CPTPP V Nuclear Submarines

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, September 19th, 2021 - 41 comments
Categories: australian politics, China, defence, Free Trade, International, jacinda ardern, trade, us politics - Tags:

In a piece of incredible timing, on the same day as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their defence technology procurement pact and pissed off ally and competitor alike, China formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Porgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Very hard to see that one knew the other was coming, but you could barely describe a clearer riposte by China as a move supporting multilateral trade, versus a US belligerent and anxiety-inducing military move.

Our little role in this is that New Zealand is the repository state for the CPTPP, and it was China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao who made that submission to us.

CPTPP is the agreement signed by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. This was the deal brought to the finish line under the leadership of Barack Obama. But you can guess what happened next: Trump arrived and pulled the US out. What was supposed to box China in, could instead do the reverse and box the United States.

For those who tuned close to the 2020 APEC meeting that our Prime Minister hosted, it was there that China’s Xi Jinping said that it would favourably consider joining the agreement.

Yes, I just linked to Global Times. Global Times opined that the application cemented Beijing’s “leadership in global trade” and leaves the United States “increasingly isolated”. They probably should have waited a day before they printed that one.

I suspect that the reality for China is going to be quite hard. The standards that Ardern and others insisted on late in the piece go far beyond tariff removal, including regulations guiding market access, labour rights, and government procurement.

We should be clear about Ardern’s central place in the higher standards between TPP and CPTPP. It was the first major international action she did on achieving power. She was neck deep in gaining those standards.

Prime Ministers Ardern and Morrisson have pretty much signed a blood pact on sustaining those high standards that they negotiated very late in the piece, as you can read from the joint statement text in 2018 here.

In theory China trying to join the CPTPP’s more stringent provisions could work the same way as the lead-up to China’s entry into the WTO: a huge and successful push for internal reforms ensued. Nor will New Zealand be forgotten as the first country to do a bilateral free trade deal with China, back in the day.

In practice, hard. Very hard. Vietnam has had to overhaul its labour code to recognise worker rights to form independent unions. With China consistently cracking down on independent labour organisations, it’s pretty hard to see China meeting that standard.

There are also pretty strict provisions on subsidies to state-owned enterprises, “free flow” of data, and opening government procurement deals to foreign competition. I’d be impressed if they can suck those up given how they jack up state corporations and ruthlessly control data flows.

Japan isn’t happy with this. But they’re quite happy to play global chess and support Taiwan’s entry.

More players will look with concern because China makes a point of sustained territorial aggression against Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Because China behaves like a diplomatic asshole, the potential for karma to be served back to it will be high.

Maybe it’s time to bring back the all-singing, all-dancing Clark-Key combination back to broker between China and the current signatories.

The United States, of course, doesn’t have any leverage in this.

The game however is if China really does go through a reform process and does show that it’s meeting those CPTPP standards, then it’s got a good shot at entry. Will multilateral diplomacy prove more powerful than deals concerning military submarine technology? I’d hope money talks better than weapons shout.

The big multilateral play is a strong intersection between the objectives and membership of RCEP and CPTPP. Here’s a summary of RCEP and the CPTPP overlaps … and what it means for us.

Whether CPTPP entry would be a win for China specifically or not, it would certainly be a win for a global rules-based order in our region over a military order. That result would be strongly in favour of New Zealand.

The real deal isn’t in the military technology pact. The real deal for New Zealand is to use trade rules to continue to win over militarism – which Prime Minister Ardern has been doing exceedingly well. A great game to have afoot with Ardern surprisingly close to the centre.

41 comments on “CPTPP V Nuclear Submarines ”

  1. Gezza 1

    "…could instead do the reverse and box the United States … OUT?"

    Yes … this a really interesting development & it's going to be rather exciting watching how this move now plays out, given the complications you describe with China's subsidies & internal Labour & state-business practices.

    NZ May indeed have a pivotal role. Wonder how the Ozzers are reacting?

  2. Drowsy M. Kram 2

    Aukus pact could push New Zealand to deepen relations with Europe and Pacific
    Nonetheless, and not by choice, New Zealand is increasingly being left behind by the nations it has been closest to for over a century. As a result, the coming years will be a test of whether New Zealand can navigate growing geopolitical tensions as the “independent” actor it has long claimed to be, or whether it will be forced to conclusively pick a side.

    Whether "being left behind" is a bad thing rather depends on the destination.

    • Ad 2.1

      Our trajectory here looks really good.

      I'm more convinced that CER, CPTPP and RCEP remain our destination. That is where our interests lie. Not Europe.

  3. Stuart Munro 3

    'Twould be a good moment for China to engage with Europe – France, or at least Macron is displeased enough with AUkUs to withdraw ambassadors.

    As for the TPP and its successors, it was originally an Asian pact, among smaller nations, and had to be bent completely out of shape to let the US in. NZ was a good fit with that; but a China with hegemonic ambitions may not be.

    As with most 'free trade' deals, the benefits tend to be theoretical, but the costs are up front. Let us hope the ISDS clauses wither and die at least – the projected margins are so slender a single such action would make any CTPPA a net loss.

  4. KJT 4

    It would be ironic under the CTPP, if Oz had to allow China to bid for their nuclear sub contract. LOL.

  5. Ghostwhowalksnz 5

    Australia has said it will veto China's application to join CPTPP

    https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-applies-to-join-pacific-trade-bloc-as-security-tensions-rise-20210917-p58sgv
    ‘He said the first step for China to join would be for members of the CPTPP to decide whether to launch accession negotiations.’

    • Ad 5.1

      Australia will be getting in line behind Vietnam and Japan and others who have actually lost territory to them.

      Contesting multilateral territory; whodathinkit?
      The US wants to join, and the UK does as well.

      Will be a fun diplomatic contest to observe.

  6. barry 6

    There is no way that Australia and Japan would let China join (at least under their current leadership)

  7. RedLogix 7

    At no point in it's history has China ever succeeded in consistently projecting power beyond the First Island Chain – because geography. It cannot trade with the rest of the world unless it's island nation competitors permit ships to pass – it's that simple. Relatively poor in it's own resources, and riven by a difficult internal landscape that enforced wide internal divisions – the nation we call modern China has far from the glorious history it likes to tell the rest of the world about.

    Medieval China was really not much different to Europe at the same period – mostly a series of warring kingdoms, interrupted by outsiders such as the Mongols, multiple competing ethnic groups made for an unstable polity. For a period a dynasty might arise, only to inevitably fall to internal strife or a competitor. The actual territory controlled by the orthodox dynasties varied dramatically over time – often much smaller than the borders of the modern nation. Development remained erratic, achieving much of promise and value – only to then stagnate or fall back again. The industrialisation of the 1800's largely passed it by, despite being well connected to the outside world. Falling prey to the Japanese Imperialists in the Second World War largely undid what progress that had been made in that century.

    Then after skulking in the mountains as as rank cowards during the entire Japanese occupancy, the communists emerge just as the Nationalists finally succeed in defeating the invaders and overcome them at their weakest moment. The CCP was founded in an act of treachery and then under the Maoism proceed to repudiate and dismantle their entire historic legacy. Everything of traditional value on mainland China was eradicated by the communists – physically, culturally and morally. By the early 1970's the people had suffered a series of mass genocides, famines and repressions. It was one of the poorest, most dysfunctional places on earth. The Maoists betrayed everything the Chinese people valued.

    It was only when the Americans actively sought to engage the CCP leadership and offered them the chance to engage with the rest of the world, and crucially to provide the essential freedom of navigation to allow shipping to safely reach Chinese ports – that finally for the first time in their history did China attain it's real potential. And only because the US led world security and trade order provided the conditions for it to happen.

    The CCP are well aware of this fact, even as they never mention the humiliating truth of it. There is far too much face at stake. Thus their determination to replace the hated Americans with a new world order they control. Having grown powerful under American protection they have now openly declared their intent to devour the hand that fed them. Born in treachery, raised in it, and now the embodiment of it.

    It's easy to be fooled by the facade of modern China, yes the coastal cities are marvels of modern construction, the railways, the apparent modernity and sophistication. By hull count it now has the largest navy, indeed it's CoastGuard vessels dwarf the frigates of many other nations. On the back of largely stolen innovation, then underpinned with the power of an authoritarian state, a modern society has been erected at impressive scale.

    (As an aside Chinese engineers are this month finally starting up the first Molten Salt research reactor in 50 years – directly using information the Americans gave them back in 2010. They will tell the world what an achievement this is – and credit must go to the engineers who have done it – but there will be no mention of the American pioneers at Oak Ridge National Lab who conceived and proved the technology in the 1960's. And there will also be silence from the anti-science greenie crowd whose decades of irrational, superstitious fear of nuclear power has directly caused the climate crisis.)

    Despite this success however the CCP also know that China remains a fundamentally weak society, most people remain relatively poor, their economy is fragile and internal dissent is being continually and systematically suppressed.

    Yes China escaped abject poverty largely by trading with America – but the reverse was never true. The US middle class paid a steep price for it and are now repaid in treachery. Nor does the US need Chinese goods so much. Their largest trade partner is now Mexico. Outside of NAFTA the US does remarkably little trade as a percentage of their GDP. And in the wake of COVID all the smart money is pulling out of China. Industry is returning to North America at pace, that continent's geography and demography ensuring that it will thrive regardless of how deeply they try to fuck it up.

    For the moment the concept of their Navy providing the default security guarantee for global shipping (even Chinese vessels) remains important to them – but if you want anything more then you'd better have something to offer. The Japanese, South Koreans and the British all discovered this – now have the Australians. US hegemony is becoming a more openly transactional affair, you will have to pay them to leave home now.

    In one comment I'm not able to say everything that even-handedness demands. The western, liberal open democracies themselves are deep in a crisis of their own making. Several generations have now been taught to despise their own heritage, indulged in decadence and coddled into cowardice. Our societies have lost a narrative to believe in, even the most basic idea of progress itself, that humans are capable of improving their lot is now widely dismissed and discounted. Our leadership elites have all too often succumbed to expediency, corruption and hubris. They openly lie to us, betray the principles they mouth and erode the foundation of trust that binds us as societies.

    Our cultural elites in the universities and media despise ordinary people, teaching that we're all patriarchal, racist bigots, and science itself is a supremacist plot. They intentionally pervert everything good about humanity and twist it into something oppressive, divisive and abusive. They literally cannot tell the difference between boy and girl anymore, much less reassure that love might redeem us.

    Just at the moment when the idea of human liberty, dignity and universality is under it's direst threat for three generations, the forces that must defend it are weak, divided and morally corrupt. This is a place we've been before, and it looks like the old lesson is going to be harshly re-learned.

    It's dark outside and this short essay is as well, yet I have an unshakeable belief that humanity will prevail over the dark forces of it's own collective psyche. But I do wonder at what cost.

    • Gezza 7.1

      A really grunty piece.

      MOD if you’re up early & see it, is there any way you can lift that text & make it a TS headline post?

      • Gezza 7.1.1

        Oh, sorry – scratch that ! Never mind. 😰

        My bad. I thought it’d been posted in Open Mike. It’s posted in the right thread.

    • francesca 7.2

      RL I particularly thrilled to your essay from evenhandedness on

      We do seem to have got to some weird post modernist convoluted space where language is warped to fit new paradigms.Academia within the social sciences is language based rather than evidence based, and becoming more divorced from reality by the day .Truth means nothing apart from the linguistically contorted case you can make for it .

      All that blurring and confusion within the culture

      And yet the black and white, good vs evil geopolitical space has no such ambiguity

      We may not know who our friends are within the culture, we're all a hair's breadth away from facebook lynch mobbing , denunciations, livelihood destruction.And how quickly things change, lesbians, having suffered and fought their way into the sun are now the new villains, bigots and genociders for not sweetly accepting the penises of transwomen

      But we surely know who our enemies are, no nuance or language mangling there.We are told every time we listen to the radio or open our newspapers

      Strange times

    • roblogic 7.3

      Thanks RL for a perspective of history that is often overlooked by a media and political class that fawns and eagerly tries to ingratiate itself with the CCP with an undignified and transparent eye on potential profit

    • Gezza 7.4

      A lot to get thru there, RL. I might just start off by saying that my old man served in 27th NZ machine gun Bn & fought the Afrika Korp in North Africa, then the Wehrmacht in Italy, up to Monte Casino, where the German defenders included the rugged, well-trained & generally fearless Fallschirmjager.

      He volunteered, about age 20 I think, thinking it would be a bit of an adventure & a chance to see a bit of the other side of the world on the nation’s coin.

      Got a rude awakening. He received a Mention in Dispatches & got a field promotion to corporal for an act of heroism, getting involved in going out of cover with another Kiwi & rescuing a wounded comrade under fire. Such acts were so commonplace in those theatres that they didn’t attract VCs.

      Years later he told me that he nearly shat himself, the enemy fire was so withering, & that he considered himself so freakin lucky to have survived that escapade he resolved never to do it again.

      He was later invalided home from Casino, with a such a complex leg injury doctors in NZ at one point wanted to take his leg off. His mother apparently intervened & they decided to save his leg, with some plates & screws. His left leg was about 1/4 inch shorter than his right for the rest of his adult life, until he died aged 88 & 1/2. He just used to get the heel of his left shoe built up the extra 1/4 inch & although he could no longer demonstrate the athleticism of his youth, he was content just to have married mum & to be able to live a quiet life, working as a public servant & bringing up a family of 4: 3 boys & our baby sister.

      He never talked much about the war, like many – probably most – of his compatriots. And when he did, it was often the little things that happened or that he witnessed in Cairo, Egypt or in Italy, that amused him. He knew those that handn’t been through it would never understand what it was like.

      As young teens, growing up in the time of the oft-televised Vietnam War, & full of the “at home, safe & secure” anti-war sentiment that was popular with youth here & around the world, we used to occasionally tease “the old soldier”. Joking was rampant in our family, especially with dad, who just took it it all in his stride. Phone calls home to me olds often began, with – when he got on the line: “Have you heard the one about …?”

      He’d sometimes gently chide us for our teasing, pointing out how lucky we were that we didn’t have to go & fight in a war, & that our freedoms were actually fought for by he & his mates.

      We had compulsory cadets at our school. In the 2nd year of cadets, I got to fire my first .22 rifles, at school range.

      The next year, in our first term, we got taught by Army NCOs to strip down, clean, & reassemble old army .303 Lee Enfields. And to fire them. On an Army range over the river, near where we lived. I didn’t tuck the bugger into the crook of my shoulder properly before squeezing the trigger & the kick gave me so much pain that firing off every bullet in the 5-round clip was excruciatingly painful. Spoilt my aim no end.

      In the 2nd term, the same Army experts taught us to strip down, clean & reassemble army surplus bren guns. What a buzz they were. No kick, in fact you had to hug them or they’d start to walk away a bit on you when you got the ok to fire a whole mag off on full auto, instead of the obligatory short bursts to start with.

      Our unit got split into two sections. After we’d had our turn on the brens, we swapped over & had to go down-range & into “the butts”, a concrete long dugout where we were safe from bullets & shrapnel & chunks of stones & clay that flew about when the rounds were coming in to the big half-man sized targets. Our job was to wind the target frames down & check where the rounds had hit, haul them back up again & indicate with a long pole with a wire circle at the end where the rounds had hit the target, so gunners could adjust their sights & see if they could better their previous shots.

      When the first group of about 10 bren guns opened up – and especially when they were given the ok to fire off the entire mag on full auto, we nearly shat ourselves. The whistling, whining, & pinging of rounds hitting the targets and exploding into the clay & stone bank behind them, kicking up occasionally-stinging ricocheting little lumps of dirt was a helluva shock. I sat there, like me mates, gritting out “shit!”through my clenched teeth. And I thought “Fark! My old man had to sit there, firing off a bloody vickers while Jerries were firing this sort of crap back at him. And he even went out running low, dodging this kind of crap, to save somebody once.

      I never joked about the old soldier’s war years after that. And I noticed, neither did my older & younger brothers, after their time on the range. And, as I got more & more interested in reading up on WW2 in my teens and twenties, out of personal interest, the realisation inevitably dawned on me that NZ’s shipping lanes really were traversed by the Kreigsmarine, & this country really was threatened by the Imperial Japanese Forces. The anti-aircraft battery on Matiu/Somes Island, & the considerable number of concrete Ammo bunkers I sometimes hiked up to in the hills between Tawa & Lower Hutt (wherethe access road is) are there because they were expected to be needed!

      My old man really DID fight for our democratic rights & freedoms. And I really am so i
      incredibly lucky that I never HAD to.

      • Tiger Mountain 7.4.1

        A family member of mine was blown to bits at Monte Casino in 1944. He is recorded on the wall at Auckland War Memorial Museum. My father, trained in Canada, came back after flying many missions over Europe as a navigator and told stories and had book shelves full of 1950s published WWII history.

        The family encouraged me as I grew up in the 60s and 70s to speak up and use the rights he hopfully fought for. Which I did and do. I don’t wax lyrical or special plead on the legacy of old soldiers–because they were all individuals and people like any of us. WWII as an anti fascist war was one war I genuinely like to think I would have volunteered for though.

        Why did some go to Vietnam to support US Imperialism? Why did not old soldiers rise up and defend workers against the Employment Contracts Act in 1991? Why did they not in numbers support a Nuclear Free NZ? There is always a class component to war, unrecognised no doubt by some participants, but it is the working class that cops the shrapnel and drone strikes.

        • Gezza 7.4.1.1

          “Why did not old soldiers rise up and defend workers against the Employment Contracts Act in 1991”

          He loathed it. Would debate with neighbours at their weekly social get-togethers. Old Labour supporter, thru & thru.

          “Why did they not in numbers support a Nuclear Free NZ?”

          Dunno. My old man wasn’t one to attend RSA clubs. He personally didn’t believe in glorifying wars. He’d lost too many mates & seen too many innocent people killed or displaced. He supported Nuclear Free NZ.

          The only thing he sometimes said that was remotely related was when he got pissed off at “louts”. Reckoned a stint of military training would do them the world of good. Teach them “some self discipline”.

    • Ad 7.5

      Much as I'm reluctant to defend China, there's some responses that need to be made.

      1. China isn't that unique despite its revolution.

      followed a very similar path of state directed development to many nations. It is pretty commonplace for state-directed development after World War 2 to be pretty strong and for decades. Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and indeed little old New Zealand went through heavy phases of state direction about what kind of industries they were going to have. China was the same. We've all come out of that phase in the same decades: late 1970s to late 1980s. So it's wrong to claim that the twist of fate in the Maoist military triumph might have some imagined alternative history.

      2. China's success has taught us that liberal democracy is not necessary for prosperity. Not a fun conclusion, but we should take them at their word that they are not merely Marxist, they are Marxist-Leninist: they have reorganised the means of production and also exert very high societal control – and are because of that not despite it one of the most successful countries on earth.

      3. In terms of complaints about defending 'our heritage", the use of I'm not quite sure where gender reveal theory comes into that, but our universities do teach more than postructural theories. In fact that stuff was only big in the mid-1990s. Humanities indeed has shrunk to a skeleton of its former self and the institutional theories within it are far more hard science based than they used to be. While Hong Kong's universities will now fall under the security law, ours have also narrowed spectacularly over the last two decades. It's not necessarily a denial of one's heritage.

      4. China's approach to innovation isn't new.

      Its 'fast-follower' innovation strategy is exactly the same innovation pathway as that achieved in the 1970s by Japan, in the 1990s by Korea, by Singapore since 2010, and by some states in India in this current decade. Occasionally they get caught, but can anyone remember the Japanese town they called Usa, just so they could legitimately stamp their goods MADE IN USA? Also we should not begrudge China's burgeoning high tech industries including space exploration and energy production: they are simply doing what Silicon Valley did and spinning off success from military innovation.

      In China, compared to the United States, consumer applications have come faster, making more obvious the link between government investment, and the products and services that benefit individuals. Alibaba, Huawei and Tiktok are not mere outworkings of capitalism as their equivalents are viewed in the west, but are instead intense sources of national pride.

      5. Their Form of State May Be Superior To Ours.

      China's success says that the modernist state is the ideal form of the state, even on a large scale. The degree of national purpose that China has sustained over decades continues to put all other larger nations to shame in their collective achieved goals and outputs. That's usually only been possible in much smaller states with a high degree of social hetereogeneity like the Scandinavian states. Until the rise of China. The success of of China as a modernist state with clear goals and very high self-belief and self-determination simply files in the face of every major reform western nations have undertaken since the 1980s.

      6. China's Autocracy Is Working

      We have to get our heads around the fact that China's authoritarian government is legitimate. Many Chinese not only don’t believe that democracy is necessary for economic success but do believe that their form of government is legitimate and effective. Westerners’ failure to appreciate this explains why many still expect China to reduce its role as investor, regulator, and, especially, intellectual property owner when that role is in fact seen as essential by the Chinese government.

      There are plenty of democracies which are deeply corrupted, and also really badly regulated. While the United States strings to mind after Trump, so does Russia and many of the weaker democracies around it. Countries like Australia and New Zealand whose economies utterly rely on China need to pull back their moral superiority and accept the full legitimacy of China's government and its systems.

      7. They Don't think Or Act Like us, and that's all right.

      China’s recent history means that Chinese people and the state approach decisions very differently from Westerners—in both the time frames they use and the risks they worry about most. But because human beings tend to believe that other humans make decisions as they do, this may be the most difficult assumption for Westerners to overcome.

      Let’s imagine the personal history of a Chinese woman who is 65 today. Born in 1955, she experienced as a child the terrible Great Leap Forward famine in which 20 million Chinese starved to death. She was a Red Guard as a teenager, screaming adoration for Chairman Mao while her parents were being re-educated for being educated. By the 1980s she was in the first generation to go back to university, and even took part in the Tiananmen Square demonstration.

      Imagine what she expects from her government. What she invests in. What she demands from her children in their growing lives.

      • RedLogix 7.5.1

        A fine response Ad. I know you well enough to take your thinking on board in good faith.

        I'll respond to your points later, but for the moment work beckons. They are well made and deserve more than some reflexive scribbles.

        Cheers

        • Ad 7.5.1.1

          It was terrible defending the Chinese government.

          Don't make me do that again 😉

          • Gezza 7.5.1.1.1

            Your point that the Chinese government has broad popular approval at home is well-made, and from my readings, & watching of various documentaries and panel discussions involving China defenders, on Aljazeera tv, accurate.

            If you've known no other system of government and you're relatively young, or middle-aged, now comparatively well-educated, well-housed, employed wealthy, equipped with all the latest mobiles and various other hi-tech gadgets, & you harbour no ambitions to make waves – life is good – for many people over there.

            The Chinese authorities have just begun cracking down in a big way on "pop stars" and pop culture – saying that these phenomena are not in accordance with Chinese values.

            As they've also clamped down on some uses of social media, will be interesting to see how their youth will react to this.

      • RedLogix 7.5.2

        In the spirit of your counter-points, and hopefully without making you feel overly compelled to defend the Chinese government again, I'd offer these responses:

        1. China isn't that unique despite its revolution.

        I've no objection to state-directed development – but virtually all the efforts under Maoism were utterly catastrophic. Isolated, dysfunctional and devastated by decades of misrule, the one-child policy was imposed in 1980 because the CCP at the time had legitimate reason to fear mass-starvation if population continued to grow.

        Geography, demography, security, transport and trade are the defining constraints on a nation's fate – regardless of whether it's political economy is state dominated or not. That's a lessor more transient concern.

        1. China's success has taught us that liberal democracy is not necessary for prosperity.

        Geography not only defines the physical constraints of a nation, it profoundly shapes it's psyche as well.

        The Chinese core territories of the North China Plain of the Yellow River are decidedly mediocre. While they sit at temperate latitude shared by other productive zones, they are hard-up against the Mongolian Desert, making them prone to drought, while most of their rainfall comes from monsoonal systems off the East China Sea, making them prone to floods. Historically the only way to maintain reliable agricultural output was to apply bottomless supplies of labor to manage water supplies. Due to this choice between state organised backbreaking labor or starvation, Chinese history tends toward the less egalitarian side of things.

        The Northern Chinese coastline also lacks good harbours, discouraging maritime development, while they also lacked a hard border to defend against hordes arriving from the great grassland steppes. This combination inculcated an inward looking, centralised, bureaucratic Han culture – and is why Beijing remains the centre of gravity in modern China, and firmly retains control over both political and military direction. Non-Han ethnic groups all get to sit into an often uncomfortable back seat.

        1. In terms of complaints about defending 'our heritage", the use of I'm not quite sure where gender reveal theory comes into that, but our universities do teach more than postructural theories.

        I'm surprised you haven't noticed the culture wars that have been raging across the western world this past decade – and their increasingly polarising divisive impact.

        4. China's approach to innovation isn't new.

        The remarkable aspect of modernity is just how widely it has spread since WW2. Given of course that the initial development of industrialisation and all the stems from that originates in Europe, it's a historic necessity that everyone else would be a 'fast follower'. Copying of technology is an innate aspect of this process.

        But while the state can afford to invest in innovation and then give it away, the private sector much less so, hence the idea of 'intellectual property'. For example the US literally gave away the IP to molten salt reactors – and the Chinese implementation of this tech is legitimate and commendable. But that stands alongside their shabby track-record of signing up to IP sharing agreements (the deal with the Germans on high-speed rail technology springs to mind) – taking delivery of the first tranche, getting trained up on it – and then openly reneging on the deal.

        It makes for a fragile, low-trust business environment that I'm not sure anyone would hold up as a superior model.

        5. Their Form of State May Be Superior To Ours.

        China's success says that the modernist state is the ideal form of the state, even on a large scale. The degree of national purpose that China has sustained over decades continues to put all other larger nations to shame in their collective achieved goals and outputs.

        Let's be clear on the timeline, all this sustained development only happens after the US invited the PRC into the world trade system. It's also predicated on a sustained program of money printing explicitly intended to under-price their western competitors.

        That's usually only been possible in much smaller states with a high degree of social hetereogeneity like the Scandinavian states.

        Or Japan, Germany, South Korea – all ethnically homegenous nations. It almost suggests that this post-modern obsession with 'diversity' might not be such a good idea after all. But that would be a racist proposition no?

        Until the rise of China. The success of of China as a modernist state with clear goals and very high self-belief and self-determination simply files in the face of every major reform western nations have undertaken since the 1980s.

        Which of course stands in total contrast to the western world. From the context of this very thread, through to our universities, media and political movements – everything about the western ideal is denigrated. For example the University of West Sydney was recently unable to establish a funded chair of "Western Civ" because the rest of the faculty hated the idea so much. On this a resurgent, 'self believing' China must laugh themselves silly.

        The idea that the CCP is universally loved and admired in China is flawed, they retain power on the back of a transactional social contract – full employment and growing prosperity for the people, stability and power for the CCP elites. It's my sense that the prospect of this contract unravelling is what is driving so much of the CCP's irrationally belligerent foreign policy as a diversion from internal contradictions and instability.

        6. China's Autocracy Is Working

        We have to get our heads around the fact that China's authoritarian government is legitimate.

        As I outlined above, there are good historic reasons why the Han people culturally lean toward authoritarian governance. This is much less true for the Cantonese speaking people of the South, the Sichuan of the interior – and numerous other smaller ethnicities. And now might be a good moment to mention the Uighurs and Tibetans.

        7. They Don't think Or Act Like us, and that's all right.

        Oddly enough the hypothetical Chinese woman you describe is quite real to me. We lived with just this person for two years in Brisbane – and you might contemplate quite where some of my views on the CCP have come from.

        • Ad 7.5.2.1

          Once I've read this new book on China's long term strategy I will reflect on it and the Lowy Institute's take on things. Hopefully that will encourage others to get into the longer-form debate.

          • Mike Smith 7.5.2.1.1

            Thanks Ad for an excellent post. I’m definitely into the longer-form debate.

            Spot on here: "The real deal isn’t in the military technology pact. The real deal for New Zealand is to use trade rules to continue to win over militarism – which Prime Minister Ardern has been doing exceedingly well. A great game to have afoot with Ardern surprisingly close to the centre."

            Your comments above are also spot-on. China's government is legitimate, and focuses on the welfare aka peace, stability and prosperity of all its people – ideals the anglophone West also aspires to with arguably less success.

            Chinese are not like us and they have a different set of value priorities, more communal and less individual and as Xi Jinping is currently demonstrating, arguably more egalitarian.

            Another major difference is their preference for long-term thinking over short-term gain. Their approach to join the CPTPP will be made deliberately and in the full knowledge that it will involve negotiation. They are much more flexible than they are given credit for. I'd also be interested to know which book you are reading on their strategy.

            But the key for us is to make sure that trade trumps guns, and peace much preferable to war

        • Mark 7.5.2.2

          "This is much less true for the Cantonese speaking people of the South, the Sichuan of the interior – and numerous other smaller ethnicities"

          Shows how little RedLogix knows. Cantonese speaking people are Han.

          • Gezza 7.5.2.2.1

            .
            Ya reckon?
            …………………………………………

            “Did you know that Han Chinese (Mandarin) is the most widely spoken language in the world? The need to learn Chinese Mandarin has certainly increased over the last two decades as China’s booming population and increasing wealth have become more integrated in the global economy.

            汉语 means “Mandarin” in Chinese Mandarin. It literally means “Han language,” that is, the language of the Han people, which are the majority ethnic group who speak Mandarin. The Chinese characters are called 汉字 hàn zì. There are over 50,000 different characters!

            Mandarin is the most widely-spoken form of Chinese, with 955 million speakers globally. It is the standard language spoken in China and taught in schools.”

            https://blog.mangolanguages.com/10-facts-about-han-chinese-language-and-culture/

    • Drowsy M. Kram 7.6

      I’d take dancing Cossacks over a skulking cowardly treacherous hateful ungrateful CCP any day – maybe you could advise the CCP on how to rehabilitate their reputation?

      (As an aside Chinese engineers are this month finally starting up the first Molten Salt research reactor in 50 years – directly using information the Americans gave them back in 2010. They will tell the world what an achievement this is – and credit must go to the engineers who have done it – but there will be no mention of the American pioneers at Oak Ridge National Lab who conceived and proved the technology in the 1960's.

      RL, you've been gun-ho here and elsewhere about the prospect of molten salt reactors delivering decent amounts of clean energy, so you must be absolutely stoked that China (a big greenhouse gas emitter, although it doesn't make the top 30 in per capita emissions) is exploring the potential of MSRs.

      And there will also be silence from the anti-science greenie crowd whose decades of irrational, superstitious fear of nuclear power has directly caused the climate crisis.)

      Regarding the "anti-science greenie crowd" (#NotAllGreenies) whose irrational, superstitious fear "has directly caused the climate crisis" – please "try and set aside some of your preconceptions for a moment" and consider the possibility that this 'crowd' isn't solely responsible for global warming, no matter how convenient it might be to lay the blame entirely at their feet.

      For example, consider that China has for some time been by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and yet the influence of the irrational, superstitious, fearful "anti-science greenie crowd" on the CCP's energy policies must have been quite small, no? Unless the CCP are in cahoots with the 'anti-science greenie crowd' – wow, just when I thought they couldn't be any more evil, along comes the skulking treacherous hateful ungrateful irrational superstitious fearful CCP-anti-science greenie alliance – oh noes!

      Or we can agree to disagree.

      Our cultural elites in the universities and media despise ordinary people, teaching that we're all patriarchal, racist bigots, and science itself is a supremacist plot. They intentionally pervert everything good about humanity and twist it into something oppressive, divisive and abusive. They literally cannot tell the difference between boy and girl anymore, much less reassure that love might redeem us.

      Altogether too dark, imho. Grade inflation and declining academic standards in NZ universities are dreadful trends, but academics now have little say in what is an acceptable level of student achievement – maintaining standards would be too arduous for students, and we can't have that.

      • Ad 7.6.1

        Drowsy, it's 'gung ho', not gun ho.

        gung ho is a catachresis of gōnghé, which simply means: to work together

        • roblogic 7.6.1.1

          & NZ's own Rewi Alley had a significant role in the gung-ho movement…

        • Drowsy M. Kram 7.6.1.2

          Thanks for the correction Ad (and the extra info roblogic) – got a bit gung ho there!

          • Gezza 7.6.1.2.1

            Gung ho

            “def: unthinkingly enthusiastic and eager, especially about taking part in fighting or warfare.”

            Amazing how the original meanings of some catch phrases get misinterpreted or morph into something completely different over time.

      • RedLogix 7.6.2

        and consider the possibility that this 'crowd' isn't solely responsible for global warming, no matter how convenient it might be to lay the blame entirely at their feet.

        I should re-phrase that line as " And there will also be silence from the anti-science greenie crowd whose decades of irrational, superstitious fear of nuclear power has been directly responsible for blocking the best option we had to address the climate crisis."

        • Drowsy M. Kram 7.6.2.1

          And there will also be silence from the anti-science greenie crowd whose decades of irrational, superstitious fear of nuclear power has been directly responsible for blocking the best option we had to address the climate crisis.

          Is nuclear still our best option to address climate change? It may be our only option to realise your vision of a hyper-energised civilisation, at least in the medium term.

          Please consider the possibility that you are over-estimating the influence of irrational, superstitious fearful organisations/movements opposed to the proliferation of nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

          I feel your contempt for such activist groups, but it seems unlikely that such activism will diminish anytime soon. Even the Chinese, although late to the party, have mounted a few protests in the last 9 years. Hopefully the public will be onboard with the CCPs nuclear energy programme, including the development of MSRs.

          Chapter 18: Anti-nuclear protest in China [June 2019]
          Among the numerous environmental issues spurring collective contention in post-Mao China, anti-nuclear concerns were almost non-existent until roughly a decade ago. In 2013, a rare and relatively large-scale protest of this kind erupted in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, prompting authorities to scrap plans for a uranium processing plant. Another anti-nuclear demonstration took place in 2016 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, when large crowds protested against a nuclear waste processing facility, leading political leaders to temporarily suspend construction. Drawing on media reports and material gathered by the two authors, this chapter outlines the birth of this new kind of environmental protest, beginning with the origins of an anti-nuclear movement in China (and comparing it with its counterparts in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan) and then examining one of the two main anti-nuclear protests that have occurred so far—the most recent from 2016. In particular, the chapter dissects the methods of resistance and collective action repertoires employed in this case, and the state’s response to rising social tensions over the issue. In so doing, the chapter also assesses public perceptions of risk with regard to nuclear energy in a country where, so far, perception of said hazards seems to have been very low. What has prompted a change, and why exactly in these places, is the focus of this chapter.

          • RedLogix 7.6.2.1.1

            Please consider the possibility that you are over-estimating the influence of irrational, superstitious fearful organisations/movements opposed to the proliferation of nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

            Everyone in the industry agrees that the most important factor that has been responsible for the relative stagnation of nuclear power in the past few decades has been the absurdist over-regulation imposed politically on the industry.

            Before the 1990's the industry was quite readily able to build and operate plants cost competitively with conventional generation. The dramatic rise in costs and project over-runs since then is entirely due to a regulatory regime that's pretty much designed to put them out of business. This is well-understood.

            Yet all attempts at winding back this burden, to rationalise and restore some engineering sense was stymied by their political adversaries – which incidentally included the fossil fuel lobby.

            Anti-nuclear activists might have been relatively small in number, but as we've seen elsewhere, when they have a general sentiment in the wider population behind them (however ill-informed) that either vaguely supports or does not actively oppose them – they can easily have an outsized influence.

            Look you should be happy – you get a climate crisis to be outraged about.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 7.6.2.1.1.1

              Look you should be happy – you get a climate crisis to be outraged about.

              Look, you should be happy – you get the evil CCP, the over-regulation of the nuclear power industry, the irrational superstitiously fearful "anti-science greenie crowd", BLM, 'Stamp it out, keep it out' (etc. etc.) and the ill-informed great unwashed to be outraged about.
              That’s a winning combination right there laugh

              Study identifies reasons for soaring nuclear plant cost overruns in the U.S. [November 2020]
              https://news.mit.edu/2020/reasons-nuclear-overruns-1118

    • Tiger Mountain 7.7

      @RL #7
      Historically inaccurate, anti communist bollocks. Uncle Sam says “Jump”–toadies enquire–“how high, sir”…

    • Jenny how to get there 7.8

      '

      Chinese history according to Blue iLogix;

      ……. The actual territory controlled by the orthodox dynasties varied dramatically over time – often much smaller than the borders of the modern nation. Development remained erratic, achieving much of promise and value – only to then stagnate or fall back again. The industrialisation of the 1800's largely passed it by, despite being well connected to the outside world. Falling prey to the Japanese Imperialists in the Second World War largely undid what progress that had been made in that century……

      Really?

      Straight from the medievel dynastic period to the Second World War, erazing a whole period of Chinese history. Not a whisper of the Opium Wars, not a word about the subsequent invasion and division of China by Western imperialists, the boxer rebellion. Never heard of it? Not worth mentioning, even in passing?

      Well connected to the outside world?

      You have to be joking.

      You mean by gunboats and colonial armies of occupation, and tendrils of exploitive trade leading all the way back to Europe?

      Erase the Chinese people's struggle against Western plunder, oppression, slavery and colonial rule, why don't you.

      Let's edit Chinese history to suit our pro-war narrative, why not dehumanise them, and turn the Chinse people into two dimensional caracitures, not human beings who fought for their freedom and independence. The enemy are all bad, we are all good. Never forget, we are the good guys, our brand of imperialism is the best ever. Let's just skip over those other bits. Because it is way easier to go to war and kill caracitures than human beings.

  8. KJT 8

    The foolish war mongers in the West, are the Chinese Government s best allies in keeping them in power.

    As with all totalitarians/or Oligarchs, keeping the population focused on an external enemy, takes attention away from whatever the rulers are doing at home.

    Westerners with fantasies that there will be winners in a war with China, are playing right into their hands. As the Chinese Government use the unthinking witterings, of Western Hawks to help keep their people under the thumb.

    The USA, of course, need war for enough internal redistribution to enable their economy to survive, because their leaders are idealogically opposed to supporting their economy any other way. Hence the constant war with Eastasia or West asia.

    • Gezza 8.1

      This was notable in Iran. Lots of young men & young women – and some middle-aged folk in Iran – especially in Tehran – are well-educated, speak English, have smartphones, & were active on the internet & in social gatherings, expressing dissatisfaction with Iran’s theocratic leadership & the amount of money being diverted to (& accrued by) the IRGC, & especially Quds Force’s external military activities, instead of being spent on eg infrastructure & social services at home.

      There were a couple of budding outbreaks of organised protests, principally by the young, that the Theocracy’s goons had to violently put down & stamp out. It looked like they nevertheless represented a hope for the future; that at some point in the future the Old Guard would eventually lose what popularity & authority they currently have over & the younger folk – clearly not interested in threatening the existence of Israel, or in fighting any wars,bin the ME, would eventually evolve into power & lower the temperature in the region.

      Then along came Trump, & economically squeezed the entire country, threatening them with dire consequences & possibly provoking a war with, say Israel, then the US, & trying to appeal to the people directly over the heads of their hierarchy & the IRGC.

      They all suffered, along with other citizens, from the increased sanctions & Trump’s & Netanyahu’s continual belligerence. And they reacted by largely getting behind their leadership & military because “My country – right or wrong – is under threat”.

      The assassination of Soleimani probably just added fuel to that sentiment.

      • georgecom 8.1.1

        another example being Cuba. An economy which doesn't function properly but a convenient external belligerent, the US, to pin the blame on. Sure, the US have inflicted real damage on the Cuban economy, but much of the mess also lies in Cuban hands and Cuban decisions. That gets masked by the 'easy out' of blaming the US for some things.

  9. roblogic 9

    To me the TPP and CPTPP looked like trade pacts specifically designed to counter China’s economic influence in the region, and why Trump’s exit of the agreement was the USA shooting itself in the foot. I can see why Australia would veto China’s entry to the agreement. Like all their other agreements China would enjoy the advantages but make little or no effort to uphold their own obligations.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    1 hour ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 hour ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    9 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    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
    8 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
    6 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
    7 days 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
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T04:20:46+00:00