Lee implodes

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 14th, 2009 - 73 comments
Categories: mt albert, racism - Tags:

And the ticking timebomb goes off. From Not PC on last night’s Mt Albert candidates’ debate:

Most of what every mainstream candidate had to say on the night was both instantly forgettable and intended only for short-term political advantage.  But there was one thing one candidate said that is now going to dog her through the rest of the campaign. Maybe longer. It will probably be the meeting’s headline tomorrow morning.  I say “her” because the foot in the mouth belonged to Melissa Lee.

Asked to explain how the new motorway would most help the good people of Mt Albert, she expained that it would stop the bad people of South Auckland driving to Mt Albert to burgle people’s homes.  Asked to clarify by a questioner, she repeated the claim.  Showing she’s truly not one to stop digging when she creates a big hole for herself — a hole as big as the number of open mouths in the room — she insisted that the local police commander had told her this very morning that the biggest issue with which he has to deal is the number of South Aucklanders driving to Mt Albert to burgle people’s homes.

I swear I am not making this up.  It’s true that the likely winner of the by-election, David Shearer, grew up in South Auckland . . .  and in being Labour’s “machine candidate” he could be said to be burgling the seat . . . but what the hell she was talking about, only Melissa Lee herself would know.  Probably.

It was as incongruous and frankly ludicrous as Jenny Shipley’s comment in Parliament several years ago (apropos of nothing relevant) that Polynesians tend “to climb in the windows of other New Zealanders at night.”  And it deserves to be treated with equal contempt.

We predicted something like this would happen but I’m still shocked it’s happened so quickly. From a credible performance on Q+A last Sunday to a political career in tatters by Wednesday.

The funny thing about shocking events is sometimes it’s the little details that stand out. I keep thinking – but won’t a motorway make it easier for South Aucklanders to get to Mt Albert?

73 comments on “Lee implodes ”

  1. I am not surprised. If only tories would say what they are thinking more often.

    Lee will probably be sent to a Crosby Textor reeducation camp for a while so do not be surprised if she disappears for a couple of days.

  2. Tim Ellis 2

    I went to the debate, too. Shearer said motorways cause congestion, and he said he was opposed to building motorways. He dropped a clanger when an interjector asked him why he was supporting a $3 billion tunnel.

    Lee performed pretty well in the debate. Labour activists turned up in force and tried to shout her down, but she held her own. Shearer got a bit of a surprise. I don’t think he expected to be heckled. He was certainly rattled by the evening and didn’t cope well.

    Norman made one clanger when he advocated civil disobedience and protesting outside John Key’s home, but got more support than any of the candidates.

    The Libertarianz guy got up and spoke bafflingly how individuals should build their own motorways without government intervention.

    It was a fun night. If you were there, Eddie, it would be disingenuous to claim that anybody other than Norman was the winner on points.

    • andy 2.1

      Why did you go to the meeting Tim?

      • Tim Ellis 2.1.1

        Because it was a public meeting and I thought it would be entertaining. It was.

        • andy 2.1.1.1

          Tim, you are working so hard defending Lee (and National) you out to get paid for your hard work, I am impressed with your dedication to National and your ability to mirror the official party line with your personal comments..

    • Pascal's bookie 2.2

      So did Lee say the things in the post or not Tim? How was the reaction to that from the floor.

      And how can you tell the difference between Labour activists turning up in force and trying to shout someone down, and a politician getting bollocked for saying unpopular things? Just wondering.

      • gingercrush 2.2.1

        Its all over National Radio. Its frankly embarrassing.

      • Tim Ellis 2.2.2

        There was some discussion about crime being committed by people from South Auckland, yes, PB. It wasn’t signficant and the reaction wasn’t major. Lee was reporting a discussion she had with a police officer earlier in the day as I recall.

        “And how can you tell the difference between Labour activists turning up in force and trying to shout someone down, and a politician getting bollocked for saying unpopular things? Just wondering.”

        I guess the difference is, the Labour activists hold up Labour Party signs and chant “pay the money back” and yelling corruption in unison. That’s a good indication.

        Like I say, Lee handled herself pretty well. Shearer got much more of a bollocking than he expected, and was visibly pretty shaken by it. Norman carried on regardless, ignoring interjections. There was one amusing exchange when Norman claimed that a motorway wouldn’t be built through rich neighbourhoods King’s college… somebody shouted out that King’s is in South Auckland.

        There were lots of laughs on all sides.

        • gingercrush 2.2.2.1

          ….

          I have no doubt she performed well in other areas. But that is all meaningless when the headlines are screaming, “what Melissa Lee said at candidate’s meeting”.

        • Pascal's bookie 2.2.2.2

          Thanks. You have an interesting perspective.

        • Philonz 2.2.2.3

          Unfortunately Tim it doesn’t really matter how anyone was percieved at the actual meeting. It only matters how they will be percieved today by the undecided of Mt Albert who are reading their Herald over their cornflakes. I doubt there will be a headline screaming “Norman probably best performer, Lee’s comments not racist, Shearer rattled”. If you give the media a sniff of a controversial statement they will tear you to shreds and it seems Lee has made the mistake of dangling a beauty right in front of them.

    • bilbo 2.3

      Tim

      If Lee is so pathetically naive to make the comment as quoted by Eddie she clearly is pretty lightweight – apart from the partisan junkies on blogs and the idiots who turn up to these debates to heckle and cheer like it’s a rugby game I can’t see why most people in the electorate wouldn’t be happy with Shearer who from this non-lefties perspective is clearly the best candidate.

    • IrishBill 2.4

      Lee performed pretty well in the debate.

      You have to be kidding.

    • Eddie 2.5

      Tim. The above is a quote from Not PC. I wasn’t there. If you think Russel Norman ‘won’ that’s great but the most significant thing is surely Lee’s racist comments..

      Did you hear them? Did it go down like Not PC describes?

      • Tim Ellis 2.5.1

        Eddie, you can try and beat this up all you like, but I was there. There was no racist element to what Lee said, and it wasn’t interpreted as racist. As far as I know, “people from South Auckland” is not racist. Mount Albert has a high Pacific Island population as well. Lee was reporting that a police officer had told her that much of the crime committed was by people who didn’t live locally, and in fact lived in South Auckland.

        • Eddie 2.5.1.1

          Tim. You and I know the colour of the skin of the people Lee imagines drive to Mt Albert to burgle it. The racism is implicit and inherent.

          Also, you please explain how a motorway makes driving to Mt Albert to go a burglerin’ harder? Or was Lee’s idea that they would drive through Mt Albert and burgle elsewhere?

          • Tim Ellis 2.5.1.1.1

            Nonsense, Eddie. Mount Albert has a high proportion of Pacific Islanders as well. The point was specifically about crime being committed by people from outside the area. Nobody at the meeting as far as I know interpreted it as a racist exchange. Keep beating it up as such, though.

            I was perplexed by the comment from Lee and its relationship to the motorway. Somebody yelled out that south Auckland criminals would be able to drive to Mount Albert faster if there was a motorway, which was pretty funny.

        • Lew 2.5.1.2

          Tim, without prompting, you’ve mentioned `Pacific Islanders’ in your last two comments. If that’s not a demonstration of the racism being implicit and inherent, I don’t know what is. Or is there some other reason you decided to talk about Pacific Islanders in particular?

          L

          • Tim Ellis 2.5.1.2.1

            There certainly was prompting, Lew. It was Eddie’s claim that the reference from Lee was racist, and Eddie making the comparison with an earlier comment by Jenny Shipley:

            It was as incongruous and frankly ludicrous as Jenny Shipley’s comment in Parliament several years ago (apropos of nothing relevant) that Polynesians tend “to climb in the windows of other New Zealanders at night.’ And it deserves to be treated with equal contempt.

            Lee’s comments weren’t racist. She didn’t refer to Pacific Islanders. I only made reference to it because Eddie did.

          • Lew 2.5.1.2.2

            Tim,

            That’s PC, in relation to a totally different statement more than a decade ago by a different person. You’ve picked it up and run with it as though that was what was meant all along – and I agree that it was.

            L

          • Tim Ellis 2.5.1.2.3

            Lew,

            That’s PC, in relation to a totally different statement more than a decade ago by a different person. You’ve picked it up and run with it as though that was what was meant all along – and I agree that it was.

            So it was from PC. My apologies for attributing that to Eddie. I was at the meeting, however, and in my view there was no racist element to what Lee was saying. She wasn’t referring to Pacific Islanders. She was referring to criminals from outside Mount Albert, primarily from South Auckland. She has since apologised for any offence she may have caused South Auckland residents.

  3. bilbo 3

    I’ve just read not PC’s overview – perhaps you’d like him to write a guest post every now and then – outstanding, non-partisan and a good laugh.

    • Eddie 3.1

      yeah it is well written, not sure that I would call it non-partisan though. It’s a staunchly libertarian blog.

      • bilbo 3.1.1

        True but he’s up front about that and tends to gloss over the lib candidate and have a bit of fun with the rest of them.

      • Lew 3.1.2

        PC is non-partisan in that the only party he can support in good conscience is the Libertarianz, and they’re an irrelevancy. He seems to hate all the other parties more or less equally.

        L

        • bilbo 3.1.2.1

          “He seems to hate all the other parties more or less equally.”

          Clearly a sensible chap.

  4. outofbed 4

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2410051/Motorway-could-divert-criminals-Lee

    Tim maybe you went to the Gents and missed the comment
    After all why could you have such a widely different interpretation of events?

    I think lee said it to divert attention from her misuse of public funds 🙂

  5. andy 5

    Lee on nat radio.

    Clarification: “the motorway is going to help catch the criminals”

    More motorways=less crime, WTF??

    I cringe every time a politician uses the line “the police have told me…”

  6. wibblewithoutapause 6

    perhaps National should ask for “voluntary” tunnelling services from Ms Lee – she appears to be pretty good at digging holes. Perhaps with some National direction she could continue to dig under Mt Albert and make the tunnel for them and put the publicity video of it on youtube and facebook for free too.

  7. gobsmacked 7

    The Standard must stop beating up these stories and controlling all the media coverage from … um … TVNZ, Radio NZ, Herald, Stuff, pretty much everyone … heck, even blogs with no love for the Left. I don’t know how you guys do it, but you are clearly too powerful, and it’s just not fair.

    And at the end of all this, what say we have a whip-round and get Tim Ellis a medal? He’s courageously answered his party’s call, but the generals forgot to tell him it was a one-man suicide mission.

    PS Nominations for Mt Albert are still open. Has John Key got Ravi’s phone number?

  8. Putting this on context: Melissa Lee was the person deemed most likely to succeed by the people in the National Party with the power to make that determination. Her nomination and all that flows from it reflects on THEIR judgement.

    I wonder if any of them will pause to reflect, even for a moment, what this implies about their capacity for correctly assessing evidence and making sound judgements.

    Most of National’s intended policy program suggests they operate more on belief than on evidence and they, in turn, represent people who also operate on belief rather than evidence.

    Over the last 8 years we saw where that took the United States. It has been my contention that the National Party here in NZ demonstrated all of the same qualities and would – therefore – make all of the same mistakes. What is fascinating is their near total lack of insight into the both the mistakes themselves and their roots in unfounded belief……as manifestly demonstrated by the example of the US Republican Party.

    The metaphor that comes to mind is lemmings over a cliff….and lemmings aren’t actually that stupid…as the metaphor is based on a myth. Apparently, National and its supporters – or enough of them – are that stupid.

    As an aside, I doubt Ms Lee will be getting any special consideration from the police in future. She can’t keep a confidence, either. In one exchange we see two critical political failings.

  9. r0b 9

    My isn’t a week a long time in politics. The implosion of his handpicked candidate does not reflect well on the judgement of John Key:

    “We’re delighted with the selection of Melissa Lee we think she is a top class candidate, she’s already marked herself out as an MP that’s going places and we are now going to put up the best contest we can in Mt Albert,” Mr Key told reporters

    Shoulda stuck with Ravi John.

  10. sparky 10

    Maybe she can see South Auckland from her house?

  11. Pat 11

    A Mt Albert resident just phoned Radio Live to say they went to a seminar organised by the community board about 3 weeks ago in which the Police made a presentation. Apparently they spoke about Mt Albert being targeted by criminals outside the area and the motorway would divert some of this criminal activity.

    This seems to back Lee’s story up, but certainly her message has got lost in the translation.

    • bilbo 11.1

      Pat – if that’s true it’s rather depressing – I mean how on earth is a motorway going to divert criminal activity, are the criminals too thick to take an off ramp.

      FFS at times you have to wonder if this country is solely populated with morons.

      • Pat 11.1.1

        Yeah I can’t figure it out, but to be fair you would probably need to hear the whole Police presentation to get it in context. Looks like Radio Live producers are following up on it.

    • Chris 11.2

      I was at that same meeting.

      The Police had some slides which showed criminal activity in the Mt Albert area (and no surprise, St Lukes Westfield Mall is tops for breaking and entering cars/stealing cars/petty theft/assult).

      The Police at no stage said that motorways helps/hinders crime, and it would be foolish to for the police to state that. What they did point out is crime is opportunistic/environmental in nature i.e. it’s the surrounding environment that helps criminals do crime – bushes hide criminals, or lack of lighting etc.

      The only time that the Police gave indication of where the criminals were coming from, they said West – i.e. Avondale/New Lynn/Waitakere.

      Melissa Lee was not at this meeting, or if she was I didn’t see her at all.

      • Pat 11.2.1

        Chris – you should phone Michael Laws on Radio Live since it is a continuing story.

        Their earlier caller confirmed Lee wasn’t at the meeting.

  12. Maynard J 12

    10/10 Sparky!!!!!!

  13. Bill 13

    Hmm.

    On the basis that escaping poverty is a well nigh impossible proposition under National maybe they had nightmare visions of a tunnel leading to scenarios from ‘The Great Escape’ ;dirty poor people from S. Auckland popping up out the ground all over the show spreading their nasty poverty virus.

    As the Nats ideology just wont allow for an understanding of poverty (coming soon, to a neighbourhood near you!) spreading from system to person and not person to person, I wonder how Melissa feels about a wall as a containment strategy?

    Or then, perhaps punitive road tolls could be a more cost effective back up plan?

  14. gobsmacked 14

    Wow.

    According to Radio Live news, John Key has described Lee’s comments as “stupid”.

    • exbrethren 14.1

      Tim, stop helping Melissa dig that hole, Shonkey and Joyce have condemned her comments. Now all that leaves is for the police to deny they put the words into her mouth…

      • Pat 14.1.1

        Michael Laws at 10.28am Radio Live claims they have confirmed that the Avondale Senior Sergeant has said that the motoway will act as a physical barrier to criminals.

        • gobsmacked 14.1.1.1

          Unfortunately for Melissa Lee, rebuttal witnesses only keep the story going, when she (and definitely her party) wants to shut it down. It’s a fight they want to avoid, not win.

          That may not be fair, but it is politics.

    • Eddie 14.2

      So he’s labelling his MPs stupid at the rate of one a month. Makes you wonder why they were selected.

      • Tim Ellis 14.2.1

        It’s quite a refreshing change from a leader who denied any wrongdoing by any MPs until they became politically hazardous and then dumping on them big time though, isn’t it Eddie?

        • r0b 14.2.1.1

          It’s quite a refreshing change from a leader who denied any wrongdoing by any MPs

          Hah! Stupidest spin ever. As long as Key shields Worth and his multiple conflicts of interest that line is utterly doomed Tim. Here’s the list of MPs that Clark sacked for various indiscretions…

          Key is doing damage control. He’s cut Lee adrift, and he’s trying to limit damage to his party.

          • Tim Ellis 14.2.1.1.1

            Oh, right r0b. Like how Clark defended Field for many months, spinning an official inquiry to saying he was guilty of doing nothing more than helping people. Or the “I didn’t ask Mr Peters and took him at his word”.

            Or the David Benson-Pope saga.

            Great examples.

          • r0b 14.2.1.1.2

            Like how Clark defended Field for many months, spinning an official inquiry to saying he was guilty of doing nothing more than helping people

            That’s yet another big fat lie from you Tim!

            What Clark actually said, she said on Sept 14 2005, before the first enquiry, before any of the facts of the case were known. What she actually said was: “I think the only thing he is probably guilty of is trying to be helpful to someone”. Later (around June 14 2006, again before the report) she was challenged on this opinion and confirmed: “Indeed I think he was, but I am awaiting a full report.” So there we go – “I think” and “probably” and awaiting the full report – a perfectly reasonable position before the facts were known. The Tory lie machine has turned this into the “Clark ignoring Field’s heinous crimes” version that Tim and the other Nat apologists push so hard on the blogs.

  15. GFraser 15

    Message From: Labour Party HQ

    To: Special Agent Lee

    Message begins………….return to base…..mission accomplished……..Message ends.

  16. Pascal's bookie 16

    The image of Lee’s ministerial mentor Jonathan Coleman silently mouthing instructions for her to say “I don’t know’ at last night’s election meeting, and then to have Lee dutifully repeating “I don’t know’ to a questioner only seconds later, was an example of political post-modernism to treasure for the ages

    http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/05/14/gordon-campbell-on-the-melissa-lee-factor/#more-386

    read the rest, as they say.

    • Tim Ellis 16.1

      PB, I was at the meeting. Coleman was sitting two rows behind me, in front of the young nats who were standing up next to young labour. I was ten rows back from the candidates, in elevated seating. There’s no way Lee could have lip-read from Coleman. I don’t know what Campbell looks like, so I don’t know if he was there, but there was no way Coleman was prompting Lee.

      • Pascal's bookie 16.1.1

        So were you behind him, like you said at Gordon’s, or was he behind you? Or were you doing the do-se-do and spinning like a top?

        • r0b 16.1.1.1

          Perhaps there is more than one Tim Ellis? That would explain both how he can be in two places at once, and how he has time to run about on every blog in NZ full time running National Party lines.

          • felix 16.1.1.1.1

            No, no, no. He’s just a lowly auditor, working in a bank, with no party affiliation. You’re just imagining that he spends all day, every day commenting on blogs, non stop. And runs all the Nat lines word for word, sometimes before the Nats do. Regardless of the issue.

            Nothing to see here.

          • Tim Ellis 16.1.1.1.2

            I didn’t say I have no party affiliation, Felix. I said I’m not a member of the National Party and that I’m not an activist. I did vote National for the last couple of elections, but I voted Labour the two elections before that and national and labour in roughly equal measures before 1999.

          • felix 16.1.1.1.3

            Get back to work Tim. Oh that’s right. As you were.

  17. Paul Robeson 17

    I was gunna say it but Sparky beat me to it with wit and class.

    Lee= a symbol of the Nats. Their MPs are pretty faces for the technocrats of Rogernomics who are appointed in shady positions with no public accountability.

  18. gobsmacked 18

    So anyway, where are we at with Melissa Lee and her apology? It’s hard to keep up.

    Morning Report: She (sort of) apologises.

    John Key criticises her comments, accepts her apology.

    Radio Live (with Michael Laws): she stands by her comments.

    The media are currently reporting, simultaneously, that Lee regrets and defends what she said. Which one is it, and who will write it for her?

  19. felix 19

    Wow. She went full retard.

    You never go full retard.

  20. Irascible 20

    I’ve said it on other stories about Lee. She will be running the campaign on the same prejudices that underpinned the NACT joint campaign in Botany 2008.
    Pansy & Kenneth were quite prepared to use similar race fears as reasons to support NACT.
    Any reason is a good one – especially if Lee can paint herself as a victim. Her excuse now will be the native English speaking journalist misrepresented her English as a second language clumsy explanation.
    The fear of South Auckland was an under-pinner for the Asian Anti-crime campaign in Manukau last year.

  21. Not only did M. Lee foul things up in Mt Albert / leaving the imcompetent Key wordless but , we allso
    have been told that the ghastly Rankin is one again going to be paid a good wage for litle work out of taxpayers money . What a lot and weve got them for another 2 1/2 years ,

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    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
    3 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 ...
    5 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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 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
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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