If a thousand baby flamingos die in the desert does anyone hear them howl?

Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, July 16th, 2021 - 43 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, Environment, farming, food - Tags:

This was meant to be a post about #howlofaprotest and it kind of still is. I was going to talk about the collapse of the National Party as a driver of farmer unrest who are feeling the weight of the vacuum where there should be political power, and how the left still thinks we can safely ignore and laugh at ute protestors because god Jacinda right is on our side. And I kind of am still saying that.

Because I saw this,

Full Reuters piece here. Whatever finely balanced truth of that particular situation, there are a million others that can easily be put up in its place (so please spare me the reductionist rearranging of the deck chairs).

And here’s the list of Groundswell NZ’s demands (PDF), basically a short inventory of self-serving, climate and ecology denying rhetoric that seems to be saying that farmers can be trusted to do the right things. Despite the evidence. Not even going to unpack that, because All the right words on climate have already been said.

Let me summarise. Climate change is here now, not some distant future for the grandkids to worry about. So is ecological collapse. Life on earth is at serious risk in our lifetimes if we don’t take radical action now.

Let the farmers howl*. I’m more interested in what the people who understand the climate and ecology crises are doing. All the people criticising farmers and ute-owners today, how much are we willing to change our own lives to save life on earth? Or is it just other people that should be making sacrifices and cognitive shifts?

There’s a bit of ironic schadenfreude, hoisted on all our own petards here. The protest’s punchline appears to be no farmers/no food. But the industrial farming model being fought for here is a massive part of why in the end even New Zealand will have food shortages. Yes in New Zealand we want the cheap food the global supply chain serves up and that farmers enable. We’re less concerned about the poor countries that will starve first, and we’ve yet to connect the dots around our own footprints being part of the mass flamingo deaths on the other side of the world.

Farmers aren’t the problem here, they’re the mirror New Zealand is holding up to itself. We say we want change, despite the evidence.

 

*shout out to the farmers who are doing the right things, and the ones who are moving in the right direction. My apologies for talking about farmers as if a single group, but the hour is getting late.

43 comments on “If a thousand baby flamingos die in the desert does anyone hear them howl? ”

  1. roy catrtland 1

    shout out to the farmers who are doing the right things

    That's why it's so hard to have much sympathy for these protests. Their arguments are not in good faith. The polluters and destroyers piggyback themselves onto the good work of all those progressive farmers who are trying to, and often succeeding in, doing the right thing.

    There was one photo of a protest sign threatening food insecurity for city folk: so unless they're can export 95% and sell up to foreign corporates, we can all go hungry? If someone plants a flax bush by some river they've destroyed, that let's the rest off the hook?

    • weka 1.1

      please fix your username on next comment

    • weka 1.2

      I know. It's hard to see the pushback against climate action. And the arguments don't stack up. But if we think they're the problem we have massively taken our eye of the ball (which we have).

      Follow up post: why incremental land use change (that leftie townies want) won't save us or the planet from the flamingos fate.

      • Cricklewood 1.2.1

        I have some sympathy outside of water pollution issues we have a productive sector getting pointed at re co2 methane etc when the crypto industry is now a bigger co2 emitter than Greece… and someone trading a relatively small number of coins here actually has a very large carbon footprint we just dont count it becausenits offshore.

        Climate change is a global problem and getting rid of or forcing crypto mining to renewable energy will make a helleva big difference in that regard.

        I would love Jacinds to use her megaphone to start a global conversation around the coal fired crypto currency.

        Having trouble linking to crypto stats sorry

        • Cricklewood 1.2.1.1

          Adding to the above I'm also thinking being lectured about water quality is a slightly bitter pill when Auckland and Wellington probably others are literally pouring shit in enormous quantities into the harbours due to a failure of us city folk to maintain and develop our infrastructure.

          That needs a serious conversation as well. Stones glass houses etc

          • greywarshark 1.2.1.1.1

            Well I'll eat less and hold in for a day if you will Cricklewood.

          • Roy cartland 1.2.1.1.2

            Totally agree, it's a disgrace. Infrastructure improvement would create jobs as well as enviro benefit.

            Problem is, each farm produces hundreds more waste per person than a city, and with it all being shipped overseas they even holds for near-eaters; farms now owned by foreigners, the benefit to the country is scant.

            Farmers can either be part of the solution now, or it will come for them later.

    • Jenny how to get there 1.3

      roy catrtland

      16 July 2021 at 3:12 pm

      …..There was one photo of a protest sign threatening food insecurity for city folk:

      Photos and video of this protest show more than one sign making veiled threats to food production.

      How should 'city folk' respond to such threats?

      Personally; I will respond by spending more time in our local community garden.

      Collectively; Urban authorities could respond to these veiled threats by putting more funding toward addressing food insecurity, by supporting initiatives like community gardens and even urban farming.

      Household Food Insecurity Among Children: New Zealand Health Survey

      This report describes the prevalence of household food insecurity among our tamariki….

      …..for almost one in five children their household experienced severe to-moderate food insecurity

      https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/household-food-insecurity-among-children-new-zealand-health-survey-jun19.pdf#:~:text=In%20New%20Zealand%2C%20food%20insecurity

      URBAN FARMING 101

      Urban farming is the act of growing plants or raising animals in or around the city….

      https://www.freightfarms.com/urban-farming?utm_campaign=Google%20Ads%20-%20Product%20-%20Urban&utm_source=ppc&msclkid=102340a496d5157a9181205613352664

  2. Jenny how to get there 2

    Suggesting that the ute tax and the water protection measures proposed by the Government, will be the end for farmers, one of the signs held at the farmers protest, read.

    "NO FARMERS NO FOOD.

    It could just have easily read, "NO CLIMATE NO FARMS".

    It is my considered opinion, that the collapse of modern industrial agriculture due to extreme weather events resulting from climate change, drought, heatwaves, super cyclones, flooding, sea level rise and infrastructure collapse, is a more likely outcome, if we do nothing about cutting our emissions.

    http://www.viruscomix.com/carmageddon.html

    (Most commercial farming in New Zealand is less about feeding New Zealanders than it is about exporting for the bigger profits made in overseas markets).

    • Jenny how to get there 2.1

      A howl of ugliness

      Friday, July 16, 2021

      …… with signs displaying racism, gun nuttery, more racism, and of course sexism, misogyny, and an obsession with dead political ideologies. And we haven't even got to the weird conspiracy theorist stuff yet!

      http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-howl-of-ugliness.html

      Do protesters who publicly espouse fascist and racist and sexist messages deserve our support?

      A howl of ugliness

      Friday, July 16, 2021

      ….The core message of their "howl of protest" is meant to be "no farmers, no food"

      http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-howl-of-ugliness.html

      Two can play that game.

      The government could announce that they are putting major investment into Urban Farming to protect Food Security from all threats.

      Let us find out who really needs who.

      • Incognito 2.1.1

        Why do you push polarisation and sow division? You did it with the walking & cycling bridge and now you’re doing it with the farmers, in several comments today. Do you like power play at the expense of others? Do you like Hollywood movies? Oh yes, you do!

        • Jenny how to get there 2.1.1.1

          Incognito

          18 July 2021 at 7:47 pm

          Why do you push polarisation and sow division? You did it with the walking & cycling bridge and now you’re doing it with the farmers, in several comments today……..

          Hi Incognito,

          I am not pushing polarisation I am trying to create unity.
          I don''t know how you make out that my post on the cycling & walking bridge and associated comments, was pushing polarisation and sowing division.

          My post on walking & cycling bridge was about uniting the cycling community with the public transport community.

          Public transport, to complement cycling? « The Standard

          In my post and related comments I argued that making public transport fare free over the Harbour Bridge could possibly create the room for a cycle lane, which is what the cycle protesters wanted. Negating the need to build a separate stand alone bridge for bikes and walkiers.

          I suggested that making the busway fare free would compensate commuters for losing one traffic lane to bikes, so as not to widen the existing division between cycllists and commuters..

          The Auckland Harbour Bridge was designed and built and (added onto) as a motorway for vehicular traffic only.

          To change this after the fact has proved difficult..

          It's a matter of physics.

          Unfortunately the government election promise of a skyway attached to the existing structure could not be realised.
          Engineers have since determined that the existing structure cannot be added to.

          This caused a lot of disappointment amongst the cycling community, leading to cycle protesters pushing past police to trespass on the carriageway. Asking for one lane of the Harbour Bridge to be set aside for bicycles and pedestrian for a 3 month trial.

          Rather than take one lane away from the vehicular traffic, (even as a trial), as was asked for by the cyclists, the government offered the cyclists a separate stand alone cycle walking bridge to be built beside the existing bridge, estimated cost $785 million..

          It can be reasonably argued, that it is this hugely expensive and controversial project, that has caused polarisation and division.

          If you ask me, it is the proposed stand alone $785 cycle Bridge that has caused polarisation and sowed divisions, being opposed by leading cycle activists, and giving ammunition to our political opponents in the National and Act Parties to attack us as wasteful tax and spend socialists.

          My post was about uniting people around equity for both cyclists and commuters. I don't see how you can make out that this is polarising and sowing division.

          Some/many have noted that ferries can transport cyclists across the harbour, (and already do),

          I have suggested that every commuter that boards a ferry (or train), with a bike, which represents one less car on the road be granted free passage. I can't see how voicing such ideas is 'divisive'. Especially as various forms of free public transit has proved successful in number of overseas countries.

          How is that divisive?

          Some have suggested that crossing the harbour bridge on foot or bike is not about commuting but more about the experience.

          To scratch that itch, Michael Wood the Minister for transport, has suggested that every Sunday one lane of the Bridge be closed to cars and given over to cyclists and pedestrians.

          This is a wonderful idea and I hope it can be trialed very soon. I am sure it would be wildly popular with Aucklanders of all political persuasions. (And way cheaper than building a whole new bridge that nobody asked for)

          I also wrote it would be a shame for the iconic heritage houses and the mature Pohutukawa and other mature trees on the Northern approach that make our bridge so unique and iconic to be removed to make way for the cycle bridge, amounted to cultural vandalism.

          Auckland’s Northern Pathway « The Standard

          You have made it quite clear that you hold completely different political views to myself, that's OK,

          In an effort to determine the best outcomes, it would be a sad world if people didn't hold, (and air), trheir different view points,.and I respect that…
          I am forthright in putting my own pollitical views different to yours, I make no apology for that.
          I am sorry that you find different political views to yours irksome, unfortunately that is the nature of polemics.

        • Jenny how to get there 2.1.1.2

          Incognito

          18 July 2021 at 7:47 pm</a>

          Why do you push polarisation and sow division? You did it with the walking &amp; cycling bridge and now you&rsquo;re doing it with the farmers, in several comments today……

          I am sorry you feel that way.

          My intention is not to creat division. What I was trying to do with my post and related comments on the proposed cycle bridge is create equity in outcomes for taxpayers and cyclists and commuters and the climate. In effect I am trying to turn the existing divisions into unity.

          I am not creating divisions,, I am trying to bridge (pun iintended) the divisions.between the various stakeholders with an interest in the future or our city's transport network, in this case as relating to our much loved and iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge.

          The divisions already exist, nothing I have written or said has created them.

          Cycle campaigner says, 'no to bridge'

          ….Bevan Woodward, a cycling campaigner who has clashed with Waka Kotahi – the New Zealand Transport Agency – in the past, was wondering why the government had just committed to spending close to a billion dollars without even trying an obvious alternative.

          &quot;That is to take the westernmost lane for walking and cycling. Do it initially as a trial to see if it works. We know it's worked many times overseas. Let's try it out – if it works, then that should be the solution,&quot; Woodward said.&lt;/i&gt;

          Radio New Zealand 5 June 2021

          https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444079/auckland-harbour-cycle-and-pedestrian-bridge-facing-criticism-from-both-sides</a>ugc

  3. Janet 3

    You say “Environmentalists blame farming practices along with climate change for the drought, “ I blame unfettered human populations that need more and more food to survive.

    Farmers’ current offending farming practises are the result of our scientists leading them to implement them over the last 7 decades– now scientists are back tracking so must lead and educate the farmers back to better environmental farming practises. This has already been under way for about two decades. It is the laggers that need prodding along not all farmers.

    You say “All the people criticising farmers and ute-owners today, how much are we willing to change our own lives to save life on earth?

    To begin with those of us who have been farming sustainably for the last 2 – 3 decades look to be the bigger losers the way SNA is shaping up.

    And finally, while farmers are adjusting and many people are adjusting their lives to help fit the environments needs, why are we worshipping rocket ship technology .

    Space launches can have a hefty carbon footprint due to the burning of solid rocket fuels. Many rockets are, however, propelled by liquid hydrogen fuel, which produces ‘clean’ water vapour exhaust, although the production of hydrogen itself can cause significant carbon emissions. Rocket engines release trace gases into the upper atmosphere that contribute to ozone depletion, as well as particles of soot.

    Rocket launches are nonetheless relatively infrequent, meaning that their overall impact on our climate remains much smaller than aviation’s. But it’s not just our immediate environment: ‘space junk’ is a growing concern as disused satellites and other objects accumulate in our planet’s orbit.”

    This is pure hypocrisy and if it isn,t then needs explaining.

    Why are we throwing 1080 pellets over large tracts of our lands when the world wants “pure and natural?” And there are other very effective alternative ways to pest control to help save our environment.

    And so on …. Its not just the lagging farmers that have to change their ways, it is big business, it is little business, it is the affluent people and the poor, it is everyone that must look to fit within the environment’s restraints.

  4. Patricia Bremner 4

    Just to underline your post Weka, a "Code RED" weather event in Buller, and in Germany and Belgium where freakish weather is washing away homes.

    Rivers in our overheated skies, patterns changing faster than life can adjust. We all need to change how we do things and how we live, including land hungry developers and factory farmers.

  5. greywarshark 5

    About five huge tractors in a line, washed and looking as if they are out for a run to town. All seem the same type – a chance for a dealer to display his wares? They don't look like the impoverished farmers that they have come in to complain about.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/447045/farmers-protest-across-new-zealand-against-government-regulations

    In fact some of them have so many farms they have gobbled up which if they are buying them on leverage – small deposits and then counting on profits squeezed during the good times to pay them back, then of course any increase in spending per farm multiplied by 5-15 farms is going to mount up, may be unmanageable. Oh dear, get rich quick, off NZ isn't working as planned.

  6. Koff 6

    As Patricia Bremner points out there are many, many examples right now of how climate chage is ruining human existence on the planet… the excessive heat in the Pacific NW of America, the drying up of the Amazon, excessive rainfall in Germany, Belgium…. what more evidence do NZ farmers need of the need to change..fast. I'm up on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland at the moment… another place where climate change is causing deterioration of this beautiful ecosysystem through coral bleaching. Unesco is about to delist the Reef as a World Heritage Area, primarily because the Unesco Comittee thinks that the federal government here is doing sweet FU to reduce emissions, which is the primary reason for the deterioration in the reef. The Australian government response is similar in some ways to sections of NZ's farming community…denial that anything they are doing is at fault…a pity that the huge climate change demonstrations seem to have fizzled out worldwide…there needs to be some sharp response to the Howl mob.

    • Patricia Bremner 6.1

      One brave lady who had her sign grabbed sadly Koff. I think most who disagreed realised they could not compete with brand new tractors for spectacle.

      Many Australians and their pollies think "climate change" is bumff!! Even those affected by the terrible fires. Alan Jones is always slinging off.

      I think it is called denial. The Reef, Antarctica… and thousands of species being lost.

  7. All the rural protesters said was what they don't want; ranging from over-zealous rural water regulations to "Commie Prime Ministers".

    Totally negative comments, nothing constructive but that is what the protest organisers aimed at – a massive moaning session for anyone with an axe to grind.

    In the end, we all need to change our lifestyles significantly. Nature is now in control.

  8. Byd0nz 8

    I am a farmer, Moan moan moan, Pollute the river, Groan groan groan.

    Vote for National, Just for fun, Bashed wharfies heads in fifty-one.

    Drive me cows, with a heavy load, Let them shit, All over the road.

    I'm still a farmer………. GROAN GROAN GROAN.

  9. Muttonbird 9

    Grant Robertson made very good points on the radio today. That the government is looking to work in partnership with farmers in the same way they did when bailing them out after Mycoplasma Bovis. And in the same way they have helped ensure export mechanisms are still operating in a Covid world.

    The way I see it farmers are grizzling most because of a) the increased regulatory requirements around nitrate pollution – they hate paperwork and that can be seen in the way they dismissed NAIT which invited M Bovis to spread. Well, time to be responsible like the rest of the country, guys and gals.

    And b) the Three Waters roll out. This is huge for farming lobby groups. The current situation sees them dealing with small regional councils with limited funding and pliable, familiar, and weak governance. When the model goes to 4 large water industry bodies, their lobbying power will be greatly diminished. They are terrified of this.

    Also c) the reduced access to cheap foreign labour. Everyone loves to aspire to the increasing NZ's mysterious low productivity. There's nothing mysterious about it, we are too reliant on a model which produces primary goods at low cost. A few powerful primary industry heads and bodies are complicit in maintaining this environment of low expectation.

    Farmers need a rocket up their arse. Glad someone has finally stood up to them.

    • Craig H 9.1

      That point on export markets is critically important to farming, not just in terms of maintaining export facilities during Covid, but the general point that farmer lobbies around the world struggle to compete with NZ agriculture and lobby extensively for protectionist measures, and that we are signed up to a bunch of climate treaties and free trade agreements. It's not terribly difficult to imagine us being kicked out of some of those, or various carbon sanctions/tariffs being applied because of our perceived unfair advantage over farmers "doing the right thing" in the export market suddenly closing its doors to us.

  10. I watched the protest tractors utes and cars bring our provincial town to a standstill for way too long.

    Some had signage on them. None of it logical.

    I became depressed. That parade portrayed farmers as illogical, ignorant, arrogant spoilt playground bullies For the first time in my life I felt that farmers do not deserve respect.

    Talk about two year old tantrums? Time they grew up and became rational members of a fair society.

  11. Maurice 11

    "Without Farmers you would be naked, hungry and SOBER!"

    One of the more humorous (but true?) placards …. angel

    • Graeme 11.1

      The people reading the placard would probably be ok, the produce those holding the placard produce is mostly consumed somewhere other than New Zealand. A lot of what we consume comes from outside New Zealand. Our farmers also produce way more than we can ever consume

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/whoseatingnewzealand/446357/who-s-eating-new-zealand

      We could have a lot less farming, or a lot less intensive farming and it wouldn't make a lot of difference to those not involved in farming. A lot of farmers might find themselves naked, hungry and sober however.

      We've had the complete destruction of the inbound tourism industry in the past year. This industry was touted as being the equal of farming. Not making any claims re the veracity of that, there's some pretty wild coolaid passed around in that game. Has anyone outside the industry been affected negatively? Or even noticed?

      For most New Zealanders, probably 95% of, the change has been quite positive.

      • weka 11.1.1

        I expect some of the negative effects will be felt over time. Thinking about towns like Te Anau that don't have a winter season and now a much reduces summer season.

        Some of the effects won't be being measured eg the impacts on women via flow on job loss, or domestic violence.

        But I think your point is fair. Farming sector deserves critique for a range of reasons. Farmers are still people and should be treated as such rather than evil overlords.

        Tourism is different imo, because it's replaceable. We will always need farming and landcare.

        • Graeme 11.1.1.1

          Don't see the distinction that tourism is replaceable where farming isn't.

          We will still have tourism, even if international travel never returns to being the commodity it was pre covid. People will still need to get out of their home space to preserve their sanity. Go somewhere and have a break, re-create. Just they will do that within, or close to, New Zealand. Tourism will still be there, just we won't have massive amounts of inbound and out bound. Much more domestic focused, like in 60's and 70's.

          Agriculture is the same, it changes with changing market demands. Southland used to be predominantly sheep and cropping, now dairy is the main sector. Same in Canterbury, dairy has taken over what was once sheep and cropping. Weren't very many vineyards or kiwifruit orchards before the 70's either.

          Quite agree that the effects of the tourism transition will be felt over quite a period from the pov of those within. There's a grieving process going on and it's lengthy and emotional process, both for us within the industry and our customers.

          Our market is going through huge swings or bursts. One month you can't do anything wrong, customers are having great time and loving what we have in the gallery and the till's breaking records. The next we're taking 5% of our rent and people are abusing us from the street, even had a few come in and let rip.

          We've got a couple of online presences as well that aren't tourist focused and there's a similar variability but not to the degree we're seeing across the counter.

      • pat 11.1.2

        Dont know that holds water……the Ag sector would i suspect be considerably net positive in terms of FX earnings whereas all indications are that tourism may be neutral….and we like to import, indeed over the past few decades we have placed ourselves in the position where we have to.

        • Graeme 11.1.2.1

          Would be interesting to see just how much of dairy returns actually stays in the economy. A lot of expenditure on things that are imported, along with the debt servicing for that. Then you've got overseas ownership of so much of the industry, at all levels, which will be sucking money out of the economy. Sure there's some really good sides to agriculture that are funnelling net overseas cash into the economy, but there's a lot that I'd be pretty doubtful there's actually a net gain for the economy, especially when socialised costs are included.

          Really don't see a lot of difference to tourism.

          • pat 11.1.2.1.1

            As you say it would be interesting to see…we may be falsely assuming a net benefit to NZ Inc as we did with international tourism for years.

            I wonder if that work has been done?…I suspect its one of those questions that no one in a position to evaluate wants to know the answer to.

  12. Sabine 12

    Currently in Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg,

    2 month worth of rain in two hours.

    Currently standing at 125+ death, 1300 people missing, thousands homeless, and villages that stood for several hundreds of years washed away. This death toll will go up by the hour.

    This is not something that one can fix with the help of EV cars, or some tinkering around the edges to make some groups feel superior to other groups.

    This is only something that we can adjust to if we actually understand that it is not one group alone but our collective future.

    Yet, here we think that if we all drive 'clean energy cars' or we designate a swath of land to 'SNA' areas will bargain us out of this messy, uncontrollable and deadly future.

    How much water goes down the drain in our big cities alone for showering/bathing/flushing the toilets?

    Our old waste water infrastructure, and the overflow goes into the harbour.

    Our need for our single serve car, fossil fuel all of them, and yeah, i put EV into there too. Cause that Electricity needs to come from somewhere, the rare earth minerals need to come from somewhere.

    WE need to rip up streets and other concreted over spaces to green over and re-create green spaces, but we are not doing that.

    Climate Change is happening, has been happening for a time now, and no we can't bargain us out there with cheap and meaningless rethoric about designating spaces as SNA or with the purchase of a 30.000+ dollar that pretends to be a smidgen more environmentally friendly.

    Blade Runner comes to mind, the world is orange, billboards galore, grubs as protein and flying cars. 🙂 Maybe we are all replicants.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/germany-floods-latest-belgium-map-b1885532.html

  13. barry 13

    Groundswell have a lot of demands, but no answers. They are effectively saying that some farmers are good, and shouldn't have to suffer regulations. But they don't talk about the others that are the problem, and how to improve their practices.

    In the end it is the fact that farming now is not what it was a generation ago. Some farmers are not very good business people (no matter how good they are at looking after the land and their stock), and in another industry they would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.

    It sounds very much like Trump followers in the US. Longing for a past time that never really existed. They are blaming Labour for their local (right leaning) council not fixing roads. or regulations brought in by National.

    The Ute tax seems to have been a catalyst, but it will make up a very small portion of their costs.

  14. Ed 14

    I cannot believe New Zealanders cannot look at the weather events in the past week in Canada, Belgium, Germany and New Zealand, and then turn up to protests wanting to rip up regulations about the environment.

    No climate.

    No food.

    • Sabine 14.1

      and I can not believe that Kiwis look at what happened in all of these places and think that EV's, SNA's etc will help stem the tide.

  15. Jake 15

    The huge tractor I saw driving in a narrow one way street in Ak Central yesterday was straight out of the showroom..no wonder some one who doesn’t like being told ‘what to do by a girl’ would like to take it for a joy ride. A photo of a home made placard on the scoop of a tractor said Say NO to Gobby and her Communism

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    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    9 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
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