National’s big win

Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, May 3rd, 2012 - 86 comments
Categories: accountability, election 2011, john banks, john key, leadership - Tags: ,

The sheer volume of ill-informed commentary about National’s “big win” after the last election was mind boggling. Stuck in old FPP thinking? John Key fanboi-ism? Unable to see past the two big parties? Whatever the cause, it was all such a crock. In reality National’s majority was reduced to a razor-thin one vote in parliament.

If any good is to come of the John Banks implosion, perhaps it will be to drive a stake through the heart of the big win myth. Key has to wake up every morning and do the numbers. His government hangs by a rotten thread. That rotten thread is John Banks. If Banks goes, the Nat’s legislative agenda is in trouble. Zetetic set out the consequences very clearly in this post: If Banks resigns.

That’s the reason they can’t afford to stand Banks down. Instead they have to burn what’s left of Key’s political credibility, as he abandons the ethical standards of the Cabinet Manual, and sets the bar at “may not have broken the law” (actual quotes here).

Banks is a self-confessed liar. Banks is prepared to stoop to any depths (the transcript here is unbelievable). And Key repeatedly insists that Banks is fit to be a Minister in his government. Because he has to. Such is the strength of National’s big win in 2011…

86 comments on “National’s big win ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    The fuse on Bank’s case is going to keep burning. Now, to open up a second front on the NATs with another scandal and another Minister. Should be a piece of cake to find.

    • Kotahi Tane Huna 1.1

      John Banks is the MP for Kim.com

      John Key is the MP for Sky City.

      Who do Steven Joyce and Gerry Brownlee represent?

      • Leavin 1.1.1

        Joyce MP for Media Works and other numerous old boy fraternities,

        Brownlee MP for Canterbury property developers and major insurance companies.

      • jack 1.1.2

        Road lobby

    • Hami Shearlie 1.2

      Yes, it could happen CV!! i-Predict seem to think that Maurice Williamson may be stood down? Hmmmmmm…….

      • Leavin 1.2.1

        @ Hami, Williamson MP for Chinese capital? With links to the Wongs, Shipley perhaps…

  2. dd 2

    Can’t Banks just be stood down from his ministertial positions and they keep things as status quo?

    • Colonial Viper 2.1

      Bank’s isn’t giving up a peanut voluntarily. The NATs also need him in Cabinet as right wing cover for their policies.

    • They could try but I don’t think the criticism is going to let up until he resigns, deliberated electoral fraud ought to be one of the highest crimes in our country, and people take this sort of thing seriously, especially when the media actually covers it.

  3. chris73 3

    This is like deja vu all over again

    • Frida 3.1

      Nice tautology. You must have had the same English teacher as James 111.

      • chris73 3.1.1

        You don’t see parallels with previous governments?

        • Frida 3.1.1.1

          Sorry Chris, I was being a grammar nazi. Hadn’t had my morning coffee and you saying “deja vu” and “all over again” in the same sentence when they mean the same thing is something that irritates me (along with inappropriate use of the apostrophe, that kind of thing). So basically I was being a sarcastic cow and I apologise. My reference to James111 was because he can barely spell or string a sentence.

          As for the substance of your question. I haven’t spent, and don’t intend to spend, any time comparing the current stinking mess to anything that went on in previous Governments. I don’t buy into that “they did it so now we’re doing it” mode of politics personally. The point is that what is going on currently is a breach of the Cabinet Manual and Banks should stand down.

          I also don’t see why Key is delaying on this given National would probably win a by-election. So what puzzles me is what are Key’s reasons? Is it because without ACT, National can’t push through some of its more extreme policies like charter schools? (or it can, but it will risk alienating its moderate, centrist voters). Or is it something more sinister, namely that Banks knows things about Key and National that, given his propensity to bizarre little tantrums, he will reveal if pushed.

          It’s all fascinating.

          Not that I’m complaining, the longer this is strung out, the more damage that will inevitably be done.

          • chris73 3.1.1.1.1

            Don’t worry about it, its just an obscure quote by Yogi Berra

            My view is not so much “they did it before so its ok we do it now” but why do they (both parties) do it so often

            As for Banks he should go but when it comes down to it JK had to take the word of an MP over the word of a convicted fraudster didn’t he? (mind you how he got into this country being a convicted fraudster is another matter entirely)

            I agree It is fascinating though

            • Clashman 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Whats Banks doing accepting donations from and advocating for a convicted fraudster?

              • chris73

                Playing devils advocate I’d say he probably thinks Kim did his time and served his sentence

                • ScottGN

                  If that’s the case then surely his word ought to be as good as anyone else including an MP’s?

                • rosy

                  “Whats Banks doing accepting donations from and advocating for a convicted fraudster?”

                  Maybe he has fondness for dubious business people, or maybe they just donate to a dubious politician more easily.

                  The latest developments came as Banks admitted he had dinner at the home of former Natural Dairy boss Jack Chen with bankrupt May Wang – who are now facing corruption charges in Hong Kong.

                  A source close to Banks’ mayoralty campaign team believed Chen had offered up to $50,000 at the dinner.

                  Banks says he did not recall either Chen or Wang “offering to give him support or a donation”.

                  Now that’s interesting… I linked to an item on stuff “ACT-chief-retracts-statement-on-Dotcom-gift” to get that quote.

                  10 hours later it links to ‘Banks: “I never pay full price at hotels”‘ with no mention of the dinner with the dubious rejected buyer of Crafar farms – bankrupt May Wang and Jack Chen at Chen’s home.

                  To get the one about the Natural Dairy dinner …
                  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6851457/ACT-chief-retracts-statement-on-Dotcom-gift

            • Matthew Whitehead 3.1.1.1.1.2

              No, he could have simply suspended Banks’ ministerial roles during an investigation. That isn’t taking anyone’s word, and would have been the fairest course for all. If Banks were vindicated and had borne the suspension well, it would bolster his incredibly low popularity, and if he had indeed been involved in conduct unbefitting a minister, Key could “ask for him to resign” and then “suprised” and “upset” when he refused.

              You can still spin the system while acting as if you give a rats ass about ministerial standards, let alone ACTUALLY caring about them. The problem is that National has gotten so complacent and lazy they’ve stopped bothering with image management, and it’s really hurting them in the long term, whether it will be reflected in the polls yet or not. (kinda hard to tell at this point)

          • weka 3.1.1.1.2

            “I also don’t see why Key is delaying on this given National would probably win a by-election.”

            Read the ‘If Banks resigns’ link in the post. It’s explained there.

      • happynz 3.1.2

        I believe he was quoting the late great Yogi Berra who also came up with such gems as ‘It ain’t over until it’s over’, ‘It ain’t over until the fat lady sings’, ‘If you come to a fork in the road – take it’, and my personal favourite, ‘Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.’

        In light of the latest political fallout maybe Banks could use this Yogi quote, ‘ I didn’t really say everything I said.’

        • chris73 3.1.2.1

          Aye

          • McFlock 3.1.2.1.1

            The other one that seems apt to many recent events is “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

  4. Nationals win was the biggest win of any single party since MMP was implemented. Whether that translates to seats is a different story. But the win was big in relation to single party votes. 

    • That’s like saying winning a rugby game by one point is the biggest win ever for the MVP. It doesn’t matter how big your party is, the problem is that National is hemorrhaging coalition partners and probably won’t be able to form a stable government even if Labour doesn’t manage to form one first after the next election.

      • It isn’t like that at all. National got the biggest win of any single party under an MMP election. That they don’t have a bigger majority is cast upon lack of coalition partners not Nationals overall vote tally. They still beat their nearest rival in a huge rout. it is a big win, one seat majority or not

        • Yes it is, and I am saying that in MMP, a coalition is a rugby team and a party’s vote share is a player’s performance.

          My point is that, despite being the biggest party, National barely scraped a government because they essentially have one star player whose incredible performance just held the line- that would be National in this analogy- whereas the opposition had a team that almost won despite not giving a stellar performance individually. (Well, you could argue that the Greens were the opposition’s star player in this little extended metaphor)

          In that situation, you could talk about the MVP having the best game yet, but that isn’t a valid way to describe the outcome of the game, which is actually barely a victory, and headlining a match that way is terrible reporting- just like describing this election as a “big win” for National rather than “barely holding the line due to eating your coalition partners’ votes” is dishonest.

          Coalition partners count, and National’s inability to win when its coalition partners are healthy is a huge downside in an MMP environment.

        • Puddleglum 4.1.1.2

          Hi TheContrarian,

          I think you’re confusing the word ‘win’ with the word ‘result’. 

          It was a big result for National, but, on its own, it did not allow them to ‘win’ the treasury benches. 

      • Pete George 4.1.2

        The All Blacks didn’t win the RWC by many points, but it was regarded as a huge win in rugby.

        Similar for National. Except that they scored a lot more votes than Labour in a multi team contest.

        • TheContrarian 4.1.2.1

          Say in the 2008 election National got 50 points and Labour, the next nearest challenger, got 48.
          Not a big win but a win.
          In 2011 National receives 52 but the next nearest party receives only 30.
          That is a big win even if National only increased their total by 2.
           

          • lprent 4.1.2.1.1

            The ONLY thing that matters in a parliamentary democracy is being able to form a government. Sitting around comparing dick sizes like you are doing is just politically juvenile.

            Have you missed the last 15 or more years? You know – since MMP came in?

            National managed to cobble together a coalition government in 2011 with less seats in 2008. That was because they’d sucked up almost all of the vote from one coalition partner – Act. Another coalition party dropped vote like a stone. And even the final coalition party lost vote. In fact even with all of that – National also lost vote.

            The only thing that kept the coalition in power was a low turnout… But I guess you are too dumb to understand actual politics…

            • TheContrarian 4.1.2.1.1.1

              “The only thing that kept the coalition in power was a low turnout” 
              You know how all those that didn’t vote would have, do you? 

              I am fully aware that forming a government is what matters but National won bigger than any other party ever has before with 48%. That is greater than any single party since 1996. Fact. A big win for a single party. Fact.

              “But I guess you are too dumb to understand actual politics…”
              *Cough, on my way to a MBA in political science, cough*

              • Te Reo Putake

                They say the first term is the hardest, Contrarian. Good luck with the next few years, it appears you’ll need it.

                • First term? Well beyond that my friend. Though it has taken me twice as long as others because I have a busy job so can’t study fulltime.

              • Draco T Bastard

                You know how all those that didn’t vote would have, do you?

                Statistics show that the majority of the non-voters, if they’d voted, would have voted left. That’s been known for decades.

                • “Statistics show that the majority of the non-voters, if they’d voted, would have voted left.”
                  You wanna provide those statistics?

                • I see you haven’t substantiated that. Regardless, what if it’s true? Are those on the borderline of voting more likely to vote centre/slightly right or centre/a bit left? Or any other way?

                  I bet you there were quite a few voters who tended National but didn’t vote becasuew the didn’t want National to get too much vote and rule on their own, but wouldn’t vote for anyone else.

                  It’s well known that Greens tend to poll higher than they get votes, suggesting a few that way inclined are non voters,

                  And how do you measure if any of the 999,998 others wer close but just didn’t quite vote for Labour, and how many couldn’t be dragged to a booth to vote for them this time.

                  It’s impossible to measure the many possibilities. Crying over non-voters is futile anyway, what happens on the day is what counts. National went up a bit, Labour went down quite a bit.

                  • felix

                    Absolutely, what happens on the day is what counts, but you’ve missed out the most exciting bits.

                    National went up a bit,
                    Labour went down quite a bit,
                    ACT almost sank back into the primordial swamp,
                    the Greens went up a LOT, and
                    Winston did too, from nowhere.

                    The result of all of which meant the National-led coalition slipped down a few rungs and now their majority hangs by a thread.

                  • Pete can you take your shoes and socks off and those of 5 of your friends and using one finger or toe for each MP work out how many MPs support the Government and how many oppose the Government?

                    You might also think which digit represents Petey Hairdo.  I thought someone’s middle finger, suitably extended with the rest of the digits folded would be appropriate.

              • Pascal's bookie

                I am fully aware that forming a government is what matters

                Good.

                but National won bigger than any other party ever has before with 48%.

                Fascinating, but we agree that “forming a government is what matters”, so this raises the question of “So what?” (I will note here though that I take issue with your use of ‘won bigger’ here)

                That is greater than any single party since 1996. Fact.

                Again, so what? Forming a government is what matters, as we’ve agreed.

                A big win for a single party. Fact.

                Nope. This doesn’t follow at all. We agree forming a government is what matters, so the margin by which you can form a government is what defines winning. The National party did not form a government, it is in a coalition, so it didn”t win the election at all. The best you can say is that they are far and way the largest party in the winning coalition, which has a majority of 1 (one).

                For your argument, contradictory as it is, to make any sense at all, you would also have to say that in an election with the following result:

                National 44%,
                Labour 28%
                Greens 28%

                The National party had a big ‘win’. Afterall, they got half as many votes again as their nearest rivals, the parties that would be sitting on the treasury benches.

                But I’m glad we agree that they would have lost that election, in spite of their solid ‘win’.

                The law of non-contradiction can go and get fucked I guess.

                *Cough, on my way to a MBA in political science, cough*

                Got long to go?

                • So you wouldn’t consider receiving the largest amount of votes in any MMP election a big win despite not receiving enough to govern alone? That is the crux buddy and isn’t contradictory in the slightest.

                  Oh yeah, as I said above I have longer to go than I would like because I have a fulltime job and I travel a lot so I can’t study full-time. I am well over half way there though

                  • Pascal's bookie

                    It is contradictory if you agree that winning government is what matters.

                    If winning goverment is what matters, then not winning government is not a win. That’s definitional.

                    It can still be a good result perhaps. But context matters, and the context that matters is that forming a government is what counts.

                    In that hypothetical election result I outlined above, (48 V 28+28), is that a win, or a loss for National, or is it both?

                    • Semantics, man. That is just semantics.

                      While making the government is what matters when actually running the country, grabbing 48% of all votes, beating your nearest rival into its worst result in….how ever many years (don’t have the numbers in front of me), securing the biggest electoral result of any single party all the while running on some deeply unpopular policies is a big win. It shows a big win in the level of support for the party. Though I would use the words “Huge achievement”.

                      In your hypothetical I would call it a big win for The Greens

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      It is semantics yes. But there’s nothing ‘just’ or ‘mere’ about semantics.

                      Semantics is about focussing on what words mean, and using them clearly so that the sense of an argument can agreed upon, and debated.

                      Many arguments come down to semantics; ie, making sure that people are using the same words in the same way, or identifying where they are using them in different ways. If you do not do this, the actual disagreement cannot be identified.

                      Quite often, when someone ‘complains’ about a discussion of the semantics, it’s a sign that their position is under threat by a discussion aimed at making clear how words in the argument are being used.

                      I’m sure that’s not what’s going here though.

                      I’m glad though, that you now agree with me that it is better to describe National’s result as a huge achievement, rather than a win. there are some historic facts in there.

                      The thing with facts though, is that they are only meaningful upon interpretation. By themselves, they don’t tell a story, they can give knowledge of a type, but not an understanding, if you catch my drift.

                      Context is everything.

                      Tell me, even if you haven’t been doing any classics in your work towards MBA in Politics, you must of heard of Pyrrhus?

                    • Hey man, that was cool story about semantics.

                      You are referring to Pyrrhic victory, no?

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      Gosh. Not very good at the whole contrarian thing are we.

                      Poor use of the ‘cool story bro’ meme. Looked weak rather than bored; it only really works when you’ve actually addressed the arguments in previous comments and are using it to show that the person you are dismissing is just repeating themselves, or engaging in sophistry.

                      And in any case, it got lame as a meme last thursday.

                    • That’s an even better story.

                    • Oh yeah, I think your username is fairly clever. Some wry humour there

                    • felix

                      Hey C, the detached and slightly aloof vibe you’ve been trying to project for the last three comments doesn’t really work if you keep checking in like a lab rat at a feeder.

                      It’s too late this time, but something to remember for your next handle.

                    • I am just keeping busy while I wait for dinner to be ready

                    • felix

                      Oh good, say hi to your Mum for me.

                    • She’s dead, my dad lives overseas and my wife is on the couch.
                      But it was pretty funny what you did there

                    • felix

                      Yeah I thought so. Still no answer to P’s b then?

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      I think he’d rather talk about my handle Felix.

                      Have it son

                      I doubt it’s what you think, you’re not contrarian enough.

                    • Ah, the welcoming committee in action. Standard initiation.

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      More nasty smears pete?

                      I tried to engage NZ Contrarian’s argument, but he sort of ran away from the discussion and resorted to near-decade-old 4chan memes.

                      I am genuinely disappointed. He talks a big game over at his blog, so I wanted to have a chat with him, and see where he’s coming fro;, what he’s got, so to speak.

                      No need for you to butt in.

                    • “what he’s got, so to speak.”

                      Yeah, I get that. It becomes a bit obvious.

                      Sorry, I didn’t realise this was a private thread. How do you you mark your territory? I didn’t notice the Keep Out sign.

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      Yeah, I’m arguing with someone who calls himself ‘contrarian’ and has a blog where he says he likes to argue with people.

                      What an awful thing to do.

                      But I’m off to bed now, have to get up at four.

                      See ya later Contro.

                    • felix

                      Oh come on Pete, out of sheer goodwill I walked away from a VERY EASY PUNCHLINE back at 8:02.

                      And it was just sitting there for the taking too, staring me in the face. That must count for something.

                    • See you tomorrow buddy.

              • McFlock

                *Cough, on my way to a MBA in political science, cough*

                         
                MA, surely? 🙂

                 

            • Pete George 4.1.2.1.1.2

              Working on a frustrating bug?

              National also lost vote.

              2008 1,053,398
              2011 1,058,636

              I won’t show Labour’s vote, you probably know that in binary.

              And I understand that in politics, low turnout could affect any of the parties. Labourites seem to have a belief that the million that didn’t turn up were all their’s, if only they understod…

              • Te Reo Putake

                “Labourites seem to have a belief that the million that didn’t turn up were all their’s, if only they understod…”
                 
                Keep repeating that line Pete, it must be true if you think its true.

                • They were Petey, Labour does better when the turnout is up.  But that is one of those fact things that you do not like using so I can understand why you would want to argue something entirely different.

                  • Takingthegreg, that’s not a fact, that’s you claiming something, again unsubstantiated. I know you’re above having to botehr doing that here but it means as much as, well, actually, it doesn’t mean as much as your failure to endorse and show support for David Shearer. I apologise if you did that on another thread, I don’t read them all.

                    • Petey because I do not bother to respond to your blather does not mean I agree with it.

                      The trouble is you do not have the slightest understanding of the significance of election results whereas I have at least over the years been a very keen student of them.  This does not prevent you from thinking that your opinion is superior and you should broadcast it but can’t you actually think before commenting? 

                    • Ok, still avoiding it. I wasn’t asking you to agree, I was asking you to be brave and actually stand up and say what you think, but you don’t seem to be big on doing that. Keep diverting.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Fact, actually, Pete. Turnouts above 90% pretty much always return Labour Governments, turnouts below 90% pretty much always return your lot.
                       
                      At least that’s what the records say.

                    • They don’t say anything, they’re just numbers.

                      1993 85.2 – National win
                      1996 increased to 88.3, National win again
                      1999 dropped to 84.8, Labour win
                      2002 dropped to 77.0, Labour win, National voters stayed at home
                      2005 increased to 80.9, Labour still win
                      2008 dropped to 79.5, National win
                      2011 dropped to 74.2, National win

                      Seems to be mixed messages there. You also have to consider on top of those numbers a general trend for voting percentages to drop worldwide.

                      Have you considered the weather on voting day?

                    • lprent []

                      Weather has a lot less of an effect than the pundits credit it with – at least in NZ.

                      You need to look at how National “won”. In 1996 NZ First won. In 2002 the worm elected some hair. In 1999 the Alliance “won”.

                      2005, 2008, and 2011 produced extremely weak coalitions with very small majorities.

                      National haven’t won since 1993, and Labour hasn’t won since 1987. You appear to still be stuck in thinking it is still a political system we dropped nearly 20 years ago.

                      What wins are coalitions. It is the parliamentary position of minor parties that determines what major party forms the coalition. Which is why National did really well last election – but is making an arse of themselves to keep the one vote they need to pass legislation that they have little support for. No significiant coalition partners left – just left over relics of the past.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Yeah, facts are so tricky, Pete. Better to just ask tiresome questions and ignore the answers. There’s 80 years of elections there, you focus on the last decade. What a bore.

                    • Recent history is the most relevant in today’s political and social environment.

                      I see the turnout dropped substantially in 1919, why was that? Also 1943, at least Labour existed then.

                      Back to more recent, 1984 when Lange won, highest turnout since 1957. How do you explain that?

                    • Back to more recent, 1984 when Lange won, highest turnout since 1957. How do you explain that?

                      Precisely.  High turnout, change to Labour.  See the pattern yet Petey?

                      And 1993 under MMP would have been a left victory as in 1996 except Peter campaigned like a left winger but supported National, 2002 agreed national were that bad their supporters stayed at home, 2005 turnout up Labour wins, 2008 and 2011 down National wins …

          • Matthew Whitehead 4.1.2.1.2

            Sigh.

            National and Labour have never won alone in MMP, and their individual performance only becomes relevant if they do get 61+ MPs outright. Until then, National eking out a government by going into coalition with two microparties with less than 50% of the vote total does not a “huge win” make. It just means that National convinced its allies it should have more of their barely sufficient vote.

            Sidebar: Any party that forms a government supported by less than 50% of the vote has not really “won” the election anyway, big or small.

  5. james 111 5

    This goes to show how bad MMP is for the country. Because only 27% voted for Labour, they didnt want a government led by Labour, and 48% voted for National ,and wanted a Government led by National
    I would much rather a Government didnt have to do cosy deals to stay in power. They put in place what they said they were going to do and are judged on that by the voting public.
    Where you have MMP such as we do you have ineffective Government that cant take the bold decisions that are required

    • Pete 5.1

      James – unlike most other western nations we have very few checks on our legislature. We don’t have an upper chamber, we don’t have supreme law the courts can use to strike down legislation and we don’t have a head of state with the power of veto. All these things slow down “bold decisions” in other democracies and they seem to manage okay. MMP is the best thing we could come up with to moderate government action here, aside from the select committee process that too often seems to be ignored through the use of urgency.

      It’s actually very rare that boldness is necessary – really only in wartime or civil emergency. The rest of the time government should be deliberate and cautious in the decisions it makes. I guess my outlook makes me a little more conservative than you (but with a social democratic bent).

      • Yeah, there’s definitely a good argument that it’s too easy to pass laws in New Zealand. In some ways Labour might actually have been hurt by that fact in their campaign for a fourth term.

    • MMP isn’t about voting for the leader of the government. It’s about (almost) everyone’s vote being counted, and Parliament being roughly proportional to those party votes while still getting local electorate MPs.

      (also, if 52% of MPs comprise the parties forming a government, it has roughly 52% of the voting public’s support. That’s much better than the largest party always winning, as that lead to situations like when the Alliance got 15% of the vote and one MP)

      If you want us to vote for a leader, I suggest you start campaigning for a presidential executive in our future republic.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1

        (also, if 52% of MPs comprise the parties forming a government, it has roughly 52% of the voting public’s support. That’s much better than the largest party always winning, as that lead to situations like when the Alliance got 15% of the vote and one MP)

        And the times that the “winning” party had less votes than the party that came “second.”

        • I think you mean the times that a majority government had less votes than the opposition. 😉

          Oh wait, that’s this parliament too, it’s just that the margin is smaller now. Looks like we have some problems to fix after all, like abolishing electorates.

    • mike e 5.3

      Jturd Can’t handle democracy 1 person 1 vote Most kiwi’s voted for MMP!
      Get over it.

  6. Pete George @ 7:24pm, “I see you haven’t substantiated that” – referring to Draco T Bastard’s claim that, “Statistics show that the majority of the non-voters, if they’d voted, would have voted left.”  

    Pete George @ 9:34pm, “2002 dropped to 77.0, Labour win, National voters stayed at home” 

    OK, so presumably you have some ‘substantiation’ that, in 2002, “National voters stayed at home“?

    Given that history is such a poor guide to making assumptions about the inclinations of non-voters, who knows, maybe in 2002 all those people who didn’t vote were McGillicuddy Serious Party supporters who heeded their party’s call not to vote for them.

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours 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
    9 hours 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
    9 hours 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
    24 hours 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
    24 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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 ...
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    3 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
    3 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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 ...
    4 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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. ...
    4 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days 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
    5 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    5 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    6 days ago
  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    1 week ago
  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    4 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
    6 days 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
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
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