Derisory minimum wage

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, February 27th, 2013 - 90 comments
Categories: class war, national, poverty, wages - Tags:

The minimum wage should be at least $15 per hour (as Labour MP David Clark’s bill proposed). A living wage is estimated at $18.40 per hour. So what have the Nats done? Raised the minimum wage by $0.25 per hour to $13.75. It’s a derisory increase. Even their own supporters think so, with the Maori Party calling it “pitiful”.

The justification usual justification for pathetic increases in the minimum wage is that significant increases will “cost jobs” – it’s being trotted out this time round too of course. Obviously there is some level at which that would occur, but reasonable increases are beneficial to the economy, not damaging. We’ve covered this before at The Standard (lots and lots and lots), but if you don’t believe us, perhaps you’ll believe Treasury:

Raising minimum wage won’t cost jobs – Treasury

“[On job losses…] This has not been true in the past. The balance of probabilities is that a higher minimum wage does not cost jobs.”

There can be only one effect of NZ wages falling further and further behind what is livable, and what is available outside NZ. Here’s Herald cartoonist Body’s summary
body-minimum-wage

90 comments on “Derisory minimum wage ”

  1. geoff 1

    Simon Bridges keeps getting handed the dead rats from Key etc. He’s the male version of Hekia Parata.

  2. Tom Gould 2

    The minimum wage should be $20 an hour with no youth rates. End of. The economy would quickly adjust.

    • TightyRighty 2.1

      Idiot.

      • geoff 2.1.1

        douche bag traitor

        • Arfamo 2.1.1.1

          The arguments here are being reduced to the essentials lol.

          • Colonial Weka 2.1.1.1.1

            lol.

          • geoff 2.1.1.1.2

            Absolutely! Sometimes I just wish there was a bugspray we could use on the RWNJs.

            • TighyRighty 2.1.1.1.2.1

              Threatening people? Real classy. No ban for you though.

              Call me a fucking traitor? How much tax do you pay each year? Bludging scum. I barely earned $20 an hour till my mid twenties. Why does some inexperienced grommet deserve it off the bat?

              You are retarded.

              • QoT

                And how old are you now, TR? Little concept called “inflation” mean anything to you? CPI increases? Bueller?

                And of course because you weren’t paid well, no one should be paid well. And when you stole the other kids’ lunch money it was okay because older kids stole your lunch money.

              • Colonial Viper

                I barely earned $20 an hour till my mid twenties. Why does some inexperienced grommet deserve it off the bat?

                I always knew that Right Wingers enjoy holding back NZ’s young, while they lap up the cream for themselves.

              • geoff

                @tightyrighty:
                You are a traitor to this country.
                Anyone who holds views like yours should be done for treason. You’re a selfish, pathetic excuse for a person who’d throw the whole country under a bus if it suited his purpose.
                You’ve got absolutely no gratitude for the things people in this country built up by working together for the good of everyone. You’re an ignorant fool who’s stupid and arrogant enough to think that he’s a self-made man.
                Yep, you’re a traitor alright.
                Oh yeah.. a wee nonce like you wouldn’t have paid a tenth of the tax that I have in my lifetime and continue to do so.
                What kind of an idiot would think how much tax you paid beared any relationship to your loyalty to the people of his country. You’re a fucking tosser.

              • The Al1en

                “Call me a fucking traitor? How much tax do you pay each year? Bludging scum. I barely earned $20 an hour till my mid twenties. Why does some inexperienced grommet deserve it off the bat?
                You are retarded.”

                You use false logic to make your argument.

                “How much tax do you pay each year?”

                Not as much as you, I’d wager, but that’s got fuck all to do about fuck all. Plenty of leeches getting tax payer dollars at the top end of the scale – The pm being one of them.

                “Bludging scum”

                Citation is the word I’ve seen the clever people use, but too many letters.
                I name that tune in 4.

                “I barely earned $20 an hour till my mid twenties.”

                See, told you you paid more tax than me.

                “Why does some inexperienced grommet deserve it off the bat?”

                Equal days work, equal days pay. Simple, simple.
                What next? Why does some women/black/gay deserve it off the bat?

                “You are retarded.”

                Still trumps selfish twat.

  3. Addison 3

    And wont the trade unions want differentials maintained? If a 16 year old just out of school with no experience gets $20 what are you going to pay an experienced worker with 4 kids and 10 years loyal service. Don’t you think the ensuing cost rise will end up costing pensioners, the unemployed etc on fixed incomes or don’t they count with you!

    • AsleepWhileWalking 3.1

      You don’t honestly think that youth will mass submit to take the same job at lower pay than every one else?

      They are young and have options. Let’s not forget if they jump countries permanently then we can kiss their global taxes goodbye for our retirements.

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.1

        Forget the taxes provided by the young to support your retirement

        It’ll be the Indonesian doctors and rest home care givers you can barely understand which you’ll notice the most.

    • QoT 3.2

      If you aren’t giving people payrises to match 10 years’ loyal service you’re a pretty shit employer and your business probably deserves to fail.

  4. Darien Fenton 4

    Anthony : the NActs voted down David Clark’s $15 minimum wage bill, just like they voted down my Minimum Wage and Remuneration Bill and SOP which would have brought about a $15 minimum wage for all workers and contractors.

    • bad12 4.1

      Perhaps the first piece of legislation passed by the Parliament after the 2014 election would need to be a bill lifting the minimum wage by $1.50 and hour over the following 3 years???,

      A piece of Legislation that need be part of Labour’s election strategy in my opinion…

      • bad12 4.1.1

        Lolz, the edit function got me again, on second thoughts i got me again and the edit function didn’t save me,

        The above should read: Legislation to lift the minimum wage by $1.50 an hour for each of the following 3 years,

        The ideal would be to have the minimum rise by that $1.50 an hour over each year for the following 5 years…

        [lprent: You’ll be pleased to know that the first product goes out the door tonight, and all I am doing right now is removing debug statements. The fixes I was to do last weekend for the edit got submerged in a weekend of work work and Lyn’s desire to get out of the city for the day on sunday. They will have to be done around a wedding this weekend.

        But I have weeks of holiday and spare time starting tomorrow. ]

        • rosy 4.1.1.1

          I reckon the minimum wage should be a percentage of the median wage rather than raising it by a fixed amount. That way the lowest paid won’t lose ground and employers might think twice about disproportionate increases at the top end of the salary scale.

          • McFlock 4.1.1.1.1

            not a bad idea, that.

            Maybe 65 or 70% of median adapted for a 37.5hr week (incl paid lunch breaks), given that the poverty line is regarded as being either 50 or 60% of median (depending on measure).

            I’d probably also consider median income, rather than median wage, given that employment income is often the sole source of income for those on the minimum, whereas better off folk might have rents, investments, etc.

          • Lanthanide 4.1.1.1.2

            “That way the lowest paid won’t lose ground and employers might think twice about disproportionate increases at the top end of the salary scale.”

            In that case you want average, not median. With the median, if someone goes from earning $1m a year to $100m a year, it doesn’t change the median at all. But it would shift the average/mean a little bit.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.2.1

              You got it Lanth. Avg is what it should be pegged to.

              Better still, pegged to the % movement of the the upper quartile 🙂

          • Addison 4.1.1.1.3

            As long as pensions and benefits follow as well! Remember some of us are trying to live on a pension and that equates to a wage of $4.5 an hour for a 40 hour week,

          • xtasy 4.1.1.1.4

            The problem with that is that either median or average wages in NZ are low by international comparison. So that is exactly how this government tries to get away with the increase by 25 cents an hour insult to low paid workers. They claim that by international standards the minimum wage here is comparatively high.

            We have a whole kettle of problems when it comes to wages and salaries, and most Kiwis earn rather moderately or lowly, compared to most countries NZ likes to compare with. Australia is the closest comparison, and NZ is a laughing stock compared to wages and salaries paid there.

            • Addison 4.1.1.1.4.1

              No minimum in the US and only aboutNZ $11 in the UK yet uUK average wages are much higher!

              • xtasy

                Addison: there is to my knowledge a minimum wage in the US, and I am not sure whether it is about 8 USD or thereabouts, but there is.

                The UK is another story.

                NZ always prided itself for being more “egalitarian” and social, but this appears to have been abandoned, surely under this government.

        • bad12 4.1.1.2

          Enjoy the wedding, my bad habit is to press submit comment without first reading my mangled English to see if it actually makes any sense,

          Have got the spelling edit sorted and will learn sooner or later the other art…

    • Rogue Trooper 4.2

      lovely and Red

  5. Kia Ora

    Does this latest rise even beat the rate of inflation, or will it just get swallowed up?

    http://willsheberight.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/minimum-wage-increase-is-a-joke/

  6. McFlock 6

    just, based on december qrtr CPI. Thanks to national’s brighter 0.9% inflation “brighter future”. They’ll probably spin it in the region of “double CPI”.

  7. Rogue Trooper 7

    peanuts Galen?

  8. xtasy 8

    The NatACT treacherous government try to “justify” their insulting increase by yet another 25 cents an hour by saying, that the NZ minimum wage is so high in comparison with other countries. They claim that it is relatively high to the average wage in NZ, which though is very low, on international comparison with similar economies.

    On that basis they are misleading the public and media, justifying a low wage economy.

    Real wages and salaries, measured on cost of living expenses due for housing, food, clothing, transport and what else comes into play are LOW in NZ.

    You can buy NZ grown food and meat at a much lower rate in most European supermarkets, after being shipped there across half of the globe. Also looking at rents and the likes, you will find lower rents per ratio on income in most OECD countries, same as other living costs.

    The government is the most manipulative gang of liars there are, and John Key is the leader of that dishonest gang!

    This “increase” is an insult to all working people that have no choice but to accept what their more powerful employer dictates to them in pseudo “negotiations”. Take it or leave it is the usual approach. The alternative is a shitty income on the benefit, but Paula Benefit (herself) is doing all to make life even more miserable for those that cannot find jobs, that are sick, disabled or sole parents, with her draconian, inhumance and illegal Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill before Parliament right now.

    Sad fact is, the brain drain due to tens of thousands leaving NZ every year leaves a below average IQ population of “Kiwi battlers”, that rather roll over and take another hit, than stand up for their rights and a decent society. It is a sick and lost society, that is NZ under Key in 2013!

  9. Addison 9

    See http://www.stats.OECD.org/index.aspx?DatasetCode=RHMW This gives a comparison adjusted for Cost of living in all OECD countries. NZ is in the top third. Countries close to our economic situation like the US and UK have lower rates.

    • xtasy 9.1

      Addison – your link does not load, is that for an ominous reason?

      Cost of living is interesting, and it is certaily sky high in NZ, where you pay for meat, fruit and fish more than in countries to where it exports to. I can tell from bloody experience, so figures alone are not convincing me. I have real life experience having seen NZ fruit offered there at a fraction of retail prices here, same as butter, venison and more. Stop fooling others with misleading figures and claims, thanks.

      How can produce cost nearly half as much compared to NZ retail, after being shipped around the globe to Europe???

  10. addison 10

    Try and google OECD stats minimum wage, see if that helps. Maybe its that there is no GST on primary foods in the UK that makes many food items cheaper there.When I came to NZ the pound was worth $3.3 it dropping to less than $2 cant help either. Can you give me source for the figure that say we are low down the OECD stats in Min wage , it would be appreciated. I also find the term brain drain a bit controversial. My doctor is from the UK, my doggies vet from Australia and my dentist from Scotland!

    • xtasy 10.1

      “I also find the term brain drain a bit controversial. My doctor is from the UK, my doggies vet from Australia and my dentist from Scotland!”

      That is because the government desperately attempts to fill the brain drain hole. Whether the ones coming in actully fill it is another story. It is not just IQ by the way, it also needs to address experience, which some will learn to get.

      • addison 10.1.1

        nz products cost 50% less in UK. Well just googled Tescos latest on NZ wine and Lamb. Lamb$22 a kilo with noGST on that and villa maria at $25 abottle. At you “stop fooling others with misleading figures and claims!

        • xtasy 10.1.1.1

          “nz products cost 50% less in UK”

          That is your quote, I take it for that, thank you!

          • addison 10.1.1.1.1

            just quoting you and that seems to be inaccurate. Do you want to back up your figures, I can!

  11. Arfamo 11

    They’re probably able to choose where they want to live and work as they’re probably not trying to pay off their student loans and get established.

    • addison 11.1

      arfano, many come here for the salaries. My partner is a nurse she earns a lot more here than she would have had she stayed in CORNWALL. nearly 50% more and that’s allowing for the exchange rate. MY even older than I parents in law are moving to NZ because the cost of living is less.

      • xtasy 11.1.1

        Who pays you from the government to tell us this?

        • addison 11.1.1.1

          Why is that always your fall back line when you cant back your argument with facts. THE GOVERNMENT ONLY PAYS ME VIA MY PENSION! sadly at 66 years old I am nearly unemployable in NZ. I am just a rescector of the truth and adversary of lies that cant be substanciated.

      • xtasy 11.1.2

        If that is so her skills may not have convince Australian health care providers, as they pay much, much better than nz. So what “issues” are you hiding?

        • addison 11.1.2.1

          yes she has limited skills, a degree in biology, and a masters in \Nursing, registered in the UK, NZ and AUSTRALIA, yes she could work in Aus and the US and earn even more. But you know our philosophy is that there is more to life than money. We work to live, not live to work, or at least I did until old age caught up with me.

          • xtasy 11.1.2.1.1

            So is it perhaps that lifestyle choices became priority to wage and salary expectations, and that the UK is sinking fast, that NZ seemed to be the best option, while in reality other options may have existed, but were not pursued?

          • Colonial Viper 11.1.2.1.2

            arfano, many come here for the salaries.

            Nah, that’s a daft reason to come to NZ.

            But nursing salaries here are fine if you’ve come over with £100,000 in cash to start a new life with.

            For a new nursing grad looking to build up some capital, NZ is an unattractive place to stay.

            • addison 11.1.2.1.2.1

              your right CV but that’s true most places. Its a ridiculous situation that NZ nurse go to AUS, can live rent free and get a better wage plus a bonus when they leave. Aus doctors come to nz ,get paid locum rates on short term contracts and make more than their high salaries in AUS. We don’t respect qualifications. My son wanted to emigrate to NZ as a computer wiz. his salary would have droppedfrom $200 000 to $50 000. Nzs loss last year he started his own consulting company. He employs 8 people and pays the $600 a day, NZs loss, he UKs gain.

              • Colonial Viper

                And yet you have been arguing that wages in NZ can’t go up any more. You better get your story straight.

          • xtasy 11.1.2.1.3

            addison: Yeah right:

            “But you know our philosophy is that there is more to life than money.”

            Hah, that is the enforced servitude that so many “Kiwi battlers” endure, they work their guts out for the paymaster and for their landlords and rip-off retailers and wholesalers, selling them stuff that costs much less in places like most of Europe, the US and other countries.

            There is more to life than money, in looking at your angle, you seem to believe submission and servitude is a virtue, rather than common sense and applying true intelligence, by also questioning the state of affairs.

            John Key’s dumbing down agenda is surely working when looking at so many.

            Get a life and take a deep breath, drink some clean, pure water and clense your vision and comprehension, maybe you will see more than that you are sold by the BS artists running this country?

      • Arfamo 11.1.3

        Ok Addison. Interesting.

        • Arfamo 11.1.3.1

          Out of curiosity I just googled “cost of living comparison nz uk”. First up on the hit list was this site:

          http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=New+Zealand

          Indexes Difference:

          Consumer Prices in New Zealand are 12.07% higher than in United Kingdom
          Consumer Prices Including Rent in New Zealand are 11.73% higher than in United Kingdom
          Rent Prices in New Zealand are 10.82% higher than in United Kingdom
          Restaurant Prices in New Zealand are 0.45% higher than in United Kingdom
          Groceries Prices in New Zealand are 20.80% higher than in United Kingdom
          Local Purchasing Power in New Zealand is 5.40% lower than in United Kingdom

          The page says (at bottom) last update February 2013

      • xtasy 11.1.4

        The UK must be really f**ked under the Con Lib government then, so that people seek refuge even in NZ. I think that it looks a bit better in the sliding UK in Central and Northern Europe.

        • addison 11.1.4.1

          I think it was stuffed long before the right got in. Its been on the slippery slope for a while now, I think it was called the EEC.

          • xtasy 11.1.4.1.1

            But apart from that, would you not want that every working person, who makes a decent effort, to earn enough to afford a living? We do not want to compare with Indonesia by the way.

            • addison 11.1.4.1.1.1

              Of course I would love us all to have more but do you think that for one minute the added costs wont be passed on. government would put up taxes, councils will put up rates and businesses will put up prices. WHO PAYS, ALL OF US. who does it hurt most, pensioners and beneficiaries. WHO DOES IT HURT THE LEAST, THE BOSSES!

              • Colonial Viper

                BULLSHIT

                You’re simply talking about Tories taxing the bottom 80% of society.

                When a substantial majority of the wealth of society is held by the top 20%. It is they who need to pay more taxes

                PS in case you haven’t connected the dots…higher tax takes should mean better salaries in healthcare as well as more equipment and improved staffing

              • Colonial Viper

                Also, where the frak do you think that tax monies taken from the wealthiest people in the economy actually go?

                Let me clue you up: straight back into the economy, providing services for you and me, salaries for thousands of teachers and doctors, buying products and activity from suppliers across the nation.

                • addison

                  and the money that is not taken in taxes, is that not spent.Is that not invested in business and therefore jobs. Do you believe that giving people less to spend will stimulate the economy. If so do you want to reduce the minimum wage as well. just think of how much more money the government would have to spend then. People stimulate the economy. successful businesses stimulate the economy, It seems you want to increase taxes, ie take money from the workers and give it to the pollies to spend but you want them to have that replace d by increasing the cost of government by upping their wage bill. Abit of an inflationary spiral. Wages going up is not the answer to a boom economy, increase production is. NZ, very low production for the OECD and in the top third for wages. Not a good plan.

                  • Arfamo

                    “and the money that is not taken in taxes, is that not spent.Is that not invested in business and therefore jobs.”

                    No. I don’t think it is invested in business and jobs. It is invested in finance markets, and properties, and wherever it will earn the greatest return to the owner, not in creating jobs. Investing in telecom will be great for returns, but not for creating jobs. They’re shedding them, eh, to give their shareholders and management even more money.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Contact as well. Hundreds of millions in profits over the last few years, but dumping even more staff now in order that they can send even more profits overseas.

                      Frankly, addison has a very distorted idea of how money in the economy works.

                      Money is being pumped out of NZ as we speak.

                    • Arfamo

                      The thing about those with wealth is that many often have a deep fear, however much they have, that something bad might happen and they will lose it all. It becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. “I have to have more money in case the economy turns to shit or my investments go down the toilet and I lose everything. So I back any government that lets me make more money, even if the only real way for me to do this is via policies that make other hard-working less wealth-driven people poorer.”

                      The problem is that as more people get poorer spending decreases and the economy turns to shit, jobs disappear, people who do have jobs have to work harder and longer and more of them get injured or sick through stress. Welfare costs correspondingly increase, as does crime when the government next starts to reduce the numbers on welfare, and the amounts paid, and scapegoats them in carefully propagandised campaigns for being bludgers.

                      So the wealthiest keep perpetuating the cycle – until the numbers of those struggling to have some kind of reasonably comfortable modern lifestyle increase to the point where the government’s bullshit doesn’t work any more and the way is open for any party that has even a halfway decent looking programme to raise living standards for the now poorer majority to be voted in. That party has to have a strategy for dealing with the business community to prevent panic and capital flight. Clark & Cullen managed that.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Frankly, addison has a very distorted idea of how money in the economy works.

                      His view is the one taught at university. Thing is, it’s a load of bollocks as the private sector doesn’t actually create the wealth in the first place.

          • xtasy 11.1.4.1.2

            addison”: Do not blame the ills of the UK on the EU, thank you. The EU have given the UK special treatment and deals on a lot of things, just to keep them happy.

            Also through trade the UK has been able to take advantage of a large, duty free and low barrier market at their doorstep, which sadly, the mostly tory minded governments never learned to appreciate. They always complain about the EU, in some cases the may have a reason, but ask people that have human rights issues in the UK, what they think of the EU top court. They are granted rights that the UK courts never gave them.

            It is still some lingering class mentality in the UK that is keeping that country backward.

            No wonder so many retired UK residents did choose to settle for retirement in Spain and Italy, to enjoy the sun and other benefits.

            But since the GFC has had its fall-out there, they now rubbish their adopted countries there.

            Where are the loyalties of so many in the UK, especially their government, many in Europe ask. Cheap shots by Cameron are just another display of isolationism and attempts to get the best both ways. At some stage you lose a lot of friends with such strategies.

            By the way, I read a lot about the welfare slashing in the UK, and the same will be introduced here. If that is “progress”, I rather sink six feet under over night.

      • Rogue Trooper 11.1.5

        ahhh, the land of Poldark, (and Doc Martins)

  12. addison 12

    Fine CV just tell me what the new Labour tax rates should be. Do you not think higher wages wont mean higher prices. IF NOT WHERE DO BUSINESSES AND COUNCILS GET THE MONEY FROM? as nurses are already paid more than minimum wage please explain how there wages will rise.

    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      Easy peasey, simply move the share of the economy that wages have (compared to the share going to company profits) back to 1960’s and 1970’s levels. Tax levels too.

      It’s nothing new or innovative. We’ve done it before, during the boom years of global middle class growth*.

      *The new wrinkle is energy and resource depletion, but we’ll start here for now.

  13. addison 13

    AH back to the future,is that the new innovative policy from the new innovative Labour front bench? I am sure that will work. Going back 50 years soundslike a Green plan! Are you hiding something.:)

    • Colonial Viper 13.1

      Financial and economic innovation is something the world can do without mate.

      FFS did you not learn anything from the Thatcher years.

      • Addison 13.1.1

        Did you not learn what got the country 13 years of thatcher and the demise of militant unions in the UK. The end of Labour and the Birth of New Labour!

  14. Arfamo 14

    We are already back 50 years. We’ve been in the situation we have now before, with the well-to-do of the country having their interests put before everyone else’s – on the false premise that they deserve to have more say over how we are governed than the feckless poor and low paid – who will only gamble and drink away any pay increases. If you read our history you can see the same cycles, and the same bullshit, and the same selfishness and lack of empathy from those fortune has smiled upon, but who think their success is down to their “hard work” and “smarts” and can be replicated by anyone who works hard.

  15. Addison 15

    My final word before going to sleep. Last OECD survey: NZ 22 nd for production. Per capita. NZ third for minimum wage compared to median wage. OECD stats not mine!

    • Colonial Viper 15.1

      Addison wants to keep the poor, poor. Sad man.

      • xtasy 15.1.1

        Colonial Viper: Another “battler”, I dare to presume. Poor diet, poor mind, poor soul and hence a lot of a “bitter” grudge against anyone asking for a “fair deal”, as he or she feels it was never given to him/her.

    • xtasy 15.2

      Addison: That is minimum wage based on average or median wage, I presume, which is not that great, when compared with most of Europe!

  16. Arfamo 16

    Raising productivity requires lifting the value of goods & services currently produced per worker or increasing the volume of goods and services per hours worked. While we may be below the OECD average for productivity, we’re not that far below it. Driving (or holding) wages down, or reducing the number of workers, might see some improvement in productivity figures, but productivity is only part of the equation that makes up a modern economy. If the numbers of jobless increase so do flow-on costs to governments, especially in the areas of health, unemployment benefit numbers, and crime, all of which require more non-productive expenditure by the government.

    Even Treasury has noted that raising the minimum wage has not cost jobs in the past and is unlikely to do so in the future.

  17. NoseViper (The Nose knows) 17

    Chris Trotter on the unions and the Living Wage push.
    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/the-living-wage-campaign-solidarity-or.html

  18. Snoop Dogg 18

    Guuuyyyyyyyyyyyysssss. You need to calm down dudes. I know exactly what you guys neeeeeeed. It rhymes with feed.

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  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    2 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    2 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    3 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    3 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    4 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    4 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    6 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    6 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    6 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    1 week ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
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