His work here is not yet done

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 1st, 2020 - 71 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, class, climate change, education, health, housing, john key, national, Privatisation, same old national, Simon Bridges, uncategorized - Tags:

Remember this guy?

He was the perfect National Party leader. When he was young he grew up for a while in a state house. He was superficially liberal and managed to get on the right side of some social issues. He was goofy and did some funny stuff. He was the sort of guy most kiwis would like to have a beer with. He had cut through with swinging voters.

As leader he managed to temper and divert the morally conservative tenndancy of the National Party and seduced them with power. Who cares if your world view is not being put into place as long as you are in power.

He sold off public assets and smashed our health and education institutions into the ground but slowly enough so that with a smile and a wave he could deny wanting to do anything evil.

He was the opposite to Ruth Richardson. Instead of shock and awe we had smile and wave. Instead of revolution we had the frog in a boiling pot gradual change so that only the most observant of us realised that the country was being wrecked.

And it took a decade for most of us to realise that under his rule our environment was being wrecked, poverty was soaring and our climate change response had been completely undermined.

Key has been making a bit of a publicity comeback recently. It is strange but a leadership vacuum causes that. Simon Bridges must be hating it.

Over the past week he has crashed into National’s leadership contest by publicly endorsing Chris Luxon. If Key has his way the leadership putsch will have to wait until after the election,

And his work as a director for Air New Zealand and ANZ Bank has suggested that his commitment to sustainability as well as ordinary battlers’ way of life may have been superficial.

His commitment to the ordinary bloke is exemplified by what he recenntly said to a Remuera Real Estate company. From Andrea Fox at the Herald:

Key believed companies would, after lockdown, operate with significantly fewer people – another looming issue for commercial landlords.

“Everyone is going to kick out 20 per cent of their people . . . even if the company is doing well . . . their worst performers. Never waste a crisis.

“I don’t want to be doom and gloom but property might take longer [to recover] – it just has to go lower over time.”

Get that? A big fuck you to one in five employees. But with a bit of care the property market may recover. Never waste a crisis. And lets sacrifice everything so that the landed gentry can recover their privilege over time.

It is funny but among the left when we talk about never wasting a crisis we are referring to a chance to do something meaningful about climate change, creating jobs for people building sustainable infrastructure. Or we are talking about a universal basic income, so that poverty can be eradicated.

Only someone with really stuffed up class ideals would think that you should not waste a crisis by sacking one in five people with jobs.

71 comments on “His work here is not yet done ”

  1. Tiger Mountain 1

    SirKey has always represented international Finance Capital first and foremost throughout his career before, during, and after politics. That is the context in which any of his utterances are made.

    He was responsible, along with his personal lawyer, for starting an ultimately short-lived offshore Trust “industry” in NZ. 10,000 plus of which melted away in the wake of the Panama Papers, and IRD requiring more than a perfunctory A4 sheet of info from these offshore parasites seeking to hide their loot.

    The NZ National Party exists to shovel socially produced wealth upstairs to 1%ers and their enablers–Mr Key hanging around is just a reminder of that.

  2. Unicus 2

    A timely post given the clear divisions in the NP

    Wheeling out political cadavers like Joyce English and this ghastly pratt is an established practice when the Tories are in deep trouble

    It's a fraught tactic given the popularity of the PM . The electorate is now given the opportunity to compare her with a shady obfuscating troup of has been's.

    Key pushing Luxtons boat will probably be the kiss of death just as it was for his last protégée the terribly unfortunate Simon Bridges

  3. Blazer 3

    Ex forex gambler and now active property pimp,ex P.M ,notorious pony tail puller John Key has put his Point Piper pad up for another profitable play.

    Not sure how many he has flipped so far.

    All part of his plan to ensure 'NZ'ers do not become tenants in their own country'.

    Quit because there was nothing left in the tank.

    Must have refuelled recently with Cashtrol Gtx.

  4. Tricledrown 4

    BT bankrupt,Elders finance bankrupt,Merrill Lynch bankrupt.Key Morally Bankrupt.

  5. pat 5

    I have no time for Key and there is much he can be criticised for but what about this statement is problematic?

    Key believed companies would, after lockdown, operate with significantly fewer people – another looming issue for commercial landlords.

    “Everyone is going to kick out 20 per cent of their people . . . even if the company is doing well . . . their worst performers. Never waste a crisis.

    “I don’t want to be doom and gloom but property might take longer [to recover] – it just has to go lower over time.”

    They are statements of opinion about what is likely to occur, not instructions….and recognising real estate prices need to fall has been a call on this site for years.

    Strange times indeed.

  6. Dennis Frank 6

    I agree with the critique, but the guy is merely recycling his traditionalist perspective. Leftists are eternally reluctant to learn from history, but they would acquire a more sophisticated view of things if they were to get over that aversion. There are damn good reasons why the capitalist system evolved over the centuries to constitute the basis of our social reality today. Marx merely took a bite out of that cherry.

    Knee-jerk distaste is understandable, but I can read Key's stance from the rightist side of things too: businesses will now trend towards online operation even more than before. As he suggests, a 20% average staff reduction could be the outcome of their reconfiguration. It may not end up that high: people will still be employed to perform functions that online design cannot.

    I disagree most with Key on his fundamental stance, which seems to be that people should serve the system as per tradition. I reckon a social system that serves the people works better. Design for the future, not the past.

    • Bearded Git 6.1

      Isn't he "merely recycling" his views as a nasty heartless money-obsessed capitalist where the 20% staff he sees the opportunity to chuck out are seen as a resource rather human beings?

      Your craven acceptance of the inviolability of the capitalist system speaks volumes Mr. Frank. There are other, much better ways to run the country.

      • Dennis Frank 6.1.1

        Yes. You've misread me, apparently. I don't accept that the system is inviolate – never have. I've always pointed to various ways it ought to be transformed. Financial transaction tax, for instance. Adoption of the steady-state economy as operational paradigm. Worker profit sharing. UBI. I could probably extend the list to a dozen or so components, given time to recall them.

        I first advocated this mix as a member of the Greens' Economic Policy Working Group (1991, convenor Jeanette Fitzsimons).

        • Bearded Git 6.1.1.1

          Fair enough I agree with most of that, especially FTT. (I very much like land tax as an option that shifts wealth from rich to poor).

          But I still take issue with your passionless acceptance of Key as he is-passion has its place in debate.

  7. tc 7

    Good salespeople always get work, no govt part owner board role now so onto the granny soapbox.

    Reckon theres probably several pieces ready to go to fire up the machine as this is what national do so well.

  8. RosieLee 8

    There's something deeply dodgy and fishy about this man's return and meddling in NZ politics. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

    • Muttonbird 8.1

      Curia will be polling this right now. If the results are positive, Surge-on will be back.

    • Cinny 8.2

      There's something deeply dodgy and fishy about this man's return and meddling in NZ politics.

      Strongly agree with you RosieLee, well said. yes

      • Chris T 8.2.1

        I missed people saying this about Clark and her 2nd in charge, who is still there.

      • patricia 8.2.2

        Cinny and RosieLee, he is like a shark that can smell the opportunity of "blood in the water."

        He has huge hide that is for sure No shame at all. Next thing he will be having a cup of tea with Act again.

        It appears he knew the score a few days ago?

    • Janet 8.3

      Been having the same feelings for the last couple of weeks…..

    • mary_a 8.4

      You are dead right there RosieLee (8). I'm feeling uncomfortable that the smiling assassin slime is being rolled out on a daily basis by msm at this time giving his opinion, a few months before a general election. Something dark and evil waiting in the wings planning to spring and attack.

  9. Muttonbird 9

    Rocketman, Peter Beck, uses the same language:

    Never waste a good crisis.

    Seems an unfortunate choice of words. I'm not sure in what way one in one hundred year pandemic, Covid-19, is "good".

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2020/04/rocket-lab-founder-encourages-kiwis-to-think-big-in-rebuilding-economy-after-covid-19-crisis.html

  10. Wensleydale 10

    Nice to see Key hasn't changed. Still a smirking bag of poison with a condescending and dismissive attitude toward the suffering of the peasantry. I wonder if Goodfellow and friends have had a quiet word with him about propping up the ailing fortunes of National Inc. during Simon's less than stellar reign (of destruction). We all know how much he loves being the centre of attention.

  11. ianmac 11

    Whenever I read a transcript of Key's speeches I could find very little of substance. And he usually had a bob both ways then claimed the way that eventuated. "Told you so. See my speech?"

    Contrast that with Jacinda's words. Clear. Consistent. And unequivocal. Love her or hate her you cannot misunderstand her.

    • Carolyn_Nth 11.1

      Yep. I'm not a great Ardern fan. But, it has been noticeable in her Covid-19 1pm updates. It's such a relief after FJK's slurring and sloshing about with obfuscations and (attempted) jokes.

      It's very noticeable that Ardern is very knowledgeable about the details of the C-19 developments (locally and internationally) and policies across all ministries. Must be working long hours staying informed. No pissing off to Hawai'i when the going gets tough.

      • Bg 11.1.1

        Nice sarcasm

      • Adrian 11.1.2

        Through a friend of the one senior advisors who has told them said that as a group they are seriously impressed with Ardern''s intelligence and overview of the highly technical details of the many disciplines involved and her ability to put in clear terms what has to be done.

        But then thats what a good PMs job is really . We are very lucky, like the old saying, cometh the hour, cometh the woman.

        • patricia 11.1.2.1

          Adrian when I had the good fortune to meet her and speak with her two + years ago, I was impressed and reassured by her incisive intelligence , her grasp of the facts and her genuine interest in people.

          I remember telling people early on that she was exceptional and Labour was lucky to have her Leadership. Far from being a "Show Pony" as someone said in the early days, she is "the real deal"

          I do believe she is genuine and that we are so fortunate to have such a Leader.

  12. RedLogix 12

    Key is a sick man; it's not only a wicked perspective, it's wrong on the facts.

    I used to work for a company in an inherently cyclic business, and in it's 20 year history it had already been through 3 cycles of boom and bust. The owner hated it, but worst of all he told me that each time he was forced to start letting people go it was never the simple process an outsider would imagine it to be … as Key is glibly putting it.

    What actually happens is that you start losing your promising 'next generation' staff, anyone who can sniff a better opportunity elsewhere suddenly up and move pre-emptively before you have time to complete any formal review and redundancy process. And then because you can only cut the company so far before you lose capacity and start overburdening the remaining staff … you wind up having to keep on at least some staff who actually wanted to take redundancy, or you might have preferred to go as your 'worst performers'.

    And then those left all feel unsettled and betrayed anyway, and productivity plummets for a good year or so.

    Even on purely utilitarian grounds the notion is a bad one, because it turns out organisations are more complex than Key's reductionist and idiotic ideas.

    • AB 12.1

      Well said – and his comments assume that you know who your 'worst performers' are. Frequently you don't really. So you rely on hunches – or if too uncomfortable with doing that, then resort to something even worse, using metrics that are a gross over-simplification anyway.

    • pat 12.2

      "Even on purely utilitarian grounds the notion is a bad one, because it turns out organisations are more complex than Key's reductionist and idiotic ideas."

      Key may have reductionist tendencies but what about his comment is inaccurate?

      The economy is going to shrink and therefore revenues will shrink leading to rationalisations….its a fact, not a position. Wishing otherwise isnt going to change it.

      Like your example shows difficult decisions will be made, often not achieving the desired outcome….and all on a bigger scale than a typical business cycle.

      When Key starts advocating policy direction there may be something to complain about….but even then he has the right to express his views…we just need to remember what and who he represents should he do so.

      • Poission 12.2.1

        The economy is going to shrink and therefore revenues will shrink leading to rationalisations….its a fact, not a position. Wishing otherwise isnt going to change it.

        It is more the redistribution in the economy,that has Key et al concerned.

        At the end of March we (nz) has never had so much cash in the Bank.Overall an increase of around 13billion in one month.

        Households 4.5 billion in one month,as they forgo spending,and get out of risk such as shares (managed by idiots with KPI's and powerpoint presentations)

        https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/s40-banks-liabilities-deposits-by-sector

        • pat 12.2.1.1

          And what is the purpose of that cash?

          Of more concern is what further 'stimulus' is applied to…I see no position indicated by Key in the piece posted re that…and even if he had done theres no reason why he shouldnt…last time I looked we were a democracy

          Key's concerns I would suggest are quite obvious but his statement was simply one of fact

          • Poission 12.2.1.1.1

            Key wants stimulus into the non productive economy,(needs to read adam smith on the waste of capital on property),the growth of the productive sector will be resilient,the conference centres and hotels will be the relics of days gone past.

            The cash may be used to repay debt,which is always troublesome to bankers,as we see with the repayment in march of half a billion in interest bearing credit card debt.

            • pat 12.2.1.1.1.1

              the initial cash was to avoid cascading defaults during lockdown…its worth noting it covers a 12 week period, which we are only halfway through….that is more troublesome to bank security (and social cohesion) than minor debt repayments.

              The growth of the productive sector MAY in some instances be resilient…but in aggregate it will decline, for how long and how much is still uncertain but the direction of travel isnt.

              The waste of capital (and the disconnect from the real economy) in property is the key consideration in any further stimulus…we must avoid perpetuating that disconnect as much as possible….and thats where the debate lies.

              The owners of capital want the stimulus to flow towards them and we must work diligently to ensure it does not (as much as practical) but rather to employment and (useful) production.

              Think we all know which team Key bats for.

  13. He was the sort of guy most kiwis would like to have a beer with.

    This claim always felt like a stinging indictment of New Zealanders, that for many of them someone of Key's cultivated and unrelenting blandness was the kind of company they'd enjoy.

    • Carolyn_Nth 13.1

      And a very traditionally masculine perspective.

    • Cinder 13.2

      He always struck me as the sort of person that if you had arranged to "have a beer" with him, he would have shown up late.

      Not asked once how you are or how you are doing.

      Taken off to talk with the attractive woman / famous person at the bar and left you sitting alone for ages.

      And then went home the moment it was his round.

      We all know "friends" like that.

    • Barfly 13.3

      He was the sort of guy most kiwis would like to have a beer with

      Not this kiwi I wouldn't piss on that arsehole if he was on fire

  14. Peter 14

    Over the past couple of years I've become used to reactions to things Helen Clark has said. Reactions often not so much to what she's said but the fact she was even being quoted.

    Clark made her voice heard in her community about the use of Eden Park. As you might expect from those living locally. It became "Fuck off, you're yesterday's woman."

    She's 'had her turn' and should not be heard of apparently. 4 million plus can use social media but she shouldn't. Media shouldn't pick up what she says. She's wielding power she shouldn't have. The attack dogs invariably go in.

    Key turns up and it's "Welcome back Uncle John." I happily admit to being no better that those who attack Clark every time she gets a mention.

    Fuck off Key, you're allowed to be dog vomit but don't come back up expecting us to feed on it like your moronic supporters.

  15. But yeah, the main point is that Key is the only National Party figure being honest about what he'd like to see: never waste a crisis, take the opportunity to get rid of a fifth of your staff. Stuffed shirt Goldsmith will be thinking the same but wouldn't have the bollocks to say so – mind you, neither would Key when he was PM.

  16. Key is such a shallow, conceited arrogant human being .

    Also he is a blatant lier.

    I reckon I have worked out why he left in such a hurry.

    He was desperate to get a knighthood as he new it would open doors in his after political life.

    But he couldn't really give himself that knighthood could he.

    So by getting out before the last election in time for his double dipper mate to take over, he was assured of that knighthood, even English said Key asked often enough.

    So today he prancis around the world as Sir JK.

    Even on one site he still calls himself the RT Hon Sir John P Key.

    He has no shame.

    • Ffloyd 16.1

      He should call himself SirPlus. Nobody wants him. He obviously couldn't cut it in the big world. Mr Irrelevant looking for a village to be an idiot in.

  17. bill 17

    So John Key's an arsewipe. Fine. We get that.

    But if everyone goes back to work and carries on as before…what happens next? (Hint: we crash and burn in the not too distant.)

    • pat 17.1

      Yep

    • Adrian Thornton 17.2

      Of course this also exposes the Liberals centrist main problem..ie they stand for pretty much nothing and have absolutely no long term political or structural vision, which is not really surprising as, and let's face facts here, they have really just been cut from the same cloth as Key, so why wouldn't their short termist, free market, ideologies often overlap?

      We all know these so called centrist moderates have more in common with Key's ideologies than they do with any kind real Left wing progressive ideology..so imo they should just shut the fuck up.

      • bill 17.2.1

        Radical centrists (centrist moderates) aren't ever going to "shut the fuck up" unless and until power is wrenched from them.

        I'm just fucked off at myself for vesting any hope in compromises like Sanders or Corbyn – seems incontrovertible that capitulists versus capitalists = we's fucked.

  18. Bearded Git 18

    Great post Micky. So many people were taken in by Key.

  19. JanM 19

    It actually gives me the creeps to have him circling around like a jackal seeking the weak ones to prey on again. It's like a scene from a horror movie

  20. Wayne 20

    This set of comments has the same level of KDS as there is JDS on the part of many Kiwiblog commenters.

    • Barfly 20.1

      Well he is an evil piece of filth – but then he is your evil piece of filth -so he's ok by you

    • left_forward 20.2

      Keep telling yourself that its all nicely balanced and equivalent then.

      But it is not so is it?

      Jacinda has qualities that can be greatly admired no matter what your political background – and if not, then one ought to have a close check of what is truly of value in your life. This will be the difference in the kinds of delusion you are referring to.

    • Enough is Enough 20.3

      Have to agree with you there Wayne. I am at the polar end of the political spectrum from Key, but I am gobsmacked at the way he gets such a deranged reaction from some people. Just a small selection from some very odd people:

      this ghastly pratt

      Ex forex gambler and now active property pimp

      smirking bag of poison

      Key is a sick man

      cultivated and unrelenting blandness

      I wouldn't piss on that arsehole if he was on fire

      Fuck off Key, you're allowed to be dog vomit

      Key is such a shallow, conceited arrogant human being

      He should call himself SirPlus. Nobody wants him. He obviously couldn't cut it in the big world. Mr Irrelevant looking for a village to be an idiot in

      he is an evil piece of filth

    • Chris 20.4

      What's your point?

    • bill 20.5

      Yup.

      Pathetic tribalism.

      Something you'd know a thing or three about there Wayne, aye?

    • Incognito 20.6

      It is disconcerting on both levels.

    • RedLogix 20.7

      Wayne,

      Normally I'm not all that fussed by Key, but his blatant advocacy of exploiting this tragedy for such a base gain, is not just useless business advice, but ethically it's sick to the core.

      I'll go back to not wasting mental energy on him.

    • Tricledrown 20.8

      Wayne Key is Vulture Capitalist .Look at Merril Lynch's History.The Panama Papers.

      You can't tell me Key wasn't deeply involved as the head of currency trading where the money is laundered and the $38 lent for every$1 on deposit is exchanged and sold to unlucky customers Ireland being one.PonzKey wanted to do the same to NZ.

      Until his lawyer was exposed in the Panama Papers .He Denied and lied his way out of that one.The money from Drug Cartels corrupt world leaders defrauding their countries Sir John was happy to help hide and profit yet when sunlight was put on it Sir John new nothing.

      Merrill Lynch giant ponzi scheme that cost US taxpayers $100 billion. KEY

  21. Ffloyd 21

    I agree JanM. You can guarantee he has an agenda and it won't be in the best interests of NZ. He still looks very unappealing and as sincere as……. well nothing really. Bet the Herald will be ramping him up. Nothing good happens when he is slithering around.

  22. RedBaronCV 22

    " Everyone is going to kick out 20% of their people" . Is this a prediction for the National party? Or is he being used to reassure the Nact overseas backers? Remember that dreadful remark of Bridges? Hold up the wall in case something comes out of the various court cases?

    What I am more of a loss about is why NZME keeps on pushing this and same with Stuff. Both of them are in poor shape financially(NZME's market capitalisation is around $39m- petty cash really) so it must have dawned on them that the RW that they support so avidly is not going to put their money into supporting & keeping them going so what would the journalists have to lose by pivoting and writing some of the better articles that they are capable of ? I'd be happy to "tip" the better articles providing the journo's got the money and pass on the pot stirring items.

  23. JustMe 23

    Sir Lies-alot(John Key) has always cared and loved money more than anything and anyone else in the world.

    He has never cared about New Zilland or New Zillanders(as he called us and the country). He cared more for playing golf with Barak Obama or pulling ponytails of low income workers.

    He comes across as a very shallow person who has always jumped ship from his jobs before he was booted/fired from the job(s).

    Look at the mess he left in Ireland and his lies when it came to his fellow work colleagues in America that they wouldn't lose their jobs. I recall he told the American work colleagues that at morning tea but by lunchtime they were out of a job.

    Another observation is John Key has always preferred America. He is on record as saying that he loves America and there is no other country in the world he loves more. Which really has put New Zealand into a poor light. He used NZ and NZers for HIS OWN intent and purposes. He will continue using people as long as he can make money out of the transaction for himself or his cronies.

    He is not trustworthy let alone credible. I most certainly hope Karmic Payback hits him hard in the very near future. He well deserves it.

    • @Just Me

      He does love America, but he al.so loves China, maybe even more so.

      This is now becoming a problem for the National Party, Bridge soaking up the hospitality of the Spy apparatus up in Beijing, and large donations etc.

      While China is very financially important to this country, we do need to be very weary in what they get up to here.

  24. Anker 24

    Maybe at some point in the article John said “and of course this would not be good for NZ if companies doing well get rid of 20% of their workforce. These companies need to think of the greater good of preserving jobs in NZ right now, knowing if they are doing well right now they are lucky. After all we are all in this together“.

    while I am not a gambler, I would bet money they Key didn’t say that. I am sorry the man is an arsehole

    • pat 24.1

      you're probably right he never said such…but then how does a business retain all its current staff when their turnover has dropped through the floor…and in many cases isnt coming back?

      He may be an arsehole, but that aint the reason.

  25. Anker 25

    I have complete sympathy for business whose trade has drop through the floor and many will have to do this just to survive. Key was saying even those who are doing well will get rid of some staff. It shows to me how key operates “never waste a good crisis” in other words if your business is doing well, let some staff go cause then your business will do even better ie make more money. What a psychopathic way (ie without conscience) of operating…………he is a complete arsehole and the comments he made absolutely demonstrate this…..

  26. David Mac 26

    Key is highlighting a reality, a fact. The $10,000 that used to come into the till each week is now $5000. Rather than chanting Ponytail Puller, can we please forget the prick and get on with the $10k – $5k situation.

  27. Obtrectator 27

    This man's relentless accumulation of money, titles and honours (and regular flaunting of the same) smacks of the sort of behaviour you associate with the early careers of tinpot dictators. In some countries, by now, he'd have been putting up statues to himself – idealised ones of course, not displaying the dumpy, poor-postured figure to be seen in the well-known photos of him playing golf with Barack Obama.

    Hawaii is his spiritual home, and a highly appropriate one to anybody with even a smattering of those islands' history. An independent monarchy, internationally recognised, was overthrown in 1893 by a cabal of American landowners, backed by rifle-toting ruffians. A republic was then proclaimed, complete with tame president. Outright annexation followed a few years later. What price the likes of Peter Thiel and others of his kidney, allowed by the last government to set up shop here on easy terms, trying on something of the kind?

    The contempt for genuine democracy, should it happen to conflict with his own notions, was never better illustrated than by the ECan affair, one of the most disgraceful episodes in NZ political history. A regional council was fired, basically for doing its job responsibly in the best sense of that word.

    Finally, let's recall the case of Argentina in 1973. "Cámpora al gobierno, Perón al poder" (Cámpora in government, Perón in power). Luxon as Campora, Key as Peron?

  28. Does John still publicly endorse Orange Panda now he thinks we should drink bleach while looking directally at the sun?

    • Sacha 28.1

      He will take any advantage he can get on the golf course – to better convey the depth of his supplication when he loses.

  29. Heather 29

    I too have had a very nervous feeling about the public return of this poisonous toad. Is he going to rescue the National Party and stand again to save NZ? It is too early for Luxton, he has no experience at all, came across as another disgusting toad.

    He is a sactimonous, self opinionated, rich prick who cares about no one but himself,and how many people that can be screwed making more money. He does not understand democracy, never has and never will.

    Rust Never Sleeps.

  30. mary_a 30

    John Key hideous master of the dark arts, arises from his place of darkness, spitting his vile venom once more!

  31. millsy 31

    Paul Henry, John Key, with Cameron Slater recovered and blogging again.

    We are now partying like its 2010.

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    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    3 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    3 days ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    5 days ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    5 days ago
  • No new funding for cycling & walking

    Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 99

    Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership

    One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.

    This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Tea and Toast

    When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...
    6 days ago
  • Can Brown deliver his roads

    The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X

    Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...
    6 days ago
  • Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”

    In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

    On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Israeli Lives Matter

    There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Luxon Cries

    Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland

    A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?

    This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35

    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...
    1 week ago
  • An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    1 week ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

    I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When Do We Look Away?

    Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • The decades just fly by

    You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: August

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...
    1 week ago
  • White Noise

    Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.

    Norman KirkPrime Minister of New Zealand 1972-1974Born: 6 January 1923 - Died: 31 August 1974Of the working-class, by the working-class, for the working-class.Video courtesy of YouTubeThese elements were posted on Bowalley Road on Saturday, 31 August 2024. ...
    1 week ago
  • Claims and Counter-Claims.

    Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent  that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...
    1 week ago
  • Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • The Principles of the Treaty

    Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.Treaty principles were introduced into the governance of New Zealand ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Only Other Reliable Vehicle.

    An Elite Leader Awaiting Rotation? Hipkins’ give-National-nothing-to-aim-at strategy will only succeed if the Coalition becomes as unpopular in three years as the British Tories became in fourteen.THE SHAPE OF CHRIS HIPKINS’ THINKING on Labour’s optimum pathway to re-election is emerging steadily. At the core of his strategy is Hipkins’ view ...
    1 week ago
  • A Big F U to this Right Wing Government

    Open to all - deep thanks to those who support and subscribe.One of the things that has got me interested recently is updates about Māori wards.In April, Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported that ~ 2/3 of our 78 councils had adopted Māori wards in NZ.That meant that under the Coalition repeal ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: James Shaw’s legacy keeps paying off

    One of the central planks of the previous Labour-Green government's emissions reduction policy was GIDI (Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry). This was basically using ETS revenue to pay polluters to clean up production, reducing emissions while protecting jobs. Corporate welfare, but it got the job done, and was often a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Gravity

    Oh twice as much ain't twice as goodAnd can't sustain like one half couldIt's wanting moreThat's gonna send me to my kneesSong: John MayerSome ups and downs from the last week of August ‘24. The good and bad, happy and sad, funny and mad, heroes and cads. The week that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Ditch the climate double speak and get real

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The Government announced changes to the Fast-Track Approvals Bill on Sunday, backing off from the contentious proposal to give ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to August 30

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest science of changing sea temperatures and which emissions policies actually work; on the latest from Ukraine, Gaza and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • This Govt’s infrastructure strategy depends on capital gains taxes & new road taxes

    Billions of dollars in value uplift was identified around the Transmission Gully project, but that was captured 100% by landowners and not shared to pay for the project. Now National is saying value capture should be used for similar projects. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/ Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 30-August-2024

    Kia ora and welcome to the end of another week. Here’s our regular Friday roundup of things that caught our eye, in the realm of cities and transport. If you enjoy these roundups, feel free to join our growing ranks of supporters by making a recurring donation to keep the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Table Talk: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.

    That’s the sort of constitutional reform he favours: conceived in secret; revolutionary in intent; implemented incrementally without fanfare; and under no circumstances to be placed before the electorate for democratic ratification.TO SAY IT WAS RAINING would have understated seriously the meteorological conditions. Simply put, it was pissing down. One of ...
    1 week ago
  • Big Norm and Chris Hipkins

    It’s 50 years ago today that “Big Norm” Kirk died of a heart attack in Wellington’s Home of Compassion. Home of Compassion. Although he was Prime Minister for only 623 days, he has an iconic place in New Zealand history, particularly Labour history. When Labour leaders like Jacinda Ardern recite ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

    A Crown Response Office is being established within the Public Service Commission to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. “The creation of an Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report.  “It will have the mandate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister has today announced three new appointments and one reappointment to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) board. Tracey Berry, Nicholas Hegan and Mariette van Ryn have been appointed for a five-year term ending in August 2029, while Chris Swasbrook, who has served as a board member ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

    5 September 2024  The Government is progressing further reforms to financial services to make it easier for Kiwis to access finance when they need it, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.  “Financial services are foundational for economic success and are woven throughout our lives. Without access to finance our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

    As Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is laid to rest today, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to a leader whose commitment to Kotahitanga will have a lasting impact on our country. “Kiingi Tuheitia was a humble leader who served his people with wisdom, mana and an unwavering ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Resource Management reform to make forestry rules clearer

    Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced proposals to reform the resource management system that will provide greater certainty for the forestry sector and help them meet environmental obligations.   “The Government has committed to restoring confidence and certainty across the sector by removing unworkable regulatory burden created by the previous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • More choice and competition in building products

    A major shake-up of building products which will make it easier and more affordable to build is on the way, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Today we have introduced legislation that will improve access to a wider variety of quality building products from overseas, giving Kiwis more choice and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Joint Statement between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand 4 September 2024, Seoul

    On the occasion of the official visit by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to the Republic of Korea from 4 to 5 September 2024, a summit meeting was held between His Excellency President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnership the goal for New Zealand and Korea

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. “Korea and New Zealand are likeminded democracies and natural partners in the Indo Pacific. As such, we have decided to advance discussions on elevating the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • International tourism continuing to bounce back

    Results released today from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) confirm international tourism is continuing to bounce back, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey says. The IVS results show that in the June quarter, international tourism contributed $2.6 billion to New Zealand’s economy, an increase of 17 per cent on last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government confirms RMA reforms to drive primary sector efficiency

    The Government is moving to review and update national level policy directives that impact the primary sector, as part of its work to get Wellington out of farming. “The primary sector has been weighed down by unworkable and costly regulation for too long,” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.  “That is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Weak grocery competition underscores importance of cutting red tape

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