Darren Watson 2 John Key 0

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 21st, 2016 - 140 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, brand key, election 2014, john key, Media, national, Politics, same old national, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Remember Darren Watson’s Planet Key song Planet Key that the Electoral Commission deemed was an electoral advertisement and banned it in the lead up to the 2014 election?

I wrote this just over a year ago:

Also last year the Government chose to through proxies attack Darren Watson for his Planet Key song which was as pure an example of gentle yet biting political commentary as you could imagine.  Key described the song as an example of dirty politics.  Surely he was joking.  The Electoral Commission’s continued harassment of Darren needs to be investigated.  It appears National’s indifference to the intellectual property of musicians is comparable to its indifference to their right to freedom of expression.

The High Court ruled that the Electoral Commission was wrong.  The Electoral Commission then decided to appeal.  From the Herald:

The Electoral Commission has lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal over the High Court’s recent ruling that the satirical Planet Key song and video during last year’s election had not breached electoral laws.

In a statement, the Electoral Commission said it had filed papers with the Court of Appeal because it wanted clarification on the meaning of ‘election advertisement’ and ‘election programme’ after two apparently inconsistent rulings by the High Court.

Chief Electoral Officer Rob Peden said it was not challenging the findings of the court on Watson’s song as they applied to the facts in that case. Its appeal was to clarify the approach the Commission should be taking when it was weighing up whether something was an ‘election advertisement’ or ‘election programme.’

He said the the High Court in two decisions it made relating to the 2014 campaign had appeared to take different approaches to the legal interpretation of election advertisement.

“Clarification is needed to ensure the Commission is able to provide advice and guidance to parties, candidates and third parties on their obligations in respect of electoral matters.”

It is all very well to seek clarification but the effect was to cause Watson to have to go to the trouble of going to the Court of Appeal to defend our freedom of speech.  But the trip was worth while.  Because the Court of Appeal has confirmed the Electoral Commission was wrong and Darren Watson’s song should not have been banned during the election campaign.

The decision is a carefully worded pleasant reading slam dunk for Darren.

It describes the background in these terms:

[2]  Planet Key was a satirical song and video that but for the intervention of the Electoral Commission would have been broadcast in the lead up to the 2014 general election. The Commission is said to have overreached by interfering in the expression of personal political views. Planet Key itself is now of historical interest, but the legal controversy that it engendered is not; the controversy concerns the meaning of the legislation that the Commission administers and it has significant implications for future elections.

The video was motivated by this John Key comment in Parliament:

I do not know so much about “Planet Key”, but my expectations are it would be a lovely place to live, it would be beautifully governed, golf courses would be plentiful, people would have plenty of holidays to enjoy their time, and what a wonderful place it would be.

Darren Watson’s motivation was succinctly explained in this passage from the judgment:

The first respondent, Darren Watson, is a professional songwriter and musician with a bleak view of New Zealand politics, which he thinks tainted by greed, obfuscation and wilful dishonesty. The Prime Minister’s answer inspired him to write the song Planet Key to express those views in the lead up to the 2014 general election.

And the song and video were described in these terms:

[8] The song and video were artistic and satirical, but they also conveyed political messages sharply hostile to the National Party and several of its senior Ministers, particularly the Prime Minister. Notably, the song advised the audience not to vote for Mr Key if they wanted compassion and the video portrayed negative views of Mr Key and several Ministers on contentious issues of the day. The respondents conceded before us, as in the High Court,5 that the song and video were likely to encourage voters not to vote for the National Party or for Mr Key.

[9] Messrs Watson and Jones acted alone, not for any political party or interest group. Mr Watson paid the production expenses — some $721.63 — himself. He intended to publish the song on iTunes for paid download, with royalties to be shared with Mr Jones.

The Court recognised the intent behind the legislation.  It is funny that the low cost effort of a left wing musician was caught.

Parliament intended to limit the influence of money on the electoral process, so preserving equality of voice among participants, and to promote transparency by requiring that parties, candidates and promoters be identified with their election advertisements.

The Court ruled that neither the song or the video are electoral advertisements for the purposes of the Electoral Act or electoral programmes for the purposes of the Broadcasting Act.

John Key is supposedly relaxed about the ruling.  From Radio New Zealand:

Mr Key said he didn’t lose any sleep over the parody song.

He said he was not bothered by the findings as he always knew the song was a parody.

“Election campaigns always bring up these kinds of things. It’s good to have the Court of Appeal ruling, because at least that way people understand what the rules are, but I didn’t lose any sleep over the fact that somebody wrote a song about me that was slightly less than complimentary.”

Its funny really.  Because two years ago Key cited the song as an example of dirty politics.  Is he relaxed about dirty politics?

The problem is that there are too many of these victories two or three years down the line.  Whether it is the refusal to release information that should have been released or the stopping of free speech during an election campaign, winning the battle two years later means that there is a political advantage to the other side.

Anyway the last word belongs to Darren …

140 comments on “Darren Watson 2 John Key 0 ”

  1. Jenny Kirk 1

    Great !

  2. Invisible Axe 2

    & yet the Key biography brought out just before the election was not electioneering? Only on Planet Key!

    • Tiger Mountain 2.1

      …and that bloody infamous Rugby News cover with our glorious leader, “Keysie” depicted as AB Captain, apparently they got away with that because the publication was deemed to be a “periodical”

  3. RedLogix 3

    Of course Key is relaxed about it. That’s one very well soaked bus ticket delicately laid out across his wrist.

  4. Ad 4

    Shame on the Electoral Commission.
    But awesome precedent.

  5. pat 5

    Well guess Labour have a new election theme song then

  6. weka 6

    Great write up, thanks. Do you know what the second High Court decision that the EC refers to was?

    “Planet Key itself is now of historical interest”

    And yet, Sept/Oct/Nov 2017 “Planet Key, the song that was banned at the last election”…

  7. Does this mean that people independent of political parties are free to issue political artworks during an election campaign, encouraging others to vote for or against particular politicians or parties? If so, I don’t see this as a good outcome at all.

    • weka 7.1

      Probably not ‘issue political artworks’, but existing artists creating political work in the public sphere, sure, why not?

      If the concern is that say a rich individual not previously an artist could produce a song saying that X party are useless don’t vote for them, and had the capacity to then promote that song very widely because of their wealth, then I guess it would get referred to the EC to determine whether it is genuinely an artwork, or a political advertisement.

      • Psycho Milt 7.1.1

        That’s exactly my concern. There are plenty of people with political views who lack talent and creativity but don’t lack money, and money can buy talent and creativity. The political views of people with lots of money tend to be obnoxious, so the idea of being bombarded with that kind of “artwork” every three years doesn’t appeal.

        • weka 7.1.1.1

          Remember the paper bag fiasco of the MMP campaign? NZers don’t take kindly to being told by rich people how to do democracy.

          • Chuck 7.1.1.1.1

            Bang on weka.

            Kim Dotcom and his millions of funding for the Internet/Mana party springs to mind.

            • weka 7.1.1.1.1.1

              Why does that spring to mind? Were they in breach of the two acts? Or are you just opposed to rich people funding political parties? You won’t be voting Act or National again then I presume?

              • Chuck

                “Or are you just opposed to rich people funding political parties?”

                Dotcom did more than just give a donation to a political party. He funded the entire party, put in place his puppets to front the party. Tried his “Moment of Truth” event etc.

                Hence your comment below summarises what Dotcom did perfectly…

                “NZers don’t take kindly to being told by rich people how to do democracy.”

                • weka

                  Ok, so multiple rich people backing a political party is ok, but one very rich one isn’t?

                  “Hence your comment below summarises what Dotcom did perfectly…”

                  Not in the context of this discussion, which is about what is permissible under two pieces of legislation. But hey, I’m good with tightening up the legislation on political donations too.

                  Lolz at the idea that Harawira, Harre, Sykes, Minto etc were KDC’s puppets. Whatever mistakes they made with the IP, being a puppet wasn’t one of them.

                  • Groundhog

                    Seriously, Weka, you walked right in to that and Chuck called you on it. Your responses just sound like ‘it’s ok for rich people to influence an election as long as it’s for my team’. Pathetic.

                    • weka

                      you either can’t read or can’t think. I said,

                      “But hey, I’m good with tightening up the legislation on political donations too.”

                      How you got from my comments here that I think it’s ok to use wealth to influence politics so long as it’s my team is pretty hard to fathom.

                    • Groundhog

                      “NZers don’t take kindly to being told by rich people how to do democracy.”

                      You said it Weka. The left wing generally salivated over Kim Dotcom’s money being used to bring down John Key. You all welcomed his millions as long as it was used for YOUR side, but went go into apoplexy if money used for the ‘other’ side. Your hypocrites, But you’re not alone.

                    • weka

                      Oh fuck off you idiot. The left isn’t an amorphous mob. There was plenty of criticism of KDC and his involvement on TS at the time.

                      fucksake, we need better wing nuts.

                    • Groundhog

                      “The left isn’t an amorphous mob.”
                      I didn’t say they were. But the left were salivating, including some on TS.

                      “There was plenty of criticism of KDC and his involvement on TS at the time.”
                      Yes, there was. And there was plenty of support, driven by a sick kind of derangement.

                      You’re sore because Chuck highlighted your hypocrisy. Take it somewhere else.

                    • weka

                      “The left isn’t an amorphous mob.”
                      I didn’t say they were. But the left were salivating, including some on TS.

                      mate, even you should be able to see how stupid what you just said is.

                      You’re sore because Chuck highlighted your hypocrisy. Take it somewhere else.

                      What hypocrisy? If the rules currently say that rich people can donate to political parties, then I think it’s fair that that happens across the spectrum and I’m in favour of amending the legislation to limit that happening. I know that doesn’t fit your back and white reductionist view of the world, but it’s not that hard to understand.

                    • Groundhog

                      “What hypocrisy?”

                      Do i really need to quote you again?

                      “NZers don’t take kindly to being told by rich people how to do democracy.”

                      Who were you talking about Weka?

                      “If the rules currently say that rich people can donate to political parties, then I think it’s fair that that happens across the spectrum and I’m in favour of amending the legislation to limit that happening.”
                      Why, because Labour are currently hopeless at fundraising?

                    • weka

                      You still haven’t explained what the hypocrisy is. I said that NZers don’t take kindly to being told how to do democracy in reference to the Business Roundtable and co trying to influence the MMP referendum in the 90s. What are you talking about?

                    • Groundhog

                      “What are you talking about?”

                      Your hypocrisy. For pointing out something that happened in 1993 when the most recent example was far more relevant (Kim Dot Com), but didn’t sit you leanings. Chuck called you on it, and rightly so.

                • xanthe

                  “He funded the entire party, put in place his puppets to front the party”

                  there in one statement is the encapsulation of dirty politics .
                  Here is a exposition of BULLSHIT from wikipedia read it carefully and see if you think it applies to the quote above

                  “It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it. When an honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he considers his statements to be false. For the bullshitter, however, all these bets are off: he is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.”

                  what you do is worse than a lie! , a liar respects the truth in that they know the truth and decide to speak otherwise. a bullshitter has no interest in the truth at all. You illuminate here why democracy is failing us.

                  • weka

                    Hey xanthe, if you are going to quote from somewhere can you please link?

                    Interesting quote,

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit#Harry_Frankfurt.27s_concept

                  • Chuck

                    What a strange rant from you xanthe.

                    I said…

                    “He funded the entire party, put in place his puppets to front the party”

                    So you think I am making that up?

                    “Dotcom provided funding (NZ$3.5 million) to the party[10] which was the largest personal contribution to a political party on record in New Zealand.”

                    “In September 2013, Dotcom revealed an interest in setting up a political party.[2] On 15 January 2014, Dotcom announced the name of the party and its logo”

                    “With the lead up to the 2014 election the party ran an idol-styled candidate search and appointed a leader, the former Alliance MP and Minister, Laila Harre”

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Party_(New_Zealand)#cite_note-10

                    You may not like it xanthe, but don’t try to pretend it did not occur.

                    • xanthe

                      “put in place his puppets to front the party” is hurtful slanderous bullshit. It does not matter how many times patric gower, cam slater, john key, various labour and green commentators, contributers to thestandard or yourself say it, its still bullshit! You dont know these people acted as “his puppets” and I am convinced you dont care. Do you perhaps think if enough people repeat it enough times some other people will start to assume its true ?

                    • McFlock

                      OK, let’s let the fact that if he funded the entire party, then the Mana party must have had absolutely no funds of its own slide. He did provide the vast majority of its funds.

                      Your assertion was that KDC “put in place his puppets to front the party”. They ain’t puppets and the party structures struck me as being quite democratic.

                      I disliked I/MP, and sure didn’t vote for them, but you took substantial support and assumed that it meant micromanaged and dictated every move. That’s your bullshit. It might be how tories work, but anyone treating Laila Harre like a puppet would be in for a big surprise.

                • Stuart Munro

                  Yeah sure – dotcom is the devil and peter shirtcliffe an angel. To asset stealing ACT trolls.

            • Paul 7.1.1.1.1.2

              What a wretched job you have; to shill for the uber wealthy’s interests.
              I feel sorry for you that you are forced into such a miserable and soul destroying occupation.

            • save nz 7.1.1.1.1.3

              Yes, Chuck the National party and ACT don’t like transparency – they get their political donations and crony deals from Scenic hotels, dodgy offshore tax deals and the new improved (sarc) business roundtable, NZ initiative.

        • Adrian Thornton 7.1.1.2

          Maybe you should have a listen to this…..
          Howard Zinn “Artists in the time of War”
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8lPYog2TA

        • Cemetery Jones 7.1.1.3

          Then again, they’re so cluelessly nepotistic that if they did fund some kind of musical pushback, they’d probably turn to their own kids. Picturing some kind of slickly produced but ulitmately cringe inducing duet featuring rude as fuck beats from Max Key on a Kim Dotcom scale of god-awful, accompanied by lyrically inept, horrendous warbling from Annabel Fay. Such an enterprise would serve only to make the target of said musical atrocity seem awesome by comparison. On the other hand, I’d love to see the expressions on the faces of Donghua Liu or that hotelier who looks like Davros with a Phil Spector wig when they realise that this is what National have just spent their money on.

          • Wensleydale 7.1.1.3.1

            “Davros with a Phil Spector wig…”

            Heh, heh, heh. Poor Earl. He can’t help it if he looks like a badly dressed corpse.

        • Richard Rawshark 7.1.1.4

          So your saying this sets a precedent and now all your mates will bombard us with vote Key as your all rich.

          Well i’m poor, I can’t afford billboards but I can afford a night out smashing em up, you put em up i’ll pull em down or use the bill boards with a little artistic can sprays. Few Hitler stashes here, few swastikas here..all good.

          See us common folk we adapt.. and since you have the money for them, maybe we can save costs.

    • roy cartland 7.2

      Of course not. Bit of a straw-manning on your part there I think.

    • I guess Psycho Milt is wondering whether the National Party will exploit this new ruling as the election approaches.
      Of course they will.

    • shorts 7.4

      that is a crass symbol you use as your avatar isn’t it?

      if it is please re-read your comment and remember the many things Crass did to battle Thatcher including the Thatchergate tapes

    • Siobhan 7.5

      Says the guy with the Crass logo. ‘Cause you know, nothing they hated more than politically motivated art work.

      There must have been a list a mile long of people who thought they were lacking in talent creativity and bloody obnoxious to boot.

      Thats the thing about free speech, its for everyone, even rich bastards.

    • bg 7.6

      No no no… you forgot the rules. ‘its OK when the left do it’

  8. Puckish Rogue 8

    Sounding like a be careful what you wish for kind of thing

  9. Poor wee Maui’s dolphin!
    What a monster!

  10. weka 10

    That Planet Key video is very good too. I hope they update it for next year.

  11. save nz 11

    Great outcome.

    However the mistakes of the electoral commission in banning it and therefore illegally censoring negative sentiment to the National party and their subsequent legal harassment of Darren Watson should mean that those who made that decision lose their jobs at the electoral commission.

    Don’t forget nothing happened to the ALL blacks illegally tweeting Vote National on election day.

    The election was not free and fair and the electoral commission is clearly not politically neutral. Apparently only about 10,000 votes were in the election result and with the illegal censorship of anti National freedom of speech, illegal pro Natz tweets, and banning certain sectors of society from voting while pushing as many new voters into NZ, we could have had a change of government last election. Clinging onto power at all costs, and suppression of ideas and truth (aka Campbell Live being shut down) is how the National party operates.

    If most members of the public can see the Darren Watson song is freedom of speech but the electoral commission can not, then they are not fit to be in the job.

    • save nz 11.1

      And don’t forget the previous election Phil Goff was purposely smeared and humiliated by the SIS.

      And the Brethren scandal.

    • Leftie 11.2

      That’s telling it like it is Save NZ. The Electoral Commission cannot be trusted. I know I am not the only one to have lost confidence in our electoral processes. And that’s what’s worrying people I know as well, and I am sure there are others out there too, and the fear is, is that John Key will effectively get away with rigging the election in his favour again.

    • Leftie 11.3

      To add. Lets not forget too that the Electoral Commission changed it’s rules to accommodate Peter Dunne when he had a hissy fit over producing the hard copies of United Future’s membership.

      United Future: Electoral Commission changes rules over physical proof

      “The Electoral Commission has changed its rules meaning United Future will not have to provide original signed application forms to prove it has more than 500 members.”

      <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10891656

  12. Sam C 12

    Does anyone really give a shit about this? Nope.

    • Invisible Axe 12.1

      Yeah the Electoral Commission has been exposed as National Party poodles, who gives a shit eh?

      • Puckish Rogue 12.1.1

        I’d suggest the Electoral Commission is toothless when it comes to any party, not just National

        [Weak PR and totally off point. Links deleted – MS]

        • Leftie 12.1.1.1

          Never seen the Electoral Commission act like this until John key.

          • Puckish Rogue 12.1.1.1.1

            Really?

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10373214

            “The Labour Party has escaped prosecution for breaching electoral law with its pocket-sized pledge cards, despite police finding there was a prima facie case against it.”

            Please note I’m not saying, in this case, that because Labour have done it National should do it, I’m saying the commission is toothless and needs a major overhaul

            • Leftie 12.1.1.1.1.1

              That’s not what I was referring to, but since you brought it up, National did it too Puckish Rogue “He said Labour were given a warning rather than prosecuted because it was clear a number of other parties had also used similar tactics and it would have been unfair to single Labour out.
              He also said the offending was because of a general misunderstanding of electoral rules.”

              So yes really Puckish Rogue, my original comment “never seen the Electoral Commission act like this until John key” still stands. Agreed that it needs an overhaul, it needs to be cleaned out of National party interference for a start.

      • Leftie 12.1.2

        I for one, bloody well give a shit.

    • The rapid response to this post is proving you wrong, Sam C. In my mind’s ear, I hear cheering across New Zealand and laughter as people remember the clip.
      Mockery is the thing the vain and the powerful just can’t abide.

    • save nz 12.3

      You obviously do Sam C, because you bothered to post, to try to minimise the impact.

    • simbit 12.4

      Preservation of free speech brah. I care…

  13. ropata 13

    The same shitbags also complained about the child poverty doco aired on Maori TV before the 2011 election. Apparently we aren’t supposed to air ‘political’ topics before an election FFS
    https://bsa.govt.nz/decisions/4340

  14. Takere 14

    Great! Still Relevant and … isn’t there an election coming?

  15. Tory 15

    It was a shit song, give me The Knobz any day
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n8frPD7DgqI

  16. Has the Chester Borrows case been decided yet, anyone know?
    (on the topic of songs and thinking about sing-sing)

  17. Groundhog 17

    Have we totally lost our sense of humour? This video is actually quite clever, and compared to the satirical brutality we witness overseas, moderate to say the least.

  18. rsbandit 18

    The EC were wrong, but, in the end, big so what?

    Key couldn’t care less about a song, just as I’m sure Little couldn’t care less about a song about Labour by some random ACT supporter. In fact, probably flattered.

    Preaching to the converted.

    • The ‘big so what’ is that they won’t be able to shut down NZ artists and musicians again. That’s a pretty big win for freedom of expression.

      Oh, and Key cared enough at the time alright. One day he was saying he wasn’t bothered by it and the very next he was framing it as part of some vast, covert left-wing version of ‘dirty politics’.

      I would personally LOVE to hear the efforts of a right-wing musician (is there such a thing in NZ?) with the intestinal fortitude to nail his/her political colours to the pole. Fill your boots ye ACT-supporting musicians I say. All none of you.

      • Leftie 18.1.1

        Well said Darren!!

      • rsbandit 18.1.2

        The Knobz appear to be demanding lower state taxes.

        With respect, a left wing attack on Key is the safest thing in the world. The luvvies will all cheer. That’s the real point, isn’t it?

        • Darren Watson 18.1.2.1

          If a “left wing attack on Key is the safest thing in the world” (your words not mine) why have we had to engage a legal team and fight this for over two years all the way to the Court Of Appeal?

          The Knobz’s single was moaning about a 40% sales tax on records in the context of Muldoon saying ‘rock music wasn’t culture’ or some such shit – not about lowering taxes in general.

          And nobody tried to ban the Knobz.

          • rsbandit 18.1.2.1.1

            The EC isn’t left, right or John Key. They are a state entity applying the law, a law in place before National were the government. In my view, they were wrong in their interpretation and it is good the Court Of Appeal agrees.

            I don’t think Key cares about a song. He might have cared about the OTT attack job on him as a whole from the usual suspects, although he need not have worried as they were all preaching to the converted.

            National’s popularity increased.

          • Chuck 18.1.2.1.2

            “If a “left wing attack on Key is the safest thing in the world” (your words not mine) why have we had to engage a legal team and fight this for over two years all the way to the Court Of Appeal?”

            Its called legal process, when there are two opposing positions on a certain matter. What you should be saying is thanks to the NZ legal process we were able to advance our argument, and on the day it was proved correct.

            Look forward to the 2017 version, and maybe others might jump on board and do a Andy Little or Winston version as well.

      • save nz 18.1.3

        “I would personally LOVE to hear the efforts of a right-wing musician” – of course right wingers don’t believe in paying artists either aka Eminen shows, just some random intermediary who takes the money from the artist. The trickle down strikes again.

        • rsbandit 18.1.3.1

          Do you want to be retrospective about paying money for chord progressions?

          There wouldn’t be much music being played…

      • mickysavage 18.1.4

        +1 Darren!

  19. repateet 19

    I got into the the spirit of the Electoral Commission ban on Darren Watson. I was sure they’d support my contention about the Rugby News cover with John Key.

    That wasn’t election advertising according to them. Go figure.

    • Leftie 19.1

      The Electoral Commission were being selective and turned a blind eye for their master, John key. Of course that was election advertising.

  20. simbit 20

    Who is/are the Electoral Commission?

    Can’t find out on their/her/its webpage…

    http://www.elections.org.nz

  21. Dale 21

    Yep,bunch of hairy faced fucktards are gonna win the next election!

    • reason 21.1

      …. your writing is very creative dale ……. !

      for a dick pic 😉 ………. as troll=human dick pic

      angry trolls are most always male*……. why is that ? 🙂

      ………… *Kactus kate being a dishonorable offensive exception

  22. Marcus 22

    The Electoral Commission’s comment basically added up to an admission that they knew they were wrong in the first place.
    If that is so, then that raises an important question: who told them to ban it?
    Obvious answer: John Key and the National Party.
    So when did the EC start taking orders direct from the National Party?
    From the last election apparently.
    Does anyone care that this is absolutely illegal?
    The EC is supposed to be independent and politically neutral. It is very hard to argue that they still are now.

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    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    8 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours 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
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