Key’s earthquake ‘fun’

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 29th, 2013 - 76 comments
Categories: disaster, Gerry Brownlee, john key - Tags:

I missed this news somehow – no doubt in the excitement of the Labour leadership contest – but the government suffered a major court ruling against it over their ungenerous Christchurch earthquake pay-outs.

Their 50% offer for uninsured land (including vacant land that cannot be insured) was ruled to be inequitable and not in accordance with the law by the High Court.  Gerry Brownlee wasn’t in the spirit of helping those who’ve struggled for 2.5 years in the quake aftermath though and immediately announced an appeal.

But Key went one further, threatening to pull even the 50% deal:

“One option is the Government says: ‘Thanks very much, it’s been a lot of fun. If you don’t want to take the offer, that’s where it’s at’.”

Yup, a devastating earthquake and then finding your land red-zoned and worthless and the government discriminating against you, leading to a long expensive court-case is ‘a lot of fun‘ according to John Key.

As Rebuilding Christchurch have it:

hi-from-chch

 

Key’s since issued a Clayton’s apology (‘sorry if anyone was offended’), but given his high words and promises to the people of Christchurch in the wake of the disaster, one can seriously understand why most Kiwis struggle to believe him.

76 comments on “Key’s earthquake ‘fun’ ”

  1. BM 1

    What’s the difference in investing in a block of land and investing in a finance company?
    The way I see it, there’s no difference at all

    How many of these people brought sections as investments?

    • Pascal's bookie 1.1

      Ahem. SCF.

      • BM 1.1.1

        And?
        Its that some precedent, some politician did something unbelievably stupid and from that point on, the tax payer has to pick up the bill every time someones investment goes pear shaped?

        • Pascal's bookie 1.1.1.1

          You implied that investors in finance compnaies don’t get bailed out.
          But they do. For a lot more money, and when they should have been aware of the risks.
          It’s not my fault your distrcation turned out to be a bit foolish.

          • BM 1.1.1.1.1

            So you think these people should get bailed out because of SCF.?

            That’s the bench mark, does seem a bit fiscally irresponsible, but hey it’s only tax payers money,right?

            Plenty more where that came from.

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.1.1

              bailed out not “because of SCF”, but because the government should be willing to help ordinary people out, not just multi-millionaire mates.

            • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1.1.1.1.2

              Its cheaper than Funding another RWC or Americas Cup

              Then theres Meridian and Rio Tinto.

              Rio Tinto got a $30 mill ‘Golden hello’ fornsticking around after their previous contract they signed ‘went pear shaped’

        • geoff 1.1.1.2

          It is called a double standard, BM. National is happy to bailout corporates but will it help a handful of
          earthquake victims? Nope. National hates people. You support National. Why do you hate people, BM?

          • BM 1.1.1.2.1

            They’ve offered these people 50%, they’re lucky to be offered that.

            Maybe you could stump up with the balance Geoff, if you care so much about these poor investors.

            • geoff 1.1.1.2.1.1

              Yes, we’ve already established you hate people but we still dont why. Not enough hugs as a child?

            • vto 1.1.1.2.1.2

              Why did Brownlee offer others 100%?

              You will need to think carefully and comprehensively, taking into account all factors around the earthquakes, the red zones and their purpose, insurance, insurability, and the CERA legislation, in answering this. Oh and also the High Court case.

              Somehow I suspect that is all too much for Brain Minimum. You’re a waste of space on this issue bm.

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.2.1.3

              They’ve offered these people 50%, they’re lucky to be offered that.

              Why did SCF multi-milionaires and FOREIGNERS get offered 100% of their money back PLUS INTEREST?

              Why do you prefer rich foreigners to be helped, but say that ordinary NZers can’t be helped?

              Your sicko attitude is why Kiwis are going to kick National out in 13 months time. It’s embarrassing.

              • BM

                Why did SCF multi-milionaires and FOREIGNERS get offered 100% of their money back PLUS INTEREST?

                Because Cullen let them, you’d have to be a mug not to take up that offer.

                • One Anonymous Knucklehead

                  “Cullen let them”? Are you sure, BM, because I’m sure I recall something rather different. You wouldn’t be telling lies, as a perfect expression of everything you represent, now, would you?

                  I note the High Court has ruled the government acted illegally. Why are you cuddling up to low-life crims, BM?

                • Colonial Viper

                  Cullen? Why are you lying? It was a National Government which resigned SCF then made those decisions, why doesn’t a National Government choose to help out NZers but choose to help out dirty rich foreigners instead?

                  Key has just lost National another 20,000 Christchurch votes with his cocked up comments. Another 45,000 or so lost, and National will win the next election. He just burnt up a third of the National electoral lead, with one quip.

                  You’re fucked mate, the Tory government deserves to go out on its ear.

                • Lanthanide

                  Actually the deposit gaurantee scheme covered the initial deposits only, not the investment returns.

                  National decided to pay the investment returns anyway. So you can’t blame that on Cullen.

                  Then there’s the whole fact that actually the 1st scheme Cullen had created expired, and it was Bill English that signed SCF up to the 2nd tranche of it, without doing due-diligence as to whether all companies invited into the 2nd tranche had been properly playing by the rules. Had due diligence been done, nobody in their right mind would have allowed SCF to sign up.

                  How much of the above is actually news to you, or did you just conveniently hope that none of us here know the details of what really went down?

                • Jackal

                  Even Fran O’Sullivan doesn’t think the SCF was bailed out because “Cullen let them” BM. But don’t let the facts of the matter hit you on the ass on the way out.

            • Tracey 1.1.1.2.1.4

              BM, let me interrupt you with some facts.

              Cullen did not enable the payout to foreign investors in SCF, John Key did.

              “the Government had extended the payout to cover people not in the scheme, such as foreign investors,…” John Key 31/08/2010 as reported on Stuff

              The government “offer” to the red zone residents was not a genuine offer

              “…red zone residents faced with a Crown purchase offer, had no or little option but to accept it. In the first place the offers were pitched at a level sufficient to make them attractive, given that the subject land was not only damaged, but within the red zone. Particularly as areas became depopulated, infrastructure fell into disrepair and essential services came under threat, the outlook for property owners was bleak. In reality, they had but Hobson’s choice.” [93] High Court decision

            • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1.1.2.1.5

              What about the CBD ‘frame’ . The government is compulsorily purchasing the land there.

              No red zone, its perfectly build able and well located, some still have occupied buildings

              But no , Nanny state has decided to prop up land values in the CBD by reducing the land zoned commercial. By government fiat they are given their land value wheter they like it or not

              Christchurch is riddled with inconsistencies like this. THis is the core of the Court decision

              • Tracey

                +1

                The core of the decision is condemnation of inequity and acting without authority. This government doesn’t care about the first and believes the second is ok cos they “know what’s best”

                That smacks not of nanny state but authoritarian state.

                I have read many legal decisions in my life. This decision is squarely accusing the government of being bullies.

            • quinnjin 1.1.1.2.1.6

              Land is not a risky investment, earth quakes are not relatively foreseeable market events. losses due to earthquakes are not down to mismanagement, unlike the SCF situation. Your comparing apples with oranges. therefore, your argument is invalid. Now quit your whining. National party fan boy.

              • quinnjin

                Also, the land owners are only asking for market value, also making your “investment risk” argument invalid.

    • Tracey 1.2

      In residential areas you can expect the land to have a home built on it.

      Bothered to read the decision yet BM?

      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-28082013/#comment-687063

      “I see no difference at all”

      The difference is outlined below.

      The Government drafted the earthquake legislation. They actually drafted two pieces, one after the first earthquake and another later. So they had two chances to get it right.

      They also made lots of statements in public and private about the intention of their legislation.

      The High Court decision is that they then dealt with these people contrary to the very legislation (and its purpose) that they (Govt) had prescribed.

      vacant land owners could not get insurance. It is not a question of them not wanting it.

      The bottom-line however is that this government made statutory promises through the ACT and its purpose and then acted contrary to it.

      Put it this way, the majority of vacant and uninsured have already been fucked by the Govt acting outside its power (and this decision wont change that), so you can take some solace.

      The total cost of to the country to top up the first unlawful offer by the government is

      $12.54m

      BTW there is no proof, and none was offered by the Crown in its case that people will not insure if the govt pays the uninsured 100%

      Remember when the Govt paid out $20m to foreign investors in SCF? Wouldn’t a good kiwi bloke like the Pm think these Canterbury kiwis are more worthy of our support than the foreign folks taking a roll of the dice on investments? Investor beware and all that? AND this payout was done after English had a chance to cancel the govt guarantee scheme of Cullen… he knew the implications, he had advice it was going to fail, and he did it anyway.

      How about that for a precedent?

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 1.2.1

        Nice one Tracey. Keep hounding the lying little twerp.

      • vto 1.2.2

        Yes well spelled out Tracey, although there is one other fact worth highlighting….

        The cost to the taxpayer of topping up the 50% offer is $12 million.

        The cost to the taxpayer of paying out South Canterbury Finance investors was $1,700 million.

        To picture that difference try this… Here is one $ representing the cost for these red zoners

        $

        Here are the $ representing the cost for SCF investors

        $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

      • bad12 1.2.3

        Yes the High Court ruling was based around the Governments own CERA Legislation, there cannot be then a precedent in Law from this decision which effects some future event or disaster,

        BM’s continual whine here is reflective of the little temper tantrum thrown by Slippery the Prime Minister and Brownlee as the CERA Minister over the High Court decision,

        Discriminating against property owners who had not taken out private insurance beforhand or had allowed their insurance to lapse is something we all ‘know’ might leave us without recourse should the house catch fire or some other ‘known’ disaster occur,

        Discriminating against people not insured because bare-land property cannot be insured in this country is another story entirely,

        The decision from the High Court was an excellent effort from the Bench relying simply on the clauses of the CERA Legislation to come to it’s conclusion and the cost to the Government is a mere raindrop in comparison to the total cost of the rebuild…

        • Tracey 1.2.3.1

          Mostly BM just doesn’t want to address the appalling machievellian response of Key to not “winning”.

          • bad12 1.2.3.1.1

            The only thing ever proved by the likes of BM and the other shills who wash up on these shores for an occasional burst of invective is that (a) the constant call for a better class of wing-nut is obviously based upon the fact that the current crop are basically useless, mere functional idiots,

            And (b), Did they really all go to private schools, if so they should all be demanding their money back and readying the bulldozers to demolish such shoddy institutions of learning…

        • vto 1.2.3.2

          “the cost to the Government is a mere raindrop in comparison to the total cost of the rebuild”

          I feel another representation coming on…

          Dollars to top up the 50% offer people

          $

          Dollars the government is spending in Christchurch

          $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

          • bad12 1.2.3.2.1

            Vto,Lolz, Ouch, that does things to my eyeballs what eyeballs were not meant to suffer,

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 1.3

      In actual fact, BM, this is about Key’s clumsy, callous words, and more particularly his failure to apologise for them.

      I note that when your opinion differs from that of the High Court, it’s irrelevant, and when it agrees, it’s redundant.

      • Sable 1.3.1

        BM’s an ignoramus.Why waste words when the facts drown out his/her inane bleating.

        • Tracey 1.3.1.1

          Because, presented with facts, someone who believes BM’s drivel on this topic, might see through the bullshit.

          SCF

          “All assets have now been realised from the liquidated finance company, with $774.4m recovered, the latest report from receivers Kerryn Downey and William Black states…

          The receivers were appointed on August 31, 2010, and on June 7 last year, liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed.

          The 2-year receivership has cost $936,852 in legal fees.

          The six-month liquidation cost $50,000 in fees ” 2013 stuff.co.nz

          “While it laid out $1.775 billion yesterday, the Government expects its eventual loss will be reduced to about $600 million once the company’s assets are realised over three or four years. That is included in $900 million it has set aside to cover its net losses under the guarantee…

          WHAT IT WILL COST

          * $1.7 billion

          What the Government spent yesterday bailing out South Canterbury’s investors

          * $1.17 billion

          What the Government expects to recover from South Canterbury’s receivership

          * $600 million

          Final bill for taxpayers”

          from stuff.co.nz in 2010 “

          • Sable 1.3.1.1.1

            So present your own argument Tracey rather than responding to BM’s. In that way you don’t validate their comments in any way…

            • Tracey 1.3.1.1.1.1

              um… okaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

              I feel like I just got caught running in the hallway.

              • Sable

                Up to you Tracey but if you bite down on their comments it does tend to suggest they may have a point, even if its a bad one.

                • Tracey

                  how I felt when I got caught running in the hallway was

                  “Damn I know I shouldn’t do it but it’s hard to resist.” So, I took your comment onboard.

                  • Tautoko Viper

                    Great effort, Tracey. Keep running in the hallway. Sometimes you have to explain facts in several different ways before comprehension dawns. Teachers understand this.

                • Bastables

                  So we should just not pull up liers. One should never confront a lier at all . . .
                  Sod that if some one talks bullshit like BM he should be pulled up on it. Tracey bothered to and highlighted how much of a lier BM is, it is proper and right.

                • freedom

                  Sable, I think you are overlooking one of the many advantages of blogs in dealing with propaganda based lies, especially when those lies pertain to government spin junkies such as BM.

                  Although a casual visitor may agree with the view expressed by BM they may simply not be aware of the reality that contradicts it. By being exposed to the facts of a situation, such as those outlined above by Tracey, many people have their views challenged. I am convinced there are numerous posts all over The Standard that have been fundamental in building a platform of reconsideration for many National voters.

                  BM, srylands, and a few others are merely tools to be used in the constructive and practical presentation of fact based dialogue.

                  • bad12

                    It does become tiresome tho, we could be forgiven for suspecting that we are being ‘gamed’ by the shills who simply bring up the same old bullshit time after time and once the effort is put in to provide the proof to these wing-nuts that their bulls**t is just that a BM is then replaced with another and the process of education must start all over again..

                    • freedom

                      which is why some tools end up being thrown at the wall and you are left with the emptiness of wasted effort

                      so you pick up the next tool and try to learn from your mistakes 🙂

  2. Sable 2

    I remember a few posts back how right wingers were commenting on how no one could manage the Christchurch crisis like National and they were right. No one could handle it as badly or callously.

    I did say that Keys and co would face a legal backlash over their mishandling of the disaster and surprise, surprise, here we are.

  3. Appleboy 3

    BM has to take the prize for the right winger with the most vile and violent persona I have ever come across. I have never seen a thread of comments spewed forth so lacking in decency, caring or empathy. This much greed and self interest always gets them, one dayor obey won’t solve your issues.

    • Sable 3.1

      Take a look at the Whale Oil site if you want a real insight into how these people think. I don’t believe in concepts such as good or evil but these creeps are about as close as you will get to the latter in my humble opinion…

      • chris 3.1.1

        Sending people to read “Whaleoil” is inhumane punishment. Probably outlawed by the UN 🙂

      • Tracey 3.1.2

        don’t go there. You click and you are indirectly generating revenue and ratings for them.

        • Plan B 3.1.2.1

          agree re Whale Oil. yes someone has to make the sacrifice and go there so everyone else can know what they are on about but we should not all visit the site.
          1. It is pure poison
          2. It makes them money

        • chris 3.1.2.2

          I did not know that… thank you for the heads up.

          Rarely go anyway, but occasionally something has piqued my interest.

        • Pete 3.1.2.3

          And the vast majority of posts there are items reposted from Reddit

  4. burt 4

    Their 50% offer for uninsured land (including vacant land that cannot be insured) was ruled to be inequitable

    I added that emphasis ….

    It’s simply not fair that the government isn’t using more of our tax payers money to make sure private property owners who didn’t have insurance….

    Oh yes, lets make sure socialism rewards the land owners by extracting money from renters all over the country…..

    • vto 4.1

      Here is a representation of the number and complexity of issues involved in the red zone buyout offers;

      issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue issue

      Here is a representation of the things Burt thinks are relevant in this matter;

      iss

    • Tracey 4.2

      I can’t find this statement “Their 50% offer for uninsured land (including vacant land that cannot be insured) was ruled to be inequitable” in the actual decision of the court.

      I did find statements from the judge that the issue of inequity was applicable to “ALL APPLICANTS”

      “[95] The lack of even-handedness argument however, has I think considerable merit. Clearly, the main impetus for the June 2011 decision to make 100 percent offers to insured property owners was the need to provide certainty and create the confidence necessary to enable people to move on with their lives, given that “many people have their life savings tied up in their homes”, to borrow the Prime Minister’s phrase. Importantly, these considerations apply equally to many of the applicants, particularly those who are the owners of uninsured house properties.

      [96]
      Yet it is apparent that payments of 50 percent of the land rating value will not enable many property owners to make a fresh start. This is clear from the questionnaires completed by applicants in the Outcasts’ proceeding. Many owners are people of modest means, some are elderly and it is commonplace that their land and home is their one substantial asset. I am satisfied that the plight of this relatively small group has not been adequately considered in light of the purposes of the Act.”

      • Tracey 4.2.1

        sorry my attempt to bold the last part of [95] failed (so ignore emphasis added)

        “particularly those who are the owners of uninsured house properties.”

        [Bunji: I added the desired emphasis…]

      • vto 4.2.2

        Keep going Tracey, you’re all over it in highlighting the nastiness of John Key and Gerry Brownlee towards “people of modest means, some are elderly”

      • burt 4.2.3

        given that “many people have their life savings tied up in their homes”

        Yep, people who don’t earn enough to own a property should be having their tax used to insulate people who invested all their eggs in one basket – socialism at it’s finest … steal from the poor to give to the rich !!!!!!! Can’t have the rich loosing out on their poorly managed investment capital can we….

        • framu 4.2.3.1

          isnt the issue the forced aquisition of land by the govt and the recompense from that – not the issue of who had insurance and who didnt?

          • burt 4.2.3.1.1

            Perhaps the issue is people were compensated a lot more than the land is now worth but less than it use to be worth….

            Is it right for people to be compensated with tax payers money for private property investment that didn’t work out like they had hoped it would ?

            • Tracey 4.2.3.1.1.1

              Is it right for elderly and low income people to lose their home when the Govt promised (on behalf of us all) to allow them to get on with their lives.

              yes, one party is a developer, but it is a mixed group.

              The people I suspect you are really angry about have already got their 100% payouts.

              • burt

                I’ve not known many genuine low income people who own central city real estate – but hey – the expedient definition of low income is possibly something I’m not understanding?

                • Tracey

                  I was referring to your earlier comments as well, about the court decision or are you only talking about the CBD? Sorry, my confusion

            • framu 4.2.3.1.1.2

              burt – pull your head in and stop being a dick

              1) the council and govt through direct aquisition of land or by denial of services are forcing people of the land

              2) the red zone is more than the inner city

              sure theres going to be some uninsured, and some developers mixed in there but they arent the main issue here – its about the people who wrote law, not abiding by the law they wrote and not being consistant with the application of the law

              Would you change your tune if the govt made a retrospective change?

  5. Craig GlenEden 5

    Great Stuff Tracey thanks for all the work. BM totally owned what a twat.

  6. Adrian 6

    I think the point is that the Government is ” compulsarily acquiring” the land, with a view to development and sale or use in the distant future.
    Correct me if I’m wrong but the last time we did this, acquiring land for a fraction of value, a few muskets etc, it didn’t turn out all that well.
    A reverse corollary is the conversion of high country leases to freehold for huge capital gain for, oh bugger me, lifetime Tories. Fancy that.

    • Tracey 6.1

      Interesting points Adrian.

      definition of red zone in the HC decision

      “The red zone was reserved for areas where rebuilding was not likely to occur in the short to medium term due to significant land and infrastructure damage, and a high risk of further damage from aftershocks, flooding or spring tides.”

      “rebuilding not likely to occur in short to medium term.”

      and then

      “What will happen to my property if I decide that I do not want to accept the Crown’s offer?
      If you decide that you do not want to accept the Crown’s offer you should be aware that:
      The Council will not be installing new services in the residential red zone.

      If only a few people remain in a street and/or area, the Council and other utility providers may reach the view that it is no longer feasible or practical to continue to maintain services to the remaining properties.

      Insurers may cancel or refuse to renew insurance policies for properties in the residential red zones.

      While no decisions have been made on the ultimate future of the land in the residential red zones, CERA does have powers under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 to require you to sell your property to CERA for its market value at that time. If a decision is made in the future to use these powers to acquire your property, the market value could be substantially lower than the amount that you would receive under the Crown’s offer.

      Mr Brownlee and Mr Sutton made similar remarks to these in media interviews”

      • jaymam 6.1.1

        I can’t see if this is mentioned anywhere in the thread, but when land is originally subdivided into sections, the developer has to pay a rather large “reserve contribution” to the Council. I believe that means that the Council is therefore guaranteeing that the land is suitable for building on. So if the land becomes unsuitable, the owners should be compensated, out of the “reserve contribution”.
        In the case of Christchurch it is clear that the Council did not require the developer to have engineers test the land like other councils do, e.g. in Auckland. The known history of earthquakes in Christchurch from 1970, and allowing subdivisions near rivers makes the Council even more culpable. They should pay up!

  7. tricledrown 7

    Lanthanide don’t forget rio tinto’s $546 million bail out the appointment of trougher shipley at $400,000+.
    Rio Tinto get $476 million subsidized electricity $30 million cash .Nact govt covering up the real cost of meridian by selling $160 million wind farm in Australia.
    The Eastern suburbs of ChCh are labour strong holds that’s why MurKey and Brownoselee are laughing and don’t care.
    Remember Key and Brownlee promising no one will miss out every one will be looked after straight after the quakes.
    As per usual the only ones not missing out are Nationals mates.

  8. tricledrown 8

    Ed Hillary showed the world the selflesness sharing and caring that NZ is famous for!
    Now SmurKey is showing how selfish NZ is becoming under his narcisistic flipant bullying leadership!

    • burt 8.1

      Yes indeed. Developers and speculators owning bare central city land which they plan to develop for a large profit deserve to dip into the pockets of struggling renters when things don’t go their way !!!!!!!!

      • framu 8.1.1

        did you even read any of either the court decision or the articles linked to?

        your engaging in derailment and distraction – stop generating your usual one man, one trick side show

  9. BrucetheMoose 9

    In a nut shell, the government has abused it’s authority and used the earthquakes and it’s invented legislation to corner a minority and try and force them to give up their properties on the cheap. Now Key and His Corruptness don’t like being challenged on it and are throwing their toys out of their cots like spoilt brats that they truly are.
    If they thought it was “very very fair” and justified as they always claimed, then why did they deliberately wait to announce the decision so far down the track so as to make sure they were a smaller group to deal with?
    Why did they announce the decision on the same day as the school closure debacle to purposely create a smoke screen for the public and media diversion.?
    Why did they tell those who initially challenged the decision, specifically not to go to the media, and once the media did get traction on this subject, why did Brownlee and Sutton immediately embark on a concerted campaign of trying to portray most land owners as “Well off Developers” and irresponsible for not insuring their properties, when in fact most were honest hard working kiwi families and couldn’t insure their land even if they tried?

  10. RedBaronCV 10

    Pity John Key doesn’t reserve some of his odium for the insurance companies who are making out like bandits to the tune of about $1 billion a year from all us home owners.
    Link below is to an earlier post on this. I saw on a business page a comment that supported house premiums as being in the $750 to $1250 range.
    After all EQC had about $12 billion from our tiny $50 per house per annum.

    Visible text

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    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    9 hours ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    10 hours ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    19 hours ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    22 hours ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    23 hours ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    23 hours ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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, ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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
    1 week 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 ...
    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 ...
    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
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