Dear Izzy

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 15th, 2017 - 27 comments
Categories: superannuation, wages - Tags: ,

I received this in The Standard’s inbox yesterday

Married couple, increase after tax $8.36 a fortnight each or $4.18 each a week!!!!! Disposable Income, 0.5971428 each a day !!!! Goes up on April 1st, how the hell did they arrive at this sum ? On the bright side, can have a treat and go to the movies on ‘Tuesday Senior’s Night ($7.50), and only spend $2.82 extra. Sadly the extra $4.18 a week will not allow the purchase of a $5.50 ice cream which is no longer affordable.

Regards Izzy

So being the fact driven fiend that I tend to be, I had a quick look around online about how ‘they’ decided to set the value at this value.

The rationale is described in the WINZ 2016 rate increase notice

NZ Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension rates will increase by 2.73 per cent on 1 April, so that the married rate continues to equal 66% of the average net wage.

Effectively in a married situation each person on superannuation receives only about a third of the net average wage.

So you’d better not be renting in Auckland. Apparently my apartment is now worth more than double based on recent sales in the block what it was then the last valuation was done less than three years ago, and rents here are up 50% and climbing rapidly.

The Ministry of Social Development that WINZ got folded into last year is somewhat more reticent about the calculation basis. There appears to be no such informative information. Just a bare list of rates.

Nor can I find anything about where the net average wage was calculated from.

I would have expected that it’d be from the Statistics Department’s New Zealand Income Survey. However their information releases currently only go up to June 2015 quarter and it was discontinued in 2016. Their new Labour Market Statistics releases are here.

However if you look at the annual rate of wage inflation for the December quarter, it was a derisory 1.6% for the year. That is probably the kind of data that your superannuation rise was based on.

Since the annual Consumer Price Index from December 2016 was meant to have only risen by 1.3%.

(WTF!)

  • The CPI inflation rate was 1.3 percent.
  • Housing and household utilities increased 3.3 percent.
  • Transport prices decreased 1.0 percent.
  • Tradable prices decreased 0.1 percent, while prices for non-tradables increased 2.4 percent.

I tend to do most of the shopping, cooking and a fair chunk of the bill paying for myself and my partner. I’d have to say that whatever world the statistics department is living in, it bears little resemblance to mine. The cost of running our place rose by more than 5% last year. I was looking through the bills of a friend of mine who is renting. Her total bills have risen by nearly 20% over the last year.

Anyway, I’d better get to doing some paid work.

27 comments on “Dear Izzy ”

  1. Siobhan 1

    What I want to hear from Labour…a plan for MASS construction of Social Housing for all Life time renters…and at the very least, social housing for lifetime renters once they retire, or have certain medical conditions that leave them vulnerable.

    I mean seriously…how do people live?

    How do little old ladies and singles with dodgy knees, and old men with emphysema and gout..how on earth do they keep going in this rental market?
    How on earth do they even manage to move their belongings from one hovel to the next? As a home owner you include the cost of a removal van in your price….renters sure don’t.

    It just beggars belief that we have become such a brutal country.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      It just beggars belief that we have become such a brutal country.

      Such brutality seems to be part and parcel of the capitalist system. We can see it throughout history. Top down hierarchical systems are oppressive to the majority of people. They have to be to maintain the ongoing theft from that majority that’s used to make a few people rich.

      • greywarshark 1.1.1

        DTB
        Actually you miss a vital point. That money taken from people which they need to have a life actually goes people already rich, not to make them rich. It is to make wealthy people richer, or enable them to buy bigger and more expensive things, ie they can buy trips to the moon, literally. We’re in The Cloud in the computer age, the Cuckoo Cloud. And still the meme is peddled about how marvellous our age is. It’s a bloody marvel all right.

  2. Draco T Bastard 2

    I tend to do most of the shopping, cooking and a fair chunk of the bill paying for myself and my partner. I’d have to say that whatever world the statistics department is living in, it bears little resemblance to mine. The cost of running our place rose by more than 5% last year. I was looking through the bills of a friend of mine who is renting. Her total bills have risen by nearly 20% over the last year.

    It’s the magic of averages and lying with numbers.

  3. Kay 3

    And I’m anticipating for the 5th year running that those on Supported living Payment (ie seriously ill/disabled) will not get a single cent, based on the CPI or something like that not increasing, or whatever pathetic excuse they can come up with this year. Oh the luxury of being a pensioner /sarc, that $4.18 would almost cover the surcharge for one of my medications.

    Happy April Fools Day.

  4. April 1st is like April fools day.

    We get an increase in our pension rates alright, but every Utility and Companies like Insurances and Council Rates also increase at the same time which combined, exceeds the value of increased Pension rates.

    So in effect, every year we are going backwards.

  5. Molly 5

    I was reading a critique of the CPI once (sorry, can’t recall where) where it stated that any “volatile” changes in any of the items would be flattened (ie. ignored) in the expectation that it was an anomaly for that particular timeframe and would be averaged out over a longer period.

    At that time, petrol prices were rising significantly, along with utilities but the CPI remained steady.

    The example you give of rents – gives an indication how flawed this indicator is.

    The fact that it is used by both governments and employers to justify reduced benefit, salary and wage increases means that many of those beneficiaries and employees are playing a losing card against the unavoidable rising costs of living in NZ.

  6. Ad 6

    When older people are existing on such wafer-thin financial margins, it sure illustrates how foolish it was for English to needlessly open up the superannuation debate in election season.

  7. adam 7

    In one year we have gone from doing it tough, to really struggling. Rent has gone up by $40 dollars and has wiped us out, we can’t move becasue rents are even higher elsewhere. Gotta love this new Auckland.

    The power bill is up by 9%. The water bill by 5%. Internet by 15%. Where is this money for rent suppose to come from? Wages are stagnating. Thank goodness our doctor is cheap and good. But medications going from $3 to $5 wiped our any chance to save.

    The lie that says inflation is at 1.3% is a out right lie. But then again, lying is the new normal from conservatives.

  8. greywarshark 8

    No information or stats available on important government policies or history of past information, records that should be archived. Way to go. How to govern a country into a banana republic, that eats tonnes of bananas, that it imports? (A perfect example of our fucked-up country’s economy and system of government.)

    One way is not to bother with statistics. In Alice in Wonderland words are what the being in power decide they are – and that would include important statistics too.

    In NZ we don’t have a poverty level that has been set at some rational measure. That means that government can deny any claims because ‘we don’t have definite, reliable figures, so how can the critics claim poverty’.

    Do you accept that, in a modern, educated country that keeps records and has 1,000s tonnes of computers, hard drives and other electronic machines built to store and assist with measuring and counting and recording? What are you if you do, primitive man and woman?

    So your rabid, rancid politician, leader, one of the elite powerful or serving such, just doesn’t want to know effective, advisory stats, and instead announces sweeping decisions on the basis that “People are telling me this is what they want”.

    A second way to deal with annoying statistics and records: Throw the stuff out. It is just an annoying waste of space and irrelevant to what should be done today.

    Learn from other western countries’ politicians who don’t give a damn. Follow the behaviour of long term Prime Minister Harper, a Canadian clown, (the profession from which many politicians now arise from).
    https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/the-harper-government-has-trashed-and-burned-environmental-books-and-documents

    Wikipedia covers this in its page on Harper, Canadian PM 2006 to 2015. (Nine years of faulty damaging politics can ruin a country!) –
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_policy_of_Canada
    (Note that it is important for us to keep control of our local governments):
    The report says that environmental improvements in Canada proclaimed by Harper were largely achieved by provincial governments.)

    • Kay 8.1

      Somewhat ironically those imported bananas are always way cheaper than local fruit in supermarkets meaning they’re the main (and often only) fresh fruit pensioners/beneficiaries can partake of.

      • greywarshark 8.1.1

        Yes god for cheaper fruit. If more people can organise food buying clubs and arrange to get buys from organic orchards as first preference, or spray free or even ordinary, you can save a fair amount I believe and also buy some dry goods in bulk and split up. There are quite a few food clubs around. You might even get a box of bananas cheap too.

        Also if you know your neighbourhood and see fruit dropping with nobody at the property using, you could ask to pick up and take to the club. And find out from your Council if there are any food trees planted. An olive tree I pass often dropped most of its fruit on the pavement. They take a bit of skill to cure I think but then last for ages.

        It’s a good way of coming together, but you may have to structure it so that it isn’t just a quick visit, with no friendly greeting, or group interaction. No use having community arrangements if you don’t bother to say hello and how’s your day. They can do that pleasantly at the supermarket, and looking for cheaper food isn’t the be all and end all to life. It’s forming friendly interacting relationships.

  9. feijoa 9

    Yes.
    we are being lied to

  10. Wayne 10

    In my view 2.73% is not a bad increase in the circumstances. It reflects that wages went up by that amount last year. Given that inflation was 1.3%, why is this terrible, or in the words of Draco, proof that NZ is a brutal country?

    As an example Auckland rates went up 2.5% in 2016 which is less than 2.73%. Food inflation was 1.5% in 2016. In short Stuff the Politicians is wrong. Overall those on National Super are not going backwards.They are holding their own or slightly increasing.

    Would Labour, or the Greens boost National Super to more than 66% of average wages?

    However I would concede if the only income a person has is NS, it is a basic income. If rent is paid it will definitely be difficult, although presumably there is accommodation supplement.

    This is precisely why Labour promoted Kiwisaver, to ensure that most people when in retirement would have more than the basics.

    • McFlock 10.1

      The annual adjustment of superannuation is calculated according to stipulations in the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001.

      edit: crap – first stuffed the link, then meant to put it as a top level comment rather than reply. Need to focus on work I think 🙂

    • lprent 10.2

      Perhaps I didn’t make it clear.

      The quoted 2.73% increase was from April 1st 2016.

      By a simple inspection, this year’s increase obviosly looks like it is no more than 1%. You’d have to calculate it, as it wasn’t what I was asked. I was asked how it was calculated.

      The best example I could find in a rush for the net average wage was that wage inflation was about 1.6% over the last year.

      • Wayne 10.2.1

        On re-reading the main item I did see it referred to 2016. I missed it the first time and assumed there had been an announcement for 1 April 2017, which must be due about now.

    • lprent 10.3

      Ok. Does anyone know if there is accomadation supplement for superannuation (I am on my phone eating lunch 😀)

      • Wayne 10.3.1

        It has just been announced that this years increase in NS for a married couple is $10.12 gross, so about the same as last year.

        The same document also stated that Accommodation Supplement is available with superannuation.

      • Ross 10.3.2

        There are supplements available including AS, Temporary Additional Support and a Living Alone Payment.

        Someone living alone who receives Super is paid $769.52 (net) a fortnight but I don’t know what they’d get paid if they were renting and had no assets. Maybe someone can help?

    • Carolyn_nth 10.4

      In my view 2.73% is not a bad increase in the circumstances. It reflects that wages went up by that amount last year. Given that inflation was 1.3%,

      My Auckland rent goes up by 5% every year. Then there’s power and water rates always sneaking up.

  11. dukeofurl 11

    Its intriguing as Stats NZ seems to be moving its goalposts for collection of income details

    “After consulting users of the NZIS and weighing up the costs and benefits we decided to integrate the NZIS content into the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS).

    We also decided that:

    The NZIS will be discontinued after the June 2015 collection.
    From June 2016, information collected from the current NZIS about income from wages and salaries, self-employment income, and government transfers will be collected as an income module within the HLFS.

    The HLFS is used for deciding who is working , and so on, eg Unemployment rate.

    Looking back for other figures using the phrase ‘average net wage’ showed this
    ‘Figures from Statistics NZ show as of March this year[2013], the average hourly wage was $27.48 or $57,158.40 per year.

    the current gross NZS couple rate is $681.60 pw or 35,443.20 per year when the back calculation ( divide by 0.66) says that the average net wage which gives this figure is
    $53701.80,

    Yet 3 years ago the net yearly wage was $57k?

    Looking at the lastest stats gives these numbers
    http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/employment_and_unemployment/LabourMarketStatistics_HOTPDec16qtr.aspx

    Average ordinary time hourly earnings $29.75 +1.3% ( annual change)

    plus the Average weekly paid hours (FTE ) 37.97hr
    Taking those to give the Average weekly income we get $1129.60

    There is no way this is connected to NZS couple gross rate of $681 pw by the 0.66 factor.

    Whats missing here ?

  12. Chris 12

    Benefit rates have essentially been based on figures plucked out of the air since they were no longer based on the cost of living, which was 30 or so years ago. Add the 1991 benefit cuts to that and they become more meaningless. Add the ongoing decimation of other parts of legislation that both National and Labour governments were hellbent on exacting such as an increasingly punitive administration, more stringent criteria for the ever-growing need for add-on benefits like special needs grants etc and a culture of denial and intimidation within Work and Income and…well…the results are obvious.

    The writing was on the wall back at the time of the cuts in 1991 when Labour did a u-turn on its promise to restore the benefit rates that the razor gang of ShipleyRichardson/Bolger whacked through with the ECA and market rents. Labour eventually patched up the latter two but left the cuts to benefits in place, then went on to do some pretty serious structural damage to what NZ always believed was a pretty comprehensive safety net. If only we could see back then what Labour’s refusal to restore pre-1991 benefit rates was going to develop into.

  13. Andrea 13

    Married couples get the 66%. Singles don’t. They get less.

    Funny thing, though. None of them gets power or rates or phone or dentist, podiatrist, etc at a reduced rate. But no. The same rate as people with a bigger income – despite being unable, in many cases, to supplement that income with even a part time job.

    If a long ago National Party hadn’t danced Cossacks across tv screens, perhaps, maybe all those feckless, filthy rich, had it so good and every shearing shed hand was a secret PhD, Baby Boomers would not be awaiting genteel poverty aka Superannuation.

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    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
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    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
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    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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