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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    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

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