Luxon’s triple backward summersault on Labour Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2022 - 72 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, labour, making shit up, Media, national, same old national, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

There is this media beatup occurring currently which suggests that National is now viable and a government in waiting.

If you want proof then Radio New Zealand’s weird attack on the Government yesterday for delaying the reduction of MIQ requirements while Omicron threatened.

And Luxon is getting away with saying some pretty strange stuff.  Like yesterday when he initially said that Labour Day should be abolished but then backtracked on it.

This is not a new proposal from National.  During the debate on the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill last month Paul Goldsmith said this:

Now, of course, everybody wants more holidays. I can understand that, and I can understand why all the submitters think it’s a good idea. And, like I say, the principle of having a Matariki holiday we agree with, and we’re very happy about that, but what we would have liked to have seen is just some recognition—just a moment’s recognition from this Government—of the difficulties of staying in business and staying afloat, and recognising that now maybe—maybe—this is just not the time for yet more entitlements in this country.

And maybe they could have considered Labour Weekend as a good alternative to remove. I don’t know why we don’t have a “National Weekend” that I’m aware of. We don’t have an “ACT Weekend”, but we have a Labour Weekend, and maybe it’s time in history that it’s moved on, and we replace Labour Weekend with Matariki, and that would be fine. Then we would have been able to support this piece of legislation.

And fellow conservative Scott Simpson said this at the third reading stage of the bill:

My good friend and colleague Paul Goldsmith suggested in an earlier debate that maybe we consider looking at removing Labour Day. That’s probably something that should at least be considered. I don’t think this Government even considered it. In fact, what we know from the impact statement and speeches and contributions made at earlier stages of this legislation passing through the Parliament—we know that actually no consideration has been given by this Government to even thinking about rationalising the range of statutory public holidays in New Zealand. I think that’s an opportunity lost and an opportunity missed.

During the passage of the Bill they even proposed an amendment that would remove Labour Day from the list of public holidays.

Support at the time for National’s proposal was muted at best.  I can confidently say that the proposal was opposed by the vast majority of ordinary kiwis.

So what does Luxon do yesterday?  He floats the idea again.

From Glenn McConnell at Stuff:

Now that Matariki is recognised with an official public holiday, Christopher Luxon has continued to call for another public holiday to be scrapped.

The National Party leader says he loves Labour Day, but he and his MPs want it to be axed.

During a visit to Whāngarei, Luxon was asked if he stood by the idea to get rid of Labour Day. He said doing so would add hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses, at a time when costs were increasing.

“Love Matariki, love Labour Day, love every other public holiday we’ve got in New Zealand, but we’re choosing to make a decision to add $450 million of costs to small businesses that have to pass through to customers,” he said.

Te Rā o Matariki would be New Zealand’s 12th public holiday – including regional anniversary days.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment estimated adding a public holiday would cost up to $448 million. But official advice also said the public holiday could have a positive economic impact – with benefits estimated to be between $310.4m to $496.1m.

Note the dodgy use of statistics.  Luxon’s claim the holiday costs $450 million is based on a very narrow view of the data and ignores the societal benefits giving workers a day off has.

But later in the day Luxon did a triple backward summersault with a degree of difficulty of 9.0 and completely changed his position, claiming that earlier in the day he was being facetious.

From Thomas Coughlan at the Herald:

National leader Christopher Luxon said he would not get rid of any public holidays if he won the 2023 election, saying he could not “follow through on the commitment” of removing holidays.

Luxon has repeatedly said the Government should consider axing a public holiday to pay for the cost of Matariki, which National supports.

When questioned whether he would cancel another holiday if he came into Government in 2023, Luxon said “that’s what we’ve been saying since this bill’s come to Parliament”.

Luxon later suggested Labour Day would be axed to pay for Matariki, a joke National MPs have made before, given Labour Day’s significance to the Labour movement and by extension, the Labour Party.

However, on Newstalk ZB, Luxon clarified that if he won the 2023 election he would not axe holidays, saying the Matariki change was “irreversible”.

So in the space of a few hours Luxon shows his anti worker world view by proposing to get rid of Labour Day essentially because it has the word “Labour” in it, then he backtracks completely on his stated position.

Gordon Campbell’s earlier comment on Luxon’s recent public transport utterance is just as relevant here.  He said:

If a female politician said something as laughable as Luxon’s proposal on transport subsidies and defended it on the basis that she hadn’t thought about it too deeply, she would never survive the fallout. She would be roundly damned as a scatterbrain and a show pony, and deemed plainly unfit for higher office.

This is becoming a pattern.  And I have said this before but it is becoming increasingly clear that Chris Luxon is no John Key.

72 comments on “Luxon’s triple backward summersault on Labour Day ”

  1. Ghostwhowalksnz 1

    So Luxon has reneged on a promise even before getting to election time

    Same with the ending of public transport subsidies, it was unpromised later the same day. And included weird comments about the called' $100 mill yearly subsidy' for the Te Huia Auckland Hamilton passenger train.[ yes He did say yearly in the reports]

    Thats included the roughly $50 mill capital and setup costs which all up with subsidy came to $80 mill not $100 mill. Yet Luxon was happy about covering capital costs for public transport.

    he must have been a similar disaster at Air NZ when he arrived as a captains pick CEO in waiting after spending 25 years in the soaps, shampoos and deodorants business at Reckitt and Colman

    • Blazer 1.1

      I believe Luxon worked for Unilever….and his father for Johnson&Johnson…same products .

  2. Nic the NZer 2

    I support Paul Goldsmiths proposal for new National, Labour (added because Labour day is actually dedicated to the struggle for an 8 hour working day), Green, NZ First, ACT, Māori Party, Opportunities, Advance NZ, Legalise Cannabis, New Conservative, ONE, Outdoors, Social Credit, Sustainable NZ and Vision NZ public holiday days.

    Lets do this!

    • roy cartland 2.1

      And everything with 'National' in it can have those other parties represented (RNZ National, National Identity, National Parks, International whatever…)

      • Nic the NZer 2.1.1

        I thought the new holidays should be expressly dedicated to members of the public auditing the political party named by the holiday. I don't think that leaves any time to enjoy National Parks on National day given the state of Nationals public finances, is all.

      • Descendant Of Smith 2.1.2

        The party that inflicted Building Blue on the public service a second time.

        Don't you wish you had a job at Human Synergistics, a consulting firm paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Ministry of Social Development to colour-code its workers changing them from red to blue..

        https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/68614620/bowron-going-blue-makes-me-see-red

        "David Lange’s reluctance to promulgate any more products derived from Douglas’ neo-liberal disconnection from reality eventually resulted in Douglas stepping down. A year later and it was game-over for David Lange. Its almost as if Human Synergistics had done its work. David Lange was pigeon-holed into its fabricated Circumplex Red Zone while the members of Labour’s Caucus had affiliated their self-actualisation into the equally fabricated Blue Zone. The “Caucus Team” was operating at the “higher-order satisfaction needs level” where its “Humanistic-Encouraging” behaviour was “sensitive and supportive of it own members.” Accordingly, by voting their fellow Blue Zoner, Roger Douglas, back into Cabinet, Caucus told Red Zoner David Lange to fuck off . So he did, weeping for his fellow New Zealanders and what lay ahead."

        https://thestandard.org.nz/human-synergistics-richard-prebble-and-the-end-of-government/

        From memory Lange got someone else to fill out his forms.

      • Peter 2.1.3

        Don't forget 'National Standards' in schools.

        They high jacked 'standards' so that anyone arguing against the programme could be accused of being against standards

        Reality hit when the last PISA test results came out and our kid's results were down. The cohort that went through with God's gift, National Standards, had results that were down the tubes.

    • Patricia Bremner 2.2

      National "The Party of cuts"

      • Or, as an Honest Government ad puts it, the Party that puts the 'n' into 'The Party of Cuts.'

        Though they’re talking about Scottie from Marketing. Still, birds of a feather, and all that!

    • Christopher Randal 2.3

      You forgot my favourite – Magillicuddy Serious Party day!

  3. roy cartland 3

    The man's a f*ckwit. Without being facetious, I say it's time for the unproductive rich to give up something. More than a few somethings.

    • Patricia Bremner 3.1

      Entitlements are for special people? More like him?

      He has talked of a "business perspective" the window he is looking through with a narrow view.

      "Governing for all" is a concept beyond the man. imo

      • Incognito 3.1.1

        Framing it as “entitlement” is clever because it plants a seed of doubt about whether it is truly deserved (as in: earned). Entitlement, in this context, is in the head of the entitled one only, at the expense of others. This kind of framing is, of course, polarising and potentially divisive, but that’s exactly the game Luxon and National are playing, in my opinion. Don’t underestimate the ‘egg-head’.

  4. Reality 4

    Luxon seems to open his mouth and say anything to keep "business" happy and then belatedly no doubt be told by his advisers that he has said something stupid. He seems to need daily coaching on what is or is not stupid.

    As for no subsidies for public transport operators, I well remember when the railways were sold. The private owners never spent any money on upgrades or maintenance. Consequently the Labour government had to spend millions and millions of taxpayers money to keep the railways functioning. Luxon's business mates do not always make good decisions.

  5. tsmithfield 5

    Whatever you think of him, Luxon isn't stupid. And National have their own group of public relations people helping shape the National message.

    Discussing the rationale of an additional public holiday with the prospect of dropping one is definitely controversial, and probably not popular amongst most, taken on its own without context. But it is a relatively minor issue that will be forgotten about soon enough.

    But the effect is that it gets lots of media attention, and the chance for interviews.

    Which, as per his interview last night on ZB, gives him the chance to push back with his messaging focused around a government he is framing as irresponsible and needlessly increasing costs for businesses a time of high inflation, and the cumulative effect of government decisions on the cost of living.

    • Nic the NZer 5.1

      Your saying Luxon at first put the latest public relations message across, but then realized he isn't stupid and walked it back across several appearances?

      • tsmithfield 5.1.1

        No. Walking the comment back would make perfect sense if the strategy I outlined is being applied.

        Get the conversation going, but remove the political fallout of actually carrying such an idea through.

        • Nic the NZer 5.1.1.1

          Got it. So it's don't blame Chris for his jarring media personality and opinions, he's only doing what National party marketing arm tell him to do.

        • Incognito 5.1.1.2

          Exactly! He’s trying to come across as a reasonable man with common sense who appears to listen & explain.

    • Patricia Bremner 5.2

      But the effect is that gets lots of media attention, and the chance for interviews. Yes TSmithfield.

      I agree that is the framing, but he is not adept and forgets to be "charming" when discussing ideas.

      He is a "one man band" and is used to having his way, he finds democracy difficult and a block to the business agenda he is promoting, so in these interviews we see a man full of hubris and dogma. His body language is that of challenge not accommodation.

      Politics is the art of compromise. That is extremely difficult for him and may be his undoing.

    • McFlock 5.3

      The curious thing is trying to suck up to business. They're not exactly known to be floating voters, so I guess he's hoping to claw some back off ACT.

      The incessant cost of living problems will hurt the government, but those are the times we live in. Even without the rest of the world in the economic shit, if the govt had let hundreds of thousands of people get thrown on the job heap with almost zero notice because of covid things would be much worse for govt popularity.

      edit: the other thing is that if he steps on the wrong issue, he becomes the party leader who “couldn’t even sort himself out over Labour Day, and he wants to run the country?”

  6. Luxon: "but we’re choosing to make a decision to add $450 million of costs to small businesses"

    This is a weird statement. Apart from the obvious catastrophic errors in calculating the cost (and MBIE says "up to $448m") while ignoring the benefits, pointed out by Micky in the post, he says the costs will only fall on small businesses, which is inaccurate.

    If Luxon really believes this rubbish he may one day support a policy to cancel 4 public holidays. After all he would argue that this would add $1.8 billion to the economy, remembering he sees no benefit in the holidays.

    • Brigitte 6.1

      Thinking about it, much of the cost will fall on larger organisations. Many small businesses (those in hospitality) may see additional money coming in on the holiday although that will be offset by the fact they need to give those workers a day off in lieu as well as paying them extra on the actual holiday.

      And just to note a typo in the heading: it's somersault.

      [Bugger will fix – MS]

  7. Incognito 7

    Let me act as the Devil’s advocate here (or as some would see it, a Luxon & National apologist). Their messaging is like a dog whistle and depending on what kind of dog you are you’ll hear a different message.

    Businesses, especially small businesses, will hear a consistent message of acknowledgement and support. Reduced income because of reduced consumer spending and increased costs due to higher pay rate of employees for a Public Holiday, for example, are much more tangible (as in: in hurting in the pocket) than increased productivity and improved service because of better-rested and more relaxed staff let alone “the societal benefits” at large. The latter will sound more like a conclusion from an academic study done elsewhere.

    I also reckon that each Labour Day or Matariki SME owners are more likely to be reminded of which Government they hold responsible than the people enjoying a day off and when they switch off their brains.

    • tsmithfield 7.1

      Yes. Consistent with what I was saying also.

      The statement by Luxon may seem counter-intuitive if taken in isolation. But if seen as part of a broader strategy, it makes more sense.

      Who knows. I guess only Luxon could answer that.

      • Ghostwhowalksnz 7.1.1

        You seem to think he knows what he is doing.

        The evidence is that he is all mixed up and clueless.

        Authenticity and integrity is the precious gold politicians aspire to find and cover themselves in it. Flip flops arent the aim at all.

        Just having an occasion to repeat talking points is exacatly what voters turn against.

        • tsmithfield 7.1.1.1

          It may not matter what the original intent was. Probably the effect is more important.

          It might be that the result is a combination of what Incognito and I have suggested. Whether it was intended that way in the first place is probably a moot point.

          • Ghostwhowalksnz 7.1.1.1.1

            The effect wasnt good, other wise he wouldnt have back pedalled so quickly and risk his 'integrity'

            The media commentators are staring to notice the 'gaffes ' and dont seem to think its a good outcome or master plan

            'Fran O'Sullivan: Gaffes won't help Christopher Luxon defeat Jacinda Ardern'

            The upshot is that he was later forced to dance on the proverbial pinhead and clarify just what he meant: "People that are in state houses that actually aren't paying the rents, that are trashing the houses, abusing the neighbours," he told other media.

            This was somewhat risible, as explanations go.

            So even the National friendly media dont see the upside that you claim ….hmm

            I suggest you and incognito are too one eyed see the wood for the trees

            • Incognito 7.1.1.1.1.1

              I suggest you and incognito are too one eyed see the wood for the trees

              Your irony is hilarious, as I was trying to see if from the other side of the fence. You should try it once, if you can find your way to the fence that is, but don’t get too close or it might zap you. You sound like a partisan hick.

              • Ghostwhowalksnz

                So good if you to be fair and balanced in a Fox news way over this .

                maybe send off your resume to NZ Herald ?

                Who really gives a flying F over what their respin will be, they really dont need your help to do this.

                • Incognito

                  It wasn’t news reporting, it was my PoV from a different angle; I was playing the Devil’s advocate, as I said at the beginning of this thread. To an uncritical lazy partisan hick such as you this may come across as taking a side, i.e. taking the wrong side. Your biased intolerance prevents you from considering any merit in any opinion that may not 100% agree with yours in your binary reality of Left vs. Right, right vs. wrong, or good vs. bad. In fact, you’re so scared that it (i.e. my alternative angle) might “help” the other side that you resort to pathetic ad homs and attacking the messenger. You have again proven my point that you’re a partisan hick with whom debating is futile because a mutually agreeable conclusion is ruled a priori because of your rigid convictions right at the start. No wonder debate is dying.

                  • Ghostwhowalksnz

                    Debate ? This is gibberish. if I want debate I would read the NY review of Books. Its a blog for goodness sake.

                    • Incognito

                      TS is a blog!? No shit, Sherlock. You come over here to bore us with your biased BS? Have you read https://thestandard.org.nz/about/ and https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/? Because this ain’t the cartoon section of your favourite partisan propaganda paper. When you grow up and can handle an alternative viewpoint without attacking the messenger you may want to comment here on TS starting with simple emojis and then work your way up to words of more than one syllable surprise

    • Kat 7.2

      That is exactly what National/Luxon are up to. They want to shore up the SME support. There are business that I have spoken with who traditionally vote National/Act that are wanting a change in govt, never mind being bailed out during the last two years with the present govts financial pandemic assistance. They can be easily swayed to become totally anti Labour, anti Ardern with the promise of palms being crossed with silver and more employer-centric policies.

      National/Act regard these SME's as lawful prey.

  8. Tiger Mountain 8

    “Luxury Luxon” actually deserves a media pile on from all channels…but he seems to be getting rose water and hot towels just like sirkey.

    • tc 8.1

      Nationals media delivering for the backers as usual.

      Rimmer gets a free ride being part of that club.

    • AB 8.2

      Yep – this is the point. He knows that he can stuff up almost with impunity. Best hope is that he is so emboldened by it all, that he crosses the line that defines "almost".

      My theory is that Ardern annoyed the media as a whole in 2020 by having so much support for her decisions and actions. And because of that, we (the public) hammered the media when they acted like silly, nit-picking arses with an overinflated sense of their own ability and relevance. Now it's payback time.

  9. mac1 9

    I Googled National holidays. This is what I got! Eleven of them! They even claim Labour Day as a National public holiday!

    National public holidays 2022

    • New Year’s Day: Saturday 1 January or Monday 3 January
    • Day after New Year’s Day: Sunday 2 January or Tuesday 4 January
    • Waitangi Day: Sunday 6 February or Monday 7 February
    • Good Friday: Friday 15 April
    • Easter Monday: Monday 18 April
    • Anzac Day: Monday 25 April
    • Queen’s Birthday: Monday 6 June
    • Matariki Day: Friday 24 June
    • Labour Day: Monday 24 October
    • Christmas Day: Sunday 25 December or Tuesday 27 December
    • Boxing Day: Monday 26 December
  10. mac1 10

    "claiming that earlier in the day he was being facetious."

    Luxon is not a funny man. Nor is he a thinker.

    This "but I was only joking", is a short step away from the standard bigot's response to being called out on some misogyist, racist, homophobic statement- "Can't you take a joke, gedda sensa humour".

    A person who is being facetious needs to be funny, so that the hearer can tell it's facetious. Re-telling a political attack line from a fellow National MP does not make that benchmark.

    Perhaps he needs to study his predecessor, Judith Collins, who used her eyebrows to show her facetiousness. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/28-07-2020/eyebrow-comedy-all-the-times-judith-collins-made-a-joke-in-her-debut-leader-speech

    • Incognito 10.1

      I have no trouble at all believing that Nats would and indeed do joke about axing Labour Day, just like a misogynist might ‘joke’ about axing Mother’s Day or Woman’s Day even though they’re not Public Holidays. JC’s eyebrow was always in need of a stretch.

    • Charlie 10.2

      Luxon could raise his shirt over his head like a foreskin, that would send the best facetious messaging.

      • mac1 10.2.1

        I believe that's what soccer players do at the corner post, but not when scoring an own goal…..like Luxon.

        • Charlie 10.2.1.1

          Luxon would probaly put his soccer shirt up for auction saying his own goal was the hand of God.

    • Patricia Bremner 10.3

      mac1 more like fatuous.devil However he is really sending messages to the “Top Feeders".

      We should keep a list of his gaffes/displays of attitude.

      Bottom Feeders…"Who are they exactly Christopher?"

      • Blazer 10.3.1

        'We should keep a list of his gaffes/displays of attitude.'

        Where's 'Blip' when you …need him!

  11. Barfly 11

    IMO he wasn't being facetious he was being the entitled ring wing 'stuff the people' arsehole that he is.

    • tc 11.1

      Gotta retrieve those ACT voters back to the hive with some clear messaging.

      He's doing a job presenting supplied material knowing he will not be called on it.

      Nice work if you can get it, morally challenging but none the less easy money.

    • Ghostwhowalksnz 11.2

      Yes. I can see the fellow travellors are trying to turn it into 'a joke' I thought this would happen.

      The scenario is more likely this is the sort froth he says when talking to donors and the private meetings with party faithfull. They lap it up.

      But the public comments are supposed to be more circumspect and hes been reminded of that by the real power behind the throne. Willis, Bishop, Goldsmith

    • Patricia Bremner 11.3

      yes Yep.

  12. Mike the Lefty 12

    National and ACT have always regarded Labour Day, and its associated public holiday, with barely concealed loathing. It is a reminder to them of how NZ workers won the right to have a balanced work/sleep/recreational lifestyle and how this (to them) signifies the end of the good old days when the employer said "jump" and the employee asked "how high".

    National should be reminded that Don Brash's pledge to take back one week from the minimum four weeks' annual leave in the 2005 election campaign may well have cost them winning what was a very close election.

    It could be argued, of course, that the 8-hour working day is now just history. How many people work 8-hour 40 hour weeks, with weekends off, anymore? Not many I would think. Employment now is described as casual, part-time, permanent part-time, on-call, contracted out, zero hours, weekends and more.

    But that doesn't excuse Luxon and National from their clumsy attack on NZ workers. It seem that National regards public holidays as a business expense rather than a reward for the "hard working New Zealanders" that they always claim to represent.

    As the CTU pointed out, if it was just a matter of cost, then why didn't National go after Queens Birthday holiday, which arguably means less to New Zealanders than Matariki and is near the same time. Then Luxon claims the Matariki public holiday will cost New Zealand businesses $450 million but gives no evidence for this. The hospitality and accommodation industries will tell you that public holidays are usually a boom time for them.

    Will National go after regional anniversary holidays too?

  13. Brendan Waugh 13

    Nat voter here.

    Own goal.

    Either make a small bit of noise to keep the base happy, or at least keep to message.

    In the big scheme of things an extra public holiday is not going to break the bank.

  14. Craig H 14

    If National were serious about it, the obvious holiday to suggest for replacement would have been Queen's Birthday, both practically as the nearest public holiday by date, and symbolically by suggesting we replace a colonial fossil of a holiday with an indigenous holiday.

    However, they weren't serious about it, they were grandstanding, and now they've been called out for it.

    Also, Labour Day predates the Labour Party, so if anything, the party is named after the holiday, not the other way around.

    • Ghostwhowalksnz 14.1

      I didnt know that but its correct

      'What the Liberals did do was make Labour Day a holiday. The Labour Day Act of 1899 created a statutory public holiday on the second Wednesday in October, first celebrated in 1900. The holiday was 'Mondayised' in 1910, and since then it has been held on the fourth Monday in October.'

      https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/labour-day

      the party had a number of founding dates after that the earliest but short lived was 1910

  15. SPC 15

    A fly on the wall at the National Party Intelligence Unit meeting.

    1. I've got a new word association idea – Labour Day as a cost. Labour government spending as inflationary. Word associate Labour with higher cost.
    2. Brilliant, best idea since dancing cossacks, Kiwi not iwi and John Key's claim we were of an ambition to increase wage levels to that of Australia.
    3. Even Luxon could not stuff up something that simple.
    4. So its agreed.
    5. It's a majority but I suspect Luxon will just reveal why he was never a candidate for Finance.
  16. Dean Reynolds 16

    Luxon is a penis in a suit

  17. newsense 17

    Seems like some clever advice from someone. ‘Clever’?
    Continually get yourself in the news, stake out a series of clear messages hitting traditional conservative crap- race baiting, union baiting, public transport or f- the poor, lazy workers, government spending outa control.

    It might not be much of a manifesto, but let’s be honest it doesn’t seem to be one.

    On the other hand we could have seen the media smacking him down for having poor control of the details, for flip flopping, for playing politics with the violent occupation of the parliament precinct, for weak leadership, for being a dick, but they haven’t.

    More to see here I guess…

  18. Peter 18

    That man of principle, David Seymour, will be into it after the election. He has told us previously of the massive cost of a holiday for Matariki.

    He'll no doubt push from his position in Government, for getting rid of holidays on the day after New Year, Easter Monday and Labour Day at a minimum.

    If he is really true to his practical view, Good Friday will be gone, and Queen's Birthday. There you go David, by your previous reckoning of $400 mill or so for Matariki you can save businesses well over a billion.

    • Dean Reynolds 18.1

      Seymour won't be part of government after the 2023 election.

    • Mike the Lefty 18.2

      ACT in the past have made noises about reducing the number of public holidays. I remember Richard Prebble saying something like the only public holiday needed aside from Christmas and Easter was ANZAC day, although I am working with a memory from over 30 years ago and might not be spot on.

      ACT would also like to freeze the minimum wage (although this is a small climbdown on their earlier pledges to REDUCE it); reduce the minimum annual leave from four to three weeks and abolish the time and a half wage plus a day in lieu for working a public holiday.

      Wage workers who have any illusions that ACT actually give a monkeys about their welfare should remember this the next time they approach a ballot box.

  19. observer 19

    This is a familiar debate on political tactics, as discussed by several already in this thread. "Getting people talking", making headlines, all publicity is good publicity, etc.

    The problem with that analysis is that in the end, there has to be a party policy. Only one. The waffly word salad won't do.

    The 2023 election campaign will probably happen around Oct/Nov, including Labour weekend. Luxon will be asked: "Scrap Labour Day, yes or no?".

    And before that, in the pre-campaign period, he will be asked "Scrap Matariki, yes or no?".

    Luxon's answer will have to be "No", in both cases. First, because you don't promise to remove people's holidays, but more importantly because it's not the issue he wants the election to be about.

    Right now the confusion and contradiction doesn't matter much. But in a campaign it would only be a ridiculous distraction. A self-inflicted wound for the Nats.

    So I'd say this one is filed under cock-up, not conspiracy. And there's a limit to how many times Luxon can keep saying "I didn't mean it, I didn't express myself clearly". That's simply not an option for a PM – and on issues much bigger than the dates of public holidays.

    • Blazer 19.1

      Luxon is so under whelming.

      God,how easy it must be to …run an airline!

      Christofaux (pas )=hopeless,marginally better than that other management titan=Muller.

    • Ghostwhowalksnz 19.2

      he cant say he 'didnt mean it' as the scrapping Labour day for Matariki was already being promoted and aired by National.

      It wasnt a true gaffe in that he meant to say something different. he really wanted to do this.

      This just shows Luxon isnt a conviction politician at all, but like Key a 'process politician' and it can be now said that he 'got into politics to take away peoples holidays' and other tricks learnt from a long management career

  20. Peter 20

    "Waffly word salads" will certainly do for many. The clarity offered from the start of coronavirus on is stark. There are many many dumb people.

    Anything will do. One word, one notion out of a word salad can be like the Sky tower piercing out of a fog. It will stab and stay, the overruling image and driver, erasing all existing reality.

  21. The question that needs to be asked of Luxon while rabbiting on that workers are worse off today with inflation, if he becomes PM and rolls back all wage rises given workers under Labour will they be worse off than they are now?

    • Ghostwhowalksnz 21.1

      Wages are an inflation follower anyway, as workers dont have a crystal ball. Although over a longer period they do rise more than inflation

      The minimum wage increase was example , following the inflation rate of the previous year.

      Guess who was avoiding answering the question when asked if supported or opposed the minimum wage increase ( according to Stuffs Henry Cooke)

      By playing games like that he will find himself in a doom spiral of being asked ' Do you oppose or support ……'

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Recent Posts

  • Monday’s Chorus: Richie Poulton's lament
    “You can't really undo what happens during childhood”, said the director of the Dunedin longitudinal study. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Richie Poulton, the director of the world-leading Dunedin longitudinal study showing how devastating poverty in early life is, died yesterday. With his final words, he lamented the lack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 hours ago
  • North-western downgrades
    This is a guest post from reader Peter N As many of us know, Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi are well into progressing works on the northwestern interim “busway” with services to kick off in just over a month from now on Sunday 12th November 2023. Some of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 hours ago
  • Has Webworm Found New Zealand’s Weirdest School?
    Hi,Before we talk about weird schools people choose to send their kids to, a few things on my mind. I adored the Ask Me Anything we did last week. Thanks for taking part. I love answering your weird and nosy questions, even questions about beans.I am excited and scared as Mister ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 hours ago
  • Another mother of a budget
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 hours ago
  • A crucial week starts as early voting opens in the NZ Elections … it’s been a ride so far. Are y...
    Chris Hipkins down with Covid, at least for 5 days isolation, National continue to obfuscate, ACT continues to double-down on the poor and Winston… well, he’s being Winston really. Voters beware: this week could be even more infuriating than the last. No Party is what they used to be ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    14 hours ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
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    23 hours ago
  • Clusterf**ck of Chaos.
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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The party of business deals with the future by pretending it isn’t coming
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    1 day ago
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    2 days ago
  • Losing The Left.
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    2 days ago
  • The New “Emperor’s New Clothes”.
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    2 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS: The vested interests shaping National Party policies
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: A conundrum for those pushing racist dogma
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    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:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
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    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Play it, Elvis
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
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    3 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    4 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
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    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    4 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    5 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    5 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    6 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    6 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    6 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    6 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    6 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
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