How low can National go?

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, September 22nd, 2020 - 43 comments
Categories: act, election 2020, Judith Collins, national, new conservatives, paul goldsmith - Tags:

National’s competency problem has just got worse.

Newshub has discovered another alternative budget problem which thankfully for National in numerical terms is not as big as its $4 billion howler.  It is quite small, $88 million, but enough to pay the yearly salaries of a thousand or so new teachers.

From Jenna Lynch at Newshub:

National has made the same mistake with its capital allowance, that’s the money put aside to build things like schools and hospitals. Goldsmith took his numbers from May’s Budget, giving himself $18.63 billion from next year until 2027.

But in last week’s Pre-Election Fiscal Update (PREFU) the numbers changed, with only $18.542 billion available over that time, leaving National with another shortfall of $88 million.

Mistakes do happen.  But you have to wonder how prepared National has been for this election.  Simon Bridges (or is that Brigdes?) said that National would be a policy machine.  Stacey Kirk confirmed that the policy machine was whirring into life back in 2019.

Surely the policy machine was working on that most sacred of documents for an opposition, an alternative budget.

Sure there was the PREFU.  But what normally happens is that you draft your alternative budget based on the Government’s budget, put all the data into a spreadsheet, and then change the figures according to changes in the PREFU.

I suspect the reason was the impossibly short timeframes combined with the earlier turmoil over National’s leadership change.  The budget was released on May 14 and Todd Muller became leader, at least for a while, on May 22.

With PREFU coming out last Wednesday digesting the document and checking all of the figures by Saturday was always going to be a big task.  But Collins was gambling that the PREFU figures would be really bad and for reasons previously mentioned National had been distracted.  And they needed to get things happening.

The $4 billion mistake has the unfortunate symmetry of being a similar figure to what National had promised in tax cuts.  Now it is clear that they are borrowing more to give rich people more money.

The consequence is that National’s reputation as sound managers of the economy is in tatters.  And their vote is splintering.

Support for Act is at remarkable levels.  And Richard Harman has commented (paywalled) how the New Conservatives are having a very good campaign.  If it was not for the frenzied competition for the extreme conservative right vote between them and Advance NZ they could be having a very, very good campaign.

There is a Colmar Brunton poll out tonight.  I suspect that it will show a further decline in support for National.

Update:  Holy hell Stuff is reporting a further $3.9 billion dollar mistake.  I wonder how long Goldsmith will last?

43 comments on “How low can National go? ”

  1. lprent 1

    That Politik article by Harmon reflects what I saw when I was doing a campervan trip around the volcanic plateau, Gisbourne, and Hawkes bay last week.

    If you were going by the election road signs, the election would have been between the New Conservatives, Advance, National, something called Kingdom. Labour and the Maori party largely targeting the Maori electorates.

    Quite different to the view inside Auckland.

    Off course the urban areas tend to be pretty different to everywhere else, especially Auckland with its large number of voters.

    I think that Richard Harmon is correct when he says

    The worry now for National must be that if NZ First fails to make it back to Parliament; if the Billy Te Kiha – Jami-Lee Ross Advance Party gets some support and if the New Conservatives continue their surge, then the foundations are there for a populist right-wing party.

    What seems possible is that the centre-right space in New Zealand politics, which only a year ago National was beginning to believe it could have to itself is now becoming more contested by ACT and by the populists.

    That is one of the potential implications of a lacklustre showing by National at the polls on October 17.

    And after the events yesterday, that lacklustre showing looks even more possible.

    The real issue for National is that it is increasingly difficult to cause short shifts in trend close to elections. Many people simply don't watch free-to-air TV these days.

    I found it pretty weird walking into my dads place and seeing a news program on the TV. I haven't seen one for years except on links on a computer. I was bracing myself for the jangling mind-numbingly stupid adverts that fill the time. But I discovered that he was watching the RNZ TV… 🙂

  2. ScottGN 2

    National’s other problem is that they’re rapidly running out of time too. Advance voting starts in 11 days on Oct 3. And well over half of us will likely vote early this year.

    So this week is the crucial week for National to try and get their campaign back on the road. If the Colmar-Brunton tonight does show a decline for them as Micky suggests it could be the death knell.

  3. Enough is Enough 3

    National can't win this election. There is no scenario which gets them home. I don’t even think a Jacinda resignation would swing voters back to National.

    The only interesting thing about the election is whether Labour will have any friends left, which won't be important now, but may be in 3 years time.

    • Anne 3.1

      Do tell us E is E. I'd love to know why they will have no friends left.

      Do you think voters will be upset with Labour for doing the right thing and saving lives? Do you think they will take it out on Labour for going early, going hard and bouncing out of the inevitable recession while most other countries are still knee deep in deaths and recessions? Do you think people will be angry about all workers getting the living wage and beneficiaries getting a big helping hand?

      Its always been on the cards Labour has ear-marked the second term for those on a low income – after using the first term to get the country's fiscal priorities on an even keel and moving in the right direction.

      • Enough is Enough 3.1.1

        Because New Zealand First is finished and the Green party is 5% on a good day.

        We need the Greens to rise 3-4% in the polls for me to feel safe.

        • Anne 3.1.1.1

          Sorry. I misunderstood your reasoning.

          I'm fairly confident they will make it back.

          In the event they don't, I'm hoping that a Labour government will utilise some of them in strategic posts. They will return to parliament before long – rapidly building C.C will see to that.

      • Siobhan 3.1.2

        "Do you think people will be angry about all workers getting the living wage and beneficiaries getting a big helping hand?".

        .historically, around half of all voters do get angry about these things..and a fair number of labour voters are more concerned about their increasing Capital Gains than wanting anything to actually change…they certainly don't want to pay more for goods and services to cover wage increases..

        They would much rather buy from some overseas sweatshop and have a poorly paid courier driver deliver it to their door…so don't get too comfortable…

        National are determined to lose this time round..but they are due a resurgence in the next few years..and the idea that Labourites such as yourself seem to think..that there is a 'right time' to fix inequalities..that time is never going to happen..so it will be interesting to see how long the marginalised voters (financially disadvantaged/ barely housed/ reliant on public Health care) can keep trying to tell themselves they are part of 'The Team'

  4. Leighton 4

    The New Conservatives are dangerous and any rise in support for them should be fought vigorously, not applauded in a display of shadenfreude for National. I don't like National's neoliberal economic policies at all, but National at least have rules of engagement and (usually) try to justify their position based on objective facts. Whereas the NC's are the true arrival of Trumpian post-truth politics in NZ. I would rather see National get 33% and the NC's 0.5% than National get 30% and the NC's 3.5%.

    • Uncle Scrim 4.1

      It will be very interesting to see how all those fringe right parties perform in this poll, the first since they (Te Kakiha in particular) have garnered a lot of mainstream media attention. And how NZF fit into that field. The last CB poll had NewCons at 1.2% and it seems probable that they'll have risen? Advance didn't rate even 0.1% then.

    • observer 4.2

      I agree with Leighton. A short-term pleasure (wasted vote) does not outweigh the long-term danger (far right on the rise).

      It's also a mistake to assume the nasty fringe are only going to attract National voters. For now, maybe. But in the future, evidence overseas says otherwise. Votes ON the Right are not the same as votes FROM the Right.

  5. Incognito 5

    Answer: 20.93%

  6. Peterfailed UE twice 6

    How low? If it's about electability or competence everyone knows it's pretty low.

    The unknown is how low in morals and dirty politics they will go. Unknown because those depths are unfathomable.

    After all it is Judith Collins with her handicaps, backed up by backroom generational base of Boag, Ede and Key, supercilious Joyce and Paula the realtor.

  7. Ad 7

    Naturally I would credit Labour eating so deep into National's base to the stable leadership and non-aggressive policy measures of Ardern and Roberston. Labour is eating everything.

    Long time since we had the New Zealand Party generate some frission on the right. And it's sure a perfect moment for Act. They did best in the 1999 and 2002 elections when Labour were last at their height.

    May a thousand rightist flowers bloom.

    • woodart 7.1

      nats have had a very diverse lot in their tent. it makes sense that their are more right wing parties. new cons(ervatives) share very little with act, who share little with new cons(piracy) party. expect to seemore of seymour as he will be putting out fires in his own mixed bag.

  8. mac1 8

    Yesterday I wrote a comment wishing for a defeat severe enough for National, that even they would lick their wounds and see the need 'tae think again".

    That was predictably commented on that National deserve to go to the wall, they're a bunch of power hungry, selfish individuals etc.

    I won't argue that, but I do share a beer in a group with some National members who do not fit that depiction. They are what we would call decent people.

    It's for them that I wrote that wish for a re-thought party.

    And for us. Like it or not, National is a party of the centre right representing many. I do not wish for it to either be taken over by a cabal of religious, social or economic extremists, nor do I want another party that espouses such extremism to arise to have enough power to materially affect matters.

    So, we need a party of the centre right that most New Zealanders would not feel threatened by in terms of basic decency, freedom and community.

    I guess what I wish for is a decent opposition centre-right party in opposition to a centre-left government with a small disunited grouping of single-issue advocates, woo-woo science adherents, conspiracy nutters, and religious fanatics out on the fringes.

    That opposition has to be good enough to keep the government honest, representative, uncomplacent and energised.

    My prediction is that National will fail in its oppositional tasks, and that the right wing fringe groups will coalesce into a force strong enough to act as the Greens and NZF do now, or as the Alliance did at the beginning of MMP.

    • woodart 8.1

      dont really agree mac1. too many opposing views on religion,sex, freedom, economics, etc, for any one party to encompass all of these people. act want the freedom to do anything in the bedroom, new conservatives want the freedom to stop you doing anything in the bedroom, nats want you to remortgage the bedroom, and advance dont believe its a bedroom at all.

    • Dennis Frank 8.2

      My prediction is that National will fail in its oppositional tasks, and that the right wing fringe groups will coalesce into a force strong enough to act as the Greens and NZF do now, or as the Alliance did

      Nat failure is usually relative. Bounce-back results from conservatives re-grouping. Relevance of tradition during a period of transition is naturally in question. Conservatives are unable to think that through due to it not being part of normalcy.

      Thus I agree a flounder is likely from them. Re right-wingers coalescing on the fringe, it depends if perception of common interests overwhelms competing-tribes mentality. Time will tell. ACT is doing well via presenting as a party of poseurs posing as establishment supporters while simultaneously pretending to be anti-establishment. The nutter brigade seem to prefer separation from them.

      • mac1 8.2.1

        Both replies appreciated.

        My view too is that National is still a coalescence of rural conservatives and urban social liberals and they are hanging together for political purposes. What I wonder is how long urban liberals will tolerate a party that allows the type of candidate and view springing out of Southland for example? Or from the religious fringes such as they have in their ranks. Or vice versa, especially when such coalition fails electorally, each side/faction blaming the other for the defeat.

        I note with some interest our local National MP has a full page advertisement that does not mention National except in his online addresses in the smallest of print at the bottom (along with his misspelt first name!).

        A local MP standing on his record and not expressing a National connection except in an unnamed photo with his leader, and the background blue. No logo. No party.

        • Phil 8.2.1.1

          how long urban liberals will tolerate a party that allows the type of candidate and view springing out of Southland for example? Or from the religious fringes such as they have in their ranks.

          They've been political bedfellows within National for the better part of 40 years and seem to make it work for the most part.

          Same goes for the Liberal-National coalition of urban and rural blocs in Australia.

          Same goes, too, for the tension in Labour between its social and religious 'small-c' conservatives within, say, the maori & pacifica cohort of the party, alongside the far more socially permissive urban elements of the party.

        • observer 8.2.1.2

          To put the "urban liberals" in context; not one single National MP has promoted a private member's bill on any meaningful "liberal" issue.

          Some have voted for bills pushed by others (e.g. Louisa Wall, David Seymour) or by government (abortion). Or they have followed their leader's instruction (smacking). But that’s all. Never leading the debate, never breaking ranks.

          Take the supposedly most liberal Nat MP in the past decade – Nikki Kaye. She has not once taken the initiative on a private member's bill and not once voted against her party.

          They haven't even pushed back on debatable issues like cannabis. They aren't "liberals" in any meaningful sense.

          • SPC 8.2.1.2.1

            Their urban liberals are white middle class first. They will not break ranks for the "Maori" drug of preference, and they were not even to the forefront for "libertarians" like Lindsay P and Ryan B either.

            In that regard note Judith Collins claiming she voted against civil unions because she claimed it was not the equality of same sex marriages – yet later in 2005 she voted for marriage as being between a man anad a woman. She is still lying about her/their past.

    • Ad 8.3

      I agree with you Mac.

      Particularly with the Labour government has (albeit for good reason) taken, and given back, and taken, so many civil liberties, it's really important that there's a coherent Opposition to test the government.

      There are plenty of excellent National supporters who are great to drink with.

      With the high likelihood of global reinfection which will also occur here, we are going to have more lockdowns that are going to cause more people to get angry – and they will seek political homes that are not comfortable for the left.

      Some kind of functioning split of the core National vote is similar to the formation of the Alliance in 1991 from the left factions. Which did fuck all except house the disaffected. Should be the same applying here.

    • RedLogix 8.4

      Thanks for this comment mac.

      I'm of the view that far too many left wingers do not realise that they can never 'defeat the right' by crushing them out of existence. They are people who, like family, will always be with us. We are allowed to disagree with them, get exasperated and pissed off by their antics from time to time, but fundamentally we have to live alongside them for a healthy cohesive community.

      Too often I see rants about the right here, which are little more than sad attempts at gathering leftie virtue points. Time to give it a rest. We'd be far better off understanding their important value drivers (which are not always stupidity and greed) and learning how to more effectively negotiate with them.

      • Hanswurst 8.4.1

        Although I agree with you that it is important to understand where opposing viewpoints come from, and to ascertain how compromise might achieve progress where none would otherwise have been possible, I am extremely wary of the incrementalist framing that suggests that left-wing activists' adjusting their rhetoric towards the centre would help move the political spectrum more to the left. Your assessment requires the assumption that left-wing activists need to negotiate with the right, whereas it is the politicians representing them who need to do the negotiating, and the actual role of activists is to convince persuasible moderates that their philosophy and solutions are worth pursuing. You appear to be treating the political discourse as though it operated on the same dynamics as a private discussion between adults, whereas it isn't even the same as a debate between small, well-defined teams.

    • Gabby 8.5

      We need them to move to the left in order to give Labour a bit of a leftwards shove.

    • SPC 8.6

      I do not see a breakaway group from National – the party exists as a centralised vehicle for realising power, and all of its factions appreciate that.

      There is already ACT for advantage in the electoral system and the vichy MP (hostage to National over fear it would abolish their seats if they went with any other party in coalition).

      That said, if NZF folds (fails to get 5% this time and again in 2023), then there will emege a new party.

  9. AB 9

    Anything above 0 is not low enough. But the more interesting question is how parties build back from these lows and re-absorb all their splintered pieces back into the fold. Last time National did it with Brash/Orewa and then the culture wars of "light bulbs/political correctness/being told what to do and think by Helen Clark" etc. etc. culminating in the shallow, self-serving pragmatism of Key really catching the mood of the times. Labour did it almost entirely through the personality of Ardern and then their impeccable judgment throughout the Covid response. How will National do it this time? Or can they?

    • Patricia Bremner 9.1

      I think at some point Jacinda Ardern's management has to be seen as a plus.

      When a Leader can marry 3 really unalike parties, and still pass 200 pieces of legislation during 3 difficult years is widely understood now. Also there is a thought Winston Peters has been an anchor which was dragging against progress, and the Greens the true left.

  10. ianmac 10

    National has always been a coalition of a full range from Centre to very Conservative and including the Christian lobby. So far they have been tightly glued together but with Covid, lack of cohesive leadership, electoral errors, the abandoning the ship by many MPs, the fractures are showing.

    Is it possible that National will fade away but become a group of parties each with their own identities but occupying the ground previously held by National? A truly MMP.

  11. Stuart Munro 11

    "How low can National go?"

    It really depends on whether you mean morally or pollwise.

    Lower than a run-over dachshund, lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut, lower than the soul of an abyssal worm.

    But single figures is something to aim for. A massive swing to Act is on the cards, which would be one way for National to clear its thicket of deadwood – but if you dig much deeper than Seymour it gets pretty wild and hairy – and I'm not sure NZ really needs a minister for smarm.

    NZPP is the scary one. I really don't want a foreign-backed Trumpster party doing to NZ what they've done to the US. The deep state isn't too concerned about them, but they'll likely meet an actually popular backlash before too very long.

  12. Draco T Bastard 12

    With PREFU coming out last Wednesday digesting the document and checking all of the figures by Saturday was always going to be a big task.

    Assuming that the PREFU and budget have the same digital format then a simple, automated search would do it. A few calculations thrown in and the whole lots completed in less than half an hour. Nothing else to do unless they're adding in new policies or different amounts for the policies that they have.

    This sort of mistake, in not doing the most basic of the jobs required of an accountant never mind in running a country, is just showing sheer incompetence and laziness.

    The consequence is that National’s reputation as sound managers of the economy is in tatters.

    True but its a reputation that they should never have had as they've never been good managers of the economy.

    And their vote is splintering.

    We may be seeing National breaking into its constituent parties. Are we going to see the return, in their modern incarnations, of the United and Reform parties?

  13. observer 13

    National won't get a 2002 result. That's wishful thinking.

    In 2002 there were 3 options for disaffected Nats who didn't want to tick Labour, all in Parliament already. Grumpy conservatives/authoritarians: NZF. Free market/libertarians: ACT. Vaguely centrist: UF.

    There's also the psychological factor to consider. A vote is a personal statement. If a voter thinks that their vote does not decide the election because it is already decided then it is "safe" to vote for your traditional choice. National voters who do not really want Collins to replace Ardern as PM could tell themselves that they won't be making it happen.

    I'm sure (and can never prove) that there are National MPs who would be happy to lose this election but will still vote for themselves, so they can prepare for 2023.

  14. ken 14

    It looks like National are actually trying to lose this election.

  15. Dean Reynolds 15

    The fun will begin when Luxton strides into his first post election caucus meeting, expecting to be welcomed as the Nats' new messiah, & finds a depleted collection of ferals, consumed with hatred, resentment, self loathing & scapegoating. Whoever becomes the Nats new leader post election will be mercilessly white anted & undermined by Collins, because she'll have nothing to lose.

    • ken 15.1

      If the nats had any sense, they'd get rid of their religious faction.

    • woodart 15.2

      on collins side, is that she will be queen bee, as all of the other power female nat m.p.s have fled the coop.can see collins being a cross between muldoon and boag.,hanging around and being an embarrassment.

  16. Weasel 16

    I think you need to update this story. There is a third more significant snafu and unlike the second howler of only $88m, it is almost equal to their first $4b howler. Stuff, whose political reporters give the impression of being paid-up members of the National Party, headlines its story "National's fiscal hole appears to double to $8 billion as Paul Goldsmith denies double count mistake".

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300113657/election-2020-nationals-fiscal-hole-appears-to-double-to-8-billion-as-paul-goldsmith-denies-double-count-mistake

    Stuff says: The error has come about after National twice counted $3.9 billion left over from the New Zealand Upgrade package, an infrastructure plan announced by the Government in late January.

    In fact, the left over money was put into Treasury’s multi-year capital allowance back in May. In National’s costings, the party had counted the two sums of money separately, when, in fact, the NZ Upgrade programme money now only exists in the capital allowances.

    National Finance spokesman Paora Goldsmith commented in tonight's Newshub finance spokespersons debate in Queenstown that "the good news is that it makes no difference to any of our policies or ideas that we will fund over the next few years".

    So $8billion+ makes no difference. I would like to see what National would say to Labour with a triple cock-up that of these magnitudes. I suspect calls of resignation would be shouted so loud in Queenstown that they would be heard in Wellington.

    As Labour's Grant Robertson pointed out, National is promising reduced revenue through tax cuts, increased spending ($38 billion in mostly roads) and reducing debt more rapidly. Methinks there is some magical thinking going on.

  17. I hate to be boring but the natz were born out of desperation because they despised employees..

    They still do.

    Any person earning money by way of wages or salary are beneath contempt.

    Only employers, managers, accountants , advisers, consultants, etc, etc, get off tax free.

    An equitable socirty? I do not think so.

    Goldsmith, necesarily is b s…….

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    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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