Government U turn on inner city rail link

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, January 27th, 2016 - 40 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, climate change, Economy, Environment, local government, public transport, sustainability, transport - Tags:

city rail link

As had been widely anticipated the Government has performed a U turn on Auckland’s inner city rail link and has agreed to bring forward funding.  Instead of it starting in 2020 it will now start in 2018 and match Auckland Council’s planned start date.

Can I praise the Government for having the intelligence to do this.  At the same time can I criticise the Government for taking so long to do so.

The rail link has been mooted for many years.  The Green Party for a long time has been a supporter.  Labour’s policy in 2011 was to cancel the holiday highway and build the inner city rail link instead.

The need for the link became clear shortly after the opening of Britomart.  Having a major train station where trains had only one way in and out placed a limitation on its use.  The rail link doubles the capacity of Britomart and future proofs it against future growth for many years.

Without it the Auckland Rail System  will reach capacity in the near future. It is at the range of 24 million trips a year that the system maxes out. You will not be able to get enough trains to enter and leave the station to get any more passengers through.  And by constructing the link the rail system will be able to deliver more frequent, more relevant and for all passengers much quicker, especially those out from west.

The Government’s initial response to the project was very muted although the rhetoric was negative.  Steve Joyce essentially described the project as being crazy.  There was some movement in June 2013 when John Key said:

[T]he Government is committing to a joint business plan for the City Rail Link with Auckland Council in 2017 and providing its share of funding for a construction start in 2020.

And we will be prepared to consider an earlier start date if it becomes clear that Auckland’s CBD employment and rail patronage growth hit thresholds faster than current rates of growth suggest.

Our current thinking is that an earlier business plan could be triggered if two conditions are met.

The first is if Auckland city centre employment increases by 25 per cent over current levels – that is half the increase predicted in the Future Access Study.

And the second is that annual rail patronage is on track to hit 20 million trips well before 2020.

But that is something we will discuss with Auckland Council.

I struggled to understand the first requirement.  It seems to me to be totally irrelevant the reasons for people using public transport.  Whether they are travelling to work or to their place of education the effect on congestion is the same.

The second, that rail patronage be on track to hit 20 million trips well before 2020 is very likely to be met.  The introduction of more comfortable and faster and quieter electric rail carriages has seen a surge in train usage as is shown by this Transportblog graphic.

2015-12-Rail-Patronage

At the current rate of increase the 20 million target should be reached some time in 2017.

The problem is especially evident when you consider that peak time the network is already approaching capacity.  Talk of Auckland Council hiring additional security guards for Britomart shows how urgent the situation is.  The work should have been started years ago so that future pressures could have been handled adequately.  Instead of this we are in the situation where the rail system will be placed under intense pressure and this will only be alleviated when the inner city rail link is opened.

The news is not all good for sustainability.  National has also announced the Onehunga Mount Wellington motorway which is frankly a piece of vandalism.  I have not seen the detail of the speech but other roading projects are mooted to be announced.

So at least as far as the inner city rail link goes congratulations to National for agreeing to do its part.  It is a shame that it did not do so years ago.

40 comments on “Government U turn on inner city rail link ”

  1. shorts 1

    kinda surprised they didn’t go for an earlier date to have it as a central part of their next election campaign – hough I guess they still can

    as an auckland commuter and PT user the sooner the better, for the system is bursting as it is

    • No surprise.
      This is the govt that smashed up Hillside.

      Whether or not rail is the most efficent way of moving people and goods is irrelevant.
      National hate rail with a passion that borders on hysterical.

      • Ad 1.1.1

        Theyre no fans of Kiwi rail, but other than the Anoraks, who is?

        National has committed and spent billions on commuter rail in Auckland.

        And hundreds of millions on urban cycling.

    • repateet 1.2

      It is being used right now as part of their election campaign. Laying down the tracks as it were.

  2. Ad 2

    As the excellent Auckland transport advocate Sudhvir Singh said today:

    First they ignore you (Williamson)
    then they laugh at you (Joyce)
    then they fight you (Brownlee)
    then you win.

    A big shoutout to everyone involved in the advocacy to turn the entire Cabinet, all of MoT Auckland, Treasury, and the rest around to agreement.

  3. Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 3

    As a Cantabrian I have to say I am disappointed with John Key’s State of the Nation speech. John put his best ‘I am a financial expert’ voice on, which he uses to mask his policies are a confusing mis-mash.

    Just a few minutes of thought about what he said reveals that John and the Nats are not policy experts.

    From my point of view their biggest lie is National supports growth. If that was the case Canterbury as New Zealand’s second fastest growing region, containing New Zealand’s second biggest city would be getting the pro-rata equivalent to Auckland’s mega -infrastructure projects, so that Christchurch doesn’t make the same mistake as 1970-2000 Auckland of underinvesting in infrastructure.

    Where is the fast rapid transit system for Canterbury? Passenger rail? Light rail? Express busways? Also why do you have to travel through Christchurch to go between the two of the fastest growing districts in New Zealand -Selwyn and Waimakiriri? Because no new bridges have been constructed for 50 years in Canterbury to provide more direct routes?

    Instead National prefers to bypass cost benefit procedures and randomly fling infrastructure projects (pork) around the regions -probably to maximise vote buying. In many ways John Key is just Muldoon with a modern corporate makeover.

    The National party have not changed its spots -it doesn’t honestly acknowledge the mistakes of the past and systematically try to fix them.

    Moving quicker on Auckland’s CRL is good but at best it is only a half hearted acknowledgement of the infrastructure challenges of Auckland and other fast growing parts of New Zealand, such as Canterbury.

    • shorts 3.1

      I’d suggest this is entirely a response and acknowledgement of polling – key and his cronies don’t want to play with trains, they hate trains… but they do like power and the people want the CRL as it makes economic sense and therefore they weakly cave in to the masses

      • Sacha 3.1.1

        It’s more a response to lobbying by large companies and developers preparing to invest billions between them in buildings along the CRL route. The delay was only ever part of the trickery around ‘surplus’ anyway.

      • Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 3.1.2

        I think you are right. John Key is just responding to pressure in a knee-jerk fashion. He hasn’t done a fair assessment of the infrastructure deficit and its solutions.

    • Lanthanide 3.2

      “Also why do you have to travel through Christchurch to go between the two of the fastest growing districts in New Zealand -Selwyn and Waimakiriri?”

      Do you have any evidence that people are trying to drive between these two districts?

      I would have thought that both of those districts were the fastest growing because of their proximity to Christchurch; that is everyone wants to live in the country and work in the city.

      • Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 3.2.1

        They are not country areas. The combined population total of Waimakariri and Selwyn is nearly 100,000 people. That is more than the Nelson, Richmond and Motueka corridor. Yet the only practical route between these two neighbouring areas is through the 50 year old State highway 1 motorway bridge that means traveling through congested Christchurch roads.

        There is plenty of reasons for more direct routes. For example, both have industrial parks -but it is difficult for those industries to do business with each other. Selwyn has an inland port for freight but it is difficult to access it from Waimakairiri and so on.

        • Lanthanide 3.2.1.1

          So you don’t have any evidence, then.

          https://www.google.co.nz/maps/dir/Rolleston/Rangiora/@-43.5019039,172.5417106,13z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x6d2e1a0aee478e2b:0x500ef868479aa20!1m2!1m1!1s0x6d319488850974fd:0x500ef868479a700!3e0

          Note that the route via the airport doesn’t require you to go through congested Christchurch city roads, and at the moment is being upgraded to 2 lanes each way.

          • Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 3.2.1.1.1

            Gosh you are quite snarky Lanthanide and this is moving away from my general point that John Key hasn’t learnt the lesson from Auckland of underfunding growing regions creates infrastructure deficits that creates difficult long term problems, such as Auckland’s housing crisis (getting worse in Auckland and better in Canterbury) and traffic woes (some improvement in Auckland and getting worse in Canterbury).

            Note the route you mention isn’t all being upgraded to 2 lanes. There is still one laned sections though the Hornby section or the country roads behind the airport (it is these sort of roads that have had some nasty crashes/deaths lately as they are not designed for the speeds/volume of use).

            As for your evidence question -there is this known canyon effect in transport planning where it is difficult to assess the amount of traffic between two neighbouring regions that requires a bridge (or tunnel) to connect. In New Zealand this was clearly seen by the Auckland Harbour Bridge which completely under estimated traffic volumes requiring the expensive ‘clip-on’ solution. The Sydney Harbour Bridge which right from the start had passenger rail integrated into the design was much better planned.

          • Craig H 3.2.1.1.2

            It’s not 2 lanes in both directions – one of the upgraded sections is only 1 lane for part of it, and it creates a huge bottleneck (I worked out there for a year, and drove along it every day). Besides which, that road is hugely congested at rush hour, 4 lanes or not, because tens of thousands of people live outside Christchurch in Waimakariri and Hurunui districts, but work in Christchurch, and because there is only one bridge north to most of it, and all the traffic merges at Belfast (Main North Rd aka SH1) on the way out.

            Rolleston to those districts is important because a lot of the major distribution centres are now in Rolleston or Hornby, and there is plenty of traffic in that general direction from those.

            • Lanthanide 3.2.1.1.2.1

              You know that they’re still upgrading it to 2 lanes now, right?

              • Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal

                Lanthanide -do you live in Canterbury? Do you travel that route? I do regularly and this is a road upgrade from one to two lanes for part of the route -the Hornby end connection will still be one-laned and even when it is upgraded in no way is this motorway quality infrastructure.

                Canterbury needs something better. In rush hour travel it takes an hour+ to get from Rangiora to Christchurch when a hundred years ago with steam age technology you could do it in half that time. Rolleston is not much better.

                I am not promoting one particular project -Canterbury needs a modern integrated transport system. What we are getting is inadequate.

              • Craig H

                Yes, further along the route between Harewood and Sawyers Arms Roads. The single lane section I’m talking about is a piece between Avonhead Road and Memorial Avenue, all of which was upgraded 3 years ago as part of the this upgrade, and is finished.

    • Macro 3.3

      National does do policy it just does what it likes.

  4. Sacha 4

    “has agreed to bring forward funding”

    Has reverted to the original planned date.

    • mickysavage 4.1

      Yep I must avoid the Government framing. I am amazed that the Herald is using the word “kickstart” when all that has happened is that the Government has been dragged kicking and screaming into making the right decision.

      • Sacha 4.1.1

        Big business pestering Joyce finally paid off for the rest of us. And yes, the Nat party newsletter for Epsom faithfully reguritates whatever lines they’re fed from the beehive.

      • Macro 4.1.2

        “kickstart” is a good description – National needed a good kicking to get it started.
        🙂

  5. esoteric pineapples 5

    Thanks Green Party for having a positive impact on New Zealand without New Zealanders yet allowing it to be part of a government.

  6. Draco T Bastard 6

    Can I praise the Government for having the intelligence to do this. At the same time can I criticise the Government for taking so long to do so.

    Yep, should have been started in 1920s.

    The rail link doubles the capacity of Britomart and future proofs it against future growth for many years.

    You do realise that it will be pretty much at capacity within a year or three don’t you?

  7. upnorth 7

    My calculation this is going cost NZers an additional 6.5 cents in the $ in taxes and 60% will come from outside Auckland – brilliant Greens Labour and Len.

    Labour will need to increase tax by 4% – I hope that is in Grants new labour policies.

    I would be far more economically long term to invest in the Northland proposal

  8. AmaKiwi 8

    and Phil Goff immediately shoots himself in the foot.

    TV3 (online) leads with, “Auckland residents could face a congestion charge if Phil Goff becomes mayor.”

    Cunliffe did the same in the 2014, CHC debate. Key held up 5 fingers and said Labour is going to impose 5 new taxes.

    The surest way to lose an election is to say you will raise taxes.

    Why couldn’t Phil STFU and say, “It’s the council’s responsibility to figure out how to fund the rail link. It would be a lot less expensive if National had not spent 5 years blocking this rail link.”

    Labour, you deserve to be known as the “tax and spend” party. Key increased lots of taxes, but he never whispered a word about his tax increase plans until after he got elected.

    Political Studies 101 – Never, ever say you are going to increase taxes. Labour, wake up!

  9. Ad 9

    Key has now removed transport from politics, at both local and central level, for 2016 and 2017 elections.

    ing’s still god political fire in it. Labour and Greens need to recalibrate fast as Key just stole more centrist territory right off them.

    This is real stuff. Greens; the best they can come up with

    • Ad 9.1

      …is a Treasury ‘form a committee’.

      Key says 4 terms.

      • Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 9.1.1

        BS John Key and National are incredibly weak on urban issues. This administration has tried to tart up the status quo and avoid new infrastructure initiatives such as CRL for as long as possible. The result is our cities are in crisis -the most obvious being Auckland’s housing crisis.

        Policy wise this government is useless. There only strengths is avoiding debate/analysis and when forced to confront problems, wheeling out smooth talking John Key to soothe and distract the public.

        Four terms of Key would be a disaster for NZ.

  10. instauration 10

    Um – the CBD concept is like so 50’s
    Can someone please advise which Auckland CBD employers are Bulls ?
    Well – we have Bears Vodafone, and Spark and Fonterra (aglommerate but downside makes them a Bear ) and the AU Banks and the UK Houses and the US Houses.
    Shit – just WhoIs sustaining that occupancy premium.
    $2 shop heaven in the CBD.
    Goodman Heaven in the Suburbs – that’s what they anticipate
    The Auckland CBD is imminently irrelevant.

  11. instauration 11

    ++
    Can someone please advise which Auckland CBD employers are Bulls ?
    ++

  12. Neil 12

    The only reason I can see for Key to do is because of the election next year & is marking the start of his election campaign. No doubt soon after next years election & if Key gets back he will no doubt come out with oh sorry we wont be able to afford it till 2020

    • Ad 12.1

      It’s already started construction.
      If you get to the middle of Auckland at some point, check out what is being done on Albert Street and lower Queen Street.

      There’s no turning it back now.

  13. stephen bradley 13

    I’m convinced National’s inner circle was dragging the chain on the city rail link only until they got the nod from sufficient of their investor mates that purchases of strategic properties en route had been completed. Now the fat cats can sit back and enjoy the benefits of tax-free capital gains created by yours and my taxes and rates. Collectivise the costs and privatise the benefits is just another version of the National party mantra on behalf of their billionaire mates: Make the Poor Pay.

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    4 days ago
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
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    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
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
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    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
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
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    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
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    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’
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    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
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    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
    3 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
    5 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
    19 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
    23 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
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    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 ...
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    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 ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
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    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    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 ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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  • 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 ...
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    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 ...
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    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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    1 week ago

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