Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2019 - 72 comments
Categories: capitalism, debt / deficit, economy, Economy, grant robertson, Keynes, making shit up, Media, national, same old national, tax, the praiseworthy and the pitiful - Tags:

Huzzah.  Grant Robertson has announced that the Government will relax the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after next election.

Thomas Coughlan at Newsroom has provided this perceptive comment on what has happened:

The Government will scrap specific debt targets in favour of moving towards a target range, Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced. 

The current target, part of Labour’s Budget Responsibility Rules, is to reduce net debt to 20 percent of GDP by 2021/22. When that target is achieved, it will be replaced with a debt range. 

Robertson did not specify what this was, but said Treasury had provided him with advice. 

“At this point we are looking at a range of 15-25 percent of GDP, based on advice from the Treasury,” Robertson said. 

“This range is consistent with the Public Finance Act’s requirement for fiscal prudence, but takes into account the need for the Government to be flexible so that it can respond to economic conditions,” he said.

Robertson made the remarks at a pre-Budget speech to the Craigs Investors Conference. He also said that Treasury’s forecasts, which are released alongside the Budget will show the Government on track to meet its Budget Responsibility Rules. 

Still too low? 

The Budget Responsibility Rules have been criticised for being unnecessarily restrictive on the Government and holding back Robertson from making vital infrastructure investments. 

Last year, Newsroom reported the Government could choose keep debt at roughly 30 percent of GDP before frightening ratings agencies.

This would equate to an extra $35 billion worth of borrowing.

Robertson responded to some of these criticisms. 

“For me it is a question of balance.  We have made, and will continue to make, significant investments in our future, but we also know that the volatility of the world, be it economically or through natural disasters, biosecurity incursions or unexpected events, is never far away,” he said. 

Trading Economics reports New Zealand’s current debt to GDP ratio at 19.9%.  By comparison Australia’s is 40.7%, Germany is at 60.9%, the United Kingdom is at 84.7%, the US at 105.4% and Japan is at an eye watering 253%.  Debt of itself does not stop economies from functioning.

Of course this has not stopped National from engaging in frankly irresponsible scaremongering.

And when you have hospitals with raw sewerage in the walls, teachers and other workers with significant catch ups required, an urgent need to develop sustainable energy sources and light rail to build why wouldn’t you run up debt.  Especially when interest rates are so low.

72 comments on “Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules ”

  1. Ad 1

    If this government were any more relaxed they would be a puddle of blinking-eyed used skin on the floor.

    • peterlepaysan 1.1

      How very enlightening. Thank you for your insightful and informative comment.

      • Ad 1.1.1

        Any time soon they'll get a spine and an actual bone structure.

      • sumsuch 1.1.2

        I think it pertinacious. Prefer the bulls in a china store of the first Labour Govt. After all we are a hundred times more in danger.

  2. Blazer 2

    New Zealand’s current debt to GDP ratio at 19.9%. By comparison Australia’s is 40.7%, Germany is at 60.9%, the United Kingdom is at 84.7%, the US at 105.4% and Japan is at an eye watering 253%.

    who do these countries actually owe the money to and where did the lenders get it from?

    Just wondering.

    • vto 2.1

      ha ha good luck with answering that one

      lenders get it by printing it – best business in the world by far

      there is more debt in the world than there is money to repay it – how does that work?

    • WeTheBleeple 2.2

      I know right. If the whole world is in debt???

      We know that money is created from thin air (bank loan for producing goods and services), and then interest is required to be 'paid back' above that. Goods and services tether the magic money to reality (e.g. they generate a loan for a house which is tangible goods), but the interest on the magicked up money… This interest forces a growth model as it is over and above all current goods and services.

      One might argue the planet's economy could actually cope with a decline (you know, to save the planet), except a decline brings bankers into play, loans get defaulted, mom and dad lose their houses and businesses, and the bankers take them all.

      While this system gave us growth it also forced growth, now an entirely unsustainable model. At some point someone needs to tell whoever the head honcho lenders are to fuck off, they're not getting their interest.

      Politicians are too scared to tango, if people get defaulted, they certainly wont vote for who stirred it up. It's like the planet is held at gunpoint, but so bloody hard to put your finger on.

      Or we can let the financiers ride the fractional reserve banking gravy train to planetary annihilation. Grow, grow, die.

    • Herodotus 2.3

      Debt of itself does not stop economies from functioning.- But NZ has a large private debt.

      Japan Germany are net saver, the govt incurs debt the public save

      https://www.ft.com/content/ba96c8ea-b34a-11e7-aa26-bb002965bce8

      https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/asia-pacific/japan-the-world-savers-retire

      And when you have hospitals with raw sewerage in the walls, teachers and other workers with significant catch ups required, an urgent need to develop sustainable energy sources and light rail to build why wouldn’t you run up debt- But we have to wait to AT LEAST 2022/3 before that happens. These issues are CURRENT. I am sure that another 3+ years of being treat as crap will be tolerated.

      How about we have a government to make decisions NOW. This lot just like those that went before them distort the truth to maintain their hold on power.

    • michelle 2.4

      they own the money to the world bank and imf

    • Nic the NZer 2.5

      Its mostly owed to financial institutions (banks and insurers) of the countries in question. Ultimately this creates the fixed income market so the reason commercial banks in NZ have a surplus of $NZ to invest is mostly due to depositors.

      Its also worth noting the only institution which creates $NZ is part of the NZ government. The government never borrows due to it being short of the funds to facilitate spending.

      A very large part of the Japanese govt debt is internal debt between the Japanese govt and its central bank.

  3. Re Amy Adams attack.

    I recall National being good at paying down debt.

    Insert TUI ad here, please.

    • greywarshark 3.1

      I thought that too. Amy Adams is the monkey dancing for the organ grinder of National that always says this sort of thing though a look at the historical records shows otherwise. But why let facts get in the way of a good story.

      It is a bedtime story for the complacent, the wannabes, for the wealthy to repeat in hushed tones to the wilfully ignorant children who like Peter Pan will never grow up. Taking that further Amy is Tinkerbell calling out to all the National supporters to clap their hands and provide the energy to make National a living reality!

    • michelle 3.2

      sounds like you need to fix your recall button Clive because national increased our debt by tenfold aunty Helens government had our debt at an all time low and then along came jooohnnn

  4. dv 4

    25%, still well under the other ratios quoted by Blazer.

  5. SPC 5

    The advice to have a debt target range of 15 to 25% of GDP came from Treasury. All the government did was sign off on it.

    Just as with the change of inflation target from 0–2 to 1-3%, it means little to actual policy. Inflation has been lower since the change, not higher.

    Labour and Greens adopted National's 20% GDP debt 2020 target (by 2020/2021 with more government spending and lower tax cuts).

    Joyce talked about a post 2017 National government having a 10-15% GDP debt by 2025. This indicates that National was itself intending a more flexible lower level target in the future.

    Treasury has indicated acceptance of a lower figure of 15% by 2025. And presumably a higher level than 20% because

    1. the trade wars, sanctions and Brexit consequernces for the global economy may deepen and broaden

    2. the failure to introduce a CGT to improve future revenues.

    3. infrastructure needs more investment (including increase of state house stock) to sustain growth (see 1)

    4. debt is so cheap we can afford more of it.

  6. bwaghorn 6

    Oh God now we are going to be hearing all about Joyce's hole till the next election.

    • greywarshark 6.1

      Thanks for your prayers bwaghorn on behalf of all of us. Please keep up your relationship with the Creator, we really need some TLC from him/her.

      • Jimmy 6.1.1

        Mind you I heard Cameron Bagrie the other day on ZB saying Steven Joyce was right about the hole. Wasn't he mocking him about it saying it didn't exist….whats changed these economists just change with the wind.

        • michelle 6.1.1.1

          who cares about joyces hole he has gone and so has his hole

          • Jimmy 6.1.1.1.1

            The hole hasn't gone in fact according to Bagrie Joyce underestimated it!

            • bwaghorn 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Did you also note that bagrie thinks the economy is sound and that if labour does borrow more it's no big thing.

              • alwyn

                Tell me. To be consistent in your views, whatever the side you pick you will either have to say that Bagrie's views are both correct OR they are both wrong. He is a good Economist and his statements will be consistent with each other.

                I think he is right on both counts. Joyce had identified a genuine hole in their figures and probably did underestimate the number. It is also, in the current circumstances quite reasonable for the State to borrow a bit more.

                What do you say? Bagrie correct in his views or is he wrong?

                • bwaghorn

                  He'll only be right if labour does start spending .

                  I think they should drop the limits now and solve some issues .

                  Still it's better than keys gst lie.

                  Had a few bourbons so hope it makes sense

            • SPC 6.1.1.1.1.2

              FACTCHECK.

              But currently, despite wage demands, the Government hasn't been left without cash. While Joyce claimed it's net core Crown debt wouldn't fall below 23.5 percent of GDP by 2022, Treasury is forecasting it will reduce to 19.1 percent of GDP in 2021/2022. The Government's decision to change the crown debt target also wouldn't come into force until after June 2022 – beyond the period Joyce was referring to when he said there would be an $11.7 billion hole.

              • alwyn

                Did you include the numbers that the Housing people are running up? Surely you aren't being fooled by Robertson's b*s method of taking it of the Crown debt?

                And if you are going to make these claims can you please say where you are getting the material from?

                • SPC

                  Meh. The slower KiwiBuild uptake is reducing budgetary cost (allowing quicker debt paydown). And those kept in ownership will earn rent (and are assets on the government books).

                  Will you bet that the debt will not meet the 20% target in 2020/2021?

                  I'll bet it will and this will put a stake in the heart of Joyce's contention that it would be no lower than 23.5% by 2021/2022. Knowing everything Joyce said Treasury later made an estimate of 19.1% for that year.

                  • alwyn

                    I take it you did get the numbers from Grant's May 2018 Press Release.

                    I think describing that as "But currently, despite wage demands" is pushing things uphill pretty hard. The wage demands hadn't started at that point and at least a year ago is certainly not "currently".

                    By the way you are also talking about wanting to me bet on 2020/2021 as if that proves claims you say were made about 2021/2022 by Steven Joyce being true or false.

                    Can I fiddle the dates as well. Will you let me make a bet with you on the result of the 2018 Melbourne Cup? You will have to pay out the TAB odds to me if I can pick the winner.

                    The comment about Kiwibuild is also very debatable. The money Housing is spending has been kept out of the Crown Accounts. It also introduces a very dangerous Financial liability to the Crown. Twyford has said that more than 10,000 houses have been contracted for before 2028. Everyone of those will have given the Contractor a free put which will require the Government to buy them if the developer doesn't sell them at a suitable price. At $500 k each that could lead to the Crown being forced to buy about $5 BILLION worth of properties which the taxpayer will then have to sell for whatever they can get.

                    Who ever let that man lose with the taxpayers wallet?

                    • SPC

                      Given the government will hit its 20% debt to GDP target by 2020/2021, the chances of a rise to 23.5% in 2021/2022 is very unlikely. More likely it will still be around 20%.

                      Rising wages in the public service is not that big a factor on debt to GDP (and in the wider economy it reduces government costs and raises government revenue).

                      The KiwiBuild homes programme is about getting them built, if the narrow criteria the government set means they cannot sell them they will take some into state housing (10,000 waiting list), some into rent to buy programmes and others they will sell by broadening the criteria (to those already owning apartments and flats when they start families).

                      And remember a debt financed increase in state assets (earning rent income) is not an increase in net debt.

          • alwyn 6.1.1.2.1

            You did notice that your link is to something released 5 hours ago but that the Robertson Press release it refers to and where I suspect SPC got his numbers from is more than a year old? The Treasury numbers will have been done long before that and are long out of date.

            All the wage claims have blown out since those Treasury estimates you know.

            As Harold Wilson said "A week is a long time in politics". Well a year is an eternity for Treasury Estimates' validity.

            • Shadrach 6.1.1.2.1.1

              Indeed. Did you see Robertson tripped up by Goldsmith in Parliament on Wednesday? You can watch it at https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=206540, the fun starts at 4.30. In short, Robertson claimed 1% of GDP was around 800million. It is nearer to $3bn. So we have a PM who doesn't know what GDP is, and a Minister of Finance who doesn't know how much it is. Not to worry – there'll be a wedding soon!

              • SPC

                Typical government minister – he connects 1% of the GDP to the money he will get his paws on to spend, rather than the total.

                • alwyn

                  I commented on this on another blog, "Yes Minister" this afternoon. I think Grant has been maligned on this as I think he didn't interpret the supplementary question correctly. I came to the same conclusion you did, although I think I may have been a little kinder to the man.

                  What I said there was

                  "I heard that reply he made to the supplementary question.
                  I am not a great admirer of Grant but he could have misheard the question and taken it as being a question about Government Revenue or Expenditure. The question was
                  "what is an additional 1 percent GDP growth worth to New Zealand".
                  When it was revised slightly to Goldsmiths statement "1 percent of GDP is about $3 billion" he objected saying that "That's not what the member initially asked".
                  I think it is possible he was interpreting the question as having been "what is an additional 1 percent GDP growth worth to (the) New Zealand (Government)" in which case his answer is about right.
                  I can't prove this of course but in answering supplementary questions it is a possible misinterpretation for him to make.
                  God. I never thought I would come to the defense of the gentleman concerned."

                  • Shadrach

                    Hi Alwyn

                    I have listened to the question again. Goldsmith's question was very clear.

                    "To the nearest billion dollars, what is an additional 1% GDP growth worth to New Zealanders."

                    Not "New Zealand". Not the "New Zealand Government". "New Zealanders".

                    The question was very clear, and it was in the context of a Primary question about GDP, and of Robertson specifically having just referred to factors contributing to a drop in GDP growth.

                    Robertson screwed up.

            • SPC 6.1.1.2.1.2

              Treasury is renowned for its conservative estimates.

              And if surpluses are higher than forecast, the money for debt repayment is greater.

        • peterlepaysan 6.1.1.3

          One can lay economists end to end and never reach a conclusion.

          Hat tip to GB Shaw.

      • bwaghorn 6.1.2

        If I thought god was listening I'd be talking about far more important things than holes.

        • greywarshark 6.1.2.1

          Anything is helpful bwaghorn. I'm not big on prayer myself but feel the need FTTT. Who knows whether a prayer on the North or South Islands will start a chain of events in Wellington, Auckland or somewhere. I think it is part of hope, I just don't believe it replaces personal action of some helpful sort.

  7. “At this point we are looking at a range of 15-25 percent of GDP, based on advice from the Treasury,” ..so, and please correct me if i'm wrong..but there is a possibility that we are going from a 'restrictive ' 20%..to possibly 15% ?

    Meantime we are still going for 20% by '22.

    And this is exciting?

    How bad will things be in Public Services (Health , Education, Family crisis support, housing) by 2022? I shudder to think. By that time even 35% won't be enough to by all the selotape and string we'll be needing to hold things together.

    • SPC 7.1

      On the positive side all fiscal drift revenue increase is going into spending, as is the benefit of lower cost of debt.

      There are options

      1. finance the annual $2B contribution into the Cullen Fund via a 1% employee levy with a 1% top up from employers. This frees up that money for higher day to day spending. Which should include tertiary debt writeoffs for teachers and nurses – interest free while they work in these jobs and 10% written off per annum while they work in Auckland).

      2. reboot the KiwiBuild programme around all new homes on existing HCNZ land being state houses (all such land no longer being sold for KiwiBuild or private developers) and instead the cost of building new state houses on the land entirely being funded by borrowing. This does not increase net debt because the money is going into an increase in number of state owned properties – assets from which it receives rent.

  8. The Chairman 8

    And when you have hospitals with raw sewerage in the walls, teachers and other workers with significant catch ups required, an urgent need to develop sustainable energy sources and light rail to build why wouldn’t you run up debt. Especially when interest rates are so low.

    Yet, despite all these problems and the fact Government debt is tracking down faster than projected (currently at 19.9%) Robertson is arguing it's a question of balance and believes they have the balance about right. However, many (teachers, poverty action, etc) disagree.

    Considering the Minister’s comments, adopting a range of between 15 percent and 25 percent opposed to the current set target of 20% does suggest that despite all the stated crisis (housing, education, health, etc) in the current economic climate (which they deem as good) the Government will most likely move to further reduce debt. Disappointing those who are hoping adopting the range will result in the Government spending more to address current concerns.

  9. greywarshark 9

    Banks fight back against RBNZ capital increase proposal

    @NonaPelletier nona.pelletier@rnz.co.nz

    Reserve Bank proposals to make banks hold more capital to guard against a financial crisis will slow economic growth, lift interest rates, and disadvantage smaller New Zealand owned banks.

    Just in on Radionz. I think that savers and retirees will find life easier by a lift in interest rates. While government is at it, what about dropping taxes on interest paid on savings, that would be nice, and help to limit consumerism and money spent on imported goods that help to drain our economy. For decades we have spent more than we have earned, but we have a 'stong' economy, while we can borrow at cheap rates. Manipulation, prestidigitation!. Let's have a grass roots economy not one with fairy wings and a wand.

    We can still have relaxed Debt to GDP rates as long as the money is spent on preventing expensive health outbreaks, goes into infrastructure, helps train young people for jobs where staff are needed etc. And limit how many people come to NZ to get education, needing jobs. It is so sad to hear about the way our Immigration chess players push them around as human pawns.

    Set limits where needed on all policies of inserting money into the slot marked NZ, and find ways to make our own money go round, the multiplier effect! Now that is a useful device, time to brush the dust off the archives in Treasury and ensure that we use this little economic gem to its full potential for good.

  10. RedLogix 10

    New Zealand’s current debt to GDP ratio at 19.9%.

    This omits an important point … this is only government debt. Total external debt including business and personal debt is higher and a less comfortable ratio.

    https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/external-debt

    • SPC 10.1

      Another reason to borrow to build more state houses on HCNZ land rather than sell the land for KiwiBuild and other property building – increasing private debt further.

    • Dean Reynolds 10.2

      Business & personal debt is not the responsibility of Government

      • RedLogix 10.2.1

        True, but our risk and ratings are largely related to the total debt we have to service. While you are technically correct, govt debt is the responsibility of govt … where do you imagine govt gets it's funds from?

    • Pat 10.3

      think its safe to assume that the private debt levels are of equal concern and are being addressed , namely by the RBNZ proposed capital requirements

  11. mosa 11

    Bryan Bruce – Is there really “no more money” for teachers, and other essential social spending ? Or should we stop running austerity budgets and do something about untaxed wealth?

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/05/24/guest-blog-bryan-bruce-is-there-really-no-more-money-for-teachers-and-other-essential-social-spending-or-should-we-stop-running-austerity-budgets-and-do-something-about-untaxed-wealt/

    • Sam 11.1

      Running up government debt isn't a s bad as paying it down to fast. Of course the government could just leave the printing presses on full if it was for War and a select few other things like energy policy or productive purposes. But borrowing for tax cuts as did Key and English is just stupid.

      • mosa 11.1.1

        " But borrowing for tax cuts as did Key and English is just stupid."

        Their donors and wealthy recipient's ( and constituents ) were happy and overjoyed.

        A great return on their investment.

        • Sam 11.1.1.1

          My Facebook timeline has been abnormally filled with weddings and engagement announcements this week. Must be getting closer to a Global Recession.

    • alwyn 11.2

      Oh dear. Perhaps you haven't noticed but your dream of what sounds suspiciously like a CGT is dead for at least the next 5 years I would say. Even if we are lucky enough to have a new Government in 2020 I don't think that they will introduce a CGT and it is unlikely that Ardern's controllers will make her flip again and push for one before the next election.

  12. Michael 12

    Robertson should never have agreed to BRR in the first place – our social deficit is too high for any responsible government to adopt neoliberal economic policies – especially when this one did so voluntarily.

    Rather than borrowing, I'd prefer it if Robertson funded necessary public spending from taxes – either increasing existing taxes or implementing new taxes on various forms of economic rents that are so endemic in societies like ours.

    The government's Achilles heel is spending control – who really believes our public service is capable of exercising competent oversight of appropriations? Labour needs to get a handle on this side of the budget process before opening up the sluices or else it is just handing a weapon to the Right.

  13. One Two 13

    Refering to debt percentages et al diverts attention away from the discussion which should actually be constantly in the mainstream public domain…

    That is… the discussion around why borrowing from anywhere other than between RBNZ / Treasury is even necessary…

    Everything else is simply propagating misdirection and fallacies…

    Which the government is now using as an election bribe.

  14. Stuart Munro. 14

    I think it's the first sign he's beginning to grasp the possibilities of his office, and therefore healthy. It may of course become a line of attack from the blithering idiots of the extreme right, who never said a dickey bird about things like English's wrecking of Solid Energy.

    The original target was an externally imposed straitjacket of no particular merit. It's quite possible to govern responsibly within a looser framework, or, as the Key Kleptocracy demonstrated, to govern irresponsibly within a tight one.

  15. michelle 15

    they (national) also wrecked nz post one of the best postal system in the world now one of the worst

    • alwyn 15.1

      Ever send a letter Michelle? And do you still use cheques?

      Most mail is handled today by e-mail. Quicker, cheaper and more reliable.

      Thinking that New Zealand Post can, or should, go on the way it used to is like saying that we should ban the car because it will put all the manufacturers of horse drawn carts out of business?

  16. adam 16

    Austerity say's shit lite, because it's good for you.

    But see how magnanimous we are, we might not be so austere in say 3 or 4 years.

    shit lite, not as bad as shit – but boy howdy it getting harder and harder seeing the difference.

    • Blazer 16.1

      if the neo cons could monetise shit…the poor would be born without…arseholes.

  17. sumsuch 17

    Does it surprise anyone our search for the truth is less popular then KiwiBlog by 4 to 1? Scratching itches Acclaimed! has its way. What makes us different to the bloated rudderless iceberg of America is the unconscious values of less political NZers. Given to them by their Welfare State upbringing , and the echoes thereof.

  18. sumsuch 18

    My question is is this break from the budget responsibility rules just a surface crack for those of us angry about it or is there substance? What would substance look like? You detailers. Chris Trotter being away, not hearing any of our summarisers. Do you realise why itch scratchers on the Right have their way? Though details are needed.

  19. Jenny - How to get there? 19

    Good on Robertson.

    Let's do this

    Let's pay the teachers

    Let's pay the health workers

    Let's fully fund the ambos

    And if were still short of a few quid we could take up Andrew Little's idea and take back some of that $20 billion largess we dolloped on the military.

    Personally I think our hard done by teachers nurses Drs and ambos do more to defend New Zealanders than the all the overfunded rambos in the world.

    • Jenny - How to get there? 19.1

      Chris Trotter put it this way.

      Perhaps, therefore, we should follow the example of Costa Rica and abolish our armed forces altogether. On December 1, 1948, following a bloody civil war, the President of Costa Rica announced the abolition of that country's armed forces. His decision was confirmed the following year in Article 12 of the Costa Rican constitution. The monies previously spent on the military were reallocated to education and culture. The maintenance of internal security was left to the police…..

      ……If national defence does not mean ensuring the basic welfare of every citizen – then what does it mean?

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/80986483/chris-trotter-how-many-houses-could-we-get-for-20-billion-spent-on-defence

    • Herodotus 19.2

      the problem re paying these deserving workers is that by the time 2022 comes around the next pay round will have concluded, or that if our govt has its way nurses, police, teachers etc will have to wait 4 more years until wages are able to catch up, that after 11 years of being left behind ☹️

  20. New view 20

    Labour are only talking of taking on more debt. They never actually do anything,just talk about some plan in the future. My fear is they will borrow to fund more think tanks.

  21. sumsuch 21

    2021/2! No substance. I was right to join up and vote for the guy from New Plymouth, intending to vote for Cunliffe. Never voted for Labour in my life. Though my G. grandfather hit people for them.

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    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    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
    5 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
    6 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
    12 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
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