Farewell Mr Makhlouf

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, June 13th, 2019 - 46 comments
Categories: Economy, treasury - Tags: ,

Being a public servant at the highest level takes incredible fortitude. Only a few stand out.

Gabriel Makhlouf leaves shortly as the Treasury Secretary.

He has led the formation of a framework that has restructured how the government spends public money from the ground up.

It is likely that this restructuring of advice and measurement about budget prioritisation will withstand any future change to a National-dominated government, since they were working on it under Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Bill English.

We have waited for decades for Treasury to be ruled not by ideology but by facts that drive policy outcomes.

This new framework makes it a more subtle and secure framework than the last time any central government tried a broad policy framework across all budget bids – the Growth and Innovation Framework in the early part of the Helen Clark government. That ambitious bid to stabilise policy extremes from the 1990s and to harness business effort for policy aims did not have a lasting impact in Wellington.

The new framework is likely to be more successful and enduring. Treasury’s Living Standards Framework aims to capture a comprehensive, balanced range of wellbeing outcomes indicators. It is not prescriptive about whether or how governments should intervene to promote wellbeing. It helps support advice about prioritisation.

The openness of the methodology makes it incredibly plain just what weighting the government is looking for, and provides the spreadsheets for government Departments to make wellbeing real for actual budgets.

In a sense it can also become an accountability framework for any government because it’s easier to see where funding is having the best effect.

Part of this is a wellbeing approach to cost-benefit analysis. It’s enlightened and enlightening.

In the last budget his Department was the target of a political hit – I won’t prejudge the results of it yet since the investigation continues. It’s not material to what has been delivered anyway.

But in order to make a new framework for budgets in New Zealand, it takes a totally policy-focussed team. Mr Makhlouf’s broad experience in policy framework development in tax, welfare, banking, and operational delivery was critical for the success of this budget and its framework.

This achievement needs to be separated from whether we think the budget was weighted better or worse in any one spending category. The framework is there and it is likely to endure.

That is as good a tribute to the work of a public servant as one could wish for.

46 comments on “Farewell Mr Makhlouf ”

  1. Macro 1

    Thanks Ad – Ive been waiting for something like this to be said. It has certainly not been the focus of journalists, or commentators here for that matter. I find this 2019 Budget a very positive document from the point of view that it has been formulated, not just with an eye to constant growth of GDP – as if that was the only measure of a countries well being – which it certainly isn't – but from the point of view as to how do each of the initiatives work towards improving the well being of people in this country.

    This year the emphasis has been on improving the lot of 5 sectors of our society representing people and situations who have been neglected for far too long.

    • transitioning to a sustainable and low-emissions economy
    • boosting innovation, and social and economic opportunities in a digital age
    • lifting Māori and Pacific incomes, skills and opportunities
    • reducing child poverty, improving child well-being and addressing family violence
    • supporting mental well-being, with a special focus on under 24-year-olds.

    Anyone who has had any experience of accessing or helping those with mental health issues in this country will no only too well that anything like adequate support is almost non-existent until it is far too late in many cases.

    • ianmac 2.1

      Are you saying that his appointment to Ireland could be withdrawn? Simon would crow a victory but the appointment is rock solid.

  2. ianmac 3

    Great to see how Treasury is being upgraded. Thanks Advantage. And in due course will Ireland benefit from the Mr Makhlouf Leadership? I bet that they do and it is the first time an "outsider" has been employed in that role. Wonder if the Opposition will give credit to him?

  3. greywarshark 4

    He has been breaking ground. but where there has been a drought the ground can be incredibly hard. So Mr Makhlouf I hope when you go from here that you enjoy more fertile and pleasant (relatively) pursuits overseas in your new position.

    Fran O'Sullivan at the NZHerald puts it simply. You have to pay to read the rest.l

    It's been quite gross to watch the political jackals try and throw Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf under the bus before a State Services Commission investigation is complete.

    In my view much of what is at stake boils down to simple semantics over Makhlouf's use of the word "hack" and his use of that term again when he said there had been "deliberate and systematic" hacking of the Treasury website.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12239505

    (It would have been more correct to use the word ‘burrowing’ into Treasury records that National carried out, rather like the rats that burrow into a compost heap.

    • ianmac 4.1

      So would Fran be a supporter of the Opposition handling do you think?

      • greywarshark 4.1.1

        Dear Mr Makhlouf If you see this post, we sincerely appreciate your work and your ability to have made some positive changes which may lead us on to a brighter future than we have had to illuminate us in recent years. We wish you well in Ireland, that has suffered from hubris as we have, and may you help them to survive that well. After this comment, in this post, we get into the ordinary argy-bargy and nit-picking that is common to the great discussions of the ordinary citizens – mediocre, practising or advanced thinkers that come here and discourse. So you could choose to pass by that if you wished.

    • alwyn 4.2

      "It's been quite gross to watch the political jackals".

      That is rather harsh of Fran isn't it? I thought she was on better terms with Grant Robertson and Andrew Little than to describe them in that manner. It's probably quite fair of course. Grant and Andrew both learnt their trade in student politics and they therefore play very, very rough.

      • Stuart Munro. 4.2.1

        Fran was referring to the opposition. I guess it was an oversight not to use the usual 'jackasses'.

        • alwyn 4.2.1.1

          Good God! Are you really so stupid that you pay to read the premium articles in thet ridiculous fish and chip wrapper?

          I never would have believed you were in that bad a state.

          • Stuart Munro. 4.2.1.1.1

            I think the last time I paid for a Herald must've been 1991, when I boarded the Eikyu Maru in Auckland as a MAF observer. I can still smell the mud off the mangroves.

            • alwyn 4.2.1.1.1.1

              How did you read the article in order to be able to tell us who she was talking about then? It isn't obvious from the little teaser one can see when you look at a "premium" article. Thus I just assumed, since it looked so like a complaint about the way that Grant seems to have thrown his Department Head under a bus that she was talking about Grant et al.

              Rather like Twyford seems to have been pushed in front of a bloody great truck by Parker. Such an "open and transparent" Government, don't you think?

              • ianmac

                The only jackals that I have seen attacking Mr Makhlouf are the leaders of the Opposition. Not once have I seen any attacks from the Government benches.

                Therefore alwyn you get zero marks for comprehension.

              • Stuart Munro.

                Anyone with even mediocre comprehension skills can tell from the excerpt Alwyn – your misfortune is that anything that reflects negatively on that dreadful assemblage of ambulant dog tucker, the Opposition, gives you cognitive dissonance and leaves you readily confused.

  4. peterh 5

    All he did was. He called a shovel a spade

  5. SHG 6

    Treasury is not what it was.

  6. feijoa 7

    It is great to see a budget with a change of focus.

    Nationals budgets always seemed to crow the word SURPLUS or (nearly) SURPLUS

    and that was all

  7. gsays 8

    Thanks Advantage, I had no idea about any of your post.

    I am a little wiser now.

    It is a little unfortunate that he has been caught in the eddy created by the leader of the opposition as he splashes about, out of his depth and flalling about with a raggedy connection to a positive budget.

  8. patricia bremner 9

    Yes Thanks Advantage. Your article gives more information.

    I am glad to hear Mr. Makhlouf was instrumental in forming the Budget's spread sheets. At one point I wondered if he was involved in the leak. Great to know he had a strong positive role.

    Sadly Soimin seems to enjoy poisoning the well with his actions and accusations. The budget was about people not GDP, so he would find that strange. Destroying not building is his mantra. So may it be a long long time before the opposition attains power.

    • Anne 9.1

      You speak for me too patrica bremner.

      I was beginning to suspect as much because Mr. Makhlouf has been quiet and dignified since the saga began.

      Let me add Amy Adams to those who have been poisoning the well with false acusations. She misrepresented the most recent events involving the GCSB today at QT and she had the gall to question the ethics of government ministers when it is her own party who have been engaging in unethical tactics.

      https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=207246

      https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=207249

      • greywarshark 9.1.1

        Amy Adams – the gal with gall! In fact the Gnats have an excess crop of it and are fermenting and bottling it. This accounts for their wild and wacky behaviour.

        Of course that is part of the RW tactics today; to keep us busy with OTT verbosity and theatre while they get on with stripping the country, grabbing bits of it and polluting it while they carry out money-making projects that enable them to carry out further money-making projects and so on.

        So it goes.

      • SHG 9.1.2

        Publicly proclaiming a non-existent "systemic hack" of the government's most important financial systems and announcing a non-existent police investigation is quiet and dignified?

        • Anne 9.1.2.1

          An existent serious breach of confidential information was sought and achieved by a National Party staffer within the precincts of the Parliamentary buildings. The information gained was unethically used by the National Party against all known precedent and purely for self-serving political gain. As a result a formal investigation is under way to determine exactly what happened.

          Since then, several eminent legal experts have questioned the police's conclusion that the breach was not unlawful and did not warrant the title "hack".

          Given the police are not the experts when it comes to the letter of the law, I am inclined to suspect there is more to come over the legality or otherwise of the staffer's action and the subsequent release of the data by Simon Bridges and co. We will have to wait and see.

          • The Chairman 9.1.2.1.1

            Given the police are not the experts when it comes to the letter of the law…

            Considering the circumstances, one would expect they (the police) would have sought expert legal advice from the onset.

            Which raises questions why you're inclined to suspect there is more to come over the legality or otherwise?

            Have you got wind of talk Labour are applying political pressure on the police to revisit this as a further means to cover their ass?

            If word like this got out it would only make matters worse for Labour.

            • RedLogix 9.1.2.1.1.1

              The informal word 'hack' has many and varied connotations, here are a few that come to mind:

              Unauthorised access = hack

              Leak = hack

              The Chairman = hack

              Getting the chop = hack

              End of patience with obtuse idiots = hacked off

            • Drowsy M. Kram 9.1.2.1.1.2

              A The Chairman "more left than most" comment that doesn’t compute.

              "Labour are applying political pressure on the police… …to cover their ass"

              Chair, think you'll find it's spelt 'arse', as in 'how to make an arse of yourself.'

            • Psycho Milt 9.1.2.1.1.3

              …one would expect they (the police) would have sought expert legal advice from the onset.

              One may speculate anything one likes, of course.

              Which raises questions why you're inclined to suspect there is more to come over the legality or otherwise?

              That's "a question," singular, which is easily answered. Anyone with an interest in the matter and a good supply of cash is able to start a private prosecution.

              Have you got wind of talk Labour are applying political pressure on the police to revisit this as a further means to cover their ass?

              No, but I have got wind of talk that National has a dirty politics crew that loves scamming people on social media into reading and accepting National's talking points.

            • Anne 9.1.2.1.1.4

              Have you got wind of talk Labour are applying political pressure on the police to revisit this as a further means to cover their ass?

              That's a risky road to go down TC. Inferring a slanderous story like that will not go down well with government, officials or the police. I suggest you sweep up the extraneous foreign matter inside your brain with a vacuum cleaner before someone turns up and does it for you. It could hurt. (sarc)

              • The Chairman

                Considering your party insights and the logical rationale the police would have sought expert advice, it was a genuine and valid question.

                If anything was slanderous here it would be your suspicion the police failed to seek expert advice from the onset. Suggesting they didn't do their job properly in a matter as high profile as this.

                You love riding that high horse so much I thought I'd give it a turn smiley

  9. … ‘ He has led the formation of a framework that has restructured how the government spends public money from the ground up ‘ …

    ———————————-

    Oh really.

    And now we are going to see the reversal of the neo liberal liberalization of the Finance sector, the Reserve Bank and the Treasury… OK then…

    Storm of the Century

    https://youtu.be/Oly6shn5QPE?t=2

    • Stuart Munro. 10.1

      It's kind of the Turning Away in microcosm.

      First you rid yourself of the hereditary baggage of rulers.

      You have a democracy. But it's slow and fractious, so you anticipate needs and meet them. This is Savage et al, an enlightened technocracy.

      Then a bunch of wolves in sheeps clothing sell a new paradigm – call it the 'third way' or 'Rogergnomics', but the people are no longer even a consideration. But the new economics is an unmitigated failure. Traditional supporters learn to despise and revile Labour.

      Which leaves them kind of lonely. They seek friendships among their class – carpetbagging technocrats who deprive the ordinary citizens of the fruits of democracy. Thus the current mayor of Christchurch becomes a water thief and so forth.

      A party that once represented a substantial majority has been successfully marginalized and the asset theft frenzy can resume.

      • WILD KATIPO 10.1.1

        ''Born in lust , turn to dust, born in sin, come right in''…

        At least Mickey Joseph Savage was real to the core….unlike the gluttonous excuses for the sham representatives for the working class we see today aka neo liberal Labour.

        ”Born in lust , turn to dust, born in sin, come right in”…

        • Stuart Munro. 10.1.1.1

          I still have some hopes of JA – Labour has moved away from the hard greed and stupidity of Goff to some degree.

          But it seems I shall never have my own boat, much less build my own version of the garden of the Master of Nets.

          The Neoliberals stole that future, and no doubt hundreds of thousands of others.

          • WILD KATIPO 10.1.1.1.1

            And so therefore the 'missing' generation have some accounts to settle.

            ''Give me what I want and I will go away'',…

            I had my young working life and future raped by these types, and I want recompense. And unlike many , I will not settle for their adultery's, their thefts, their pedophilia or their corporate sins. I will not let my 22 year old son suffer under them.

            ''Give me what I want and I will go away''.

            ''Born in lust ?, turn to dust, – born in sin ?, – come right in ''….

            • Stuart Munro. 10.1.1.1.1.1

              What happens to a dream deferred?
              Does it dry up
              Like a raisin in the sun?
              Or fester like a sore–
              And then run?
              Does it stink like rotten meat?
              Or crust and sugar over–
              like a syrupy sweet?
              Maybe it just sags
              like a heavy load.
              Or does it explode?

              Langston Hughes

  10. Sorry @Ad, I hadn't realised we'd sunk so low in our expectations (going forward).

    So (as they're apt to preface every sentence)

    Thank you Gabs! for doing the job you were paid handsomely to do.

    Thank you for living up to to what was expected of you – despite that nasty little lapse of judgement in the words you used when under a bit of pressure and when confronting a few calling you to account for your actions.

    May God go with you, and may your CV be recorded as unblemished in your future endeavours

    • Do you,… think 'Gabs' cared that much?

      Or is he more in the line of Harold Titter who devastated our public health system?

      Give me what i want and i’ll go away – YouTube
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C2IQK1yPNk

      • OnceWasTim 11.1.1

        Well I guess 'Gabs' could have hung about in lil 'ole NuZull a while longer and been in line for any number of pozzies in the PS. All the right attributes: an import, 'a good bloke' (just call me Gabs), impressive CV as a generic manager (read all the right books on management and economic theory), well versed in the art of apportioning blame when things go tits up and taking credit when they're all good, and, better still – from the white wing of the Empire who knows how to come and show us mere colonials a 'best practiced' better way.

        Actually, at the moment I'd probably do a swap between Grainne Moss and Gabs McAloodleloodle – couldn't be any worse and they'd be seen to be doing something (going forwid)

        I'm thinking the State Services Commish would be grateful for such a sage when considering the next Shuffle. OT perhaps? NZTA? MBIE, MSD? the possibilities are endless

  11. The Chairman 13

    The new framework is likely to be more successful and enduring

    Yet, you go on to say:

    It is not prescriptive about whether or how governments should intervene to promote wellbeing. It helps support advice about prioritisation.

    As it is not prescriptive on how or in fact whether or not Governments intervene at all, it doesn't seem likely it will be more successful, but is likely to endure since work began under National's governance.

    With this so-called wellbeing Budget being the direct result of the new framework, it's evident the prioritisation is flawed.

    One can't seriously claim to be addressing family violence, mental health and poverty without significantly investing in housing and core benefit rates. Decent, stable housing and livable incomes are two vital prioritisations required before we can genuinely look at addressing other social ills.

    Therefore, it is clearly evident the new Budget framework is flawed from the onset.

    And going off the Government’s hyping of it, they have no plans to correct it in the short-term. Once again, taking the country down the wrong path.

    • McFlock 13.1

      As it is not prescriptive on how or in fact whether or not Governments intervene at all, it doesn't seem likely it will be more successful,

      yawn

      It's a dashboard. It shows the situation, where you've been, how fast you're going, and what direction you're travelling with.

      What you do with that information is up to you, but in this case everyone can see the dashboard. Backseat drivers sit across the floor in opposition.

      Demanding that a dashboard should be prescriptive is like making a flight controller that can't pull up.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 13.2

      "Once again, [this Government is] taking the country down the wrong path."

      Another one of The Chairman's "more left than most" comments that doesn’t compute.

      The Chairman wants NZ to be on the 'right' path.

  12. SHG 14

    “old rich white guys” is such bad writing

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    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

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