David Clark Resigns

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, July 2nd, 2020 - 146 comments
Categories: david clark, labour, Politics - Tags: , , ,

Embattled Health Minister David Clark has abruptly resigned his portfolio.

Clark made the surprise announcement at a hastily called media conference at the Beehive this morning.

His resignation came after his demotion down the cabinet rankings following repeated Covid lockdown breaches and ongoing accusations that he’d gone missing in action during the pandemic response. Publicly berating Health DG Ashley Bloomfield was probably the last straw.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has accepted his resignation and said it was “essential our health leadership has the confidence of the New Zealand public.”

Clark said it had been an “extraordinary privilege” and he had given it “my all”.

However, he accepted he was distracting from the Government’s Covid response.

PM Ardern has confirmed that Chris Hipkins will take over the role in the short term.

“I am appointing Chris Hipkins as Health Minister until the election. Our response to COVID is on a stable footing and I have full confidence that Minister Hipkins will oversee the portfolio with the thoroughness and diligence he brings to his other areas of responsibility.

“Post-election I intend to reassess who is best placed to take the health portfolio forward.”

National may consider Clark’s resignation as a victory however it does remove one of their only effective talking points in the run up to the September election.

 

 

146 comments on “David Clark Resigns ”

  1. JohnP 1

    Accepted yesterday but announced an hour after Muller's Reshuffle Reset?

    Someone in Labour is having a LOT of fun at Todd's expense.

    • Ad 1.1

      Agree.

      Makes more sense of Robertson's gleeful speech in the House yesterday.

    • Labour_Voter 1.2

      What is so funny about this? A useless minister has gone after doing so much damage to Labour and its ratings and you clowns are saying this is fun at Todd's expense? Get a grip.

  2. observer 2

    Right decision. Credit to Clark for a dignified press conference.

    Offering to quit during lockdown – and PM's measured response, that she would have accepted it in different circumstances – make this much less surprising or damaging.

    The dimwits who think she's all hugs and photo-ops really should open their eyes. She has an instinctive grasp of political management, as her detractors so often do not.

    • Just Is 2.1

      Well said Observer, and a great strategic move by Clark to remove himself as an easy target for the Nat strike force.

  3. Dennis Frank 3

    Finally! He's done the honourable thing, credit to him for that. Big test for young Hipkins, but sensible for the PM to make it on an interim basis. This is good for Labour. I couldn't care less if the Nats try to take credit for it – it won't do them any good. Common sense has prevailed! 👍

    • indiana 3.1

      Frankly, I think the PM should have accepted his resignation the first time he offered it.

      • Dennis Frank 3.1.1

        Frankly, me too. However one must be philosophical and observe that the only way Labour folk learn anything new is by means of dire experience. Often repetitious…

        • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.1.1

          "the only way Labour folk learn anything new is by means of dire experience" – another extraordinary generalisation, IMHO. You're on a ‘repetitious roll‘ today Dennis wink

          • Dennis Frank 3.1.1.1.1

            Thanks. Mind you, if Labour campaigns on a Green New Deal I'll be proven wrong, eh? 😉

            • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.1.1.1.1

              By my reading of your generalisation, you've already proven yourself wrong.

              • Dennis Frank

                That the wonderful thing about our interior worlds – they can be whatever we want them to be. Trump knows that. 😄

                • Drowsy M. Kram

                  Nice diversion to Trump, mentioned in the WP article on 'Godwin's law'.

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

                  • Dennis Frank

                    Only leftists liken him to Hitler (mostly due to being too young to know better and/or not reading history). Some leftists, lest you freak out…

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      Well done Dennis, only some leftists; maybe even a minority – you know, only the “too young to know better” leftists (hippies!) not reading history who know something about Hitler.

            • Incognito 3.1.1.1.1.2

              Do you concede that you have secret fetish for binaries?

              • I think he might have a fetish for Greenspans – as do many captured early on by the perceived wisdom of the cult.

                Looking at "3" and its offspring, and there'll be more to come before the day is oot, it's [like] like like like:

                I know you believe you understood what you thought I said – but I'm not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant.

                Oh how much needless shite we could've avoided (with all due respect to all God's creatures) if that old crock had never existed.

                • Incognito

                  Are you channelling Reggie Watts?

                  • I'm too busy pivoting @ Incognito to be channeling anyone.

                    But as gorgeous and tremendously intelligent as I am, I'm still marveling, and struggling to understand the human specimen's ability to talk 'past' one another. So far, as an explanation, all I've come up with is a thing called ego – and more often than not, it seems to be the ones with either a heavy dose of testosterone, or the specimens that think they have a dose that's bigger than the human specimens they are interacting with.

                    • Incognito

                      Now you’re sounding just like an ordinary comedian making generalised observations about the human condition 🙁

                      I got my hopes up with Reggie. Still, there’s YouTube.

        • observer 3.1.1.2

          I'm going to go out on a limb here, and suggest that Ardern's political judgement might be superior to yours.

          Empty generalisations about "Labour folk" would be evidence, for starters.

          • Dennis Frank 3.1.1.2.1

            You're not wrong – it may be. However I'll reserve judgment until I see her recovery plan. First test will be how soon she produces it…

            • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.1.2.1.1

              "She's a hard road finding the perfect woman." "Good things take time…"

            • Patricia Bremner 3.1.1.2.1.2

              The recovery plan is already underway. Some people can sing and dance, or were you distracted by the dancing and forgot to listen to the lyrics?

        • Gabby 3.1.1.3

          If you repeat nonsense often enough the weakminded may start to believe it, eh? Poor praxis.

      • observer 3.1.2

        Simon Bridges disagreed.

        "To change Ministers … I can understand why she wouldn't".

        He called it right twice, both on Clark not being sacked at the time, and on his departure afterwards.

    • Cinny 3.2

      Chris Hipkins is great during QT, and there are two questions to the Minister of Health today 🙂

      • Dennis Frank 3.2.1

        Okay. If he doesn't put his foot in it between now & the election he will deserve some kind of promotion. Education minister seems too much of a sinecure to me (inasmuch as they usually default to nursemaiding the geriatric system). Goes to show that looking like a 13 year old isn't a severe handicap for him…

        • Cinny 3.2.1.1

          Looking forward to Q time today 🙂 Let's see how Chip gets on 🙂

        • Gabby 3.2.1.2

          Anyone who thinks education minister is a sinecure needs to go back to school.

          • Dennis Frank 3.2.1.2.1

            You reckon he's actually done something useful? Come on then, trot it out.

            • georgecom 3.2.1.2.1.1

              had the common sense to scrap National Standards and Charter Schools at the outset of his term.

  4. Anne 4

    I have a lot of sympathy for David Clark but have to accept his judgement let him down. In a way he also has been a victim of Covid 19, but he'll be up and running in some other capacity in the future – and a much wiser man.

    • observer 4.1

      Judith Collins was sacked by John Key.

      She then outlasted Key, and English, and Bridges, and is now on leader number 4, who she will probably outlast too.

      There have been many Ministers who quit, win their electorates and eventually return.

    • Just Is 4.2

      Agreed Anne, Clark actually has a long list of achievments in the Health Portfolio, but the media lynch mob identified him as a target, his resignation has neutralised that.

    • Chris 4.3

      Clark's a pretty average chap really, moderately capable of some things, nothing too special about him. On his own admission he "gave it his all", which we've got no reason not to believe. He was never going to set the world on fire. Is nice to see someone who's aware of that because many aren't.

      • Incognito 4.3.1

        Clark’s a pretty average chap really, moderately capable of some things, nothing too special about him.

        How much do you know about him? About his personal and professional life, for example?

        How many people manage to become Minister of Health, for example? Do you think that is a “pretty average” achievement?

        Voters in Dunedin North voted him into Parliament thrice and last time with an increased and overwhelming majority. Still think there’s “nothing too special about him”?

        • froggleblocks 4.3.1.1

          Lots of Labour MPs increased their majorities during Jacindamania at the 2017 election. So that's not indicative of much.

          • Incognito 4.3.1.1.1

            Is that all you’ve got? Try a career as cherry-picker.

            Clark increased his majority in 2014 cf. 2011.

        • Chris 4.3.1.2

          I don't think that's an accurate way to assess things, really, perhaps apart from being a comparative analysis of popularity with voters, and maybe a measure of how well someone gets on with their leaders. Paula Bennett's been an electorate MP four times, has held numerous ministerial portfolios from early in her career, was deputy leader and deputy prime minister. On your reckoning she's been walking on water for more than a decade.

          • Incognito 4.3.1.2.1

            “accurate”?? Are you a cherry-picker too, by any chance? Must be the season for cherry-pickers.

            Well, I never labelled PB as “pretty average [gal] really, moderately capable of some things, nothing too special about [her]” but that doesn’t mean I think she or DC for that matter can walk on water. That said, DC comes pretty close as a former competitive triathlete.

  5. Treetop 5

    Clark being based so far from Wellington was unhelpful during the level 4 lockdown. Hipkins is more accessible to Bloomfield for a face to face chat.

    The blood letting by National of Clark has now been stemmed. Mind you National have also had their blood letting issues to contend with.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1

      The blood letting of Labour by National was never that much.

      Meanwhile, the blood letting of National by National has been bloody hilarious 😀

    • Louis 5.2

      Treetop, all ministers were instructed to work from home during the lockdown. It was the Director General of Health to front as it was the Police commissioner's job to front instead of the Minister of Police, who like Clark, was also working from home.

  6. Enough is Enough 6

    About time.

  7. ianmac 7

    Jacinda just now said that she had discussions late last week with Clark as they discussed the future actions for Covid 19. Then yesterday morning he tendered his resignation and Jacinda accepted it. "He acted in the interests of the Party and of NZ."

  8. anker 8

    Thank you David Clark for your service. While I acknowledge the slip ups, as I posted on the Standard a number of times, health is the port folio that Labour have really shone in and made a lot of progress with in this present term. Not just with Covid.

  9. Warren Doney 9

    Pre Covid, I recall thinking he was rigid and arrogant over something or other that really needed fixing, that in hindsight he was almost certainly blocking because of the BRR.

    I believe he's a scapegoat now. Sacrificed due to relentless spin from the media and National.

  10. Matthew Whitehead 10

    Good. He wasn't competent to hold his portfolio, and Hipkins can warm his seat until their clearly intended replacement, Dr Varrell, comes online next term. Ardern and Labour in general should hold strong against calls to reappoint him "for good behaviour" from his fans. IMO if you don't proactively ask to be shuffled into a different portfolio when you're not performing, you don't get a second chance as minister if you have to be sacked for what is, essentially, incompetence at the general skills involved. (Such as: not stupidly compounding your failures in your portfolio by making "bad look" political news and then failing to proactively disclose a second such scandal)

    This would also be a good time for Labour to reconsider its frankly ill-advised intra-caucus popularity contest to determine who gets into Cabinet, and instead formalize a committee to decide on merits with a vote of confidence from Caucus on the result, instead.

    • Treetop 10.1

      Dr Varrell would make an excellent health minister as her background is ideal when it comes to managing Covid-19.

      • Incognito 10.1.1

        Sigh

        • Treetop 10.1.1.1

          I need to look up Sigh. I know I did not spell Verrall properly.

          I notice you and I clash.

          • Incognito 10.1.1.1.1

            I think you’re imaging things. Why do you think I sighed? I notice that I was merely commenting 


            • Treetop 10.1.1.1.1.1

              Yes I was aware of ministers being asked to work from home. The ministers who were going to be under the spotlight were the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance. Robertson showed because he was a Wellington minister.

              • Treetop

                I want to add I would have liked to have seen Clark in Wellington even for just a few days and the one trip during level 4. He probably would have been criticised for being in Wellington so he could not win.

                • Louis

                  Treetop, once again, all ministers were told to work from home, what part of that do you not understand? Dr Clark could not do a Simon Bridges and travel from one part of the country to another for a few days during the lockdown.

                  [Please stick to one e-mail address only, i.e. the one you used 2020/07/02 at 6:51 pm. Otherwise, you’re creating more work for the Moderators and they don’t like that. Thanks in advance – Incognito]

              • Treetop

                10.1.1.1.1.1 is to Louis @ 5.2 I had a previous comment to send and I sent another one and this comment got out of sequence.

              • Louis

                Treetop, didnt you watch the PM's press updates? Robertson was part of the PM's bubble. To repeat, its was the Director General of health's job to front and that's what he did.

                [Please stick to one e-mail address only, i.e. the one you used 2020/07/02 at 6:51 pm. Otherwise, you’re creating more work for the Moderators and they don’t like that. Thanks in advance – Incognito]

                • Treetop

                  Yes I knew about being in the same bubble.

                  Bloomfield's job is operational matters. I do think that Clark needed to be visible as he was the health minister. I think Anne got it right @4. when she says "In a way he (Clark) has also been a victim of Covid-19…"

                  Imagine if Robertson did not show when needed at the daily press conferences. The MSD minister showed.

                  I would like to see Clark back as the minister of health after the election and Verrall being appointed as a Covid-19 associate minister.

                  • Louis

                    Treetop, what you personally wanted is irrelevant. We are going around in circles.Why you continue to ignore the facts of the matter and the crucial role of the Director General of Health is anyone's guess. The PM has already said Dr Clark will not be back as Minister of Health should this govt be returned to power. Dr Verrall has had no parliamentary experience, so dont expect her to be elevated into a ministerial position after the election.

                    • Treetop

                      Never say never even if a slim chance.

                      I looked at the facts you raised and I put them into another context irrelevant or not.

                    • Sacha

                      I looked at the facts and imagined the moon was made of blue cheese.

                  • Sacha

                    Bloomfield’s job is operational matters. I do think that Clark needed to be visible as he was the health minister.

                    In a pandemic, the Director-General's role is way more than operational. Has higher regulated authority than the Prime Minister in some important aspects. Minister of Health becomes largely irrelevant.

                    • Treetop

                      You explained the role of the Director General of Health well during a pandemic.

                      At what point in a pandemic does the higher authority of the Director General of Health over ride the health minister or the PM?

                      And

                      Is the country still considered to be in a pandemic.

                    • Sacha

                      Has been covered well enough in previous posts and comments.

                    • Treetop []

                      I will go and look up previous posts.

            • Treetop 10.1.1.1.1.2

              I interpreted Sigh as being negative.

    • Chris 10.2

      How about Dr Liz Craig as minister?

      • Ad 10.2.1

        Hasn't made any impression.

        • Michael 10.2.1.1

          Agree. Nice person and thoroughly decent but not enough of a fighter. Might be OK as Associate Health Minister to, say, Megan Woods. Unfair and unwise to put Ayesha Verrall straight in until she finds her feet as an MP.

          • observer 10.2.1.1.1

            And in general I don't think it makes sense to say that a Minister has to come from that particular field. The Defence Minister doesn't need to be ex-military, Education an ex-teacher, etc.

            Attorney-General should probably be a lawyer, but in most portfolios, I'd rather have Ministers who are more concerned with the needs of the public than their old colleagues on the "inside".

            • Matthew Whitehead 10.2.1.1.1.1

              In general you are correct. Health, like AG, has a lot of issues for someone who has no strong medical background that need to be strongly compensated for with good managerial practice and ability to critically listen to subordinates. There's a reason why it's traditionally a very senior portfolio: because it's best if you have both factors on your side rather than just one, and it’s a VERY large portfolio that is difficult to manage even with the relevant background.

              There is literally nobody in the Labour caucus who fits that description, so there will be a need to settle on someone less than ideal. Labour doesn't have enough heavyweight Ministers to spare them on Health permanently with the rate they keep having to assign new things to, for example, Megan Woods. They need to bring an associate up to be ready, which ideally means they bring in a few new Ministers in the 2020 term, and include with them some with a medical background so that they can take over as a more permanent Health Minister before the next election. Genter could also have handled health temporarily as a highly competent Minister, and not put the burden on their overloaded workhorses, but it's understandable given tensions with NZF that they did not want to upgrade a portfolio for a Green Minister, and frankly I imagine Labour want to retain control of the portfolio anyway.

              • SPC

                Genter's background in Health is only as spokesperson for the party since 2016 and Associate Minister since 2017. Her earlier career was related to transport

                Clark was Associate Health Spokesperson 2013 to March 2017 and Health Spokesperson March – October 2017.

          • Matthew Whitehead 10.2.1.1.2

            Yeah to be fair "comes online" in this case means "is ready to be a Minister." I don't expect either Hipkins or Wood to be there too long, but yes, I would expect they're looking to make one of their two newly acquired doctors the Associate immediately with a view to moving into the primary role once they're acclimatized to politics.

    • SPC 10.3

      Spiteful much, the old pile on the unpopular kid mentality.

      And as for the punditry, a first term MP with no administrative experience, being made Minister of the Crown for a major portfolio when the health system is facing a major structural review … really.

      • Matthew Whitehead 10.3.1

        No, it's not spiteful. I am deeply frustrated at Labour for fostering a culture of appointing unqualified people as Ministers (one hopes it's due to inadequacies in the decision-making process around who gets into Cabinet, which isn't Ardern's, but still, the PM is allowed to fire them if necessary) and not addressing it proactively. It creates stuff-ups which become distractions that necessitate resignations. Clark should have realised he was out of his depth and requested to be shuffled out of Health on his own, were we in a healthy political culture that wasn't obsessed with being as senior as possible.

        Twyford, while performing politically in the house, has lost Housing and is still struggling with Transport, leaning on his more qualified associate Minister, and Curran, who was observably not qualified to be a Minister at all let alone be the most junior Cabinet minister, was given every chance to continue to fuck things up for as long as possible before being relegated to the back bench. Clark should have been addressed well before the pandemic exposed his inability to keep up with his portfolio and not become a distraction, and arguably, to conceal the truth from the Prime Minister and the public about his second breach of quarantine. Twyford needs to be shuffled into something he can manage, if he is to remain a Minister, after the election. These issues become distractions and expenditures of public goodwill we should be using to pass good, but sometimes controversial policy, that helps New Zealanders, and builds more ground work for further good policy and further progressive wins in elections in the future.

        Move them on, ask them to volunteer for a stint on the backbench and study up, or shuffle them into something they can actually learn to be good at. (And by the by, I don't mind if they make mistakes learning- I don't want overly cautious ministers who aren't allowed to take risks, or learn from small, reasonable mistakes in the first few years. I actually didn't mind Twyford at first because his political performance was good enough that it kinda hid his less-than-stellar performance in his policy portfolios, but it's clear the man isn't doing well in retrospect)

        But Ministers who won’t accept being moved on from a portfolio they can’t handle in good grace should be permanently kept on the back benches, which is now where Clark and Curran both belong.

        • SPC 10.3.1.1

          Care to share why/how you were aware Clark was not up to the Health Minister job prior to 2020?

          Twyford was known as reasonably well informed about the issue of housing/infrastructure/urban planning while in opposition.

          1. The Kiwi Build policy was the problem – how to not get more houses built and on-sold to buyers is to restrict sale to those who cannot afford them – first home buyers facing a deposit criteria. New homes are not the sort that first home buyers afford without significant government help.

          2. Light rail for Dominion Road to cope with capacity, and the rail line to the airport was always the better option. The original light rail idea managed by government was second best, whether Peters would have stopped this rather than the outside funding alternatives Twyford unwisely flirted with is still an unknown.

        • Chris 10.3.1.2

          Yes, Lees-Galloway is another one. His refusal to even acknowledge the crisis within ACC, let alone do anything about it, is astonishing. Captured, uncaring, right-winger, too thick to understand – only God knows what the reason is, but nobody in their right mind can ignore what's happened to ACC. Lees-Galloway can, and he does and there's not a jot of evidence to show that's going to change any time soon.

          • Treetop 10.3.1.2.1

            There are some heavy weight ACC decisions being overturned perhaps Lees – Galloway needs to start there. Immigration is a tough portfolio as well.

          • Treetop 10.3.1.2.2

            I may of been a bit unfair on Lees – Galloway. 1 July 2019 customer reviews by the Independent Complaint and Review Authority Ltd (ICRA) provides an independent reviewer and dispute resolution service alongside FairWay Resolution Ltd. A person has a fair chance of having a decision quashed when representing their self. I did it on my own and I have no special skills other than working out the bull shit.

            In time the amount of decisions being overturned will need to be looked into why ACC are getting it wrong with the initial decision.

            My case is complicated and ongoing but the date of injury was changed to 18 years earlier.

      • Treetop 10.3.2

        It might be good to split the health portfolio and have a Covid-19 minister due to the effects of the virus and the importance of trying to be one step ahead of it.

        • SPC 10.3.2.1

          Yes.

          They have done this in part with the Housing Minister taking over procurement and oversight of facilities used to quarantine. And there are wider areas – borders (airline crew and shipping as well) and management of inflow numbers.

          No reason not to do something similar within Health as well.

  11. Kay 11

    David Clark should have been sacked last year when he completely abdicated his Ministerial responsibilities and deliberately ignored serious issues with Pharmac. He's been an incompetent coward from day one, unprepared to step up and do his job when required, and take responsibility for his actions, or lack thereof. And people have died because of that.

    Well done David, you'll be remembered as the idiot health Minister who bungled up a pandemic but your shameful role with Pharmac will never rate a mention. Looks like you're off the hook.

    • Rosemary McDonald 11.1

      Slight correction there Kay….another idiot Health Minister…

      And they've appointed Hipkins.

      Why oh why is health always considered not important enough to have a decent Minister?

      • Kay 11.1.1

        Good point. When did we last have one?

        • Pataua4life 11.1.1.1

          Tony Ryall

          • Kay 11.1.1.1.1

            Ryall was a Nat, so one can only assume he oversaw massive cuts? IIRC he was only competent in that he managed to avoid scandals

          • Dean Reynolds 11.1.1.1.2

            Tony Ryall? The jumped up bank clerk from the provinces? Get a grip!

          • observer 11.1.1.1.3

            Ryall was a classic case of the"sinking lid" approach: avoid the necessary capital investment, and let the problems grow, but pushed out to some other Minister down the track.

            The job isn't fire-fighting, it's fire prevention. Ryall failed, badly.

          • Rosemary McDonald 11.1.1.1.4

            Ryall…seemed to think that ACC and MOH were one and the same. A fwit.

        • anker 11.1.1.2

          Cunliffe (last very competent health minister). Although he didn't fund hercepton, however health is a bottomless pit of need.

          I am not sure what the problem was with Pharmac and D Clark, as they got a lot of extra funding during his term. But I accept you have info I have heard about.

          I want to acknowedge that under Clark mental health got billion in funding and at least one new hospital and a number of hospital units have been progressed. A cancer agency has been set up and new radiology equipment purchased. And the Covid response.

          • Kay 11.1.1.2.1

            @anker problem enough that 7 dead people are now the subject of a coroner's inquest. Clark had the Ministerial power to prevent this and chose not to.

          • Matthew Whitehead 11.1.1.2.2

            Not politicising drug funding was a good move, IMO, and it's something we need to make a political consensus again if we can. As much as I want effective cancer treatment for everyone, I would prefer if cancer were treated in line with its actual level of risk and the actual demonstrated effectiveness of novel drugs. I have confidence in the Pharmac model. If there's good reason to think Pharmac is being mismanaged in that regard though, that's something that should be addressed, but we shouldn't end-run around it for expensive oncology drug with an advertising campaign, which is what we risk if we let Ministers directly fund drugs again they way they started to under Key. (and boy are some of those drugs expensive. I've had the opportunity to see the raw costs and some of them run into thousands of dollars for milligram-level doses)

            I have every sympathy for people who are in the position of facing the illness of course, as I've lost family I cared about to cancer myself, and have fundraised for research personally. But we also need to worry about other diseases and health conditions, too. If we put the same attention behind diseases caused by poverty, for instance, we could probably eliminate some of them in New Zealand.

            • Kay 11.1.1.2.2.1

              @Matthew, just to clarify it's nothing to do with cancer drugs. I'm referring to the lamotrigine scandal which involves drugs ALREADY available and funded. And it's more complicated than just funding. And the issue of politicising never came into it, just the case of a Health Minister who could've prevented a lot of grief had he chosen to

              • Rosemary McDonald

                Clark knows nothing…less than nothing…. about Health. He will have swallowed the crap from Pharmac without a second thought.

                Calling himself "doctor". Dishonest.

                [I’m afraid it is you who is being dishonest, Rosemary. Clark studied medicine, though it is his philosophy PhD from Otago uni that entitles him to use the title Doctor. However, if it really annoys you, feel free to refer to him as the Reverend David Clark, another title he is able to use. TRP]

                • observer

                  Dr Lockwood Smith, Dr Nick Smith, Dr Michael Cullen …

                  It's not "dishonest", it's standard usage.

                  • Drowsy M. Kram

                    "Clark knows nothing…less than nothing…. about Health."

                    That’s an outright lie, IMHO – let the smearing continue.

                • Peter

                  No doubt there's a list somewhere of Ministers who were 'unqualified' to be in charge of their ministries.

                  The again maybe there isn't because it would be too extensive to put in one place.

                  Steven Joyce knew everything, more than everything in fact about economics. A veritable genius he was, even finding stuff that didn't exist.

                  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11917623

                  • Rosemary McDonald

                    My point is that the Health portfolio is simply too important to trust to someone poorly qualified or experienced.And each term that elapses with no true leadership, without a firm hand on the tiller to turn this vessel from grounding, then it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to undo the damage wrought by the past twenty five years.

                    Clark was never going to be that Minister.

                • Rosemary McDonald

                  So Clark is a medical doctor? Qualified and registered?

                  I did not know that. I knew he had studied theology and he was Reverended…not that prayer to the Sky Fairy is of any help.

                  [Rosemary, I’m going to assume you are temporarily comprehension compromised and not just trying to get into an argument with an author. Re-read my mod note, and move on. Or be moved on. TRP]

            • RedBaronCV 11.1.1.2.2.2

              Yep to the drug costs some of them are several thousand a week or tens of thousands for a cancer course. One of the issues with some of the new cancer drugs seem to be all or nothing, either they work or they don't – no middle of the road giving a longer or better quality of life. But you don't know who will benefit until they actually take them. Makes for difficult decisions. Then there is life extension which can also be expensive. I've known a few people who have had some remissions but then go "no this time don't treat".

          • georgecom 11.1.1.2.3

            Cunliffe yes. To be fair David Coleman might have proven himself to be decent as well long term. He was smart enough to stand for the Nat leadership and declare he would cancel tx cuts and put the money into health. He understood that Key and Ryall had starved the health system of much needed funds. He was certainly an improvement on Ryall.

            Clarke has not been too bad actually, despite some of the vitriol from posters here and those with a personal axe to grind. He did some good things and oversaw some wise decisions. His actions under Covid Level 4 were very unwise. However his time was up and he took a wise decision to step down.

        • Matiri 11.1.1.3

          Annette King

          • Marcus Morris 11.1.1.3.1

            Absolutely Matiri. Trusted by all. David Cunliffe a close second. Articulate and clever. Gave slime ball Ryall a roasting every time they clashed when he was Minister. Should have been the Party Leader after Helen Clark resigned. Mind you, we have ended up with a leader par excellence.

            • Michael 11.1.1.3.1.1

              Agree. King was a great Minister of Health and a great Parliamentarian right up to the moment she left.

      • Matthew Whitehead 11.1.2

        The problem is something of the reverse: It's considered too senior to have a junior minister, and most of the "senior talent" in the Party is not in fact talent, as they were clearly expecting not to go into government until this term when they made their 2017 Party List.

      • Treetop 11.1.3

        Mainly for Rosemary
        I have given it a thought about what needs to happen when a health consumer's rights are being impeded due to processes not being robust enough. There needs to be a health tribunal as the HDC has no teeth and they are so slow, a DHB passess the buck, the coroner can shut a case and does not always get all the information, ACC also do not get the full facts of a treatment injury from a DHB.

        I would be interested in knowing what you think.

        With a bit of luck I might be able to influence change in the future for a dead man who has fallen through the cracks in many systems.

        • Rosemary McDonald 11.1.3.1

          Agreed the HDC is too slow and has few teeth…and one can't complain about treatment or services being refused. I'm not sure how a tribunal would be different…

          I am pretty sure that there would be the same denials and obfuscation whatever systems were in place to investigate complaints. And we are a very small country…everybody seems to have some connection to everybody else, especially in a specialised field like medicine. They back each other up. Not all, but too many doctors and nurses seem to have forgotten they are bound by professional ethics.

          I am assuming someone close to you passed away under the 'care' of our health system? My condolences, and I have very little problem believing that they were a victim of 'treatment injury'. I have been present at too many near misses…in some instances me speaking up (in my usual polite mannerwink) has been the only thing that has stopped serious injury or even death. For shame we didn't make official complaints…simply because we knew that the complaint system was overloaded with instances where the patient was not so fortunate.

          I have not had a thorough in depth read of the Review recently published…what does it have to say about the HDC and better handling of complaints?

          • Treetop 11.1.3.1.1

            The ICRA covers ACC. An equivalent is needed for health consumers who do not qualify for ACC.

            Being able to review a health decision is important otherwise nothing will change.

            I do not like the disparity between health consumers who have the same needs. I do not like how you are placed in a position where without a lawyer your complaint is bearly heard.

            Well the independent lawyer at my ICRA review bowled me over as he looked at the facts and applied the ACC legislation.

            I am waiting for ACC to appeal the decision as my decision could potentially help many many people who also were told what I was initially told which proved to not be correct.

    • Anne 11.2

      I take offence at your comment Kay @ 11 which is without basis. There may be aspects of his handling of the role you disagree with, but that does not give you the right to blame and defame a person on what looks suspiciously to me like flimsy ground.

      • Rosemary McDonald 11.2.1

        At the final reckoning Anne, who will take responsibility for the lives lost because of the Lamotrigine outrage?

        • Andre 11.2.1.1

          The first step is demonstrating that anything more outrageous than insensitive change management and messaging actually occurred.

          The high incidence of Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) means that the seven deaths alleged to be caused by the medication change may in fact just be the normal regular incidence of SUDEP and be totally unrelated to the medication change. Similarly for the loss of seizure control some sufferers experienced following the change, it's possible that too simply reflects the regular incidence of those events.

          Sorting out that question will take some fairly involved statistics and deep dives into extensive medical records. Which I would expect the coroner's team to be doing.

          What is really unhelpful is the mindless rush to the conclusion that all of these incidents must necessarily be wholely attributable to the change in medication.

          • Rosemary McDonald 11.2.1.1.1

            Of course, Andre. We've all heard that argument. 'Oh, he had such and such condition and they tend to just die, you know.'

            Best example of this was how the police treated the death of Nathan Booker.

            Because, like, kids with cerebral palsy just drown in baths.

            Clearly you have no idea how attitudes like these affect those living with these conditions. I guess it comes down to how much these lives are valued.

            Let's leave it to the coroner, eh?

        • Incognito 11.2.1.2

          Let’s start with the media.

        • Treetop 11.2.1.3

          The drug company is where I would start. It was a lethal decision for some people when they were forced into having their medication changed to save money for a condition that needs to be managed. So sad that it took the death of people for change to occur.

  12. observer 12

    One of the genius moves under the new Nat leadership has been to dump the traditional "Does the PM have confidence in her Ministers?" question in Parliament. Instead, Muller has prepared Qs which helpfully tell the PM in advance what to expect.

    If he had asked the "confidence in Ministers" question yesterday, it would have been awkward for Ardern (who already knew Clark was on his way). But Muller didn't, so he let her off the hook. Good old Todd.

    • Matthew Whitehead 12.1

      I actually support Muller in this, though. It's better for all of us if National actually is just up-front and asks what it means. Sure, it puts Ministers on notice and potentially misses issues that they didn't know about when questions were submitted, but it also removes the "I didn't have notice so I don't have that information" excuse. General primary questions should be saved for when there are multiple related lines of questioning.

      • observer 12.1.1

        A fair argument for Qs to Ministers about the portfolios, but Qs to the PM are different. They are really about political theatre, not asking for specific info.

        • Sacha 12.1.1.1

          Theatre, yes. Better for the brief social media clips if the exchange starts with a focused question.

  13. anker 13

    – NZ’s largest ever investment in frontline mental health services

    – Hiring 1600 new mental health workers which will result in 325,000 Kiwis a year receiving free access to improved mental health services

    – NZ’s largest ever increase to DHB funding

    – 3x the increases to health funding compared to what National delivered in 9 years

    – Significant additional funding for disability support services

    – Made GP visits $30 cheaper for 600,000 New Zealanders

    – Brought in NZ’s long overdue medicinal cannabis regulations

    – Free counselling for under 25’s

    – Expanding telehealth and digital supports for mental wellbeing

    – Delivered 80 new mental health workers in Canterbury schools (18 months earlier than promised)

    – Extended free GP visits to under 14s

    – Rolled out national bowel screening

    – Opened Suicide Prevention Office

    – Increased suicide prevention funding

    – Established a national suicide bereavement counselling fund providing free counselling for people bereaved by suicide

    – Tailored Māori and Pacific suicide prevention initiatives addressing New Zealand's persistently high suicide rates

    – An expanded family and whānau suicide prevention information service

    – More suicide prevention services in District Health Boards, including increased post-discharge support

    – An improved suicide media response service, supporting responsible discussion about suicide across all media and social media.

    – New research on improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples.

    – Increased investment to develop innovative Pacific community health initiatives

    – Established National Cancer Control Agency

    – Developed Cancer Action Plan

    – New Rheumatic fever prevention funding

    – Largest ever investment in radiation therapy

    – Extended the nurses in schools programme

    – Expansion of mental health and addiction services for offenders

    – $70 million investment for the building of mental health facilities at Hillmorton Hospital

    – Significant hospital upgrades and funding increases to capital projects

    – Fast-tracked new Dunedin hospital

    – Large funding boosts to Pharmac

    – Reimbursements for midwives working through Covid-19 response

    – Boosted air ambulance network

    – Rural locum relief for rural midwives

    – More GP training placements in rural and regional areas

    – New funding for AIDS research

    – New funding for gender reassignment surgeries

    – Strengthened NZ’s immunisation system

    – Pay increases of between 12-15.9% for nurses, midwives, practitioners, community nurses, health care assistants & hospital aides

    – Pay equity for mental health & addiction workers

    – Initiated a wide-ranging review of our health & disability services

    Would this have all happened without him? Not necessarily. He was the Associate Minister of Finance for the first 2 budgets and actively lobbied to ensure that funding was made in these areas.

    From FB posting

    • RedBaronCV 13.1

      There is also not much doubt that stable decently paid jobs and housing would go a long way towards reducing the health spend. We also now have a generation – born 1985 onwards who have had to weather two huge financial shocks in their late teens and early working lives.

    • Just Is 13.2

      Thanks for listing all the achievements of David Clarks tenure, I new he was responsible for a lot of improvements in the Health system and have stated that here recently.

      I know that my local hospital in Northland has doubled the staff numbers i the last few yrs, anyone regarding him as average or useless should provide tangible evidence, not media beat ups

    • Yes, for that list thanks Anker. David made mistakes, but he worked very hard to better many areas of Health.

  14. Peter 14

    One of the things interesting to observe in the past week has been the 'thrown under the bus' angle.

    How many of those who marvelled at Trump, who think him amazing for 'telling it like it is' without bullshit political embellishments have booted Clark for what his plain statement about the breakdown on the front lines?

    Clark said that Bloomfield had “accepted responsibility” for lapses in border security protocols.

    Good exercise for a politics and communication class:

    Write the statements Clark should have made in the circumstances.

    Write the questions likely to follow the statement and the answers you'd give.

    A+ to the person who said: "Don't say anything"?

  15. Climaction 15

    Arguably the second most important portfolio right now has a part time minister? Is there no one competent enough to rake a single portfolio off hipkins to lighten the load?

    How many empty chairs are there?

    • observer 15.1

      Funny, the "empty chairs" attack line has evolved, hasn't it?

      – First, with Bridges, it was a "part time PM" (where's that line gone, eh?). (= half)

      -Then it was "PM impressive, rest not". (= one)

      – Then it was claimed (by Muller et al) that only Ardern and Robertson were up to it. (= two)

      – Now it's Ardern and Robertson and Woods and Hipkins and Parker and …

      "What have the Romans ever done for us?"

  16. Bryan 16

    Even today heading off on the no-exit road to perdition, the Reverend personage still did not have that ounce of honesty necessary to take ownership of his bad behaviour with 'Saint' Ashley.

    The failings of the quarantine regime operationally could have been said to lie with the DG perhaps but to flame him so publicly and capriciously speaks to a huge lack of self-awareness. True leadership I imagine, would have involved both men standing together acknowledging and taking ownership of the shortcomings and charting the way forward.

    A massive majority and a desire to be a good constituency MP, could well ultimately lead to a position on the Dunedin City Council with that other out-standing individual David Benson-Pope.

    Good riddance.

    • SPC 16.1

      It was a media ambush outside a select committee hearing he and AB had attended, the cameraman was instructed to film AB when Clark was questioned.

      Just a demonstration of the media's capacity to manipulate the more suggestible of the public. Basically its easy to bully the unpopular kid.

      Personaly I just take note of those in MSM and social media who do this and ignore.

  17. barry 17

    I think Clark was found out by an extraordinary situation which would have derailed many another minister. If not for Covid19 he would have continued as a minister, and been forgotten as averagely competent.

  18. Jester 18

    David Clark leaving is good for Labour. One less weak link that can be attacked by National. He should have gone long ago, and it should have been Jacinda sacking him.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    50 mins ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 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 grĂące 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
    22 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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy 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 â€“ 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 DĂ©jĂ  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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy 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 KƍreroBy 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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    20 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
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mƍrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. Ű§Ù„ŰłÙŽÙ‘Ù„ÙŽŰ§Ù… Űčليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T03:13:15+00:00