Comrade Chris wants to solve Aotearoa’s housing crisis

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, September 28th, 2022 - 64 comments
Categories: Carmel Sepuloni, chris bishop, housing, national, national/act government, same old national, Social issues - Tags:

Something unusual has happened.  Chris Bishop, or as we should now call him Comrade Chris, has come out fully in favour of a vast expansion of the provision of social housing for kiwis.

According to Comrade Chris it is a moral disgrace that people are staying longer and longer in motels.

From Jane Patterson at Radio New Zealand:

Emergency housing was put in place by National to tackle the homeless crisis; its use skyrocketed during the pandemic and has now become a long-term option for many.

The average stay in 2018 was three weeks, but that’s now blown out to more than 20 weeks, based on information provided to National housing spokesperson Chris Bishop.

He described the current state of emergency housing as “a total social and moral disaster for New Zealand”; he had “real concerns” about the safety of some residents, both from what people living there tell him and from media reports.

“The simple reality is we do not want children growing up living in motels,” Bishop said. “We are now caught in the situation where there are children being born in emergency housing; some young kids out there who have no no other life other than living in a motel room. That is an appalling state of affairs.”

I could not agree more with him more.  It is good that homeless people have somewhere to stay but this should only be a short term interim arrangement.  While we no longer see the huge numbers of people living in cars that we did six years ago there is still a housing crisis.

But Bishop’s comments really jar.  As said by Carmel Sepuloni the government is still working to reverse the housing deficit created by the previous National government. Bishop’s criticisms were “incredibly disingenuous” and showed a “shocking level of hypocrisy”.

It is not as if National left the country a deficit of 70,000 houses which has now been reduced to 10,000, or that there were huge numbers of working families sleeping in their cars.  Or who can forget the Methamphetamine hysteria that gripped Housing Corp and caused huge misery to many innocent people?  Or the great sell off of Housing Corporation units or that National kneecapped Housing Corp by requiring it to pay the Crown a dividend?

Comrade Chris’s acceptance of the importance of good quality housing is welcome.  But I will not accept that it is heart felt until he apologises for the worst excesses of the last National Government and how it’s disastrous handling of housing created a crisis.

64 comments on “Comrade Chris wants to solve Aotearoa’s housing crisis ”

  1. Anker 1
    • Shouldn’t we just be pleased thatBishop is saying this (and will hopefully follow through if National form the next Govt)?

    afterall if we really want to see decent housing for the poor we should be celebrating that this is what National are are saying

    • Shanreagh 1.1

      Of course we should if that was all that there was to it.

      But no.

      Wait for the announcement that a govt dept doing good work in the community will be privatised as there is a buck to be made, or that wholesale slashing of govt depts will resume and continue until those who are left work 10-12 hour days or stuff does not get done.

      Or that hospital funding will be diverted to the private sector.

      If the Nats really meant it perhaps they would have the courage of their convictions and offer to be part of a cross party commission to work on this type of thing instead of making it a cheap election issue. Labour etc too…..also climate change.

    • weka 1.2

      that's not what National are saying though Anker.

      • Anker 1.2.1

        I had a brief look for National's housing policy and couldn't find anything recent.

        What do you think/know National are saying they are going to do about housing?

        Bishop obviously thinks kids and the vulnerable in motels is bad news.

        I doubt he will apologize for National's previous failing re housing. He's in opposition. The job is to attack Labour and say what they will do.

        • weka 1.2.1.1

          What do you think/know National are saying they are going to do about housing?

          I doubt they're going to do anything useful. Their immigration policy was a major contributor, they had a policy of selling off state houses, housing as investment is a value for them, landlord class etc. National don't care about housing for the poor.

          Bishop obviously thinks kids and the vulnerable in motels is bad news.

          Sure, most people do. He's got a good opportunity to slam Labour. It's puff though without solutions of their own.

          I doubt he will apologize for National's previous failing re housing. He's in opposition. The job is to attack Labour and say what they will do.

          That's what we think their jobs is. I think they think their job is to gain power.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 1.3

      Took them a while, but Gnat words can't be trusted, and, for me, trust is what it’s about.

      National housing spokesperson Jacqui Dean falsely claims they built 30,000 state homes when last in power
      In fact, the state housing stock fell by 2000 between 2009 and 2017.

      Bishop’s baby now; Dean's shifted to Conservation (presumably not of state houses).

      Meanwhile:

      KO stock 30/9/2015 67,198

      KO stock 30/9/2017 63,209

      KO stock 31/3/2022 68,765

      Not enough of an increase after 5 years moving in a better direction.

      I trust that the Gnats prefer self-serving tax cuts – whether that’s unfair, time may tell.

    • Mark 1.4

      National created this issue by selling off state houses using a fake meth scam to do it. Bishop was part of that govt.
      Proves just how slippery these politicians are, simply cant trust anything they say.

      • tc 1.4.1

        Chris bishop would struggle to lie straight in bed.

        Being an active member of keys cabal at the time he's about as genuine as a chocolate teapot.

  2. Maurice 2

    … there's money to be made somewhere in materials supply and contract building!

  3. tsmithfield 3

    Maybe National could get Labour's promised 100k kiwibuild houses back on track?

    • lprent 3.1

      It wasn't noticeable from the end of 2012 when they realised there was a problem (and threw Nick Smith at the problem), and when they got the boot towards the end of 2017.

      It really didn't seem to be a problem for the Nats then. I don't think that it will be now.

      The last National led governments sold state housing and built less than the number required to replace it. They made no effort to retain construction workers or construction companies during the GFC. Kept lauding and encouraging (via tax cuts for the already affluent and increasing immigration) the increased property values caused by a shortage of housing.

      The reserve bank had a much larger effect on building as they independently dropped mortgage rates via the OCR while trying to keep price inflation up. By 2017, most of the local inflation was directly due to the ever increasing cost of accommodation. And artificial shortage that they caused by their polices at the GFC..

  4. Peter 4

    MAD magazine years ago used to have cartoons of people saying things, in speech balloons, and off to the side in thought bubbles what they were really thinking as they made the comments.

    I picture Carmel Sepuloni's speech balloon with "Bishop’s criticisms are incredibly disingenuous and show a shocking level of hypocrisy,” and wonder about her thought bubbles. I don't know her and what she's like, but in her situation my bubbles would include things like, "Fuck off Noddy."

    • tc 4.1

      Carmel should be climbing into his disingenuous comments but not their style.

      A very winnable election the way these govt ministers allow the BS to linger without challenges, hope 2023 is different.

  5. weka 5

    As an aside, can someone please explain why the length of time has increased despite lowering of immigration and working visa tourists for the last 2 1/2 years? Not as a gotcha argument, I'd really like to understand what has happened here.

      • weka 5.1.1

        what's the connection?

        • Incognito 5.1.1.1

          IDK, I saw your singular comment in the back-end without any further context and decided to give it a shot. If it’s not what you’re after then simply ignore it.

        • lprent 5.1.1.2

          Immigration have a IT system that sucks.

          During the pandemic, a lot of staff quit or found alternate jobs. Their overall staff levels dropped by more than a quarter at early this year (and apparently by more than a third during the pandemic). For a starter most of them had their job roles changed as they moved from managing massive tourism and influx of low pay workers to managing people coming through MIQ.

          Most of the people who would have left would have been their more skilled staff at handling bulk immigration because those are who leave when their work disappears.

          They are currently competing for competent staff in an environment of high employment. Training new staff to be vaguely competent is a staff intensive business. Onboarding and ongoing training usually chews up about 5-8% of an organisations staff capacity. depending on staff turnover. With rapid increase and a constrained employment market it more likely to be getting close to 20% (hiring less competent for the same budget constrained money and having to train more).

          Plus there are a lot of changes coming through in immigration because there is a long overdue reset of immigration policies.

          Also of course immigration has been chronically under-funded (ie their IT sucks more than 20 years after it was realised that it sucked). They spent the whole of the Nat government period under a sinking budget relative to costs.

          Organisations take quite a while to scale up if they do something complicated. Immigration for the last two decades has been scaling down while demand has been increasing. Instead of dealing with it, governments have (until 2018) pushed the organisation into fire-fighting mode and a ridiculous policy of allowing what was effectively no real constraints in areas like piss-poor education immigration by-passes.

          But since 2017, the number of staff in INZ has massively increased to try to deal with the previous deficit by a do-nothing government. But they still haven't managed to upgrade their IT much. So they're throwing bodies at the problem because people are more flexible than code.

          The immigration job got more complex because of the pandemic at the same time, and then there are all of those new staff to train in how to begin the job and how to be more adaptive in a changing environment..

          It isn't a simple task … Personally I'd just cut back the workload until INZ have fixed their organisational issues, updated their IT, and stabilised their new policies. But instead we're more likely to see sob-stories from employers, our more self-entitled residents citizens, and potential migrants.

    • Poission 5.2

      There are a number of issues,all cumulative that have forced the housing problem including poorly thought out policy.

      1) NZ population since labour has been elected has risen by 260k at 2.76 per household that leaves a increased housing need of 93k units.

      2) Changes to tenancy legislation such as minimum standards,removed available inventory (some being demolished for infill housing,to be owner occupier or rented at higher yield)

      3) Increased infill developments have seen a decrease in the consent/ compliance outcome ( netting less then the total build say 20k unit consents less 10k existing unit).

      4) Changes to emergency housing requirements (from the covid response) has seen increased internal migration from semi rural,to cities with increased usage by younger demographics.

      5) Longer build times with more complex builds has constrained inventory expansion along with covid delay,and price inflation ( building sector 18%)

      6) Constraints on remedy for landlords with non performing tenants,has seen the nightclub remedy (where potential miscreants say with credit problems) do not get in the door.

      7) Policy change in new builds,where investors only have a 5 yr brightline test,there is a number of issues her with,some being left idle,short term rentals (air bnb) a town base for some work from home more (with a second property further out)

      Wasteful spending is also a big issue,with high cost talk fests etc,where the money (all borrowed) is spent on people to talk about homelessness, rather then a poisive outcome.

      • Ad 5.2.1

        My small additions to that good list:

        1. Availability of builders, tradespeople, and essential materials. No move by government to contest the materials duopoly, despite its own massive buying power

        2. Low wage industries like fruit picking being poorly regulated, with internal demand taking too long to lever up conditions for on-site accommodation. Recalcitrant crop farmers relying on cheap labour rather than investing in crop mechanisation

        3. Kainga Ora utopian perfectionism rather than less masterplanned volume housing. State sector overreach from a very low 2017 base

        4. The huge investment reward to shifting and then keeping your savings in rental housing, against any other asset class. Intergenerational house retention as the last vestige of security

        • Poission 5.2.1.1

          Yep,2 and 3 would be drivers.With 2 the problems come with contract suppliers of labour,or FBT with farm supplied accommodation.

          3 being driven to under performance inertia.There should also have been better enhanced maintenance of their inventory,such as retrofitting for enhanced energy efficiency .

          • Descendant Of Smith 5.2.1.1.1

            Add to that National took an approach in both health and housing by removing people who they felt didn't stand a shitshow of getting an operation / house by booting them off the waiting lists.

            This meant waiting lists severely underestimated demand. Logically also the more houses you bulldozed or sold the less there were available the less likely you were to stay on the waiting list. It was a self perpetuating right-wing wet dream – the fewer the houses the shorter the wait list.

            • Descendant Of Smith 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Bill English was going to solve the housing crisis in 10 years.

              https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/full-interview-with-bill-english-on-social-housing-reform/WF35UECYRJYPQ5BNKESTGDDKDA/

              Q. What are you going to do with the proceeds from the sale of state houses?

              English: Haven't decided. I mean, if we want less stock, there's not much point in rebuilding stock with it. So it might go into other forms of housing support or whatever. Some of it could go into the Consolidated Account. We haven't made a decision about that. Buit we are moving away from the model of being obliged to maintain the number of state houses, because that question is premised on the idea that we must have 60,000 houses. No we mustn't, actually. We must do something about the 6000 people in the queue [the waiting list of 5599 people as at 30 Sept 2014]. That's what we must do, and we'll deploy the proceeds accordingly. People are much more worried about the number of houses than the people in the queue. We are just going to keep on that debate until we change it. You should be kicking our arse over who's in the queue. Instead you guys are spending the next six months kicking our arse over how many houses we own.

            • Poission 5.2.1.1.1.2

              Like all measured systems the KPI's are structured to reflect the policy director,not the reality of the system

    • Craig H 5.3

      Net migration is slightly negative, but practically, the population just stood still rather than continuing to grow by 10s of thousands of people each year, so the downsizing of immigration just stopped making it worse. Temporary visa holders also aren't usually eligible for social housing, so have little to no impact on the waiting list.

      The basic reason for increases in time in motels is the lists continue to grow faster than new social houses are being built. One reason for that is that rents have increased faster than the accommodation supplement, so people become eligible for social housing who otherwise wouldn't. Another reason is that it is much harder to get placed straight into social housing from a difficult situation without going through emergency housing than in the past.

      One constraint on building and acquiring new social housing is that the income-related rent subsidy has to be appropriated each year in the budget, so limits how many social houses can be funded. IMO the Social Security Act needs to be amended to allow for the income-related rent subsidy to be an automatic appropriation in the same way as accommodation supplement and various benefits.

  6. Mark 6

    If National hadnt done the fake meth scam to kick people out of state houses so they could flog them off on the open market we wouldnt have this problem. Disgusting all that history has been shoved under the carpet and now the same party wants to come out looking like the hero with a solution?

    The issue of why all these people are still in emergency housing is because they are the less desireable tenants, covered in tattoos, criminal history, bad credit histories ect, These people were those in state housing that got kicked out into the private market by National!

    • Nic the NZer 6.1

      I heard plenty of complaints about excessive Rental and Housing costs well before Key was elected. This was well before knowing anything about contract Meth testing labs.

      So I don't think the entire problem was developed under Keys term.

      Look at the RBNZ household debt ratios to understand the time span of economic history across which the NZ housing bubble has developed.

      As the (automatic) improvement in non-govt savings ratios under the wage subsidy showed, the savings are directly inverse to the govt deficit. Under Cullen increasing housing debt was paying for the govt surplus. When that ended then Keys govt was desperately trying to get back to surplus by liquidating housing stock (and pushing those costs off the govt books). Obviously Cullens choice is less regressive but still has the same rationale and issues underlying it.

      The issue being that there is a moral imperative for the govt to run a surplus.

      This is the exact equivalent of saying the non-govt should not have savings (even for retirement), BTW. Especially so in a country which often runs a trade deficit.

      • Blazer 6.1.1

        'The issue being that there is a moral imperative for the govt to run a surplus'

        As the U.S has not had one for circa 40 odd years…does it say anything about American…morals?

        • Nic the NZer 6.1.1.1

          No.

          • Blazer 6.1.1.1.1

            pourquoi.

            • Nic the NZer 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Your asking if its possible to make moral judgements directly from a balance sheet?

              Laughably, you also like to style yourself a critic of Capitalism.

              • Blazer

                Your comment,not mine…'The issue being that there is a moral imperative for the govt to run a surplus.'wink

                • Nic the NZer

                  Yes, I came to that sentence later and decided it was somewhat ambiguous. But in context it should be obvious to anyone able to pass 5th form english, that I meant a 'supposed moral imperative'. But anyway, thanks for the pedantry pointing out the ambiguity.

                  • Blazer

                    Hilarious.cheeky'should have been obvious'….learn to say what you mean!

                    5th form English too much for you..was..it.

                    • Nic the NZer

                      Usually I assume an above 5th form level of english comprehension to readers here. But I can keep this in mind for other threads involving you in future.

                      In answer to your question, again, no.

  7. kat 7

    Can someone please explain in plain language why Labour continues to avoid reinstating a govt backed 21st century Ministry of Works. Before anyone starts scoffing, remember this country once had a nation wide construction system that built, railways bridges and dams, even with a wee bit of shovel leaning.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Works_and_Development

    Then of course there were 'houses' built.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_housing

    • Ad 7.1

      It's in the depth of the state rollback in the 1990s stripping the capacity of the state to execute, and the inertia to return.

      There is ideological inertia in that there's not been an upswell in an alternative to New Public Management theory. So much continues to be contracted out, and any residual political role highly constrained by independent Boards.

      Even when given the opportunity to do so, public entities such as Auckland Council fail to give full-throated development power to Panuku.

      What follows from that is legislated structural inertia. Very little of the core Acts that set corporatisation up have been much altered. The State Sector Act 1989, Public Finance Act 1986, State Owned Enterprises Act 1986, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994 are solid as ever. The State Sector Act has had useful alterations recently.

      That multi-decade structural inertia is locked in. Check out how Kiwibank – set up to contest banks that used to be owned by the NZ public – has been constrained to a tiny marketplace share. The main place state-directed capacity has been reversed somewhat is Kainga Ora, but with limited and still heavily corporatised success and only over the last term.

      So what remains is full public corporatisation embedded in the following: road transport, public transport, rail transport, electricity generation and distribution, public health, banking, social housing, bunches more, and shortly to include water and wastewater.

      Here's an example: how hard would it be now for Wellington City Council to regain full control of Wellington Airport? Answer: very very hard.

      The key historians on this are Kelsey's Rolling Back The State, Easton's The Commercialisation of New Zealand, and Jesson's Behind the Mirror Glass.

      That old command-and-control state from the 1940s is never coming back.

      • Blazer 7.1.1

        May I suggest another…

        https://youtu.be/y2kbgavXsqc

        • Ad 7.1.1.1

          I'm not sure there's much useful argument for overweening state control of production in there.

          For all its massive state interventions into specific businesses, New Zealand remains a low-productivity, low-savings, low-skill, low wage economy just as it did when 200 years ago New Zealand had its first labour strike in 1821.

          • Blazer 7.1.1.1.1

            Shelter is a basic need for survival.

            De regulation of the NZ banking system has made overseas banks billions.

            Someone described the NZ economy as 'housing investment..with bits tacked on.

            The idea that private investment is more efficient, does not withstand scrutiny,just like 'tricledown' theory is pure b/s.

            If not surely this would NOT be the case-'New Zealand remains a low-productivity, low-savings, low-skill, low wage economy just as it did when 200 years ago New Zealand had its first labour strike in 1821.'

            Clearly Rogernomics,Thatcherism,Reaganism….hasn't translated into real long term benefits for…NZ.

  8. Kat 8

    That old command-and-control state from the 1940s is never coming back….

    Well my understanding of state command and control involves a govt issuing a command, which sets a standard and then outcomes are controlled by overseeing and compliance to that standard. If that is the desired outcome for various govt decrees in this century, say for example in response to environment and climate change, then why not for building state houses.

    Where there is a will there is a way…….to overcome the inertia….surely

    • Ad 8.1

      The core state response – agreed to by all parties – is to enable a market to be operated efficiently, not inventing some giant state entity commanding that the climate be changed back.

      Go for it.

      • weka 8.1.1

        which agreement are you referring to?

      • Kat 8.1.2

        Lets see how the recent Health reforms go, not that these reforms result in a giant state entity, more a realisation that having 20 plus independent DHB's was inefficient and did not provide timely satisfactory health care for everyone.

        • Ad 8.1.2.1

          Until one points out that such recentralisation isn't undoing contractual corporatisation. On the contrary it is devolving even more public health to corporations and mega-trusts.

          There's no doubt that in New Zealand the state is back, big time.

          That can't be confused with any increase in democratic accountability.

          • Kat 8.1.2.1.1

            If I read you correctly you are saying that even with the "state back big time" with some noted recentralisation there is no visible undoing of the reforms that decoupled and decentralised the departmental structure of the State in the 80's and 90's.

            I would agree with other comments above that those 80's/90's state sector reforms were no more than Thatcher/Reagan neoliberal ideology that spawned the mythical mantra that govt should not be involved in business.

            Any turning back from those reforms, in my view, would have to be indicative of some increase in democratic accountability.

  9. Kat 9

    Enabled…. operating efficiently…….frown

  10. Stuart Munro 10

    I wonder if this is some kind of confession from Chris. Perhaps most of his stays in motels involved moral disgraces.

    I would of course welcome real action from National, or a functioning bipartisan consensus on housing. But I recall that when John Key wanted to be elected, he too made promises about housing, which he not only broke, but went further, selling off state and social housing and sabotaging the maintenance and construction of more. Chris begins with a credibility gap, and only a thin tissue of fabrications to cover it.

  11. Mike the Lefty 11

    With all the tax cuts they are promising how can National pay for it all?

    • tc 11.1

      With cuts to health, education, welfare etc culture wars for distraction and selling off more assets.

      Look at their track record and remember it's 2022 not 1982 with puppets like ufindell now filling seats.

  12. SPC 12

    There is only one quick way to get people out of motels – buy up houses and place people in them at income related rent.

    And the best ones are those with space for factory built granny flats. These can easily be later on-sold for that niche market (inter-generational families). Smartly done, a nice earner.

    • Descendant Of Smith 12.1

      Purchase the three bedroom houses that old people are living in by themselves by swapping them for a brand new 2 bedroom unit. Brand new smaller versus old but larger prices are often remarkably similar in many towns.

      Build houses and sell only the house retaining the land in state hands for perpetuity with no or token leases. Treat land owned by the state as valueless by placing it in perpetual state ownership never to be sold.

      • SPC 12.1.1

        The market is doing one already, it would take an incentive to increase the speed of that process.

        Yes selling only the house would make it more affordable/increase the number of homeowners (provide a semblance of permanence). But depending on the future price escalation of private land, would leave them in the orbit of leasehold property only.

        One could also buy private homes and then sell the house, with a lease rental on the land (which would boost the leasehold land market). Governments could later buy the house and relocate the post family owners in town housing and use the land they own for urban intensification.

  13. Jenny are we there yet 13

    Social housing is not state housing.
    Social housing is private charities housing subsidised by the state.
    Social housing is a neo-liberal theory that state subsidised private housing providers can do housing better than the state.
    A lot of state housing stock has been handed over to private charities to run as they see fit. Some private charities have onsold these houses to fund their other charity work.
    Personally I think the whole social housing concept is bonkers.

    • SPC 13.1

      Sure it is a bit like their charter schools – by non profit and for profit groups.

      Social housing has a place. Womens refuges, homeless shelters, emergency housing, transition housing – whether addiction or post prison/parole and old age.

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

  • 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
    5 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
    7 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
    7 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
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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