Beyond the steel cage of consumerism

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, November 22nd, 2017 - 46 comments
Categories: capitalism, Deep stuff, Economy, political alternatives, vision - Tags: , ,

Translation: beyond the steel cage of consumerism

Tim Jackson in Prosperity Without Growth on John Stuart Mill’s quote:

John Stuart Mill‘s quote in context.

 

46 comments on “Beyond the steel cage of consumerism ”

  1. Ant 1

    Teenager Robin lee Graham, youngest person to sail single handed round the world in 1965 (National Geographic, Oct. 1968), stopped off for supplies on a remote Pacific island. Impressed by the simple life-style of his hosts and far from the affluent USA society from which he came Graham observed “I learned how little one needs, not how much.”

    Consumerism begets consumerism. The more appliances we purchase to make tasks ‘easier’ the more exercising devices we buy to tone up those parts of our bodies which we formerly stretched and flexed by kneading, beating, wringing, rubbing, pushing, polishing and sweeping, digging. Alternatively we burn fossil fuel to get ourselves to the gym where a host of devices put us through our paces in stuffy confines amidst fellow sufferers.

    The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man…. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

  2. Colonial Viper 2

    By ‘killing God’ (ending belief in a vast immaterial, spiritual, moral universe of consequences) the west only has abstract intellectual ideologies, out of touch theoretical frameworks and academic indoctrination left to fall back upon.

    Out of these, ‘happiness and success through consumerism’ is just as rational and rhetorically defensible an ideology as any other.

    • Bill 2.1

      Surely you mean other “abstract intellectual ideologies”…

      And what is it that the “out of touch” frameworks and indoctrinations are out of touch with?

      Finally, is consumerism really as “rational and rhetorically defensible” as any other ideology given its very real and negative consequences on the world? I’d have thought not.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1

        1) Man’s spiritual calling is not an intellectual endeavour, although intellectual endeavour can of course form part of it. It is a reaching towards something far beyond intellectual comprehension through contemplation and creation. Even primitive man had a sense of this.

        2) A reality and nature beyond materialism. As a contrast, consumerism is of course a highly materialistic philosophy.

        3) Of course consumerism is defensible – the products, technology and services we consume make our lives easier, more comfortable and enjoyable, increase our personal standard of living and those of our family. If you want to build even a basic hut for survival and protection against the elements, you’re going to have to cut down some trees.

        • Bill 2.1.1.1

          My point was about abstraction – not the intellectual (or otherwise) component of the ideology.

          And while it’s obviously true that consumerism is highly materialistic at one level, the psychological and/or emotional rewards that some hope to achieve or experience through it, aren’t.

          And yes, consumerism is defensible. But I questioned your statement that it was as defensible as any other ideology.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1.1

            And yes, consumerism is defensible. But I questioned your statement that it was as defensible as any other ideology.

            Well, I don’t know how exactly you would measure ‘defensibility of philosophies’, but yes, I’d say you could debate and defend the point for a couple of hours and consumerism would still hold its ground and justifications just fine.

            To be clear, I think consumerism is a deeply limited paradigm, but it is also a very powerful one.

            As for abstraction – since man learned that his reach could exceed his grasp, yep we’ve used abstractions of one form or another.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.2

          1. I think you’ll find that it is about intellectual comprehension because there is nothing beyond that.
          2. For basic survival we need to consider the physical. For happiness we need to consider what makes us happy and Consumerism actually doesn’t but it does destroy the physical bounds that we need to live within.
          3. Cutting down trees to make a house isn’t Materialism. Materialism is owning a mansion when you only need a house. Having three cars when none will do. Etcetera. And, no, it’s not defensible as it’s simply destructive.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.2.1

            1) A false and ideological premise
            2) You just inserted a value statement about happiness being central.
            3) Materialism is the belief that only material existence is real – atoms and molecules and their constituent parts, and what you can do with them, and that there is no reality of significance beyond that material world.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.2.1.1

              1. You have proof that there’s something beyond the physical? Because until you do then your imaginings of anything beyond it is purely intellectual.
              2. So? I think happiness is fairly important:

              Happiness is about being able to make the most of the good times – but also to cope effectively with the inevitable bad times, in order to experience the best possible life overall. Or, in the words of the biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard: “Happiness is a deep sense of flourishing, not a mere pleasurable feeling or fleeting emotion but an optimal state of being.”

              3. Yes, I should have said Consumerism rather than Materialism.

              • Colonial Viper

                1. You have proof that there’s something beyond the physical? Because until you do then your imaginings of anything beyond it is purely intellectual.

                What exactly do you mean by “proof”?

                How on Earth are you able to categorise “imaginings” as an intellectual exercise?

                • What exactly do you mean by “proof”?

                  Proof:

                  a fact or piece of information that shows that something exists or is true:

                  How on Earth are you able to categorise “imaginings” as an intellectual exercise?

                  Imaginings:

                  products of the imagination : thoughts, images

                  Imagination

                  the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality

                  Do you not understand English?

                  • Colonial Viper

                    So experiencing thoughts and images is now synonymous with “intellectual exercise” in your books?

                    And your idea of “proof” is that it tells you that something ‘exists’? What is ‘exists’?

                    Do you not understand English?

                    That’s little more than a lazy jab from a lazy mind, Draco. You can do better.

                    I have to laugh that you don’t have original thoughts of your own to present, instead you refer to other peoples’ definitions.

                    • You can do better.

                      Why bother?

                      You’re going to continue spouting tripe.

                      I have to laugh that you don’t have original thoughts of your own to present, instead you refer to other peoples’ definitions.

                      The amazing thing about language is if we go round changing the definitions of words to suit ourselves we lose the ability to communicate.

                      So, yeah, I use the defined definitions. People who don’t are either trying to hide something or can’t communicate well enough to get their idea across.

                    • One Two

                      You’re ‘debating’ the subject with the wrong people, CV…

                      It is seemingly beyond the ‘imagination’…

                      Being tied into such narrow parameters, all defined and ‘invented’ by self named human beings…

                      It is a problem!

                  • McFlock

                    I’m just waiting for cartesian doubt to step in…

                    • greywarshark

                      Cartesian doubt – by the time that some philosophers have had their way with one’s mind, it wouldn’t know how to find its way home.

                      Descartes: Overcoming Doubt – Philosophy Pages
                      http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/4c.htm
                      The Method of Doubt. The basic strategy of Descartes’s method of doubt is to defeat skepticism on its own ground. Begin by doubting the truth of everything—not only the evidence of the senses and the more extravagant cultural presuppositions, but even the fundamental process of reasoning itself.

                      I was going to put a small video up but the voice-over starts off with a USA voice, and how can one have anything but doubt about anything that comes from that country until it is unpacked and thoroughly shaken out?

                      Then there is a great discussion from some ayn rand outfit and that would be skewed as everyone knows that she was pretty screwed up, preferring to live in skyscrapers and reaching for the stars. Hardly grounded.
                      https://campus.aynrand.org/campus/globals/transcripts/objectivism-on-certainty-and-the-error-of-cartesian-doubt

                      Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_doubt

                      I don’t think from watching NZ for decades that there is much evidence amongst the wider population of Cartesian doubt. It involves doing a check on one’s thoughts and beliefs, and this being troublesome and very likely, unprofitable, it hasn’t taken off like rock concerts, sports matches and parades of various sorts, clothed and partially clothed.

                      There is probably a name for the philosophy of going along with whatever is the most convenient and personally useful to people with some advantage in society. It is interesting to toss around these ideas, and just annoying that people often interrupt asking for money for various things, and lie on the footpath and get in the way, causing accidents when tripped over.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                You have proof that there’s something beyond the physical?

                Wrong question.

                “If it has a name, it’s just another thing.”

    • By ‘killing God’ (ending belief in a vast immaterial, spiritual, moral universe of consequences) the west only has abstract intellectual ideologies, out of touch theoretical frameworks and academic indoctrination left to fall back upon.

      What a load of bollocks and such tripe simply shows your ignorance.

      A punishing God is not necessary to work out moral actions and our philosophers have been working on these things for some time. Many of those philosophers were even priests.

      Out of these, ‘happiness and success through consumerism’ is just as rational and rhetorically defensible an ideology as any other.

      Actually, it’s not. Plenty of research shows that having more doesn’t increase happiness, what actually does increase happiness and even why truth and trust are necessary in society.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3

      ending belief in a vast immaterial, spiritual, moral universe of consequences

      [citation needed]

      Atheists are perfectly capable (perhaps more than deists) of ‘experiencing without self to sense the World’.

  3. greywarshark 3

    Ant
    That is such a great quote from the Dalai Lama. Very wise and thanks to him and you for passing it on.

    Thinking on how to be, while we are being, and how to be both happy and practically busy while we try to achieve our wants,without getting hooked on gold and things beyond reason, I liked this last para from Chris Trotter at Bowalley on how we might bring these things about.

    It seems to me that Jacinda has already caught a glimpse of this radically different future, and she is as determined as we are to reposition New Zealand in a way that keeps its people safe, prosperous and independent.

    My term for this drive towards a new consensus encompassing New Zealand’s diplomatic, military and economic future is “constructive engagement”. John [Minto] might prefer to call it “active democracy”. Whatever its name, I do not believe it is in any way unbelievable, idiotic or wrong to call for a united front of progressive activists on the ground, to complement and energise the united front of progressive parties – Labour, NZ First and the Greens – in Parliament.

    • Ant 3.1

      Agreed; not only has Jacinda Ardern endorsed ‘kindness’ but the speaker made a plea for more of it in his inaugural address. (Asked what religion he actually practiced the Dalai Lama replied “loving kindness.”)

      CV (above) seems concerned too many westerners quote the Dalai Lama rather than Christ, but it seems to me Christianity has become overly swamped by dogma/doctrine.

      Yet, (for those who had ears to hear it) the Nazarene indicated it was our task to evolve personal recognition of a transformative force whose domain was consciousness not form, – attained through harmonious interaction with fellow beings rather than through supplication to a faraway deity.

      Emerging amongst many is the perception that evolution has a new and subtler card to play, – not in terms of mutated forms but as altered mind set. The principle of natural selection remains unchanged: the survival and propagation of the new is dependent on its success, – in this context its ability to out-compete the elements that keep degenerative capitalism alive.

      In the revised paradigm success becomes defined as the discovery and exploitation of outlets for personal talent and skill that are of benefit to one another and the planet. “Ego” as we know it has the capacity to transcend its customary polarisation towards material possession, physical beauty, skill or strength. Indeed it can be drawn to flourish on a higher turn of the spiral affirming the role each is destined to discover in the reconstruction of viable societal forms promoting goodwill and pride in the human race.

      After all the dexterity (symbolised by opposable thumb and vertical gait) enabling the construction of material objects ranging from micro-surgical instruments to vast cities is about to be taken over permanently by automation. If that wasn’t enough we are inevitably going to be living with UBI, leaving us free to nourish what we sense as value lying at our deepest core.

      The time of the competitive ego, indulgently massaged in a milieu of one-upmanship and sickeningly sustained by aggressive advertising, is up.

  4. Ad 4

    Mills is mostly reacting to Malthus at the time.

    He’s also in the middle of the 1848 famines and civil uprisings right across Europe, so he can have his little utopian surge for that time.

    He hasn’t lived through the development of the entire social welfare system, nor the massive expansion of state wealth redistribution in the following century.

    Mill’s quote is stripped of context and has little relevance today, unless it’s setting up the tired “debate” of the usual complaints about consumerism at Christmas.

    Even public readings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol didn’t kick in to 1849, though it was gaining in popularity.

    • weka 4.1

      Lol, no, not Christmas (didn’t even think of that). More providing a talking point off the back of recent conversations on TS about capitalism.

      The Mill’s quote is linked to both its original text, and recent analysis from Jackson, so hardly stripped of context. I also put in the wikipedia article on Mills so that people could see the historical context.

      I think it’s interesting to look at what some people (albeit the white dudes of privilege) were thinking at the time that much was changing in the West. I found it interesting to see the connections with liberalism, the attitudes of the time that were struggling with liberal politics and welfare politics for all people, and how those things are entwined with the drivers of selfish culture, imperialism, capitalism and eventually neoliberalism. For those of us that think capitalism and neoliberalism are failing us badly and/or doing mass damage, that shit is relevant especially where you have people like Jackson looking for ways out/past.

      • Ad 4.1.1

        It’s Jackson that took the quote out of place, not yourself. You at least made an effort.

        Jackson needed more time studying Hobsbawm and some of the Marxist geographers. Also he could skip back to some of the hybrid feminist Marxists like Cixous and Irigaray: a world without desire ain’t much fun, no matter what you have or do not have.

        Even writers who show how movements form around climate hits, like Mike Davis, show that relationship between desire formation, geography, and social change with more subtlely than either Mill or Jackson.

        So far, the Kardashians are having more impact than the desire-free utopian academics.

    • AB 4.2

      “Mill’s quote is stripped of context and has little relevance today”
      Not so sure about that – “nor has any reason to fear being thrust back, by the efforts of others to push themselves forward” – has a sort of timeless feel to it I reckon.
      In fact doesn’t it partially explain the Auckland housing crisis – the desire of rental property investors to ‘get ahead’ helps fuel a price inflation bubble that kills the choices and quality of life of low income people?
      I actually think it is still the moral problem at the heart of competitive, market societies. The losers in any competition get hurt, and given that, how much harm can we tolerate before we have to fundamentally alter the nature of the competition, rather than just throw some scraps of social welfare relief to the losers?

      • greywarshark 4.2.1

        I remember at one of the disabled olympics in athletics, one of the competitors fell down and some of the others nearby stopped and gathered together, helped the person up, and they all went on together to cross the finishing line. Now is that a memory of an actual happening, or is it a good heartening story I heard about? Of how things could be, done differently with less need to push on to be first.

        Actually I have had an idea about how some at least of major and Olympic events could be kinder and fairer to us humans. Before a race where there was likely to be only millisecond between athletes, there would be a time-lapse allocated for first place so that anyone who registered within that period was awarded a first cohort place.

        Times have got to the tiniest fractions for placing, and any ordinary person would think if there were even three who managed to finish almost all at once, they had all performed with excellence and all deserved to be honoured. It’s madness to allow people to be cheated of their rightful recognition by the effect of a metaphorical blade of grass.

        Anyone who agrees please start spreading this idea around. The wonderful sportspeople are encouraged to knock themselves out by the present demanding rules of the competitive machine.

  5. Bill 5

    The thing about cage metaphors is that they miss out motivation. If we are in a cage, what’s to stop us swinging the door and walking out?

    Maybe a fuller picture can be drawn if we imagine that we’re individually and/or collectively on a stair case. Before us and behind us (or above us and beneath us), the staircase is shrouded.

    Motivation?

    Well, is it that we tend to imagine that clouds shroud the staircase up above us and mists shroud the staircase below and behind us? And since we generally imagine clouds as being benign and as housing only good things, and mists as harbouring unseen threats and dangers, we might say we’re driven by our notions of pleasure and fear (driven to attain one and avoid the other).

    And the staircase is a downward travelling escalator 🙂

    Hell, maybe in some strange way we are the escalator – and its motion as well as the entity scrambling to ascend or avoid descent?

    • greywarshark 5.1

      Deeep Bill, but once the mind gets exercised the prospects for change and how we run on a formula that’s familiar and what could we do if we stepped to the path less travelled the possibilities that crop up are interesting sometimes shocking.

    • JO 5.2

      ‘If we are in a cage, what’s to stop us swinging the door and walking out?’

      But… would we know we were in a cage? If we did, would we know it had a door that might swing open? Plato’s cave-cage – the shadow-bars in front of us while the reality creating them only allows us a shifting mumble of white noise?

      Would that familiar ‘reality’ be less terrifying, like the ‘reality’ of an economic cage constructed in an ideological cave several decades ago…?

  6. patricia bremner 6

    A third way is to live in the moment, but with hope for the future, and to value the people in our lives by what we say and do. KISS xx (keep it simple stupid).

    Many of us live alternate and different lifestyles which assist us and others. i.e. my husband and I have house sat and pet minded (hobby) for many years to extend our Australian contact with our sons brother/brother in law and cousins.

    While we spend 5 winter months in Australia each year, we have a relative or house sitters mind our unit cat and garden.

    We have all our bills and saving on the fortnightly drip from our pension and a small extra pension, which helps us save for airfares and costs.

    We also hire accommodation in OZ and share with the other brother/brother in law and friends, this helps keep us connected with things to look forward to.

    Many years ago, we made a decision to avoid the property trap when we were in our 50s.

    All our friends were trading up to larger “better” homes, but we chose to down size to a two bed roomed unit to get mortgage free.

    It caused comment, but when we retired at 60, to live in a motor home for five years, letting out our unit, I guess they realized what our choices had been about.

    Further we were available to mind their properties and pets while they visited relatives and friends.

    We grew our vegetables in pots and buckets, did freedom and motor home membership parking, as well as stays in camp grounds which welcomed motor homes. (there were 20 000 members then, about half were on the road)

    We visited our remaining parent, parking up for a week or two, three or four times a year, staying long enough to clean gutters the roof and the concrete paths. We would do the heavy tasks including fence renewals and painting.

    We had solar with an inverter for the fridge freezer lights and battery charging and internet power using sticks. We had a prepaid ‘phone and learned to text. Our friends were amused by Norm’s first answer phone message. “Please try again later, as we are otherwise occupied”

    It makes us sad to realize that we have added to the carbon footprint, as all our choices were aimed at keeping life as simple as possible, and the people we cared for included as much as possible.

    We are now 76, and we hope to do the house and pet minding and sharing ’till we are 80. We had 5 years part time in the motor home, and 11 years house sitting.
    We always have something to look forward to, and love life. It is the greatest gift.

    • Rosemary McDonald 6.1

      Hiya patricia bremner. We too spend most of our time ‘on the road’ (our number is in the low 30000s) and have also learned that ‘stuff’ is an encumbrance. Who has room in a space 7mx2m for excess? We live lean. We might consume 230 litres of water from our tanks per week…and that’s for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. So far no one has squirted air freshener in our direction. 😉 We have the very basic of fit outs, space for my partner’s wheelchair dictating space utilisation. We are warm, dry and comfy. We have a ‘not very smart’ phone for when we are in cell range, and access the interweb via the Aotearoa Peoples Network at a local library.
      We can save when we’re on the road from the Super…paid work being out of the question owing to the care needs of my man…but we do save $$$. We just don’t buy stuff unless we need it.

      And we don’t need much.

      However…have you checked out the latest motorhomes? Talk about examples of rampant consumerism and oneupmanship. Campers so big they struggle to find parking which ‘necessitates’ the towing of another small vehicle. Campers that already occupy ground space at least half as much again as us…and they still need the slide outs to increase their living space and accommodate their ‘stuff’. No solar on the roof is enough when you neeeeed that coffee machine and hair dryer….

      If and when we ever decide to settle down to fulltime housedwelling…and may that day be longtime coming…we would buy/build a very wee and basic abode that would be not that much bigger than the Bus, with maybe an extra bunkroom for family and friends, and not much more.

      “It makes us sad to realize that we have added to the carbon footprint, as all our choices were aimed at keeping life as simple as possible, and the people we cared for included as much as possible.”

      We too have the odd twinge along those lines…but I confess they are fleeting. When a safe and efficient bio diesel (or similar) is readily available we’ll be in like Flynn…but without going into the minutiae, I think our travel footprint is at least partly offset by our very low consumption in other areas. Travelling NZ, and meeting and talking with hundreds of folk from a vast variety of backgrounds is so… mind expanding…. for want of a better expression.

      In the meantime…that vilest of seasons is upon us. The Gods of Mindless Consumerism will demand their due from those silly people who have been sucked into the cesspit of christmas.

      regards, the Grinch. 🙂

      • patricia bremner 6.1.1

        Thank you for your reply, Rosemary.
        I too now need a walker, but our pet and home owners have booked us for 2018 and 2019. We have just been online with possible sitters for our wee home in Rotorua. We have a very small unit, our eldest son 1m 90cm said”Overnights only now Mum?” (He has visited longer than that.)
        That was a lesson in down sizing. Most things have 2 or 3 uses. Friends come in and comment how warm and welcoming it is. So easy to heat.
        Yes, some of the modern vans are “look at me” much like the boating fraternity, we come in all types. Mainly it is a great community. Our number was 189000s, so we were before it doubled after 2001.
        Like you we feel we offset our carbon by living inside others footprints and having our home occupied by someone as well.
        Christmas is lunch with our eldest boy, and skyping the rest. Real simple.
        Keep well and enjoy your travels, all the best to you both.

      • patricia bremner 6.1.2

        Ha ha, see I put one too many zeros in our van number group!!

        • Rosemary McDonald 6.1.2.1

          Haha…had an email exchange the other night regarding an inquiry about the availability of our POP. Their number was in the 76000s! I had to explain that no, we did not charge other members for safe, overnight parking (remember the old days patricia when we greeted fellow travelers as friends, rather than customers?) but a koha for power hook up is the convention. The ‘club ain’t what it used to be. Most folk these days join up for the benefits…especially discounts from major retail companies. Sigh.

          • patricia bremner 6.1.2.1.1

            Rosemary do you still take part in Rallies?
            We have considered having a POP for smaller/med vans, but felt that was for when we are home full time.
            We had a second hand Maui 6 berth originally, 5 yrs, followed by a Toyota Hiace4 yrs which we used for house sitting and short stays. Our final van was a disaster.
            Our camchain broke in our small Ford 2 berth, which we loved and only had a year, and wrecked the motor. On getting that repaired we discovered we had serious hidden rust. So major refit and replace and paint
            To repair all that was $10 000 6 yrs ago. We sold, partly because of that and my loss of physical ability as I had Polio at age 6 and aspects of muscle weakness crept up on me and made the step up hard work.
            We missed the life, but talking to others things have changed and many abuse the system now, and there are many who are not involved in the old idea of “leaving it better than you found it” club. If you are ever in Rotorua we are in the phone book under Norm, give us a ring and come and park over.
            We are home Dec to end of May each year. Regards Trish and Norm.

  7. eco maori 7

    What about the theory that we are all just data everything is data on a computer. To much for me to grasp. We all know that consumerism has to be changed we have finite resources so this is logical. I like the dalai lama words peace and kindness Ka pai

  8. MOULAE 8

    Well put—Happiness is temporal, and seeking to obtain it or achieve some constant state of happiness is a product of consumerism (among other things). Materialism isn’t just a belief, it’s a subversive practice that pistol whips reason in the face….Anyways- good points by all. RARE to see such intellectual hater-free conversation on the intronet…seek not to define and categorize, for everything in the world is perish-able, and everything produced and created through consumerism and materialism is finite and not a . It doesn’t help end wars and it definitely does not create peace-only the illusion of peace and the illusion of some particular state of being (happy, youthful, beautiful, wealthy, famous, being old, being free, etc), because all these share an impermanence and bring us further from god (not the one in Western religion). It takes ones focus and energies away from things that can nurture and sustain happiness via outcomes, such as genuine relationships and intrinsic goals and expectations, and replaces them with extrinsic ones (what one possesses, or how others regard you, and other things that aren’t satisfying in and of themselves. —blah blah blah—boring I know—I’ll shut up.

  9. MOULAE 9

    It also destroys woman–via the “Man”, which destroys the family, which are relationships that can’t be replaced—-Western philosophy and culture fails exceptionally in this aspect, and to compensate we blame our problems and insecurities on weaker and/or potentially superior/ or whoever the fuck we want, and murder them by the millions for mother fucking borrowed pennies that we don’t intend to ever pay back.

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    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
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 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
    23 hours 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
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  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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