How to harm your brand

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 19th, 2008 - 83 comments
Categories: dpf - Tags: , ,

Kiwibank, New Zealand’s supreme award winning Sunday Star-Times/CANNEX best value bank for the third year in row, the Socialist Bank of Jim Anderton, the one doomed to failure but making healthy profits, is now advertising on Kiwiblog.

Strange, ’cause I wouldn’t have thought that the Kiwiblog right are quite their target demographic.

And I wonder how Kiwibank would feel about being associated smeared with David Farrar’s latest cartoon filth?

83 comments on “How to harm your brand ”

  1. Nedyah Hsan 1

    If certain industry insiders are to be believed, the interweb has no distinction as to where ads are placed.
    I’ve been informed in this instance, it’s more than likely Kiwibank approached their advertising based on making it visible on .co.nz domain addresses.

    Unless there’s another explanation, I’m inclined to go with this.

    captcha: Geller Cash …

  2. all_your_base 2

    My understanding is that you can screen unwanted domains – porn sites, kiwiblog etc

  3. Well, the Bank can still choose not to have its name on a site and another recently withdrew its ad from Whaleoil’s site.

    http://newzblog.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/funny-karma-ii/

    I wonder if Kiwibank realises that Farrar opposes its existence?

  4. Lukas 4

    SP I see that Rabobank are now back advertising on Whaleoil.

    One would imagine that Kiwiblog would be a great audience for Kiwibank, if we are to believe Mikey Cullen most National Party voters are rich aren’t they?

  5. Scribe 5

    Kiwiblog is the most visited blog in the country, according to some stats I saw yesterday. Kiwibank advertising on Kiwiblog seems like a reasonable business strategy to me.

  6. all_your_base 6

    I can think of a lot of popular sites I wouldn’t necessarily want my brand associated with Scribe – the image of “the peoples’ bank” doesn’t fit well with DPF’s taste in humour.

  7. andy 7

    Mr Farrar had a post explaining scoop media would be running his adds.

    IMO most people who frequent kiwiblog would take a good deal even if it meant holding their ideological noses.

    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/advertising_on_kiwiblog

    this is a job for kiwiblogblog……

    not the standard..my 2c..

  8. MikeE 8

    I believe the advertising is handled by scoop media, who also do Public Address and scoop.co.nz

    The irony is that this page is titled (look up) “How to harm your brand at the Standard 2.01”

    😛

  9. Stephen 9

    Agree with Scribe. The site has about 3,000 registered users too I think. Though visits are a bit more important.

    This is like saying the owner of a chain of conference centers is having their brand harmed by drunken Irishmen disrupting the odd function, or by letting used car salesmen hire them out…

  10. all_your_base 10

    2943 of whom are rabidly opposed to Kiwibank 😉

  11. djp 11

    MikeE, Yeah the page titles have been bugging me too

    eg. “Keeping it in the family at The Standard 2.01”

    As to this post.. I dont think anyone really gets all that uptight about what blog their particular bank advertises on

  12. Disengaged 12

    After being caught up in the traffic jam that Kiwibank’s container in the Wellington harbour stunt caused last November I don’t have any faith in the intelligence of their marketing department.

  13. Stephen 13

    AYB, and half of *them* probably think Jim Anderton sets the interest rates.

  14. I’m wondering when Michael Botur is going to do a cartoon on the people that died in the river canyoning tragedy, since he obviously thinks “tragic death” is funny? Surely it wouldn’t be hard to link rivers to electricity?

    Or maybe its only “funny” when it happens to minorities he is bigoted against?

  15. [Tane: SP, don’t bother with him. FFM, don’t think you can come on here and call Lynn Prentice a liar. And you can take your Islamophobia to Kiwiblog.]

  16. Lampie 16

    To be honest, It may need to be brought to their attention as seems as someone has already said one of general ad packages. Mind you, one must remember there is most likely Kiwi bank customers who visit the site and the bad cartoons would be more associated with the site than banner adverts.

    There really is no conditioning towards the consumer there

  17. MacDoctor 17

    I find Botur’s cartoons to be puerile, rather than funny, but I note that most of the Standard guys seem to appear in Kiwiblog comments, so I assume you all go there. Seems to me that makes it a good place for Kiwibank to advertise! 🙂

  18. expat 18

    Desperate guys, real desperate.

  19. Hmmm… I like Kiwibank – I don’t have to talk to some idiot at a branch. Being a self-employed, tax-hunting, generally capitalist type person I probably don’t match the average demographic of a Kiwibank customer. But I have been with every bank currently with a presence in NZ other than TSB, and have to say Kiwibank is pretty damn good. Now if only this habit of charging $30 for an invisible direct debit default could be removed from their charges, I would be very happy.

  20. NX 20

    Isn’t it ironic that Jim Anderton does his banking with the Commonwealth bank of Australia rather than the New Zealand owned Kiwibank he insisted New Zealanders wanted.

    ^he’s a crock of….

  21. burt 21

    NX

    Isn’t it ironic that Jim Anderton is a shareholder in the Commonwealth bank of Australia. He’s a bit like Labour using an American stock photo for their advertising campaign.

    Do as we say and not as we do – YOU buy NZ made because WE don’t….

  22. Ari 22

    Why do I suddenly have “Wave of Mutilation” on my head? 😉

  23. Stephen 23

    Why is it ironic to be a shareholder in a company that does banking? Not like you can have shares in Kiwibank…

    How does anyone know what bank Jimmy has his money with?

  24. Stephen 24

    Though yes it would be very odd indeed if he did his banking somewhere else, especially with THAT add campaign.

  25. Phil 25

    ” making healthy profits,”

    So, let me get this straight, ayb… It’s not OK for an Australian owned bank to make healthy profits from it’s customers, but it is OK for Kiwibank to do so?

    What you are really saying is that the legitimacy of an outcome (ie; making profit) is dependent on who makes it, right?

  26. DS 26

    “What you are really saying is that the legitimacy of an outcome (ie; making profit) is dependent on who makes it, right?”

    The point is where those profits go.

  27. Pascal's bookie 27

    Phil
    It’s not OK for an Australian owned bank to make healthy profits from it’s customers, but it is OK for Kiwibank to do so?

    I’m not saying that AYB did not say or imply this, but could you point to where it comes from. Quoting is easy and makes following threads easier.

    What you are really saying is that the legitimacy of an outcome (ie; making profit) is dependent on who makes it, right?

    That’s a bit of a weasely worded construction. (The ‘what you are really saying… formation is a classic tell. You should stop using it).

    I might think that it makes sense to support my brothers company over a stranger’s. That doesn’t mean that I think the stranger’s business cannot legitimately make profits.

  28. the sprout 28

    Strange, Kiwibank normally seems quite clever with its marketing – but advertising in the Bog is quite a significant screw-up.

    Surprising too that the Bog is willing to accept commercial advertising for the affect it will have in EFA terms – i’d have thought Farrar’d prefer to pretend to be non-professional?

  29. Nedyah Hsan 29

    Stephen

    Have a look on the pecuniary interests register over at the parliament site.

    There’s literally a handful of people with a Kiwibank account. Maori Party holds the majority here.

    The majority are with BNZ (possibly from when it used to be a Bank of New Zealand before getting sold out thanks to that money-whore SRB.

    Some of the older folks have it with the old Postbank, now ANZ.

    And the technophiles seem to have theirs with ASB (best internet banking ever)

    I guess it is true. NZ’ers really don’t like changing banks.. though I’ve changed mine 4 times in as many years.

  30. Matthew Pilott 30

    “Literally a handful”? Tsk tsk.

  31. T-rex 31

    Lol.

    Cheer up Matt, at least he didn’t say “bank’s”.

    Oh – and Nyed? Second best. I give my price to Rabobank, which actually gives me a sense of security unlike all others!

  32. the sprout

    Surprising too that the Bog is willing to accept commercial advertising for the affect it will have in EFA terms – i’d have thought Farrar’d prefer to pretend to be non-professional?

    The whole idea behind the advertising on kiwiblog (and whale oil too) is to push buttons with the efa. Farrar woudl just love to be a martyr, and with all nationals spare cash floating around at the moment he could get large scale tv and news paper coverage fighting it in court.

  33. burt 33

    KIllinginthenameof

    What a sad cynical outlook you have.

    So it goes like this….

    Labour pass one of the most horrendous laws the country has ever seen in an attempt to silence political opposition. It explicitly makes the law so that things that were illegal (and they always did anyway) are now legal and things that other parties did that were legal are now illegal. The bill is so bad it offends the human rights commission. The left, not wanting to look past what has to be done to win a glorious forth term for Labour ignore all the bad stuff about his ridiculous law and support Labour. Calling opposition to the law partisan grandstanding.

    People object to the law, Labour seem to be unable to understand it and start breaching it all over the show. Yet it’s DPF and WhaleOil that are bad because they don’t like th EFA and they have advertising on their blogs….

    Far out… are the satellites watching you as well ?

  34. burt 34

    KIllinginthenameof

    Here is an example of why we need got electoral finance laws.

    Stuff: Generation why bother – the no man’s land of politics

    Young voters helped swing the last election but only after Labour’s shock campaign promise to cancel interest on student loans drove a surge of late enrolments from young voters and helped Labour pull in an extra 100,000 votes. Many older relatives also piled in out of concern for young people’s heavy student debts. A late promise to massively boost Working for Families also attracted young families’ votes.

    But let me guess, policy on the fly just before an election with advertising funded by stolen tax payers money is good – DPF using advertising to help pay for his blog is bad.

    Where did you buy your tin-foil hat?

  35. RedLogix 35

    Burt,

    And at the same time you are happy for National to be telling us to wait for policy until just before the election? In what way is that different to “policy on the fly”?

    Your continued reference to “stolen tax payer’s money” has been dealt to over and again. It was completely unreasonable for Brady to declare 7 of 8 parties in Parliament to have “stolen tax payer’s funds” AFTER the election. He fucked up but Parliament protected his office by not sacking the useless drongo.

    And of course you forget the GST funds that National STOLE from a broadcaster and NEVER paid back.

  36. burt 36

    RedLogix

    Oh I know, anything is OK if others were doing it as well…. It’s all about National, they made Labour draft partisan laws and pass them under urgency….

    So RedLogix, how long have National been in control of the country with Labour being a hand-puppet reacting to what they do ?

    The AG, he’s wrong right ? Is that why all the parties who stole tax payers money repaid it ? (Except Winston because he’s special – there was a sign on his short bus that said so)

  37. burt 37

    RedLogix

    IF National announce random fell good policies weeks before the election I will call them ‘election bribes’ just as I would/have when Labour do the same.

    It’s probably hard for you to understand but I don’t think as long as both parties are doing something crooked then it’s OK. A bit like using stolen tax payers money, it wasn’t OK because there was more than one party doing it. It’s a hard concept I know, it requires first looking at what was actually done to determine if it was wrong rather than making that judgment based on who did it. You should try it – but be warned you may stop supporting morally and ethically bankrupt political parties once you realise integrity is something we should judge on parties actions not their names.

  38. randal 38

    money doesn’t talk it swears and sometimes the president of the united states must stand naked…bob dylan: “it’s allright ma’, I’m only bleeding”

  39. Sorry burt, you lost all credibility in the first 4 lines of what you said. But I’ll give you an answer all the same, my cynicisim (your right on that one) leaves me with a very positive outlook on life.

    David Farrar, along with Nationals lawyers (Bell Gully and that lot which helped them hide thier donors from the public last time) have been over and over the law, he knows it inside out, the advertising on his site probably only generates a couple of dollars a day, it is just there to push the limits of what counts as a blog. He knows that, I know that, you know that, he is intentionally trying to push the limits of the law to get free publicity, just like National has been doing with thier other court cases.

    Oh and you and the rest of the right’s new found concern for what the human rights commision has to say is very cute.

  40. burt 40

    KIllinginthenameof

    You missed one thing… If Labour hadn’t rushed badly drafted laws through under urgency then none of this would be happening.

    But keep shooting the messenger, the message is Labour suck at drafting electoral finance laws and we simply can’t talk about that can we. Oh no… It’s all DPF and Bell Gully’s fault…

    Please remind me again who has been caught by the EFA to date? Who’s suffering because of it? and last but not least – how many warnings do Labour need to receive that a law they want to pass is broken before they listen rather than use urgency to bypass the normal process to ensure this sort of crap can’t occur ?

    I must be hard watching your team loose when you know it’s all becasue you keep scoring own goals.

  41. burt 41

    KIllingthenameof

    Oh and you and the rest of the right’s new found concern for what the human rights commision has to say is very cute.

    Simply because Labour, who are good, choose to ignore the advice of the HRC you can’t assume that National, who are bad, have never cared about the opinions of the HRC.

    Are you using some kind of ‘It’s OK for Labour to do it because National did it first’ reasoning? You do know that this is a typical response for a young child and a justification that is not supported in the adult world or in law.

  42. RedLogix 42

    Are you using some kind of ‘It’s OK for Labour to do it because National did it first’ reasoning?

    It’s you who keeps repeating slanderous drivel and innuendo about the Labour govt in this blog, all the while never once bothering to acknowledge any of the following:

    1. It was National who blatantly and grossly breached the intent of the 1992 Electoral Act with their use secret trusts to anonymously launder 90% of their campaign funds.

    2. It was National who connived with a secretive third party to run a massive million dollar plus parallel electoral campaign.

    3. It was National who broke the observed conventions around electoral campaigning by leading out three months earlier than ever before, effectively demolishing the traditional boundaries that all parties had observed for generations.

    4. It was National who with a nod and a wink from a conniving official ensured that they had spent ALL of their Parliamentary Services funding BEFORE the traditional threee month campaign … a period that he then subsequently obdurately insisted on limiting his audit to.

    5. It was National who never paid the GST they owed a broadcaster because to do so would have broken their own law.

    6. It was National’s leader who was caught in an affair with the Deputy Chairperson of a major backer of the National party and whose behaviour was so damaging that he had to resign.

    6. It was National who conducted a hypocritical attack campaign, accusing every other Party of the very behaviour they themselves are demonstrably guilty of, in order to cover up their own gross mendacity and corruption.

    7. It is National that is now entering an electroral campaign with the deliberate intention of withholding substantive policy until the last possible moment. It might prove good tactics, but it is ethically bankrup, being both contemptuous to the electorate, and to the very to the purpose and nature of democracy. What a deeply dishonest basis on which to be seeking high office.

    8. It is National who is led by a man who got rich, not through honest endeavour, but as a currency speculator. In the old days we used to despise tax collectors. Well meet their modern counterparts… currency speculators are thieving parasites who STEAL money from whole nations for purely personal gain. This is how Key got rich, not from talent, skill or by making the world a better place…. but by gambling against the currencies of nations. It may be legal, but is not ethical, not by a long bloody shot.

    9. Read the Hollow Men again. Be ashamed, not by Hagar’s words, but by the irrefutable source material quoted. National is that Party that stands humiliated by the truths it has spoken when it thought no-one else was listening. Over and again we see plain public domain evidence of a National Party willing to set aside any trace principle in order to gain short term tactical advantage.

    This is the whole point that you keeping missing Burt. The National party is NOT a party representing conservative policy, personal responsibility and private initiative that you quite legitimately believe in. They do not believe in these things. Look at what they have DONE, not what they say. Look at their track record Burt. Look at my short list above and you will see that the National Party run by a clever gang of fast suits who operate just this side of the law, but are devoid of an ethical bone in their bodies.

    They accuse Labour of corruption and arrogance because it is the only thing they know, they only thing they feel comfortable talking about, the only way they know how to measure us.

  43. T-rex 43

    Red. Brilliant.

    Please please send that to Labour. God knows that they need some of that sort of material.

    Or try to arrange for it to be published. Or something.

    I think I’ll just email it verbatim to everyone I know.

  44. r0b 44

    RedLogix – excellent. Thanks for reminding me why this struggle matters. Onwards!

  45. Billy 45

    It was National who blatantly and grossly breached the intent of the 1992 Electoral Act with their use secret trusts to anonymously launder 90% of their campaign funds.

    You are wrong about the intent of the 1992 Act. Anonymous donations were the whole point. They were regarded as a virtue: the anonymity being between donor and political party. You might be skeptical about whether this actually occurred but a lot of lefties seem now to be pretending that the 1992 Act had some intention it clearly did not.

  46. burt 46

    RedLogix

    So rather than;

    Are you using some kind of ‘It’s OK for Labour to do it because National did it first’ reasoning?

    But ‘It’s OK for Labour to do it because here are 9 things National did’ reasoning?

    We just can’t get past this “they did it too” thing can we.

  47. RedLogix

    Labour only know how to play the blame National or the “they did it too” card, as they are devoid of any alternative strategy that will deter their self destruction and eventual political annihilation.

  48. T-rex 48

    Man, this is like David vs Goliath.

    Well, sort of.

    Redlogix is Goliath.

    The difference is that Goliath is a nice guy, and a ninja, and a genius; whereas David’s been hitting the turps pretty hard, tripped over his sling, forgot the stones, and doesn’t even know what they’re fighting about (but if pressed can come up with some stuff about tax, one law for all, ‘justice’, and Australia, before rounding it off with some accusations of corruption).

    Goliath just tolerantly sorts sh*t out (regardless of who happens to be in government), while David staggers around being annoying.

    A parable for our era.

  49. randal 49

    are you guys on “P” or something. Its way past your bedtime.

  50. Don’t you just love the left, you got T -rex quoting from the Bible and nasty randal calling us P addicts.

  51. RedLogix 51

    Burt,

    Let’s get it straight.

    The so-called “theft of taxpayer’s money” stemming from Brady’s audit was a contrived piece of bogus political game playing. The giveaway is this. Brady was setup. He was supposed to embarrass Labour, but he got carried away with his “honest and courageous civil servant” role and found ALL the parties guilty… except one.

    Even the Greens, whose recently deceased leader Rod Donald had chaired the most recent review committee on the rules around PS funding. How insanely implausible is it that Rod Donald, after leading an effort to clarify the rules in 2004, then deliberately ran his own party into a $68,000 “theft of taxpayers moneys” in the 2005 election? It makes no sense on any level. Such a result simply tells you that Brady was suckered into applying an overzealous intepretation that Parliament had not intended.

    Yet we all know that National spent their full allocation of PS funding right to the hilt as did every other party. They just spent it all before the pre-arranged three month cutoff period, thus avoiding Brady’s quixotic scrutiny. Legal, yes. Ethically…. it stinks to high heaven.

    But our democracy rests on some basic Parliamentary institutions, and one of them is respect for the Office of the Auditor General. Everyone KNOWS that Brady’s gullibility was exploited by National to carry out this sordid scheme, but in order to protect the office of the Auditor General the parties have all (except Winston who is still pissed by the whole slimy jackup) have accepted the ruling of the office and repaid the misallocated funds.

    In other words the referee may have blundered, but in the end respect for role of the referee is more important than winning an argument with him. Any team player knows this. (Well Winston was never a great team player…)

    Compare and contrast this with my list above. National has NEVER, not once accepted that they have done anything wrong. Even in 2006 right up to the introduction of the 2007 EFA, National were still using secret trusts to launder substantial donations:

    http://www.elections.org.nz/record/donations/donations-summary.html

    Despite widespread condemnation of the practice, National were still using trusts to hide the real source of their donations right up until the time the law stopped them.

    We just can’t get past this “they did it too’ thing can we.

    See if you cannot understand the difference between breaching a letter of the law… and grossly abusing the spirit of it.

  52. burt 52

    D4J

    They just don’t get it.

    A) I’m not a National party supporter. RedLogix did a fine job of pointing out some of the reasons why.

    B) Supporting a party that you say is fine because ‘It’s only done the same sort of things’ as a party you criticise for the ‘same sort of things’ makes you look like an imbecile and/or the partisan twat you really are.

    It’s been a tough polling weekend again D4J, I suspect the standardistas are all a bit grumpy.

  53. burt 53

    RedLogix

    The so-called “theft of taxpayer’s money’ stemming from Brady’s audit was a contrived piece of bogus political game playing. The giveaway is this. Brady was setup. He was supposed to embarrass Labour, but he got carried away with his “honest and courageous civil servant’ role and found ALL the parties guilty except one.

    So why then were all parties except one not charged? Oh I know, it wasn’t in the public interest…

    Look this is getting stupid, Labour retrospectively validated 14 years of questionable election spending returns. Now it’s all about what National did wrong. For god sake you got your get of jail free card and killed of Darnton vs Clark to boot – now you want to paint National black – I don’t get it?

  54. Yes burt, the polls are all doom and gloom for Labour and I can understand why they are perturbed and disturbed.

    Isn’t is funny that any critic of Labour is automatically linked too the National Party.

  55. burt 55

    Two party mentality D4J, the golden days of socialism and all that. They are romantics at heart.

  56. burt 56

    RedLogix

    Brady was setup. He was supposed to embarrass Labour, but he got carried away with his “honest and courageous civil servant” role

    The tone you use here implies you think it’s wrong or worthy of distain that Bradly was honest and courageous. Would you like to elaborate on your opinion of him?

  57. randal 57

    make that “C&P” addicts. neither of you are bright enough to keep making this stuff up.

  58. r0b 58

    RedLogix: It was National who blatantly and grossly breached the intent of the 1992 Electoral Act with their use secret trusts to anonymously launder 90% of their campaign funds.

    Billy: You are wrong about the intent of the 1992 Act. Anonymous donations were the whole point. They were regarded as a virtue: the anonymity being between donor and political party. You might be skeptical about whether this actually occurred but a lot of lefties seem now to be pretending that the 1992 Act had some intention it clearly did not.

    Billy is right to the extent that we often oversimplify the 1993 Electoral Act (not 1992). If I can steal from NRT: “Section 214G of the Electoral Act 1993 requires party secretaries to file an annual return of donations, including the name and address of each person donating over $10,000 a year, or just the amount if the donation is anonymous. In order to be considered “anonymous” for the purposes of the Act, both candidates and party administrators must be unaware of the donor’s identity (s3(1)). Knowingly making a false return is a corrupt electoral practice and carries a penalty of one year’s imprisonment and a $20,000 fine.”

    So donations are supposed to be either (1) genuinely anonymous or (2) publicly listed – this is the intent of the law. National evaded the intent of the law by setting up shell trusts (like the “Waitemata trust”). Big money backers gave to the trusts which then gave to National. These people are not publicly listed so (2) is violated. And they are not genuinely anonymous either, as shown in The Hollow Men (see NRT link above), hence (1) is violated. The intent of the law is violated, but the letter of the law wasn’t technically broken, because the donations were listed as coming from these trusts.

    Hence RedLogix’s summary is essentially accurate: “National … blatantly and grossly breached the intent of the [1993] Electoral Act with their use secret trusts to anonymously launder 90% of their campaign funds.”

  59. r0b 59

    Look this is getting stupid, Labour retrospectively validated 14 years of questionable election spending returns.

    On the advice of Treasury, and as per standard practice (National once retrospectively validated $50 million in illegal spending). And still for the three dozenth time Burt can put “retrospectively” in bold, but he can’t tell us what is wrong with it.

    Now it’s all about what National did wrong.

    Yes it is, for a change!

    I don’t get it

    And you probably never will.

  60. RedLogix 60

    Look this is getting stupid, Labour retrospectively validated 14 years of questionable election spending returns.

    You have are possessed of a common misunderstanding.

    The spending HAD to be retrospectively validated for technical reasons as Rob outlined above. (Thanks for getting the details right.) It is has been done on a number of occasions in the past for all sorts of reasons without arousing the slightest political comment. You have fallen for the trap of misusing the technical term “retrospective validation” that means a very specific thing in a Parliamentary context, and loaded onto it a completely unwarranted and spurious meaning in a wider one.

    What validation did NOT do was “make null and void” the AG’s report. You cannot have it both ways. Validation was NOT a dodge to ‘legitimise the mis-spending’. If it had done so then none of the parties would have been under any obligation to repay any monies. Which with one exception, is a ruling they have complied with. That is the end of the matter.

    And yes it is about what National did wrong. As Opposition their current tactic of ‘being a small target’ is only useful as long as they remain out of power. But if the polls translate into a win for them this election, it will not only remain about what is wrong with National; they will have nowhere to hide… and no clue about what is going to hit them.

  61. burt 61

    National once retrospectively validated $50 million in illegal spending

    Oh that makes it all OK, a bit like this:

    Mr. [X] on trial for 17 murders said that Mr. [Y] murdered 25 people and that his 17 was not so bad. The Jury took 17 minutes under urgency to say that Mr. [X] was not as bad as Mr. [Y] and therefore we should call Mr. [X] good and Mr. [Y] bad.

    Thanks, I’m starting to get that breaking the law must be viewd relative to other law breaking and that there is no absolutes when talking about right/wrong in the context of dear leader.

  62. bill brown 62

    Hahaha, burt and d4j crow about how the latest polls show a lead for the Nats and then we get a mutual love in from them both: ha ha they all think we’re Nat supporters.

    Well if you’re not Nat supporters then talking about bad poll results is a bit of a laugh – what result did the party you support get? Was it above the margin of error? I doubt it.

  63. burt 63

    bill brown

    The party I support was below the margin of error. However I don’t feel compelled to make up justifications and/or stories about that.

    It just the way it is and the good thing about it is that I don’t actually care. It’s not like it actually matters because we all know that the parties with the biggest advertising budget spend will pull the rabbits out of the hat anyway. Then after stealing the election they will validate their illeagl campaigning and we will move on – or leave the country.

  64. bill brown 64

    “The party I support was below the margin of error.”

    That’s a relief, I’m glad to find you’re part of an insignificant minority.

  65. r0b 65

    Oh that makes it all OK, a bit like this:

    No Burt, that makes it all OK a bit like this: The retrospective validation of Government spending is a perfectly natural procedure that happens in most years.

    You are here whining and whining about Mr X, and you completely ignore Mr Y. You have already admitted that you are not interested in holding National to the same standards as Labour. Hence all of this is just your completely partisan National Good Labour Bad agenda.

    Fine, carry on.

  66. higherstandard 66

    Bill

    What you seem to ignore is that persons like D4J and Burt are also part of a significant majority in NZ which the polls have accurately represented for some time.

    That is the majority that want the current government out – it may grate significantly with many who post or communicate on this site but Labour will be voted out rather than National being voted in, this has happened repeatedly when governments have changed over the last few decades.

  67. burt 67

    That’s a relief, I’m glad to find you’re part of an insignificant minority.

    Do you really think I would be bagging the “one size fits all’ parties if I was a sheep who believed that one major party is good because it’s red OR one major party is good because it’s blue ?

    This is the good think about a democracy, you get to cast your vote based on your principals every now and then. Once you have done that people with no principals can claim that the unprincipled actions of the party that stole the election are OK because it’s the party they voted for. Then we can all move on. Funny how principals become something to denigrate somebody for when you can’t hold the actions of your own party up as a good example.

    rOb – I don’t support National, but they didn’t vote to hide 14 years of dishonesty. Can you clarify why if it pretty much happens every election why then were 14 years of validation required – surely 3 (or 6) would have done it? Was there possibly something different about this case?

  68. T-rex 68

    HA!

    Quoting from the bible? Yup, rewording and mocking a religious parable is me at my most reverent. Sorry if the reference was too obscure for you there D4J, I should have realised I hadn’t dumbed it down far enough.

    Burt, it’s like this. I have a choice between totally immoral and self interested with complete disregard for the wellbeing of the majority of NZ (National), and the relatively moral and reliable Labour who seem to be genuinely working towards the best result for the most people and who I know AREN’T just paying lip service to it, because they’ve spent 9 years walking the talk.

    The choice is fu*cking obvious.

    As to the polls, thus far National has essentially been campaigning on the following platform:

    Vote National. We’ll do everything Labour will do, but better and with more spending allocated, and we’ll give you a huge tax cut. How? By the magic of ANTI-WASTE!

    People are already asking questions though – soon National are going to have to add the postscript of:

    It’s kind of like selling your soul, only you can pretend ignorance if you try really hard. Anyway, by “we’ll give you tax cuts” we really mean “we’ll give you tax cuts if you happen to be a you who earns quite a bit”. And if you’re one of those “you’s” then your gross abuse of the rest of society (through our proxy action) probably won’t hit to close to home initially so hey, forget it.

    Frankly, anyone who responds to a phone poll with “if there was an election tomorrow I’ll definitely Nationa” is basically just gullible. They’re choosing the mystery box. And really they’re choosing the mystery box while crossing their fingers and turning a blind eye to the aura of deceit. There’s still plenty of time for them to realise they’ve been suckered, so break out the banjos and get stuck into the grain alcohol while you can 😛 And perhaps pause to consider whether you’ve been suckered while you’re at it.

    End of the day, I’d lend 20 bucks to Cullen or Clark. I’d probably lend money to Key. But I wouldn’t go anywhere near English or Brownlee.

  69. bill brown 69

    Well you’d better hold on tight to those principles because if the Nats get in there goes proportional representation and your dissenting views will be obliterated by the FPP levelling machine.

    Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.

  70. T-rex 70

    Burt = United Future

    Surely.

    Interesting. I’d always wondered who the hell voted for them!!!

  71. r0b 71

    That is the majority want the current government out

    The majority of a somewhat biased sample who (1) get surveyed and (2) respond to the survey. It probably does represent a majority of the true general population, but not by as much as the polls claim.

    it may grate significantly with many who post or communicate on this site but Labour will be voted out rather than National being voted in

    Sure does!

    this has happened repeatedly when governments changed over the last few decades.

    Yes, the big wheel keeps on turning, it’s a very hard trend to buck. But rest assured that we’ll do our best. Change just for the sake of change needs to be weighed in the balance with 9 years of excellent government vs. a probable return to the 90’s.

  72. higherstandard 72

    r0b

    Don’t give the NZ public too much of a hard time they have chosen a very worthy person to replace Sir Ed as our most trusted living citizen.

  73. ” Sorry if the reference was too obscure for you there D4J, I should have realised I hadn’t dumbed it down far enough.”

    Don’t be sorry T-rex, just look at the polls and see who is the dumb one.Bad luck dear!

  74. bill brown 74

    “Frankly, anyone who responds to a phone poll with “if there was an election tomorrow I’ll definitely National’ is basically just gullible”

    Then you get the one’s who think the question is “Who do you think will win the next election” – well that’ll be the Nats – I heard it on the news.

    Or the ones that say what they think the pollster wants to hear – and I wouldn’t underestimate this number, especially after the EB’s push polling last time.

    And then there’s people like me – “none of your business and don’t call this number again I’m trying to eat may tea”

  75. bill brown 75

    Oh yeah d4j – is the party you support above the margin of error? Does it even show up in the poll? has it ever? are ya a party of one?

  76. r0b 76

    Ok Burt, you are trying to ask rational questions. Good development. I hope it’s a sign that yo are ready to move on from the Kiwiblog Right partisan lies on this topic.

    rOb – I don’t support National, but they didn’t vote to hide 14 years of dishonesty.

    It’s not 14 years of dishonesty – argh! (and if it was 5 of those years would belong to National governments). It’s 14 years of perfectly normal practice that the Auditor-General’s decisions after the 2005 election called into question.

    In 2006 Treasury advised that on the basis of the Auditor-General’s report all party spending since 1989 had probably been unlawful, which therefore left the Government’s books for that period unlawful. Legitimate accounts, which were nothing to do with election spending, were being refused for payment. This situation had to be resolved. Treasury advised retrospective validation to restore the long accepted status quo and so that the Government of NZ could function (pay its bills).

    Can you clarify why if it pretty much happens every election why then were 14 years of validation required – surely 3 (or 6) would have done it? Was there possibly something different about this case?

    Yes Burt, there was something different about this case, the spending involved related to elections (under both National and Labour governments since 1989. Why 1989 (why 14 years of spending) – because that is when the Public Finance Act 1989 (which created the existing regime for election spending) became law.

    To sum up Burt – law in 1989. National and Labour governments operate under that law. AG’s decision in 2005 challenges standard operation. On the advice of Treasury, so that Government can function, retrospective legislation validates established practices of National and Labour governments since 1989. Life goes on as normal. The Kiwiblog Right successfully paint all this has some kind of Evil Plot, and Burt runs that line forever more. Sigh.

  77. burt 77

    T-Rex

    Burt = United Future

    You really don’t get this ‘principal’ thing do you? Dunne is a windsock, anyone who can vote for (or abstain on) retrospective validation isn’t going to get my vote . You have shown that although you do a good job of keeping up the denigration you don’t actually listen to what is being said.

    Compare how one party treated an MP who was suspected of being involved in illegal activities did they hand over said MP to the police to get it all cleared up or did they put said MP on garden leave and continue to use their vote for 2 years ? (IE: Look after their position in parliament before all else)

    Moving on from retrospective validation because people with no principals have no issue with that, how about Taito Field, we can get onto how Benson-Pope survived for so long after that.

  78. r0b 78

    Don’t give the NZ public too much of a hard time

    Didn’t do any such thing HS.

    they have chosen a very worthy person to replace Sir Ed as our most trusted living citizen.

    Good for us.

  79. bill brown 79

    I thought UF might be a bit popular for Burt – need to move down the pecking order a bit.

    I mean I’ve actually met people who’ve voted for it – well for Peter Dunne anyway. Mind you I did live in his electorate then.

  80. higherstandard 80

    Bill

    Burt does indeed make a good point there are very few parties in NZ that have behaved as fast and firmly as Prebble did in the relation to Huata issue when dealing with their own MPs.

  81. T-rex 81

    I’m pleased you think Dunne is a windsock at least. I was fooled by the fact that he’s forever bleating on about principles.

    Ok, you vote for someone else then. I don’t actually care who, flaky inrealistic parties are a dime a dozen in the bottom end of the spectrum.

  82. burt 82

    HS

    I’ll wait now for a defender of the status quo to tell me that what ACT did was highly irregular and the normal practice (as seen with Taito Field) is “the norm’ and since it’s “the norm’ it’s not only acceptable but it’s also defendable on the grounds of convention. Then we can debate about how ridiculous it was for ACT to take any notice of the law when they could have just pretended that it never happened. After all one only needs to look at how decimated ACT were in the election that followed that to realise that they did the wrong thing from a power at any price perspective.

    I have no issue with being an irrelevant minority, the upside is I get to say what I think without needing to consider how it might reflect on my political party of choice. There are enough sheep in this country to ensure that major parties continue to be elected on mass, the little voice from the corner saying “something is wrong here’ won’t make much of a difference but that’s the way it is.

  83. T-rex 83

    The upside is that you get to say what you think. The downside is that you’re still irrelevant.

    If the little voice in the corner was smart he/she would join a major party and change it from within.

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    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    6 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    7 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    7 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    7 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    1 week ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    1 week ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago

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

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