English: gap with Aussie good

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, April 9th, 2011 - 56 comments
Categories: bill english, Economy, wages - Tags: , ,

Bill English has given up any pretense of closing the gap with Australia by 2025. Now, he is claiming the wage gap is a good thing and admitting higher productivity isn’t the cause of the wage gap. Meanwhile, Fran O’Sullivan slams Key and English’s ‘fingers crossed’ approach to handling financial crises.

Here’s English on what he now says are New Zealand’s economic advantages over Australia:

“One is the wage differential. We have a workforce that is better educated, just as productive and 30 per cent cheaper.”

Wow. That’s third world logic: ‘We’ll do the same thing but for less! We’re the cheap option’. There’s no vision of raising the income and standard of living for Kiwis there, just being the cheapest source of labour for international capital.

For years, John Key and Bill English (along with the rest of the Right) have been saying ‘if you want higher wages, you have to lift your productivity’. That was always just more ‘billshit’. There’s no reason why higher productivity will equal higher wages and the route to higher wages isn’t in workers’ hands anyway – productivity is driven by capital investment from businesses and education investment by the government. Now, English is admitting that productivity is already as high here as in Australia.

Productivity is just GDP divided by hours of labour. So, English is saying that we produce as much per hour as Aussie workers. How come, then, that our wages are 30% lower?

Simple. Aussie workers get a bigger slice of the wealth they produce. In Australia, compensation to employees is 47.5% of GDP. Here, it’s 42.5%. That’s half the wage gap right there. We’re getting ripped off for our work compared to our Aussie comrades.

And English thinks that’s just super. So does Key – remember: “we would love to see wages drop?

While I’m writing about National’s appalling economic leadership, I can’t go past O’Sullivan’s piece today. Talking about the AMI bailout she says:

It’s tempting to dismiss this latest catastrophe as rotten, bad luck – and it is. But a disturbing pattern has emerged.

Take South Canterbury Finance, which kept on offering above market rate debentures – thus pushing up the taxpayers’ upfront liability to about $1.8 billion – when we now know that even the Prime Minister was told shortly after taking office that the finance company was staring at bankruptcy.

Instead of taking quick action and slapping the finance company into statutory management – which would have at least put a ring around the amount the Government ultimately had to stump up to pay depositors under the guarantee scheme – it was left to limp on towards ultimate failure while ministers hoped a white knight would emerge and take the problem away.

The big lesson of the global financial crisis is that the obvious white knights frequently have problems of their own. Governments should move quickly if a company is deemed “too big to fail”.

Wipe out any shareholders in an afflicted company who will not contribute to the “bailout” and extract as much revenue back as possible after the reconstruction and ultimate sale back to the private sector. The consequences of inaction lead to bigger failure.

….

What does surprise in the AMI debacle is that the Government has extended its relatively open-ended support package without either taking full control of the insurer, or first organising a backroom deal for a better heeled insurer to buy the business off by writing a cheque to mitigate taxpayer exposure.

It’s a terrible package. We taxpayers get fleeced and we don’t necessarily get any ownership of the company we save.

The reality is that the policy holders will still jump ship to better managed companies, safe in the knowledge that the government-backed AMI must cover their earthquake losses.

If the Government had fully stepped in – instead of putting a very expensive toe into the water – the policy holders might feel more confident in their company’s medium-term prospects.

It’s possible that the May Budget was just too close for English to risk a ratings downgrade by crystallising expected losses at this point.

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about the leaky building syndrome which resulted in our cities being decimated by rotting buildings -a multibillion-dollar disaster that wouldn’t have happened if we had adhered to top-notch building and material standards instead of “doing it on the cheap”.

Not to mention the $7 billion of savings lost in the finance companies’ collapse while the political and regulatory establishment looked on.

There’s a long-running pattern of doing things on the cheap in this country but especially when National is in charge. It was National’s de-regulations that led to leaky-building syndrome and finance company collapses. Now, we’ve got the ‘fingers crossed’ approach to handling unfolding financial crises. It all just leaves us paying more in the end.

But what do you expect from a government whose vision for this country is that we will be a nothing but a cheap labour source for international capital?

– Bright Red

56 comments on “English: gap with Aussie good ”

  1. Draco T Bastard 1

    Remember this? Yeah, Bill English just confirmed that promise by John Key to “lower wages”.

  2. Isn’t the phrase “race to the bottom” supposed to be ironic?

  3. “Gap with Aussie good”  When it comes to the price of food does English really think that this is good? 

    See what Bennett had to say yesterday about how her WINZ managers interpreted needing to send a client to budgeting when a third SNG grant for food was applied for.  (Hungry client may need to wait a month to be seen by budgeting).  Bennett will write to her WINZ managers and let them know that the client has to do a budgeting exercise and this can be done with a WINZ case manager.  Also there was some mention of a budgeting form being able to be downloaded from the MSD website. 

    Surely when WINZ is having to double up as being a budgeting service there is something horribly wrong with how the government is handling poverty.  I have heard nothing from the government about affordable housing, cheaper food, affordable after hours GP care, affordable childcare or employment growth.

    • freedom 3.1

      Bennett’s statement is a complete fucking lie. For years the rules have been very clear, once the emergency grants have been used and the person is being referred to food banks then the person applying for the assistance has to see an authorized budget service provider after their third visit to a food bank before they can receive any further assistance either from WINZ or from the foodbank. It is obviously too much effort for a journo to read the rules or talk to a current WINZ worker or even a foodbank operator, instead they will just parrot Bennett’s bs.

      So many good people in this country are being left behind through no fault of their own and shites like Bennett simply continue to lie cheat and steal

      • ak 3.1.1

        That’s not the half of it. 

        A case manager informed me this week that since last september, all advances (loans) however minor must be approved by the service manager and after just two applications for “hardship”  which includes all SNGs (not just food) and advances,  a “budgetting activity” must be undertaken.

        The pigeons of this nasty piece of jackboot filth are now coming home to roost in droves, in an office near you.  

        Watch for a return of WINZ-office-violence headlines just in time for our Bennie-bash election.

        • Treetop 3.1.1.1

          freedom and ak, no arguement from me on what you both say.  There has to be a directive from Bennett about the administration of SNGs.  I will have to check with a benefit rights service on what it is.  See when Bennett is cornered she blames it on the WINZ managers interpretation of her correspondence.

          Schools now have to step up to feed hungry children and watch the SNG queue become longer over winter due to high electric bills.  Are WINZ going to tell people to use less power or eat less food?

        • Deadly_NZ 3.1.1.2

          And of course they always seem to have less and less front line staff but even more red tape.
           
           

    • Jum 3.2

      John Key is still popular – obviously two thirds of New Zealanders want to see poor people suffering for being poor.  Get used to it because National will be voted in again if word does not get out to the suburbs and I mean the evidential word.
      There is nothing wrong with budgeting; it is the way this government is handling it, like telling people with no food to see a budgeter on a Friday knowing there is a waiting list for weeks in some places; that is criminal. The case managers would know that was going to happen, if they had any sort of grip on the client’s history, or at least had made the warning clear that after two parcels, blah, blah, blah. But, if there is a waiting list and therefore no fault of the client, then WINZ is duty-bound to treat the client humanely. We have a human rights issue that anyone with any legal training should be prosecuting the government on. Get the facts out there. Take a case. If the papers ignore what is happening get the UN involved. Better New Zealand is seen for the basket case this government had made it into than put up with one more day of treating fellow New Zealanders like human-becomings.

      Two thirds of New Zealanders make me sick.

      There should be a budgeting office in every WINZ office but totally independent of WINZ and staffed with people who know what WINZ should be helping clients to get.  The budgeting office should house the experts on affordable housing, food options, health care and should have a community lawyer, paid by the taxpayer to prosecute the government if people are left without food.  I for one do not want to be responsible for a child going hungry because so many of my so-called fellow New Zealanders chose that.  Get a moneytrader – you get greed.
      This government is also trying to limit the Community Law funded help for people who cannot afford lawyers.
      The Truck shops should be prosecuted if they take on clients who cannot afford the purchases;  laybys are not bad.  Humane wages are even better.  This country has been set up by NActMU to be a low wage economy to attract the investors who do not see New Zealanders as people only units, cheap units.  If one wears out, chuck it out and replace it with another cheap unit – no problem to them.  If the ‘units’ around New Zealand start to complain the owner of the ‘units’ ups-sticks  and goes overseas, while using New Zealand to shoulder the debt burden of the global corporates.  That is what Key has planned for New Zealand.
      Budgeters are good; this government bad.  Keep the two separate.  If budgeting had been taught in school in maths, economics, and every other subject it could be applied to, people would know early on that there is good debt and there is bad debt and when anyone to do with moneytrading or car yards tries to tell people their debt is good run a mile.
      As for a download budget sheet; Bennet’s a fuckwit.  People need one on one help.  They fall over because it takes time to learn ongoing rituals – surviving from one day to the next can do that to you.  She should be pouring money into that area; if she really wanted to help people, that is.

  4. vto 4

    the warehouse, the warehouse, where everyone gets a bargain,

  5. ChrisH 5

    Maybe that’s why they call Auckland “Sydney’s Tijuana.”

  6. marsman 6

    Is this what Bill English is saying? :- NAct Zealand has a well educated, diligent and underpaid workforce ready to be exploited by overseas corporations. Interested corporations, especially monopolies,will be offered generous subsidies. Workers’ rights will be legislated away at the corporation’s request.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1

      Sounds about right.

      • Jenny 6.1.1

        “Our workforce is just as qualified, but 30% cheaper”

        Bill English.

        Way to go Bill, to make the Kiwi workforce feel like dumb schmucks being taken advantage of. 

        See the crowds on Monday outside internal affairs, as Kiwi workers queue up to get their passports renewed.

  7. Stan 7

    So NZers are better educated, Bill? Why then do we need to go through the farce of national standards, or is it because league tables can then be published, to facilitate you pushing through a privatisation of education post election?  Also, we can’t compete with the 3rd world countries on the low wage economy that is so dear to Key et al, so all we end up with is underpaid and unemployed workers, caught in this dreary half way of no ambition, no plan and no hope.

  8. Jum 8

    “It was National’s de-regulations that led to leaky-building syndrome and finance company collapses.”
     
    Bright Red, can you give me a bit of history on the de-regulations surrounding eventual finance company collapses, please.  Thanks.

  9. Samuel Hill 9

    Maybe the perception that NZers are better educated is because our education system is so crap. Is that analyzed on our intelligence? Or just in numbers of people finishing school? In Australia kids might be a qualified mechanical engineer at 20 years old. I know plenty of 20 somethings in this country with university degrees but no jobs. Its because we don’t have any REAL skills. Number crunching BComm graduates and form filling BA graduates, we are designed to be a service driven economy. With our space and natural resources we should be a clean, green, progressive, creative, technically intelligent economy.

    There is a massive shortage of skilled tradesman in New Zealand, the only way to actually boost real productivity is to create products – manufacturing is New Zealand’s smallest growing industry. Creativity is being discouraged in favour of – ? Low waged hospitality work? What? Milking Cows? Tell me a growing industry other than the dairy sector? 

    Its no surprise our future looks so depressing when our Prime Minister is hanging around with tax avoiding British tory advisors. Setting up NZ to be a low-wage tax-haven, a playground for the rich?

    I think so.

    • Jim Nald 9.1

      Read that billshit and was very disappointed.
      Feeling like this is his latest way of taking the mickey out of us, pulling the carpet from under us .. indeed, even worse, selling the carpet from under us.

    • RobertM 9.2

      In Australia the 50% with a clue and good genes are educated privately. Therefore the excess and indulgence and total devalution of the public system and labour government are far less important. Here I’m undecided whether Tolley is holding out for  some levels of categorization and standards or whether she’s just playing politics. If the standards are meaningful and NCEA level 2 meant anything, half the entrants would have to get below 50.
        Australia is a larger society with larger cities therefore the hetrosexual majority have more privacy to have more relationships. Here the ordinary people and the fundamentalist minority rule. Over the tasman the body and beauty seem to be a higher priority. Here where stuckwith Helen Kelly who wants to manage everything and still shop in NYC.

  10. Olwyn 10

    It is unbelievable that someone can confidently make such utterances in a so-called democratic country. Who is this “we” he is talking about, who have the benefit of lower wages? Certainly not the workforce; they are the things “we” have at a cut rate. He is quite comfortable speaking of himself and his friends as if they were feudal lords, and we are by now so accustomed to it we hardly bother to squawk.

    • RobC 10.1

      We = businesses, they have the benefit. Oh yeah, plenty of them overseas-owned so the profits flow offshore.

      So, we spend shitloads on a 2025 taskforce saying we must close the gap, when that gets chucked in the too hard basket we’re now supposed to believe the gap is actually good?

      If it wasn’t so serious it’d be hilarious. Honestly, Homer Simpson would make more sense and provide just as much laughs.

      • PeteG 10.1.1

        The gap is not “good”, but it’s not all bad either. Why just compare the gap with Australia? Why not compare it with other major trading partners and other recipients of our brain drain?

        The “we must close the gap with Australia” is a mantra that lacks substance, but I guess that’s how political PR works.

        • The Voice of Reason 10.1.1.1

          Nice to see you putting the boot into Key and English, but it’s not just an empty mantra. It’s empirical proof of how bad the free market reforms have hit New Zealanders. Until the late eighties, NZ and Aussie pay rates were roughly equivalent. Since then the gap has grown steadily.
          It’s also not just about the wages. Their super scheme is miles better than ours, with at least a 9% contribution. Their labour laws are also fairer and even non union employees have the protection of national awards to guarantee minimum standards.
          We’ve been royally ripped off and the wage gap is the smoking gun.

          • PeteG 10.1.1.1.1

            Would you be happy to close the gap with their level of mining? That’s a major factor in the difference.

            • The Voice of Reason 10.1.1.1.1.1

              Mining is fine by me, but it’s not the determining factor in the difference between Aussie and Kiwi wages anyway.

  11. PeteG 11

    The wage differential between here and China and here and India are substantial – and both of them are developing rapidly and increasing the standard of living for many (albeit from a lower level than us).
     
    If our wages were suddenly raised to the level of Australia’s it would make us less competitive with them, and even less competitive with China and India, which could severely affect business here. Do we want a better paid workforce with a far higher number of unemployed?

    • fabregas4 11.1

      You are correct PeteG.  We should lower our wages and standard of living to that of third world status and as a bonus people from well off countries might sponsor us at say $50 per month.

    • Olwyn 11.2

      And where do you place yourself in all this PeteG? Do you mean that you are perfectly happy to work for $12 an hour or less so as to help maintain NZ’s so-called “competitive edge” or are you happy to see others doing this, but put yourself in a category to whom such measures do not apply?

    • RobC 11.3

      Comparisons to China, India – irrelevant to a degree. Young Kiwis are not going to emigrate to those countries to any large extent.

      Comparison to Australia – fucking important. So we’re better educated, just as productive but our workers are paid 30% less. Where’s that passport application?

      Businesses need a workforce Pete. No point worrying about them being competitive if the labour fucks off.

      For the 3rd time in about a week, I need to pull out the Lincoln quote …. labour comes before capital because without labour, you don’t have capital. Think about it.

      • PeteG 11.3.1

        Comparisons with India and China are relevant – if our wages go up 30% our costs and prices also go, making us even less competitive with them. They have already sucked a lot of the lower skilled labour requirement out of the country, +30% would make that worse.
         
        Business needs capital, and businesses need a market, and businesses need to be competitive, otherwise more “workforce” means more unemployed.

        If we just increase wages without productivity we will be no better off, we just increase costs by the same amount, unless we end up with even more unemployed.
         
        I understand the Australian differential problem. Two of my kids work in Australia. One will stay there at least until she pays off her student loan, that will probably take her three years working there, that’s not a bad thing.
         
        My other daughter graduated here and couldn’t get a job in the vocation she specifically trained in. She was offered a job in Europe so moved there, holidayed in half a dozen countries a year but still managed to pay her student loan off in two years. She now wants to return to NZ with her family, bringing a highly qualified husband with her.

        So also not all cons. On the surface the “brain drain” seems a problem but it’s not all one way, expertise or money. Foreign earnings pay off a lot of student debt.

        It’s far more complex than “we must have the same wage rates as Australia”.

        • Colonial Viper 11.3.1.1

          Comparisons with India and China are relevant – if our wages go up 30% our costs and prices also go, making us even less competitive with them.

           
          This is where you start to go wrong PeteG i.e. from the start. If you want NZ to position itself to compete on labour costs against China and India, and more recently Cambodia and Vietnam, we will always lose. Every single time.
           
          We need to find differentiators which will push us ahead not further behind.
           
          You also lose the plot by not recognising that in your way of thinking, Australia must be 30% less competitive than us against China and India, because Australian wage rates are 30% higher. But the Ozzies seem to be doing just fine.
           
          You are right about one thing, this is about more than just pay rates, pay rates are the end result.
           
          It is about strengthening unions, getting a larger share of the GDP pie for the median worker, developing high tech, high value added industry.

          • PeteG 11.3.1.1.1

            getting a larger share of the GDP pie for the median worker, developing high tech, high value added industry.
            Sounds fine, been talked about for years, Cunliffe was talking on The Nation about improvements, in practice it’s far more difficult and complex than some vague idealistic sound bite.
             

            • RobC 11.3.1.1.1.1

              Pete, you’re in fine form today.

              The gap is not all good, but not all bad.
              On the surface there seems to be a problem.
              It’s far more complex than that …
              No actually, it’s far more difficult and complex than that …
              And on Open Mike, we see the decision-makers have a lot more complexities to consider

              At least get out a thesaurus and change the word every so often.

              Mate, if it’s all so diificult and complex, throw your hands up in despair and toddle off 😀

            • Colonial Viper 11.3.1.1.1.2

              in practice it’s far more difficult and complex than some vague idealistic sound bite.
               

              Yeah that’s why you’re on this blog PeteG pushing for NZ to compete with Vietnam and Cambodia on wages, while I’m assisting in drafting up the details on economic reform and other matters.

  12. RobC 12

    Sorry, back after wiping the tears from my eyes (from laughter).

    CV has covered half of what I was going to say.

    You have two kids in Oz. Says it all really. When the one with the highly qualified husband wants to come home: (a) they’ll both need to find jobs (b) they’ll prob choke when they see the salary levels and do some cost of living comparisons (c) they may just then have second thoughts

    • PeteG 12.1

      They have just been here for three months, are well aware of the reality here, want to bring up their family here, and are committed to having a go at it. They are aware that it could take a bit of time for suitable job opportunities to come up, they are happy to wait for it.
       
      Trying to stop the overseas drift is futile, it’s a natural drift, from small to bigger, and to see the world. Attracting enough of them back once they have established themselves, paid off debt, and got their OE out of the way is what’s most important.

    • Jum 12.2

      Two more PeteGs in New Zealand; no thanks.

  13. tc 13

    Pete G passes the farrar sycophant Rose tinted everything is bluetiful test by a mile…..keep us posted on how it pans out for them….’natural drift’ that is comedy gold.

    I look forward to seeing that beauty used in future debates by other shonkey admirers.

    • PeteG 13.1

      There is a natural population drift from country to town to city to bigger city to bigger country.
       
      Or maybe you have a different theory about why populations grow?

      • RobC 13.1.1

        Populations grow when reproduction rates are greater than mortality rates. Not rocket science.

        But if you wish to talk about population drift, I suggest it occurs due to the perception of better and more opportunities, in whatever sphere. Now, if you’re the small town/city/country, you can either accept your “natural fate” or try and do something about it.

        • Colonial Viper 13.1.1.1

          English accepts that the “natural fate” of New Zealanders closing the gap with Australia is by moving there.

  14. Anthony C 14

    The mob always get riled up and push for doing stuff on the cheap anyway, especially when there are political points to score for the person raising the rabble.

    Just thinking of the original Britomart design, Eden Park/Waterfront Stadium, energy efficient lighting regulation as a couple of examples of doing it on the cheap.

  15. todd 15

    It was good to see Guys a Spinner catch Blinglish out lying again on Q + A today. I am wondering how many lies National has been caught out on now? Shonkey’s “I know nothing” re the BMW’s is just the tip of the iceberg. An iceberg that will sink this country if we cannot navigate away from the liars that are incompetently running this country.
     
    While National think we can compete with slave wage economies like China, they use this as an excuse for not closing the gap with Australia that has significantly grown since 2008. Contradicting their election promises and showing their true defunct ideology. Their election campaign was essentially a lie.

    The war on welfare and creating more unemployment is designed to keep wages low and increase the poverty gap. The slight increase in minimum wage has done nothing to reduce the welfare required so that working people can meet the cost of living, because it has not kept up with inflation.

    The April fools day increase of benefits to cover the rise in GST is so pathetic as to not be worth mentioning while John Key receives $45,000 more per anum than his Australian counterpart. No wonder we have a mass exodus from New Zealand.

  16. millsy 16

    Well, looks like our government wants our relationship with Australia to be patterned on Mexico’s relationship with the USA.

    In 10 years a lot of families will be dependent on income sent home from Australia.

    • Jum 16.1

      Millsy,
      I sense you are not joking.
      Captcha: terminal

      • Anthony 16.1.1

        I already know of a quite a few families who are dependent from income sent home from places like Western Australia, Iraq and Afghanistan…

  17. Hanswurst 17

    Bill English quoted in the Stuff article:

    So Australia already has $40 billion of investment in New Zealand. If we could attract more Australian companies, activities here, that would help us create the jobs and lift incomes.

    So we are going to push wages down for years and years, muzzling unions nad stifling workers’ protests, until some unspecified level of investment is reached, then employers will magically start raising wages? If lowering wages is the way to raise wages (?!), wouldn’t the resulting rise in wages just cause the wages to drop again?

    • Hanswurst 17.1

      Sorry, screwed up the link.

      • Colonial Viper 17.1.1

        English is fraking with the numbers as usual.
         
        Buying up a country’s existing assets without introducing brand new capabilities and expanding employment are useless to a country and strips it of economic sovereignty. But it’s the kind of foreign investment that English counts as good.
         
        Investments are supposed to add something positive to a country. Australian “investments” in NZ like their banks, their purchase of ASB/National Bank/Post Bank/…largely just suck money and jobs out of New Zealand. On a grand scale.

         
         

  18. Haydon 18

    you Silly un-eductated Monkey… Learn the facts prior to publishing this bull shit,
    1) you obviously know nothing of the A.M.I Deal. and im not going into detail because it is not worth my time
    2) your obviously not a kiwi to blame nationals de regulation of the building industry is idiotic… only a fool could possibly come to that conclusion.

    [if you want to make your arguments convincing, you have to actually supply some information. Saying ‘you’re wrong and I can’t be bothered telling you way’ doesn’t impress anyone. Nor does misspelling ‘uneducated’. Eddie]

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Travel focused on traditional partners and Middle East
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.    “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.   Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Keep safe on our roads this Easter
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-29T11:32:08+00:00