Key attempts misdirection, blind trust questions remain unanswered

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, May 28th, 2010 - 57 comments
Categories: accountability, Politics - Tags: , ,

John Key has just issued a press release answering questions no one asked. Mr Key says he doesn’t have a beneficial interest in Whitechapel – the ‘key hole’ to seeing his blind trust. But Key doesn’t answer the central question surrounding this issue. Why does Whitechapel clearly seem depict the interests of his so-called ‘blind’ trust?

Key says in his statement:

“The advice from the law firm that established Aldgate, my blind trust, states I don’t have ‘any ownership or other interest in Whitechapel’, and that it is not correct for Mr Hodgson to claim the assets I did own were ‘transferred’ to Whitechapel Ltd.  They were in fact sold to Whitechapel.

“All this means that I have no beneficial interest in Whitechapel Ltd, which is central to Labour’s claims of a conflict of interest.

But that’s not the point. The point is why do Mr Key’s private interests appear to be perfectly visible through Whitechapel, making his trust anything but blind? Labour MP Pete Hodgson says the following in reply to Mr Key’s statement:

Prime Minister John Key’s statement refuting conflict of interest allegations has taken the debate precisely nowhere, Labour MP Pete Hodgson said today.

‘The central question remains ‘How can John Key prove that he could not see into his own blind trust through viewing Whitechapel Limited’,’ Pete Hodgson said.

‘Mr Key’s lawyers have not addressed that question.

‘Incidentally, their advice in paragraph two would seem to suggest that they have a different view of what is meant by ‘blind trust’ than does the Cabinet Manual in paragraph 2.70(f).

If Mr Key’s trust is not blind, which it appears not to be, then serious conflict of interest issues arise. The PM has said nothing so far to clear up that crucial point.

Misdirection is not answering the question.

57 comments on “Key attempts misdirection, blind trust questions remain unanswered ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bright Red 1
    28 May 2010 at 4:45 pm

    No-one ever claimed he has a beneficial interest in Whitechapel.

    He has a beneficial interest in Aldgate, Aldgate has the beneficial interest in Whitechapel. It puts a distance between Key and Whitechapel but only as a legal fiction. The reality is what is in Aldgate is in Whitechapel and Key can see what is in Whitechapel.

    • Lanthanide 1.1
      28 May 2010 at 4:51 pm

      Thanks, that finally clears this up for me as I’ve been lost on this issue.

  2. mickysavage 2
    28 May 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Mr Key says he doesn’t have a beneficial interest in Whitechapel

    Possibly not but it appears that he has a beneficial interest in a trust that has a beneficial interest in property which is nominally owned by one company and the shares of that company are owned by another company that his trust may or may not have a beneficial ownership in.

    Talk about misdirection.

    EDIT – probably what Red said I think.

    • Jim Nald 2.1
      28 May 2010 at 4:56 pm

      It may not be blindingly obvious just yet but …. sniff sniff …. it smells fishy.

  3. MikeG 3
    28 May 2010 at 4:55 pm

    I’ve just posted this on the other “Key” thread, so apologies to those who read it twice!

    Key continues to make statements that are on the wrong side of the truth, and the the so-called legal advice does nothing to clear things up.
    1. He says that the shares were ‘sold’ to Whitechapel if so, why did he say a month or so later that he had shares in a vineyard?
    2. He says that he doesn’t know the other shareholders in the vineyard. This at best is not believeable to own 10% of a company with only 10 other shareholders, and not know them! Hard to prove either way I admit, but most people would check out the other shareholders before buying a 10% stakeholding.
    3. The wine is not from the vineyard stated on the label. OK, not a lie, but certainly a mis-representation. Just as well they were not being sold or this would definitely be bigger than paintergate.
    4. The connection between the vineyard that he doesn’t know if he has a share in or not, and the winery that did the bottling, trademark registration etc. Just coincidence?

    • ghostwhowalksnz 3.1
      28 May 2010 at 7:24 pm

      Exactly , you have a minority interest with a small group of shareholders, yet you dont know who they are? ( are they drug dealers , unlikely but you get what I mean)
      Beggars belief that he operates as ‘mum and dad’ investor.

      As for the wine not being from the winery, its semantics as most vineyard based wineries use grapes from other vineyards, whether small or large

    • B Ormsby 3.2
      29 May 2010 at 8:44 am

      John Key does know (at least) one of the other shareholders in the vinyard, because I know one of the shareholders. He is my friend’s boss, and he has told her that he owns said vinyard with John Key.

  4. Santi 4
    28 May 2010 at 5:12 pm

    From the right: I’m fed up with Key. Sack the corrupt PM!

  5. Tigger 5
    28 May 2010 at 5:26 pm

    The lawyer’s letter only makes Key look more shonky. Lawyer’s letters are rarely a good idea when honesty is under fire.

    This should have been saved for any investigation but being released now has only put more fuel in the fire.

    Key’s PR is usually so good. Methinks panic has caused this kneejerk response.

  6. Herodotus 6
    28 May 2010 at 5:30 pm

    I hope this sticks otherwise a few more nails in the coffin RIP Labour. You cannot keep thowing dirt it will stick somewhere either the target or the thrower. Dont forget the Indain women that was closer to Lab than the party let on regarding the Worthy case, was it emails, texts I cannot tell the difference and they were not as juicy as Mr Goff initmate.
    If there was anything of real conflict of interest I would have thought it would have been released a few days before the budget. Especially as on the surface the budget over delivered on the so called short commings Lab was spouting off. i.e Not enough money to the less well off. Well the budget delivered more. Well it did deliver more before we feel the impact of the small print.
    Other wise all we the public will be getting is a Tease and no delivery, we do lose interest after a while and if something or importance arises then it will be missed.

    [lprent: That is a particularly bad example of the stupid troll diversion tactic. Go away for a two week ban. Learn not to do such daft diversions. ]

    • ianmac 6.1
      28 May 2010 at 5:33 pm

      Deflection/diversion Hero? A bit thin old chap.

      • Herodotus 6.1.1
        28 May 2010 at 5:45 pm

        Not at all. Remeber the boy who cried wolfe. He already has used up at least his 1st get out of jail card.
        Next it could be scaled down in that John Key acted according to the law BUT his actions are not moral …
        I just hope that there is a backup plan if we find nothing has been breached. But then the political game will just move on. The players will play and the public will be more dispising of the politicians who never what to progress for the public. This has been seen before this play. butthen I could be wrong and this could be the real thing.

    • mickysavage 6.2
      28 May 2010 at 5:36 pm

      Crosby Textor alert, Crosby Textor alert

      When in trouble do the following:

      1. Bring up the Indian Woman even though she did nothing wrong and Goff acted like a gentleman.
      2. Say it will cost Labour support.
      3. Deny there was a conflict even though the blind would see there was.
      4. Say it is just “Labour being political”
      5. Talk about the Budget.
      6. Talk about anything even if it makes no sense.

  7. tc 7
    28 May 2010 at 5:32 pm

    Whilst I can’t say I follow the detailed legal issues for me and alot of punters it comes down to the reasonableness test i.e. would a self made man just give over millions of his investments and be totally unaware of the composition of what he’s giving over ? Would he be unaware of any changes to the investment portfolio in the ‘blind’ trust ?

    Let’s remember the man is PM and has a far higher duty of care then he’s ever been used to as a dealer and it shows…..vineyards aren’t great investments and any adverse impact on wine consumption effects the value so the conflict is clear in terms of the alcohol excise issue.

    I have no issue with his wealth but a big issue with the influence his investments has on his decisions as PM (Tranzrail, mining shares, a vineyard etc) and yet again he’s lied…..if it’s blind how do you know you have shares in a vineyard sideshow john?…….now watch his msm apologists go into overdrive to help the lying toad out again…..what a disgrace he is.

  8. Bright Red 8
    28 May 2010 at 5:47 pm

    The lawyer’s letter (http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1005/Letter.pdf) says Key is not a trustee of a named beneficiary of Aldgate trust but the Pecuniary interests register says he is. Dodgy.

    The lawyer’s letter also explains that the legal fiction is the other way round than I described. I thought the layers ran Aldgate, which runs Whitechapel. Turns out Whitechapel run Aldgate and holds its assets as trustee. The lawyers run Whitechapel.

    Doesn’t make any substantive difference. And one is still left asking why Whitechapel exists except to make the assets that are in Aldgate open to anyone who looks in Whitechapel.

    The bit about Whitechapel buying the assets at value is obvious, never in question. Anyone who has set up a family trust knows about the legal fiction where you loan the trust the money at zero percent, which it then uses to buy your assets and you forgive the 0% interest debt over time to avoid gift duty.

    • Lanthanide 8.1
      28 May 2010 at 6:20 pm

      Ahh, I wondered how it was possible to transfer large $$ into trusts to avoid gift duty.

      However the lowest threshold is something like $27.5k/year, so wouldn’t this essentially mean that any transfers of say $500k into a trust would take ~18 years to fully clear? That’s quite a long time, and I imagine it could be problematic if you were transferring a few million into one?

      • mickysavage 8.1.1
        28 May 2010 at 6:38 pm

        $27k per person. The Keys could do $54k a year.

        Transferring the asset from one trustee to another trustee does not require gift duty to be paid. This is where the transactions are probably happening and Oh to see the paperwork.

        It should be remembered that there are two law firms involved acting for different entities. There is Ross and Whitney acting for Key and Taylor Grant Tesiram acting for who knows.

        The letter misses the point. The problem is that Key as PM can make decisions that directly benefit a trust which will result in his family getting a pecuniary advantage and he pretty well knows what assets the trust has.

        As MF said the issue is not control of the trust, it is benefiting from Government decisions.

        And Key fails the smell test.

    • Rosy 8.2
      28 May 2010 at 7:54 pm

      I was wondering where the trust got the money to buy his assets, thanks. Maybe this needs explaining to us people who don’t have trusts, otherwise we might believe Key. Heaven forbid!

  9. Craig Glen Eden 9
    28 May 2010 at 6:02 pm

    The reason he cant address the major issues is he has lied and now all he can do is spin, Mickey is spot on I think. On top of that Pete Hodgson is no fool and he will have done his home work he is not prone to the same sloppyness as Mike Williams.
    The way Hodgson has asked specific questions of Key has really set up the inexperienced PM well and truly. Its very clear why all the wingnuts are out in full voice because Key has taken a big hit in the credibility stakes.

  10. Ron 10
    28 May 2010 at 6:13 pm

    He ripped off New Zealanders in the 1980’s and he’s ripping them off now. He’s gotta go.
    captcha: smile

  11. ianmac 11
    28 May 2010 at 7:17 pm

    On TV News tonight Key used the words “transferred” as opposed to “sold”

  12. I dreamed a dream 12
    28 May 2010 at 7:17 pm

    Question: Why is Key not getting legal advice from Crown Law/Solicitor General instead of those private lawyers? This is an issue of public interest in relation to the Prime Minister. So, why is he not getting advice from Crown Law?

    • ghostwhowalksnz 12.1
      28 May 2010 at 7:33 pm

      Its Keys style to bring a document which he then ‘claims absolves him completely’

      Doesnt matter that it is just a legal doughnut, its his peg to hang his hat , and hell repeat it until hes blue in the face.

      English did it with his QCs opinion about his family trust. Trouble was the Auditor general ran her eye over it and demolished the QCs arguement, but then ducked the issue by saying it’ wasnt intentional so was OK’

      Smile and wave a legal document

  13. mickysavage 13
    28 May 2010 at 8:01 pm

    I think I have an understanding of the issue. There is not one trust but two.

    In 2008 Key disclosed the existence of the JP & BI Key Family Trust in the Parliamentary Register of Pecuniary Interests. It is possible that this trust has transferred to the Aldgate Trust its assets.

    I have set out what I think may have happened at http://waitakerenews.blogspot.com/2010/05/can-you-trust-john-key.html

  14. Gooner 14
    28 May 2010 at 8:11 pm

    The point is why do Mr Key’s private interests appear to be perfectly visible through Whitechapel, making his trust anything but blind?

    If they’re “perfectly visible”, what does Whitechapel own?

  15. Gooner 15
    28 May 2010 at 8:30 pm

    Micky, that explanation seems plausible. If it is then Key is vindicated. The directors of Whitechapel make decisions for its beneficiary – probably the trustees of Key’s family trust and Key has no input – he is not a director of Whitechapel and probably not a trustee of his family trust either.

    Story over. Key 1 – Hodgson 0.

    • mickysavage 15.1
      28 May 2010 at 8:39 pm

      Sorry Gooner but I see it entirely differently.

      1. Key has directly or indirectly made decisions that result in a winery and a Dairy Holding Company in which his trust had an interest benefiting.
      2. His family probably benefit from this.
      3. He should have declared an interest before taking part in the decisions.

      No matter how complex you make it Key should have declared an interest. And it seems likely he was a trustee of his family trust.

      Hodgson 2 – Key 0

  16. ianmac 16
    28 May 2010 at 8:54 pm

    Remember that Trevor M asked for replies to written questions regarding conflictsof interest in Cabinet but the reply was in effect no comment. As Mickey Savage says:
    “1. Key has directly or indirectly made decisions that result in a winery and a Dairy Holding Company in which his trust had an interest benefiting.
    2. His family probably benefit from this.
    3. He should have declared an interest before taking part in the decisions.

    No matter how complex you make it Key should have declared an interest. And it seems likely he was a trustee of his family trust.”

  17. Gooner 17
    28 May 2010 at 8:54 pm

    We just don’t know any of that Micky. That’s the real problem and is the reason trusts are set up as you know.

    In terms of Key being a trustee of his family trust, didn’t the companies office show a transfer from John and Bronagh Key and some third party to Whitechapel Limited?

    Just found it – it seems the trustees of hi family trust were him, his wife and Ken Whitney. They owned the shares in Earl of Auckland and Devils Limited et al which were resettled on Aldgate – Whitechapel Ltd.

    Having said that, it certainly seems plausible that Key would make the odd phone call to Pravir Tesiram asking what Whitechapel Ltd is doing.

    • mickysavage 17.1
      28 May 2010 at 9:01 pm

      Gooner

      In terms of Key being a trustee of his family trust, didn’t the companies office show a transfer from John and Bronagh Key and some third party to Whitechapel Limited?

      It did. Usually the transfer is from the trustees, rather than the trust. If Whitney’s name was there it was likely that the trust was involved.

      So should we accept the possibility that our PM may be making decisions that result in his family benefitting?

  18. Gooner 18
    28 May 2010 at 9:15 pm

    Not necessarily Micky because I keep coming back to the fact that since November 2008, after the resettlements, we just don’t know what Whitechapel Limited did with the assets it received, and since then has held on trust for the beneficiaries of the Aldgate Trust – who are probably Key, Key and Whitney, as trustees of the Key family trust.

    Since November 2008, Whitechapel could have sold many assets and bought many more, in NZ or overseas, or wherever, and Key quite properly would not know because he is not a director of Whitechapel, nor is he a shareholder and he is not legally entitled to know as a trustee of his family trust – the likely beneficiary of the Aldgate Trust.

    It sounds confusing I know, but legally quite okay, as the letter from TGT explains.

    • Tigger 18.1
      28 May 2010 at 9:20 pm

      But in 2009 Key claimed ownership of a vineyard. Which the trust owned. So was he just blowing smoke, living in the past or did he know what was happening to his money?

      • The Voice of Reason 18.1.1
        28 May 2010 at 10:16 pm

        I don’t get why he doesn’t say that when talking about the vineyard he was just sparing the wine critic a boring summation of the intricacies of NZ property law and the requirements of the Cabinet Manual. What’s so hard about saying ‘I was chuffed she knew something about me and I simply couldn’t be arsed explaining the situation regarding my assets’?

        I mean, he’s either lied to her or he’s lied to Parliament.

    • mickysavage 18.2
      28 May 2010 at 9:22 pm

      Since November 2008, Whitechapel could have sold many assets and bought many more, in NZ or overseas, or wherever, and Key quite properly would not know because he is not a director of Whitechapel, nor is he a shareholder and he is not legally entitled to know as a trustee of his family trust the likely beneficiary of the Aldgate Trust

      Agreed but Key sees to know that he still had some sort of interest in a Central Otago winery when he gave the wine out.

      It may be legally ok as far as the trust’s lawyers are concerned but in terms of a possible conflict of interest it sucks.

      The basic issue can be expressed simply,

      Should John Key be allowed to make decisions that may benefit his family financially?

      • Anita 18.2.1
        28 May 2010 at 9:36 pm

        Should John Key be allowed to make decisions that may benefit his family financially?

        Yes he should. When a Minister of Health increases the subsidy for GP visits or prescriptions they benefit their own family.

        The test should be about the level of benefit, the relative benefit, the transparency and the honesty.

        • mickysavage 18.2.1.1
          28 May 2010 at 9:42 pm

          Agreed Anita

          A refinement of the question could be

          “Should John Key be allowed to make decisions that may benefit his family financially more than the benefits received by an average Kiwi family?

      • Gooner 18.2.2
        28 May 2010 at 9:38 pm

        No, of course he shouldn’t. And I agree with Tigger – he seems to know a bit of what Whitechapel owns/owned.

    • Anita 18.3
      28 May 2010 at 9:27 pm

      Whitechapel’s stake in Earl of Auckland, Highwater Vineyards and Dairy Investment Fund have always been in the public domain. Anyone could check it in <2 minutes on the companies office website.

      It is also worth noting that those three shareholdings were the Keys’, the shareholding were held together by the trust and no additional shareholdings were added.

      It stretches belief somewhat to imagine that Key had no idea. It is a direct lie for him to say it was impossible for him to know.

    • Michael Foxglove 19.1
      29 May 2010 at 9:54 am

      Tracy Watkins’ piece is about as thick as a plank of wood. Do you think she’s paid to run John Key’s lines for him?

      • Carol 19.1.1
        29 May 2010 at 10:09 am

        Argh. I had about finished typing a reasoned response to Watkin’s Op Ed, when a slip of the finger closed the browser. Her piece is just another bit of MSM myth making. She seems totally (or wilfully?) ablivious of the right’s anti-Clark negative sniping away, long before the elctions. So then Key was able to present himself as being in the realm of “positive politics” while benefitting from both an uncritical MSM, and the legacy of all the negative, personalised whittling away at Clark’s image, and mostly based on far more tenuous evidence than we see so far with the Blind Trust, conflict of interest Key issue.

        How does one get to be such a skewed and very selectively critical op ed political commentator in the MSM?

        anti-spam word – analysis… which is sorely wanting in Watkin’s op ed piece.

    • Armchair Critic 20.1
      29 May 2010 at 10:51 am

      Pete Hodgson summed it up pretty well in just two sentences:
      “The central argument gets lost in the blizzard of red herrings, essentially. The point is that John Key set up a blind trust that isn’t blind.”
      Source: Stuff
      He said in parliament he could not and does not know what is in his trust. So, if he can know, i.e. if he had the ability to know, he lied to parliament. And this lie was told irrespective of whether he knew or not, although there are strong indications he knew something.
      With the lawyer’s letter he is dancing on the head of a pin, and all the MSM can do is comment on how clever a dancer he is. Pathetic, again.

      • Gosman 20.1.1
        29 May 2010 at 12:02 pm

        Do you have a different legal opinion on whether John Key’s blind trust is actually blind?

        If so then please provide some evidence of this so that it can be brought to the attention of the Speaker.

        If not then all you are doing is making unsubstantiated claims of inpropriety. If you like to engage in that sort of politics then be my guest but I won’t be joining you in the gutter anytime soon.

        • Armchair Critic 20.1.1.1
          29 May 2010 at 9:51 pm

          “Do you have a different legal opinion on whether John Key’s blind trust is actually blind?”
          Why, yes Gosman, I do have a differing legal opinion on this very topic. By a mysterious coincidence I happen to keep an eminent QC on a retainer to provide me with advice on matters such as these. So I asked him and he provided a separate and differing legal opinion. And despite the exorbitant costs of keeping this QC on a retainer, I’m happy to publish it for your amusement on a blog site, for free. Destroying my anonymity in the process.
          Seriously – what a stupid question.
          I have an opinion. I’m not a lawyer, but that doesn’t prevent me from having an opinion on legal issues. I provided links in my comment to support my assertions. I support taking the issue about the trust to the privileges committee. Your apparent desperation to divert or shut the topic down are sad.
          In any case, this is not just a legal issue and you should stop pretending that that is all it is.
          The legal opinion from TGT opens up more questions than it closes.
          And in any case, it says exactly what one would expect. I mean, they were hardly going to say Dear Mr Key, sorry we stuffed up the legal stuff around your trust. Of course it is legal, it just doesn’t appear to be blind, like John told parliament it was.
          When TGT issue an opinion that tells everyone that the trust is blind, and convincing and comprehensively explains how it is made blind I’ll have confidence that the PM does not have any conflicts of interest, perceived or otherwise. This may take some time.
          Also, the opinion did not say the PM’s family do not have any kind of interest with the trust. Conflicts of interest, perceived or real, can arise even if a person is not a beneficiary of a trust. When family members are beneficiaries a conflict may still arise. When TGT issue a legal opinion that says the PM’s family have no interest in the trust I’ll have confidence the PM has no conflicts of interest around this trust. Again, this may take some time.

          “If so then please provide some evidence of this so that it can be brought to the attention of the Speaker.”
          Ummm, I’m not an MP, or even a member of a political party. In fact at present if an election were held tomorrow I’d probably vote for “Don’t Know”. Basically, it’s not my job, I jut hope Pete Hodgson keeps up his work. Why the Speaker would give a shit about my opinion is beyond me. But people here, such as yourself, seem to have some minor kind of interest in my opinion, so I’ll stick to expressing it here. If you don’t like it you have plenty of options.

          “If not then all you are doing is making unsubstantiated claims of inpropriety.”
          Well we won’t agree on this one. All claims are unsubstantiated until they are shown to have substance, through some kind of process and analysis. I’d like the claims about the PM’s so-called blind trust examined, the Privileges Committee seems to be a good place. Doncha think?

          “If you like to engage in that sort of politics then be my guest…”
          Thanks, I will.

          “…but I won’t be joining you in the gutter anytime soon.”
          Ah, yes, well a ban does have that effect.
          While I may well be in the gutter, you are arguing from the sewer. You don’t hold the high ground. Tosser.

          • mickysavage 20.1.1.1.1
            29 May 2010 at 10:09 pm

            Well put Armchair.

            You are right. As soon as we can be convinced that Key’s family will definitely not benefit from Government decisions about Excise duties or Canterbury water supply to Dairy farming companies then we can admit we were wrong.

            Until then …

            • Armchair Critic 20.1.1.1.1.1
              29 May 2010 at 10:51 pm

              “Until then ”
              That may take some time…
              No one in the MSM seems to have picked up on the family link. Weird, huh?

  21. darth 21
    2 June 2010 at 1:26 pm

    isn’t it up to you to show that Key can see what his beneficial interest is. you can’t. key wins.

    you can speculate. key can speculate. but only the trustees will know.

    that is a blind trust. QC said so.

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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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    3 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • 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.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    1 week ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week 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
    17 hours 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    7 days 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
    7 days 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
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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