Minister Robertson’s Economic Development Strategy

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, July 15th, 2021 - 20 comments
Categories: covid-19, economy, employment, grant robertson, health, labour, Politics, unemployment - Tags:

Minister Roberston’s recent speech to the Trans Tasman Business Circle sets out both how this government is using the pandemic to reset whole sectors of the economy, and also how it is getting its head around economic and social challenges. The points made were unsurprising, but his intended direction was unclear.

The Minister rightly points out the very high performance of New Zealand in key headline economic numbers, such as unemployment at 4.7% and trending downwards, economic activity at levels higher than before COVID, and a credit upgrade to AAA which is our first upgrade since 2003.

But then he gets straight into the problems, the risks, and the way this government intends to meet these challenges. This is what we are going to concentrate on. He makes important points about the vaccine rollout, and then on to reconnecting New Zealand with the world. In terms of our reconnection, he notes Professor Sir David Skegg said that the experience at our borders changed materially after 9/11 and so too will there be a new normal after COVID. Roberston didn’t go into much detail there, but that comparison itself is useful as a hint to what travel will mean both inward and outward in the medium future.

Minister Roberston then concentrated on critical aspects of the path for the New Zealand economy as we look to the future with and beyond COVID.

Without calling it a FIRE economy, Roberston underscores that pre-COVID, “too much of our economic expansion was based on unsustainable increases in house prices, and high levels of population growth.” What he is setting up there is a debate later about really restrictive immigration levels that forces us to train, grow and retain more highly qualified people here rather than importing them. That will mean that low tourism volumes and with it low hospitality employment is going to wither for the foreseeable future, and employers who want these people are going to have to pay more and generate attractive durable careers here.

Too many jobs were created in the low-wage economy and not enough of our firms are exporting into international markets or developing new technologies and products at the global frontier.”

This is a rebuke to the low-wage and precarious tourism and hospitality economy which kept us busy rather than wealthy, as well as mis-directing capital to poor quality assets rather than on research and development investment into higher-value businesses.

Some of that low-wage economy has been perpetuated by this government. Robertson generated a policy of wage subsidy last year that threw tens of billions of dollars to employers with little oversight and no positive shift of our economy other than keeping people busy.

Then he peeks behind those apparently healthy unemployment numbers:

Maori and Pacific unemployment took around 10 years to return to its pre-Global Financial Crisis level, and those ‘normal’ levels of unemployment are still far higher than the rest of the population.

So what was particularly curious here was the absence of any talk of re-regulating the labour market including those mirage-like MECA agreements, or continuing to raise the minimum wage (which they have done), or actively encourage re-unionisiation (which continues to collapse), or indeed anything like transferring some of the grossly unequal wealth at the top to the great majority at the bottom (through shifting taxes, for example, which they have largely neglected apart from a very minor change to an elite few this year).

Roberston further reminds us that our economy has not been sustainable in climate, biodiversity, and waterways. The primary polluter of our waterways is dairy, and yet they passed recently on any strong measures to address this in the 2020 DIRA legislation review which enables the continued existence of Fonterra.

What is discomfiting by this point in the speech is that we are half way through their second term and the Minister of Finance is only now articulating integrated challenges to the economy in this manner. He did outline some of this in the Budget 2021, but the high level areas to address these issues are:

  • Increase productivity through large scale investment in skills, research and innovation, infrastructure, building international connections and reforms of critical underpinnings of productivity such as our planning, water and immigration systems
  • Lift the value and increase the diversity of what we produce and do, and who we trade with
  • Transition to a low carbon economy and seize the potential of new technology and innovation to lead this transition
  • Realise the economic potential of our Maori and Pacific communities and businesses, small and medium enterprises and entrepeneurs
  • Immigration and skills come under focus, because the government is pretty clear that their “reset” is a mighty piece of COVID luck that forces employers to continue training rather than importing cheap labour that keeps wages down in hospitality and construction. They have a number of programmes that do this including free apprenticeships, the Training Incentive Allowance, the Flexiwage programme, and Mana In Mahi to name a few.

In industry transition, transformation and innovation, the Minister mentioned the Just Transitions fund for enabling mitigations under the Emissions Reduction Plan. He mentioned the Industry Transformation Plans for agritech and construction, with others in the pipeline for digital technologies, advanced manufacturing, and food and beverage, and forestry and wood processing.

The Minister is explicitly trying to use the national unification we all felt through our collective response to COVID, to see if that can be transferred to how business can work with government: “We have seen how our country’s stock of social capital (our trust in each other and the connections in our communities) has driven our positive response to COVID. The same must now also be the case for our economic recovery.

Given that we are about to get a whole lot of utes and dogs come into cities to protest the waterways regulations, Robertson’s final commentary is appropriate:

There is sometimes a tendency to think about the relationship between government and business as being dominated by regulation – that it is a dynamic defined by the prevention of particular activities. I’m interested in ways we can work together; where public investment can open up new economic possibilities and crowd-in capital from the private investor, rather than crowd it out.”

The tendency rather is a bit more problematic than that: the government has been “intervening” at greater and greater scale with each successive national crisis that we face year upon year upon decade, and yet for all this intervention we remain a low-income, low-savings, low productivity, low wage, low-regulated, oligopoly dominated, volume commodity dominated, China dominated economy for as far as the eye can see.

Robertson’s speech needed rather a whole-of-government effort more akin to the Growth and Innovation Framework of 2002. It needed to have a common set of themes that every minister then repeated.

This is Robertson’s first speech I’ve seen that has set out a set of economic issues and then what they might do. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so churlish as to complain.

At the moment we have disaggregated government that is not providing messaging on the major changes it is making which include:

  • nationalising the health system,
  • nationalising polytech education,
  • launching a huge waterways cleanup and water supply ownership programme which don’t relate to each other,
  • launching a carbon mitigation plan,
  • re-regulating immigration and skills,
  • massively shrinking the role of local government …
  • and leaving other large parts of the economy untouched such as universities, ports and airports, defence, public media, electricity generators, the entire innovation system such as it is, weak savings, grossly distorted asset classes, and chronic social inequality.

The more big moves this government makes, the less sense it makes.

Currently we only have two strong arms of state, Treasury and Health, and even health is wobbly. To achieve any of what Robertson is proposing, the rest of the state needs to catch up – and that is front and centre a government leadership job.

Sure, it’s one speech. We’ll have to see if there’s something to believe in beyond it.

20 comments on “Minister Robertson’s Economic Development Strategy ”

  1. Cricklewood 1

    Clock's ticking in terms of getting things delivered, we've seen close to stagflation in house prices which has cemented inequality in our society for at minimum a generation, no headway in emergency housing with the list growing faster than the build program…

    Both major items this govt promised to address, so far they've tinkered around the edges without actually being bold enough to make real structural change.

  2. pat 2

    Think it may be fair to observe that this apparent confusion is the result of government by focus group.

    They are bereft of any idea other than re election.

    • Ad 2.1

      No this government has plenty of ideas. I listed a few. And many are bolder than we've seen in decades.

      Some have been completed, but many are so big that they are very hard to execute within a term. That's not a unique issue to this government – for example all the massive transport projects that National started will finish two terms after they went.

      • pat 2.1.1

        They are tinkering and reversing at every sign of resistance…their actions are frequently diametrically opposed to their claims…they have 40 billion sitting at the RBNZ unallocated…4 years after being gifted power they have yet to present a roadmap or destination.

        They are bereft

        • Ad 2.1.1.1

          Get a grip. They've lost light rail. One project among hundreds.

          This is by a long way the most interventionist government we have had since Muldoon. That's two generations ago.

          Sure they're incoherent, but they can be granted time on this theming and messaging since there's no pattern of state intervention across the developed world that has forecast what's been required here over the last 18 months. The GFC was a minor run compared to what we are in now.

          • pat 2.1.1.1.1

            Get a grip??

            Brilliant!

            • greywarshark 2.1.1.1.1.1

              pat you are 90% brilliant. (Nobody's perfect, and the small failure may itself allow an interesting and useful weed to get rooted and actually grow to a worthwhile end.)

  3. Tiger Mountain 3

    In Northland and the Far North, barely a week goes by without Willow Jean Prime, Kelvin Davis and Emily Henderson launching or opening some infrastructure project–such as a business hub near Kaikohe, and solar farm near Kaitaia, sometimes legacies of the PGF. But how do they capitalise apart from fleeting social media feeds?

    Tomorrow all around the North there will be provincial Nat fans driving tractors around and Utes full of barking dogs, some sort of munters for Judith protest.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/howl-of-a-protest-big-crowds-expected-across-northland/5OFHO4CO47O57X3BN5VTUXAFPQ/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR26hvurxRE4-VHbG3EZZGWzM9nD3S1uu-Q-xnddksb6vs_uzpQUMfZqnig#Echobox=1626287191

    Labour need to try harder to embed some of the many worthy reforms they have quietly accomplished in the public consciousness.

    In the bigger picture, Labour lacks critical ideologues and public intellectuals to state the incredibly obvious–they remain handcuffed to “Roger’n’Ruth’s” legacy of neo liberal hegemony. Community organising and direct action are the only way out–as the growing campaign over Whānau Ora shows.

  4. Adrian 4

    At the risk of being castigated, as opposed to castrated( too late, that happened years ago), I wonder if the low wage economy charge is fair. If the comparison is between a cafe worker and a Swiss engineer of course it is, but between the cafe worker here and in almost any other country in the world then they are probably pretty comparable. Low wages for jobs requiring not a lot of time having been spent in school paying attention are common in most countries. We must be ahead of the States, Britain, a lot of Europe maybe not Scandinavia and Germany but the cost of living and very high income tax in those places levels that out quite a bit. What little info I do have has been gleaned from my kids experience travelling and working offshore and my own travel in the last 5 years so it is recent info. The truth is, shit jobs, which somebody has to do, pay shit wages the world over, and we are not far out of line with them, and before you cry…but Australia!.. agricultural jobs don’t pay that well there either except in those places where people don’t nessecarily want to live and work, hundreds of miles from anyway and in the middle of the desert. Even nurses wages are only about 10-12% ahead of ours but considerably more where Aussie nurses dont want to work or for a very short spells.

    • pat 4.1

      "We must be ahead of the States, Britain, a lot of Europe maybe not Scandinavia and Germany but the cost of living and very high income tax in those places levels that out quite a bit."

      And therein lies some of the issue….the wage /cost of living ratio in this country has been steadily worsening and that is largely attributable to the increasing value of housing, yet this gov who were elected to address inequality, child poverty and housing tied their own hands by ruling out tax increases, wealth taxes or decreased property prices ….the very tools needed to address their claimed concerns.

      The lure of (e.g.) Australia is greatly diminished if your wage provides the necessities of life regardless of its level in comparison to foreign markets….it aint rocket science.

      • Patricia Bremner 4.1.1

        Pat "the lure of Australia"… They pay nothing to workers locked down, they have let this virus pass into 3 states, hardly alluring.

        • pat 4.1.1.1

          Tell that to the multitudes heading there.

          • Patricia Bremner 4.1.1.1.1

            Most are going to see relatives. Work is now ad hoc and paid by the hourly rate. 700 businesses have closed in the Gold Coast alone.

            House prices are rising and food is getting dearer by the day. We have family in all 3 states and they are being worn down by those who won't co-operate.

            Who is going that you know of? or is that just "so there"!!

            • pat 4.1.1.1.1.1

              I have lost count of the number of acquaintances who are/ or have family members actively looking to emigrate (mainly to Australia)….not to mention the reports of recruiters here offering employment in a range of industries over the ditch.

              And I too have family there and am well aware of the situation….both the positive and negative.

    • Ad 4.2

      I agree everyone will have their own anecdotes to compare. But. On RNZ yesterday morning there was a good set of interviews with chefs who have had experience in France, United States, Australia, and here. They all rated the New Zealand pay rates as comparatively very poor, and that they were simply not treated as having a real career path here as distinct to anywhere else they had worked.

      So many of New Zealan'ds restaurant owners are going into the media crying out for workers to be imported – because they are cheap, hire at minimum wage, and continually undercut the wage and salary expectations of those who are trained here.

      For a country that makes its living out of food, we appear to be paying only to produce the raw ingredients.

      • gsays 4.2.1

        Too true Ad.

        In my experience there was little to no formal training. Any upskilling was when the roster was dodgy and folk were thrown in the deep end in another area if the business to sink or swim.

        Too few hospo businesses offer perks, eg a meal for all staff, NZQA quals, profit share for key employees.

        The squealing from hospo voices is the sound of businesses that were barely viable with minimum wage and migrant labour, realizing that their business model is now invalid.

        We could probably lose 1/3 of hospo outlets.

    • greywarshark 4.3

      I have read a couple of comments about cost of living in NZ cf to elsewhere. One disillusioned, one recognising the good tops the bad.

      https://e2nz.org/migrant-stories/chapter-9/nz-vs-uk-not-all-its-cracked-up-to-be-is-it-just-me/

      One comment: (note the info given about the person's USA salary may not be true.)

      I had to move back here and while I had been told of the differences, I don’t think I really believed it until I was actually here. Knowing and actually comprehending things are totally different I think.

      I left a job in the US that, on a good week, could pay nearly $2,000 after bonuses. That same job in NZ MIGHT pay $430/week with no bonuses. So what was a career choice (a job I loved) in the US, where I could save and have plenty of money to play with after paying my bills, is no choice at all here in NZ. Is it my fault for not thinking ahead? Well, maybe, but then I never ever planned to move back to NZ.

      The reason why NZ is so slow to improve is because it’s residents are willing to settle. Instead of expecting more bang for their buck they have the whole “harden up” “she’ll be right” mentality.
      Personally the one thing I despised most about moving here was being told to harden up. How insulting.

      https://goingnz.com/living-in-new-zealand/a-year-in-nz-our-cost-of-living-new-zealand/

      This is the conclusion for this couple after doing analysis:

      I think the lesson we have learned over time is to stop analyzing it so much and to think of New Zealand as a high maintenance girlfriend. Heres our analogy…

      She (being NZ) is very good looking and has charm. But to put up with the good lucks and charm of that sexy girlfriend we have to put our hands into our pockets and “Suck it up”. To live here in NZ the cost of living in New Zealand is something we have to start putting up with. This analogy has really helped us clarify our thought process on the price issues.

      When we weigh up the pros and cons we believe NZ is worth the extra expense and we hope you think so too!

  5. Patricia Bremner 5

    We are not out of the Pandemic. The fact that this government is using opportunities caused by the disruption to try to fix problems and improve wellbeing is to be commended. The problems are huge, and as stated, they can not save every business, but boy they tried.

    Just one item, Water… every summer people have been told to avoid beaches near Auckland because of human waste. The work to improve sewerage and waste water plus drinking water country wide is huge.

    The next is trade with China. One sentence about expanding our products and markets is about moving on from logs and milk powder, to more finished products produced here.

    Education and training, the government is leading the discussion on training our own to meet the shortages..135000 of them in schemes. Some of that group are future planners. Streamlining our Education system to improve locals lives, rather than importing students to balance budgets for "providers".

    This Government's overarching goals stated in Budget 2021 are being put in place at a an amazing clip, hence the surprised anger of the farming fraternity, who still feel we all need to change but their change horizon should forever be 'pushed beyond the horizon'.

    I admit freely to being a Labour and Green supporter, so anyone with 3 or 4 utes is a polluter and needs to pay for that, they have a choice to lean on their suppliers.

    Signals are very clear, be part of the team solution or part of the problem.

  6. Any chance of changing the Roberstons to Robertson by a global correct. My eye keeps landing on the wrong spelling………

    Cheers

  7. Jackel 7

    Looking at the underlying logic in your speech that sounds like a pretty good plan Mr Robertson.

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    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 hours 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
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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