How National “delivers” for NZ

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, September 19th, 2017 - 85 comments
Categories: national, useless - Tags: , ,

Ignore deny ignore deny ignore deny crisis! Rinse and repeat.


Herald graphic.

85 comments on “How National “delivers” for NZ ”

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  1. popexplosion 1
    19 September 2017 at 10:15 am

    Don’t bother with govt mantra. So he just started digging… …oops, hole in one. RMA don’t need it. How many people have heard the neolib nonsense and taken it on board!

  2. Strategos 2
    19 September 2017 at 10:35 am

    I think the quotes should be around “National” to expose the scam they have pulling on us since 1951.

    • reason 2.1
      19 September 2017 at 8:09 pm

      Yes but the latest lot of NActs have been doubling down and getting worse …… They are in the thick of it.

      For example, its pretty damning that Judith Collins seems to be benefiting from some of the worst destructive exploitative scandals going on …….

      Be it water …… ” Oravida pays about $500 a year to draw up to 400,000 litres of water a day from the Otakiri Aquifer in Bay of Plenty.” ….

      ” freshwater ecologist Mike Joy said the same thing will keep happening until the government charged for water.” …..”It’s just a free for all for a tiny proportion of New Zealanders, that abuse something that belongs to all of us.” http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/301943/%27we%27re-giving-away-that-water-for-nothing%27

      Overseas ownership …. and use of tax havens …. ” ”owner of the former Crafar and Synlait farms in Waikato and Canterbury. Milk New Zealand Holding is wholly owned not by Shanghai Pengxin, but by Milk New Zealand Investment, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.” ……….Chalkie reckons owning New Zealand farms through a Caribbean tax haven may have tax advantages “-

      Giving the fingers to climate change …. Rising volume of New Zealand fresh milk airfreighted to China https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/96321589/rising-volume-of-new-zealand-fresh-milk-airfreighted-to-china

      And of course the 80% non compliant Ancient Kauri looting …. https://publicaddress.net/envirologue/swamp-monsters-the-looting-of-northlands/

      All problems indirectly show her attitudes and contribution to NZ’s inequality …

      “In either case we might wonder why, when Northland is suffering deprivation and economic stagnation, Maraetai Drive millionaires are allowed to strip the province of its natural resources, tear up its wild places and reap outrageous profits while an apologist Government runs interference in the media.”

  3. EE 3
    19 September 2017 at 10:37 am

    This government has run out of gas.

    • The decrypter 3.1
      19 September 2017 at 10:52 am

      Fuel light flashing empty-empty. Fill up with Blue Pennant kerosene at the Dipton Four square.

      [lprent: Ummmm – advertising or humour? Let go with humour. ]

    • mary_a 3.2
      19 September 2017 at 12:44 pm

      EE @ (3) … “This government has run out of gas.”

      Not quite. Still plenty of piss and wind left in Natz.

      The Natz are so full of gas and hot air, they should be able to transport themselves around the country at the moment, without the need for aircraft!

  4. Alan 4
    19 September 2017 at 10:59 am

    Labour warned in 2005

    • Andre 4.1
      19 September 2017 at 11:02 am

      *Attenborough voice*

      Here we have the unmistakeable stress call of the RWNJ: but, but, Laaaay-burrrrr

    • weka 4.3
      19 September 2017 at 11:10 am

      better get on and vote Green then.

      • Antoine 4.3.1
        19 September 2017 at 11:20 am

        It seems to me that both National and Labour made the right call

        • Muttonbird 4.3.1.1
          19 September 2017 at 11:26 am

          How do you figure that, Einstein? A part solution was costed at $57m iirc but forecasts are that this failure will cost significantly more than that.

          • Antoine 4.3.1.1.1
            19 September 2017 at 11:33 am

            Right, but the failure is a 1 in X year event.

            Think of it this way, if it was you personally, would you rather lose $100 now, or maybe lose $200 sometime in the next 30 years (or not)? I’d prefer the latter, I bet you would too.

            A.

            • Muttonbird 4.3.1.1.1.1
              19 September 2017 at 11:36 am

              I see. This is what passes for planning for Nat supporters.

              • Antoine …
                19 September 2017 at 11:51 am

                For just about anyone rational in infrastructure?Take the solution with best expected value??

                • tracey …
                  19 September 2017 at 11:55 am

                  Did you factor in environmental damage in your actuarial analysis?

                  • Antoine …
                    19 September 2017 at 12:00 pm

                    Wasnt my analysis!

                    • tracey …
                      19 September 2017 at 1:13 pm

                      This was ” Think of it this way, if it was you personally, would you rather lose $100 now, or maybe lose $200 sometime in the next 30 years (or not)? I’d prefer the latter, I bet you would too.

                      A.”

                    • Antoine …
                      19 September 2017 at 1:19 pm

                      I was just trying to explain to Muttonbird why you might not be willing to spend now to (possibly) save later, is all

                  • faroutdude …
                    19 September 2017 at 12:06 pm

                    Environmental damage caused by building a 2nd pipeline?
                    Environmental damage caused by building duplicate Terminal at West Auckland, or increasing storage at Wiri (virtually unconsentable)?
                    This whole (non) issue is one of the most pathetic beat-ups I have ever seen.

                  • alwyn …
                    19 September 2017 at 1:11 pm

                    If the backup plan was an second pipeline on a different route it would increase, rather than decrease the risk of environmental damage. After all a second pipeline could also rupture, with a second lot of damage.
                    A second pipeline wouldn’t have reduced any environmental damage that has occurred, of course. The damage, if any, happened when it ruptured. It would only have sped up the ability to fly again more readily.

                    • tracey …
                      19 September 2017 at 1:14 pm

                      If? What was it before you analyse it

                    • Brokenback …
                      19 September 2017 at 1:50 pm

                      Duplicating the Refinery to Auckland Pipeline is the least desirable option from a point of view of cost and exposure to the same risks.

                      Many don’t realise but the “problem” goes right back to Dawn of neo-liberalism and the war of attrition on public assets .

                      NZ Refining was government owned and viewed , correctly at that time , as a strategic asset.

                      Also the long term [ Government consulted& approved] plan for Auckland’s Deepwater Port development at Te Atatu . Incidentally , the main reason for the high coathanger profile of the Harbour Bridge.

                      Plenty of space was available for Fuel Marine terminal and storage less than 8km from the RAP.

                      However , the Vandals , carrying the TINA Market Banner high , set upon a campaign of trying to remove control and ownership of Ports of Auckland , which but for the fine work of Mike Lee and others would be smoke and ashes by now .
                      Unfortunately , minimising pillaging as opposed to developing a clear , long term plan for Marine Transport & Freight Logistics for the Greater Auckland region has been the primary focus for Ports of Auckland.

                      Wynyard Terminal and tank farm closed , replaced by high rise accommodation and entertainment.
                      Te Atatu peninsula – sold off for low density , sea view housing.

                      The only practicable solution is
                      1/. To establish a Marine terminal on the NW Firth of Thames – Kawakawa bay area.
                      Storage and Tank farm south on the Miranda/Kaiaua flats [ at least 10 m above present sea level] and pipelines to Wiri , via Clevedon valley and to the new inland Port at Ruakura for further storage and possible transport by rail.
                      2/. Increase rail tanker rolling stock , as well as upgrade the Northland Rail line and extend it to Marsden Point .[yes Winnie’s correct ]

                    • alwyn …
                      19 September 2017 at 2:13 pm

                      To Tracey.
                      I have no idea what the plan was Tracey. Kirton, with his election hat on simply said there was one but not what it was.
                      An alternate pipeline just seems to be an obvious alternative.
                      Does anyone know what the actual proposal was?

                    • Ross …
                      20 September 2017 at 6:08 am

                      Alwyn,

                      A second pipeline isn’t necessary. You probably already know that.

                    • alwyn …
                      20 September 2017 at 4:33 pm

                      To Ross.
                      I wouldn’t really have thought so.
                      However someone from the NZRC was willing to discuss the idea on TV a couple of nights ago.
                      I mentioned it here
                      https://thestandard.org.nz/how-national-delivers-for-nz/#comment-1386968

                • Muttonbird …
                  19 September 2017 at 12:01 pm

                  They gambled. And we lost.

                  • Antoine …
                    19 September 2017 at 12:10 pm

                    ‘They’ as you call them, gambled lots of times and usually won

                  • alwyn …
                    19 September 2017 at 1:15 pm

                    There was a comment by someone from NZRC on TV last night. He pointed out that a backup line from Tauranga would have cost about $250 million. He then asked whether people would have been willing to pay an additional $100/flight to pay for it.
                    Sounds high but I haven’t looked at the numbers.
                    Still I suppose I can paraphrase Clint Eastwood.
                    “Are you willing to pay? Well, are you Punk?”.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 September 2017 at 6:20 am

                      Because extra charges on flights are the only way to pay for it, eh. /sarc. Didn’t you get the memo? TINA isn’t answering your calls.

                    • alwyn …
                      20 September 2017 at 4:37 pm

                      To OAB.
                      Sure, but it wasn’t me who was suggesting the possibility.
                      He wasn’t in favour of it mind you.
                      If something like that was required just how would you pay for it, by the way.
                      Surely you are one of those who don’t approve of “subsidies” to business? If anyone except air travellers were to pay for the security of supply to the airport shouldn’t it be those travellers who pay?

                    • Andre …
                      20 September 2017 at 4:59 pm

                      Well, at 24 million passengers per year, $100 each would cover that $250 million pretty quickly. But I suppose they’d have to appoint a CEO and management team for the backup system and that’s going to suck an awful lot of cash…

                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Airport

              • adam …
                19 September 2017 at 4:09 pm

                Look at roads Muttronbird, that gives a clear view on national party planning. Or the lack there of…

            • tc 4.3.1.1.1.2
              19 September 2017 at 11:37 am

              There’s that short term profit neoliberal thinking where they rather gamble than mitigate risk.

              I’d like to see a more mature, built to last approach for such crucial infrastructure personally.

            • Crashcart 4.3.1.1.1.3
              19 September 2017 at 2:29 pm

              Not a big fan of insurance then man? I think almost everyone pays a small amount of money now on the off chance that their car/house/life might get fucked up later.

              • Antoine …
                19 September 2017 at 5:57 pm

                It depends on the price! I wouldn’t buy an insurance policy where the yearly premium was half the cost of the car!

                • Muttonbird …
                  19 September 2017 at 6:01 pm

                  What are you talking about? It was a one off cost to build some redundancy capacity at Wiri.

                  I do note that Michael Barnett points out that demand at Wiri has increased 30% since 2012 because to the high population increase in Auckland but capacity has not. This is exactly the sort of thing a government should have been planning for and to apply your logic the same wasn’t required in 2005 because Wiri had capacity to spare.

                  • Antoine …
                    19 September 2017 at 10:04 pm

                    > What are you talking about? It was a one off cost to build some redundancy capacity at Wiri.

                    Don’t blame me, Crashcart introduced the insurance analogy and insurance has regular premiums

                    > I do note that Michael Barnett points out that demand at Wiri has increased 30% since 2012 because to the high population increase in Auckland but capacity has not. This is exactly the sort of thing a government should have been planning for

                    It is not, it is the sort of thing a pipeline owner should have been planning for!

                    A.

                    • Ed …
                      19 September 2017 at 10:08 pm

                      Plan?
                      This government leaves everything to the ‘market’
                      Incompetent fools.

                    • Antoine …
                      19 September 2017 at 11:13 pm

                      > This government leaves everything to the ‘market’

                      They absolutely do not, I can think of any number of non-market solutions operating in NZ. They don’t even seem unanimously pro-market (e.g. Steven Joyce seems more like a big government sort of guy).

                      A.

                • Ross …
                  20 September 2017 at 6:14 am

                  It depends on the price!

                  No, Antoine, it depends on one’s priorities!

                  This Government spent $22 million on a flag referendum that few wanted. For a mere $1.9 million an extra 515 million litres of jet fuel could be supplied to Auckland airport each year. What’s more important?

                  Auckland airport handled about 16.5 million passengers in 2015. At a cost of $1.9 million to secure greater fuel supply, that equates to 11.5 cents per passenger. Do you seriously think passangers are going to complain about paying an extra 11.5 cents per flight?

                  • Antoine …
                    20 September 2017 at 6:30 am

                    I havent quite got my head around the 2m option. I suspect it was a very imperfect mitigation or had major drawbacks or there was some other good reason why it was not adopted. Others will know more about it.

                    • Ross …
                      20 September 2017 at 7:02 am

                      The $2 million option would presumably have provided a buffer…maybe giving the airport a few weeks of fuel that would enable business as usual in the event that the pipeline was out of action for 2-3 weeks. It would not be the answer to a bigger problem that would take months to fix. But it would possibly be a good short-term option and certainly better than the do-nothing option which the Government took.

                    • Antoine …
                      20 September 2017 at 7:08 am

                      Honestly dont know enough to form a view

            • Liberal Realist 4.3.1.1.1.4
              19 September 2017 at 7:19 pm

              Critical infrastructure? Single point of failure?

              Think of it this way, if it was you personally, would you rather lose $100 now, or maybe lose $200 sometime in the next 30 years (or not)? I’d prefer the latter, I bet you would too.

              Yeah. Nah. Anyone rational would invest to mitigate a single point of failure in critical infrastructure. The fact that this hasn’t happened is pure incompetence.

              • Antoine …
                19 September 2017 at 11:15 pm

                Ha, I bet you would be gobsmacked how many single points of failure there are in critical infrastructure out there.

                And that’s how it should be; it’s often not economic to provide multiple redundancy where the probability of failure is very low and the cost of paralleling the network is high.

                And that’s how it’s going to remain, too, whatever you think.

                A.

                • McFlock …
                  19 September 2017 at 11:35 pm

                  That’s the problem with the current system: it’s not economic for me to at least have a contingency plan if everyone else except for me will bear the brunt of the costs of that failure.

                  • Antoine …
                    20 September 2017 at 2:16 am

                    Indeed. NZ Refining is losing a bunch of revenue (https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/refining-nz-could-lose-15m-after-fuel-pipeline-breach-ns-207792) and may be prosecuted (https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/96941407/Auckland-Airport-Possibility-of-prosecution-after-digger-cut-crucial-jet-fuel-pipeline) and is also taking a lot of reputational damage. They have plenty of skin in the game.

                    Auckland Airport obviously has even more skin in the game and had plenty of incentive to (a) have its own contingency plans, and (b) get NZ Refining to form contingency plans too.

                    And these incentives have worked: NZ Refining has been prepared to move quickly to repair the pipeline and make alternative arrangements for transporting fuel. I understand work is proceeding apace at the site and international experts are swarming all over the place.

                    Things are working as intended.

                    A.

                    • Antoine …
                      20 September 2017 at 2:17 am

                      PS I suspect the digging company (Oravida?) will also find it has plenty of skin in the game

                    • Ross …
                      20 September 2017 at 5:56 am

                      Things are working as intended

                      The Government intended to be a laughing stock? Air New Zealand intended to piss off its customers and lose money? NZ Refining intended to harm the environment?

                      With a modicum of planning and expenditure, the severity of these problems could have been reduced.

                      international experts are swarming all over the place.

                      All those whose flights have been cancelled will be delighted to hear that.

                    • Antoine …
                      20 September 2017 at 6:55 am

                      Occasionally bad things happen; it beats blowing all your resources trying to make sure nothing bad ever happens.

                      (Though I agree AIA may be a bit regretful now!)

                    • Ross …
                      20 September 2017 at 7:26 am

                      Antoine,

                      Who is talking about “blowing all your resources”? As discussed, there was the option of spending $1.9 million per year to increase supply. Yes, that wouldn’t have been a fix in the event of a serious outage but it would have provided some time to fix the problem.

                      It is reported in today’s herald that Auckland airport has about 3 days of fuel at any one time. Which maybe explains why we didn’t hear about this until Sunday even though the problem was known last Thursday. The powers-that-be were possibly hoping for a quick fix.

                    • McFlock …
                      20 September 2017 at 1:51 pm

                      The refinery and the airport will probably have some manner of insurance, mitigating their losses. That makes an actual, rather than actuarial, contingency plan less economical. And any compensation claims they face can be lowered in settlement negotiations, or if they’re prohibitive dragged out through the courts.

                      So chipping in for a branch line to use a rail contingecy wasn’t so attractive to the refinery, and having bigger storage tanks of avgas wasn’t so attractive to the airport.

                      Sure, it costs them money, so they want to fix the damage as quickly as possible. But the fact thousands of people are feeling the pinch means that if this is how things are working as intended, the system is fucked up.

                    • Antoine …
                      20 September 2017 at 2:00 pm

                      > The refinery and the airport will probably have some manner of insurance, mitigating their losses. That makes an actual, rather than actuarial, contingency plan less economical.

                      At this point the insurer also has skin in the game

                      > But the fact thousands of people are feeling the pinch means that if this is how things are working as intended, the system is fucked up.

                      Disagree. If thousands of people feel pinches only very occasionally, that’s to be expected (unfortunately).

                      A.

                    • McFlock …
                      20 September 2017 at 4:57 pm

                      The insurer has skin in the game, but their model is to win on average. So it’s part of the cost of doing business, and if someone has no contingency plan they just charge more premium.

                      And disrupting thousands of people even only occasionally is not a reasonable expectation. It was only a few years ago large chunks of Auckland had a power cut because of a tree. Now the fuel supply is fucked up because of some jerk with a digger.

                      This is not a reasonable expectation for a city of more than a million people, surely. Sure, if there was an extreme weather event or something, but not just trivial day to day shit on a farm.

          • tc 4.3.1.1.2
            19 September 2017 at 11:35 am

            That’s the crucial piece, the cost of it going tits up in the future V the current day solution cost.

            Neloberalism always seems to take the approach of boot it to touch, it’s the next crowds problem, it’s alot of money, what about the shareholders, can’t someone else pay, can our lawyers get us out etc….and here we are.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.3.1.2
          19 September 2017 at 11:44 am

          How? By not realising exactly how corrupt and greedy Judith Collins is?

    • tracey 4.4
      19 September 2017 at 11:54 am

      And voted out in 2008.

  5. greywarshark 5
    19 September 2017 at 11:07 am

    This unsatisfactory fuel situation. It must be run by government, useless sods, if private interests ran it in a businesslike fashion this would never have happened. /sarc

    • cleangreen 5.1
      19 September 2017 at 12:37 pm

      100% greywarshark couldn’t have said it better myself.
      They should have built the rail line as an alternative next to the pipe before now the bloody idiots!!!

      • In Vino 5.1.1
        19 September 2017 at 7:07 pm

        No, they should have built the railway line OVER the pipeline. That way, no knucklehead profit-gouging kauri log-hunter (apologies to Oravida and anyone connected) would have been able to damage the pipe.

  6. cleangreen 6
    19 September 2017 at 11:53 am

    Nothing the National Government have ever done makes any sense here!!

    So we need to fence off anything they say in future after labour takes over with oppostion parties support.

    We need the new Labour lead government to do what the National Government did for nine years by refusing any proposals that any oposition party puts up as they have done.

    It is going to need this control over our need to have them passing all those ammendments to reverse all those bad changes national has made.

  7. Union city greens 7
    19 September 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Makes the BBC front page

    http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41315994

  8. esoteric pineapples 8
    19 September 2017 at 3:25 pm

    What the opposition with American support does to undermine support for the government in Venezuela, is to create shortages of essential goods during elections like toilet paper and tampons. Obviously, this wasn’t planned in New Zealand’s case, but the effect is likely to be the same.

  9. Adrian 9
    19 September 2017 at 3:37 pm

    Election week and this really is manna from heaven, or petrol in this case.
    Talk about laugh, Billshit English tells Nat candidates to stay in own electorate,may as well, nobody knows who the fuck they are there either.
    According to some airlines … ” it’s an act of God! ” . Even He thinks it’s time to go Bill.
    You know you’re fucked when even your own God deserts you.

    • Ross 9.1
      19 September 2017 at 8:02 pm

      Yep even the man (or woman) upstairs doesn’t want a Tory government. 🙂

      You know National’s campaign has been a train wreck when they might be housing a communist spy and it barely rates a mention!

  10. adam 10
    19 September 2017 at 4:10 pm

    national better managers of the country ——— yeah right…

  11. WILD KATIPO 11
    19 September 2017 at 5:27 pm

    Yep ,… its coming up summertime, so jump in the car and take a drive… to the end of your driveway and back again.

    Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime ORIGINAL 1970 – YouTube
    in the summertime when the weather is fine▶ 3:35

  12. Ed 12
    19 September 2017 at 5:57 pm

    On Newshub, Alison Mau asked Judith Collins if her husband wa involved in the company that was extracting the kauri.
    Collins dodged answering.

  13. Ross 13
    19 September 2017 at 7:59 pm

    It would’ve cost only $1.9 million per year to do something meaningful. Simply overload existing tankers which would produce an extra 515 million litres. That was the advice given to this Government in October 2011. To say they couldn’t afford to pay such a small sum is nonsense – they spent $22 million on a silly flag referendum.

    • WILD KATIPO 13.1
      19 September 2017 at 8:57 pm

      Yes ,… yes they did, … didn’t they….

      $22 million on a silly flag referendum.

      That nobody particularly wanted.

      Except John Key.

      And I mean it when I say ‘ nobody ‘ .

  14. Thinkerr 14
    19 September 2017 at 9:47 pm

    Laissez-faire, free-market neoliberal ideology working for you…

  15. WILD KATIPO 15
    19 September 2017 at 10:27 pm

    National.

    Rowley Birkin QC – Terrific Snowstorm – YouTube
    Video for Rowley Birkin QC – Terrific Snowstorm▶ 2:07

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

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

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

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

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

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

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

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

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

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

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

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

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

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

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

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

  • New Zealand Honours Maori King ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • The Principles of the Treaty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    It’s 50 years ago today that “Big Norm” Kirk died of a heart attack in Wellington’s Home of Compassion. Home of Compassion. Although he was Prime Minister for only 623 days, he has an iconic place in New Zealand history, particularly Labour history. When Labour leaders like Jacinda Ardern recite ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #35 2024

    Open access notables Arctic glacier snowline altitudes rise 150 m over the last 4 decades, Larocca et al., The Cryosphere: We mapped the snowline (SL) on a subset of 269 land-terminating glaciers above 60° N latitude in the latest available summer, clear-sky Landsat satellite image between 1984 and 2022. The mean SLA was extracted ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Unravelling the String of State: New Zealand Sovereignty and the Treaty of Waitangi

    Oh dear. Sometimes people just need to prod the sleeping dog. We currently have a parliamentary dispute over the nature of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, as signed between the British Crown and New Zealand Maori: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/526451/sovereignty-debate-split-on-party-lines Specifically, the National Government takes the traditional view that Maori ceded sovereignty ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Rigour, PLEASE

    You may have noticed I have been taking my time getting home. You may have wondered if that might have anything to do with our brave little nation being constitutionally and morally abused by this woeful excuse for a government. It does. I have enjoyed being able to turn the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Making A Difference.

    The Jacinda and Ashley Show: Before the neoliberals could come up with a plausible reason for letting thousands of their fellow citizens perish, the Ardern-led government, backed by the almost forgotten power of an unapologetically interventionist state, was producing changes in the real world – changes that were, very obviously, saving ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The first annual grocery report underscores the need for reforms to cut red tape and promote competition, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “The report paints a concerning picture of the $25 billion grocery sector and reinforces the need for stronger regulatory action, coupled with an ambitious, economy-wide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government moves to lessen burden of reliever costs on ECE services

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the Government has listened to the early childhood education sector’s calls to simplify paying ECE relief teachers. Today two simple changes that will reduce red tape for ECEs are being announced, in the run-up to larger changes that will come in time from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Over 2,320 people engage with first sector regulatory review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says there has been a strong response to the Ministry for Regulation’s public consultation on the early childhood education regulatory review, affirming the need for action in reducing regulatory burden. “Over 2,320 submissions have been received from parents, teachers, centre owners, child advocacy groups, unions, research ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government backs women in horticulture

    “The Government is empowering women in the horticulture industry by funding an initiative that will support networking and career progression,” Associate Minister of Agriculture, Nicola Grigg says.  “Women currently make up around half of the horticulture workforce, but only 20 per cent of leadership roles which is why initiatives like this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government to pause freshwater farm plan rollout

    The Government will pause the rollout of freshwater farm plans until system improvements are finalised, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. “Improving the freshwater farm plan system to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers is a priority for this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Milestone reached for fixing the Holidays Act 2003

    Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden says yesterday Cabinet reached another milestone on fixing the Holidays Act with approval of the consultation exposure draft of the Bill ready for release next week to participants.  “This Government will improve the Holidays Act with the help of businesses, workers, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New priorities to protect future of conservation

    Toitū te marae a Tāne Mahuta me Hineahuone, toitū te marae a Tangaroa me Hinemoana, toitū te taiao, toitū te tangata. The Government has introduced clear priorities to modernise Te Papa Atawhai - The Department of Conservation’s protection of our natural taonga. “Te Papa Atawhai manages nearly a third of our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Faster 110km/h speed limit to accelerate Kāpiti

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