David Seymour thinks ACT is the environmental party

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 27th, 2016 - 72 comments
Categories: act, climate change, Environment, making shit up, national/act government, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

David Seymour hologram

Yep you read this right.  David Seymour has gone on the offensive and has claimed that ACT is more of an environmental party than the Greens.

From Stuff:

ACT leader David Seymour is readying to fire shots across the Green Party bow, accusing them of “socialist economics” and neglecting the environment.

He said they also “just really piss me off”.

First example of supposedly random use of invective there to make him look tough.

The rank and file behind the single-MP party will gather at Auckland’s exclusive Orakei Bay this weekend for their annual conference, which is expected to carry a heavy environmental theme.

It’s understood Seymour will announce an environmental policy, geared around private enterprise playing a greater role in conservation.

It’s unclear exactly what that will include, but is expected to centre on Government incentives to increase private environmental custodianship, and moves to better define ownership.

Seymour was keen to boost the party’s environmental credentials, saying they had gone under-reported in the past.

ACT’s environmental credentials were under reported because they were non existent.  I had a quick look at the website and discovered that amongst their principles was one to “[p]rotect our natural and built environment with Smart-Green policies”.  Go those smart green policies.  Who could disagree?

I then thought I would check on their climate change policies.  Surely in these post COP21 days even ACT would believe that climate change is a reality and we need to do something about it.  But the results of my search were disappointing …

act climate change search

The only environmentally related policy I could find was one on RMA reform.  And it suffered from the unfortunate feature that it was gibberish.  Read it for yourself and see if you can make sense of it:

ACT believes that the Resource Management Act is a case study in poor regulation, with major economic impacts.  If red tape and regulation is the most urgent reform area, then the RMA is the most urgent piece of legislation to reform.  It is beyond redemption by small changes, in fact much of its current deficiency is the result of two decades worth of attempts to improve upon a base of fundamental flaws.  Specifically, the RMA does not seek to remedy clear market failures, but rather introduce a central planning approach to the use of resources.

ACT will rescind the RMA. It will be replaced by the restoration of a greater role for common law actions and remedies.

ACT will set up an expert taskforce to determine what planning laws New Zealand does need relating to public goods, such as flood control, border protection and problems of non-point source pollution.  Any new law will start with the premise that protects private property rights and makes property owners liable for any nuisance they cause.

The english teacher of the person who wrote this would justifiably right now be hanging their head in shame.

But apparently it is time for ACT to boldly step out and claim the mantle of being the environmental party while at the same time chipping at the Green Party.  Again from Stuff:

“They have squatted on this piece of political real estate, while doing bugger all for the environment and often doing things that are counter-productive, because they don’t understand markets.

“They annoy me enormously, and I just think it’s wrong because I actually do care about the environment and I think it’s an important part of being a New Zealander,” he said.

“What you’ve got is a group of people who are actually running a completely separate agenda which is socialist-economics, and neglecting [the environment].

“The reality is they just piss me off.”

Cue further testosterone driven comment from Seymour.  And question how the Greens, who have regrettably always been in opposition, could achieve more.  Maybe they should find an electorate which National is willing to cede and promise unswerving loyalty just so that they can be a miniscule part of a government.

 

The Green Party leadership declined to comment.  Obviously they have better things to do than address idiotic claims.  But an anonymous spokesperson said this:

ACT seems to be claiming some kind of road to Damascus epiphany that the environment is worth saving.

“David could start by supporting our call for a moratorium on further dairy conversions on the Waikato River to help make it swimmable again.”

As an example of ACT’s green creds delegates can book a ride in a high powered Tesla sports car that can outpace most high-performance sports vehicles.  They clearly do not understand the concept of sustainability.

Other speakers will talk about child poverty, the Government’s position on superannuation and victim support.  The sense of spin is high.  All parties wish to address these issues which clearly focus groups say are important.  They just have different solutions, so can’t we all just agree that it is all about the kids?

There is nothing like a saying something stupid to get some social media blowback to happen and get some publicity. Much as I enjoy social media the cynical creation of clickbait and pseudo controversy is one of its less appealing features.

72 comments on “David Seymour thinks ACT is the environmental party ”

  1. Alastair 1

    For anyone who has not seen the link on reddit, here’s an archive copy of ACT’s climate plicy before it was taken down…

    Archive copy of ACT climate policy

  2. Good digging, MS. It looks like ACT’s environmental credentials are as substantial as, um, a hologram.

  3. Stuart Munro 3

    It’s a much more promising vote winner than incest – most prospective ACT voters reproduce asexually by budding. But it lacks the essential element for breathing life into the party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOcJwt8XB4M …electric eels.

  4. Chooky 4

    Weird…I thought ACT supported Monsanto?…and its affiliates acted as PR agents for other big American multinational companies…including those involved in GM agriculture, herbicides like glyphosate or Round Up and chemicals like 1080?

    …say it isnt so

    Is Act now supporting organic farming?

    Is Act now against the TPPA?

  5. BM 5

    Act is after the urban house wife vote.

    • more likely just the idiot vote – no one who votes green will be sucked in by this blatant bullshit, they just aren’t that shallow and silly – some gnats will be though so I expect the gnat support to plummet lol

    • Really? That’s a very specific demographic to be pinning a party’s hopes on. Is it just an Epsom thing?

      • marty mars 5.2.1

        I find it funny because I doubt bm even knows what that demographic is, let alone met some. Just a line on his briefing sheet…

      • BM 5.2.2

        This is just my guess, but there is apparently few women who’s husbands vote right and they vote green., who knows could be a few % points in it.

  6. Andre 6

    Maybe Seymour wants to try the “repeat it often enough and people will believe it even though it’s obvious bullshit” tactic to peel off some blue-green votes. After all, it’s worked for National calling themselves centre-right.

    • Nic the NZer 6.1

      If ACT starts to get votes off National then its bye bye ACT. Thats what happened to the Conservatives last election (they decided to be independent but ultimately failed).

  7. Bit riduculous, but probably a (small) step in the right direction for the body politic. ACT have clearly done their focus groups and polling, and found their previous position to be untenable.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      So, they’ve doubled down on it by declaring that their previous position is actually green. This despite the fact that even regulated capitalism has done huge amounts of damage the world over private property is often the cause of substantial damage that the state then has to clean up. The Love Canal is a prime example.

      • greywarshark 7.1.1

        @DracpTB
        Thanks for giving us that very authoritative summary of an environmental and governmental rort. As for blaming it on the business community it seems that the authorities in charge are equally to blame, from first allowing chemicals to be dumped in the Canal to then ignoring it instead of marking it as a dangerous area. The School Board could hardly have bought the land if so marked, they would never have got away with ignoring its true history and just viewing it as cheap land.

        Then the disgusting behaviour continues. And that crooked scientist at the end doing a reversion about toxicity. What a lot of shites getting far away from the propaganda about the wonders of modern western democracy. At Chernobyl the team that went forward to close down the reactor laid down their lives for the greater good. They knew they would die quite soon after but still went. Look at what happened at Niagara Falls also the lists of other sites in the USA, how can that capitalist country consider itself superior to communism when judged objectively.

        And I checked what was known about the crusading journalist Michael Harold Brown.
        He has written many books, what a wide ranging writer. He received Pulitzer award for his work. He also returned to his Catholic faith and Google entries are full of this which overwhelm his other contributions. This link covers his authorship.
        http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79132156/

  8. rhinocrates 8

    The rank and file behind the single-MP party will gather at Auckland’s exclusive Orakei Bay this weekend for their annual conference, which is expected to carry a heavy environmental theme.

    Where? I thought that cellphones had made phone booths obsolete.

  9. weka 9

    Biggest crowd funding in NZ history buys piece of iconic beachfront. A week later ACT claim to be for the environment. Can I just say focus group?

    The more cynical me sees National’s sticky little fingers creeping out from their privatisation agenda. They can’t promote the privatisation of DOC themselves so get ACT to do it. Not sure if I actually think that, because ACT are so inept that this move should generate much ridicule. Except MSM. And Dirty Politics. We probably shouldn’t laugh too hard.

  10. According to reporter Katie Bradford, ACT President John Thompson tells David Seymour at the conference opening:

    “I assure you you will not be on your own in Parliament after the next election”.

    Giovanni Tiso reckons that means they’re going to get him a puppy.

  11. Act and the Greens are both for BAU, and kiwi Saver.
    At least Act tell the truth, they admit to being pro growth.
    The Greens with their ‘smart growth’ bullshit are way less honest.

  12. fender 12

    Ha ha ha, Act deletes their climate change policy from their website.

    • weka 12.1

      Oh dear.

      Seymour “The thing about websites is that you can always say that something was or wasn’t on a website at some point in the past,” he said.

      “It’s the easiest thing in the world to claim and impossible to prove.”

      If you put this URL into the internet archive, you can download ACT’s climate change policy.

      http://www.act.org.nz/files/plan/policy18.pdf

      https://archive.org/

      • fender 12.1.1

        LOL, “impossible”

        Seems stupid Seymour had ALL his blood removed

        • weka 12.1.1.1

          He looks happy on it.

          • fender 12.1.1.1.1

            He does, despite being told he doesn’t qualify to donate his brain to science.

            • Lanthanide 12.1.1.1.1.1

              Surely brains from all parts of the intelligence spectrum are useful for scientific research? How else will we be able to root out the afflictions that cause people to deny reality?

      • Draco T Bastard 12.1.2

        Seymour called later to confirm that the policy had been on the website’s server but not actively linked to for “a long time – at least two years.”

        He emphasised that his party was focusing on the 2017 election, not the past.

        LOL

        Typical RWNJ – got caught lying and thus tried to shift the blame and the goal posts.

  13. weka 13

    Seeing as how ACT have misplaced their policy, here’s a copy (the formatting is shit, so I’ll do an edit tidy up). Micky, sorry about the length, but I suspect it won’t stay visible at the Internet Archive.

    ACT Climate Change Policy

    Goal

    That no New Zealand government will ever impose needless and unjustified taxation or regulation on its citizens in a misguided attempt to reduce global warming or become a world leader in carbon neutrality.

    Background
    ●TheLabourGovernmentisdeterminedthatNewZealandwillleadtheworldintheracetocarbon neutrality even though nothing New Zealand could do, including disappearing off the face of the planet, would have any impact on global climate.

    ● New Zealand is not warming. There is no warming trend since 1970 and the slight warming trend since 1950 is not statistically significant.

    ● Ifitweretowarmmoderately,wewouldlikelybenefitintermsofland-basedproduction,human health and reduced heating bills. Arguments that we would lose from sea-level rise or more extreme events are unproven conjectures.

    ● PoliciestoreduceemissionsinNewZealandcouldnotconceivablyreduceglobalwarming,evenif warming were globally harmful.

    ● TheGovernmentratifiedtheKyotoProtocolinadvanceofAustraliaforshort-termpoliticalgain without the benefit of any supporting analysis from Treasury. New Zealand can expect to pay billions of dollars to foreign governments like Russia, for carbon credits to offset their emissions.

    ● Nowthegovernmentwantstoforceusalltopaymoreforfuelandelectricitybeyond2012.

    ● Treasury’sanalysisoftheEmissionsTradingSchememadenocasethatitsbenefitswould exceed the costs. The scheme lends itself to corrupt allocations of permits and seedy MMP negotiations were necessary to ram it through parliament.

    ● ItisrecklesstodistorttheNewZealandeconomyinthecauseofanineffectualProtocolthat expires in 2012 and won’t be rolled forward because its 1990 targets are unacceptable to China and the United States.

    ●TheNZInstituteofEconomicResearchstatesintheir2008study“TheImpactoftheProposed Emissions Trading Scheme” that:
     Dairy land values will fall by 40%
     Beef and sheep land values will fall by 23%  Annual household incomes will fall by $3,000  The average hourly rate will fall by $2.30
     Annually 22,000 new jobs will be lost

    ●OnlyACTopposesLabourinseekingtoforceNewZealanderstopaymuchmoreforenergyand electricity.

    ●ACTbelievesthatNewZealandcanplayaresponsibleroleintheinternationalcommunitywhile keeping its powder dry. In particular, it should not move faster than Australia or the United States.

    http://www.act.org.nz

    Authorised by Nick Kearney, 137 Beach Haven Rd, Auckland.

    Principles

    Freedom – People should be free to live and work how they choose, including making their own decisions as to what light bulbs to use, unless there is clear scientific evidence that their actions are damaging the environment, or unless they are harming others.

    Put New Zealanders needs first – Until there is clear scientific evidence that we should do otherwise, energy policy should be primarily concerned with affordability and stability of supply.

    Proceed with caution – The precautionary principle works both ways. „Green Business‟ opportunities which address non-existent problems and needs are not “business opportunities” but a massive risk and likely to destroy wealth on a massive scale

    Do not make needless rods for our own backs – The government is globally unique including methane gas (produced by ruminants) in calculating our Kyoto commitments. This is extreme, contrary to all other member countries and should be amended

    Distinguish between real pollutants and carbon dioxide – carbon dioxide is a vital and necessary greenhouse gas crucial for plant growth and human survival

    Make decisions based on sound science – not on blind belief or ideology which is increasingly divorced from reason

    A commonsense approach to Climate Change would recognise that:
    ● There is no point destroying our economy in pursuit of „carbon neutrality‟ if carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not driving global warming.
    ● Any carbon trading scheme is prone to fraud – and indeed invites fraud
    Policy Detail
    ● ACT will repeal the Emissions Trading Scheme and withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol
    ● Major investments in infrastructure will not depend on the anti-global warming hypothesis for
    their economic viability. (Hydro power and geothermal power stands on its own feet.)
    ● Reform the Resource Management Act and Local Government Act to be neutral on climate change and „sustainability‟ (often a code word for anti-global warming).
    ● Reform Transport legislation to make transport serve efficiency and mobility rather than „sustainability‟ unless a real issue of sustainability can be identified
    ● Ensure that government agencies and advisors acknowledge any conflicts of interest.
    If you believe that New Zealanders should not be taxed on the basis of unproven global warming theories, then give ACT your Party vote, for better informed policy on climate change.

    http://www.act.org.nz

    Authorised by Nick Kearney, 137 Beach Haven Rd, Auckland.

    • Incognito 13.1

      These are impeccable credentials as an environmental party. Trump would vote for them.

    • I’ve no argument with this bit: “The [Emissions Trading] scheme lends itself to corrupt allocations of permits and seedy MMP negotiations were necessary to ram it through parliament.” I’m thinking of the current government’s one, but it would apply to any emissions trading scheme – our government’s claim to be meeting its emissions control commitments by handing cash to dodgy Russian and Ukrainian outfits is a case in point.

      • Lanthanide 13.2.1

        Act’s policy *should* be to replace it with a simple carbon tax, and make it a simple market signal for user pays.

    • pat 13.3

      thats about as close as you can get to being a denier without actually saying “read my lips, there is no such thing as climate change”

    • Nick K 13.4

      That’s me authorising that statement and I haven’t been the party secretary for six years!

      • miravox 13.4.1

        Haha – 6 years and the ACT environmental policy hasn’t changed.

        Exhibit Number One for how much the environment means to that party.

        (else they thought this one was perfect…. see above sentence)

  14. gsays 14

    This perhaps belongs in open mike.
    Hi all, firstly I an extremely grateful for the standard and deeply appreciative of the work the authors do. Also enjoy reading comments from most of the community.
    It is appointment reading almost every day.

    Now the sticking point- while what seymour(or any Tory) spouts is of small interest (hum your enemies tune etc), I am keener to read about what plans/vision/aspiration are formulating on the left of the spectrum.

    I realise I am due an uppercut for this, however..

    • Ben 14.1

      Are you new here? The Left don’t have any coherent policy (except for spending all their pennies on free education – in 2025, if they win 3 elections in a row…) and simply remain focussed on the negative politics of attacking everyone else’s policies.

      I believe that people have cottoned on to the fact that the Greens are green in name only, and certainly not the party they were 10 years ago. Shaw has further confused/diluted their cause as he is trying to come across as business friendly. If Green support erodes into next year, it will be interesting to see how Little handles the internal pressure for Labour to distance themselves from the Greens again.

      It doesn’t help the Green’s cause when the latest expenses show that in October, November and December the average Green MP spent $7992 on air travel — the highest average amongst political parties. Must have been an increase in larping meets late last year. They try to explain it away by stating they will plant more trees, but explaining is losing.

  15. McFlock 15

    ACT will rescind the RMA. It will be replaced by the restoration of a greater role for common law actions and remedies.

    lol
    So their environmental policy is to remove regulation and leave it to individuals to sue corporations that put tonnes of cowshit in the local water supply?

    That’s gotta work, because the 19th Century was awesome for the environment. /sarc

    Crime, economics, environment, social welfare… seriously, does Act have any policy that wasn’t written 150 years ago?

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1

      Give them time and they’ll go pre Magna Carta on us.

      • Stuart Munro 15.1.1

        Hooten thinks he’s channelling Lee Kuan Yu.

        Lee rebuilt a pretty flattened Singapore – he improved incomes and living standards and so he had some assent. But he was a despot – he ruled by fear.

        Gnact have not improved incomes or living standards. They do not have assent. And New Zealanders are not afraid of them either.

        • Sacha 15.1.1.1

          “Gnact have not improved incomes or living standards.”

          For their targeted beneficiaries, they most certainly have. And persuaded many more that it benefits them. No point in denying the underlying reality we seek to change.

          • Stuart Munro 15.1.1.1.1

            Perhaps we move in different circles, my cohort are all losing ground – I think Lee would scold these pretenders fiercely – and home ownership would be one of the sticks he’d beat them with. There is a theory about island and continental behaviour – goes to manners & solidarity – Lee never forgot he was on an island.

  16. Philj 16

    Read about the green ACT party and laughed. Is he saying the government can’t be responsible to look after the environment? The corporates can do a proper job of running things. Maybe that’s what the TPP is all about. Less government, more multinational.

    • pat 16.1

      we know its farcical, but suspect there is a young cohort in the electorate who would vote Act but for their environmental policy (or lack of)….you can be sure it has been canvassed

  17. greywarshark 17

    It’s time for a rebirthday party. ACT is going to blow helium into the fashionable green balloons of the day whose time has come, and will rise again and ascend into the political heavens. They think!

    I do like your image. Very ap(c)t.

  18. Smilin 18

    if McGillicuddy Serious was back as a force we might get rid of some of the idiocy that we have to endure from Key and Act and all the others who think its alright to laugh the country into the ground by wasting money talkin BS and calling it being a representative of the voter

  19. Tautuhi 19

    Just Making up bullwacky to try and win votes?

  20. Rodel 20

    Saw act’s David wotsisname? on TV with his brilliant repartee.
    vis.”The greens have got the sizzle but we’ve got the sausage.”
    and a few other forgettable witticisms .(cue: obsequious applause by all 30 act members at the conference)
    Dear Jeeesus the sheer brilliance of this one of my ‘leaders’ fills me with so much pride.
    Honestly he’s transparently stupider than Hide and Brash together (and probably Trump ).

  21. Xanthe 21

    His central point that the greens arnt an environmental party and are simply filling that space is correct. They piss me off for the same reason. It is a dishonest position that contributes to the lack of voter engagement

  22. upnorth 22

    I like Seymour and I think ACT have to show more substance on green credentials if this is what they truly believe but Seymour has done something right.

    He has called out the Greens on their failure to actually achieve anything and they don’t practise what they preach – e.g. air miles.

    I think it is important that Green MP’s are all List MP’s and why we have a stubborn 7-8% of voters who will vote Green which I have no problem with, those voters should be actually asking the Greens what have they actually achieved.

    ACT will now set the motions in play and I can see the Greens lose 2-3%

    ACT will pick up maybe to 3% possibly 5% off National and NZF vote because Winston will call it a day one day – so if you have a bit of a think about it you could say the centre right parties in NZ could be well over 50%.

    This leave me with this nagging thought – I am clear in my mind Labour policies in November are going to be laughable at best and poorly thought through and it is very possible that Labour could plunge to 25% and Greens 5-7% if ACT gets their message across properly.

    Centre Left could struggle to get to 35%

    If the Greens who are in a vulnerable position at the moment and their leaders lack lustre what would happened if Greens missed the threshold of 5%

    It is very possible for a third party – remember NZF suffered this.

    I have grave fears for the centre left and left leaning thinkers in this country.

    Corban in UK only won an internal party vote – he is yet to go to the polls – it will be a rude awakening when Labor get smashed and NZ Labour will find out quickly that hard left policies scares the living daylights out on NZ’ers.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 22.1

      🙄

      Thanks for your concern. It’s so obviously offered sincerely, in good faith. It’s so unfair that people think you’re malicious and full of hate.

    • Chooky 22.2

      ACT is the absolute antithesis of all that environmentalists and genuine Greenies stand for

      …ACT is a hard right wing USA corporate sponsored political party and affiliated PR machine who wield far more influence in New Zealand politics than they have numbers of supporters on the ground.

      ACT is the USA corporate think tank of the Nactional Party eg Charter Schools

      It is an absolute farce that ACT is now trying to rebrand as Green

    • Morrissey 22.3

      What did you think of ACT’s pro-incest leader Jamie “The Thinker” Whyte?

    • Luo Ge 22.4

      Dream on, mate.

      ACT policies are destructive, and will never be widely accepted in this country. Hard right policies scare the living daylights out of people in NZ.

      • Otipua08 22.4.1

        Don’t be so sure. NZ has shifted well to the right of where it was positioned 40 years ago. Key is working hard to make the default political position hard right. Labour is basically impotent! Popular media is saturated with Keys appearances. His appeal to the masses as an ordinary, sport loving, beer at the barby, fun loving dude, while behind the scenes, dismantling NZ socially and environmentally, while rebuilding it as NZ Inc ™, South Pacific branch of US of A Inc.

  23. I think in some ways the best thing to take from this is that David Seymour/Act think that supporting recycling makes them the environmental equivalent of the Green Party, who won’t stop talking about swimmable water, and thought that Labour’s ETS was almost not worth voting for it was so weak.

  24. Bearded Git 24

    Hate to say it but I support Seymour’s ideas on sanctuaries, talked about at the end of the video.

    But I disagree that we need to sell Landcorp (or anything else) to fund the sanctuaries. (This is ACT’s real objective not the sanctuaries which are a smokescreen.) Maybe we should take $100m per year out of the defence budget to fund them.

    • maui 24.1

      From what I’ve seen, Seymour talking about throwing money at community conservation groups seems a bit silly. The ability to trap pests and grow native plants is a fairly inexpensive exercise for groups, and groups are usually of a small size anyway looking after small areas, in a lot of cases why would they need large amounts of money? If we’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, then large scale projects are in order, and he’d be talking about huge 1080 operations or fenced sanctuaries (which are very expensive to construct and maintain I might add). In that case why not instead just fund DoC properly so they have the feet on the ground like they used to and so they can fund projects like 1080 in the Northland forests that have been and continue to be devastated by possums. In the old days before DoC (and things weren’t so driven by money), the Forest Service seemed to be well funded and resourced. That’s what we need to get back to. If they can’t find the money, what about taxing corporations some more, they’re the culprits destroying our environment on a large scale.

  25. Lloyd 25

    If ACT is going to replace the RMA with “market forces”, then they should explain that to the green-leaf suburbs voters. Any person with a few brain cells will realise that market forces will mean that the average Remuera property owner will make more money erecting a 15 story tower block than they will from erecting the three story town house the neighbours are concerned about at the moment…….

  26. Tautuhi 26

    ACT should be pushing for the legalisation of marijuana then they are bound to pick up the Green Vote, the sandal wearing,dope smoking Greens will switch sides no problem?

  27. One Anonymous Bloke 27

    Once upon a time, in a land far far away from David Seymour…

    I think I will be the only person speaking in this debate who has any qualifications in environmental science.

    It is not that that should count, but I think that it is significant for what I am about to say—that is, that the entire climate change – global warming hypothesis is a hoax, that the data and the hypothesis do not hold together…

    Rorting hypocrite Rodney Hide, ACT party slush-fund leader, Speech to Parliament; Tuesday, September 2 2008

  28. Mike C 28

    Well let’s face it … even if Hell froze over … Labour wouldn’t want to hook up with the Greens. LOL.

    At least Seymour is trying to create a Blue Green scenario … which is more than what Little etc are trying to do.

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    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    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:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    3 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    4 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    5 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    5 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    6 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    6 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    6 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    6 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    7 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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