assets

Categories under assets

Then they came for Child Youth and Family

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, April 2nd, 2015 - 162 comments

The Government has appointed Paula Restock to head an expert panel tasked to review Child Youth and Family.  Even now the intent appears clear, outsource functions and cut costs.  But if they were determined to improve matters they should reduce child poverty.

A calculated feeding of the beasts within

Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 76 comments

The social democracy of my youth has radically collapsed into our current culture of individualism, privatisation and personal greed.

The Sky City Convention Centre

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, December 23rd, 2014 - 81 comments

Sky City is doing what Rio Tinto and Warner Brothers have done in the past.  Threaten to walk away from a deal unless the Government writes you a big cheque …

Thumbs down for Joyce’s ministerial domain

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 22nd, 2014 - 33 comments

A new report shows that Steven Joyce’s MBIE fiefdom is failing miserably.  Meanwhile the MBIE is under fire for the major cost blow out of the Sky City Casino deal – another deal with Joyce’s imprints all over it.

Sale of social housing stock won’t save costs

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 16th, 2014 - 20 comments

Hamilton City Council currently has plans to sell of its remaining pensioner housing stock. It already sold off a block of them in 2012. Of those sold, only 12 out of 53 units are available for seniors to rent at affordable rates. This is because 27 were sold as there was no social service provider able to buy them. So now Council want to sell the rest.

Partially Privatised Power Companies Chief Executives’ salaries surge

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 5th, 2014 - 13 comments

Chief executive remuneration packages in the privatised power companies have surged post float.

NRT: Wealth transfer

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, November 5th, 2014 - 11 comments

John Key’s latest answer to the housing crisis: bigger subsidies for private landlords! Subsidies to private landlords simply result in rent increases. It doesn’t increase the housing supply. But ole JK just likes screwing over young first home buyers..

First they sold Auckland, then the rest of NZ…?

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 3rd, 2014 - 28 comments

A quiet shift in a dodgy Key govt-SkyCity deal: TVNZ land, sold to SkyCity for its convention centre, is to be used for a new hotel.  Plus: non-mandated deal between Auckland Transport Authority & a US corporate – intense surveillance of Aucklanders’ diverse activities.

The Election That Left One Third of Us Behind

Written By: - Date published: 5:32 pm, September 23rd, 2014 - 171 comments

No one should begrudge John Key and the National party the right to celebrate an impressive election victory. It is little consolation to those who opposed them that the win is very much a personal triumph for the Prime Minister rather than for the party and government he leads. As the tumult and the shouting […]

National’s promises to you. #1.

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 22nd, 2014 - 31 comments

Nationals promises to you. #1.

Leading voices: TV debates

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, August 9th, 2014 - 101 comments

There’s much to discuss on the two election-focused TV debates conducted over the last 24 hours. Prime TV’s new show: Prime Time with Sean Plunket – Bennett & Turei on poverty/inequality (Prime TV Fridays 9.30pm): TV 3’s The Nation: Saturday 9.30am

Spread the word: enrol to vote

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, August 4th, 2014 - 15 comments

Live News is reporting that 40,000 people have been removed from the electoral roll because they have moved address. Their enrolment update packs were returned to sender with the message: “gone no address”.

Blinglish’s boondoggle bridge

Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, July 29th, 2014 - 34 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity has discovered that amongst the $212 million worth of road projects to be accelerated by the Government is a bridge that will speed up Bill English’s trip to his Queenstown home.  But officials have said that under current policy settings it is unlikely that the bridge will ever be built.

The real aims of National’s “Education” policy.

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, July 8th, 2014 - 149 comments

If the aims of National/ACT’s education policy were, genuinely, to to improve the learning, education and career choices for our children, including the ones that are failing at present, they would not be following policies which have signally failed to achieve any of these goals, anywhere else they have been tried.

Is Bill English’s ‘big data’, Big Brother & privatisation of govt?

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, June 30th, 2014 - 135 comments

Bill English has stated that a third term Key government would majorly reform the government’s budgeting & spending.  It’s a major move towards privatisation of public services, & full spectrum digitally-enhanced monitoring of individuals’ lives: especially those of the already demonised and harassed single mothers on benefits.

Polity: News from National Comms!

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, June 13th, 2014 - 40 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity on what has landed in his mail box paid for by your GST and also close to the wrong side the permissible limits of Parliamentary Services funds. Or perhaps this is something for “NZ Taxpayers Union” to moan about wasting taxpayers money with. They won’t of course because they seem to be good little front organisation for Act and Jordan Williams appears to have about as much independence as their beloved slaves. But if you received one, then a complaint seems in order.

Labour please take note.

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, May 26th, 2014 - 71 comments

The more that National publicly adopts “left wing” “socialist”  party policies, such as “free” medical care for children under 13, keeping the retirement age as it is, and balancing the budget, the more they rise in the polls.

National’s proposed public spending to GDP ratio – the election’s clear blue line

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, May 15th, 2014 - 72 comments

The real story of the coming election is what was revealed in Bill English’s reported pre-budget speech to the National Party’s Southern Region conference at the weekend. He signalled an intention to reduce the proportion of government spending to 26% of GDP over the next 6 to 7 years. The current level at 30% already places NZ in the lowest quartile of OECD countries, having fallen from 35% of GDP in 2008. Most developed nations spend a significantly higher proportion of GDP on government goods and services.

Key Govt asset stripping state housing

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, April 25th, 2014 - 54 comments

Phil Twyford has exposed the government’s asset-stripping approach to running down state housing, while  favouring of private & overseas entities.  The Greens & Mana have strong policies for increasing the amount of state housing. Still waiting for a commitment from Labour.

Inequalities of the 10 percenters

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, April 12th, 2014 - 28 comments

All inequality measures are not equal.  The GINI Coefficient is widely used but it doesn’t show the impact of vast increases in inequality between the richest and poorest Kiwis; it doesn’t show increasing experiences of hardship: it can mask vast inequalities in wealth & asset ownership.

NRT: Privatization is theft

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, April 3rd, 2014 - 33 comments

A government is carrying out a crash-program of privatization without a mandate. It is desperate to sell, so it sets the price of the shares artificially low, and loses $1.5 billion in a single day. No, this isn’t New Zealand (yet) – its the UK:

Walking the talk – protests Sat 29 March

Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, March 28th, 2014 - 63 comments

Tomorrow Today: Support the important Day of Action across NZ against the TPPA – the TPPA is anti-democratic, pro-corporate & will make life harder for ordinary Kiwis; Support the NZEI demonstrations in Auckland & Wellington, for a living wage, for an excellent public education system, against poverty that undermines education. [Update: photos & reports]

Corporates for TPP

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 22nd, 2014 - 47 comments

Big (US) Pharma has been the leading lobbyist that has shaped the TPP, followed by corporates in the following industries; Hollywood, automobile, textiles, dairy. This makes the TPP a major threat to the interests and well-being of Kiwis. Good reasons to take part in next Saturday’s Day Of Action (29 March 1pm) across NZ.

Closing the Gaps – Education & work

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, March 17th, 2014 - 8 comments

Simon Collins article on reducing inequalities for Māori & Pacific people. Māori and Pacific youth have become significantly disadvantaged in employment.  However, the article supports charter schools, without examining how such neoliberal intitatives are ultimately damaging for Māori & Pacific people.

Stand up for fairness in & for NZ – TPPA, March 29

Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, March 13th, 2014 - 6 comments

International, cronyist, corporate capitalism skews democratic processes in NZ, making it harder for the majority of battling Kiwis to get a fair go – harder to ensure all New Zealanders live in a society that works for them. The TPPA is a power-play between the US and other powerful countries.  There’s nothing in it for NZ. National Day of action March 29th, 2014.

Glen Innes ‘war zone’

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, March 6th, 2014 - 52 comments

A  photo/video documentary project in March Metro Magazine shows Glen Innes as a war zone.  The National Government’s war on the poor continues with the sales and removal of state housing.  Protest this evening at Glen Innes.

Militarism and the NZ Left?

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, February 28th, 2014 - 31 comments

Two uncritical articles in Auckland’s local press, raise questions about the role of the NZ military, and the educational and cultural impact of a military charter school.  Unstated and unquestioned, is the nature of NZ’s relationship with that of militaristic US imperialism.

The Genesis share float has problems

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, February 27th, 2014 - 17 comments

The Government has effectively conceded that the Genesis share float will not meet expectations and is softening New Zealand up to the prospect that only 30% of the shares may be sold. It makes you wonder why they are still going a head with the sale.

National – a party for wastrels

Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, January 24th, 2014 - 13 comments

The Crown Financial Statements to the end of November 2013 show that the sale of Meridian and Air New Zealand added hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of the asset sales programme. Combined with the cost of the Mighty River Power sale and ancillary costs such as the Rio Tinto payout, the total cost of the asset sales now stands at $440m. National just likes burning the money of the taxpayers for no productive purpose.

Obama’s TPPA bid to over-ride democracy

Written By: - Date published: 6:47 pm, January 10th, 2014 - 16 comments

There’s a tussle going on as Obama pushes to seal the deal and to limit Congress’s say on TPPA deals.  But, Congress would still have more say about the deals than NZ MPs. It’s about democracy & sovereignty.  It could slip under the radar over summer.

John Key’s patchwork ‘job machine’: user pays

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, December 28th, 2013 - 47 comments

John Key’s great idea for job creation – his cycleway project – has produced some benefits, but is a patchwork production.  Some sections will be user pays to fund maintenance.  Meanwhile the job creation benefits have been limited.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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 ...
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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 ...
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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 ...
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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 ...
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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 ...
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks 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
    2 weeks ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 weeks ago
  • At a glance – The albedo effect and global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    2 weeks ago
  • The Library of the Ratio: Published
    New story out, as part of the Winter 2024 edition of New Maps Magazine: https://www.new-maps.com/news/2024/03/spring-2024-announcement/ You may recall that The Library of the Ratio is the one set in Central Otago, focussing on the preservation of knowledge in a deindustrial environment. So this one is uncharacteristically local. It’s ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Lifting the lid on advice given to Melissa Lee – or rather, lifting a small bit of it
    Let’s play “spot the difference”. Above this text, you can see a copy of one small part of a briefing paper prepared for the Incoming (but not very outgoing) Minister for Media and Communications, Melissa Lee. The amount of enlightenment which resulted from Point of Order’s request to have a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • Govt will consider advice to cut the numbers of ETS units being traded – it has already decided to...
    Buzz from the Beehive The settings for New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme – a tool intended  to help meet the country’s climate goals – need adjusting and the number of ETS units reduced, Climate Change Commission Chair Rod Carr says in a report released today. There are too many units ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 weeks ago
  • The boy is home.
    It a remarkable turn of events my son is home 8 days after surgery. The contrast with his September surgical and post-operation experience is stark: what too 5-7 days in September (removal of most IVs and draining tubes, catheter, getting … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 weeks ago
  • TV layoffs not a threat to democracy
    Barrie Saunders writes – A few weeks ago I joined some contemporaries by abandoning the near sixty year habit of watching nightly TV news. I dropped it because I felt it did not give me real information that I had not acquired from other media sources, including some ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • How strangling housing supply is killing our capital city
    Is Wellington absolutely, positively ensuring it has enough housing supply? Yeah, nah …. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington faces an existential threat from NIMBYs, land-bankers and politicians of all shapes, colours and sizes who have successfully strangled housing supply until now.This week may well be the capital’s last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 weeks ago
  • Manufacturing the truth
    Chris Trotter writes – HISTORICAL PARALLELS between the impact of the printing press and the impact of the Internet are not new. Both inventions almost immediately began to undermine the command and control hierarchies of their respective societies. In the case of the printing press, the reimposition of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 weeks ago
  • Climate Change: A test for National
    He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has released its latest advice on NZ ETS unit limits and price control settings for 2025–2029. This is, in theory, technical advice on how many units the government should allow to be auctioned. But because the ETS system is under pressure due to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Luxon’s landlord myths, and the needless nightmare of high interest rates
    During the PM’s post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, Christopher Luxon claimed that renters will be feeling “grateful” for the way the government is putting “downward pressure“ on rents. Really. Allegedly, the coalition government is doing renters a massive favour (a) by giving landlords a huge tax break on the interest payable ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Trump election win could add 4bn tonnes to US emissions by 2030
    This is a re-post from Carbon Brief A victory for Donald Trump in November’s presidential election could lead to an additional 4bn tonnes of US emissions by 2030 compared with Joe Biden’s plans, Carbon Brief analysis reveals. This extra 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030 would cause global ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Wormy Encounters
    Note: A lot of you seemed to appreciate that I recorded last week’s story, “Gary”, as a mini-podcast. So I’ve done that again today. I can’t do this every time, but when I can, I will. Listen or read, you choose. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 weeks ago
  • Collins vague about science-sector plans but (there’s no rush with this one) she does promise gene...
    Buzz from the Beehive As Minister of Science Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins had been perturbingly quiet – until now. She was invited to address a BioTechNZ and NZTech summit today, giving her a platform to explain what she intends doing in  the science domain. She told her audience she ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 weeks ago
  • Life’s little victories
    Woke up this morning with a head cold. Probably. On the other hand, you never know these days do you? Best to check. All good, pleased to say, just the single line on the COVID test.Do you do this too? Do you leave the test sitting there for the day ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 weeks ago
  • A giant Henry VIII clause
    National introduced its corrupt Muldoonist resource-consent fast-track legislation to the House on Thursday, and rammed it through its first reading. Having read the bill, it is every bid as bad as signalled, taking selected resource consent decisions away from independent panels and putting them directly in the hands of Ministers. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 weeks ago
  • What media bias looks like
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – When news media took a pummelling last week at both TVNZ and TV3, a number of critics said part of the reason ratings are poor is the public don’t trust them. The public believe that the media is biased. The print media is similarly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 weeks ago
  • Better Event Trains
    Sometimes it might not feel like it, but our public transport system is significantly better than what it was 10 to 15 years ago. However one area where Auckland Transport continue to really struggle is with events and the most recent weekend was no exception with complaints about trains from ...
    3 weeks ago
  • Resistance is Fertile.
    It's a stormWithout endWhere's the lighthouse?Where's a friend?Come to thinkIt can't lastOnly if we resist“How would you describe the Government's first 100 days?”, Gerard Otto asked the other night. I replied, “a catastrophic clusterf#ck of corrupt cronyism, colonialist comprehension, cigarette butt charisma and craven cruelty.” Maybe some of you agree, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 weeks ago
  • Why isn’t the funding on the same fast track?
    Wellington’s Transmission Gully is an example of a PPP-funded project that was delivered late and over budget. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government is trumpeting the speed, breadth and single-decision-making tools it is creating for itself to get big projects consented quickly, but its funding plans remain on decidedly slower ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 weeks ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 18 and beyond
    Photo by Savannah Wakefield on UnsplashTL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include a Cabinet meeting today, selected price indices for February on Wednesday and migration data for January on Thursday.Next week, Parliament resumes on Tuesday for two weeks, the US ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 weeks ago
  • The great Parliamentarian who was not so good at politics
    Jonathan Hunt, who died aged 85 last week, was a Parliamentary institution. Few MPs have embraced its traditions and processes with as much devotion as Hunt. First as Labour’s Chief Whip back in the late 70s and early 80s and then as one its most successful Speakers between 1999 and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 weeks ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #10
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 3, 2024 thru Sat, March 9, 2024. Story(s) of the week Two stories on one topic inexorably lead to a third story. Fury after Exxon chief says ...
    3 weeks ago
  • 2024 Regent Booksale
    As in 2023, Dunedin’s Regent Theatre Booksale is no longer held at the Regent Theatre. Nor does it run from noon Friday to noon Saturday, allowing midnight visits. No, it is now held at the Edgar Centre, and runs from 10 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday. So it ...
    3 weeks ago
  • Talkin' Bout A Revolution.
    How are you?Recent weeks have felt pretty rough for the left. The resignation of Grant Robertson, the loss of his towering intellect, wit, and compassion. The heartbreaking loss of Efeso Collins, a young man with so much positivity who wanted to do good things for people. All the while this ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 weeks ago
  • The State of David Seymour's Shameless Double Standards
    ..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.David Seymour has come a long way from portraying himself as a “lovable scamp”, etching a vision of his distended derrière - baboon-style - for unlucky viewers of Dancing with the Stars. It reinvented ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 weeks ago
  • Changing course
    I didn't just go to school to eat my lunch, I also went to play bullrush.Class time was fun too. We learned about Captain Cook and the Vietnam War and the life cycle of insects. One morning we trooped next door to the headmaster's house to watch something that might ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 weeks ago
  • The Bewildering World of Chris Luxon – Entitlement
    ..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Writing for Newsroom on a Friday mid-morning, veteran investigative journalist, Marc Daalder’s story on Chris Luxon’s ministerial allowances exploded onto the nation’s political stage:..The Prime Minister will receive a $52,000 top-up to his $471,000 ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 weeks ago
  • Another Brief on Intelligence Matters.
    Although my son is still in hospital he is recovering well and should be sent home soon. We dodged a bullet thanks to the Starship medical staff. While at the hospital a reporter from one of Argentina’s oldest and most … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 weeks ago

No feed items found.

  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-29T00:53:38+00:00