Budget commentary

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 31st, 2019 - 65 comments
Categories: accountability, class, jacinda ardern, labour, national, Propaganda, quality of life, same old national, the praiseworthy and the pitiful - Tags: ,

Clearly this week’s commentary on the budget can be divided on a partisan basis.

There was the frankly bizarre.  Like this effort from Maserati driver Mike Hosking.

His last few budget headlines have been:

  • Govt’s wellbeing budget a looming disaster
  • Grant Robertson’s Budget is full of massive fiscal risks
  • What’s in today’s Budget – plenty of waffle and not so much wellbeing
  • The BS ‘wellbeing Budget’ – this Government’s blown it already

No one should be surprised that dishing out large amounts of cash on welfare reform, upgrading rail and mental health support did not attract his support.  In fact the day that Mike is pleased about something the Government does is the day that us lefties should critically review our support.

Radio New Zealand has covered the budget and the events leading up to it extensively but it has this frustrating habit on spending as much time on opposition gocha lines and interviewing people to see what personal benefit they received as on the content of the budget itself.

Some complained.  But there were others who captured the essence perfectly.

Like this effort.

And this column by Bernard Hickey neatly summarised the social media turmoil that erupted this week and compared it to what was acutally important.

He compared what was happening on social media with what was happening in real life.  From the real life he said this:

Year 13 students Lu Faaui, Uili Tumanuvao, Sela Tukia, Francis Nimo and Efi Gaono … talked about what they wanted from the Budget. They had been forced to move out of state houses in Glen Innes (Tamaki Regeneration Company) to South Auckland and their parents were working multiple jobs to pay for private rentals.

They were paying $40 a week to travel across Auckland each day to Tamaki College.

“Just like Sela said, it’s forced us to move out of GI (Glen Innes) and yeah my family just decides to cope with it. It’s made my Dad work even more hours. My mum gets two jobs, my sister gets two jobs. I mean, money is money you know,” said Lu.

His conclusion about their desires was neatly captured in this sentence:

All those teenagers wanted was affordable and convenient housing and transport so they could easily go to school and their parents didn’t have to work so hard.

He then said that this is what the Government should have told those young people and their families:

Here’s what I would have said to those Tamaki College kids.

The Wellbeing Budget included lots more spending on primary mental health care, rail network maintenance and a welcome indexation of benefits to wages, rather than prices. It started to focus on things like child poverty numbers, carbon emissions and suicide rates, but did little to solve their problems with housing and transport in Auckland.

I’d tell them there was very little new spending on housing. KiwiBuild was barely mentioned. The new rail lines in Auckland are still just an aspiration. I’d tell them the Government could borrow enough to start re-engineering their city to be more affordable, liveable and carbon neutral, but wasn’t doing that because Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson made a promise two years ago not to borrow more than 20 percent of national income.

I’d say that’s a bit like their parents earning a joint income of $100,000 a year and having debt of $20,000. And that the bank wanted to lend them the extra $20,000 they needed to build a new home and have affordable and carbon-neutral transport. That would lift their net debt to income ratio to 40 percent. And that the interest cost would be 1.7 percent per year, which would mean the extra interest costs for their parents earning $100,000 a year to afford that house and rail system would be $340 a year.

But that politicians generally and the public were so worried about that extra $20,000 in debt and what the financial markets might say that they weren’t fixing Auckland’s housing and transport crisis. Sorry about that.

And his conclusion about the effect on social media on political discourse was this:

The best example of how this increased metabolic rate of politics has warped the public debate is to point to what has happened in America and Europe, where increasingly polarised politicians shout at each other from their own bubbles of supporters and nothing changes. Meanwhile, other forces keep screwing the scrum of democracy to further their own interests.

The end result is a disengaged public, policy paralysis, a lot of noise and not much light.

I understand how it happened and I’ve been living in it now for a decade. A political firmament driven by social media, sound bites, cheap shots and one-day-wonder stories is not going to solve the problems of South Auckland or Tamaki.

Everyone should take a chill pill, stop jumping to conclusions for a quick political hit and instead think beyond the beltway to the real world and long term concerns of citizens.

Jacinda Ardern clearly realises this.  And currently she is without match in New Zealand politics.  Long may it continue.

65 comments on “Budget commentary ”

  1. Kat 1

    Like the sounds of dregs going down the plug hole so are the cries from National and their poodles in the media.

    The widespread support for this budget will be evident in voter support. Simple really.

    Three terms at least for Jacinda Ardern. Hopefully Winston stays around as well to see the rail revival.

    • Bewildered 1.1

      Not as bad a the whining left in getting their butts royally kicked in Au That was more like when you drop a teaspoon down your sink waste disposal or scratching your fingers across a black board

    • infused 1.2

      there's not, actually. you're only listening in your bubble. there is dissatisfaction from all sides about this budget.

      I think this govt is going to have a massive issue with the economy next year and all this additional spending.

      The world economy is about to hit the breaks I believe.

  2. Bewildered 2

    I think whale Oil contributor got it right

    “The talk all through the budget presentation was about ‘wellbeing’ but really this is a typical socialist budget. It ignores taxpayers and provides extra support to those who do nothing. There is nothing unusual and nothing special about it.

    Notably, there is no wellbeing for teachers or midwives, and no wellbeing for superannuitants either… not even free health funding for seniors, which is a promise that Winston made at the last election too.

    All in all, there is little or nothing in the ‘wellbeing’ budget for most New Zealanders.

    So the Wellbeing Budget is just another slogan. Like ‘9 years of neglect’ or “Let’s Do This’.”

    • Muttonbird 2.1

      There is some wellbeing for teachers: 9.3% over three years. It's just that teachers have decided not to take it at this point.

    • mickysavage 2.2

      So addressing need is a bad thing? There are plenty of wealthy superannuants around. There is a significant spend on mental health and on rail and benefit reform. The effects will trickle around and help us all.

      • bewildered 2.2.1

        1b on rail is a drop in the ocean and simply throwing good money after bad into this never ending sink hole;

        Couple of new shiny jets, capital and infrastructures maintenance yawn

        mental health fair enough, benefit reform ( sell that to hard working, struggling kiwis)

        end of day nothing for productive sector, sugar coat budget with meaningless slogans ( cindy expertise) however it is more of the save and will not do one jot for nz long term position and prosperity More then likely simply stagnate economy or We go backwards with increasing debt as forecasted growth is not manifested

        • Kat 2.2.1.1

          Why don't you push off to Oz then, sure you would be more happy there. The majority of us are happy here. Oh, and while you are in Oz watch out out for all the ‘anti sink hole’ trains they have operating.

          • bewildered 2.2.1.1.1

            You just bath in your feelze good environment until reality hits you between the eyes their Katz

        • infused 2.2.1.2

          spot on.

      • Grumpy 2.2.2

        My God…..Mickey Savage on "trickle down" economics! I need a lie down.

        Hickey's article shows his increasingly leftie disconnect. I doubt the average struggler in South Auckland cares anything about "Carbon Neutral" transport. They are just trying to get on with their lives and, for their, trouble, are just about to be slammed with an increase in fuel tax!

        • Kat 2.2.2.1

          Look again…"trickle around"………that has a more socially beneficial construct.

      • higherstandard 2.2.3

        "The effects will trickle around and help us all."

        Ye Gods Greg quoting Roger Douglas…isn't that one of the horseman of the apocalypse.

      • Grafton Gully 2.2.4

        The spend on mental health might increase the prevalence of mental illness in NZ as people who now suffer in silence are revealed and those who pretend to suffer take advantage. There has been disagreement about the definition of mental health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26038353

        • Sacha 2.2.4.1

          "those who pretend to suffer take advantage"

          Yep, those counselling sessions are primo on the black market.

    • Grumpy 2.3

      To be fair, Labour are struggling to remain relevant to their traditional working class supporters while promoting the various high income voter concerns around Climate Change. The cost of the latter will soon lead to the loss of support from the former – as we have seen in the US and Australia.

    • Sacha 2.4

      "no wellbeing for superannuitants "

      Our universal pension programme should help – and is heading for over half of welfare spending in coming years, without the slightest sniff of reduced eligibility. Don't worry, younger people will cover it.

    • Pat 2.5

      Lol…doncha love it when those supporters of the previous administration suddenly discover their consciences and begin advocating for improved pay and conditions for the very groups they delighted in screwing down during their tenure

    • Of course it is a typical socialist budget. You point this out as if it is a bad thing. Its a great thing. You really are bewildered.

    • Lucy 2.7

      "It ignores taxpayers and provides extra support to those who do nothing. " Having been a high paying tax payer, a job seeker, and a person with a chronic disease I know which I prefer to be. Which is why I always made sure that I paid my full complement of tax because I felt that the rest of NZ would be doing the same if I ever needed support. How wrong I was! When Sir John, Sir Bill, most farmers and top business people can pay less tax than a beneficiary then we have a broken system. Not just that, when we have the top tier feeling like they shouldn't have to pay as "anyone can pull themselves out of poverty, I did" then you have a society that is unsustainable.

  3. adam 3

    Important question mickeysavage, and yes the partisan crap has got worse. I wrote somthing yesterday being critical of all polies,

    https://thestandard.org.nz/the-treasury-website-hack-that-wasnt/#comment-1622746

    and what happens, some hack comes back with "As if Labour would have if they had been in opposition." missing the point entirely. Big ups to I FEEL LOVE for their reaction.

    Yesterday was also littered with commentarors not handling any criticism from the left about the budget either. The response from those commentators was filthy and pathetic at times, at others just rude and juvenile. Truly partisan hack displays.

    My personal opinion on the budget is it is stupid to talk about change, when you cling desperately to an economic ideology which does not work. As I said before the election, NZLP's commitment to hard right economics, has only one out come – hard right wing outcomes.

    Was the budget better than 9 years of the last shit government, without a doubt. But national set the bar so low, and this economic model is so restricting, I and many others are finding it hard why people love this budget. It is so underwhelming, and anyone with half a brain would have seen that it was coming.

    My final though is why are so many of the partisan hacks from both sides bothering? You are basically arguing over the crumbs from the table, pointless. Either work together, or work for system change – both will make our society better.

    • Rosemary McDonald 3.1

      Well said.

    • bewildered 3.2

      “9 years of shit”

      in substance how is this wellbeing budget much different than national 2014 budget ( random selection ) beyond the slogans One could argues the 2014 budget has greater well-being to middle nz and kiwi families than its 2019 cousin
      NZ herald May 2014

      1.A $372 million surplus in the coming year – the first since 2008 – and forecast to reach $3.5 billion in 2018.

      Bill English has delivered an election year Budget which includes a bigger than forecast surplus, free doctors' visits for 400,000 more children, big cuts to ACC levies and dangles the prospect of tax cuts in front of voters. Finance Minister Mr English said the Government's much vaunted return to surplus would be $372 million, still slender but well ahead of the wafer thin $86 million forecast six months ago thanks to a rosier economic outlook.

      2.Treasury forecasting economic growth to average 2.8 per cent over the next four years, peaking at 4 per cent next year.

      3. Free doctors visits' and prescriptions extended from children under six to those under 13.

      4. Paid parental leave extended from 14 to 18 weeks – and eligibility to be expanded to cover seasonal workers and those who have recently changed jobs.

      5. Parental tax credit raised from $150 a week to $220 – and the payment period extended from first eight weeks of baby's life to ten weeks.

      6. ACC on track for more cuts in levies,

      7. Interest-free loan of $375 million for New Zealand Transport Agency to accelerate Auckland transport projects.

      8. 5 cent duty on cheques abolished.

      9. Import duties on plasterboard, reinforcing steel and nails suspended to cut the cost of building a new home by an estimated $3500.

      10. A further $198 million injection into Kiwirail to make its freight operations commercially viable, taking the cost of bailing out the state company to more than $1 billion.

      • adam 3.2.1

        Really, the freeze on police wages, the cuts to boarder security (fruit-fly ringing any bells for you?) the cuts to health and the overall not keeping abreast of inflation budget of 2014 – yeah I remember it.

        I also remember saying it was crumbs from the table then, which gets back to the main point of mickysavage's great post – partisan crap means we are getting nowhere. But if that your stitch go for it.

  4. veutoviper 4

    mickysavage, I agree that Bernard Hickey's Newsroom article which you linked to in your post was very much on the point. However, did you listen to Morning Report this morning and in particular the segment on the Budget with the panel comprising Bernard Hickey, Morgan Godfery, Fran O'Sullivan and Sue Bradford?

    As discussed in the thread @ 2 on today's Open Mike, I agree with Sanctuary, Macro and others (including Wayne) that it would be nice to get a few fresher people on such panels (and that RNZ National is a bit 'meh' at present); but did you actually hear the ratings each member of that panel gave the Budget? Morgan gave it 6 out of 10, Fran then gave it 7 but Bernard then gave it only 5, with Sue agreeing with that rating.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018697577/budget-2019-where-s-the-money-going-panel-discussion

    I was a little disappointed in those ratings and understand why many people are disappointed that more 'instant' fixes were not included in this round. I also have some disappointments in some areas I would have liked to see more action – eg more support in the areas of disabilities etc.

    OTOH, I also understand the restraints on, and risks of, charging ahead with change at a breakneck rate. (Think Kiwibuild … but I degress.)

    If you did not listen to Nine To Noon on RNZ National this morning, I really recommend the first two interviews which were also on the Budget, the first being with two profs from the Victoria University Institute on Governance and Policy Studies which set the scene for an indepth half hour interview with Grant Robertson himself.

    I commented in more detail on these two interviews @ 9 on today's Open Mike with links to the two interviews.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31-05-2019/#comment-1623246

    I highly recommend these two interviews as they both gave good insight into the restraints etc on charging forward with full throttle 'transformation', but more importantly, the thinking and changes in approach that took place in drawing up this Budget as a first step towards longer term transformation.

    I also recommend noting the very valid comment made by Macro at 9.1 which I intend replying to shortly. As Macro points out these are first steps only to move away from using GDP as the prime metric for measuring a country's wellbeing etc.

    • Rosemary McDonald 4.1

      I also have some disappointments in some areas I would have liked to see more action – eg more support in the areas of disabilities etc.

      People with disabilities(non ACC), including those with chronic mental health issues have been doing it very, very hard for the past twenty years.

      There are government agencies charged with providing support for these people… be it via Health, HNZ or MSD, yet all of them have been corrupted by successive governments that have been quite content to allow these bureaucracies to ration supports and terrorize eligible citizens.

      Successive governments have allowed these bureaucracies to indulge themselves in endless policy work resulting in yet another 'Strategy' or 'Action Plan'… which sound really really good but in actuality make it even harder to get the support needed. And of course the budget gets even tighter and the rationing increases because the funding is being consumed by the bureaucracy.

      Successive governments have allowed these Ministries to contract out much or all of their work to the private/"charity" sector and have thereby created an insatiable monster that sees those in need of services as potential income rather than human beings eligible and /or entitled to reliable, high quality supports.

      The successful legal challenge to this iniquitous system brought by family carers of non ACC disabled with high/very high and complex care needs resulted in one of the worst responses in New Zealand's legislative history. The current government promised to repeal that legislation…but I believe now that was just another lie.

      Why? Because repealing that piece of legislation and allowing the disabled person to pay whoever they choose to provide the vital supports they have been assessed by the NASCs as needing would have been an easy piece of work, would have increased 'wellbeing' for this particular group enormously and very probably been surprisingly cost effective as using Individualised Funding would be cheaper than the hourly rate charged by the private/"charity" sector. So why not do this? It'd be a great headline, garner much needed goodwill…??

      Because this government is exactly the same as it's predecessors….they simply don't understand the long term effects insecurity has on a person with health and disability needs. When you literally can not rely on the supports or treatments you might have today being available and/or funded tomorrow…life becomes almost untenable. It is a precarious edge- of- the -cliff existence, which if mental illness is not already a feature it will not be far off.

      It will not be this Government that decides to end the iniquitous inequality between those fortunate enough to be under ACC and those 'incurables' under MOH.

      But I'll bet they'll celebrate the EOLC Bill when passes.

      (It is great to see you back veutoviper.)

      • Sacha 4.1.1

        It occurred to me yesterday that this govt are likely to be treading water until Heather Simpson's big health review suggests changes to disability support arrangements.

        Why they can't communicate that is beyond me. Muppets.

        • McFlock 4.1.1.1

          It'd get a bit like "mother of dragons". Seven bloody years of everyone saying "dragon" in hushed tones before we finally saw why everyone thought dragons were the dog's bollocks.

          • Sacha 4.1.1.1.1

            They'd probably wheel out a tuatara and hope we would buy that instead.

    • patricia bremner 4.2

      Dear Veutoviper, welcome back, and thank you for your insightful comments and attachments. I was so pleased to see your contributions.

  5. SPC 6

    The interesting thing is really the allocation of new spending in the years ahead. Because that will determine what the government can afford to do next year and the following term as well.

    For example teachers, their deal is one for 4 years 2017-April 2021. Will government negotiate that on time, or will it delay to put it beyond the 2022-23 year to defer this cost it to new spending allocation beyond that time? A really smart union would negotiate on that point now. Even agree to the government pay offer, on the condition the next pay deal gets negotiated now and comes in asap after 1 April 2021? And have the talks include a wide range of related issues (that could be funded in the 2020 budget or second term budgets).

  6. Jackel 7

    Yes, the usual hyperbole, hysteria, half truths and good old fashioned vitriol from those on the right. You do have to wonder what if anything is going on in their heads. It will take the psychologists a while to cure them of this tory disorder.

  7. Cinny 8
    • A new frontline service for mental health with a $455m programme providing access for 325,000 people by 2023/24
    • Suicide prevention services get a $40m boost
    • Specialist services as part of a $320m package to address family and sexual violence.

    But hey… maybe some people like to think more about ME and less about WE.

    And who are the grown ups?

    What about that little child who is living surrounded by violence. Are their circumstances their fault. Who will help them? That child doesn't want a ghost chips tax cut.

    Young people are so unhappy they are killing themselves in droves. But hey I guess that don't pay any taxes so who cares about them?

    Personally I'm finding some of the media narrative surrounding the release of this budget freakin obscenely selfish and bordering on macabre.

    I must say that twitter commentary on simons twitter is beyond hilarious, 5 star entertainment plus, it's beautiful to read. Well done NZ.

    https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1133949110027837440

    • Peter 8.1

      I tried to turn over to the next page of that Bridges message to see the stats of how many new jobs were created over 9 years in Whanganui, Northland and the East Coast. All in the spirit of wanting every NZer to get ahead and the best way out of poverty being getting a job.

    • greywarshark 8.2

      That's a great old standard from Simple Simon. Isn't he just begging for a pie in the face? Have to be a cream pie, done in piped shaving cream for style, smoothness and hygiene, anything else probably would be condemned by Health and Safety.

      Another:

      Mary had a little lamb.

    • Wensleydale 8.3

      People at Farmers and KFC are really feeling the love from their employers. I'm sure they're over the moon with how effortless it is to "get ahead" given they all have jobs. You can be in full-time employment and still be in poverty. It's not grinding Third World level poverty where you spend your days beating your undies on a rock to get them clean, or drinking from a well full of bat guano and body parts, but it's not what you'd call "living the dream". Simon would likely know more about the plight of the working poor if he weren't so busy projectile-vomiting pompous drivel onto the national airwaves.

  8. Stuart Munro. 9

    Well I don't see much for me in this budget, but never the less I feel it's a good show. If one like this had been produced under Clark she might've lasted a little longer.

    Many things have deteriorated since then, so there is still plenty left to do. But they have demonstrated an ability to recognize priorities and make changes, which the writhing mass of bumbling corruption that is the Gnats can scarcely imagine.

    Shades of the old Ashleigh Brilliant line: By accepting you as you are I do not altogether abandon hope of you improving.

    • greywarshark 9.1

      That's good Stuart – "the writhing mass of bumbling corruption that is the Gnats…"

      +100 on everything you said.

  9. Mary-Ann de Kort 10

    Hi Mickey

    Thanks for this and many insightful articles . Just one thing though. Can we please have positive things at the start of the articles as many only read part and it would change the discourse of what they read.

    About the budget. I've chosen to think is it as the first budget I've seen for a long time which will change our future. There is so much to be fixed but the Nats left so little. By enabling our kids through better education, addressing mental health, building real to get our country moving, spending on r&d and start up business, planting trees and regional development we are looking to a future for all NZers. Yes, the here and now is important but I firmly believe that the above are only a few of the policies which will lead to better incomes and thriving local communities and economies.

  10. Observer Tokoroa 11

    The Obliging Simon

    Following the Prime Minister and supposedly Speaking to the "WellBeing Budget", Mr Bridges surprised me. He is returning to his childhood.

    He Promised that as soon as he got into Power next Election, he would put Oil on the Table.

    Now not many people eat or drink oil . Fewer and fewer people are wanting that great Carcinogen – Diesel. It is Lethal. As is Petroleum.

    But Simon is stuck in his boy hood, and will not move towards Electric Energy. Electric Energy is faster. It is Cheaper by far. It is safer. But Simon hates it. Why? Because when he talks he screeches and forgets his words. He also forgets that the world is rapidly turning away from Lethal Oil – to heavenly Sun!

    National is way way behind the rest of the World. In every aspect of Life! It does not even believe in building safe, gunge free, Clean Hospitals. Sir John key told him not to build proper Hospitals. So did Billy English.

    Simon also is not going to remove Pollution. Neither is his friend Donald Trump. The whole of National and possibly Kathryn Ryan, see no point in removing Pollution. They like Filth. Because it is Toxin and belongs to our precious Farmers.

    Simon and probably Kathtyn, although I have no certainty on this, are going to go through the Nation establishing which women have what DNA so they can keep an index of their sexual intercourses. National want more money from laid women. I kid you not ! In order to reduce the Cost of Beneficiaries. They will hunt down the men during the cricket season in Australia.

    Amy and Mrs Bennett are full of Admiration for National. In particular they admire Mr Bridges. Hardly anybody else does.

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 11.1

      …..Simon also is not going to remove Pollution. Neither is his friend Donald Trump. The whole of National and possibly Kathryn Ryan, see no point in removing Pollution. They like Filth. Because it is Toxin and belongs to our precious Farmers.

      Observer Tokoroa

      And this is the Party that James Shaw has wasted so much time and political capital trying to get consensus with on the Zero Carbon Act?

      Probably why the Zero Carbon Act contains zero action on climate change.

      • solkta 11.1.1

        And this is the Party that James Shaw has wasted so much time trying to get consensus with on the Zero Carbon Act?

        Ummm, no not really. It was Winston First who was the big stumbling block. Big cause ummm, there vote was needed to pass anything. You really are dim.

  11. Jenny - How to Get there? 12

    The Warbeing Budget

    While health and education are being starved of funds there is no shortage of money for warfare.

    https://www.facebook.com/notes/peace-movement-aotearoa/wellbeing-budget-shocking-rise-in-military-spending/2230103127037044/

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  • “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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy 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 â€“ 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 DĂ©jĂ  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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    20 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
    24 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  Mƍrena, 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
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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