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

  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    13 hours ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    13 hours ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    14 hours ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    22 hours ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    22 hours ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    23 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    1 day ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    2 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    3 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    3 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    4 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    4 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    4 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    4 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    4 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    5 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    6 days ago
  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    1 week ago
  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A good summary of the mess that is science education in New Zealand
    JERRY COYNE writes –  If you want to see what the government of New Zealand is up to with respect to science education, you can’t do better than listening to this video/slideshow by two exponents of the “we-need-two-knowledge-systems” view. I’ve gotten a lot of scary stuff from Kiwi ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Good news on the GDP front is accompanied by news of a $5m govt boost for Supercars (but what about ...
    Buzz from the Beehive First, we were treated to the news (from Finance Minister Grant Robertson) that the economy has turned a corner and New Zealand never was in recession.  This was triggered by statistics which showed the economy expanded 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, twice as much as ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • The Scafetta Saga
    It has taken 17 months to get a comment published pointing out the obvious errors in the Scafetta (2022) paper in GRL. Back in March 2022, Nicola Scafetta published a short paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) purporting to show through ‘advanced’ means that ‘all models with ECS > ...
    Real ClimateBy Gavin
    1 week ago
  • Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
    TL;DR: In the middle of a climate emergency and in a city prone to earthquakes, Victoria University of Wellington announced yesterday it would stop teaching geophysics, geographic information science and physical geography to save $22 million a year and repay debt. Climate change damage in Aotearoa this year is already ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Calling the big dog’s bluff
      For nearly thirty years the pundits have been telling the minor parties that they must be good little puppies and let the big dogs decide. The parties with a plurality of the votes cast must be allowed to govern – even if that means ignoring the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
     Another poll, another 27 for Labour. It was July the last time one of the reputable TV company polls had Labour's poll percentage starting with a three, so the limbo question is now being asked: how low can you go?It seems such an unlikely question because this doesn't feel like the kind ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago
  • A Womance, and a Nomance.
    After the trench warfare of Tuesday night, when the two major parties went head to head, last night was the turn of the minor parties. Hosts Newshub termed it “the Powerbrokers' Debate”.Based on the latest polls the four parties taking part - ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and Te ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
    $12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
    Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-09-29T16:37:42+00:00