Homeless coverage goes international

Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, May 17th, 2016 - 97 comments
Categories: class war, housing, national, poverty - Tags: , , ,

The Guardian has covered the Auckland homeless crisis:

New Zealand housing crisis forces hundreds to live in tents and garages

Property prices in Auckland have increased by nearly 80% in five years, leaving some families unable to buy or rent

Hundreds of families in Auckland are living in cars, garages and even a shipping container as a housing crisis fuelled by rising property prices forces low-income workers out of private rental accommodation. Charity groups have warned that, as the southern hemisphere winter approaches, most of the premises have no electricity, sewage or cooking facilities.

“This is not people who haven’t been trying. They have been trying very hard and still they’re failing,” said Campbell Roberts of The Salvation Army, who has worked in South Auckland for 25 years. “A few years ago people in this situation were largely unemployed or on very low-incomes. But consistently now we are finding people coming to us who are in work, and have their life together in other ways, but housing is alluding them.”

Auckland’s housing market is one of the most expensive in the world, with property prices increasing 77.5% over the last five years (this growth has now slowed), and the average house price fetching over NZ$940,000 (£440,000), according to CoreLogic, New Zealand.

Jenny Salesa, a Labour MP in the South Auckland suburb of Otara, says Maori and Pacific peoples are overwhelmingly bearing the brunt of Auckland’s housing crisis, and she has people coming to her office every day begging for help. “People are living in garages with ten family members and paying close to NZ$400 for the privilege,” said Salesa.

“People are ashamed their lives have come to this, and they try to hide. But you can tell which garages are occupied – there are curtains on the windows, small attempts to make it a home. And on the weekends, in the park, there can be up to fifty cars grouped together, with people sleeping in them.”

Worth repeating – fifty cars with people sleeping in them.

Salesa estimates nearly 50% of people asking for her help in finding a home are in paid employment, and many families have two parents working and are still unable to make ends meet.

So the working poor are now the working homeless. And we’re contemplating tax cuts. Brighter Future!

97 comments on “Homeless coverage goes international ”

  1. mary_a 1

    Yes, I read this. Sent to me by an overseas relative.

    NZ’s shame …

    • Julie mach 1.1

      Correction- John Key the Sly Minister Jackal -HIS Shame!
      He has been systematically disembowelling our country since the Greedy Elected him.

  2. Colonial Viper 2

    In feudal times the lords of the land had a responsibility to ensure that their serfs were properly housed and fed.

    Ditto for the days of the American slave plantations.

    In these improved modern ages that’s not even required.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      Ditto for the days of the American slave plantations.

      Actually, they didn’t. There were no rules about the ownership of slaves in the US and, as Adam Smith points out in the Wealth of Nations, the way that they were treated was absolutely atrocious.

      It’s a pattern that’s repeated throughout history. Ownership tends to bring about the worst treatment of the thing owned rather than the best treatment that the economists and National types say it brings about.

      • Chris 2.1.1

        And part and parcel of that is the increased difficulty of being able to even convey this to the wider public in any meaningful way. The AAAP must be applauded for achieving this. No mean feat these days unfortunately.

    • vto 2.2

      That is exactly why it is often pointed out it is cheaper today for an employer to pay minimum wage than it is to keep a slave..

      minimum wage is cheaper than a slave

      Fuck the National Party and all its members – what a bunch of c#@&s

  3. esoteric pineapples 3

    Without mass house building, a strong capital gains tax and most importantly a ban on foreigners buying NZ property this speculative market has no where to go but up – with unlimited funds overseas acting as the wind beneath its wings.

    Auckland will become a city with half its houses empty or with very few inhabitants and the other half crammed to the max.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      Need strong limits on what banks can lend on a house as well, to prevent house price inflation ping pong.

      • mikes 3.1.1

        And a ban on companies owning residential property. The only reason a company would own a residential property is to avoid/evade tax. If a real person’s name is down as the owner of the property it is much easier to keep track of.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2

      +1

    • b waghorn 3.3

      Another there term of this government and we will have slums and shanty towns on the margins of Auckland

  4. Bill 4

    So according to Campbell Roberts of The Salvation Army, homelessness is kind of okay as long as it’s only people who fit a homeless stereotype that are homeless. Seriously, what the fuck was going on in his head that he could say –

    “This is not people who haven’t been trying. They have been trying very hard and still they’re failing,” said Campbell Roberts of The Salvation Army, who has worked in South Auckland for 25 years. “A few years ago people in this situation were largely unemployed or on very low-incomes. But consistently now we are finding people coming to us who are in work, and have their life together in other ways, but housing is alluding them.”

    Which reads to me as….

    So, it used to be if you were homeless it was because you were …what?…lazy? Whatever, they didn’t have their shit together and they were failures and well, nobody cares too much about failures. They should have tried harder. But they didn’t try harder and that was why they were unemployed or doing low paid jobs and….yeah, fuckem. Now though…now we have the deserving poor winding up homeless, and well….that’s a different story. Now the situation isn’t acceptable – nosiree, it’s not!

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      Well, you could read it that way but my pick is that he’s deliberately informing an otherwise ignorant middle class NZ of the severe level of economic rot that has set in underneath them.

      • weka 4.1.1

        And it’s rising.

        Could also be that he’s using language to speak to a certain audience but he does use some phrasing. I wonder how a house eludes someone. Like the house is the agent in all this.

      • jcuknz 4.1.2

        +1 CV

      • Bill 4.1.3

        Tell me how he’s not saying that a certain amount of homelessness is ‘normal’ or okay – as long as it’s confined to those people whose state of homelessness is to be considered (by people like him) an acceptable situation…an understandable situation…a self inflicted situation, because they are (at least in Mr Roberts’ world view) feckless, or addicts, or variously and otherwise those consigned to the pigeon hole marked ‘Society’s Detritus’?

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.3.1

          well, it is capitalism, so a certain amount of homelessness and destitution is “normal”…

        • Gabby 4.1.3.2

          ‘A few years ago people in this situation were largely unemployed or on very low-incomes, so it served them right.’
          That’s what he said, eh Bill.

    • McFlock 4.2

      Concern for the “deserving poor” are the low hanging fruit for social assistance agencies. A bit like how pandas and elephants get the international news when they’re endangered, but frogs and insects don’t get so much.

      On the one hand it gets some attention to the problem. On the other hand, it reinforces the prejudices.

    • b waghorn 4.3

      Oh ffs Bill the guys on your side , this is why people mock the left.

      • Bill 4.3.1

        No. The guy’s not on my side. He supplies a reasonable example of the Salvation Army’s institutional mentality or reasoning. And it’s deeply conservative, disabling and disempowering.

        edit. McFlock’s comment above kind of puts it in a nutshell.

        • b waghorn 4.3.1.1

          When homeless people were mainly made up of the mentally ill and addicted did the sallies turn a blind I to them or did they help?

          • Bill 4.3.1.1.1

            Not, for example, if there was a whiff of alcohol on them. Not, for example, when they were unionists getting hounded by the state at the turn of the 20thC. Not, for example, if they were pregnant young women.

            Those falling into the first category got and still get turned away.
            Those falling into the second were often variously run out of town, jailed, hanged or exiled.
            Those falling into the third category had every vestige of dignity stripped from them and had to endure years of systemic, cruel shame being meted out while they remained incarcerated in Salvation Army ‘mother and baby’ homes.

    • Gabby 4.4

      It reads to me as, it used to be that having a job meant affording a home. Now, not so much.

      • Rosemary McDonald 4.4.1

        “It reads to me as, it used to be that having a job meant affording a home. Now, not so much.”

        Me too.

        Let’s not look a “blast the 100% pure image out of the water opportunity” in the mouth ….?

        Another dirty little secret outed.

    • mikes 4.5

      I would say he’s pointing out that it used to be people with little or no income who were homeless but now it’s more and more of those who are earning a bit more.

    • Irascible 4.6

      He is saying: Once those were living in garages and in the conditions reported were those who were unemployed or on very low incomes, not necessarily fully employed, through no fault of their own Now we’re seeing the working poor being reduced to living in the slum conditions revealed. The working poor are those in full time employment but not earning enough to meet the demands of rent, utilities and food.
      He is not condemning either group.

  5. mary_a 5

    And here is NatzKEY gobshite Larry Williams’ solution. Let’s build some high rise ghettos!!!

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11640144

    • tc 5.1

      Another enabler of the neoliberal con job along with all the other ZB red necks trying to pass themselves off as ‘reasonable’.

  6. johnm 6

    An in your face indictment of Neoliberalism and the greed society whose main standard bearer is Key. So, you asked for it you got it: a total massive failure of the political system to care for their fellow kiwis, they didn’t because they are all corrupt self aggrandising rubbish. It’s so far gone I wonder why I bother any more. NZers have been told this for decades: they still vote them in. !?:-(

    • AmaKiwi 6.1

      “Well actually, at the end of the day, I’m comfortable with the Guardian article ’cause whatever those socialist crazies say is the opposite of what I would ever think of doing.”

      “If the Wall Street Journal had written it, I might consider it. Maybe.”

      “Nah, just kidding.”

  7. AsleepWhileWalking 7

    Max Key shares a post on the housing market. Gets sarcastic and nasty replies.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11640164

    • b waghorn 7.1

      Interesting , maybe there is hope for young Max.

      • ropata 7.1.1

        because he laughs at people living in cars / tents / garages / rough ?

        • b waghorn 7.1.1.1

          Oh shit that’s embarrassing I thought he wrote the bit about destroying the housing market. Must pay more attention.

          • North 7.1.1.1.1

            I am absolutely delighted that Key Jnr has mouthed off. It will add to a growing consciousness about daddy and activate many votes against daddy which otherwise might not ever be cast.

            Shitty little Barbara Hutton punk he is. You wouldn’t be well advised to go strutting South Aux, Maxi. The place where a homeless child is only one at most two steps removed from everyone living there.

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11640164

          • ropata 7.1.1.1.2

            it was a good tweet and i shared it too, but didn’t make a joke about it like Mr. Maximillian Key

    • tc 7.2

      The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree except it lacks decades of training and experience in masking real agendas with slippery con artist techniques.

      Carry on max and show everyone what you’re really thinking, it suits you sir.

      Hope the msm shills try and spin this as unwarranted abuse for a diversion to draw attention to it.

  8. jcuknz 8

    I bawk at “even a container.
    So long as this useless government, instead of insisting on nice three bedroom houses with all mod coms* do not take up the container concept with several units clustered around a central abolutions block. I spent my first three months of National Service in the Uk living in a ‘spider’ … six dormitaries each housing twenty of us around a central block.
    Seems perhaps we need Judith Collins to put a bomb under housing and make some progress .. didn’t she suggest that to house prisoners? A modification for homeless singles and families should be easy to organise and build…. in the past years I have seen several suggestion for container holiday homes ….. so long as they are insulated and double glazed windows.
    A lot better than bridge, garage or plain container.

    * and letting builders build four bedroom luxury homes because that is where the profit is … shame on Fletchers for saying building prefab, whatever, would be uneconomical. But do National have a social conscience?…. yeah right a Tui.

  9. jcuknz 9

    Stupid bloddy site stopping me posting ……

    [Not sure what happened there to delay the original comment, but I’ve removed the duplicate. TRP]

  10. Daveosaurus 10

    1789:
    Peasants: We have no bread.
    Marie Antoinette: Let them eat cake.

    2016:
    Peasants: We have no shelter.
    John Key: Let them stay in motels.

    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      Dunno whether to laugh or cry

    • Sabine 10.2

      can i steal that 🙂

      • Daveosaurus 10.2.1

        My bit isn’t copyright, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s been dead since 1778 (eleven years before the French revolution, so how he managed to put his words in Marie Antoinette’s mouth is anyone’s guess), so go for it.

    • ropata 10.3

      I interpreted JK’s comment the other day to mean that homeless people ought to camp out in the WINZ office and carpark???

      • dave 10.3.1

        i have a better idea

        homeless need to park there cars on john keys street nice wide verges for the tents there also nice park area at the end of his road
        there idea for campaign flyer’s with maps address and location of john keys house for the homeless iam sure john key will welcome his new neighbors lets take it futhier and target all natz mps

        • ropata 10.3.1.1

          +1 yep. Seems the only way to make MPs do their job is to surround Parliament like they did in Iceland

        • North 10.3.1.2

          Reminds me of when at the height of the Dawn Raids the Polynesian Panthers I think did a dawn raid on the house of Bill Birch or maybe it was George Gair, at about 4.30 in the morning. Megaphones, powerful lights. Whichever Tory it was was just mortified. “How dare they……at this hour !!!”

          Reckon it would be in order. For the War on The Poor and the hatred and the libels and the demonisations. And the front pages of The Guardian and the Washington Post.

        • AmaKiwi 10.3.1.3

          @ Dave

          “homeless need to park there cars on john key’s street”

          Nice idea BUT we have to do it. People in dire poverty do not have the fight in them. It’s OUR job to do it with them.

          • WILD KATIPO 10.3.1.3.1

            THAT idea… has merit.

            And it could be organised easily enough. It could be done on a rotational basis for two weeks or more outside of every Nat MP’s residence . Even as has been said… in the parks nearby. Let them see it , let them feel it.

            Tangible and proactive .

            A great big fat long line of cars right outside National party MP’s and the PM’s residences. One night a week or more if you are so inclined. Park up, bring your sleeping bag and your alarm clocks. Think of it as similar to the Occupy movement.

            Something for University students, Unionists , relatives of people in those situations, Poverty Action groups, and any and all concerned and angry citizens. Including those thinking of their children’s and grandchildren’s futures in this country.

            And John Campbell doing interviews of people who have to live rough as well as those who are demonstrating. Then have that flicked to The Guardian in the UK.

            Its time to hammer the far right.

            These globalist neo liberals want to play rough ?

            Lets give em rough by sleeping rough.

            Sleep rough for one night a week.

            • The lost sheep 10.3.1.3.1.1

              These globalist neo liberals want to play rough ?

              Yay sock it to them Kat!
              Look fwd to reading about your ‘sleep rough’ hammering!

              Where will you be doing yer first one? (Just so i know how to tell it’s you by the media coverage)

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Were you also a nasty sneering piece of shit when you voted Labour?

                • The lost sheep

                  That’s rich. Coming from someone whose sole contribution to this blog is scorn and abuse.
                  It’s pricks like you that made me stop voting Labour. I’m not the only one obviously. With people like you around Labour just ain’t a fun place to be anymore.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    A Green voter turned you into a sneering treacherous Quisling? Boo hoo.

                  • vto

                    “With people like you around Labour just ain’t a fun place to be anymore.” ….

                    with people like you around New Zealand just aint a fun place to be anymore.

                    It is people like you and National Party members who vote for Key and his ilk and principles who are the scum of the country, voting in and maintaining policies which lead to the likes of the homeless….

                    shame on you piece of shit

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      Well said vto.

                      They know it too: hence the sneering at their betters.

                    • jcuknz

                      Unfortunately it is language like yours both here and on Kiwiblog which put sensible people off completely … I am reminded of school humour … “You must be one to know such words” … scum etc.
                      Forget the pointless war on John Key and stay with the problems which are crying out to be fixed instead of miniscue tax-cuts.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      @jcuknz

                      Just to be clear, is it my disgust at Sheep’s nasty sneering or the use of the word ‘shit’ that makes my comments a war on the Prime Minister?

            • Julie mach 10.3.1.3.1.2

              Excellent idea!! Start a fb group with this idea 🙂

  11. dave 11

    good misery shouldn’t be hidden new zealand dirty little secrets should see daylight

  12. Treetop 12

    A short while ago on RNZ a mother with an 8 week old, 3 year old and a 7 or 8 year old will be tufted out of a motel on Monday. Think $1600 has been loaned by W&I for a 2 week stay in a motel which has to be repaid. Not sure if the same woman, but the next available appointment is 30 May to see W&I for housing assistance. I thought a person had to be seen within 24 hours in an emergency.

    Is living in a car with children not an emergency?

    What a bad start in life for a young baby on many levels. It offends me that the PM allows families with small children to not have stable affordable accommodation. There is no EXCUSE that I am prepared to listen to from the government for causing this type of situation again and again.

    It is an insult to everyone who requires emergency accommodation that extra funding will not be available until September (the 41 million package and a week in a motel which does not have to be paid back, the criteria for this has not been seen by me yet).

    Housing New Zealand is BROKEN, it does not do what it is there for.

    I am very ashamed to be a New Zealander.

    • AmaKiwi 12.1

      @ Treetop

      “Housing New Zealand is BROKEN”

      No, they are following orders, like paying a $118 million dividend to the government.

      Their boss is to blame, not those trying to do a job their boss wants them to fail at.

  13. logie97 13

    Have heard it said that there are property owners in Auckland who have purchased and “banked” lots of houses which are now unoccupied – presumably speculators. Well perhaps it’s time WINZ or Housing Corp started identifying these properties and advising the owners that they will be sending prospective tenants around.

    • Treetop 13.1

      At least these empty houses would do some good were squatters to occupy them. I would start with the empty HNZ properties.

      • Treetop 13.1.1

        There is no way of telling if a HNZ dwelling is P contaminated.

        Breaking and entering is an offence. It would be awful were police cells to be filled up with squatters and families separated.

    • AmaKiwi 13.2

      logie97

      Another suggestion. How about any house that is unoccupied for 3 months shall be seized and made government property!

  14. As it happens, I’ve got a car for sale on TradeMe. After four weeks, I still haven’t managed to sell it. Should I switch the listing to the real estate section?

    • Pat 14.1

      drop a line to Nick….he may have a use for it in one of his special housing areas

    • ropata 14.2

      who knows, cars could be the next speculative bubble. most of them are parked up doing nothing and housed better than a lot of people.

      NatCorp™ priority #1 is a billion $$$ for new motorways so trucks can go faster. Housing the poor? Sorry, must have misplaced that policy

  15. Treetop 15

    Correction turfed.

  16. Whateva next? 16

    Perhaps Mr. Key will listen to the overseas media more than he will NZ? He spends so much time elsewhere, I think it’s worth a shot

    • AmaKiwi 16.1

      @ Whateva next?

      “Perhaps Mr. Key will listen to the overseas media”

      No, he won’t. One of characteristics of highly successful people is that they don’t care what others think. They are single minded.

      The founder and owner of iTeka furniture is one of the wealthiest people in the world. He lives in a rather ordinary house and buys most of his clothes at second hand shops! Warren Buffett is similar (1st or 2nd wealthiest American).

      Empathy is not a stopping place on the road to riches or power.

      • whateva next? 16.1.1

        he still likes to look cool in front of the big guys though….maybe he thinks this is cool?

  17. John 17

    Vote National for a brighter future they said in 2008 and 2011 and then in 2014 vote National because we are working for you. All bluff and bullshit. What will their line be in 2017. National working for the 1%ers and stuff the rest. Instead of tax cuts fix the housing, health, education and infrastructure problems etc etc.
    Come on Labour lets be hearing you

  18. Anne 18

    National’s strategists are hastily stitching together a new housing initiative as we speak. It will be delivered in the Budget next week and it will sound impressive. But in reality it will only be superficially beneficial and things will not improve. Paula Bennett, who has been refusing interviews on the subject, will front on what she will be wrapping around (a favourite, meaningless expression of hers) the new policy. It will be hailed by the MSM as a welcome new initiative and the Nat’s weekly focus groups will accordingly record a change in direction in the govt’s favour.

    • AmaKiwi 18.1

      @ Anne

      I hope and pray our MSM reporters are presently researching ways to increase social housing rapidly and economically. There are plenty of options.

      The reporters know what the government will say. Is it too much to expect them to be ready with tough questions?

    • Treetop 18.2

      Not quick enough for the 8 week old baby I mention above at 12.

      Key and his focus group need to go and hold the baby and put themselves in the families shoes and ask themselves how to prevent a mother from having to be burdened with a $1600 preventable expense?

  19. Just Me 19

    We here in NZ have a person(called John Key)who would much rather visit a crumpet factory than a homeless area. Next Key will be saying about the homeless of “Well let them eat cake…”

    We are now having a ‘carrot’ dangled in front of us with Key promising(yeah right)tax cuts next year. The thing about a Key ‘promise’ is it holds absolutely no volume or intention(by Key)to see it through. I can say we have had on the receiving end of so many broken promises by John Key that we must take whatever he promises prior to an election with a punch of salt.

    And so Key will claim the economy is doing oh so well whilst in reality(not on toilet free Planet Key where he firmly resides) people are living in difficulty. When people have to live and survive in vehicles then something has gone seriously wrong with this country over the past 7 1/2 years.

    I am sure Bill English will be applauded by Key & co for a “Budget Surplus” of say $345million. About the same amount a Chinese businessman spent at the Skycity casino over a long period of time. And so whilst Key & Co allow in the rich into NZ with no questions asked they have conveniently and probably deliberately forgotten about the poor outside of electin time.

  20. vto 20

    Why are National Party people so miserable?

    Why do they not care for their neighbours?

    I have come to the conclusion that National Party members are nasty horrible bastards who deserve no respect, no kudos, no nothing. They deserve to be shat on the head and pushed out of the community.

    • Treetop 20.1

      The next election cannot come soon enough for me.

    • Bob 20.2

      “Why do they not care for their neighbours?”
      That’s the problem, they do care for their neighbours, I bet all of their neighbours properties have close to doubled in price while they have been in power and the neighbours are ecstatic.

      The issue is, their aren’t enough Nats living in the areas that are being most effected by their (and Auckland City Council’s) lack of urgency/lack of any sort of coherent plan.
      Something needed to be done 3 or 4 years ago, it wasn’t, I now feel the left will fall into power at the next election on the back of record low voter turnout (no-one will want the Nats, and at this point no-one seems to want Labour or the Greens either). I just hope Labour manage to have some policy together to address the issues in time for the next election!

    • I have been saying this about Conservative(National) since I was 14yrs old and now I’m 85 . My conclusion like the Lefties song”When will they ever learn .

  21. Plan B 21

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=1164

    Abolish Auckland city limits – Labour

    Labour seems to be working it out. Great work.

    • Gabby 21.1

      How does that work re the responsibilities of neighbouring local bodies?

    • McFlock 21.2

      Hah, I think you meant this recent Brian Rudman article rather than the announcement that rod and rachel had split in 2000.

      Last 4 digits of the objectid had dropped off your link 🙂

    • Kiwiri 21.3

      Such a cunning plan. Genius from Labour’s most effective shadow minister!
      Slow, surely and steadily extend Auckland to 268,021 sq km and problems will be solved. Pooofff!
      At the same time, replace Zeal with Auck and we’ll have a new name for the country.

  22. FiFi50 22

    We can get people into homes without the pesky banks but it needs the majority of the public on board and ready to help. No one would ever need to borrow for a house from the bank again only the rich because they can afford it.

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    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    2 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    3 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    3 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    3 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    4 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    4 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    6 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    6 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    6 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    1 week ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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