Daily Review 15/08/2017

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, August 15th, 2017 - 126 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

126 comments on “Daily Review 15/08/2017 ”

  1. Ad 1

    My bet Chris Hopkins doesn’t get in to a Labour cabinet.

    Forcing Ardern to defend you against the Australian government means he’s spent all his political capital in one shot.

  2. Muttonbird 2

    Anyone else think Barnaby’s namesake, Steven Joyce is behind this?

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/jacinda-ardern-hits-back-at-australia-s-false-claims-and-threats.html

    This National government and the several phases of Liberals in Australia have worked very hard on destroying the NZ-AUS relationship. I wouldn’t put it past the Nats to destroy it a little more in an attempt to stop Jacinda.

  3. Anne 3

    Listen to and look at this first class bitch from across the Tasman! Makes Paula Bennett seem like a pussy cat. Jacinda Ardern has called her out for making a false claim. She has called the Australian Ambassador into her office for an urgent meeting. A diplomatic incident in the making?

    Jacinda has got to do more. She must stand up to Julie Bishop and demand an apology. Nothing less will suffice.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=180294

    Edit: Just seen Ad above. It’s not the first time Hipkins has spoken out of turn.

    • Ad 3.1

      Or Ardern could just shout-out to every kiwi voter in Aussie:

      Let’s stick it to them.

    • Exkiwiforces 3.2

      This is why you don’t want to piss off our Julie (or Bob Katter or Jackie Lambie) as she goes off like belt fed mortar and if this dickhead Hipkins has acted in a unethical (underarm way) way I hope Jacinda Ardern kick’s him where it bloody hurts.

      As I said to my folks via email lastnight while its been piss funny over here with every pollie ducking for cover atm. (I don’t think the guys from yes minster couldn’t write a script for this and its a bloody shame John Clarke is no longer here as he would be having a field day) but, Today-

      as Expats like me are copping a lot off flak ATM from this dickhead Hipkins and if he has acted in a unethical (underarm way) way, he better hope I don’t have to come home very soon or else he will get more than kick where it bloody hurts from me that’s for sure!

      I usually have skin thicker than a snapping handbag (Salt water Crocodile) , it getting real nasty.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2.1

        Can’t they sic the GCSB onto him or something?

        Nasty subversive Hipkins, monkeywrenching noble Australian racist laws like that. It’s not like pointed humour ever led to people thinking about stuff, eh.

        Nah, what am I saying! Hipkins is more likely to be the patsy in some Dirty Politics scam.

      • Muttonbird 3.2.2

        Boohoo, cobber. You live and die by the place you chose to live. What gives you the right to even comment on NZ issues when you don’t live here, don’t pay taxes here, and contribute absolutely nothing!

        • Exkiwiforces 3.2.2.1

          I still pay my taxes from my investments, i’m still on the roll, I still visit from time to time to catch up with friends and see my parents. I work alongside Kiwis and expats.

          Must be a green voter are we?

          BTW, i’m probably more red than you are! Below is my great great grandfather

          http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sherman_frank_henry_13E.html

          • Muttonbird 3.2.2.1.1

            So why are you defending Julie Bishop?

            Word of advice: don’t go for the Greens on this forum the way you have gone for Labour. It won’t end well for you.

            You’re a typical fleewee. Hope you enjoy being Australian.

            • Exkiwiforces 3.2.2.1.1.1

              Firstly i was stirring the pot in regards to Julie, as hell would have to freeze before I even think of supporting those muppets.
              Secondly I’m probably more of NZF voter than a Labour voter now as Labour hasn’t won me back yet.
              Thirdly I left New Zealand under a National government back 98 like a lot people I know as we saw no future under the neo liberal bullshit that was National then and now as Labour back then was little unknown when you look at its pass record.
              Finally I almost came back home after a hell year that was 2006 with work, apart from 3wks hunting and visiting in NZ as I spent nearly 9 to 10mths doing back to back operations. With a plan to enter parliament, but I was talked out of it (from either end of the ditch) and with the benefit of hindsight I should’ve had a cracking it after a chance meeting with a couple of people some yrs afterwards (Its funny who you bump into in my line of work overseas) as the plan I had might’ve work and some smart ass Tory may have lost their seat?

        • lurgee 3.2.2.2

          Boohoo, cobber. You live and die by the place you chose to live. What gives you the right to even comment on NZ issues when you don’t live here, don’t pay taxes here, and contribute absolutely nothing!

          Are you really saying you only want ‘contributing’, resident New Zealanders to have an opinion? Sounds a bit Trumpy.

      • This is why you don’t want to piss off our Julie…

        The only person she has to be pissed off with is herself and the person who held dual citizenship. They should have done their bloody homework as at least one of them would have known that their father was a Kiwi and many countries, especially Commonwealth countries, have as law that if your father was of that country then you get to be a citizen even if you weren’t born their. I wouldn’t be surprised if Australia had the same bloody law.

        Was it a proper parliamentary question? Probably not. just look up the relevant law in legislation.govt.nz.
        Did Hipkins mention anybody by name? Nope.

        It is something that both sides need to know. Politicians here to help NZ citizens and politicians there so that shit like this doesn’t happen.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 3.3

      Her response was strong. Bad time to waste energy on something irrelevant.

    • greywarshark 3.4

      What a bunch of pussies the reporters are. She talked on and on repeating herself and walked off with a smirk and a wiggle. They should have been interrupting her after the second sentence.

  4. Pat 4

    Julie Bishop?….isnt she the foreign minister in the government of John Key’s bestie?….say it aint so…..bro.

  5. DoublePlusGood 5

    Should really just call Julie Bishop a greasy scumbag for trying to interfere in the upcoming New Zealand election, and encourage all the Aussie based kiwis to get out and vote if they want to see someone properly fight for New Zealanders in Australia.

    • Ed 5.1

      Dirty Politics Series 4 Episode 3

      Episode 1 Take out Andrew Little
      Episode 2 Take out Metiria and end the discussion of poverty as an election issue

    • katipo 5.2

      Exactly!
      Seems to be a distraction by Bishop and a hypocritical one at that, ironically the more rabid and extreme their accusations the more support will go to both Oz-Labor & NZ-Labour as across the ditch they have had enough of sanctimonious Turnbull & Co and over on this side of the ditch a lot of folk have had a gutsfull of how Oz-NZers rights are being eroded.
      #Schadenfreude.

  6. bwaghorn 6

    just on news hub No Wage Growth predicted for the next 4 Years , hows that for a bright future

  7. ScottGN 7

    I must say I found it quite interesting that TV1 news lead with the boil water notice in Dunedin rather than the trans-Tasman dramas.

    • Ed 7.1

      Were you hoping for Dirty Politics Series 4 Episode 3?

      • ScottGN 7.1.1

        I wasn’t hoping for anything.
        Just a bit surprised that TV1 went for the proper news story (thousands of people on a boil water notice in our 5th largest city – more of the brighter future?) rather than the big drama of the day.

        • Gabby 7.1.1.1

          Well one’s a storm in a teacup about Kiwi Barney and Julee Tanty Queen, and the other is about an actual health threat.

  8. BM 8

    Hard work being in charge a political party, it’s asshats to the left of me fuckwits to the right, here I am getting covered in clown shit.

  9. ScottGN 10

    ABC News is reporting that another Liberal MP, the Member for Gilmore, NSW may be a dual AUS/UK citizen. A by-election there could be far more problematic for Turnbull than Joyce’s seat, the margin was only 1500 at the last election.

  10. BM 11

    Out of curiosity I decided to google

    Can trump start a nuclear war

    And came access this article

    https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/11/16126770/trump-north-korea-nuclear-launch-code-steps

    Pretty fucking terrifying as the whole system relies on a having a rational president in charge.

    There are no checks and balances every thing is set up for an instantaneous response so if Trump the unhinged decides for whatever reason he’s going to nuke that fucker there is nothing that can be done to stop him, missiles are going to fly.

    The fate of the world rests in the hands of a 70-year man who’s a raging deluded narcissist and has what looks like the early onset of Alzheimer’s,

    Prepare for the worst.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 11.1

      He just wants to be loved and is surrounded by deep state factions plotting his demise and/or destruction of his legacy.

      We gonna be fine.

    • weka 11.2

      Fucks sake man, where have you been for the past nine months? Because I’ve been hoping that in that time that the security dudes with the guns in the war room have used that time to figure out whose side they’re on when it comes down to it, and I’m not talking about Republican vs Democrat.

      • BM 11.2.1

        Because I’ve been hoping that in that time that the security dudes with the guns in the war room have used that time to figure out whose side they’re on when it comes down to it, and I’m not talking about Republican vs Democrat.

        Not sure if joking, but anyway it doesn’t work that like.
        From the article

        As mentioned earlier, the president is the sole decision-maker. But he must consult two people to make that decision.

        He must talk with the Pentagon’s deputy director of operations in charge of the National Military Command Center, or “war room,” the heart of the Pentagon from where all US military operations are directed. The current deputy director is Lt. Gen. John Dolan. The president must also speak with the commander of US Strategic Command, currently Gen. John Hyten.

        The length of the conversation depends on the president. It also doesn’t have to be held in the White House’s Situation Room; it can happen anywhere over a secured phone line.

    • JC 11.3

      BM, Odd how you considered it Timely to shift topic/thread!!…

      Perhaps you might want to consider keeping your curiosity to yourself!! Or somewhere else!

      https://thestandard.org.nz/brownlee-as-foreign-minister-as-successful-as-youd-expect/

      • Muttonbird 11.3.1

        He’s a shadow of himself. Usually on point in attempting to crush the voice of social conscience in NZ, BM is now used goods reduced to twittering about Trump.

    • Venezia 12.1

      So it was Fairfax journalists asking Peter Dunne and NOT Chris Hipkins who kicked it off.

  11. joe90 13

    The apparatus of the state used to intimidate/stifle dissenters.

    The Department of Justice has requested information on visitors to a website used to organize protests against President Trump, the Los Angeles-based Dreamhost said in a blog post published on Monday.

    Dreamhost, a web hosting provider, said that it has been working with the Department of Justice for several months on the request, which believes goes too far under the Constitution.

    http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/346544-dreamhost-claims-doj-requesting-info-on-visitors-to-anti-trump-website

  12. weka 14

    Can someone please catch me up on the Aussie thing?

    You can’t be an MP if you have dual citizenship? A couple of Green MPs had to stand down recently? This week Chris Hipkins asks in the NZ parliament about NZers with Australian citizenship, and this prompts journos to be asking about other MPs? I don’t get it, wouldn’t everyone be looking at this already after the Green MPs had to resign? Or am I missing something there?

    • Exkiwiforces 14.1

      To answer your first question weka. You must be an Australian citizen to stand for both seats of parliament. Section 44 goes all the way to Federation of Commonwealth States of Australia 1901 and its becoming a bit of horses ass of a law ATM.

      A lot of people where I work (and probably most of Australia) thought this was piss funny until that Hipkins put his two bobs worth in and now its got real nasty.

    • joe90 14.2

      You can’t be a federal representative.

      Two Greens senators have resigned. One government minister has had to step down from his portfolio. There are serious questions being raised over a One Nation senator and another government MP, and a reported 20 more hurriedly checking their paperwork. Section 44 of the Australian constitution is smashing through the federal parliament like a wrecking ball, as parliamentarians sweat over their citizenship and whether they — knowingly or not — hold some foreign citizenship status.

      But why can’t you be an MP if you’re a dual citizen? The section of the constitution in question, 44(i), states:

      Any person who: is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power… shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/07/28/why-cant-you-be-an-mp-if-youre-a-dual-citizen_a_23053409/

      edit:

      http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/Section44

    • ScottGN 14.3

      By some outdated law in Australia you can’t be a Member of the Federal Parliament and a dual citizen of some other country.
      For a nation of immigrants, go figure. Maybe they should only let their first peoples sit in the parliament in Canberra.
      Up until recently nobody really paid much attention to this arcane bit of electoral law it seems. Anyway it turns out that none less than the Deputy PM has succumbed on account of being a dreadful NZer.
      This leaves Mr Turnbull in a parlous state since he managed to lose a few seats at the last election and doesn’t have any MPs to spare. The prospect of another election which the Coalition would almost certainly lose was enough to send Julie-baby into a fit today.
      Her main target was the Labor leader Bill Shorten but it seems she was happy to do our government here a favour and throw a hand grenade into our election by implicating NZ Labour in the devious plot to reveal Barnaby Joyce’s dreadful lineage.

      • weka 14.3.1

        Ta. I commented above, about not understanding why after the original Green senators the media hadn’t looked at all politicians’ citizenship. And wtf was Hipkins doing?

        • ScottGN 14.3.1.1

          They seem to have been quite lax in Australia with regard to this law. It’s rather bitten them all on the bum.
          Hipkins was shit-stirring, terrible of him really, but that’s what Opposition MPs do, isn’t it?

          • Exkiwiforces 14.3.1.1.1

            Scott,

            Oz Labour started this current shit fight when there were questions about Bob Day in the Senate and since then a been a gift that keeps on giving.

            Yes we are lax/ causal about Section 44 and I don’t think Oz Labour thought it would get so out hand as it has and I said Carolyn it may end up biting Labour in the ass after all with 7 of it members now maybe in question as well.

        • lprent 14.3.1.2

          He probably got asked what the citizenship status of a kid born to a kiwi parents offshore was. It took me 2 minutes from here
          https://www.govt.nz/browse/nz-passports-and-citizenship/getting-nz-citizenship/check-if-you-are-a-citizen/check-if-you-are-a-citizen-2/#1-0

          I assumed
          1. not born in nZ
          2. Not Samoan
          3. One parent a NZ Citizen when born
          4. That parent was a citizen by birth

          Result:
          You are a New Zealand citizen by descent

          This isn’t exactly rocket science. Any moron can look this up – and evidently Julie Bishop is more of a moron than I’d realised.

        • lprent 14.3.1.3

          He probably got asked what the citizenship status of a kid born to a kiwi parents offshore was. It took me 2 minutes from here
          https://www.govt.nz/browse/nz-passports-and-citizenship/getting-nz-citizenship/check-if-you-are-a-citizen/check-if-you-are-a-citizen-2/#1-0

          I assumed
          1. not born in nZ
          2. Not Samoan
          3. One parent a NZ Citizen when born
          4. That parent was a citizen by birth

          Result:
          You are a New Zealand citizen by descent

          This isn’t exactly rocket science. Any moron can look this up – and evidently Julie Bishop is more of a moron than I’d realised.

          The real problem isn’t that his father was born in NZ. It is the strange law that the aussies have about the way that they treat anyone in parliament who is a child of an immigrant. I’d point out that the large number of cousins in Aussie who would all be over the age of 50 now and who have lived there their entire life would also be unable to enter parliament. How fucked up is that?

          • Exkiwiforces 14.3.1.3.1

            Matt Caravan had to step aside as the minister for northern Australia as his mother put him down as Italian citizen at the age of 28 and she forgot to tell until after the 2 greens from senate step down. In fact the poor bloke wasn’t born there and hasn’t been for a holiday.

            That why its so piss funny about the whole thing until today

          • JC 14.3.1.3.2

            Not to take away from your point Lynne. or the thread…

            But just to add that the large number of cousins in Aussie who would all be over the age of 50 now and who have lived there their entire life would also be ineligible for citizenship. and/or those benefits… How fucked up is that?

            • alwyn 14.3.1.3.2.1

              “How fucked up is that”.
              The only fucked up thing about this is your statement.
              It is completely wrong.
              If they have lived there all there life and are over 50, as you claim, then provided they haven’t got a serious criminal; record they can apply for citizenship tomorrow, and they’ll get it.
              Why don’t you look at what the actual law is, and in particular what it means if they were in Australia on 26 February 2001. Then you can discuss the matter. What you have said here is total rubbish.

            • lprent 14.3.1.3.2.2

              They tend to be aussie citizens because they were all there prior to 2001. So they collected aussie passports and atrocious accents.

              But I doubt that any of them have renounced the kiwi citizenship either.

              For that matter a couple of my grandparents generation from various wings of the family were entitled to aussie citizenship as their parents hopped over this side of the tasman early last century.

              I think I have one 2nd cousin who moved there a few years ago to do a doctorate and seems to be pretty settled in Melbourne. I must ask her what she is planning to do.

              • alwyn

                I’m not certain whether it was actually correct but I remember reading an article a year or so ago which claimed that anyone from New Zealand who had even passed through an Australian airport prior to the 2001 date could avoid all the problems.

                The only visa then available to New Zealand citizens was the permanent resident one. That was what you got when you entered Australia, even it was only for a couple of hours.
                The article argued that since you had had a permanent resident visa you could simply ask that it be reactivated, and that they would have to do it. Then you could start down the path to citizenship.

                So, if anyone passed through Australia on the way to Europe in the 1980’s, and now want to raise the IQ on both sides of the Tasman by moving across the ditch that is the way to do it. The 2001 law doesn’t apply to you.

                I don’t remember where I read this, or whether it was true but a lawyer might to able to confirm or deny it.

          • weka 14.3.1.3.3

            ok, so the whole trying to have a go a NZLP is just some stupid flailing around shit when they weren’t doing their job properly, it’s nothing to do with NZ at all.

            • Draco T Bastard 14.3.1.3.3.1

              That’s about it. It looks to me that it’s the Australian Liberal party trying to evade their own personal responsibility.

              • Anne

                And Hipkin’s provided them with a perfect scapegoat. We’ll blame it on the Kiwi Labour Party.

                • Muttonbird

                  No one likes the Aussie Liberals (apart from Exaussieforces) and their anti-marriage equality and anti-Kiwi buzz.

                  Labour looks strong on this while National have rolled on their side to have their tummy rubbed again as they have done for the last three terms.

        • Exkiwiforces 14.3.1.4

          I think the fourth estate have been caught up in the Same Sex Marriage thing and the silly politics by Labour and the followers of the Mad Monk over SSM. But there has been some rumours about who was next to be caught up with Section 44 and now know who.

          • weka 14.3.1.4.1

            Haven’t been following Oz pol tbh, but I would have thought that after the two Green senators stepped down that there would have been a general call to parliamentarians to sort out their status. Was everyone hoping it would just go away?

            • Exkiwiforces 14.3.1.4.1.1

              Yes, you would’ve thought after the two greens senators that these smug arrogant clowns in the upper and lower houses in Oz would’ve done a family background check? Hell even some idiot try to trip old Henchie under section 44, he like an old school member of the fourth estate knew he had to renounce his NZ citizenship before standing for the upper house in the last federal election.

              Even some MSM got their kinkers in a twist over fat boy missiles and starting jumping and down with “we must get a ABM system to protect Australia from North Korea”

      • By some outdated law in Australia you can’t be a Member of the Federal Parliament and a dual citizen of some other country.

        I wouldn’t call that an outdated law.

        IMO, nobody should be able to hold dual citizenship as it raises too much conflict of interest – see Thiel. He’s in the US working in their Administration and against the best interests of NZ by default. That makes him a traitor BTW.

  13. Glenn 15

    Answered my 1st political poll in my 66 years tonight. I didn’t hear which organization was running it. Things are getting interesting.

    Julie Bishop reminded me of a dominatrix dressed all in black and she looked and sounded like she was out to give someone a good beating. Hope she doesn’t go home and kick the cat.

  14. Sabine 16

    nothing to do with much but a good watch about the events in Charlottesville USofA. HBO made this free to watch, and i can only urge you to watch it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P54sP0Nlngg&feature=youtu.be

  15. One Anonymous Bloke 17

    Re: Hipkins.

    Someone’s pretending that right wing political parties don’t collaborate and share resources the world over. (cf: Lord Mr. Ashcroft, Putin, Trump, Pinochet, Key etc etc.)

    Either that or it’s only a problem when the left does it. And/or (my pick) Hipkins is a patsy.

    • It’s only a problem when the Left do it especially if it shines a bad light on the Right-wing.

      • Whispering Kate 17.1.1

        My partner tells me that Barnaby Joyce’s father went to Australia in 1947 and at that time we, Australians and New Zealanders were British subjects. It was only in 1948 we two countries attained our own individual nationalities – New Zealanders and Australian subjects. So why are we even in this row, surely this should be a stoush between the UK and Australia. Just my thoughts for the evening. Why hasn’t this been brought up.

        • Craig H 17.1.1.1

          That’s correct. Canada was first from 1/1/1947, and we all agreed to follow at the Commonwealth Heads Of Government meeting in February 1947.

          The main issue is that citizenship by descent was automatically passed on to all children of NZ citizen fathers, which is how Joyce was caught out.

  16. ScottGN 18

    The shit that went down today is the white-heat of an election campaign. Anybody still think Jacinda ain’t up to it?

    • marty mars 18.1

      Yep it appears as if she has the x-factor. Good – ì think she’ll do her best – she is authentic – she is significant. Awesome for her and us.

  17. barry 19

    When it is “dirty” to be a New Zealander in Australia. Sad!

    • tc 19.1

      Since shonky, recently honoured by OZ as a thank you, happily stood by whilst Abbott and Turnbull removed kiwis rights and didn’t reciprocate by doing same here.

      Had they have done that the Oz media

      It’s not just here national have been screwing kiwis over by their action or inaction. Key allowed kiwis to, in some cases, be treated like Oz treat the boat people.

      Quite sickening really.

  18. mosa 20

    I am sick of our country being used as Aussies bum boy.

    Handled right this could be an opportunity for Jacinda to shine.

    It’s ok though for the Australian right to publicly back our government by encouraging kiwis living in Aussie to vote for the National party in our 2014 general election !!!

    • Muttonbird 20.1

      Fleewees living in Australia shouldn’t be entitled to vote in NZ elections, imo.

      If you leave the country to ‘further your career’ or some other bullshit then you should also relinquish your rights to vote on matters important to New Zealand.

      Have a crack when you decide to come home and contribute…

    • Jesse Mulligan: Australia is treating New Zealand like dirt | Newshub
      http://www.newshub.co.nz/…/jesse-mulligan-australia-is-treating-new-zealand-like-dirt.html

      Jesse Mulligan nails it.

      OPINION: … ” Despite longstanding agreements which are supposed to give us special rights, New Zealanders seeking a better life in Australia have not been made to feel welcome.

      They’re not allowed to access unemployment benefits, university subsidies or disaster relief. And even though last year Aussie agreed to give us a special path to citizenship, this year they betrayed that agreement.

      So tell me again about this so-called special relationship?

      Besides that, the Aussie government is now rounding up Kiwis with criminal records and sending them back to New Zealand, even those ones who have lived in Australia since they were babies.

      Along the way, some get stuck in detention centres, essentially being put back in jail for crimes they’ve already paid for.

      Almost 1000 of them have now been sent back here and surprise, surprise – 20 percent of them have reoffended. Remember Australia is not working with the New Zealand government on this. They make a decision and then we pay for it.

      Now when Aussies arrive in New Zealand they get the full Anzac treatment, right? Permanent residency, within a few years they get access to student loans, and to benefits. Becoming a citizen costs less than 500 bucks.

      Kiwis arriving in Australia get none of that. When our politicians raise it in meetings we’re ignored and the 600,000 Kiwis living in Australia can’t do anything about it, because despite paying full taxes, they’re not allowed to vote.

      Forget the trans-Tasman friendship in 2017 – Australia is basically a bully.

      So Julie Bishop, when you say you’ll find it hard to work with New Zealand, what exactly do you mean? How much worse could it possibly get? ”…

      Newshub.

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    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    12 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
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