“Confusing and might be taken the wrong way by some”

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 pm, May 21st, 2009 - 50 comments
Categories: crime, employment, mt albert - Tags:

Duncan Garner had to do a balance piece against David Shearer because he has been at the forefront of covering the implosion of Melissa Lee’s campaign. Garner says someone “deep within” Lee’s campaign pointed him to an interview where Shearer says keeping employment high, particularly among migrant communities is important because when people don’t have work it is more likely some will turn to crime. Except he didn’t put it that clearly.

Actually, he was very inarticulate, which is a strange trait for a man with his background to have.

As gotcha politics though, this fell pretty flat. Garner called it an attempt at “payback for Lee’s awful performance so far” (payback? they’ve got no-one to blame but Lee). Garner acknowledged what Shearer was trying to say is true, unemployment does lead to crime, but his “comments are confusing and might be taken the wrong way by some”.

Might! Some! Oh noes.

The important thing is that Shearer, unlike Melissa ‘crims from South Auckland can’t use off-ramps’ Lee, is actually right. Crime is a symptom of poverty. Unemployment is a prime cause of poverty. Check out the numbers from StatsNZ.

 

unemployment-and-crime-rate

0.92 correlation. I’m actually amazed it’s that high. (It also has some pretty worrying implications for crime if unemployment reaches 8%  during this recession).

Incidentally, I wanted to do a graph to test  Lee’s motorways stop crime claim but I couldn’t even think of a remotely sensible way to that.
Marty G

50 comments on ““Confusing and might be taken the wrong way by some” ”

  1. gobsmacked 1

    Certainly not much of a “gotcha” when Shearer had already put out a press release on the subject that day:

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0905/S00285.htm

    Duncan Garner somehow forgot to mention that in his report.

    Poor Nats. It’s OK to be desperate – but the trick is not to look desperate.

  2. Was this an excerpt from a Monty Python episode?

    Of course there is a link between unemployment and crime. Your calculated correlation shows this clearly.

    I am not sure what Norman was on. This is unfortunately a familiar feeling. Shearer’s comments may not have been dynamic sound bite stuff but they were accurate and a proper representation of the issue.

    Is this somehow balance? One person maligns whole geographical and ethnic sectors of our society, the other makes a perfectly appropriate comment based on decades of research and understanding.

    The real difference is that I do not know one person who is proud to be unemployed. I know plenty of proud South Aucklanders and Pacificans.

  3. Anita 3

    Correlation does not mean causation. They could both be caused by some third (ungraphed) factor.

    BTW thanks for at least allowing the possibility that some crime is not caused by unemployment and/or poverty.

    • Marty G 3.1

      You’re quite right, Anita, that correlation does not necessarily mean causation but I would be very interested to know what you think the third factor might be. I think its well understood that poverty increases the likelihood that a person will commit crimes.

      You’ll note that the intercept is above 0. That is, even if unemployment were 0, crimes per person would be about 0.8, assuming the relationship holds.

      I think though, that your particular angle is that domestic crime is not caused by unemployment. True, it’s not a sole cause but I would have thought that unemployment as a cause of poverty, depression, substance abuse etc is certainly a factor in a lot of domestic violence.

      Note, I’m not saying that there isn’t domestic violence in wealthy families.

    • Hi Anita

      It is a theoretical possibility but are you able to name one factor that could account for this (increased crime rate)?

      I guess the abundance of time and the complete lack of financial resources along with the harming of one’s sense of worth are the real cause of increased crime amongst unemployed and not being unemployed per se but the three factors follow unemployment so strongly that for all intents and purposes perhaps we should treat the situation (unemployment) and the consequences (time, lack of finances and lack of self worth leading to increased crime) as the same?

      I should try to write shorter sentences …

      • Anita 3.2.1

        1) I am not saying that there is no causal relationship (in fact let me state for the record that I think there is), simply complaining about your implicit “there is correlation therefore there is causality” argument.

        2) You have actually hypothesised unemployment –> poverty –> crime. I’m not sure the first pair are exactly correlated, so your argument appears to be:
        I believe B–>C
        I believe A–>B
        I can show correlation between A and C
        Therefore B–>C and A–>C

        3) I am pretty sure that one could show a correlation between motorways and crime. For a start it seems that crime has fallen and motorways have increased (in length and probably in total number of offramps). So if we got the total length of motorways in the greater auckland metropolis (or number of off ramps) and the total crime stats and cherry picked the date range and adjusted the axes I reckon it would look convincing.

        4) Are you arguing that poverty is the determining factor for the level of domestic violence? You would be way wrong.

        Oops, attached to wrong comment, actually a reply to Marty G’s comment.

        P.S. mickysavage, I should learn to writer shorter comments 🙂

        • Marty G 3.2.1.1

          “4) Are you arguing that poverty is the determining factor for the level of domestic violence?”

          No. A factor among others that increases the odds of domestic violence. Like I specifically said because I feared you would choose to read words other than what I wrote.

          3) Yeah but that only works when crime is going in one direction over the sample period.

          2) I think it’s a bit strange you choose to frame unemployment leads to poverty, poverty leads to crime in such disparaging tones. It’s hardly controversial.

          1) When there is strong correlation, a logical reason why there would be causation and no other apparent reason for the correlation Occam’s razor says we ought favour the notion there is correlation rather than choose to believe in mysterious unknown common causes or mere coincidence.

          Don’t confuse causation with X being the sole cause of Y. In just means that a change in X will lead to a change in Y. It doesn’t exclude that Z (and A and B and…) is also a causative factor.

          • SPC 3.2.1.1.1

            The thing is, if unemployment leads to poverty and poverty leads to crime why did crime not go up during the depression?

            Other factors such as a sense of continuing community togetherness (when many are in the same boat) and or egalitarianism (generous provision) also play a part (a protection against crime).

            This is why crime rates explode amongst minorities experiencing economic disadvantage – they feel a disconnect from the haves and no sense of community with them (this speaks to immigrant groups and is a separate issue though similar to Maori alienation after the land loss).

            Which speaks to the need “close the gaps” – where there are gaps there is a multiplier at work.

    • wtl 3.3

      I’m sure there are studies which look at this in more detail, and give a better handle on the causation/third factor issue (longitudinal studies maybe?). Anyone interested in looking into this?

  4. gingercrush 4

    I can’t stand how Garner frames arguments. I never have. One reason I don’t watch Tv3. Don’t have to put up with that smug twit. It doesn’t matter what he is reporting on or who he is reporting to. The guy is an ass.

    • Pascal's bookie 4.1

      yes.

    • Quoth the Raven 4.2

      Agreed. If there is one thing we can take from this story it is that Duncan Garner is mentally deficient, but that was quite clear already. I suppose it comes with being a journalist.

  5. funwithstats 5

    you’re using two different scales on the y axis.

    Which disguises the fact that while unemployment dropped 50%, crime only dropped 10%.

    Clearly unemployment is a possible factor but definitely not the major factor in all crime. Although Shearer seems to think it is with Polynesian and immigrant comunities.

    • Marty G 5.1

      Of course I’m using two different scales. Crimes per person is around 0.1. Whereas the unemployment rate is around 0.05. Crime varied about 16% for a change in unemployment of nearly 50%. Put them on the same scale and you don’t see the correlation.

      You know what correlation means don’t you? It measures the likelihood that for a given change in X there is a given change in Y. Those changes don’t have to be of the same magnitude. For instance, if for every 1% taller a person is they are always 3% heavier, that is a correlation of 1, the size of the changes are different but the link between them is perfect. In the crime/unemployment correlation, the relationship is not perfect but it actually amazingly close for a pair of social indicators (anything over 0.2 is usually regarded as indicative of some, perhaps causative, link in social indicators)

      I chose to show a line graph because people are more used to it but I’ll put in a link to the scatter graph for you too if you like.

    • Marty G 5.2

      I’m not sure where you get that interpretation of Shearer’s words. Care to quote him? Because in the video he says to Garner that unemployment leads to some people getting into crime. He doesn’t say all unemployed people become criminals or that unemployment is the only reason people become criminals.

    • Anita 5.3

      Of course the axes are different, what’s being measured is different.

      Of course the proportions are not the same, what’s being measured is different.

      There is a correlation (and causal relationship) between ambient air temperature and tomato plant growth. Does it matter that the temperature at which tomato plant growth reaches 0cm/day is not 0º (on any scale) and that one is distance/time and the other is degrees something? Nope! 🙂

      • funwithstats 5.3.1

        visual representation of data is as much a part of statistics as the maths. Any stats course would teach about taking care not to persent data in a misleading fashion.

        it would be less misleading to convert both data sets to percentages. Then overall trends could be compared.

        But to go back to the facts – unemployment dropped 50%, crime 10%.

        It’s probably because there are different types of crime commited by different types of people.

        Shearer has taken the view that Polyensians and immigrants are more susceptible to crime when unemployed. He didn’t produce any facts to back that up and I can see why some in those communities could take offense.

        • Pascal's bookie 5.3.1.1

          Shearer has taken the view that Polyensians and immigrants are more susceptible to crime when unemployed.

          Bullshit he does. He is saying that the some communities are more susceptible to becoming unemployed, and that we should do something about that.

          from the link:

          “Particularly amongst those unskilled workers, unfortunately some of our migrant communities, the pacific island community for example the unemployment rate for the last three months has gone up from 8 to 13 percent,’ Mr Shearer says.

          “When people don’t have jobs they become very desperate and they have time on their hands, it’s very important to have skills training and keep people employed, and keep employment levels high so people become desperate and they become involved in criminality as well.”

          He does not say what you claim he is saying. At all. Pretty shameless for someone that’s nitpicking about graph axis.

          • SPC 5.3.1.1.1

            The time on their hands comment is pertinent*

            Back in the 90’s* there was the advocacy of work for the dole (despite the cost of the programme people not on it found paid work more quickly) – so by the end of the decade people were advocating job club (which in its American origins was basically keeping a record and reporting in daily about it of the employers/businesses annoyed that day).

            Training is much more effective – the problem is the cost of retraining (which is why the Jobs Summit idea of a 10th day in paid traiing was abandoned). Also existing training providers cannot just rapidly expand places (invest money) and then retrench back to lower levels when the economy recovers (they lose their investment and possibly their original business). Which is why government funding is vital.

            PS* The only thing of value in being unemployed is having free time – which is why those who would operate a low minimum wage economy would also run work for the dole and job club (and if they could term limits to welfare) to maintain demand for work.

          • funwithstats 5.3.1.1.2

            So he just happend to talk about migrants and Polynesians being unemployed and then straight after talks about unemployment leading to crime – along with the “idle hands” theme. Where have we heard that one before.

            Obviously Shearer isn’t racist but he has strayed from his comfort zone and said something quite stupid. No motorway invloved but it’s much the same ill-informed and somewhat dangerous musing on ethnicity and crime.

            He should be pinged for it just as much a Lee. But just as there were some on the Right who denied there was any issue with Lee’s musings so it’s the same on the Left with Shearer.

          • gobsmacked 5.3.1.1.3

            FunWith Spin

            Have you read Shearer’s press release?

            There is no comparison with Lee’s blurt.

        • Marty G 5.3.1.2

          If I had converted the figures to percentages we would have lost the information about the levels of crime and unemployment, which are also of interest.

          It’s clear that the percentage changes are different. Anyone can see that and I did not argue otherwise.

          Next you’ll be insisting that an axis always start at zero, even when one is looking at trends in a value that doesn’t approach zero.

          • funwithstats 5.3.1.2.1

            “It’s clear that the percentage changes are different.’

            you just happened to choose the scales for the two sets of data so the graphs appeard to be on top of each other. Which gives no visual indication of the percentage changes.

            You keep avooiding the fact that while unemployment fell by 50% crime only fell by 10%. So the relationship bwteen the two is a little more complex.

            But it is true that unemployment increases some types of crime in some population groups. Shearer made the mistake of claiming unemployment led to higher crime in immigrants and Polynesians. Maybe he has evidence for that.

          • Maynard J 5.3.1.2.2

            “Shearer made the mistake of claiming unemployment led to higher crime in immigrants and Polynesians. Maybe he has evidence for that”

            It is the other way around.

            He said they are groups with increasing unemployment, and made the link with increasing unemployment and crime. There sure is evidence of that – unemployment and crime do have a clear link. that is what this post illustrates despite your best efforts to not see it because you do not understand what correlation is (for starters, you seem to insist that there must be a 1% change in one factor leading to a 1% change in the other factor for there to be a correlation. You know that if a 1% change in one factor always leads to a 10% change in another factor that there is still a very strong correlation? obviously not).

            For someone making a fairly irrelevant hair-splitting point about numbers, you play fast and loose with words. And you get it wrong with both.

  6. James 6

    WTF is Norman on? Why is he jumping into this kind of crap story? Loads of Green people I know hate the way he is conducting himself.

  7. gobsmacked 7

    Incidentally, if we’re on the subject of 3 News shoddy reporting, they told us the guy running off with 10 million bucks from Westpac is Korean. That’s false.

    As this story has got vastly more attention and interest from the public than anything David Shearer might say, I reckon Melissa Lee might want to lodge a complaint!

  8. Excellent post.

    The reason you can’t think of a remotely sensible way to test the proposition that motorways “stop crime”—I think the phrase you’re looking for is “alter the geographic distribution of crime”; that’s what Lee was talking about—is that it’s a *much* more subtle claim than positing an unemployment-crime link. It’s not _quite_ as implausible as many make it out to be: motorways alter the goegraphic distribution of almost all other economic activity; there’s no good reason property crime (burglary/home-invasion, theft) should be any different. Whether or not it actually trends in the same direction Lee said it does is another matter entirely.

    (Note: I stipulate that Lee’s comment was stupid. That doesn’t make the question any less interesting from a more academic point of view.)

    The difficulty is the implicit assumpon that there is fixed population of people called “criminals” who do all the crime. (It’s not as tautological as it sounds. How many crimes must you commit before you are a “criminal”? How long must you spend as a completely law-abiding citizen before you are no longer a “criminal” for these statistical purposes?) Correcting for this is not straightforward, but there have been—mainly inconclusive, mainly anecdotal—attempts to do it.

    There’s no simple test for the proposition: you need to borrow methods from criminology, epidemiology, economics, and probably even fluid dynamics (to model traffic flow of “criminals”). Even then, I doubt you’d find conclusive evidence either for the proposition or against it.

  9. SPC 9

    CraFarms the experts in dirty dairying show a link between business and crime.

    The Serious Fraud Office was established because of white collar crime.

    Is there any disparity in rates of spouse abuse between middle class Pakeha families and others (to the import of economic stress as a cause there might be some)?

    My point is that one can use correlation to negatively profile people based on employment status (or low wage levels) – from there one profiles the whole working class (higher skilled workers excepted) as a group associated with crime risk.

    Most poor people are as law-abiding as the rest of the community.

    That said, crime does rise when there is economic distress – finance companies fleece investors, people of the middle class put their hand in the till, attempts at fraud by well presented conmen increase. Businessmen try and lay off workers after they have diverted money for redundancy payments elsewhere … . Loan sharks move in, even on some of the middle class.

    It is true though as the FBI BSU showed with an international survey back in the 80’s
    1. there was no link between crime and adult porn.
    2. there was a link between crime and economic disparity disadvantage experienced by an ethnic minority (little crime in mono-cultural egalitarian community and presumably multi-cultural egalitarian community where this was achieved).

    Which is why when you have ethnic groups with higher unemployment, it is unwise to hold benefits down too low – and closing the gaps is wise policy.

  10. wtl 10

    “Incidentally, I wanted to do a graph to test Lee’s motorways stop crime claim but I couldn’t even think of a remotely sensible way to that.”
    Incidentally, there is research on the patterns of crime, and the relationship with roads and other geographic and architectural features. Have a look at this interesting read:
    http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826541.000-sin-cities-the-geometry-of-crime.html

    Of course these things are a lot more complicated then what was suggested by a certain MP, and don’t involve prejudice about where people are from.

  11. Cossack 11

    If this is the best that the Nats can come up with then Labour should be fine. “Sources deep in the National Party” seem to be saying that unemployment isn’t a factor in crime statistics, when it is. Dumb stuff.

  12. Chris G 12

    Desperation stuff innit.

    A great post.

  13. Zaphod Beeblebrox 13

    Shearer was spot on. Can’t see how anything he said was clumsy. A bit too honest maybe but not clumsy. Even my ten year old son could see that unemployment may contribute to crime doesn’t mean that by becoming unemployed makes you a criminal
    Garner did him a huge favour by mentioning the tip off from National- desperate was to word coming to mind

  14. the sprout 14

    Garner did a beat up on Shearer last night too when the one excerpt screened of Shearer speaking at Auckland uni was the one answer he gave poorly. Admittedly his performance wasn’t stellar, but Shearer did ok (Norman did slightly better but he was still pretty limp), certainly not as poorly as Garner’s piece implied.
    Once again Garner wants to be the man to manipulate New Zealand politics at the expense of his viewers.

  15. outofbed 15

    WTF is Norman on? Why is he jumping into this kind of crap story? Loads of Green people I know hate the way he is conducting himself
    Tthat sentiment is expressed a lot on this blog,
    However I know a huge amout of Greens and have never once heard it expressed
    and on the contary, are very supportive of Rusell I gueess iI’ll find out for sure at the conference the weekend after next.

    • Marty G 15.1

      I think he’s actually performing very well by far the most relaxed, confident and articulate candidate but he does have something new in Green MPs, a willingness to get into a dirty attack, like this one. I don’t know why he would choose to be part of a pile on against Shearer when he must surely agree with what Shearer was saying because it’s true.

      • SPC 15.1.1

        Why is questioning what Shearer said a “dirty” attack – consummate politicians would welcome the opportunity to clarify what they said – and if they did not want to highlight the issue and talk further about it, why would they have raised it?

        Its actually providing Shearer with an opportunity to become part of some interplay, so the centre and left can dominate the by-election agenda.

    • IrishBill 15.2

      I know some very senior Greens who have expressed this sentiment OOB. But you are right, the proof will be in the pudding. I would advise you to also take note of who turns up and who doesn’t.

  16. gobsmacked 16

    I love Garner’s reference to his source as “deep within” National.

    Actually, the original source is an interview on public television in Auckland. What Garner’s really saying is “Here at 3 News we can’t even be bothered to watch the candidates on TV, we just wait to be told about it by the party spin doctors.”

    What a joke.

    (if he had any interest in real journalism rather than waiting for his stories to be delivered on a plate, he’d follow up this issue with Ravi Musuku. Now that would be worth seeing).

  17. emmess 17

    Balance my fucken arse
    1) It was not a lead story
    2) He specifically says Pacific Islanders, Lee did not, only Cunliffe said that
    3) He says Lee had an awful performance – all he says about Shearer it is confusing
    4) While Lee stumbled once in five minutes, and Garner himself was unable to correct her it lead the news, he ignores Shearers almost constant waffling

  18. George D 18

    Where are the stats in the graph from?

  19. Tim Ellis 19

    Much has been said about Ms Lee’s communication skills.

    How about this deep perspective from Mr Shearer:

    “No well what I was saying is I mean umm people are employed and ahhh contribute to their to their to their economy ahhh contribute to their families then obviously that is going to mean there is ahhh crime and and and the issues around crime and the reasons for crime are actually reduced I mean it’s obviously I think ahhh something we’re all concerned about.”

    If anybody can successfully interpret what that means, then I think they deserve a medal.

    Mr Shearer seems to be making a habit of waffle and bland, nonsensical replies.

    • gobsmacked 19.1

      So let’s make him Prime Minister!

      • bilbo 19.1.1

        Or at the very least an MP ……. surely waffle and bland non-sensical replies is a prime requirement for question time and most addresses within the house.

  20. gobsmacked 20

    A quick update: despite the best efforts of the wingnut bloggers, this Shearer non-story has been ignored by all media except Duncan “Dubya liked my suit” Garner. No surprises there.

    And it’s about to be wiped clean off the radar by Melissa Lee’s extraordinary confession this morning that she “hopes to come second.”

    The media (and the Greens, and ACT, and the Bill and Ben Party …) are going to be all over that one.

    • the sprout 20.1

      yeah i heard that interview.

      what kind of complete fool says in a campaign they hope to come second? it’s mind blowing.

      and how profoundly incompetent are National’s minders and handlers that they keep letting a candidate behave like this? the depth of their stupidity is really quite stunning. where did they learn their craft – the John Key School of Allocution? The GW Bush School of Higher Thought?

      i can’t believe Key continues to employ these munters – they reflect very poorly on his judgement.

    • Fuzzy Dunlop 20.2

      The story is here:

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2432518/Lee-hoping-for-second-place

      My computer illiteracy prevents me from embedding it. Cut ‘n’ paste, boys and girls.

  21. Fuzzy Dunlop 21

    Oh look, it did it for me. Cool.

  22. gobsmacked 22

    And what comes next? Yep, the “clarification” … a.k.a. more digging.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573871

    Oh dear.

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  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

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

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