Daily review 28/09/2023

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, September 28th, 2023 - 23 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 …

23 comments on “Daily review 28/09/2023 ”

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  1. weka 1
    28 September 2023 at 6:03 pm

    I just watched this debate hosted by the Free Speech Union. Don't let that put you off, it's good. I disagreed and agreed with all four debaters, and had my own thinking challenged by much of the discussion, as well rolling my eyes quite a few times.

    Moot: “be it resolved, #nodebate: some discussions will only cause harm”.

    speakers: Simon Wilson, Damian Sycamore vs David Bromell & Holly Lawford-Smith

    
Moderator: Josie Pagani

    Inspired by and modelled after such events as The Munk Debates, Oxford Union, The Cambridge Union, and similar events organised by Intelligence Squared, the New Zealand Free Speech Union is organising its very own debate series, where the principle of free speech can be practiced through the exchange of differing thoughts and ideas. The FSU Debate Series will be a place where a wide range of ideas and opinions, presented by a diverse range of speakers can come together to affirm the belief that the discussion of complex topics should not only be encouraged but is an essential element of any free society.

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-free-speech-union-debate-series-auckland-tickets-684442214087

    Replay video (needs an email etc, but I think you could put in fake details if you need to)

    https://www.poweredby.live/2023-free-speech-union-auckland-26th-sept/

    • weka 1.1
      28 September 2023 at 6:05 pm

      I'd like to watch it again because there is a fair amount about social media and it made me think about how much we hold a particular space here at TS to allow meaningful debate rather than allowing emotionally reactivity to drive argument.

      • Anne 1.1.1
        28 September 2023 at 7:14 pm

        That is what keeps me continuing to read The Standard. We have our individual preferences re- subject matter and we all clash from time to time, but overall the standard of commentary on this site gets better and better.

        I'll be the first to say thank-you to the current moderators for keeping it clean and permanently removing those whose intentions here are not honourable.

        • weka 1.1.1.1
          28 September 2023 at 10:21 pm

          thanks Anne, appreciate that. The biggest challenge I find currently is limiting FB/twitter-esque commentary on TS.

  2. Drowsy M. Kram 2
    28 September 2023 at 7:52 pm

    An oldie but a goodie – Luxon and Willis know which side National's 'bread' is buttered on.

    Luxon unsure if he'll lower rents on homes he owns despite policy promise [10 Sept 2023]
    Christopher Luxon is unsure whether he will lower the rents on his own investment properties if National's housing policy is enacted despite saying the plans would put a "downward pressure on rents" if the party is elected.

    Nats want to reheat the property market – donors are fuming over the current correction.

    Pulling tax from one part of teetering Jenga tower to place it in another [updated 20 Sept 2023]
    It’s bleak, against this backdrop, to see so much of this year’s election debate consumed by a policy proposed by the National Party that depends, again, on boosting the property sector.
    …
    At its core, National’s tax plan is all about property.

    It should be no surprise that the real estate sector, who stand to gain from an influx of affluent foreign buyers, have been the most vocal in their enthusiasm for National’s tax plan.

  3. Jilly Bee 3
    28 September 2023 at 7:52 pm

    I had a quick look at Mike Hosking's rant in the Herald this morning and just as quickly got out and took some deep breaths to regain a modicum of normality. Of course it's paywalled so it's no sense in adding the link. Ye gods, he really does have issues with Jacinda Ardern and can't seem to let it drop. I really wish that he and his missus would simply up sticks and simply bugger off to Australia, as he has threatened to on several occasions. That wouldn't stop him though and I suspect his retainer from Newsquawk ZB keeps him here. JA certainly lives rent free in his head.

    • AB 3.1
      28 September 2023 at 8:00 pm

      They make the threat to leave the country but never do. Making the threat is (in my opinion) a way of reinforcing their conviction that their remaining here is a noble sacrifice they make to bless us with their presence. And that therefore, it is highly impertinent of us to want to tax them or restrict in any way their inclination to do whatever the hell they please.

      In fact, their talent is so slight that they would struggle anywhere else to accrue a fragment of the same wealth, influence and fake celebrity that so easily falls into their laps here.

    • Incognito 3.2
      28 September 2023 at 8:07 pm

      In general, please provide a link and if it’s paywalled or subscription-only then please mention this.

  4. ianmac 4
    28 September 2023 at 8:27 pm

    Some one pointed out that the Nat fiscal plan is very late. Due out tomorrow. Luxon and Willis are always on about setting goals and being efficient and on time. Not as wonderful as they claim. Hoisted I reckon.

  5. SPC 5
    28 September 2023 at 8:27 pm

    On the menopause leave issue, maybe a bit like early parental leave – up to a year off and the job to return to.

    If single and renting/mortgage a benefit and AS, if in a couple and children WFF tax credits and AS.

    They might be able to temp/work part-time when up to it.

  6. SPC 6
    28 September 2023 at 9:05 pm

    Headline

    Expert says unemployment rate needs to jump to 'rebalance' economy

    The claim, bringing in migrants (who have no guarantee of employment) is part of a plan to raise unemployment levels without job loss.

    Riggall told AM co-host Ryan Bridge the key thing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RNZ) wants to see is a "rebalance of the labour market".

    "If we step back and look at the bigger picture, we need to rebalance the labour market. We had unemployment down to 3.2 percent, it's currently 3.6 percent, but that is still way below the four-point something percent it was pre-COVID. The RBNZ are needing the employment market to rebalance because it's too tight," he said.

    "How do you want to rebalance that? Do you want to rebalance that by people losing their jobs or do you want to have more people come into the labour force and cause the unemployment rate to go up without unnecessary loss of jobs and that's what we're seeing.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2023/09/cost-of-living-expert-says-unemployment-rate-needs-to-jump-to-rebalance-economy.html

    Sounds like something NACT would do, Labour’s plan was more likely based on easy access of employers to skilled workers – but it was misused (by agents etc). Reducing the number of jobs left open to locals and thus more applications for fewer job openings.

  7. Kat 7
    28 September 2023 at 9:06 pm

    Chippy up north today rightly calling out certain racist commentary from the ‘Coalition of Caenum’, have to say its the first time I have ever heard a PM in NZ speak so forthrightly and passionately on this subject this close to an election. If anyone else has I would like to know who that PM was.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-chris-hipkins-angry-at-nationals-race-baiting-says-maori-have-most-to-lose/NRTS6AHOZNG5FIO3U6TBR26V5I/

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/28/hipkins-accuses-opponents-of-race-baiting-luxon-calls-him-desperate/

  8. PsyclingLeft.Always 8
    28 September 2023 at 9:12 pm

    Not Politics..(maybe ?), but more Grocery Consumer problems.

    The Warehouse facing ‘Weet-Bix situation’ as Sanitarium pulls cereal from stores

    The Warehouse sells the 1.2kg family packs of the popular cereal product for $6, cheaper than it typically retails at other supermarkets like Countdown and New World.

    The Commerce Commission’s chair John Small said the claims made by The Warehouse were “extremely concerning” and Sanitarium had been approached for an explanation.

    “We are also considering the potential ongoing implications for competition in the grocery sector – particularly given The Warehouse Group’s stated strategy of expanding in the sector,” he said in a statement.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/28-09-2023/the-warehouse-facing-weet-bix-situation-as-sanitarium-pulls-cereal-from-stores

    Is this some anti competitive action..by "supermarkets"? Other?

    Does seem random. An FYI…I buy bread, milk, and other grocery from the Warehouse…as quite a bit cheaper than the Duopolists.

    Of which…i had seen this in regard to one of them "rebranding"..to the tune of $400 million ! An insult really.

    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/shoppers-say-costly-countdown-rebrand-waste-money

  9. SPC 9
    28 September 2023 at 9:56 pm

    Welfare is a strange obsession of Christopher Luxon, the real issues here are of an educational base for on the job/polytech training/apprenticeships and other work capability (drivers licence/after school care/addiction issues).

    And unemployment is under 4% and is only trending up because of an anti-inflation priority.

    It also seems to show up in Luxon’s preoccupations with certain issues, such as the thorny problem of welfare dependency, that was grappled with by, and in some ways helped define the legacies of, baby boomer leaders whose careers Luxon has followed, such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

    Luxon made long-term welfarism the subject of one of his first major speeches as leader and this week announced a “traffic light” system of sanctions for jobseeker recipients who did not try to find work.

    This is silly, the three strikes (traffic light policy) has been around since the 1990's. Over a decade before the Rebstock report under the last National government.

    He has clearly spent a lot of pre-politics and in-politics time thinking about how he would address this issue, despite having become an MP when the question is perhaps less relevant than at any time since the 1970s, with unemployment near historical lows for a number of years.

    He surely means 1990's there was hardly any back in the 1970's, so RM focused on the problem of Maori youth coming into the city and joining gangs by establishing PEP jobs for them so they could to pay rent for their own housing.

    Perhaps the purpose of the policy was another lesson of the 90s political memoirs: triangulation. A tough-sounding policy on beneficiaries may help crowd out New Zealand First, which also takes a hard line position.

    The decade when the MW was held down – ECA era. And benefits were low to maintain some sort of incentive to work anyhow.

    Peters is proposing 2 years on welfare lifetime limits (USA back in the 1990's) and a requirement for community employment for continued support (work for the dole is frowned on by the ILO, so it might be circa 20 hours at MW).

    The other part of the US welfare reforms was faith based providers (and panopticon society oversight of the unemployed as they lost their term limit support – no community work or anything, instead homelessness and precariat desperation). Luxon was earlier proposing management of those under 25 by outside "parties" who could sanction people off welfare support.

    One hopes this triangulation is not some sort of crusade to deliver the sanction regime victims to dependence on charity – and susceptibility to the God and mammon prosperity religion gospel cult that "so profoundly ended poverty in the USA".frown

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/a/nz-news/350080587/story-behind-our-leaders-uninspired-book-choices?utm_source=stuff_website&utm_medium=stuff_referral&utm_campaign=mh_stuff&utm_id=mh_stuff

    • Drowsy M. Kram 9.1
      28 September 2023 at 10:47 pm

      Luxon made long-term welfarism the subject of one of his first major speeches as leader and this week announced a “traffic light” system of sanctions for jobseeker recipients who did not try to find work.

      And there I was thinking traffic lights were for safety, not sanctions.

      Traffic light system 'confusing', 'slow', 'rushed', 'risky' – politicians
      [22 October 2021]
      'Dismaying, confusing, complicated' – Collins

      Very disappointing from Luxon – he must know "there but for the grace of God".

      The Veil of Ignorance (sometimes referred to as "the original position") is a thought experiment popularized by 20-century philosopher John Rawls with the goal of thinking more clearly and impartially about the fair organizing principles of a society based on solidarity. The actual thought experiment is as brilliant as it is simple. The authors of Net Positive describe it as follows:

      "Imagine you are setting up a political and economic system, but you don't know your place in society, class position or social status… [or] fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, intelligence and strength.

      What kind of system would you design if you didn't know whether you would be born a white male in a wealthy country, or a Syrian girl in a refugee camp? What kind of policies would you want in place, and how would you want companies to behave?

      The answer is obvious. Respect, equity, compassion, humanity, and justice would be at the core. The system would provide a basic foundation of well-being and dignity for all, with people at the center, not money."

      Hmm – "A basic foundation of well-being and dignity for all, with people at the centre, not money." Would Luxon or Willis care to comment?

      Study finds link between young ram-raiders and family harm events
      [29 September 2022]
      "The evidence, the community, the sector experts at the forefront of family and sexual violence have been very clear for a long time that we need enduring solutions. That's why the simplistic short-term 'tough on crime', 'tough on youth' responses do not work," she said.

      "When you have people involved with violence – let's say a politician who may have caused violent harm to someone at a boarding school. When they are wrapped with support, understanding, forgiveness, and given opportunities to carry on and lead a good life – that's how we can interrupt cycles of violence. That is how people can be supported to lead healthy lives."

  10. Adrian 10
    28 September 2023 at 10:15 pm

    Luxon has an answer for every problem caused by his “ reckons”, and it,s …..VOLUNTEERS. Watch this space, the next thting from that added head will be no super unless the over 65s do a number of hours helping clean up his shitfights. You heard it here first!

  11. Muttonbird 11
    28 September 2023 at 10:34 pm

    Absolute cunts at the Herald put this article behind their paywall.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/election-2023-what-landlords-13m-tenants-must-read-balance-could-swing-against-renters/ZTMQRK4KLZBTTM4HCPI4YR6AH4/

    Renters will always come last in New Zealand. I'm surprised this fact was not in the Treaty…

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  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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