Coup Coup Ca Choo!

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, May 30th, 2015 - 58 comments
Categories: Deep stuff, john key, Judith Collins, leadership, Politics - Tags: , , ,

I’ve been trying to make sense of what is happening inside the National Party caucus. There is clearly no chance of reconciliation between Camp Key and Camp Collins. And it’s possible that the attempt by Nat MP Maurice Williamson to join ACT is not just petulance or a sign of relevance deficit syndrome. It could actually be part of a failed strategy by Collins supporters to force John Key further to the right.

Let me explain. I’ve heard a whisper from a Tory source who is on occasion trustworthy (and on other occasions just winds me up) that Williamson was testing the waters for 2 or 3 other National Party MP’s to also waka hop over to ACT. Collins wouldn’t be one of those to go; she would stay and undermine Key from within caucus.

The plan was supposed to work like this: with National’s governing majority eroded by losing Northland, they’re susceptible to being outflanked on the right. If ACT suddenly had 3 or more MP’s, they could effectively veto any proposed National legislation that they deemed as too soft and there would be little Key could do about it. He would be instantly reduced to a lame duck leader, unable to promote the poll and focus group driven agenda he has relied on to maintain his middle of the road façade and consequent popularity.

Key would be left with a stark choice; give in and go to the right or give in and quit.

Further, I’m told the reason the ACT leadership so brutally and publicly rejected Williamson was not because they have a moral objection to treachery, or think Key’s anything but an approval craving softy, but because they recognised that David ‘Rimmer’ Seymour is so weak, he couldn’t have controlled the new MP’s. ACT risked being further trivialised and as they’re already super sensitive about only existing as National’s charity case,  the board freaked out and dobbed Williamson in to Joyce and Key. And those two suggested ACT name and shame Williamson in a bid to forestall the defection of others.

The cadre around Collins has not grown much numerically, but it has strengthened in its determination to take National further to the right. They see the Key years as a wasted opportunity and want to use the remaining part of this term to introduce more Randian legislation, even at the cost of going into opposition at the next election.

There appears to be strengthening support for a Collins coup from outside the party, with Don Brash apparently happy to be the go-between with ACT, and the usual social media suspects stirring the pot. As well as Williamson, the other names I hear within caucus supporting Collins are dry righties such as Amy Adams, Simon Bridges, Sam Lotu-Iiga, Jami-Lee Ross, Scott Simpson and Paul Goldsmith. Plodding ex Plod Chester Borrows appears to have become a convert in recent weeks too, despite a backlash from some within the National caucus.

Borrows has gone feral. He’s leading the charge in opposing improvements in health and safety legislation, particularly what he seems to see as creeping nanny stateism on the farm, where it’s being proposed that the sons of the soil should lose the right to freely injure and kill themselves and their staff on quad bikes. Taranaki based Borrows recently claimed that he knew of a farmer who had been prosecuted for not hanging helmets on parked quad bikes, calling WorkSafe staff “dickheads”. Strangely, when CTU leader Helen Kelly OIA’d the case, no such prosecution existed. I think we know who the real dickhead is, Chester.

But back to Collins. Again, according to my Tory source, with the Williamson waka jumping tactic exposed and Key still riding high in the polls, the plotting is on the backburner for now. However, Camp Collins is still looking for signs of weakness and if Key continues to cock up, as he has done with his hair fetish and cowgate, the knives may be out sooner rather than later.

Commentators such as Matthew Hooton and Cameron Slater will continue to sow seeds of dissent, whining irrationally that Joyce and Key have taken National to the left. Collins will bide her time, but the intent to deal to Key this term remains. As our learned friends in the legal profession know, crime requires means, motive and opportunity. Collins already has the first two, she now just needs the right opportunity. On present form, it won’t be long before Key gives her an excuse to slip the stiletto into his back.

So that’s the current state of play, as I understand it. I’m not saying its 100% correct, but the vibe, your honour, the vibe! And ain’t life grand when we can speculate on a brutal and bloody change of leadership that doesn’t involve the NZ Labour Party?

58 comments on “Coup Coup Ca Choo! ”

  1. adam 1

    This is the stuff of nightmares – Collins as PM. Mind you if she does do her coup – watch the Tory Scum drop like a lead balloon in the public’s’ eyes. No amount of spin would help them.

    • b waghorn 1.1

      Yes I’ve got a died in the wool nat voting mate and he says he couldn’t vote for Collins I’ll remind him of it to .
      I think she’s unelectable so I’m hoping she rolls key mid next year , and voters kill two birds with one stone.

    • Yeah, I’m kinda thinking that a Collins coup would be a solid victory for the left really, as it would make incredibly clear what the Key government has been warming up to all this time, and make a change pretty damn inevitable.

    • Matthew Hooton 1.3

      There will be no Collins coup. She can’t get more than seven signatures

      • Sacha 1.3.1

        Flexing muscle to accelerate the decision to giver her back a cabinet seat?

      • Matthew, you are probably right about her support level, though if there are others like Borrows who can be convinced to back her, that might change rapidly.

        However, I think the point of the tactic of co-opting ACT was to maximise leverage from a small base. It’s a plan that recognises their grouping’s numerical weakness within National, but also uses National’s own numerical weakness in Parliament against Key. Collins clearly doesn’t have a majority, but if she can make life so difficult for the PM that he chooses to walk, then she would be a frontrunner to take over.

  2. dukeofurl 2

    The part that could be interesting is what ACTs piggy bank, Alan Gibbs thinks ?

    And none of the above mentions Lusk, who is close to the above National Mps.

    After the long weekend, could the pot be stirred more?

  3. Craig H 3

    I’m not sure which I’d prefer – Collins as PM for 1-2 years, or Key for 5.

    • I’d take Collins every time, as 1-2 years of extreme and unpopular right-wing policy would be much easier to roll back than John Key’s softly-softly approach, which is hard to convince right-wing Labourites to roll back.

  4. lprent 4

    And ain’t life grand when we can speculate on a brutal and bloody change of leadership that doesn’t involve the NZ Labour Party?

    Indeed. About frigging time as well. I was starting to get pissed off with that stupidity.

    There appear to be a lot of solid Nat activists who have been getting pissed off with the now-near continuous information about crony capitalist bribery going on. Grumpy they are. Of course the current under $4/kg end of season payout for milk solids won’t be helping. But I haven’t been out into the farms this year to find out.

    I’m not sure what, but there is seems to be something happening in Act as well. Feels like there is a shift in posture from the people I talk to. I think that the remaining still quite ideological adherents are getting embarrassed at being under Nationals grasp.

    Third terms – always a bugger. Especially for a party that has such a thin grasp of MPs in the house.

  5. mickysavage 5

    Good post TRP but should it be “sheepgate” rather than “cowgate”?

  6. Pascals bookie 6

    Boag was on the RNZ panel during the week; she insisted, (saying it was much more than just rumour), that Williamson ‘plus one other’ were definitely wanting to go to ACT.

    • dukeofurl 6.1

      Well you can guess who worked in Williamsons electorate office, while he was a Manukau City Councillor, and who Williamson along with Lusk engineered his selection meeting victory.

      So a same sex couple were trying to gatecrash the ACT party ball, but got the finger instead.

      How considerate of Key and Co to use health and safety legislation as a chew toy.

    • felix 6.2

      Can’t be much fun being referred to as Maurice’s +1

    • Matthew Hooton 6.3

      Boag has hated Williamson and Collins for many years, and her comments need to be understood in that context.

      • Tracey 6.3.1

        If you had won the tender to represent the saudi chappie, would you have still blown the whistle? What was the value of the failed tender?

        • Matthew Hooton 6.3.1.1

          There was no tender. Just a couple of meetings five years ago. And I didn’t blow the whistle on the flying sheep – Heather at TVNZ did. I didn’t know anything about it until she ran the story.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 6.3.1.1.1

            If your ‘approach’ had been successful, would it have been the worst (as in, most damaging to your fellow citizens) example of your behaviour (discounting your conspiracy to murder Nicky Hager), or was this a run-o’-the mill mundane beautifully-crafted-lies-for-money deal?

          • Tracey 6.3.1.1.2

            Tell Fran O’Sullivan she was painting you are quite the heroic whistleblower on the weekend…

  7. Clemgeopin 7

    Why the heck hasn’t the nasty Key our ‘honourable’ Prime Minister, been taken to courts of law for his disgraceful criminal behaviour with the waitress? And that crook, Glucina of NZH? How come she too has been let go with no consequences?
    Doesn’t any one care anymore?

  8. Colonial Rawshark 8

    I’ll echo Bill: FIXED TERM PARLIAMENTS act please.

    • Stuart Munro 8.1

      The Korean system is good – president gets one five year term & he’s out of politics. Limited terms are good for curtailing entrenched corruption.

      • emergency mike 8.1.1

        The South Korean president is currently a she, and the corruption there is makes the National party look like angels. More entrenched than Peter Dunne’s hairdo.

      • Term limits have their own problems, as it can force leadership changes before there’s a good successor to come. I’d rather people make their own decisions on whether leaders are worth supporting or not, even if that nets us gormless bullies like Key.

      • KJT 8.1.3

        Doesn’t work in Korea, and definitely would not work here. New Zealand politicians collect their bribes after, leaving parliament.

  9. Lanthanide 9

    I don’t quite understand this plot, but then maybe that just shows how inadequately thought through the whole thing was?

    National + ACT = 60 votes, they need 61 to pass legislation. If ACT had 3 MPs instead of 1 at the expense of 2 from National, it will still only be 60 votes.

    They might be able to ‘boycott’ anything that was perceived as not right-wing enough, but they still wouldn’t actually be able to pass any right-wing legislation anyway. The best they could do is collaborate with Peters, but I think he would have the political nous to stay away from any collaboration, because he’d rightly sense that the public were not impressed by Act’s game playing. I wouldn’t count on Peter Dunne or the MP to abide by their confidence and supply agreements under such an end-run gerrymander either.

    If their goal was to topple Key, that would consign them to opposition in 2017.

    • ianmac 9.1

      @ Lanthanide”…but they still wouldn’t actually be able to pass any right-wing legislation anyway.”
      But it would give them bargaining chips behind closed doors.
      And for Williamson and perhaps Collins I reckon that they have been or will be asked to retire at the next election because they would have nothing to loose.

    • Think more in terms of what National + MP + UF can pass. If National needs Act to pass anything without relying on the Greens, NZF, or Labour, then it’s constrained against passing more moderate policies.

      If they can pass policies without Act like they can now, then things like benefit increases can get through.

      • Lanthanide 9.2.1

        “If they can pass policies without Act like they can now, then things like benefit increases can get through.”

        You’re suggesting that Labour, NZF or Greens wouldn’t have voted in favour of raising benefits?

        That’s just my point – anything that could currently be passed by National + MP + UF that ACT wanted to vote against, would likely be supported by one of NZFirst/Greens/Labour.

        • Sacha 9.2.1.1

          True but how large is the part of the venn diagram where the parliamentary left’s preferences overlap those of Nat/United bowtie/Maori party?

          Ah, hang on, I see you included Winston ..

          • Lanthanide 9.2.1.1.1

            Given that the Maori Party already vote about 70% against National…

        • If it was a vote on just the benefit increase, Labour and the greens definitely would have jumped on such a bill. But if it was part of supporting National’s entire budget, I doubt they would consider the raise worth it, and I doubt National would do a single-bill vote like that very often.

          By taking away the option for National to work with its two centrist parties, basically this faction would have forced them to go hard right or left on each vote, and known which approach was more likely to be palatable to the Nats on most issues.

          Besides, not sure a lot of unobjectionable parts of the budget (like the small benefit increase) would have happened without the Nats needing the Maori Party to pass a budget, whatever I think of them supporting the Government on confidence and supply.

          • Lanthanide 9.2.1.2.1

            “Besides, not sure a lot of unobjectionable parts of the budget (like the small benefit increase) would have happened without the Nats needing the Maori Party to pass a budget, whatever I think of them supporting the Government on confidence and supply.”

            Well that explains your viewpoint then. I think you’re entirely wrong.

            The Maori Party have voted for everything in all of the budgets, the only thing they made an issue about was the partial privatization of state assets, and only then because of how it related to issues of Maori water rights.

    • Sacha 9.3

      They do not even have to jump ship – the mere threat may be enough to tip the balance in their murky party backers to encourage Key out.

  10. Facetious 10

    A good piece of fiction by Te Reo Putake written to entertain the faithful and conspiracy-theorists within the audience. Policies and voters, not wild dreams will make possible a Labour win.

    • Melb 10.1

      Exactly.

      Yes, there is a coup being plotted in the party that recently polled support of 54%.

      The next largest party that polled less than half of that has strong and stable leadership, and they all back their leader as they wallow in the sub 30% range.

    • ropata 10.2

      Thanks for the “advice” facetious, this coming from the party of pie in the sky policy made up on the hoof by a PM who is nothing but a fictional character invented by Crosby Textor

  11. Ergo Robertina 11

    Interesting post; I vaguely wondered what Hooton’s histrionics around the Budget were for and this joins some dots.

    ”ACT risked being further trivialised and as they’re already super sensitive about only existing as National’s charity case, the board freaked out and dobbed Williamson in to Joyce and Key.”

    I wonder if it’s more just that Act is a shell party over which the less extreme Nat faction at present have influence and control rather than the far-right fringe.

    • ianmac 11.1

      Within any big Party there are factions. To believe that the 60 MPs in National all breathe the same opinions would be naive. Therefore the Right Rump exists and would have expected that National in Government had been much more ferocious especially towards the poor. (Not that they haven’t been mean!)
      So yes. ACT is the recipient of this and been useful eg Charter Schools. But 60 MPs can be a restless bunch especially when largely ignored by Cabinet.
      So could the scenario outlined by TRP be true? Probably. Hope so. Though a ruthless Key would not stand by and watch. Assassin will act.

      • Ergo Robertina 11.1.1

        I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. Of course all parties have factions!
        However it’s blindingly obvious the far-right faction badly over-reached in the Brash era, and the other faction has ridden high on the Key wave since and orchestrated an unprecedented level of caucus control.

        • ianmac 11.1.1.1

          Do you think that the far-right faction is satisfied with Key direction?
          Do you think that the far right faction will agitate or be revolting?
          I thought there were many non-MPs who were dis-satisfied.

          • Ergo Robertina 11.1.1.1.1

            My original point was querying the notion of Act being an autonomous party with a perception problem of being National’s ”charity case”.
            It seems to me control of Act reflects the relative positions of National’s factions, and right now, Key’s crowd still holds sway. I think that includes some on the far right who are more pragmatically inclined than Collins’ clique.
            Definite signs of agitation though, as TRP points out in the post.

    • This is why I’ve always argued that it’s much more useful to think of National as a coalition party of social conservatives and classical economic liberals. The Liberals have been running the party under Key and English, and their approach on social issues is causing some division now that Key doesn’t seem invulnerable as a leader anymore, and an automatic ticket to victory.

      Any large party develops at least two significant factions, if not more. The question is whether these factions co-operate effectively or not, and whether they view each others’ priorities as legitimate. National has never functioned that way, they have always been a coalition of convenience to hold onto power amid the rise of the Labour Party.

      • Sacha 11.2.1

        I wouldn’t describe Collins or her faction as ‘conservatives’. Radical rightists offended by the pragmatic reserve of English, Joyce and their frontpuppet. And the latter faction is dangerous enough.

      • felix 11.2.2

        I wouldn’t describe the current ruling faction as classical economic liberals either, even though they talk the talk.

        • Yeah, neither is a perfect label, but that’s definitely where they both come from in terms of the history of the National Party, and the unifying policy vision each faction has is in either the economic or the social sphere of right-wing thought, regardless of the complicated opinions of the individual members of each faction.

          I use those two labels as I imagine that’s how each of them see themselves. Could be totally off-base though.

          • Ergo Robertina 11.2.2.1.1

            I think the fissures will become more apparent over the coming years as the Nats have to address various market failures like housing and environmental degradation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up fracturing the party.

            • te reo putake 11.2.2.1.1.1

              One of National’s strengths is that they have managed to paper over the cracks quite effectively. They’ve never had to deal with organised breakaways such as John A Lee’s DLP or Jim Anderton’s Alliance that I can recall. Bob Jones’s NZ Party was formed from outside National and reflected a libertarian ideology that didn’t really exist inside National at that time.

              If they ever do have a real split, it might be reflective of their roots as a coalition of a party for the urban bourgeoisie (United Party) and the rural Reform Party. I think there is real scope for the rural demographic to finally realise that National isn’t the party of the farm any more and their abandonment of the provinces reflects their almost entirely urban based caucus. Chester Borrows is a indicator of that possibility, as is Labour winning West Coast/Tasman with a conservative candidate.

              With the likelihood of mass bankruptcies in the heartland as the dairy price collapses, National’s ‘so what?’ attitude to the land may bite them on the bum sooner rather than later.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                NZ First

                • Yes, quite right. Though I think Winston was actually chucked out of National first, wasn’t he? So more like John A Lee than Anderton, who took a large chunk of the activist base with him when he left.

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  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 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
    5 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
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 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
    13 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
    13 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
    1 day 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
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    7 days 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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