Key’s Blind Trust vs Our Blind Faith

Written By: - Date published: 4:19 pm, April 29th, 2016 - 29 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, capital gains, john key, same old national, slippery, tax, treasury - Tags: ,

“I am writing to you on behalf of a group of industry professionals operating in the New Zealand foreign trust industry. We are concerned that there appears to be a sudden change of view by the IRD in respect of their previous support for the industry. I have spoken to the Prime Minister about this and he advised that the Government has no plans to change the status of the foreign trust regime.

“The PM asked me to contact you to arrange a meeting at your convenience with a small group of industry leaders who are keen to engage to explain how the regime works and the benefits to NZ of an industry which has been painstakingly built up over the last 25 years or so.

“I would be most grateful if you could advise what dates and times you may have for a meeting with perhaps 3 or 4 of us to put the industry’s case and clear up any misconceptions which may be changing the current change of view at IRD.”

That’s the email from John Key’s lawyer Ken Whitney to Revenue Minister Todd McClay pressuring him into a meeting around a proposal that Whitney believed would make life a little more difficult for the trust industry. A meeting was hurriedly arranged. Ultimately, no change was made to the rules around trusts.

Whitney won. Transparency lost.

In my experience, lawyers are careful with words. So what are we to make of these words:

“The PM asked me to contact you to arrange a meeting at your convenience with a small group of industry leaders … ”

Well, no. According to the PM, he did no such thing. He merely suggested to Mr Whitney that he (Whitney) have a personal chat with McClay. According to the PM, in no way did he suggest Whitney go in mob handed to lobby the Minister. Hell, it was such a casual matter, he initially neglected to mention that it was his long time personal lawyer who asked him about the possible tightening up on trusts. It was just ‘somebody’ he ‘bumped into’ and that sort of thing happens all the time.

If Mr Whitney is to be believed, any citizen can write to a Minister of the Crown, say the PM reckons a cuppa and a chat would be a fine thing and I’ll be in your office tomorrow at 10. See ya then.

In the real world, McClay saw Whitney and the others because he felt he had to. Perhaps McClay contacted Key and checked whether he really did have to meet with his mate. Perhaps he didn’t and just took the lawyer at his word when he wrote that it was a direct request from the PM. Either way, we should be told just why a Minister would go along with such an unusual arrangement.

But to be frank, McClay’s weak deferring to Whitney isn’t the matter I really want answers to.

Here’s the nub of it as I see it:

Key’s a rich man. He’s got mega bucks, but none of us know how much or where its stashed. So ….

Did New Zealand Prime Minister John Key profit from the meeting between his lawyer and his Minister?

Did Key financially benefit from the apparent decision not to tighten up the rules about trusts that appears to have directly followed on from his lawyer lobbying the Minister?

If so, has John Key abused his high office in order to make money?

Last question:

Is our Prime Minister a crook?

I don’t know the answers, but I do know we need to be told. There absolutely needs to be an enquiry into this matter.

A criminal enquiry.

Show me the money, John. Show me the money!

 

29 comments on “Key’s Blind Trust vs Our Blind Faith ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Mad Plumber 1
    29 April 2016 at 4:55 pm

    There are some interesting comments by Andrew Geddis on Pundit about this.

  2. Anne 2
    29 April 2016 at 5:00 pm

    Did New Zealand Prime Minister John Key profit from the meeting between his lawyer and his Minister?

    Course he did. Maybe not directly but he no more wanted the IRD poking it’s nose into the Trust scene than Whitney did. He’s got his own fingers in the Trust pie.

    Did Key financially benefit from the apparent decision not to tighten up the rules about trusts that appears to have directly followed on from his lawyer lobbying the Minister?

    Course he did. He didn’t want the IRD poking it’s nose into his financial affairs.

    If so, has John Key abused his high office in order to make money?

    Course he has. But the abuse will be well hidden. Probably non- traceable.

    Last question:

    Is our Prime Minister a crook?

    A white collar crim. Yes.

    There ya go. No more need be said. 😉

    • Sacha 2.1
      29 April 2016 at 5:39 pm

      “He’s got his own fingers in the Trust pie.”

      They are *foreign* trusts, so this point seems really unlikely to be true. He’s dodgy, but that should not be the focus.

      The PM’s class are doing immoral things most NZers would never approve of. Let’s not do any more foot-shooting like Labour did over Shewan’s actions. Focus on the broader point, not trying to ping the guy after 7 years of utterly failing to do so.

      • Anne 2.1.1
        29 April 2016 at 6:38 pm

        See the winky face? That denotes a tongue-in-cheek response to TRP’s questions. I expected a bit of sniffing and snorting, but one can be a little light-hearted about these things sometimes? Lets face it, JK has made questionable accusations about his opponents – in a light hearted manner of course – so nothing wrong with a bit of reciprocation.

        What’s more, some of it might turn out to be true!

  3. Paul 3
    29 April 2016 at 5:05 pm

    How can this information be used to unseat this corrupt government?

    • Chuck 3.1
      29 April 2016 at 6:16 pm

      It can’t because Anne is trying to link dots that simply don’t exist.

      If you want to unseat this government, you need to do it the hard way…convince NZ that you have a better option to offer.

      • Paul 3.1.1
        29 April 2016 at 6:23 pm

        You mean saying you’ll clamp down on tax havens?

        • Chuck 3.1.1.1
          29 April 2016 at 6:35 pm

          The left kicking National out come 2017 (however remote it maybe) will have nothing to do with tax havens.

          Clamping down on tax havens is outside my sphere of influence…but thanks for thinking I have that power.

  4. b waghorn 4
    29 April 2016 at 5:42 pm

    I don’t know if key is a crook, but he certainly operates in manner not fit for a political leader, to many times he’s been shown to operate in a nudge nudge wink wink manner, we are not in wall street now trying to turn tricks for a dollar!!

  5. Sacha 5
    29 April 2016 at 5:43 pm

    “According to the PM, he did no such thing. He merely suggested to Mr Whitney that he (Whitney) have a personal chat with McClay.”

    Gee, who to believe?

  6. gsays 6
    29 April 2016 at 5:53 pm

    “In my experience, lawyers are careful with words. ”
    coincidentally so are habitual liars.

    their korero is littered with qualifications, obfuscations, red herrings and very particular wording.

    also in this latest (i want to say litany of lies) effort, the omissions (key information) are as important as what is said.

  7. greywarshark 7
    29 April 2016 at 6:16 pm

    Great title TRP. Says a lot in those few words.

  8. Keith 8
    29 April 2016 at 7:19 pm

    A lawyers number one job and reason for being is to speak on behalf of their client. So anyone who thinks that McClay was going to do anything other than comply with this messengers wishes believe in the Tooth Fairy!

  9. Graeme Stanley 9
    29 April 2016 at 7:30 pm

    But Wasn,t it reported somewhere that Mr Ken Whitney had let his Lawyers practising certificate registration lapse in February this year? If that’s is correct what does that all mean?

    • Anne 9.1
      29 April 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Well, it happened in 2014 did it not? Whitney was still a “practising lawyer”.

      • Ed 9.1.1
        30 April 2016 at 10:07 am

        I’m not sure about the timing there – wasn’t it early 2014 that Whitney stopped being a lawyer? But whenever it was, the continued reference to John Key’s lawyer is perhaps a little surprising. Also surprising is the statement that Whitney had “changed firms”- apparently he has been involved with Antipodes Trust for 20 years, so Whitney was probably leaving his law practice to concentrate on a different part of his long-standing business activities. Given that, there is the question of why John Key had an investment (or deposit) with his lawyer previously, and why that amount would have been transferred to a company with quite different activities. I am surprised that a lawyer would retain money from a client – weren’t the days of lawyers trust accounts supposed to be largely over – money held is usually paid over fairly quickly. If indeed it was money held for legal services, wouldn’t it have been passed on to his new (practising certificate holding) lawyer? Or was the money in some way part of services offered by Antipodes Trust?

        The efficacy of the work of the “trust industry”” – or at least this part of that broader industry, can perhaps be gauged by the group who Whitney organised a meeting for estimated that the industry was worth 300 jobs and $10 million – whereas IRD estimated actual tax receipts at only $3 million . . .

        • Anne 9.1.1.1
          30 April 2016 at 11:04 am

          Yes, I did note when this story broke that different online news outlets were coming up with slightly different stories about both the timing and status of this Whitney fellow. My understanding overall is that Whitney continued to be Key’s personal lawyer after he “changed firms” and (presumably) only ceased to be Key’s (official) lawyer when he relinquished his practising certificate – which I read somewhere was early this year. All a bit murky from my standpoint.

          John Key is also on record as claiming Whitney is a personal friend whom he has known for many years.

  10. Et Tu Brute 10
    29 April 2016 at 8:30 pm

    I don’t see anything wrong with the email. The guy is lobbying the minister. Ever see how lobbyists play off two people against the other? “So and so said…” I can think of three times at least this week when such a tactic was used against me.

    Now John Key might have told him to speak to the Minister. He could also have shrugged off his lawyers approach and told him to speak to the responsible minister instead. I mean what is the politest way to get rid of a lobbyist? Send him to someone else.

    • Keith 10.1
      30 April 2016 at 7:08 am

      For the purposes of pointing out the bloody obvious for National Party supporters he’s not a “lobbyist”, he’s John Keys lawyer and despite all the publicity and even this blog you’ve missed that? John Key pays this man to represent him!

      But with John Key its always just a coincidence, just one after the other after the other etc, etc.

      • Et Tu Brute 10.1.1
        30 April 2016 at 9:35 am

        So as a private citizen as soon as he provides services to a minister or prime minister he loses his freedom to act as a private individual and business person? Sure, I’d rather if I was a politician that people I dealt with didn’t try to influence me or speak their mind. It would be easier. But it is highly unlikely to happen.

        • Pat 10.1.1.1
          30 April 2016 at 9:43 am

          It is the context and success of the lobbying…and the facilitation by those in power. It is not as if he made a public submission to a select committee…and Key then lied about it to ice the cake.

          I believe in legal terms it’s called undue influence.

          If you think its acceptable it shows how quickly we are sinking into the slippery sided pit of corruption.

          • greywarshark 10.1.1.1.1
            30 April 2016 at 10:38 am

            Brutes don’t understand the finer points of philosophy, politics and pusillanimous behaviour in private and public.

            Note that on google there is a graph showing that the pusillanimous word was used much more rarely in 2010 than 1900. Which, to me to shows that we have now embedded behaviour that would have been remarked on with scorn in the 1900s.)

        • Aidan 10.1.1.2
          30 April 2016 at 2:07 pm

          Here’s the thing, John key had inside knowledge that ird was considering clamping down on foreign trusts, and gave his lawyer a heads up about it to shut it down. Sureley key wanted to protect new Zealand’s status as a tax haven and sent witney to do it so as to provide some space between himself and the issue.the interesting question is why was key so concerned about it? And yeah the whole thing stinks to high heaven

  11. Draco T Bastard 11
    29 April 2016 at 9:30 pm

    In the real world, McClay saw Whitney and the others because he felt he had to. Perhaps McClay contacted Key and checked whether he really did have to meet with his mate. Perhaps he didn’t and just took the lawyer at his word when he wrote that it was a direct request from the PM. Either way, we should be told just why a Minister would go along with such an unusual arrangement.

    Or the other one – FJK contacted McClay ‘unofficially’ and told him to have the meeting and reassure the Trust Fund People that the laws weren’t going to be changed.

  12. Paul Campbell 12
    29 April 2016 at 10:29 pm

    So a blind trust is something where the owner has no knowledge of how their money is being invested – it’s supposed to be a very hands off affair – but in this case the guy running Key’s trust is coming to him and asking for favours, and Key is hooking him up with the minister who can get things done for him. This doesn’t look like it’s all hands off to me

  13. NZJester 13
    29 April 2016 at 11:47 pm

    The whole thing with John key and his no longer lawyer mate is very shady.
    This guy should not be referred to as John Key’s lawyer as he is no longer one.
    It is my understanding that he retired as a lawyer and voluntarily gave up his legal right to practice law in New Zealand, so can no longer legally call himself a lawyer.
    He is John key’s mate who gives him legal advice and not his lawyer.

    Also why is it that it was not him that went to the ministers to lobby them but in fact it was the ministers that went out of their way to visit him?

    Every little fact that comes to light makes it look even more a #Shonkey business.

  14. save NZ 14
    30 April 2016 at 8:15 am

    PM’s should not even be allowed “blind trusts’.

    PM’s financial affairs should be open to the public so that it is clear if they have conflicts of interest or not.

    It is clear JK runs NZ like his private crony piggy bank. Want to embezzle money and hide it, no problem, have we got the offshore trust for you, JK’s personal lawyer will make sure that rule never changes! Have insurance shares, no problem, EQC will assess everything at pre quake standards to save insurance money. Need foreign aid, no problem, just donate $101,000 and voila 7.5million awarded to Scenic hotel! Everything is to benefit the 0.1%

    I just don’t know how you can just use this cop out of ‘blind’ trust and ‘offshore’ trust to get away it!

  15. Byd0nz 15
    1 May 2016 at 1:13 pm

    You poor capitalist voters never learn,
    You’ll go to the polls again,
    And again, you take the pain,
    Capitalism is so inane.

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    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 23-November-2023
    It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    7 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s strategy for COP28 in Dubai
    The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    7 days ago

  • Coalition talks: a timeline
    Media demand to know why a coalition government has yet to be formed. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Nov 24
    Luxon was no doubt relieved to be able to announce a coalition agreement has been reached, but we still have to wait to hear the detail. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Passing Things Down.
    Keeping The Past Alive: The durability of Commando comics testifies to the extended nature of the generational passing down of the images, music, and ideology of the Second World War. It has remained fixed in the Baby Boomers’ consciousness as “The Good War”: the conflict in which, to a far ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2023
    Open access notables How warped are we by fossil fuel dependency? Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 35-40 million cubic meters per day of Russian natural gas are piped across Ukraine for European consumption every single day, right now. In order to secure European cooperation against Russian aggression, Ukraine must help to ...
    Skeptical Science
    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
    1 week 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
    2 weeks ago

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