucracy”? if Brexit had never happened, the neo lib EU structural elements would still need to be tackled, and all the other domestic matters that are Thatcher and Blair’s legacy

          • Bill Drees 9.3.1.1.1

            Corbyn has already lost a lot of support as a result of his “conflicted” Brexit position and cat&mouse Parliamentary tactics. May and her cabinet are the greatest Tory numpties in a generation and yet Corbyn is 12 points behind and Labour is 2-6. Corbyn is the Labour problem and part of the English problem.

            And more… Corbyn is a dyed-in-the-wool Unionist. preserving the ****ing Precious Union is in his blood. Corbyn is held with contempt in Scotland and in Northern Ireland (for different reasons).

  10. Paaparakauta 10

    A massive loss of mana for May and the hapu of Ingarangi.

    We do not need civil war among our whenua.

  11. Dennis Frank 11

    SNP Leader tweets: “Enough time has been wasted. It is time to stop the Article 50 clock and put this issue back to electorate. Scotland voted to remain in the EU and we should not be dragged out against our will.”

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says MPs have “done the right thing” by rejecting Theresa May’s deal. “It is absolutely vital that the prime minister acts immediately to take any prospect of a no-deal Brexit off the table for good. That means withdrawing Article 50.”

    The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable says Theresa May’s “options are narrowing” and that while she “may perform a miracle in Brussels” there’s “no evidence that is in prospect”. “One of the biggest steps is to take no deal off the table,” he says. “She needs to take action to remove it. That can only be by stopping or postponing Article 50.”

  12. Dennis Frank 12

    The market is often a good indicator of mass psychology. It’s verdict is that the Brits are resilient enough not to be downcast by the vote. See this from the beeb:

    “Why did the pound gain after May’s defeat? [Simon Jack, BBC Business Editor]

    “The markets were prepared for her to lose – but the scale of her defeat took most by surprise. But more surprising still was the fact that the pound – the first financial responder to political events – gained in value after the vote – despite many, most, confidently predicting a crushing defeat would send it down.”

    “Using the benefit of hindsight, some are saying that the recent display of animosity in the House of Commons to the idea of a no-deal Brexit, something markets are most wary of – has convinced them that outcome is very unlikely. The other new line is that this crushing defeat for Mrs May’s Brexit deal, makes no Brexit – at least not on March 29th – a growing possibility.”

  13. Draco T Bastard 13

    May is on a hiding to nothing, the nothing being a No Deal Brexit, which will cripple the British economy and possibly re-ignite the Troubles and maybe even end the United Kingdom.

    It may do but it probably won’t.

    Contrary to what some people think the economy and society isn’t really based upon deals.

    However it ends for May in the next 12 hours, Britain has lost influence, lost credibility and lost its way.

    Contrary to popular belief small countries don’t really have a lot of influence. And has the UK ever really had any credibility? They had an empire which carried out atrocities against many peoples/nations. They’ve lied and cheated throughout the centuries. So, yeah, not really seeing any credibility there.

  14. Dennis Frank 14

    BBC: “Shadow Chancellor tweets… No Prime Minister has led a government to this scale of defeat in living history. Usually the PM would have resigned immediately. Instead we’ve a government staggering on, directionless and unable to govern. This can’t go on. Contact your MP and tell them we need an election now”.

    “Guy Verhofstadt, chief Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament, tells the BBC that British political parties must put aside their differences for the good of the UK and EU. “There is a need for cross-party cooperation so that the national interest of Britain and in the interest of the European Union prevails. And that is not the case today,” he says.”

    Bipartisan collaboration is not part of the design of democracy. MPs not in govt are part of the Opposition. Democracy requires them to oppose the govt. So his wish for a fairy-tale transition from fighting each other to intelligent governance doesn’t factor in that participants are hard-wired to conform to the system.

    • Bill Drees 14.1

      Guy Verhofstadt also said

      The UK Parliament has said what it doesn’t want. Now is the time to find out what UK parliamentarians want. In the meantime, the rights of citizens must be safeguarded. #Brexit
      @guyverhofstadt

  15. Wayne 15

    The Conservative govt will survive tomorrow’s vote of confidence, so solving Brexit remains a Conservative govt problem.

    How will they solve it?

    May has to present Plan B to Parliament next Monday. Maybe it is the current deal with all the objectionable bits excised. In that case, in theory, it could pass with DUP support, maybe a few Labourites as well (3 did vote for the current deal). May could then present that to the EU, saying it is this deal since no other will get through parliament. The alternative being no deal.

    The next most likely possibility is a new referendum, That would require at least 15 Conservatives to vote for it. They won’t do that until it is clear that Plan B has failed.

    • millsy 15.1

      Delay Brexit by 12 months. Gives everyone breathing space. That is the most realistic outcome.

      • SPC 15.1.1

        A bit difficult to do, if the EU will only delay for another election or another referendum.

        The Tory right want the UK to leave without a deal and they are winning to this point. However victory can be snatched from them if the UK leaves ther EU in March but remains in ths single market until any other arrangements are made (if ever).

  16. CHCOff 16

    Like in electronics, when the system drifts, you need a reset signal to line up on track and get things working together again.

    A new election is the equivalent to the situation, to give it clarity and project confidence of general competence winning through to a result – which i’d say is the most important thing.

  17. Sanctuary 17

    Novara media have an interesting socialist perspective, including why a second vote would be playing straight into Conservative hands.

    Remainers don’t consider that a) Leave might win again and b) the political consequences of a close vote to reverse Brexit.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmby_2bFNos

  18. Bill Drees 18

    The best coverge of Brexit from a non London perspective is from Tony Connolly of RTE.
    The BBC has been appaling: repeated false statements by Brexiteers go unchallenged. Brexit has damaged the BBCs reputation as much as it has shredded the reputation of the English leadership.

    https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2019/0115/1023303-brexit-europe/

    https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-comment/2019/0115/1023474-brexit-vote-analysis/

    • Ad 18.1

      That’s the first useful commentary l’ve seen linking the UK Brexit politics to potential impact on the upcoming EU elections, and the impact of an unfinished Brexit on MEP seat redistribution.

  19. DS 19

    May will survive the Confidence vote. Terror of Corbyn keeps the Tories afloat.

    I think a No Deal Brexit is pretty much inescapable at this point. The EU has said it won’t extend the exit date, except for another referendum or a new election. The Tories don’t want another election (terror of Corbyn), and May knows that a second referendum will split the party… so it isn’t happening. That leaves dithering around until 29th March.

  20. Nic the NZer 20

    “May is on a hiding to nothing, the nothing being a No Deal Brexit, which will cripple the British economy and possibly re-ignite the Troubles and maybe even end the United Kingdom.”

    Not that actual facts should get in the way of a good story, but according to latest statistics (and since the referendum) the UK is presently economically outperforming Germany (which is presently entering technical recession) and more broadly the EU.

    http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=41343

    • greywarshark 20.1

      From the bilbo economic link above.
      I suppose Brexit is to blame for the fact that Britain is now growing faster than the major European economies. The latest ‘monthly’ GDP figures show that the British economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the three months to November 2018 and will probably sustain that rate of growth for the entire final quarter of 2018. This is in contradistinction to major European economies such as Germany (which will probably record a technical recession – two consecutive quarters of negative growth) with France and Italy probably following in Germany’s wake.

      I have made the point before that the growth trajectory of the British economy (inasmuch as there is one) is very unbalanced and reliant on households and firms maintaining expenditure by running down savings and accessing credit – which means ever increasing private debt burdens. With private credit growth weakening as the debt levels become excessive and the rundown of saving balances being finite, Britain will face recession unless the fiscal austerity is reversed.

      Earlier in 2018, the Guardian Brexit Watch ‘experts’ were continually pointing out that Britain’s growth rate was at the bottom of the G7 as evidence that Brexit was causing so much damage. So now European G7 nations are starting to lag behind, these commentators will have to find another ruse to pin their anti-Brexit narrative on. We also consider in this blog post some more Brexit-related arguments – pro and con – which reinforce my conclusion that a No Deal Brexit will not cause the skies to fall in.

      It isn’t hard to see why no-one in the UK can work out what Brexit will do and what path to follow. The excerpt above starts off saying that the UK economy grew by 0.3 % in the 3 months to November 2018 and that this is better than the EU which seems to be sliding to a technical recession.

      He says. “Britain will face recession unless the fiscal austerity is reversed.” Is that austerity being forced by the EU, as it was in Greece? Leaving the EU will be unlikely to turn that around surely; is the word out there that the EU is causing the cutbacks on social welfare including hospitals? If so, has the UK got the will to increase spending and increase job building if there is such a thing, and be prepared to pay gradually increasing wages. And ensure that they aren’t all soaked up by rising house prices?

      Then he says that the UK economy is unbalanced and reliant on consumer spending which is being funded by the people ‘running down savings, accessing credit with ever increasing private debt.’ So that this growth in the economy is off people spending their all and borrowing. Not a healthy economy or sustainable.

      Finally he refers to Brexit Watch concerned that Britain’s growth rate being bottom showing that Brexit was causing damage. The fact that other EU nations are dropping is supposed to indicate that anti-Brexitors have now no case. But he infers that Britain is erratic, and that the current growth is drawing on reserves and borrowing. He then says “reinforce my conclusion that a No Deal Brexit will not cause the skies to fall in.”

      On what basis has he made that conclusion? What twaddle these financial columnists can come out with, and so po-faced.

      • Nic the NZer 20.1.1

        “The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” – Joan Robinson

        Though Bill Mitchell is trying to be clear, not deceptive. The difficulty is there is a lot of prior background material and terminology he is referring back to.

        “He says. “Britain will face recession unless the fiscal austerity is reversed.” Is that austerity being forced by the EU, as it was in Greece? Leaving the EU will be unlikely to turn that around surely;”

        I was there and witnessed in person the initial bout of fiscal austerity in the UK, and its entirely home grown. At the time the Chancellor was making some decisions about hacking into the public sector, particularly councils budgets. They discussed this on the BBC, the commentators were quite clear that the UK economy was still weak and this strategy risked a double dip recession. About 6 months later the UK recorded a double dip recession.
        Unlike the situation in Greece this was an entirely voluntary decision by the Chancellor (there were no negotiations between the elected govt and un-elected EU and IMF bureaucrats about what the country should put in its budget. This is because the UK is using its own currency the pound, rather than an external currency the Euro so it doesn’t need to maintain good terms with its central bank, the UK parliament just tells the Bank of England what to do to support its needs. Leaving the EU won’t resolve this, but it does separate the UK from the EU countries on going contest in national austerity.

        “But he infers that Britain is erratic, and that the current growth is drawing on reserves and borrowing.”, It is but its important to recognize that the reserves and borrowing are the UK private sectors saving reserves and borrowing. Supplementing these will require the UK public sector to increase spending and run a sustained deficit until the UK private sector repairs its balance sheet (by saving and paying down debt). Even in the UK which is not constrained by the euro the public sector is not spending enough to back up the growth, but the reason this should be contrasted with Europe is that the EU is dragging down the whole of that economic zone with their economic behavior and the national contests in public sector austerity which are how the euro-zone game is operated. One of the main dynamics is that people laud Germany due to their trade surpluses, but they are equally in violation of EU regulations for that as other countries are for their deficits. But there is no pressure there to rectify the destructive behavior causing EU economic imbalances (this is what the EU regulations are supposed to solve), so the whole economy just keeps on shrinking or at least maintaining severely restricted growth rates and high unemployment.

        On the back of this is the reason EU politics is getting so ugly. Afd and similar parties are getting most of the political benefit from this.

  21. mike 21

    Everyone but Theresa May in this sad debacle has been a man.
    Men started it from the anti-eu back bench of the torys through all those years, weirdo cameron played a ridiculously dangerous game to placate them, and haystack head and the evil farrage lied happily.
    What we have seen is that while shit has been poured on may from every fuckin direction she has defeated the ludicrous ‘euro sceptics’ in her party. Unlike the cocks of the republican party in the us. The Jacob Rees-Mob can never win from here.
    So let’s hear it for a fantastic political performance from a woman who was against all this childish stupidity from the start.
    Oh yes, the other man behaving like the ghost of christmas past is the scintillating corbyn. That cobwed has given millions of labour citizens absolutely nobody to vote for.
    Thank christ its not happening here.

    • tc 21.1

      +1 mays done a sterling job and shown thatcher like resolve in dealing with the bucket of shit Cameron and co dropped them all in.

      Maggie would be proud and if alive IMO she’d bury those Tory agitating pricks rhetorically seeing the shambles they’ve become.

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    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
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    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
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    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
    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
  • 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

  • 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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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