National thinks tax cut good, reduction in Government charges bad

Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, May 19th, 2023 - 77 comments
Categories: budget 2023, grant robertson, health, labour, national, nicola willis, Parliament, Politics, same old national - Tags:

National’s phrasing around tax cuts always sends me spare.

For instance working for families, which was essentially a significant tax cut to poor and middle class families so that in net terms they paid a lot less money to the Government has been described variously as wasteful spending or in an example of peak stupid rhetoric as communism by stealth by former National Party Prime Minister John Key.

National clearly believes that the amount of money paid by citizens to the Government should be reduced.  But it appears that their biggest gripe is that the money was taken in the first place, and the fact that it may then be redistributed to ordinary people according to need is irrelevant.

Their response to the latest budget highlights this weird take they have on funding issues.

As part of budget 2023 Grant Robertson announced the ending of the $5 prescription for medicines.

In his budget speech he said this:

For some Kiwis, prescription costs are a barrier to receiving the healthcare they need, and lead to trade-offs with the purchase of other necessities. We know that in the 2021-22 financial year, 135,000 people did not collect their prescription because of the cost.

I am pleased to say that from 1 July this year we are removing the $5 prescription co-payment for all New Zealanders. This will reduce inequality in our health system and lead to better health outcomes for everyone.

The policy has compelling reasons.  Too many people miss getting prescriptions because of the cost and this results in far more expensive hospital treatment when a set of pills could avoid this need.

This article from Radio New Zealand highlights the problem.

New Zealand-based study published in January found “prescription copayments are likely to increase overall healthcare costs”, with the small fee discouraging people from collecting their medicines, and ending up needing hospital care as a result. The authors “strongly recommend that the $5 prescription co-payments be removed for those with high health needs and low incomes, or be scrapped entirely”.

“[Some people] go without their medicines, and as a result their health problems get worse, so they need hospital care. This is bad for them, their whānau, and the health system,” research lead Pauline Norris said.

Prescription charges have some history.  The first Labour Government introduced free prescription charges, the fourth Labour Government and Roger Douglas reintroduced them.  National in 1992 increased them to $20 per unit.  The fifth Labour Government under Helen Clark decreased them to $3 per unit, and National under John Key increased them to $5.

More recently the advent of loss leading prescription free Australian owned Pharmaceutical chains has placed local pharmacies under significant strain.  As well as improving health care this policy avoids the unhealthy dumbing down of the pharmacy sector.

As well as being very popular the policy is the right thing to do.

So what is National going to do?

How about promise to wind the policy back if elected.  From Thomas Manch at Stuff:

The National Party says it will repeal the Labour’s removal of a $5 charge on medicine prescriptions if elected.

The scrapping of the $5 cost of prescriptions was one of the major spending initiatives in the Government’s 2023 Budget, published on Thursday, expected to cost $706m for the coming four years.

But it is among the plans most opposed by the Opposition.

National Party finance spokesperson Nicola Willis told Stuff National would return the $5 charge to prescriptions if elected, as it was a “nice to have should not be the priority”.

“I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the fact there are lower-income people for whom I don’t want prescriptions to be a barrier. Well, actually, there are already targetted ways of ensuring they don’t face prescription fees,” she said.

“And you have the Chemist Warehouse offering all prescriptions for free. So, in effect, the Government ends up subsidising that and also subsidising a lot of higher-income people who are perfectly happy to pay that charge.”

What I struggle to understand is how National can oppose the state not collecting money from individuals and letting them keep their hard earned cash.  And the policy is targeted to those in need.  The more unhealthy you are the more you will benefit.

So why is a tax cut good but a reduction in Government charges bad?  Both will result in the individual paying the Government less money and I thought they would be pleased about this.

Besides National’s opposition is strategically a very silly move.  For the rest of the election campaign I can guarantee that the fact National will increase prescription charges if elected to Government will be stated many, many, many times.

But what do I know.  I am just a soft hearted woke lefty.  Although it seems that commentators from the opposite part of the political spectrum think the same.

77 comments on “National thinks tax cut good, reduction in Government charges bad ”

  1. tsmithfield 1

    I think the removal of perscription charges is debatable.

    Firstly, it is a blunt instrument, in that a lot of people who can afford the charges will get the benefit. So, it can be argued that a lot of that money is going to people who are not in need. Thus, it is not very effective targeting.

    The second point is that the money could have arguably been used more effectively for health. For instance, by increasing the Pharmac budget so they could bring in some more effective drugs for people who really need them.

    • Jack 1.1

      I think that is the key point … for a health system in dire crisis, there are much more pressing priorities. The $650,000,000 now taken out of the system could go such a long way to for example, as you suggest, properly funding Pharmac

      • Louis 1.1.1

        Pharmac is being properly funded under Labour.

        • tsmithfield 1.1.1.1

          Define "properly funded".

          From what I have seen, there is no shortage of people wanting this or that drug funded. The fact is, that if Pharmac had more money, they could fund more of those drugs.

        • higherstandard 1.1.1.2

          PHARMAC is not and has never been adequately funded in NZ.

          Our access to modern and even post patent pharmaceuticals is very poor in comparison to similar countries.

          • tsmithfield 1.1.1.2.1

            Yeah. My son has Crohn's and up until recently, the medicine available was over 10 years out of date here in NZ. That has changed slightly, but only a very small percentage are going to get the good stuff atm.

        • gsays 1.1.1.3

          "Pharmac is being properly funded under Labour."

          Talk like that makes me think it's the red pom-poms that are fully funded.

      • Muttonbird 1.1.2

        Nothing has been taken out of the system, you just pay via income tax rather than at the counter.

    • Louis 1.2

      The Labour govt are doing that.

      "we have increased funding to Pharmac by 51 percent since 2017"

      03.30

      https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=232984

      • tsmithfield 1.2.1

        But, there is still more that could be funded, regardless of how much funding has been increased. And, given inflation over recent times, the effective percentage increase would be a lot less than 51%.

        • Louis 1.2.1.1

          Regardless of your spin, Pharmac is now able to fund a lot more drugs under Labour than what they could prior.

          • Liberty Belle 1.2.1.1.1

            It's amazing what you can do when you're prepared to run $7bn budget deficits and continue to blow your own capital and operating forecasts. Mind you, the gamers will be happy.

    • Muttonbird 1.3

      Again with the regressive tax which seems to be very popular with the right.

      This charge, part charge in fact, is no longer flat (regressive), but now brought within the tax system (progressive). So it is now targeted because people on higher incomes pay more of it.

    • Phillip ure 1.4

      I can see the logic in this policy crumb being more targeted…but this one is all about the optics..

      And the optics for national are bad ..

      Not only will they gleefully fuck over the poor…(which we already knew..)

      They have now revealed they will do the same to the sickest/suffering…

      National have confirmed (for most) that they have no heart…

      Hard for them to pretend to care..after this one..

      • gsays 1.4.1

        I agree.

        Just imagie what Willis will come out with when she finds out sbout the Tooth Fairy.

      • Stuart Munro 1.4.2

        It's effect on the elderly should have given National pause – fixed incomes, and often on multiple medications, mean they will be paying attention to this. And National is consistently more popular among older than younger voters.

        So, to answer Whaleoil's question, "Yes, yes they are".

    • newsense 1.5

      Mr Smith Field.

      Didn’t read, refuses to read or can’t read?

      Must be a special advisor to Nicola Willis.

  2. Mike the Lefty 2

    Although $706 million is a big sum for you or me, as a budget item it is not massive compared to some other big ticket items.

    For National to go straight out and say they will reverse it they are either very brave or very stupid because it will be a recognisable and popular move that nearly everyone will benefit from at some time. A pledge to reverse it will give Labour plenty of ammunition for the election campaign.

    Incidentally, I remember picking up a prescription from a chemist in the early 1970s for my parents and I had to pay 10 cents!

    • tsmithfield 2.1

      For National to go straight out and say they will reverse it they are either very brave or very stupid

      It depends what they do instead. So, if they ensure that low income people can still get the rebate, and put the money saved into more drugs from Pharmac, then people might be more accepting of the change.

      • Louis 2.1.1

        But National are not saying what they would do instead, they are saying they it will repeal the Labour's removal of a $5 charge on medicine prescriptions if elected.

        “Dropping the $5 prescription charge:
        Many people seem confused about this.
        It’s aims to reduce hospitalisations and time staying there:
        Much better to ensure people don’t end up there unnecessarily. It also helps lighten the load on the hospitals”

        https://twitter.com/BioinfoTools/status/1659123960234246152

        • Mike the Lefty 2.1.1.1

          The National government of the 1990s.

          First thing you saw when you entered a public hospital – correction, they were known as Crown Health Enterprises (CHE's) – was a sign that read "Cashier".

          That's what you will get under ACT/National once more.

  3. Alan 3

    Have people not heard of the Chemist Warehouse????

    • tsmithfield 3.1

      We have several of those in Christchurch. But, the likely counter argument is that not all areas have the Chemist Warehouse, yet.

      • Muttonbird 3.1.1

        Also, for people who have mobility or transport challenges, it's not easy to get to a chemist warehouse even in cities which have them. It's another barrier for marginalised people.

        Pharmacies are convenient and usually situated close to GP clinics for that reason. Now people get the same service at the local pharmacy as they do at the chemist warehouse.

        Much more tidy and fair.

    • roy cartland 3.2

      Actually, no I haven't. What is it, what's so good about it?

    • Chemist Warehouse is an Australian business. We support our local Chemist, and purchase some items online from CW. It is important to support local where possible, and to keep employment and easy access.

    • Jilly Bee 3.4

      Jeepers Alan, do you want me to drive from Matamata to Hamilton or Tauranga every three months to get my regular meds, with the cost of petrol and parking charges thrown in for good measure. Last I heard, the Chemist Warehouse don't do online prescriptions and there would be a mailing charge to have them posted.

    • newsense 3.5

      National gummit policy -funded and by Aussie chains.
      Can’t wait to see them bring this compassion to Cyclone recovery and climate change!

  4. Tiger Mountain 4

    I have seen people in Far North Chemists pick which of multiple prescription items they will take. Sometimes I have offered to pay for them as politely as possible, as have others, while the Chemists look on opaquely.

    Strangely enough given Ms Willis’s statement that Natzos will reinstitute the $5 charge, ex Whangārei MP Dr Shane Reti used to make it a thing in the local community about his personally paying for people’s scripts too…

  5. Reality 5

    Nicola Willis' statement people can go to Chemist Warehouse is plain silly. Chemist Warehouse is not in all towns throughout New Zealand. A bit like saying go to the cheapest petrol station 40 kms away.

    • James Simpson 5.1

      It is online though

    • lprent 5.2

      “And you have the Chemist Warehouse offering all prescriptions for free. So, in effect, the Government ends up subsidising that and also subsidising a lot of higher-income people who are perfectly happy to pay that charge.”

      Nicola Willis' statement people can go to Chemist Warehouse is plain silly.

      My thought exactly.

      The thought of elitist idiot so divorced from reality that she clearly is incapable of looking at a website.

      https://www.chemistwarehouse.co.nz/aboutus/store-locator

      No store in Rotorua when my pensioner father lives. No store in Otaki, Invercargill, or just about anywhere where parts of my family live outside of Auckland and Christchurch.

      Does she think that prescription drugs can be sold online in NZ? Because they cannot and for good reason. The Medicines Act 1984 is pretty specific about the handling of any prescription medicines. Essentially prescriptions get filled out in store at Chemist Warehouse or Countdown or almost anywhere else that they are dispensed.

      Not to mention various international treaties that we are subject to.

      I guess that people living too far from a Chemist Warehouse just aren't real people according to National.

      Have to say that was a really stupid statement she made. Even for a conservative.

  6. Adrian 6

    This blurt of Willis’s appears to be evidence that they are worried about ACT eating into their base, ….or, as much as I hate to agree with Cam Slater.. she just might really be a bit thick.

    • Shanreagh 6.1

      Well to come out so quickly, and possibly without much thought perhaps she has muddled the 'up here for thinking and down here for dancing' parts of the human body….or is she starting an excrutiatingly boring argument about angels dancing on pinheads?

      While the inital reaction is to wonder if this might have been better targetted we then have to cost the processes to do this targetting. No child or adult in need should have their prescriptions left in a chemist's to be collected basket because of cost. That is not how they work.

  7. observer 7

    There's abundant data on prescription charges (and plenty of overseas evidence, we're not the only country that has pharmacies).

    It's not just about five bucks. It's about improving health outcomes and therefore saving taxpayers' money.

    No good argument against scrapping the charge, only blinkered rejection of evidence.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300801182/scrapping-5-prescription-fee-could-help-improve-kiwis-health-outcomes–study

  8. Well, whatever the impact of the lifting of the pharmacy charges National has bitten thus underlining the lasting impact of the tale that includes

    'come into my parlour said the spider to the fly……….'

    And having bitten will find it hard to untangle themselves.

  9. Reality 9

    Chemist Warehouses are not situated in every suburb even in those cities where they are. Whereas pharmacies are local and convenient, and avoid having to traipse across to the CW on the other side of town using petrol and taking up time. For a so-called intelligent woman, Nicola Willis is incredibly stupid.

  10. Adrian 10

    Going by the recent statement and others I've heard her pontificate on I rather think that she is exactly that, not very intelligent, hell, even Cam Slater agrees with me.

    • fender 10.1

      I'm only guessing here, but I think a few years ago Slater would have been in agreement with Willis.

      But now that he's in need of more medication his attitude has changed.

      It's how RWNJ's roll.

      • woodart 10.1.1

        ill health turns everybody socialist.

        • fender 10.1.1.1

          I have no idea and little interest in what the tone of Slaters activism is these days, but I'd be incredibly surprised if it could be described as socialist. Accusing him of that would be the worst insult imaginable to him I'd have thought.

  11. Stephen D 11

    We're with you Patricia. We use CW for vitamins and the occasional specialist product. Our local Unichem for everything else.

    What I don't want to see is what happened to small towns when The Warehouse opened up. Lots of small mum and dad shops going bust.

    • Shanreagh 11.1

      I use local chemist (unbranded) and for vitamins etc use Health Post which is a NZ company based in Golden Bay and which has an active revegetation programme that they subscribe to. This combo suits me on many levels even to the ability to recycle their sustainable packaging to send my TM sales out in.

      Most of the time you can get a special that oiffers free postage

      https://www.healthpost.co.nz/

    • Yes Stephen, we moan about the groceries, so we need to support our local Chemists. Our son had a Chemist friend. It was a very competitive field. He now does relief work in the Waikato, as there were too many chemists in Rotorua at that time. It is a demanding role, made more so with the arrival of covid.

  12. Descendant Of Smith 12

    Luxon's response is just as moronic.

    Asked about National's position, Luxon said the party didn't support the policy being universal – meaning it applies to everyone.

    "I don't think it makes a lot of sense that someone like me gets the benefit of that," he said.

    However, he said he did see the need for helping those who "most desperately need it".

    "I think targeting it to people with community services cards, for example, targeting to people with super gold cards would actually be the way in which we would go about doing that."

    For people who are "doing it really tough" or "low-income folk and elderly folk", Luxon said there is a "really good case for actually giving targeted support and certainly making free prescriptions available for them."

    He said: "I think if I can pay, I should pay".

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/budget-2023-christopher-luxon-clarifies-national-s-stance-on-5-prescription-fee.html

    His position on prescription charges is that they should be targeted to people who are struggling i.e. not himself

    His position on tax cuts is that the most well=off should benefit the most i.e. himself.

    I'm so in favour of universal assistance with the cost to the well-off being gained back through higher taxation rates.

    It is simpler, easier and cheaper to administer, you don't have to worry about moving the margins etc due to bracket creep and so on.

    It is in effect what we used to do with universal family benefit and what we do with NZS. On super and want to still work – you can do so but your total income will be progressively taxed.

    Tax cuts have just resulted in service reduction and user pays. If you are happy to pay for your prescription costs Mr Luxon then you should be happy to pay the extra tax to cover the cost. If you want less bureaucracy and fewer public servants then shove targeting out the window and support increased tax rates for those who may not need the assistance.

    Too many well off have benefit envy since we started getting rid of universal assistance for tax cuts. They have the cuts but then moan their heads off about the bludgers getting what everyone used to get. Up their tax and give it back to them.

    Universal family benefit
    Free medicine
    Tax rebates for non-working partners (would be interesting to see then how fewer people there would be on sole parent benefits)
    Free education

    The rich too can have it all. Targeting in a third world economy is just bull-shit.

    • woodart 12.1

      luxos line will come back to haunt him. "if I can pay,I should pay" what a campaign statement!!!

      • Descendant Of Smith 12.1.1

        Reminds me of Timothy Hutton in Turk 182.

        Who knew, Zimmerman knew"

        Has the same catchy tone.

  13. Daniel 13

    "So why is a tax cut good but a reduction in Government charges bad?"

    I'd be happy to answer your rhetorical question.

    Cause the people who can't afford $5 prescriptions don't deserve medication. Living in mouldy homes, not being able to afford healthy food, their genetics, and other poor lifestyle choices or their own making is what made them sick. We'd only be encouraging them.

    We're also meant to be moving towards a user-pays medical system. The market is the best judge at who needs treatment by limiting it to those capable of paying for it. You can't deny how much more efficient the American system is. That's what we need to be aiming for, we can't have Australia beat us to it.

  14. alwyn 14

    There is a very simple way to make every household better off.

    Leave the $5/item on prescriptions and retain the limit on the maximum that a household has to pay. Then raise the first tax threshold from $14,000 to $15,500. It is difficult to see how you could have a household where no-one at all was receiving an income of at least this amount. As long as there was one person in the household who was getting income of this amount you would have your tax reduced by $105/year which is more than any household has to pay for prescriptions.

    Anyone in a household that had more than one income earner in the over $14,000 bracket or where the household had less than 20 prescriptions/year would be even better off.

    How many households don't have anyone with an income of $14,500?

    • Descendant Of Smith 14.1

      That's still less simple than just removing the cost and assumes that people still won't choose food or rent before medicine and so the aims of ensuring people get their medicine still won't be achieved.

    • lprent 14.2

      Offhand…. I pay more than $105/year in prescriptions on my own. So you’re wanting a whole household to get all of their prescriptions for $105/year?

      Also you have to remember that that these all pay tax.

      Someone on unemployment benefit?
      Someone on superannuation?
      Someone on sickness benefit?

      Oh I see what you mean – these are non-people? /sneer

      But you’re making it a complicated system than what exists already. The pharmacies already put in a claim for prescriptions. This is exactly what they are doing now. The system exists. The accounting exists.

      Are you really interested in inventing extra work because it makes some idiot politician look less like and idiot? Or is this just being punitive and making more work for everyone so everything gets less efficient.

      Mind you that is the classic trade mark of Act and National – inefficient solutions because they make better slogans for the mindless fools who vote for them,

      • alwyn 14.2.1

        "I pay more than $105/year in prescriptions on my own"

        Perhaps I can suggest a way to save you a little money then. I am assuming that they are medicines funded by Pharmac? If they aren't this will not apply but neither will the proposed "free" prescriptions. Read this link. The most important bit is this but that that the 20 is prescriptions for all the people in the family..

        "If you’ve paid for 20 prescriptions in a year (from 1 February), you won’t have to pay the $5 charge for any new prescriptions until 1 February the next year."

        https://www.govt.nz/browse/health/gps-and-prescriptions/prescription-subsidy-scheme/

        If these people pay tax, and get more than $15,500/year thay will under my scheme pay less tax. Don't you want people on benefits to pay less tax? Are they "non-people" and do you really sneer at them?

        "in inventing extra work"? Well no. There is nothing new to do. They do it all already.

    • Alwyn last visit to the Dr. was $19 x2 plus $40 x2 for our scripts. $118 with the community services card.

      We get four lots of meds a year. granted after 20 items it becomes free. The point being, you have to pick up and pay to reach that 20 items. Some couldn't afford that.

      • alwyn 14.3.1

        "Some couldn't afford that".

        I quite agree it is expensive for any medical care. The reason I nominated the tax rate change was purely to provide a means where the $5 charge for the first 20 prescriptions would be covered by the tax cut. At the moment the first $14,000 is taxed at 10.5% and from $14,000 to $48,000 at 17.5 %.

        This on your first $15,500 on my scheme you would pay $1,627.50 whereas you now pay $1,732.5. This is where the $105 comes from which exceeds the $100 you have to pay now. Technically the cut in the tax rate would cover the levy and one should be very slightly better off.

        I hope Lprent reads this. It seems to me that if he really is paying more than $100 for his prescriptions he should be complaining to his Pharmacist. They should have told him about it.

        If he is getting drugs that Pharmac doesn't fully subsidise of course all bets are off. However the new scheme isn't going to help him anyway as it won't cover any but the basic items.

        • Patricia Bremner 14.3.1.1

          Read Act's Policy Alwyn. They want 17.5 % tax on the lowest level.

          • alwyn 14.3.1.1.1

            Perhaps you should read a little further they apparently also say that there would be a rebate at low incomes.

            "In order to ensure that every earner would receive a tax cut, ACT would also create a new Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO), starting in fiscal year 2022/23. This tax offset would be worth $800 per annum for all earners earning between $12,000 and $48,000.".

            At a glance that would appear to balance out the extension of the 17.5% at the bottom.

            I am talking about the difference between National and Labour of course. I really don't think that the income tax policies of ACT, or TPM for that matter are going to take effect in 2024

  15. Jeff Busbridge 15

    So National are opposed to removing the $5 charge because the rich can afford it yet the rich need a far greater tax cut? They really have made a meal out of this bless them.

  16. Reality 16

    Bizarre – Luxon wants to pay for his prescriptions, but wants an $18,000 a year tax cut!

  17. tsmithfield 17

    A question I have about the prescription charges is, should the government be subsidising big business? Because, presumably, the Chemist Warehouse and Countdown, that were doing prescriptions for free will now have the government pick up the tab for them.

    • Belladonna 17.1

      I suspect that both were using it as a publicity 'loss leader' – getting people to source prescriptions there in the hope that they'd then buy other stuff.

      I'm sure that both are sufficiently well-resourced to come up with another marketing gimmick.

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  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    15 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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