National the anti-environmental party

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, September 28th, 2017 - 50 comments
Categories: climate change, Economy, Environment, farming, greens, national, water - Tags:

There’s been chatter on Twitter, and not so dissimilar talk around my office among ‘ordinary’ (probably on average right-leaning) people, about why National and the Greens can’t get together.  Why the Greens can’t ‘stick to the environment’ and get some wins there, as a compromise.

National’s urban supporters I’m sure would prefer a deal with the Greens vs a deal with NZ First (their rural ones might disagree), and National MPs always love a bit of Green-washing, and would be willing to throw the Greens a couple of bones.

The core hard reason it’s not going to happen is that the Greens’ members get to decide, and they wouldn’t go for it (as they believe in principles…), but there are obviously reasons behind that.

The focus is often on left-wing/right-wing, and the Greens insisting (rightly!) on social, as well as environmental principles.  There’s a lot to be said about how you can’t make good decisions about the environment when you’re on the breadline and your every thought is keeping (or trying to get) a roof over your head and food in your children’s bellies.  But that’s not what I want to focus on, as I think there’s a big bit that people are missing.

People can look to Germany and see a conservative party (fresh out of a coalition with a social democratic party), looking at forming a coalition with their Green party and a free-market liberal (ACT-esque) party.

But that’s a conservative party that has taken action on environmental issues.  Strong action on Climate Change.  Closing down their nuclear power plants because they’re not prepared to take the risks and waste.  Investing in renewables.

That’s a strong contrast with National.

In Aotearoa, National are the anti-environmental party.  Bizarrely the Greens have more in common with ACT than National.  ACT at least (like all of the top 8 parties other than National) rank Climate Change a 10/10 importance issue – National gave it an 8.5, as it needed ‘balancing against the economy’.  ACT don’t want to fund ever more irrigation to intensive farming & river pollution out of the public purse – only National does.  ACT – in their free-market way – believe in polluter pays.

National is the only party that doesn’t see the need for a carbon reduction law, carbon budgets, or a carbon commission.  They’re the ones who reduced what ‘swimmable’ meant to excuse their lack of action on our rivers, as our fresh-water fish become endangered.

Agriculture in the ETS?  A plastic bag levy?  From big to small, National don’t back it.

For National business comes first, second and third.  Their Conservation Minister (Maggie Barry), regularly says they’ll take action on the environment when the economy allows – ignoring that there is no economy without an environment.

So forget left-right.  On the environment – anti-environment spectrum the Greens & National are at opposite ends – that’s probably the biggest reason (of many) that there’s no chance of the 2 negotiating anything.

* I can’t even find a picture with Shaw & English both in it that’s how much they have in common.

50 comments on “National the anti-environmental party ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. weka 1
    28 September 2017 at 2:15 pm

    Blood good post. That’s a great explanation to push back against the attempted neoliberalisation of the Greens that’s going on.

    • Once was Tim 1.1
      28 September 2017 at 7:24 pm

      which is exactly what it is! except that after 30 plus years of neoliberalism, half of them probably don’t even know they’re neoliberals. First an ideology, then a religion, then a cult, then a bloody Empire. It transcends all other ideologies and religions – it comes first in their minds. Even in David Lange’s autoB, he recognised it as being a religion amongst his peers.

  2. Andrew 2
    28 September 2017 at 2:20 pm

    “They’re the ones who reduced what ‘swimmable’ meant to excuse their lack of action on our rivers”

    That is complete ill informed rubbish.

    The previous Labour/Green govt had the National Bottom Line at 1000 E coli per 100 mL annual median for a Grade C water body. Grade A was an annual median of 260 E coli per 100 mL at a 95% confidence level. Grade B was >260 and ≤540 annual median of 260 E coli per 100 mL at a 95% confidence level.

    National have more than halved the amount of allowable E coli by having an annual median of 130 E coli per 100 mL for all grades of rivers and made the confidence levels much stricter. The maximum allowable E coli level has been set at 540, for A,B and C grade water bodies, but only 5, 10, and 20% of the time. But the 95% confidence level means that in a time of flood the water body can, and most likely will have more than 540 or 260, but daily monitoring must be put in place until it is back under the 130 mark again.

    Now if you get a 260 rating you have to monitor daily, and bring it back down to 130. That’s new. Also, you couldn’t even measure quality before National put the apparatus in to do so.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      28 September 2017 at 2:46 pm

      That is complete ill informed rubbish.

      No, that’s actually true:

      “It’s like saying ‘OK, a lot of people are exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit in town so, in 20 years’ time, we’re going to have 90 percent of the people obeying the rules – but we’re going to shift the speed limit to 100km/h'” – Mike Joy

      Everything that you spouted was just a regurgitation of National’s lies.

      • tracey 2.1.1
        28 September 2017 at 3:26 pm

        From your link

        “Environment Minister Nick Smith said the cost of the proposal to the government, farmers and councils was estimated to be $2 billion over the next 23 years.”

        Is this in relation to the recent article that ratepayers, taxpayers and iwi are outpacing farmers 94 to 1 in financial contributions?

    • lprent 2.2
      28 September 2017 at 3:02 pm

      So you are picking ONE factor out of the 50 or so factors that waterways are routinely measured for? Why is that? Avoidance?

      If you read any criticism of the piss-poor standards that National brought in, e-coli was (from memory) about the only one that actually did improve – probably because the numerically retarded liar Nick Smith wanted one to go in the headlines.

      In other words you picked the one specially made for the stupid PR spinnners (which is what you look like – just another professional liar).

      So what happened to the standards for nitrate levels, various species of paramecium, phosphate levels, water volumes, native fish, and a host of other factors for measuring the actual health of waterways?

      Do you really think that we can’t read and can’t recognize a idiot lying by omission, you contemptible spinner?

      (and before you start whining about politeness – read the policy about “robust debate”)

      • Andrew 2.2.1
        28 September 2017 at 3:12 pm

        edited to remove swearing as lprent has done the same after he called me a fuckwit.

        If you cant have a discussion without resorting to attacks and swearing then that says more about you than I.

        In case you want to be educated, then read the actual amendments:

        http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20water/nps-freshwater-ameneded-2017_0.pdf

        http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/npsfm-showing-changes.pdf

        The link that Draco pasted is also untrue from My Joy.

        “He said there was now a one in 20 chance of getting campylobacter swimming in an river rated “excellent””

        That is also not true. A swimming river rated as “excellent”, or an A grade river, “if in flood” at the “maximum allowable limit” of 540, you would have a 1 in 20 in 20 chance. That is, in 20 groups, then 1 in one of those 20 may get sick.

        Baring in mind that the river would have to be in flood and at the upper levels of where even the previous ‘wadable’ standard was set.

        “Forest and Bird chief executive Kevin Hague agreed, saying all the government had done was essentially change the definition of swimmability, from what was currently defined as wadeability.”

        That is also untrue. the wadeable standard was an annual median of 260, the new swimmable standard is 130 with tighter confidence levels.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1
          28 September 2017 at 3:38 pm

          One Get Out of jail Free card:

          Policy CA3
          By every regional council ensuring that freshwater objectives for the compulsory values are set at or above the national bottom lines for all freshwater management units, unless the existing freshwater quality of the freshwater management unit is already below the national bottom line for an attribute or attributes and the regional council considers it appropriate to set the freshwater objective below the national bottom line for an attribute or attributes because:
          a) the existing freshwater quality is caused by naturally occurring processes; or
          b) any of the existing significant infrastructure (that was operational on 1 August 2014) listed in Appendix 3 contributes to the existing freshwater quality; and
          i) it is necessary to realise the benefits provided by the listed infrastructure; and
          ii) it applies only to the waterbody, water bodies or any part of a waterbody, where the listed infrastructure contributes to the existing water quality.

          Pretty sure the farmers and other polluting businesses were rapped with that.

        • weka 2.2.1.2
          28 September 2017 at 3:39 pm

          from a green politics perspective the argument you are making is a nonsense. Water should be drinkable as minimum standard. That’s because it’s so hard to clean up water once polluted, and because all of life depends on clean water. Fresh water scientists say that the standard needs to be better than drinkable for humans, because fresh water ecologies need cleaner water than even that. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the implications of that in a finite set of islands. Or do you think eventually we will buy our water from overseas?

          Arguing about the numbers for wadeable is akin to arguing how to set the standards for the economy for acceptable numbers of kids to die of the diseases of poverty, or how many young men are acceptable to kill themselves, or how many people it’s ok to economically coerce into homelessness or how many lives its ok to ruin by running a low wage economy.

          I would call it sociopathic because at its basis is the normalising of violence against nature and people. It’s so normalised that you don’t even consider the implications of wadable any more.

          Hence you are aligned with the anti-environmentalists.

          • Andrew 2.2.1.2.1
            28 September 2017 at 4:04 pm

            “Arguing about the numbers for wadeable is akin to arguing how to set the standards for the economy for acceptable numbers of kids to die of the diseases of poverty”

            Well let’s just take a step back for a moment. The argument was that National have relaxed the standard that Labour set. I am arguing that they have not, and in fact have strengthened it considerably.

            Water body degradation in NZ has been happening for decades. Only in the last decade have we really started to take it seriously and enact measures to monitor and improve our water quality.

            The previous “wadable” standard was a start, albeit a cop out as far as i am concerned, considering the Labour govt that was supported buy the Greens drafted it. This goes further.

            The end game should be to make “most” river water drinkable, but lets get serious here. That ain’t going to happen over night, it will happen in incremental steps, and this is one of those steps.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.2.1.1
              28 September 2017 at 4:31 pm

              I am arguing that they have not, and in fact have strengthened it considerably.

              You still haven’t provided any evidence of that.

              The previous “wadable” standard was a start, albeit a cop out as far as i am concerned, considering the Labour govt that was supported buy the Greens drafted it.

              Except that the wade-able standard was National’s. The Greens said it wasn’t good enough.

              I’m really not sure if you’re spinning or if you actually believe the BS you’re spouting.

              • Andrew …
                28 September 2017 at 9:55 pm

                Sorry i was incorrect about the wadable document. What i should have said is that the safe cut off level of 540 E Coli, used in the wadable water statement was set by Labour and the Greens.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 2.2.1.2.1.2
              28 September 2017 at 7:33 pm

              Get serious, it ain’t going to happen at all, because – (do nothing) National.

            • weka 2.2.1.2.1.3
              28 September 2017 at 10:28 pm

              “The end game should be to make “most” river water drinkable, but lets get serious here. That ain’t going to happen over night, it will happen in incremental steps, and this is one of those steps.”

              I disagree. We should be making water better than drinkable now. That means not saying that we can try and clean up water for the next generation, but that we stop polluting now. I know rivers that are still drinkable and don’t have adequate protection.

              National have no intention of making water drinkable and if you use their incremental process you are condemning NZ to a very long term pollution that will be much harder to clean up.

          • Roy 2.2.1.2.2
            28 September 2017 at 8:23 pm

            Thanks Weka, for making the point about drinkable. Drinkable (for an adult human) is about a quarter of the cleanliness required for native fish species and other ecosystems to survive. We need nothing less than pristine, and if that is “economically unviable”, then the economy is the one that’s unviable.

            Water is a necessity, as is a healthy enviro. Both should be paramount if we’re to survive.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.3
          28 September 2017 at 4:20 pm

          That is also not true. A swimming river rated as “excellent”, or an A grade river, “if in flood” at the “maximum allowable limit” of 540, you would have a 1 in 20 in 20 chance. That is, in 20 groups, then 1 in one of those 20 may get sick.

          You should probably read your own links:

          % exceedances over 540 cfu/100 mL: <5%
          % exceedences over 260 cfu/100 mL: <20%
          Median concentration (cfu/100 mL): ≤130
          95th percentile of E. coli/100 mL: ≤540
          Description of risk of Campylobacter infection (based on E. coli indicator): For at least half the time, the estimated risk is <1 in 1000 (0.1% risk)
          The predicted average infection risk is 1%*

          * The predicted average infection risk is the overall average infection to swimmers based on a random exposure on a random day, ignoring any possibility of not swimming during high flows or when a surveillance advisory is in place (assuming that the E. coli concentration follows a lognormal distribution). Actual risk will generally be less if a person does not swim during high flows.

          It’s supposed to be less but it’s allowed to go over 540 5% of the time.

          • Andrew 2.2.1.3.1
            28 September 2017 at 9:51 pm

            At 130 the risk is about 1 in a 1000. At 540 the risk of getting sick is one in 20. But that one in 20 is at the 95 per cent confidence level. Even if you put 20 people in water and it has a 540 E.coli level it’s not saying on average one person gets sick out of 20. It’s saying one in 20 of 20 groups will have one in 20 get sick.

            • McFlock 2.2.1.3.1.1
              28 September 2017 at 10:09 pm

              No, it’s saying that 19 out of 20 groups on average will have 1 person ill.

              Or any particular group of twenty people should expect somewhere between 0 and 5 cases (inclusive, assuming a 0.05 proportion CI of say 0.001-0.25 where 0.05 is one person and you can’t have fractions of people), but say ten groups having no cases or one group having all 20 people get sick would be statistically significant variations from the risk assessment.

        • lprent 2.2.1.4
          28 September 2017 at 5:32 pm

          Don’t be a ignorant and particularly stupid dipshit. Read the fucking documents rather than just the selected bits that are on your crib sheet. I’m not sur etat you even understand those.

          Perhaps you should spend some time reading some texts on factors that actually affect water quality over decades. They are not :-
          “The categories are based on water quality in terms of the two human health attributes, E. coli and cyanobacteria – planktonic.”
          Both are primarily symptoms of the bad water health rather than being a cause. Making them better doesn’t mean that the water is better. It just means that you wind up with a known chance of being sick across a wider range of waterways and lakes.

          No change in phosphates or nitrates – and our existing standards were already ridiculously loose, despite that that being a primary factor driving plant and algae growth and choking the waterways. Both are far more important in the future viability of waterways than e-coli or cynabacteria. The only thing that this pile of crap standard says is that councils should put a level in their plans.

          No changes in dissolved oxygen despite declaring that this was essential for non-anaerobic animal life. Nothing for the base of the ecosystems in waterways and lakes like looking at phytoplankton. Nothing for dealing with stratified nitrogen in the lakes with all of the nasty effects that that has on the vertical ecosystems.

          For that matter, absolutely nothing on heavy metals like cadmium (leached off super-phosphate), iron levels, suspended silt levels, and a multitude of other factors that come directly from humans dumping nasty shit into water. Things that can kill whole ecosystems and cause water to get toxic.

          In essence, the changes that they made could equally well apply to a dead and lifeless waterway or lake because they don’t deal with ANY of the causes of deteriorating waterways – mostly from leachates and silting from farming. They just pick a single species e-coli and a phyla as indicator species, and then totally ignore every significiant factor about maintaining existing water quality.

          All that they have tried to do is to stop animals shitting in rivers directly or indirectly, which is just a small part of the issues. Moreover, they haven’t particularly set a high standard even on that because what they have effectively done is said that existing waterways that are cleaner than that appalling standard aren’t required to maintain their existing water quality in even those factors. Probably the only reason that they did that was because under the previous regional plans from a decade ago, farmers were required to try to stop their animals doing that. So some dipshit PR person in Nick Smiths office saw an opportunity to get a cheap headline while doing nothing else.

          To be precise, you could probably get the same effects that they are say tat they are after in this standard by simply dropping cyanide to kill everything in the water and it would pass their measurable standards. It doesn’t mean that the water will be useful. Now if you can show me where *that* couldn’t happen under these standards and not violate anything in them then I might actually start listening to you.

          But in my opinion you are simply just a lying simpleton because it is clear that all you are doing is mindlessly quoting from a document without any actual understanding of what you are describing and what it means. Quoting numbers without understanding them makes you look like Nick Smith – a idiot parrot or PR fool.

          If you want any level of respect than engage with the issue with some intelligence. We really don’t need you picking out the small shifts from 8 years of discussion while ignoring that this document does absolutely nothing to improve water quality. All it does is provide an explicit license to pollute further.

    • lprent 2.3
      28 September 2017 at 5:38 pm

      Now if you get a 260 rating you have to monitor daily, and bring it back down to 130. That’s new. Also, you couldn’t even measure quality before National put the apparatus in to do so.

      What complete billshit. The regional councils had measuring equipment paid for by ratepayers for decades. Where do you think that the measurements came from?

      Furthermore, the actual amount of measurement stations has actually decreased over the last 9 years. Certainly this government hasn’t put any more money into it. Instead they have been cutting funds to organisations like DOC, universities, and many others who used to do far more of it than they do now.

      In essence, Nick Smith waving his magic tongue over something doesn’t make anything actually happen. All it means is that there are more stupid liars like you trying to pretend that dead water is a functioning ecosystem.

  3. Stuart Munro 3
    28 September 2017 at 2:25 pm

    This attack is a wifebeater.

    On the far right this will be used to make claims about Green impracticality after they reject any suggestion of going with the Gnats.

    It’s classical Gnat – having neither a credible record nor policies their only strategy is spurious attacks.

  4. Sparky 4
    28 September 2017 at 2:26 pm

    In my opinion neither National or for that matter Labour have had great environmental policies. The filthy mess that is our rivers go back further than nine years. The Greens are ones with a great policy in this regard. If they had steered clear of the “glass of rat poison” talk about capital gains tax they probably would have done better come the election. Anyway lets hope they can at least make some inroads and we can have better environmental policies that are kinder to our pretty little country.

  5. Robert Guyton 5
    28 September 2017 at 2:58 pm

    NO

  6. tracey 6
    28 September 2017 at 3:22 pm

    Well said.

  7. Cinny 7
    28 September 2017 at 4:46 pm

    nat’s have been and still are useless on the environment.

    You would think in this day and age preference would be put on electric trains.. but nooooo Diesel all the way for national even if it costs more. How about the 2nd hand diesel loco’s brought in which were full of asbestos and then the slave labour they utilized to remove it. That was a few years back. More recently nats have decided to update kiwirails electric locos with diesel, and have been less than transparent about the whole situation.

  8. marty mars 8
    28 September 2017 at 4:46 pm

    Awesome post thank you.

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    28 September 2017 at 5:19 pm

    Our ol’ pal Big Bruv over on Kiwiblog has it clear in his mind:

    “My goodness are we that desperate?
    If the Nat’s ever went into government with the stinking Greens then it is all over. We should just shut up shop, change our flag to red with a hammer and sickle and be done with it.
    I know the Nat’s are really Labour lite but getting into bed with the stinking Greens is taking things way too far.”

    🙂

  10. Robert Guyton 10
    28 September 2017 at 5:22 pm

    Over on Kiwiblog, Farrar asks:
    “What could the Greens get if they went with National not Winston?”
    My immediate thought was, “Shat upon?”

  11. Robert Guyton 11
    28 September 2017 at 5:28 pm

    Nick R (same site) makes sense:
    “Here’s what puzzles me. Ever since the election, every political commentator on the right including DPF has been bemoaning the Greens’ refusal to do business with National. Despite knowing full well what the obstacles are and what would happen to the Green Party if they did. Now granted, nobody in National gives a fart for the electoral prospects of the Greens. If the Greens were to offer a confidence and supply agreement for 3 years, have their caucus and membership torn apart in the inevitable battle that followed and then follow the Maori Party, United Future and ACT into the Graveyard of National’s Support Parties, that would in many ways be perfect. Three more years of Government without Winston AND the destruction of a left wing opposition party – nice one!

    But assuming – just for the sake of argument – that this poison chalice is somehow not attractive to the Green Party – why doesn’t National set up its own astroturfed centrist blue-green party that can advocate on the environment without the hard left social justice agenda? National has lots of money, and if it reckons there is a constituency that would vote for such a party, why not start one instead of trying to persuade the Greens to prop it up?”

  12. Robert Guyton 12
    28 September 2017 at 5:31 pm

    SPC says:

    “The Greens letting NZ First hold all the cards strengthens the NZ First negotiating position with National.

    For them National remaining in power (as they have since 2008) is the worst of options but a coalition with NZ First is the fourth best option – behind a Labour-Green government, a Labour-NZ First-Green coalition and a Labour-NZ First coalition backed by Greens.

    They do not want National to be in a position to use them as a means to reduce concessions to NZ First.

    1. National may concede the field to Labour because of this.
    2. National becomes desperate for a deal with Greens as an alternative. And only if they are desperate would they do a deal Greens would consider.

    Greens will play a waiting game. It’s the smart move.”

  13. FRJon 13
    28 September 2017 at 8:45 pm

    Wish I could “like” this post many times over… Definitely need to bookmark it!

  14. McFlock 14
    28 September 2017 at 11:21 pm

    edit: bugger missed reply

    ah – comment got deleted

  15. Adrian 15
    29 September 2017 at 8:10 am

    Don’t let the Germans fool you, they may have closed their nuclear stations but they now get their replacement power from just over the border in France from French nuclear stations.
    It’s ” green ” washing on a vast scale.

  16. Pat 16
    29 September 2017 at 11:25 am

    National and their mouthpieces have no intention nor desire to form a coalition with the Greens…all this public kite flying has one purpose and one purpose only….split the Greens…..or divide and rule if you prefer.

  17. Robert Glennie 17
    29 September 2017 at 1:01 pm

    The following were the indicators used in the original Natural Resoruces Regional Plan of Environment Canterbury prior to the Commissioners arriving. It has since been superceded by the Land and Water Regional Plan. I took this from an assignment I did several years ago.

    Ecological Health Ecological health measures a water way health based on the impacts of human activities and natural changes to its system (Glennie J., pers comm.). It uses such indicators as the Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index (Q.M.C.I.), which scales the sensitivity of taxa to pollutants.

    Nutrient Indicators Macrophytes and periphyton are key microbiological organisms which form mats of weed in rivers and can impede water flow, changing the characteristics of the aquatic life, the water way as a fishery and its aesthetic values. These require high nutrient input, which is readily available on dairy farms through cattle faeces and urine being discharged into unprotected water ways, but also from fertilizer application on land (Environment Canterbury, 2011, pp 32-34).

    Siltation Siltation is a major problem in spring fed water ways, which are numerous in Canterbury. Their margins get degraded by uncontrolled cattle herds, trampling the banks, which are normally soft sediment, easily broken up by hooves and dissolved in flowing water (Environment Canterbury, 2011 pp 32-34).

    Micrbiological organisms These are faecal organisms from dairy animals, that have found their way into water ways (Glennie J., pers comm.). Concentrations of these organisms affect the quality of water involuntarily ingested during recreation, and also the health of livestock that may come in contact with the water.

    Toxic algal growth This particularly relates to cyanobacteria, which has been linked to dog deaths. This is most prevalent during summer when temperatures are warmer and natural flows are lower, allowing sunlight to warm the water and encourage algal growth (Environment Canterbury, 2011, pp 32-34). The growth can be exacerbated by water having phosphate and nitrogen as these are necessary for photosynthesis

    Fisheries Fishing is a popular recreational past time in Canterbury where numerous fresh fishing opportunities afford themselves (Environment Canterbury, 2011, pp 32-34). Fisheries can suffer from degraded water ways if the insect life that they feed on, is depleted. If siltation is occurring it can damage spawning beds and give rise

  18. infused 18
    29 September 2017 at 11:19 pm

    Climate change isn’t an issue for NZ. It will kill NZ (taxing and all the bullshit that goes with it).

    We are a small emitter. Not per capita, because that’s retarded in this context.

    • Incognito 18.1
      29 September 2017 at 11:58 pm

      What are you on about? NZ is not a country on Planet Key but on Planet Earth. Thus climate change is an issue for NZ.

      It is misleading to say that we are “a small emitter” because the relevant point is that we are a contributor. You make it sound like one rain drop or one snow flake is irrelevant and negligible in the greater scheme of things but over time and added together they form lakes, rivers, glaciers and avalanches.

    • dv 18.2
      30 September 2017 at 12:39 am

      Freeload Inny

      And what will happen to our trade when the big emitters buy in and we are not doing our bit

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    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 24, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 30, 2023. Story of the Week We’re not doomed yet’: climate scientist Michael Mann on our last chance to save human civilisation The renowned US ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Clusterf**ck of Chaos.
    On the 11th of April 1945 advancing US forces liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald near Weimar in Germany. In the coming days, under the order of General Patton, a thousand nearby residents were forced to march to the camp to see the atrocities that had been committed in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • The party of business deals with the future by pretending it isn’t coming
    Years and years ago, when Helen Clark was Prime Minister and John Key was gunning for her job, I had a conversation with a mate, a trader who knew John Key well enough to paint a helpful picture.It was many drinks ago so it’s not a complete one. But there’s ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • 2023 More Reading: September (+ Old Phuul update)
    Completed reads for September: The Lost Continent, by C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne Flatland, by Edwin Abbott All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque The Country of the Blind, by H.G. Wells The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Losing The Left.
    Descending Into The Dark: The ideological cadres currently controlling both Labour and the Greens are forcing “justice”, “participation” and “democracy” to make way for what is “appropriate” and “responsible”. But, where does that leave the people who, for most of their adult lives, have voted for left-wing parties, precisely to ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • The New “Emperor’s New Clothes”.
    “‘BUT HE HASN’T GOT ANYTHING ON,’ a little boy said ….. ‘But he hasn’t got anything on!’ the whole town cried out at last.”On this optimistic note, Hans Christian Andersen brings his cautionary tale of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to an end.Andersen’s children’s story was written nearly two centuries ago, ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • BRYCE EDWARDS: The vested interests shaping National Party policies
      Bryce Edwards writes – As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: A conundrum for those pushing racist dogma
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago

  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago

  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    6 days ago

  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago

  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    7 days ago

  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago

  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New national direction provides clarity for development and the environment
    The Government has taken an important step in implementing the new resource management system, by issuing a draft National Planning Framework (NPF) document under the new legislation, Environment Minister David Parker said today. “The NPF consolidates existing national direction, bringing together around 20 existing instruments including policy statements, standards, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Government shows further commitment to pay equity for healthcare workers
    The Government welcomes the proposed pay equity settlement that will see significant pay increases for around 18,000 Te Whatu Ora Allied, Scientific, and Technical employees, if accepted said Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. The proposal reached between Te Whatu Ora, the New Zealand Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
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