Daily review 21/05/2019

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, May 21st, 2019 - 76 comments
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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 …

76 comments on “Daily review 21/05/2019 ”

  1. Cinny 1

    Dang, looks like someone got a bit excited lmao, imagine the size of that seagull lololz. Who is the bloke in the pic please?

  2. AB 2

    Golriz Ghahraman gets security escort – the number of threats she has received has spiked. AOC and Ilhan Omar anyone? Young, leftish (though not very) women of colour. So let's not get smug about how much better than the 'Muricans we are.

      • greywarshark 2.1.1

        National used to say any time there was a protest against their government that it was just 'Rent-a-Crowd'. Very dismissive and demeaning. But this USA bunch seem to be possible contenders for turning out on order rather than deep integrity.

    • Sam 2.2

      Well, I dislike a lot of fucking things and I'm not shy to make it known. That this could get me in trouble infuriates me. I'm not advocating harm to anyone. I'm not supporting genocide or pedophilia or some nasty shit, I'm sharing my opinions and thoughts – and you can ignore them, or tell me you hate me back, or shout me down or what ever.

      But legal trouble?

      Get fucked.

      That's one area I envy our colonial cousins.

      • JanM 2.2.1

        What are you trying to say? If you are trying to make a case for abusing someone going about their legitimate business because you don't happen to like something about them, then I Think most civilised people would disagree with you.

        • Sam 2.2.1.1

          Depends on what you view as hate speech. So Andrew Little reaches out to Golriz and her first act as a newly minted MP was to accuse Andrew of criminality. I mean, I've dealt with more angry attacks, insults, and the like from being active on The Standard than I ever did on Kiwi Blog.

          I don't cry about how I deserved a fucking safe space. And if we want to hold an honest conversation about race? I trust the woke radical leftists barely more than I trust the right wing ninjas. After all, to the woke left, we're not real minorities. We're privileged. We are practically white people in their eyes.

      • Macro 2.2.2

        So you don't think politicians who get death threats should get security?

        I take it you have never heard of Jo Cox then ?

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

        • Sam 2.2.2.1

          It used to be that politicians getting egged was an acceptable form of communication between the public and politicians but getting punched, or God forbid assassinated over climate change, counter terrorism or the farming / gun lobby still has zip fuck all to do with feelings, genitals, skin colour or your fav outrage of the moment what ever the fuck.

          • Macro 2.2.2.1.1

            Well, what that response has to do with anything I'm buggered if I know. Maybe in your mind you are making sense, but I'm sorry, what ever your attempting to communicate is being lost in a bucketful of verbiage and obscenity.

            • McFlock 2.2.2.1.1.1

              If I might be of assistance…

              I speak fluent obscenity.

              I believe Sam is trying to respectfully put forward the proposition that while women (especially women of colour) might not be the most senior, prominent, or vocal politicians speaking out on a diverse range of issues, it's pure coincidence that they bear the brunt of the worst of the vitriol, hate, and murder.

            • Sam 2.2.2.1.1.2

              piss off McTrash. I mean oi, Macro. What do you want me to do about that? Provide you a link for an online dictionary or what…,

              Now try and follow the bouncy ball. Golriz is a Green MP. Green Politics is explicitly non-violent and NOW Golriz has a security detail so by that logic somethings a bit screwy with her politicking of non-violence.

              • George

                Or is it Vivian….? 🤔

              • Macro

                I'm not sure what sort of demented logic could lead you to that conclusion. But I must give you credit for being a first class idiot.

                • Sam

                  I don't think Golriz is that special. In fact I think her surporters (that's people like you, Marcro) reach far to easily for state intervention and sate violence and that means Golriz is executing the politics of non-violence rather poorly. Remember this all kicked off because some idiot in the Greens bullshitted about Golriz legal history. So fuck off with your fake outrage.

                  • Macro

                    Well Spam I don't think your that special either, so arse off and stop spreading shit around here.

                    • Sam

                      And here is another example of an idiot that is talented in the art of explaining how virtuous and confused it is.

                      No no one cares about me you woketard. You started out by claiming to know what I was thinking like a little bitch and now your agenda is clear. It was just an excuse to catch feelings and reasons and when instructed to fuck off you fail at that aswell.

                    • Macro

                      I wonder why no one cares Sam? Perhaps you should look in the mirror.

                    • Sam

                      do you honestly need to broadcast your wonder and amazement? I was saying before you rudely interrupted or I was implying that Golriz is wrong about her hate speech stance because it's not illegal to explain to stupid people that I'm fucked off.

                    • marty mars

                      hey scam – why did you cross the road?

                    • Sam

                      to doggy style your 20 year old daughter.

                      [Take the rest of the day off and clean up your act – Incognito]

                    • Incognito []

                      See my Moderation note @ 10:03 AM.

    • Anne 3.1

      Did I hear correctly? Farage lashed out at his bodyguard and called him " a complete failure" for not stopping the milk-shake thrower. Well, if he's so clever why didn't he duck out of the way? He was just as much a failure as the guard.

      Reminds me of John Key when a distressed individual tried to jump over the Debating Chamber balcony and he (Key) lashed out at Labour leader Phil Goff by making a 'cut throat gesture' to him as if he (Goff) was to blame.

      • McFlock 3.1.2

        Technically Farage is correct, but he was probably advised at least once that a public walkabout when you're a career knob-head is hazardous to your dry-cleaning bill.

        Milkshake Man did a pretty good job, though: didn't focus on Farage until he'd found the gap. Even did an oblique intercept course so it looked like he was going somewhere else, rather than trying to close distance.

        • RedLogix 3.1.2.1

          Cheerfully endorsing assaults on politicians probably won't end well.

          • McFlock 3.1.2.1.1

            As long as they stick to cake ingredients, it's a laugh. The other lot use cars and guns.

            • RedLogix 3.1.2.1.1.1

              If some dork starts working through the Edmonds Cookbook on Jacinda the cookie will crumble differently.

              • McFlock

                If I start getting outraged and call a milkshake "assault" just because it's a leftish person being inconvenienced, feel free to bookmark this discussion and call me a hypocrite.

                I had a mate who reckoned he was once part of a protest that egged Holyoake. Throw food not bombs.

  3. marty mars 4

    wtf is going on here? – this is a very strange situation and there must be more to it.

    Te Papa's world-leading mollusc expert of 50 years has been beaten in a job contest by a researcher who finished his doctorate three years ago.

    The decision has stunned scientists, with one calling it "a f…ing joke".

    Mollusc scientist Bruce Marshall was one of two internationally renowned experts made redundant in Te Papa's controversial restructure. The most prolific namer of species in Te Papa's history, Marshall applied for several replacement positions as part of the restructure, but was told he was not suitable.

    However, just weeks after axing the celebrated scientist, Te Papa advertised for a curator of molluscs, raising questions over whether Marshall's redundancy was genuine. Stuff understands Marshall applied for the new job, but has lost out to post-doctoral researcher Rodrigo Salvador.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/112851714/worldleading-te-papa-mollusc-expert-misses-out-on-curator-job

    • BM 4.1

      Cheaper, get someone from overseas for half the cost

      Seems that all the higher skilled jobs are going to foreigners and New Zealanders only get hired for the low paid low skilled jobs.

      Personally, I think it's shit and was hoping this government would have done something about it, that was one of their election promises, cut back on immigration levels, New Zealanders first.

      The fact that immigration is still around record levels tells me those were rather hollow words and Labour is no different to National.

      • Andre 4.1.1

        Salvador had been working at Te Papa since December 2017 as a post-doctoral researcher. So unless this was planned when they took him on 18 months ago, it's not quite a case of just getting someone from overseas.

        Could be just as simple as cost-cutting and ageism, though.

        • BM 4.1.1.1

          The guy is from Latin America which is what I thought.

          Currently NZ is being flooded by Latin Americans because it's so easy to get in NZ especially on a student visa.

          Do your 20 hours a week and when that's done start applying for jobs.

          Get a job, get a different visa and then off to Australia

          • Sabine 4.1.1.1.1

            well, is it not national that constantly whinges how we need that imported workforce cause our own are 'damn near hopeless"?

            Or are you unhappy that some of the migrants are actually educated, skilled and thus a competition to you? Because you never had any issue with the cheap workforce that was imported in great numbers under National – you know the cafe managers, baristas, cow shed cleaners and the like?

            Scared of the competition?

            • Pat 4.1.1.1.1.1

              more afraid of the opposition benches I suspect

            • BM 4.1.1.1.1.2

              I couldn't give a fuck about what National says or any other political party, they're all scum bags who are only concerned with their political careers, not what's good for the country.

              Labour and NZ First know that the student visa is being used as a back door for foreigners to come here and work but they're doing nothing about it.

              Young New Zealanders can't compete because they don't have the experience and are being forced into low paid jobs because businesses are only interested in hiring foreigners who have more experience and skills that they gained back in their home country.

              I think it’s just shit and has to stop.

              • Sabine

                i don't disagree with you,

                but i am surprised as to how you have changed your tune.

                and i don't disagree with you, they are all the same, its just that labour is 'kinder' and is on record of not fucking the country up beyond believe for tax cuts and national is.

                but one thing you can't change, immigration of labour – be it cheap or skilled.

                it is going to happen world wide, it is happening world wide, and you too have that option to go overseas and see if you can make a. more money, b. get more skills, c. make a live there.

                such is life.

                • BM

                  To be honest I actually thought that overseas people were coming here and filling vacant positions that couldn't be filled by New Zealanders. There were all sorts of hurdles that had to be crossed before they could come work in NZ.

                  I've found out that really isn't the story at all and that the real truth is that New Zealanders are getting passed over for highly skilled foreigners who can come in here on student visas with years of experience back in their home countries.

                  Once their course is completed they can apply for full-time work, New Zealanders can't compete and are getting shut out of all the high skill jobs because they don't have the “start now” experience that employers want.

                  All politicians know this, yet they allow it to happen, what a pack of fucking scum bags.

                  • Stuart Munro.

                    Noticeably, you did not 'find out' while the last government were doing it. Yes, it needs cleaning up. Never should have been allowed to happen – gross negligence on the part of the previous government, shambling onward under this one.

                  • Sabine

                    the fact of the matter is that politicians are cynical. They are not leaders. They are not visionaries, they essentially are for the largest part not even able to see a future for their own children.

                    Like many they think that what is good for them is good for their children and grandchildren. Yeah, right Tui. A lot of bollocks that is but then people vote for them over and over again.

                    Sadly we have three choices, odious, not so odious and pie in the sky useless but needed for a coalition.

                    Us NZ'lers need to start build community on the ground level up. We need to be the change that the country needs. Its not that politicians are fucking scum bags its that they are ordinary, un-imaginative and often times so high educated that the most common sense thing is something they can't bend their mind around. As i often say, all the education that money can buy but nothing learned nor understood.

                    Hence instead of needed transformation we get tax cuts we can't afford for nine years from the one party and a few crumbs every now and then for nine years from the other party, meanwhile the country slowly but surely drowns in poverty, homelessness, hunger, anger and misery. .

                    We are governed by technocrats not humans, and the voters need to realise that. We sadly only ever get to vote for the lesser evil.

                  • AB

                    Interesting to see that you know longer believe that globalised labour markets are an unalloyed good. One little brick in the neoliberal wall down. Any thoughts about globalised capital flows?

                    • BM

                      I never believed that globalised labour markets were great? why would I, that’s just a race to the bottom?

                      I have no issue with immigrants moving here and bringing skills that can't be found in NZ, they're a real asset to NZ.

                      The way it should be working is that you apply to immigration, you get vetted and if you have valuable skills that are in short supply, you are allowed in.

                      That is not happening because of the student visa which is being used as a back door into NZ and allowing people with more experience to compete directly with New Zealanders for positions that can be easily filled by New Zealanders.

                      Managers who make hiring decisions have little interest if the person is foreign or Kiwi or they care about is hiring someone with the most skills and as cheap as possible, that's how you hit your KPI's

                      It's a disappointing attitude but that seems to be the Kiwi way.

        • McFlock 4.1.1.2

          I guess cost-cutting, ageism, and empire building: the new guy now owes his career to management. He's not going to shit-talk them out of school.

          Meanwhile, Otago Museum gets the moa footprints because Te Papa snoozed 🙂

          • Sabine 4.1.1.2.1

            and only tourists get to see all that shit cause the rest of the country is too poor to travel to wellington or Otago Museum.

            great? innit?

    • Rosemary McDonald 4.2

      https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/social-issues/te-papa-shake-up-raising-alarm-among-experts/

      In response to the proposed loss of mollusc expert Bruce Marshall and fish expert Andrew Stewart, both internationally regarded in their fields, 50 local and international fish experts signed a petition warning of an “unavoidable decline in curation standard”. Giant-squid researcher Steve O’Shea was so appalled by plans to remove Stewart that he asked Te Papa to remove any reference to him in its colossal-squid display. Stewart has since been offered an assistant curator position.

      In a petition calling for an immediate halt to the restructuring and a moratorium on more changes, O’Shea wrote, “A problem exists if world-renowned researchers, people who have also built the collections, with decades of proven collection-management experience, are deemed surplus to requirements by persons with incomparable expertise and limited institutional and collection management knowledge.”

      University of Otago palaeontologist Nic Rawlence put it more bluntly: “This further reduction is the equivalent of getting rid of most of the Fellowship in Lord of the Rings: without the dwarf, elf, a kickass Aragorn and Gandalf’s knowledge about the ‘One Ring to rule them all’, Middle-earth would be screwed.”

      And Kim Hill did try to make Peterson explain himself here…https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018692577/dr-dean-peterson-te-taiao-nature-exhibition-to-open

      • greywarshark 4.2.1

        From Radionz link above.

        Illinois-born Dr Dean Peterson joined Te Papa in 2016 and has spent three years developing the museum's largest redevelopment since it opened – Te Taiao Nature exhibition space, which will be open to the public for the first time on May 11th.

        Wants to stamp his own USA ideas on Te Papa does he? Do middle income NZs have to move out when they approach the salaries reserved for the overseas stars, or do they have to reapply at a lower pay grade?

        And clearing out resource people reminds me of scary RW throwing out scientific documentation in Toronto, must have had one of those house-cleaning tv gurus visit!

        In the first few days of 2014, scientists, journalists, and environmentalists were horrified to discover that the Harper government had begun a process to close seven of the 11 of Canada's world-renowned Department of Fisheries and Oceans libraries… https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/4w578d/the-harper-government-has-trashed-and-burned-environmental-books-and-documents

        Harper in 2014. In 2016 there was a flurry of concern over whether Trump's possible use of his royal powers to do similar in the USA. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/scientists-scramble-secure-climate-data-fearing-trump-purge

        The Te Rapa Chief Executive comes from Wales. He's had a go at Health Board positions here….led Counties Manukau District Health Board from 2006 to 2017. Under his leadership, the CMDHB has been recognised as one of the highest performing health systems in Australasia

        Geraint Martin took up the role of Chief Executive of Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum in May 2017. The role combines his significant experience in leading Crown Entities with his personal passion for Arts and Culture and the positive social impact of institutions in shaping society. https://nzchinacouncil.org.nz/people/geraint-martin-2/

        Now he's one of the elite and wants to have a go at Arts and Culture and bring his management techniques to bear on Te Papa. It's part of the generic, one size fits all, have a go at any top government position. The elite in government seem to be well thought of because of overseas management experience, and so must be up to 'best practice' cliches. And they have had all the right education. Mrs Moss who runs Oranga Tamariki so well, has a special mention in her write-up because she got an expensive Swiss high-level management certification.

        What about the NZs. This cultural cringe we have goes on and on and those at the top of the Human Resources Agency in the State Services Commission are always seeking to boost their standing with furriners it seems to me.

        But can they be trusted these people at the top, to look after our taonga which includes information , records, historical stuff, and deeply experienced people? It would be ironic if rather well-supplied generic management was dispensing with unique priceless taonga. There have been shake-ups under National already, shifts around the Internal Affairs Department and archiving etc.

        I think we need to be alert to see what this iconoclastic, bombastic trend is leading to and be prepared to stop it.

    • Dennis Frank 4.3

      Intergenerational discrimination. The oldster had his half-century career, time to give the youngster a go. In a shrinking employment future, it makes sense to employers, I suspect. Could be more to it, as you say, but that's my guess.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 4.3.1

        Reckon more to it; philosophical incompatibilities evolving into 'interpersonal issues'?

        • WeTheBleeple 4.3.1.1

          Absolutely. This smacks of ego where the new upstart can't stand to be outshone by actual experts.

          The world is full of these hollowed out hacks.

    • A 4.4

      Te Papa needs a clean out of management and / or HR.

  4. Jum 5

    I hope they've got a 24/7 guard on the Pike Mine.

  5. Jum 6

    "Teen who raped, brutally assaulted 5yo granted parole

    Jamie Ensor, Lana Andelane

    2 hrs ago

    A man who raped and brutally assaulted a five-year-old girl in 2011 will be released on parole.

    Raurangi Mark Marino, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012 for burglary as well as the rape and aggravated wounding of a young girl at a Turangi campground.

    He first became eligible for parole in April 2015 and was granted parole with special conditions in April this year.

    He was last seen by the board in October last year, at which stage he had completed two rehabilitation programmes for sexual offending and drug use.

    "Marino was imprisoned at age 16; he is now 23. He will simply not be familiar with the community. He needs to have confidence that he can do the ordinary things in life, go to the bank, purchase food, and become familiar with the [withheld] residence he is to go to in."

    Marino had no previous criminal convictions prior to his offending in 2011. It is understood that the now 23-year-old had a violent upbringing with gang ties on both sides of the family."

    Just the sort of person who should be in a halfway-community-supervised housing block with gated security but with access to the psychological support and every-day living help in his environment. Parole onto the streets is useless and dangerous.

    Then go after the gang ties that produced and initiated this young man.

    • Sabine 6.2

      i just hope that the victim got the same support, the same rehabilitation, the same medical care ad attention so that she too can do ordinary things in life such as feel save at home, dare to leave the house, not have nightmares, not have issues with the other gender, and eventually live her life to the fullest.

      but then some pedophiles are obviously more precious then others.

    • A 6.3

      When you break into a caravan and rape a 5year old why tf is it important at all that you had no priors? He will reoffend. I have no faith in the systems that deal with sexual offending.

      Which reminds me…now Judith Collins is not minister of justice why doesn't the present minister reconsider the recommendations put forward by the law society around changes to the way sex crimes are prosecuted?

      • Sabine 6.3.1

        Who cares what Judith Collins is about, she had one car crushed and that was it.

        This whole article is rubbish, all i want to now is he a. registered sex offender for life, b. is the town aware that he was released, c. does he were an ankle bracelet for the reminder of this sentence, d. what services were and are still offered to the family of the now ten year old victim and the victim herself, cause she will be needing services more then the rapist.

        But lets bring up the most useless Justice Minister this country has ever had, the one that was under a government that cut police, increased poverty, defunded domestic violence shelters, defunded counseling for abuse survivors, defunded lifeline, defunded health care and mental healthcare and effectively did nothing much for anyone not a national party member and their particular little interests.

        Like literally what was the point of bringing the name of this odious person in this? the fact that the crime happened under Nationals tenure in parliament?

  6. ichey 7

    when is alfred ngaro going to have an abortion

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    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    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
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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