Gareth Hughes: When gaming becomes gambling

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, December 6th, 2017 - 62 comments
Categories: capitalism - Tags: , , ,

Cross-posted from blog.greens.org.nz, Green MP Gareth Hughes writes:

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I was really looking forward to playing the new Star Wars: Battlefront 2 game. It looked pretty cool and I liked the first instalment. But when I checked out the reviews online, nobody was talking about the new game; they were debating if the “loot boxes” within the game constituted gambling or not.

In the last week, loot boxes have been defined or investigated as gambling by various regulators in the UK, Belgium, Australia, and Hawaii. Gambling? Gambling in a computer game children at my kid’s school were playing? Gambling in a game rated M, meaning that anyone could play?

Loot boxes are virtual boxes that contain randomised in-game content or upgrades. Games often include a way to bypass time-consuming ways to earn content or upgrades by charging players to open them, despite the fact that you knowing what you’re paying for.

There’s a legitimate argument (some would say a gripe) about paying for in-game content when you’ve already forked out to purchase the game. Loot boxes take this to a whole new level, randomising what you’re buying. When you open a loot box, you’re treated to an array of visual and audio stimuli, very similar to what you would see when winning on the pokie machines.

Loot boxes have opened up a debate about gaming fairness – paying money to get a competitive edge — but more importantly there is a debate whether loot boxes should be regulated by gambling agencies. A big concern is that these games are available to children vulnerable to the addictive consequences of gambling.

Belgium’s Gaming Commission has said “the mixing of money and addiction is gambling.” Koen Geens, who is Belgium’s Minister of Justice, also stated that “mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child.” Geens wants loot boxes banned not only in Belgium, but in Europe and abroad.

However, our Department of Internal Affairs says:

The Department considers ‘loot boxes’ as a marketing tactic within computer games that use psychology to reward players and encourage them to spend more on the game. While the exact contents of a loot box may be unknown at time of purchase, the payment of the charge does purchase a box. This does not appear to meet the definition of gambling.

You have to ask then if you sold an Instant Kiwi scratch game ticket in a box, could you skirt gambling laws, arguing you’re just selling boxes?

Whether you think loot boxes are gambling or not, I think this an important discussion we should be having. We need to make sure our rules around gambling are flexible enough to cope with changing technology.

At the very least, games containing loot boxes should include labels and further information warning parents and caregivers of the potential risks that lie just inside the box.

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62 comments on “Gareth Hughes: When gaming becomes gambling ”

  1. Excellent article Gareth,

    I am very happy you have targeted the “monetisation”or ‘gambling’ evolving of play games.

    It is another crude and vile showing of soft manipulation of the young and old public.

    Just another display of how we are being ‘manipulated’ into becomming ‘gamblers’ rather than loosing our sanity for less pressure in life.

    • greywarshark 1.1

      Interesting point cleangreen – we are all becoming manipulated to gamble.

      At a shop I might be offered a card with an email/web address and if I give comments on the store I get ….or the possibility of a trip to Auckland!

      So often it will be a chance of something for my email. I say no thanks. And the winning temptation crops up often. I might feel that to be offered a special price on something would be a sure winner for me but turn down the other enticing offer.

  2. BM 2

    Christ, what nonsense.

    It’s no different to buying a kinder surprise or lego surprise bag.

    • “soft manipulation of gambling I see it as”
      BM; – you are welcome to your bland dimissals here but someone needs to draw the line somewhere I feel, or at least bring the issue to light.

      We do know that studies are reported as showing that some media systems do ‘influence the mind’ of all viewers as they say movies and other programs do with scenes of extreme violence, and hence they hasve warning captions ahead of those progrms so should they have with these ‘soft gambling porn’ games.

      So how much is enough?

      • BM 2.1.1

        In-app purchases are how many app developers make their money.

        You get a free game and then the user can purchase additional features or add-ons if they want.

        It’s a win for everyone, people try the developers game/app at no cost and if the user likes it they buy stuff and the app developer makes money.

        • dv 2.1.1.1

          Yes an 8 year old ran up $500 in app purchases. She thought she was buying gold with game credit.
          Murky.

        • cleangreen 2.1.1.2

          Money is your god not others BM.
          Leave kids alone here.
          So as said; – you are welcome to your views but we/others don’t see money as our “god” or in other words we dont get hooked or “addicted “on chasing money as gambling addition is known as being “an addiction”.

          All of us do have other views, and that makes our society more vividly alive.

          • BM 2.1.1.2.1

            You think people should work for nothing? spend months/years creating stuff than give it away for free?

            • Incognito 2.1.1.2.1.1

              When are you going to charge for your contributions here on TS? Do you work for nothing and create these deep insights and gems of intellectual prowess for free? You could make money man!

            • cleangreen 2.1.1.2.1.2

              Everything you say has money threaded through it.

              You are suffering a delussion that money is really everything in life, but as said some dont think you way to place money ahead of life itself.

              Yes we all need to work for life and use money to sustain our live but you seem to be openning the door to every angler to “sqeeze a buck”.

              We dont want young minds to become addicted to money as you apparrently have become now.

              So we want less active monetry values placed on the gaming industry by using the intense systems gareth speaks about here.

              savenz on post 5 has some very good points also BM, worth a read.

              Merry Xmas; – enjoy your addition if you must.

              • Incognito

                Snap 🙂

              • We dont want young minds to become addicted to money as you apparrently have become now.

                It’s not that the young minds are becoming addicted to money but are becoming addicted to gambling so as to make a profit for some far off shareholders.

            • Sanctuary 2.1.1.2.1.3

              BM, Because you are supremely ignorant, I will explain. Games like Battlefront 2 are FULL PRICE retail offerings. Battlefront 2 retails for around $85-130 for the game depending on retailer and platform. To my mind, to have ANY sort of micro-transaction for an in-game enhancement that you can’t grind or to have any component of P2W in a game that you’ve paid full retail price for is outrageous. That these loot boxes also incorporate the most highly addictive aspects of gambling, and are aimed at children, borders on the criminal.

              Now other games – notably the online free to play MMOs like DOTA, WoW, Eve Online or every dad’s favourite World of Tanks – make their money by in-game micro transactions. You download the game, and buy enhancements like fancy skins, camo schemes or premium items. But even these games have to walk a very fine line between micro-transactions and P2W. World of Tanks for example has introduced significant P2W elements this year and it’s US player base in particular has collapsed partially as a result of this.

              Got it? Good. Now fuck off.

              • That these loot boxes also incorporate the most highly addictive aspects of gambling, and are aimed at children, borders on the criminal.

                They do seem to be breaking our laws which would mean that it’s actually criminal.

              • the pigman

                BM is certainly out of his depth but his kinder surprise analogy is not totally irrelevant.

                As someone who plays a heap of games reliant on RNG (random number generator) microtransactions — Guild Wars 2, Battlefield 1, Overwatch — and a wife who works in the gaming industry selling products with RNG microtransactions, it’s true to say you get a toy with the paid content, even if it is not the toy you want.

                The redeeming quality is that (though I’m not up on Battlefront 2) this content is all available freely, just with a much greater time and effort investment, and generally speaking, it doesn’t make the game easier and is merely cosmetic. There is a sense of effort/reward, so I never pay for anything.

                With that said, there are of course people with psychological vulnerabilities (either because they compulsively need to collect EVERYTHING in the game — the developers call these customers “whales” because they eat everything) or because they’re gambling addicts who like flashy lights and sounds and the thrill.

                I’m not sure we have the answers on how to protect them while maintaining the viability of the video gaming industry.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.2.1.4

              WTF did that come from?

              All we’re saying is that they need to work within our gambling laws. Not hard is it?

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.3

          There’s a difference between buying what you want and buying a chance to get what you want. The latter is gambling and it’s against the law to sell it to people under age.

        • mpledger 2.1.1.4

          Additional features or add-ons are ok especially if the game was free to start with – and I usually buy *one* extra feature if I like the game. But this was a particular game that had the sticker price of most top of the range games and then it was necessary for people to spend even more money to be competitive.

          I play a few strategy games and it does become apparent that at the higher levels they purposefully make it so hard that it’s almost impossible to get any further without shelling out for special abilities. And when you’re in the moment it can become an impulsive descision rather than a rational one.

          My feeling is that any game that needs a credit card to buy in-game purchases should be rates as r-13 or r-16

          • mpledger 2.1.1.4.1

            I guess the other thing is that most r-13/r-16 game restrictions are pretty much never enforced anyway so that’s kinda moot.

    • Incognito 2.2

      I prefer fortune cookies because then at least I know what I’m getting …

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3

      Apart from the flashing lights and music, that is.

    • Gareth 2.4

      Given that Battlefront is the example, it’s more like buying a Lego kit at full price and then discovering that inside is a surprise bag that you have to pay more money to open. The surprise bag may make your Lego kit even better, or it may be a “meh” surprise that doesn’t add anything to your already purchased Lego kit. it’s a gamble….

    • Both of which should also come under the gambling laws and the kinder surprise probably needs to come some anti-sugar laws.

      Just because something is done now doesn’t mean that it should be allowed to continue or be expanded upon.

    • Tricledrown 2.6

      Hollow argument BM.
      Everybody knows you get a toy with your sugar transfat load.
      Marketing to kids with addictive substances.

  3. One Anonymous Bloke 3

    I suppose the difference according to the DoIA is that an Instant Kiwi scratch card can be worthless, whereas a ‘loot box’ always contains something of ‘value’.

    They don’t seem to have considered the Belgian view – the combination of money and addiction – at all.

  4. savenz 5

    Many applications are free to download and in-app purchases (upgrades) designed for adults are are OK, as developers have to make a living.

    I also don’t have an issue for kids learning products that are free to download but to upgrade to more advanced level with an in-app purchase.

    But in-app purchases like loot boxes for children is a whole different thing – they are designed to be psychologically addictive and hook kids into what is effectively gambling.

    Let’s not allow loot boxes in apps designed for kids – we don’t want a generation of gambling addicted kids.

    The pokies for convention centre deal under National is a moral step too far already for Kiwis – having the addicted pokies clientele subsidise Skycity for the build in a special deal by the National government. (Aside from the moral issue the business case for Skycity is a failure as they ended up building the convention centre 500 seats too small to even hold the conventions they said they would to get the numbers in their business case).

    Addicting kids to make money for developers is not ok.

  5. Stephen Doyle 6

    As someone who has suffered from a family member being addicted to the pokies, I find this appalling.
    The deliberate targeting of those, mainly children, who may have a predisposition to the gambling gene is abhorrent.
    If I was king of the world, there would be NO promotion of any type of gambling, including the TAB.

  6. Gareth 7

    Apps and games need some scrutiny around this area. I think there’s a range of things developers have done to their games, some of which are definitely gambling, some of which are sorta, kinda and others that aren’t gambling but are a kind of grooming equivalent.

    Case in point, Jetpack Joyride is very big at my kid’s school. Even when in-app purchases are disabled, you collect ‘spin tokens’ while playing the game and at the end of the life you spend them on a simulated slot machine and gamble for possible rewards in-game. No money required, but lets get those primary school kids used to playing the pokies eh?

  7. I’m a gamer. Have been so for more than 40 years. Thankfully I’ve never been addicted to them even if i have played a few to excess.

    Within the last 20 years, though, I’ve done a lot of reading into psychology (I self-diagnosed with autism before I went and got an official diagnosis) and some of that reading was into the psychology of addiction and how it was used by the gaming industry to get people to play their games. It’s quite amazing, and disturbing, just how addictive a simple random result is and simple random results are so easy to generate in a computer game as it doesn’t actually produce/deliver anything.

    There needs to be limits on this type of psychological abuse so that it doesn’t damage people and society. I don’t know what those limits should be (obvious to start where our laws already are though) but this type of thing is obviously way beyond those limits.

  8. Roflcopter 9

    This issue isn’t so much about the existence and randomness of loot box rewards, it’s the way they are implemented.

    In most games, the loot box is designed as a “nice to have” where you have a chance to get an item quicker than you could attain via normal game play, or a chance at a vanity item that has no effect on the quality of your character.

    Even loot boxes that have a chance of dropping an item you need to progress, these style of boxes have always been able to be attained through normal game play and in-game currency… no real money required.

    EA overstepped the line on this one, where progression of a character is literally halted unless you buy a loot box with real money, and hope like hell you are lucky enough to get an item that enables you to progress.

    EA are getting roasted, and deservedly so.

    • Bill 9.1

      Thank you for throwing out an explanation that get’s to the root of it.

      …progression of a character is literally halted unless you buy a loot box with real money, and hope like hell you are lucky enough to get an item that enables you to progress.

      So EA are basically scamming people.

      • weka 9.1.1

        That too, but also they’re using structures that are essentially gambling and designed to get people hooked.

        • Bill 9.1.1.1

          The games are fundamentally highly addictive.

          Now I fucking detest gambling and what it can do to people, but…

          Throwing a “lucky bag” component into a game strikes me as being neither here nor there in the scheme of things.

          Charging “in game” credit for advantage or gaming aid? Meh.
          Charging real money for advantage or gaming aid? Meh.

          Charging “in game” credit or real money for a punt on gaining an advantage or gaming aid? Meh.

          Rendering the game unplayable without extra payments? See, that’s bullshit.

          • Gareth 9.1.1.1.1

            It’s also not true. The Star Cards could all be crafted without loot boxes. It just took many many many hours to find the crafting parts to do so, OR you could spend money for loot boxes which had random things in them including Star Cards, including the most powerful ones.

            So do you spend 80 hrs of active gameplay to get an Epic Star Card, or do you buy a bunch of loot boxes hoping to get one?

            So your reaction to the EA loot box controversy falls into your Meh category.

            Most people’s reaction to being told to pay $100 – $120 (Std vs Deluxe) for a game and then that they’ll have to play the same parts of the game over and over for a huge number of hours to be any good, or they can pay lots more to sidestep all of that time…. is not a happy one.

    • Matthew Whitehead 9.2

      Yep, I would agree EA went too far.

      It’s also worrying that we’re getting regulation to ban this practice that could, for instance, rule out microtransactions that are actually reasonable and fair.

      For a counter-example, Guild Wars 2 offers packs of dyes to players for real-money transactions. (or for gems, which are mostly but not exclusively obtained through RMTs) These dye packs use the exact same mechanics as a loot box: They offer randomized items, through a package deal where you don’t know exactly what you’re getting, and they cost real money. But there is no analogy to gambling because there’s no huge difference between payoff and not buying: you unlock a few additional cosmetic colours for ingame items, when you probably already have dozens easily without ever spending money in-game. But a half-cocked “loot box ban” might capture mechanics like this, in fact even a good one would struggle to allow perfectly benign models like this that allow buy-to-play and free-to-play online games to maintain a reasonable business model without subscription fees. Instead gamers with money to spare who want to support the developers can get mild bonuses that don’t actually enhance their power: They can buy extra charater slots, bag slots, dyes, or simply buy gems to trade for items that other players are selling so they can buy those same benefits.

      I’m not convinced there is yet a need to regulate the market, even though EA is notoriously evil, as they demonstrably haven’t yet gotten away with it. If someone else starts pulling this crap, then I will concede we need to consider it, but I’m very wary of elected officials being able to sensibly regulate this topic when Gareth is the only competent IT spokesperson in the entire Parliament as far as I can tell.

      I think there is a real need to regulate digital gambling of all sorts, but again, I despair at the idea of current IT spokespeople getting their fingers on the issue.

      • bad regulation is better than no regulation. After all – it can be fixed as more becomes known. No regulation simply leaves immoral practice in place and the businesses, with lobbyists in place, will simply keep saying that things are working now and so they don’t need regulation which is a simple and easily understood position that many fall for (EDIT: Which is BMs position BTW).

      • Gareth 9.2.2

        This all goes back to the idea of “when is a game finished and how much does it cost?”

        If a game is released, and you pay $100 for it, should you get a finished product like a book? Should a developer put further work into an already published game? If they do, what should they charge for it?

        With Early Access or Kickstarters, you can pay a single amount of money and get any further content for free because you’ve “invested” in the game and helped the developer get the funds needed to complete the work.

        With DLC the additional content is charged on top of the initial fee and you can judge whether that content is worth the price. This is commonly used to create many different price points for a single product with varying levels of content. Your standard edition with the least amount of content, your deluxe edition with bonus content, your “Season Pass” which charges one price for all future additional content, and your individual DLC releases, each one adding different sections of content. You could argue that a “Season Pass” is a form of gambling since at least two games to my knowledge offered a season pass and then failed to release any DLCs that they could access. The common theme with DLC is that the base game is playable and enjoyable without needing the DLC. This doesn’t seem to be the case so much with the last type of charging.

        With micro-transactions you get another group of content which ranges from content no-one would miss, through to content which makes game-play easier and more rewarding. In the extreme, they can focus on this additional content to the point of the base game being NOT FUN since the additional content is required to make it fun.

        Micro-transactions seem to be more vulnerable to the gambling problem since developers make more money if they randomise the goods they are selling. Micro-transactions (and especially randomised ones) are a great way for developers to charge money for things that no-one would reasonably pay for otherwise and that are cheap to produce. If you spend a dollar to get a mystery bag and it contains a hat which is the same as the one you already had in every respect except that it’s blue, you don’t tend to ask for your money back because you’ve accepted that you had a CHANCE of getting that cool glowing sword you’ve always wanted. If they get the balance of cool stuff to rubbish right, then maybe you’ll spend another dollar. In the meantime the developer spent 10 mins adding different coloured versions of common items and can get much more money for that work than they can for actually developing the base game in the first place. Hence you end up with developers producing “just good enough” games which are platforms for selling you a few good things and a lot of crappy things because that can make them more money than the game alone ever could.

        • Matthew Whitehead 9.2.2.1

          The thing is, it’s not the randomization alone that makes it gambling. It is:

          Real-money investment (investment)
          PLUS
          Randomized reward (chance)
          PLUS
          Large potential for reward utility (potential payoff)

          My fear is that if we regulate this now, we’ll only hit two of those three factors in capturing the regulation. Microtransactions for non “pay to win” items aren’t gambling, even if they award randomized items. While I agree colour tinting may seem like a lazy thing to pay for, it’s actually a far more benign use of microtransactions than giving people new equipment or skills in an online game, for instance.

          We shouldn’t be banning MTs for things like in-game currency, cosmetic rewards, or non-random rewards.

          I also think there needs to be a lot more leeway for microtransactions in games you don’t pay a fee to access but are plainly online worlds, or genuinely free to play compared to games that you actually did buy and only have an online multiplayer component, or use matchmaking or similar bite-sized online presence rather than being always-online.

  9. One Two 10

    Violence, gambling, addiction

  10. mpledger 11

    IA quote
    While the exact contents of a loot box may be unknown at time of purchase, the payment of the charge does purchase a box. This does not appear to meet the definition of gambling.

    I think their point is that if you get something of value then it doesn’t count as gambling.

    But that’s too easy a thing to get around. I could make a gambling game where someone gets a sweet every time they don’t get a bigger prize. But gambling addicted people aren’t going to eat the sweets after the first one or two (or three or four), they are just going to leave them/take them home maybe/give them away/throw them away. The thing of value that they got increasingly becomes of no value to them.

    And that I presume is the same with the loot boxes. People aren’t after the things that give very little competitive advantage once they have got twenty or thirty of them – they are after the big ticket items.

  11. Rosemary McDonald 12

    Excuse me, and I get that this ‘loot box’ thing is an actual thing, but is it the most important thing for the Green Party to be highlighting at this present point in time?

    You guys campaigned (and scored my votes) on the issue of poverty…

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/99027132/growing-demand-for-food-parcels-shows-poverty-is-on-the-rise-salvation-army-says

    Gaming is a voluntary activity, a time filler, a hobby.

    Having decent food to eat and a healthy home in which to eat it are not.

    Get back on track Gareth.

    • solkta 12.1

      You would be waiting a long time before Gareth blogs about poverty as it is not and never has been one of his portfolio areas. There is though a very clear and definite link between gambling and poverty. Lots of kids go hungry because a parent has spent too much on the pokies.

      Children may choose to play these games but that does not mean that they or their parents are aware of the long term harm that it could be doing.

    • It is possible for a political party to do more than one thing at a time and there are definite connections between gambling and poverty.

  12. Chris 13

    Personally think the gambling is a bit of a stretch

    Have to say though. It’s a bit arseholey to make people pay more to get through levels after they have forked out a shedload to actually buy the game.

    We aren’t talking some Angry Birds crap where you get it for free or a couple of bucks to start with knowing you can probably spend a few bucks more

  13. Brigid 14

    But having paid more, it’s a gamble on whether or not you actually do gain anything that allows you to continue on with the game.

  14. NZJester 15

    The other thing about these kinds of loot boxes is the secondary black market trading in a lot of these in-game items. I have been in games with people offering to sell hard to obtain items or in-game currency for real cash. These type of things attract the Gold Farmers in droves who cram people into small cubicles on computers to have them farm these items to sell for real cash. They are normally in sweetshop style conditions forced to work long hours for little pay with few breaks. You also hear horror stories about people who have agreed to buy these items only to have more than the agreed amount taken from their credit cards and a lot of the time receiving nothing in return or getting there accounts hijacked and stripped of valuable assets or the account sold to someone else. That normally happens when they get people to sign into a trading website setting up a username and password and stupid people or kids who do not know better use the same password as the one for their game account.

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    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    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
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    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
    5 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
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 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
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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