National is no nation builder

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, August 8th, 2023 - 16 comments
Categories: climate change, Environment, national, public transport, same old national, sustainability, transport, water - Tags:

Nation building projects always take multiple terms, and the risk of Labour losing puts at risk some of the largest and most important we’ve seen in generations.

Each loss will damage the sustainability of our regions, networks and cities for decades to come.

In no particular order, here’s a few.

The Road To Zero programme which is a multi-year programme by NZTA to improve highway and arterial and highway road safety to bring down New Zealand’s worsening road death and injury toll. National Transport Spokesperson Simeon Brown says he will gut it.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving including light rail will if National gets in be scrapped, according to their transport policy.

National will stop the existing Auckland to airport light rail project which has been in advanced planning since 2015. National will also stop light rail to Auckland’s North Shore.

This is consistent with what National did in 2011 when they killed off the Christchurch plan that included light rail.

And again in mid 2017 when the idea was brought up again.

National will scrap the NZ Battery Project at Lake Onslow.

There is no other existing plan for enough generation to enable the full transition from combustion engines to 100% renewable electricity. At the moment New Zealand consumes about 41 billion Kilowatts. To convert away from combustion engines we’d need at least another 9 billion kilowatts. We’ll need big new generation available by 2030 once our fleet gets to 20% electric.

National will scrap the entire Three Waters programme. Local councils will get the assets back unconstrained, with no attempt to reverse 55% of our rivers being impaired and 45% too poisoned to get into higher than gumboot level.

National will reverse all attempts to get New Zealand agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme. That’s 50% of our national emissions that Luxon will ensure continue without any pricing signal at all.

I have not yet seen their plans for Kainga Ora, but as a successful mass-builder it would surely be in the frame for privatisation and floating on the stock exchange. Kainga Ora’s remaining mass developments are capital-hungry and ripe for being spun off beforehand.

National’s leader Mr Luxon has a high repeated priority to go through Departmental expenditure line by line, so we can expect more major projects to be proposed for cuts as the campaign progresses.

16 comments on “National is no nation builder ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Patricia Bremner 1
    8 August 2023 at 10:57 am

    So personally greedy, and not wanting any community projects unless money partners benefit, looks a very grim prospect.

    I worry the progress of many social wellbeing schemes will be handed to the money making charity arms, or donators.

    Plus the constant dissing and rubbishing of us as a people and the worship of "productivity" which is just another name for "economic growth" as if that can continue for ever on a contested planet.

    Investment in people will go as financial and property as a wealth vehicle come back.

    Unemployment will become rampant as the "cost cutters" fail to count human need as part of the bottom line, and the pivot to AI will be painful as current supports will again be thinned and pushed out and become 13 week stand downs… "why haven't you got 3 months savings?" Wage rises will go back to derisory 50c an hour.

    It will be worse than last time as we deal with fractures caused by covid, as their ideology of individual clashes with family and community goals.

    Back to "oh you won't work for that? there are ten other people wanting your job." Back to contracts and the spiral to the lowest pay and no conditions.

    Perhaps Ad you had different ideas of why we can't afford a Nat/Act Govt. but I agree..

    Plainly we need to cement in the current gains, look at all improvements made in spite of covid. The many long term projects which are showing promise, and the rebuilds needed in flood prone regions. So much is at risk, especially R and D.

    Act's promise to stop dead all projects "to save money" is so destructive and wasteful of all the mahi put into MBIE. Seymore sees 3000 job cuts as progress and causing competition created for the remaining jobs. Funding will again be a decreasing pool to be contested and valuable expertise will be lost in the process imo.

  2. AB 2
    8 August 2023 at 10:59 am

    National is no nation-builder – it is a private wealth builder. They call this a "strong economy" and claim that a viable nation results from it. Surprisingly, some of them genuinely believe it.

  3. Mike the Lefty 3
    8 August 2023 at 11:55 am

    Sorry National, multi-billion dollar four-lane King's highways so your mates can race each other in their Ford Rangers is not "bread and butter". Nor is Labour's undersea dream tunnels either, for that matter.

    National makes a big thing about the cost of living, but what is it actually saying and promising? Nothing really. National is not promising to remove or reduce petrol excise tax or reduce GST. So are people stupid enough to believe that the cost of living will fall if National gets elected? It won't but National is happy enough to let people believe it will without actually saying it because they have their sycophants in Newstalk ZB to help spread the innuendo.

    I've got to the point where I am totally disillusioned with the attitude of both National and Labour. The desire for each to outspend the other to satisfy the Kiwi car culture is sickening.

    Not such a surprise as regards National, they have and will always promise a glorious world for a vote (and deliver a barren moon if successful) but as a consistent centre-left supporter it is very disappointing to see Labour being suckered into playing the same game.

    • Tony Veitch 3.1
      8 August 2023 at 2:13 pm

      Nor is Labour's undersea dream tunnels either, for that matter.

      For a fraction of the cost of the undersea dream tunnels, the government could import hundreds of electric buses, make them free and frequent in all the major centres and, coupled with congestion charges, all but solve the car use/traffic jams of our population concentrations.

      But, like free dental care, it's a no-brainer, which is probably why major political parties haven't suggested it.

      • Adrian 3.1.1
        8 August 2023 at 4:45 pm

        Hundreds? You would actually need 10s of thousands for your utopian dream and where are your drivers coming from to keep buses on all those routes at least 16 hours a day 7 days a week, thats 2.4 drivers per bus. This isn't 10 million Londoners with the footprint of Auckland, its 5 million Kiwis with the footprint of the UK.

        You're dreaming.

        • Mike the Lefty 3.1.1.1
          8 August 2023 at 5:19 pm

          If the standard transport model of bus operation in NZ of covering workers and students 9-5 in cities is continued to be the norm then yes, you are right, we would need a whole lot more vehicles and drivers.

          But if public transport was better targeted to serve people's needs (different needs in different cities and regions) it could be a lot more effective and efficient. Timaru is an example.

  4. bwaghorn 4
    8 August 2023 at 12:44 pm

    Yeah but I'll get $10 more a week in tax cuts, (this is just a made up figure based on nationals track record of the rich get richer while the country decays, and they sweep a crumb my way)

    • Patricia Bremner 4.1
      8 August 2023 at 12:54 pm

      That crumb (y) $10 will have to pay for chemist charges, and other user pays servicessad

    • alwyn 4.2
      8 August 2023 at 2:06 pm

      Would I be equally fair if I suggested that I will, if Labour lose power, not have to pay an additional $1,500/week in taxes (this is just a made up figure based on Labour's track record of Robertson's wasteful expenditure while the country decays)?

      This seems just as likely as your own calculation.

  5. alwyn 5
    8 August 2023 at 2:19 pm

    Can you really see that the Lake Onslow scheme providing any increased power generation, much less the 20% increase in production you are proposing?

    I cannot see any real increase in the countries generating capacity at all. All it seems to be supplying is a possible storage of potential power from using water that will otherwise be spilled from the existing hydro lakes in the South Island to fill the Lake Onslow storage.

    How much surplus water do we have in the lakes at the moment and how much are we spilling at the moment? Can we not simply leave the water in the existing reservoirs behind the hydro dams if wind, or solar, power is available to supply the power demand for the country and simply stop generating hydro power from the existing stations with the water remaining where it is above the existing power stations.

    • KJT 5.1
      8 August 2023 at 5:05 pm

      How about actually reading up on the purpose of Lake Onslow before criticising it.

      There could be issues with it. But the idea of using excess sustainable generation to pump up a pumped storage "battery" is sound.

      Pumped-storage hydroelectricity – Wikipedia

      Pumped storage is by far the largest-capacity form of grid energy storage available, and, as of 2020, the United States Department of Energy Global Energy Storage Database reports that PSH accounts for around 95% of all active tracked storage installations worldwide…

      • alwyn 5.1.1
        8 August 2023 at 5:36 pm

        I wasn't commenting on what Lake Onslow might be useful for. I was commenting on what Advantage seems to be proposing it will do. He said that National would scrap Lake Onslow. Then he says that

        "There is no other existing plan for enough generation to enable the full transition from combustion engines to 100% renewable electricity. At the moment New Zealand consumes about 41 billion Kilowatts. To convert away from combustion engines we’d need at least another 9 billion kilowatts. We’ll need big new generation available by 2030 once our fleet gets to 20% electric."

        I read this as stating that Lake Onslow will provide us with an additional 9 billion kilowatts, which is about 20% of the generation (41 billion) that we currently have. That isn't just using the lake as a battery. It is saying that it is an additional, enormous, generator in its own right.

        • KJT 5.1.1.1
          8 August 2023 at 6:13 pm

          It is obviously not a generator, but it allows for storage when an excess of sustainable energy is generated. I'e. In times of high winds or rainfall smoothing out power demand and stopping the need for backup fossil fuel generation, or even extra generation to smooth over shortages, overall.

          I've yet to be convinced it is the best option, but it beats having backup coal, oil or gas plant, and could save on the need for lots more backup generation of any type. Effectively increasing the load capacity of the whole system.

  6. newsense 6
    8 August 2023 at 4:11 pm

    Verity lays it down- the main parties don’t want Auckland votes.

    Who’s an Auckland MP who’s known and trusted across the isthmus and has enough clout to stand up to Chippy, Robertson, Woods, McAnulty et al?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300944849/last-week-shows-our-politicians-dont-understand-auckland-right-now

  7. SPC 7
    8 August 2023 at 5:35 pm

    Robinson's main focus during his second period as mayor was his advocacy for rapid transit system for Auckland. Robinson's proposal for a bus-rail rapid transit plan was "to provide fast, mo The proposal had passenger trains every three minutes running from an underground subway terminal in the city centre with above ground tracks leading to Howick, Auckland Airport and a tunnel to the North Shore. The scheme was heavily criticized for its cost (an estimated $273 million in 1973) and both the ARA chairman and most of its members opposed the scheme. The Third Labour Government reneged on an election pledge to pay for the scheme and the rapid rail proposal disappeared. Retrospectively, Robinson's idea to implement rapid rail was seen as a possible long-term solution to Auckland's subsequent transportation difficulties. The phrase; "If we'd only listened to Robbie…" has become common speech in Auckland whenever the city's transport system is debated.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dove-Myer_Robinson

    Music of that bygone time.

    Lay Down

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaiT8gATzxc

  8. adam 8
    8 August 2023 at 7:40 pm

    My guess is the same tory's moaning loudly now, will be, the same tory's moaning when the whole country comes to a screaming halt via global boiling.

    Think before you vote.

    national act have got nothing, but do nothing – like that has ever worked.

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    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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