How bad’s the poll?

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 pm, January 8th, 2011 - 59 comments
Categories: election 2011, labour, national, nz first - Tags: , ,

Farrar and Slater are trying to knee-cap a poll in the SST tomorrow. They know the numbers because Key’s office told them. Obviously jittered. Slater says it has NZF at 8.9%. Movement of ipredict stocks suggests bad news for Nats and Labour. If Nats are in mid-40s then they’re in danger territory. Very hard for them to find a majority.

59 comments on “How bad’s the poll? ”

  1. Lanthanide 1

    Why not just wait until tomorrow when you can make a decent post about it?

  2. interesting 2

    I think they are right thought that if a poll is way out of wack with other respected polls then it can’t be taken too seriously. But it could make for interesting viewing none the less.

    If it is an online poll, then they are also right it is not accurate.

    Do see what you mean though that it must be interesting if they are going to such lengths to dispute the findings.

  3. Zaphod Beeblebrox 3

    Farrar knows a lot about polling so its sort of interesting how he frames the spin.

    The government and its cronies should be more worried about our negative GDP figures and the damage that is doing to our families and businesses and less worried about how they look in the mirror. Wasn’t it Narcissus who was too consumed with his own image to worry about what was going on around.

    Truth is if English sends us back into recession they will be stuffed anyway.

  4. Carol 4

    Well the SST headlines with the good news for the Nats: ie voters believe that the Nats will romp in at the election this year:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4522996/Voters-believe-National-will-win-2011-election

    But when asked to reveal their personal voting intentions, the result makes the election too close to call. National is by far the single most popular party, with 40.4% of the 1718 people polled saying they will give it their party vote, compared to just 28.3% for Labour. But the poll also predicts 8.9% for both the Greens and New Zealand First, 2% for Act, 1.7% for the Maori Party, and 1.2% for United Future.

    When those parties are taken into account, a Labour-Greens-New Zealand First alliance (46.1%) would be a whisker ahead of a National-Act-Maori Party-United Future coalition (45.3%).

    The Horizon online poll differs from many others by asking “undecided” voters which way they are leaning. The polling company says that by extracting answers from undecideds, it is taking the temperature of the crucial “swing” voters who actually decide an election result, and thus presents a realistic and broad view of how people are likely to vote. It is a different view from the competing polls currently predicting far healthier results for National. If Horizon’s figures are replicated on polling day, New Zealanders won’t have a clear-cut result, because the parties would be jockeying to form coalitions under the MMP system.

    • higherstandard 4.1

      Feck I might sign up to that poll myself and win a couple of ipads.

      https://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/research/personedit.asp

      • higherstandard 4.1.1

        “The race is definitely on and much closer than many people are anticipating.” He said Peters had proven in the past to be a “reliable coalition partner”.

        Phil phil phil…. know when to STFU, first sentence good……. second sentence aye carumba !

        • Salsy 4.1.1.1

          Typical Goff, comments like that are the reason he apparently makes people “nervous”. He’s basically just totally uncool.

      • Bill 4.1.2

        Wonder what the demographics are for internet access? I’d be guessing that those who are poorer (in line with not having fixed telephone lines) have less access than wealthier sectors of society.

        Second thing I wonder about is the demographics of those who have internet access who also sign up to research sites?

        Went to Horizon’s home page and through to the poll results.
        https://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/page/89/potential-vote-detailed-results

        And I’m having difficulty understanding 11.4% of the Act vote apparently voted for the Progressive Party at the last election.

        And why the November poll that had more respondents (1833) and showed Nat on 34.7% and that had a smaller margin of error (2.3%) wasn’t touted as being indicative of something or other.

        Far be it for me to suggest that polling companies make money and that spinning press coverage in a competitive market leads to more potential custom coming your way…

        • Shazzadude 4.1.2.1

          “And I’m having difficulty understanding 11.4% of the Act vote apparently voted for the Progressive Party at the last election.”

          That’s not actually what the chart says. It says that 11.4% of the total polled who voted for the Progressives Party last time now intend to vote for ACT.

          • sweetd 4.1.2.1.1

            Seems very odd, people shifting their vote from Progressives to Act, very much opposite ends of the political spectrum.

            • Pascal's bookie 4.1.2.1.1.1

              I think it’s just a simple matter of sample size. How many people in the total sample voted for progressives? Of those that voted for Progressives, slightly over 1 in ten are now thinking of voting ACT.

              If I’m reading the table right, 14 people say they voted for the Progressives so we are talking about an individual voter…

              • sweetd

                I understand the mechanics of the table, just the reasoning behind the shift I am confused about. Going from a very socialist party to a very capatilist one?!?!?! Whats the reasoning in people’s minds, “socialist voting hasn’t worked out for me, I know, I abandon this entire structure and go for a capatilist party and see if that works better for me?!?!?!” About as probable as Kim Il Jung waking up one morning, looks outside, and decides to abandon his one party state and hold democratic open elections.

              • Rich

                Who probably checked boxes at random, being primarily focused on winning the iPad.

                I have zero faith in this poll. It seems to be a hugely bogus methodology. The existing polling companies get within a few percent (3% last time on Labour/ Nat) so any different methodology really needs to prove itself against this.

                • lprent

                  Daft argument – the problem is that you don’t know how far the ‘scientific’ polls diverged from reality prior to election day.

                  Many people don’t make up their minds until quite close to the day. Since almost all of the polls this far out don’t show how the numbers of undecided they are only reporting people with relatively early fixed viewpoints. The polls that do show undecideds/would not answer as typically being about 20-25% this far out, and steadily reducing towards the election. Of course you’d expect polls to be more accurate coming up to the election, but it means bugger all at determining their accuracy now.

                  What you’re implicitly saying is that the undecided split in the same proportion as the decided. But there is little evidence that the two statistical populations are even similar.

                  The elections are typically won by the votes of the undecided. They tend to move a lot leading up to the election and that is why you see the polls moving quite a lot heading in closer to an election.

                  (and that isn’t even considering a pile of other arguments about the ‘scientific’ validity of polls)

    • Thanks Carol. The result highlights the issue with conventional polling where the reliance on fixed landlines has caused reliability problems. Perhaps Horizon’s method is the way of the future?

      Farrar and Slater are over this because they know the importance of poll results, the results can become self fulfilling no matter what the initial reality was.

      • The Voice of Reason 4.2.1

        My favourite bit of the article is Hooten calling for voters to reject MMP to stop National losing. Does he not know that the election is under MMP, no matter what the referendum decides for the future?

        This poll is National’s nightmare and puts Key’s comments last week into better perspective. No wonder he’s planning his exit strategy if this poll reflects their own canvassing. He’s gone and he knows it.

        • higherstandard 4.2.1.1

          I thought Hooten was quite coherent and made some good points worthy of debate.

          Especially in relation to Epsom…… why should the voters in a single electorate have such a huge impact on the country ?

          “But right-leaning political analyst Matthew Hooton said that although he had some qualms about Horizon’s polling practice of asking “undecided” voters to indicate their preference, the results showed that “small parties will continue to have a huge impact on the result of the election”.

          He said for that reason alone, New Zealand should reject the MMP proportional representation voting system.

          If Peters were to be cast in a kingmaker role, it would show that fringe parties with no public support, rather than the voters, get to choose the prime minister.

          Similarly, Hooton said, Horizon’s numbers suggested the result in Epsom would be “absolutely decisive”.

          “If National voters in Epsom vote for a National candidate, Goff will be prime minister; if they vote for Hide, Key will be prime minister.”

          Hooton said that although other polls had been giving National more than 50% of the votes it would be a remarkable feat if Key achieved that, because no party had taken a clear 50% of the votes in an election since 1951.”

          • Deadly_NZ 4.2.1.1.1

            If Peters were to be cast in a kingmaker role, it would show that fringe parties with no public support, rather than the voters, get to choose the prime minister.

            Sounds like the ACT party to me

          • Jim Nald 4.2.1.1.2

            And I thought the last line encapsulates this Nat Gov’s typical response in circumstances that does not seem so favourable to it.

          • Marty G 4.2.1.1.3

            Hooton is desperate. And flogging the dead horse of being anti-MMP won’t help him.

            This statement makes no sense “it would show that fringe parties with no public support, rather than the voters, get to choose the prime minister”

            um. in these poll numbers the greens and nzf have the support of 8.9% of voters. those people have the same right per person to influence who is the government as those who vote National or Labour. MMP delivers that. FPP would disenfranchise them.

            • higherstandard 4.2.1.1.3.1

              These polls are magnificent – I just took part in their survey as a life long green party member, female and over the age of 85 and said I would definitely be voting for Winston at the next election.

          • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1.4

            “If National voters in Epsom vote for a National candidate, Goff will be prime minister; if they vote for Hide, Key will be prime minister.”

            Um, I think he’s missing the elephant in the room. While Epsom may be the pivotal kingmaker, that is *only so* if the rest of the country puts them in that position. If enough people in the rest of the country vote left or vote right, it doesn’t matter who wins Epsom. I mean duh.

            The fact that MMP can put all of the decision down to one electorate like that may or may not be a good thing, but it’s really no different from having 20,000 party votes throughout the country decide it one way or the other.

  5. Did anyone note that Labour is at 28.3%? What mandate would Goff have to form a government with little more than a quarter of the popular vote?

    The only thing that this Horizon poll is going to achieve is to make people look even more critically at MMP, if that is the kind of result it could serve up.

    • The Voice of Reason 5.1

      If Goff has the ability to put together a coalition government, then he has the mandate. Same as National now, Labour in the last three and the Nats prior to that. That’s how MMP works.

    • RedLogix 5.2

      Hypothetically lets say an election gave this result:

      National 40%

      Labour 25%

      Greens 15%

      NZ1 15%

      (Wasted votes 5%)

      and that post-election there was a clear intention among the parties to form a Lab+Grn+NZ1 coaltion which would have a clear and stable 5% working majority in Parliament.

      Would you question the legitimacy of this govt because the leading party, Labour received fewer votes than another party that was outside the coalition?

      This is a perfectly possible result under MMP; how would you respond Inv2?

      • higherstandard 5.2.1

        It’d also be the death knell for MMP in NZ… as it would collapse into tatters within a matter of months.

        • RedLogix 5.2.1.1

          So now hypothetically the same election result was attained under First Past the Post…FPP.

          Less likely because of the way FPP works, but still not impossible. What would you think might happen then?

          • higherstandard 5.2.1.1.1

            NZ first getting 15% of the seats under FPP ?

            Sounds like Zombies Dawn of the Dead has come to NZ, let’s face it FPP will always (for the forseeable future at least ) be a race between Lab and the Nats and the smaller players have little to no relevancy.

            • RedLogix 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Diversion… the premise of the argument is not impossible. There is nothing in the rules of FPP to prevent such a result.

              • Perhaps RL, but how many NZ First electorate candidates can you name other than WRP or Brendon Horan?

                • RedLogix

                  Still diverting from the point which is … that my hypothetical election result would still result in a Lab+Grn+NZ1 coaltion govt regardless of the electoral system that produced it.

            • Deadly_NZ 5.2.1.1.1.2

              And for anyone who wants FPP just remember it was tossed out so that there could not be another Muldoon. No matter how hard Shonky Jonky wants it, and if it went back to FPP then the Maori, Greens, Act and NZ1st would all but disappear and then the country would be in a real mess, and I think that it’s the smaller parties that have probably kept some of the more radical policies where they belong. In the Bin. just because the big parties have to appease their smaller number maker uppers. (you could not call the Maori and Act party the Nats partners).

              • higherstandard

                The Maori party doesn’t rely on party votes for its seats in parliament.

              • Olwyn

                As I remember FFP was tossed out because of both Labour and National following radical right wing policies for which they had not campaigned.

        • Marty G 5.2.1.2

          Why would it be the death knell? A clear majority of people support the parties in the government in that scenario.

          In FPP, a party with 35% of the vote won a majority of seats with 20% of votes wasted.. Now that was undemocratic.

          • higherstandard 5.2.1.2.1

            Well as a start I was under the impression that the Green party didn’t really like Winston first all that much and he’d certainly want baubles extraordinaire to smooch up to Phil and Labour in general.

            At a 50% of the vote level all you’d need is one or other of Winston first of the Green party to dislike legislation and you’d be fucked.

            So essentially you’d have a do nothing bunch of retards sitting in parliament wanking themselves over the taxpayer for three years……. and I was under the impression that’s what we have at the moment and you don’t approve of them……. or do you ?

            NZ may have the most ambivalent voting public in the world…. but they do get righteously fucked off every now and again.

          • Deadly_NZ 5.2.1.2.2

            Well there was one year and I think that this was the death nell of FPP that Labour won more of the votes BUT the NATS won. There was a huge outcry.
            Anyway I have found this it’s the royal commission on why they chose MMP it’s in my google docs here’s the link. It’s quite informative

            https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1y0TdRd5vb_ZNegdcmzkQxJQT43ssgwvymYV_av0q0bT_tLK_5by5R8mzi4b6&hl=en_GB&authkey=CLKQoPMN

            • Marty G 5.2.1.2.2.1

              in 1978 and 1981, Labour won more votes but lost the election. Not to mention all the other elections were Social Credit or Values won large number of votes but little or no seats.

              In 1993, Nat got 35%, Labour 34.5% and Alliance and NZF the rest but only 2 seats each. National won and governed alone despite nearly two-thirds of voters being opposed to them.

              FPP meant that most of the time the government had the support of less than a majority of the voters.

      • Rich 5.2.2

        What’s illegitimate about having parties representing 60% of voters forming a government?

    • Marty G 5.3

      “What mandate would Goff have to form a government with little more than a quarter of the popular vote?”

      He would have the mandate of the support of the voters who voted for all the parties in his coalition – not just his own party.

      What mandate does John Key have to pass legislation when less than a majority of voters supported his party? Oh yeah, it’s not just his party that counts towards his government’s mandate – it’s UF, ACT, and MP too.

      • higherstandard 5.3.1

        Yeah I’m sure that the supporters of the Maori party and ACT feel that way every time that legislation is passed that they disagree with.

        • Marty G 5.3.1.1

          you vote for a party, giving that party seats in the house. your vote has to acknowledge that the party has a choice of what legislation it supports and you believe it will do the right thing more of the time than any other party.

          are you saying that the National-led government has no mandate? Don’t be stupid. It has a mandate because it has the confidence of parties that were elected by a majority of voters.

  6. interesting 6

    How did the polls on One News, 3 News, New Zealand Herald and Roy Morgan and Horizon leading up to their last poll before election day 2008 compare with the final result?

    Looking at these will help us to understand how accurate each poll is?

    Genuine question, looking for a genuine answer.

    • The Voice of Reason 6.1

      Don’t know about the others, but the Roy Morgan poll the week before the last election was pretty close to the actual result and they don’t seem to use leading questions, small samples or dodgy political hacks masquerading as pollsters.

      • Inventory2 6.1.1

        IIRC 3News got 2005 the closest (and was the poll that Helen Clark used to place most faith in), and Roy Morgan was pretty accurate with 2008. Both of those are way out of kilter with the Horizon poll.

    • RedLogix 6.2

      Bear in mind that as polling day approaches the number of undecideds probably reduces.

      • Kevin Welsh 6.2.1

        Also, the public get to see the leaders regularly on TV via debates and more extensive coverage.

  7. From the looks of the figures the undecideds must be about 12% which actually seems a little low. Labour’s and the Green’s jobs are to keep the pressure up and continue to cast doubt on the ability of this government to achieve anything, even a cycleway.

    This year’s election is not over by a long shot.

  8. Olwyn 8

    Polls that do not register the proportion of undecideds give a slightly skewed picture of what the electorate is thinking (50% of 80% is not the same as 50% of 100%, for example) and what is perhaps more important, fail to acknowledge the levels of general disenchantment among voters. This last is an important part of the context in which the other percentages are understood.

  9. tc 9

    Polls smolls….the only one that counts is election day poll etc etc and much like HR performance appraisal processes they can derive a pretermined outcome if you target how and where you sample the data from as some of the posts have outlined.

    The crystal clear message in my mind is that the election is the Nat’s to lose and very winnable by the others in an MMP setup as it’s designed to be rather than the horrors FPP delivered with a single party and no dilution of their given ideology be it right or left of centre.

    Key’s rolled the dice with his petulant “I’ll go if you don’t have me back” comment and the steaming pile that is SuperShity is yet to unfold it’s true costs to complete the task Wodney committed to getting done by 1 Nov 2010 onto akl ratepayers. I’ve heard there’s about another 2 years worth of integration and duplication to sort out that’s just stopped as the dosh has already run out !

    No competitive tender process on one of the largest Integration projects undertaken in NZ just another gravy train at akl ratepayers expense that’s not even completed the job.

    On top of Double Dipton’s double dip an arrogance and contempt for due process (Worth/Wong/Bennett/D Carter/Blinglish etc) and they’ll be asking for plenty of blind eyes from the MSM to be able to blag another term.

    • RedLogix 9.1

      tc,

      Yes I can see Len Brown coping some flack over the integration process. Knowing a more than a little about local govt systems and the enormously complex asset base they manage, I’d imagine everyone has been rather playing down the enormity of the task in public, while hoping like hell in private that not too many wheels fall off all at once.

  10. Sanctuary 10

    A week is a long time in politics and I think we are going to see more of Bill English’s dodgy dealings around PEDA. It is going to be the first scandal of the new year. The MSM know the double dipper is on a yellow card, so they’ll go after him. If he can’t satifisfactorily explain what is a prima facie case of at best political nepotism and at worst out right corrupt appropriation of public money he is a goner.

    If English is brought down – or even better, politcally crippled by a refusal to explain or resign – that’ll really damage Key, and the government, as well.

    I also think that the economy will come into play this year. Another austerity budget WILL hit the government hard, regardless of Key’s appeal. If people perceive the government has no ideas for solving unemployment – a huge sleeper issue – then they’ll start looking for someone who has.

    • Lanthanide 10.1

      “If people perceive the government has no ideas for solving unemployment – a huge sleeper issue – then they’ll start looking for someone who has.”

      Yeah, I was thinking about that last night, before I found out this was a Horizon ‘online panel’ poll and therefore already out of whack with the other regular polls.

      Lower results for National support in the new year could be a reflection of a bad holiday season – people travelling around the country through more rural areas and small townships and meeting up with their relatives and seeing and hearing first hand about XYZ person who has lost their job. I think this would bring a lot of truthes home to people who otherwise might not’ve been very affected by the recession themselves.

Links to post

CommentsOpinions

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

FeedsPartyGovtMedia

  • Pricing Road Usage

    Congestion pricing is easier said than done.The first seminar I attended in Britain – around sixty years ago – explained a scheme for road usage pricing which would eliminate traffic congestion and direct roading investment. It was impressive and elegant (as many such seminar propositions are) but proved impractical and ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 hour ago
  • Tory Whanau may have to sell Wellington mayoralty to make ends meet

    Tory Whanau has revealed that she’s struggling so much financially that she may have to part with her beloved mayoralty, that of New Zealand’s capital city, if she’s to fund her ever-diminishing lifestyle. Whanau was elected to lead Wellington in 2022, winning an overwhelming victory against the incumbent mayor: the ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    2 hours ago
  • And round we go again…

    One of Labour's few achievements last term was to finally move on RMA reform. Following an independent review and a select committee review of an exposure draft, both aimed at ironing out bugs and producing a compromise most people could live with, Labour passed the Natural and Built Environments Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago
  • The Supreme Court stands up for fairness

    National is planning to breach te Tiriti o Waitangi by amending the Marine and Coastal Area Act to effectively make it impossible for the courts to recognise Māori rights over the foreshore and seabed. But its also been playing dirty in other ways. Earlier in the year it announced changes ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 hours ago
  • Today’s 10 Politics Headlines: Luxon flails and Simeon Drives

    1/ Jobseeker numbers are going the opposite way of Luxon’s KPIs. Against a target of minus 50,000 by 2030, the new forecast shows the Government is looking at an increase of 24,000 jobseekers in its first term.In Thomas Coughlin’s report, Upton responds by blaming Labour: “We inherited an economy in ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    8 hours ago
  • Kaka project: What could a revamped Entrust do with/for/to Vector?

    Long story short, I interviewed transport and energy activist Patrick Reynolds this week about the bid to run Entrust by a new campaign group he’s part of called More for you; better for Auckland. There’s a lot more detail in this GreaterAuckland post and on ‘Better’s’ website.They’re campaigning to win ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Missing the Feckin’ Targets

    And although my eyes were openThey might just as well have been closedAnd so it was laterWhen the miller told this taleHe said that her face at first just ghostlyAnd then turned a whiter shade of paleSongwriters: Keith Reid / Gary BrookerI want to talk about two things today, subjects ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    9 hours ago
  • Deadly floods and streams of non-solutions

    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:Central Europe is reeling from the devastating effects of Storm Boris, which has so far caused 21 deaths and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 20-September-2024

    Welcome to the end of the week, as we head towards the spring equinox. Let us brighten your week with links to stories about how to make our city a little greater. This roundup is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    11 hours ago
  • Three years of recession deeper than GFC

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September 20:New Zealand’s total GDP contracted less than expected in the June quarter, but per-capita GDP extended its three-year-long slump at a rate that is faster than ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • That’s Gangsta!

    The gang patch legislation finally passed in the House after a long period of fanfare from National. Gangs won’t be allowed to publicly display gang insignia on the body or in vehicles, and if they’re very naughty i.e. caught thrice, police will be able to enter private homes to search.How ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    12 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 20

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-host talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including media coverage of extreme events and how big tech is gobbling up so much renewable power growth; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    22 hours ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 day ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    1 day ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    2 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    3 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    3 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    4 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    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. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    6 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    6 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    6 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    6 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong 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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    7 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    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 climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

    The Government has today agreed to introduce sentencing reforms to Parliament this week that will ensure criminals face real consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Targets data confirms rise in violent crime

    The first quarterly report on progress against the nine public service targets show promising results in some areas and the scale of the challenge in others, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “Our Government reinstated targets to focus our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health, education, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Asia Foundation Board appointments announced

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointments of Hone McGregor, Professor David Capie, and John Boswell to the Board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.  Bede Corry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has also been appointed as an ex-officio member. The new trustees join Dame Fran Wilde (Chair), ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Endeavour Fund projects for economic growth

    New Zealand’s largest contestable science fund is investing in 72 new projects to address challenges, develop new technology and support communities, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. “This Endeavour Fund round being funded is focused on economic growth and commercial outputs,” Ms Collins says. “It involves funding of more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Social Services Providers Whakamanawa National Conference 16 September 2024

    Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to speak to you here today. I am honoured to be here in my capacity as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, and Minister for Children. Thank you for creating a space where we can all listen and learn, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Parihaka infrastructure upgrades funded

    The Government will provide a $5.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure at Parihaka in Taranaki, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “This grant from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will have a multitude of benefits for this hugely significant cultural site, including keeping local ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-09-20T06:55:56+00:00