“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”. (UBI Series)

Written By: - Date published: 6:04 am, March 14th, 2021 - 49 comments
Categories: benefits, Economy, employment, labour, minimum wage, poverty, socialism, welfare - Tags: , , ,

One of the aspirational founding principles of the USA, was the right to “life, liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”.

It doesn’t say, “unless you are black, poor or otherwise undeserving”.

Similarly, the New Zealand Labour Party has their own Version.

“All people  should have equal access to all social, economic, cultural, political and legal spheres, regardless of wealth or social position, and continuing participation in the democratic process”.

The first Labour Government, stated that everyone should have “enough income to be able to participate in society”.

It doesn’t say, “Unless you are an unemployed brown youngster, in Northland”.

 

The Standard authors have many different viewpoints. I think it is safe to say however, that most of us support everyone’s right to life. To have enough food, housing and health care, and access to recreation, information and society, to have, a “life”!

How we allocate these things in our society is with money. Without money you cannot access them. You cannot have a life, liberty, or pursue, “happiness”.

Some think this is fine. They believe that if you don’t  directly “contribute to societies monetary wealth”, because of illness, disability, having children, or demoralisation after being refused your hundredth job application, you don’t deserve these things. You deserve! A life of impoverished misery.

We can see this every day with the attitude towards ,”beneficiaries,”. Very often from people whose occupation, though paid highly, is really of little contribution, or even stealing, from our society.

 

I believe, as our first Labour Government did, that everyone has the right “to a life” regardless of their perceived ,”value”.

In our country, with its excess of resources and capability, we have no excuse for poverty.

For leaving people behind.

 

 

49 comments on ““Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”. (UBI Series) ”

  1. Andre 1

    One of the aspirational founding principles of the USA, was the right to “life, liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”.

    It doesn’t say, “unless you are black, poor or otherwise undeserving”.

    Nobody at the time thought it needed to be said, it was just kinda axiomatic. Just consider how many rights and privileges were restricted to land-owning white males.

    • KJT 1.1

      Maybe should have put a sarc tag on that.

      It seems that view hasn't changed,for some in New Zealand, also.

    • RedLogix 1.2

      Just consider how many rights and privileges were restricted to land-owning white males.

      That was a very long time ago. And in that era there were no such thing as passports, or citizenship as we know it now. There were no electoral roles as we know them. Nor were there any particular travel restrictions, people routinely moved around the world with little to no bureaucratic involvement. Governments had virtually no idea who was present in any given territory at any given time. But it was a much simpler matter to determine who owned land – after all it was the government who managed the system of land titles. Thus land ownership became the most practical proxy for 'citizenship' available to governments of the day.

      (Interestingly in NZ because Maori land was owned communally all Maori males gained suffrage in 1867 to vote in the four Maori electorates. This a decade before white males. Technically there would have been even some rare instances of Maori who individually owned land who were entitled to vote twice.)

      And then of course a few decades later NZ went on to become one of the first nations to achieve universal suffrage. Surely we can celebrate this landmark progress without at the same time having to demonise all who came before them. Judging our forebears by our modern mores is both futile and dishonest – the truth is that if any of us had been alive in their time we would have almost certainly believed and behaved just as they did.

  2. weka 2

    Love this as a starting point, where values are placed in the centre, values about people. This opens the UBI conversation in a completely different way. Most start with economics and then how to afford a UBI, albeit with some hand wave to the importance of people and how a UBI might help them. But when we start with the social, with why we are all here, being alive, we will get a much better UBI design (and debate).

    The other thing that happens with UBI debates is the left tends to focus on getting rid of WINZ. While understandable, it misses some important aspects of welfare because it doesn't have people as the starting point (eg those that can't work for whatever reason).

    I'm curious now how we could develop a leftwing framing that doesn't just write a nice sentence or two about people but that fully develops understanding of the importance of valuing people first, how much we have lost that since the neoliberal revolution, and how we can actively work from that premise rather than just tucking it away on a website somewhere.

    Having the right and ability to "have a life" is core.

    • KJT 2.1

      Do We Really Care about the Marginalised? — Pundit

      “It raises the ‘minimax’ principle which says that policy should focus on maximising the situation of those at the bottom, that a society should be judged by how well it treats the most marginalised. (There are many dimensions of marginalisation; for instance how easy is access for the disabled.)”

    • Craig H 2.2

      In theory, Gareth Morgan started from a principles-based approach when he conceived of the Big Kahuna – it just went small and didn't really deal with anything outside the box well.

      I costed out a UBI at $10,000 p.a. in the last thread on this, but on reflection, that's a bit small given the current jobseeker support (fka the dole) is ~$250/wk.

      What's a decent weekly or annual base figure that we can get behind for a UBI for adults and under 18s (if different), and what add-ons would we keep?

      My thoughts were Accommodation Supplement (and increase social housing and home ownership schemes over time to wind that back), NZ Super (although a higher base UBI might render it mostly unnecessary), and a decent amount for the disabled and other people unable to work long term for various reasons. Youth benefits could become criteria to increase the UBI to the adult rate for under 18s.

      For reference, at the last election TOP proposed $250/wk ($40 for kids) with benefits, super and WFF being paid if they would be higher, and the Greens proposed $325/wk (as a GMI, but that was their adequacy suggestion).

      • weka 2.2.1

        At this stage, while I understand the attraction of a single rate UBI, I just can't see how it would work. This is why I like the GP's GMI, a stepping stone to a fuller UBI.

        Accommodation Supplement is considered hugely problematic because landlords just increase rents. The solutions here are government intervention eg rent caps, enabling new models of home ownership, tenancy rights like lifetime leases, and shifting the culture away from housing as investment. Build Moar Houses is a flawed approach that will undercut all other attempts at reducing or eradicating poverty. Labour will be hated for this as much as the 80s unless they make some radical changes to their approach.

        • Craig H 2.2.1.1

          After what happened in Wellington following the student allowance increases, rent controls would be essential while a UBI or equivalent was introduced.

          Accommodation supplement could be phased out over time as housing is sorted out, but it turns out all government income support is a landlord subsidy, not just that one, so there's no real point singling it out. It provides a useful way to tailor support for regional housing cost variations in the meantime.

          • weka 2.2.1.1.1

            good point. I haven't seen a good explanation for how AS could be removed without causing much worse poverty for some people.

      • weka 2.2.2

        re the rate, I think the starting conversation is what do people need to live good lives, financially but other resources too. When we figure out that and the values inherent, undesrtanding how to set the rates will be much easier.

        • Craig H 2.2.2.1

          That work has been done before and is where the GMI of $325 came from.

          • weka 2.2.2.1.1

            am curious what that number is based on. Will have another read of the GP policy.

            The starting conversation needs to happen society wide. Might be possible now thanks to covid.

      • weka 2.2.3

        what were Morgan's starting principles?

        • RedLogix 2.2.3.1

          The book outlined the principles really well – essentially Morgan started with the idea that a well designed tax system should exhibit both horizontal and vertical equity.

          Horizontal equity means that similar categories of things should be treated the same. For instance if you are going to tax assets or income, then regardless of the type of asset (shares, property, etc) or the source of income – they should all receive equal tax treatment. Morgan saw this as important to reduce taxation induced distortions in the economy.

          Vertical equity means that all cases inside the same category should be treated the same regardless of how small or large they are from a marginal taxation perspective. While this allows for a tax structure that is progressive overall, it's also very desirable to keep the tax on each new dollar of income as flat as possible. Again Morgan saw this as important to minimise the 'poverty traps' and disincentives that are currently built into our existing targeted welfare system – and at the other extreme to eliminate the very low marginal taxes paid by the very wealthy when much of their income comes from capital gain.

          Morgan's overall view is that the tax system we have inherited is a piecemeal agglomerate of policies, and was never designed with any overarching principles at all. Crucially we've failed to understand that the tax system (which is universal in nature) and the welfare system (with is an innately targeted system) were really just the same thing, and that to reform one we really have to consider both.

          The Big Kahuna takes as its base assumption that we don't, as a society, accept that huge differences in income are acceptable and that we therefore choose to redistribute wealth. While they are generally regarded as separate, the tax and welfare systems are fundamentally both methods of doing just that – redistributing income from those who have plenty to those who don't.

          • KJT 2.2.3.1.1

            I think Morgan's heart was in the right place.

            Like many who are highly educated in one subject. However, I consider he was looking through a lens limited by his speciality.

          • Craig H 2.2.3.1.2

            The principle behind the UBI itself was that NZ could afford everyone to have a minimum standard of living based on dignity as a human being. The tax system was how it would be funded.

            • RedLogix 2.2.3.1.2.1

              Yes – that's definitely the short version. The original Big Kahuna book was published back in 2011 and the figures would need updating, but there is a quick intro here:

              https://garethsworld.com/kahuna/the-unconditional-basic-income/

              I did read the whole book back at the time – far from being a load of specialist technical policy – it's a readable and absorbing exploration of why our current system, built ad-hoc over many generations, falls short of what we really need it to do now.

              And yes you’re on point with your comment – all the technical policy stuff is good to know and debate – but the underlying universal principle of dignity for all is the truly important message.

  3. AB 3

    Yep – and imagine how many multitudes of other problems would more or less evaporate into thin air if all people were freed from economic stress and uncertainty as a start point. Whole fleets of ambulances at the bottom of cliffs could be sent to the scrapyard.

    • weka 3.1

      Right, but does economic freedom have to come from income primarily? If housing costs were in line with say the 90s, then the UBI rate would be lower than it needs to be now.

      • KJT 3.1.1

        Minimum incomes/UBI do not have to be in monetary form.

        State rental houses were a form of income subsidy in "kind".

        Something we should still have.

        We have to be careful not to feed into the meme that the poor are so "feckless/undeserving" that they have to be forced to spend their money on whatever we think they should. The motivation behind the demeaning food cards, WINZ give out.

  4. Dean Reynolds 4

    Smug, right wing boomers on NZ Super forget that NZ superannuatants outnumber all other WINZ category of beneficiaries, combined. NZ Super is a form of UBI, paid regardless of income or assets. For those on NZ Super to scream their tits off at other beneficiaries, is laughable.

    Poverty is not caused by mental degeneracy – it's caused by a lack of money. This government needs to raise benefits & to reinstate the social wage across the board, asap.

    • Tiger Mountain 4.1

      It would be difficult to state this situation more succinctly than you have Dean.

      I would just add–“lack of money” due to macro economic decisions made decades ago, and therefore pretty much way beyond working class peoples immediate control.

    • RosieLee 4.2

      New Zealand SUPER is a social contract between NZ workers and the government of the day. The deal has always been that you work and pay your taxes for 50 years and you are entitled to a pension. If you still have more income than about 27 thou, that pension is abated. Not everyone has been able to buy a house over their working lives, especially if you are a woman and especially if you had to get through the days OF20% interest on a mortgage.

      • KJT 4.2.1

        I agree. As well as an example of a functioning UBI.

        However we also had a "social contract" in the past, that we look after everyone, regardless of their "monetary value".

      • alwyn 4.2.2

        That is not a description of New Zealand Super.

        Just to spell out the basic differences. You don't have to work. You don't have to pay any taxes. You don't have to be here for 50 years. The pension is not abated, although it is taxed.

        What you describe is nothing like the New Zealand Super that exists.

    • RedLogix 4.3

      For those on NZ Super to scream their tits off at other beneficiaries, is laughable.

      One of the key ideas of a UBI is that because it is by definition universal, there is no longer a category called 'beneficiary'.

  5. Pat 5

    Lack of equitable distribution is the issue…..we had a solution to that before that was discarded….progressive taxation.

    BUT…alongside the progressive taxation we also had a national economy ( not an open global economy) and capital controls….are the majority willing to accept those constraints?…..voting patterns the past 30 years would suggest overwhelmingly not.

    • KJT 5.1

      As we have only had a choice of two parties that were going in the same direction on this, voting patterns are certainly not, an indication.

      • Pat 5.1.1

        Thats possibly true, but I would submit that there have been options that existed that were never supported sufficiently …New labour, The alliance, even the Greens to an extent.

        Id suggest if a party started tomorrow with a clear manifesto outlining the reality of addressing our core problems it would struggle to meet the 5% threshold.

        • KJT 5.1.1.1

          The passing relationship our Governing arrangements have to democracy, is a whole thread in itself.

          However noting that the 2017 Government was composed of parties that all promised changes to the status quo. Labour was to be "Transformational".

          Of course in 2020 a big swing to Labour from "Conservatives". Not surprising as Conservatives like to feel safe. National's Yo-yo ing about borders made them feel anything but.

  6. Stuart Munro 6

    The relationship between money and happiness is a bit chimerical I understand: Can money buy happiness? Success boosts life satisfaction, study says (cnbc.com) The relationship between poverty and unhappiness is on firmer ground.

    Although as a society we might get a lot more bang for the declining bucks by pursuing a few ascetic virtues, current influencers seem to be more interested in dubious circuses with hitech hydrofoils.

    Things are going to get ugly, as the Rogergnomes always knew when they shafted NZ working people. The FIRE economy will only go so far. Our culture is a bit too fractured now, to expect the poor to endure lives of quiet desperation indefinitely.

  7. roger douglas, richard prebble mike moore. jenney shipley, ruth richardson (especially) brought the current misery and suffering about. Did jonkey blinglish do anything about it? Nah!

    Keep the money rolling in from flush "business" sector and stuff the deprived and desperate.

    OOPS! A pandemic has occurred. Perhaps the smug well off need a rethink: that is if they are capable of any thinking/caring. outside of their personal wealth.

    I am certain that hosking, farrar, plunket, soper (and99% of the herald "reporters") have all the answers.

    Shudder. maybe "business" needs taxpayer help.

    Where is audrey young when the country needs her wisdom?

  8. Castro 8

    "we"? perhaps the use of this term needs further analysis, investigation and explanation, including a simple definition?

  9. Gosman 9

    NZ does not know real poverty. We do have relative poverty. This is a factor of the relationship between incomes at the middle versus the bottom which may or may not be an issue. What we do have an issue with that is causing much of the problems with people struggling to make ends meet is a problem with housing. We are not making it easy enough to produce housing at affordable costs for everyone in society. This is largely a factor of over regulation.

    • KJT 9.1

      Agree on housing as a cause of poverty. It is way too expensive compared with incomes.

      However it is not a supply problem. It is a demand/cost problem.

      Decreasing regulation bought us leaky homes, increased inspection, insurance and compliance costs and productive crop land overrun with housing.

      One of lifes mysteries when people advocate "leave it to the market" to solve an obvious "market failure". After 30 years of examples, of the failure of privatisation and deregulation.

      If you think we don’t have “real poverty” you have been going around New Zealand with your eyes shut.

      “Relative poverty” matters, because the cost of food, housing, health, and other services people need, reflects the mean income in a country.

      In some countries you can feed and house yourself for $100 a month. Not in New Zealand.

      • Gosman 9.1.1

        Housing affordability is a simple case of mathematics. The supply of housing has not kept pace with the demand for it for decades now. If there was demand that was pushing up the price that was not warranted (e.g. investors opurchasing properties for rentals or to simply make capital gains from them) we would see this reflected in either rentals being flat or falling or a huge increase in the number of empty homes. Neither of those is the case.

        • KJT 9.1.1.1

          20 seconds on Google.

          Rise of the ghost homes – More than 33,000 Auckland dwellings officially classified empty – NZ Herald

          "More than 33,000 Auckland dwellings are officially classified empty as the city grapples with a crisis of affordable housing and homelessness.

          Auckland's 6.6 per cent vacancy rate is higher than either Sydney (5.2 per cent) or Melbourne (4.8 per cent), where there has been an uproar over "ghost houses" deliberately left empty by speculators trading on a soaring market".

        • Brigid 9.1.1.2

          "huge increase in the number of empty homes"

          Can you point to any statistics on this? And would these numbers include empty and boarded up Housing Corp houses?

        • woodart 9.1.1.3

          housing affordability is a simple case of mathematics? perhaps you need to get out of your bubble. if it was a simple case of mathematics, surely a simple mathematician would have solved it. we have 500 mathematicians in treasury, and many more sideline experts(you for example), and nobody has solved this simple equation yet. where I live(beachtown) there IS a huge increase of empty homes. try renting one, no thanks, we use it for six weeks a year.

        • Nic the NZer 9.1.1.4

          Mathematics bought rigor to economics. Unfortunately it also bought mortis. -Kenneith Boulding

  10. woodart 10

    a one size fits all ubi is like a one size fits all answer to the housing problem. a dream for those who want everything reduced to soundbites. it will never work for all and as soon as you start having exemptions, allowances etc, you may as will stay with what we have. these things only work if everybody lives in the same location, has the same housing and living ,health ,etc costs, and the same size family.not going to happen.

    • KJT 10.1

      Watch this space.

      If I get time.

      You may like to look at past posts on minimum income and UBI on the Standard, also.

  11. Castro 11

    ..and don't forget, there's an imminent rout in the housing market coming… Pat said so…

    I’m not sure what this adds to the discussion? KJT

    • Incognito 11.1

      This is the second time that you make this comment. As such, it looks like you’re fishing for a response AKA wishing to start a flame war. Please don’t go there, thanks.

    • Castro 11.2

      It's a barrow that Pat was pushing even after presented with sound points to the contrary (the instigator of the flame war was not I, though it was in another post, so point taken); given how intertwined housing and inequality now are, it seems that any discussion of inequality and leaving people behind that doesn't include housing is, well… not especially relevant or likely to bear progressive fruit in the NZ context? How about a Renters' Party?

      • Incognito 11.2.1

        This sounds like:

        He started it.

        If a discussion cannot be settled then agree to disagree. Don’t needle the other, who’s clearly not biting. Please don’t take your ‘luggage’ from one post to another and spoil it for others.

  12. Chris 12

    The first Labour Government, stated that everyone should have “enough income to be able to participate in society”.

    This also formed the basis of the Department of Social Welfare's mission statement until Jenny Shipley removed it in 1992. They knew what they were doing.

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    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
    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
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    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. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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    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 ...
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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    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 ...
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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