Labour supports Plunket

Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, August 8th, 2013 - 61 comments
Categories: babies, david shearer, health, labour - Tags:

Another good policy announcement from David Shearer:

Labour pledges $6m for Plunket

Labour would inject an extra $6 million into Plunket if elected, leader David Shearer announced today.

Shearer called Plunket ”a national treasure” that needed more money to build on its tradition of helping the youngest and most vulnerable in society. The $6m would primarily go towards extra nurse visits in the home.

“Too many of our kids fall through the cracks and suffer neglect, hardship and abuse. Given we spend an estimated $6 billion a year on the effects of child poverty, and children having a poor start in life, this is just one way we can start to invest in order to save.”

Labour’s press release is here, and fact sheet here. Good stuff!

labour-plunket

61 comments on “Labour supports Plunket ”

  1. Matthew Hooton 1

    All oppositions support Plunket.
    All governments try to make the services contestable.
    It is enormously politically powerful.

    • vto 1.1

      national supports rio tinto

      there it is in big bold headlines for all the world to see your worlds priorities mr hooton

    • richard 1.2

      You left out a word in your 2nd sentence:

      All neo-liberal governments try to make the services contestable.

      • Populuxe1 1.2.1

        But Labour is neoliberal

        • Enough is Enough 1.2.1.1

          r0b might disagree with you there

        • richard 1.2.1.2

          They certainly have been neo-liberal since 1984. Who knows what the future may hold?

        • Colonial Viper 1.2.1.3

          Indeed. Dead easy to tell a neoliberal political party. Their economic/monetary languaging revolves around: free trade, free markets, market access, market mechanisms, market efficiency, price incentives, de-regulation, inflation targeting, interest rate targeting, etc.

    • BLiP 1.3

      Awwww . . . cute babies!! As much as it makes my skin crawl, Hooten does sorta, kinda, maybe have something of a point. Instead of this cynical soppy PR fluff, how about something that would really benefit the babies – announce that Punket is to become the sole provider of post-natal care for all babies born at home or in public hospitals? Go further, make Plunket the sole provider of midwifery services, too. The public would lap it up, I’m betting. Also, it seems kind of creepy that the provision of such an essential service should go to the private profiteer offering the lowest tender.

      • Colonial Viper 1.3.1

        Ah yes, the State taking away new parents choices around prenatal and neonatal care and mandating who you have to use. That will be a real winner with the electorate.

        Go further, make Plunket the sole provider of midwifery services, too.

        What societal problem are you trying to solve with this grand centralisation?

        • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.1

          What societal problem are you trying to solve with this grand centralisation?

          Economies of scale.

          It’s cheaper per person if everyone pays just a little bit than if the full amount is placed upon the person getting the service. It’s how insurance works which is why I keep saying that the best and cheapest insurance we have is society itself.

          • Colonial Viper 1.3.1.1.1

            Economies of scale.

            but there are no financial savings to be made by centralising and mass providing midwifery, and potentially a lot of costs including management and administrative overheads.

            • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.1.1.1

              Who said anything about mass providing?

              The economies of scale come from the mass of people supporting the needed level of midwifery.

              • Colonial Viper

                So you’re going to increase the number of pregnancies occurring each year?

                • Populuxe1

                  No doubt by offering medals. Mutterehrenkreuz, anyone? Мать-героиня? Or maybe Turiana Turia’s bizarre thoughts on family planning.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Which planet are you on?

                  • Colonial Viper

                    Apparently there’s economies of scale resulting from mass support of the midwifery profession. So are more people going to get pregnant or what?

                    Or are you just talking about 100% socialised provision of all healthcare?

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Apparently there’s economies of scale resulting from mass support of the midwifery profession. So are more people going to get pregnant or what?

                      I really have NFI how you go from one point to the next. There is no logical connection.

                      Or are you just talking about 100% socialised provision of all healthcare?

                      Yes.

        • BLiP 1.3.1.2

          What societal problem are you trying to solve with this grand centralisation?

          A paradigm shift which delineates natural human activities from those of the business paradigm. Its about taking back dignity from those who would reduce us all from citizens with rights to consumers with choice. Its altogether detrimental to society when the most vulnerable amongst us, those who need the greatest protection, are considered “outputs”. Its gone too far.

          • Colonial Viper 1.3.1.2.1

            Are pregnant women the most vulnerable amongst us?

            Do women who deal with these midwives feel that they have lost dignity, somehow?

            I agree with the principles you state but think that there are far more appropriate and important areas to make the point. Aged care and care for the intellectually disabled, for instance.

            • BLiP 1.3.1.2.1.1

              The most vulnerable are the new born. Yes, as a class, they have lost dignity by going from “mother” to “customer”. I’m not sure caring for the aged and disabled is any more or less important that pregnancy . . . its all on the continuum of human activities. But, yeah, in terms of dignity, our elderly are the ones who need most help at the moment. Perhaps if David Shearer had committed $6 million to making sure they all get fed decently we’d be talking about that.

            • Sable 1.3.1.2.1.2

              “Aged care and care for the intellectually disabled”-So maybe extra help for Bennett, Collins and Brownlee? (wink)

            • QoT 1.3.1.2.1.3

              Maybe not the most, but …

              Canterbury hospitals are intensifying their fight against domestic violence as figures show one in six pregnant women is physically abused.

              Source.

              Many women are abused for the first time during pregnancy. When this happens it is a sign that the baby is in danger of being abused once born and later in life.

              Source.

      • weka 1.3.2

        “Go further, make Plunket the sole provider of midwifery services, too. The public would lap it up, I’m betting.”

        Er, no they wouldn’t. You’d put all the independent midwifery services out of business for a start, and basically take away the ability of women to choose who attends them when giving birth. That’s the situation we had prior to the 90s and I can tell you it’s not what women want. The push to get independent midwifery and choices for birthing women in NZ was driven by health consumers as much as it was by professionals.

        • Colonial Viper 1.3.2.1

          The other thing is that this kind of centralisation of services is so much more susceptible to being fucked around with by the Tories when they inevitably get back into power.

          I really don’t understand why “the Left” likes to set things up so neat for Tories to then come in a couple of years down the track and privatise/corporatise/sell off at the stroke of a pen.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.3.2.1.1

            Put in laws that prevent it. It’s a simple one in fact, make selling off state services or even contracting them out liable to referendum. Try even to bypass the referendum and go to jail.

            • weka 1.3.2.1.1.1

              Are you really suggesting that midwives shouldn’t be allowed to practice independently?

              • tinfoilhat

                DNFTT

              • BLiP

                Depends on what you mean by “independently”. Within a cooperative model, they can do whatever they like, within safety gounds. In fact, having various models being practised within the community would facillitate all sorts of positives like training, oversight, and reduced costs.

            • Colonial Viper 1.3.2.1.1.2

              But you can’t legislate against the sovereignty of a sitting Government.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.3.2.2

          You’d put all the independent midwifery services out of business for a start, and basically take away the ability of women to choose who attends them when giving birth.

          No, it would be that all the independent midwifery services would be fully supported and women would end up with more choice due to some of those independent services no longer failing under commercial pressure.

          • Colonial Viper 1.3.2.2.1

            Where is the issue of midwifery services “failing” even a problem?

            • Draco T Bastard 1.3.2.2.1.1

              I’ve seen many such articles in the MSM over the last few years. Our support of midwifery is, if those articles that I’ve read are any indication, actually very poor.

        • BLiP 1.3.2.3

          I’ll take your word for it. When it comes to having babies I am singularly unqualified. If I remember correctly, Annette King was the one who sought to apply the “business model” to the process of human birth. Can’t believe she’s still around. These “midwifery services” seem another tentacle in the privatisation by stealth model slowly being applied to health. Thanks Labour.

          How about the government really support Plunket, allowing it to employ all the midwives on a decent salary, and take over the provision of all pre- and post-natal services?? The midwives can organise themselves within Plunket into what ever various groupings they want (I dunno here, help me out, water births, home births, drug-free, full moon chanting, what ever) and the mums can pick and choose when they show up for the pre-natal stuff? That would get over the “choice” argument which is a neo-liberal PR shibboleth anyway. I would imagine such a cooperative venture run properly would provide such a good service the Tory bastards would get shouted down if they tried to flog it off. This sort of human activity seems far better to be nestled in a large community rather functioning in an atomised myriad of competing profiteers.

          • weka 1.3.2.3.1

            Ok, so let me see if I got this right. You want to take maternity services funding away from the health system and give it to a private organisation. And you expect that private organisation to allow its contractors to practice in whatever legal way they see fit, even if those practices are against the ethos of the private organisation (so presumably you need to either legislate for choice, or build it into the funding contract, hence another level of bureaucracy). Why bother? Why not just let the health system do it like it is now. Why on earth would you want to privatise maternity?

            “That would get over the “choice” argument which is a neo-liberal PR shibboleth anyway.”

            Fuck off. Choice in maternity services got established in this country from the power of the community. You really don’t know what you are talking about here BLiP.

            • BLiP 1.3.2.3.1.1

              No. You don’t know what I’m talking about.

              This market-ideology Trojan Horse called “Choice” has fractured the maternity services, just as National Ltd™ used it to splinter the electricity market. The problems over the last thirty-odd years have largely been a turf war between doctors who think they know best and midwives who think they know best. Rather than “privatise maternity”, I’m talking about removing the profit motive from the provision of health services. That means taking it back and then contracting the whole shebang out to one agency to administer. An agency that is a not-for-profit organisation already working in a related field with a brand unique to New Zealand and so respected as to qualify as a “lovemark”. In effect, consolidate what should be a unified effort to protect new life as it enters society and until it takes its first steps. Plunket would have to adapt, and the profiteers would have to go find some other activity where their business acumen can be more ethically applied. What ever “schools” of midwifery practise exist can still each do their own thing and, as a gateway, Plunket could provide information on all of them, thus bolstering informed decision making.

              So, “why not just let the health system do it like it is now”? Because it could be improved by refocusing on funding, linking up pre- and post-natal services, and putting the delivery of maternity services directly into the hands of the community.

      • Populuxe1 1.3.3

        That’s no baby, it’s David Farrar

    • Rosetinted 1.4

      Matthew H
      Give us a break. We have to have something to feel happy and hopeful about. Don’t pour cold water on the birthday candle.

  2. fender 2

    Great move…..but the Nats will scream: “show me the money”….but with a $30 million gift to Rio Tinto there’s obviously plenty of that about.

    Pay rises for all Tiwai Point management very soon, well done lads.

  3. Pete 3

    As I mentioned in Open Mike, it’s a smart move given how trusted Plunket is. And it builds on Shearer’s narrative around the Fonterra recall that when it comes to kids you can’t be too careful. At $6 million it’s hardly going to set the world on fire, but if it signals Labour is building a solid platform around family, housing and jobs, I think they can make some gains as we move into election year. Hopefully not at the expense of the Greens.

  4. Craig Glen viper 4

    A geat policy to support Plunket now lets watch Shearer deliver it!

    • Hami Shearlie 4.1

      Let’s not!! Too painful to watch Shearer any more!! I wince every time he opens his mouth. Labour are finished if Shearer stays – Couldn’t believe Annette King on Backbenchers saying Shearer was doing a great job – What is she on?

      • geoff 4.1.1

        What is she on?

        ~$200,000/yr?
        She’ll say whatever she has to say to keep that racket going, along with the rest of them.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1

          Std backbench MPs salary circa $150K pa

          She’s probably been around long enough to have the gold-plated super scheme as well

          • Pete 4.1.1.1.1

            Yeah, but she could probably score herself some directorships or consultancy gigs, given her cabinet experience. Certainly more money and less hassle.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1.1

              private sector corporates doesn’t hire ex-labour MPs into senior positions, and neither does the public sector; doubly so while a Tory government is in charge.

              The only exception might be individuals of great mana who have been shown to be able to work in a bi-partisan manner.

  5. Sable 5

    Good to see something being supported that doesn’t have “Ltd” after it. Keep up the good work Labour and you may yet make a good alliance partner for the Greens.

  6. DavidW 6

    Wow, didn’t see that coming. Particularly since Plunket-Line was de-funded during the last Labour Government for reasons that no-one could comprehend at the time.

    Was it some sort of personal issue that HC had so that DS can now feel free to announce a policy that is so close to being diametrically opposite that it doesn’t matter?

    It sure looks like DS is pulling policies out of thin air to cash in on the infant formula scare and may be seen as cynical. Risky

    • Sable 6.1

      That was probably down to horrible old Helen. Lets hope Shearer is a better person.

    • felix 6.2

      “It sure looks like DS is pulling policies out of thin air to cash in on the infant formula scare and may be seen as cynical. Risky”

      Nah, Labour cares about babies, Fonterra tries to poison them, and National doesn’t give a fuck. Where’s the cynicism in that?

      “Was it some sort of personal issue that HC had so that DS can now feel free to announce a policy that is so close to being diametrically opposite that it doesn’t matter?”

      Not sure if you’ve noticed, but Helen Clark is no longer leading the party. So yes, it doesn’t matter whether a current policy fits with her policies.

      Now if we could just get Labour to take the same approach to Roger Douglas’ policies…

      • Colonial Viper 6.2.1

        Nah, Labour cares about babies, Fonterra tries to poison them, and National doesn’t give a fuck. Where’s the cynicism in that?

        Last I saw, there was a Shearer press release closely shadowing the Government’s “this is not the time or place to rock the boat” line on the Fonterra scandal…

  7. lenore 7

    Ok I am all for it as long as they do something about the “holier than thou” manner of some of the plunket nurses. I was a young mum with my first and even with my second child another plunket nurse was so condescending and “put me in my place” that i didnt bother with the third. I know there are great ones as well but I thought it may have changed but I met a couple of plunket nurses this year as they are the bloody same as the ones I had! My mum also hated her plunket nurses so I wonder if they still have some ingrained culture from Truby King’s and his screwed up issues!

    Maybe all you bloggers had good experiences but I know plenty of mum’s who couldn’t stand their plunket nurses.

    • Sable 7.1

      Sorry to hear about your experience with Plunket. Our experience was the complete opposite, they were lovely to deal with and offered really good advice as we were both new parents. I think its fair to say that like any organization a persons experience can really be down to who you end up interacting with for better or sometimes worse.

      • lenore 7.1.1

        I think if you fit in with their “norms” you are ok but don’t question them lol. I still find it funny we support an organisation that was founded by one seriously fucked up dude. One of my friends was assessed as “at risk” because she was young and not married and she was treated like shit.

        i would much prefer midwives to take over the services instead of plunket nurses as i would have much preferred my midwife supporting me in a paid way beyond the six weeks. She did support me but not in a paid capacity as this was when plunket nurses took over,

        It would be nice for women to have a choice and certainly i will not encourage my daughters to bother attending to a plunket nurse should they have kids. Have a good midwife and keep the continuity of service pre and post baby.

        • Naturesong 7.1.1.1

          My parents received excellent service from Plunket during the period 1967 to 1976 (4 children).
          My family is white, middle class (proper middle class, and can trace it back to 1066). Being a lawyer or accountant is considered a base occupation (due to its corrupting influence), though we do have a couple of those in the family.
          The only concern my family had (unfounded at the time) was how much of the negative eugenic principles still infected the organisation.
          I image the story might be quite different if you were not white, or not middle class, or not educated or not Anglican.

    • idlegus 7.2

      m wife & i had had a very strange plunket lady, told us a bunch of weird stuff that our baby would be retarded, have a small head & a lisp! she wasn’t even 3 months old! needless to say we laughed in the nurses face (& our child is 5 now & doesn’t have a small head or retarded or have a lisp). but for all that, i support plunket because some people would need their services.

  8. Notice that no right winger has appeared demanding to know where the $6 million will come from??

    😉

    Wait for it…

    Wait for it…

    • DavidW 8.1

      Nah, we won’t bother Frank because you are going to tell us that it will come from cancelling the Puhoi -Wellsford Expressway, right?

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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