National’s electoral returns and the Donghua Liu donation

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, February 25th, 2015 - 41 comments
Categories: john key, national, uncategorized - Tags: ,

National has been busy constructing a story around recent news concerning Donghua Liu’s donation of $25,000.  The proposition is that John Key went to Donghua Liu’s place for dinner, that Liu then gave a significant donation but it was not to the party or to Liu’s BFF Maurice Williamson who found Liu a house, set up meetings with successive Immigration Ministers for him and even sacrificed his ministerial career by interfering in a police prosecution of Liu.  No not to the top man John Key, not to the National Party, not to Williamson, but to a nondescript back bencher who tagged along with Key to the dinner.

How likely is that?

The motivation is clear.  If news of a donation by Liu to National had been published the day before Williamson resigned for interfering in a police prosecution it would have been incendiary.

In the Herald story National claimed that the donation was to the Botany Cabinet Club.  This particular club has the unique feature that donations to it or at least the Liu donation do not appear to be recorded in National’s yearly return of donations.  Apparently this particular cabinet club works under different rules to the rest of them.

Jamie-Lee has now filed his return of electoral expenses.  It is interesting that the Herald [may have been] given three days heads up on the story.  Perhaps National saw this as a way to lead the story with its own framing in particular suggesting that the donation was to Ross and not National.  The news was obviously going to break anyway as soon as Ross’s return was published.

I have had a look through the returns.  The figures are impressive.  There are some unusual features:

  • National spent on average $20,356 in each seat it contested.  By contrast Labour spent $9,199.84.  When you add in the party campaign figures ($2,558,211.53 verses $1,269,298.91) National spent twice as much on attributable expenses as Labour ($3.8 million verses $1.9 million).
  • Nikki Kaye is the only person to not declare any donations.  Either her local organisation is well funded or she has made a mistake which she may wish to correct.
  • The total of donations declared by National candidates is $1.262 million with over 80% of this being funded from National head office.
  • Talleys were a major private contributor giving $37,500 to different campaigns.
  • In 26 of the 41 National held seats the only donor was head office.  In the remaining 15 there was a single donor in nine of those seats with Talleys being the donor in three of those seats.  So in only six seats were there more than two private donors.
  • There is no sign of any Cabinet Club donations being recorded in any of the individual returns apart from in Ross’s return.

It seems clear that cabinet club donations are collected centrally, recorded in the party’s annual return and then distributed out to the local electorates.  National previously said that since Cabinet Club donations were declared everything was above board.

And the story, at least in the way that National presents it, keeps changing.  According to TV3 a couple of days ago:

Last year Mr Key’s office denied a dinner he had with Liu was a ‘Cabinet Club’ fundraiser. But today the story changed, after pictures emerged of the Prime Minister meeting Liu at his Remuera home – a meeting that at the height of last year’s donations saga, Mr Key didn’t want to talk about.

His office at the time said the mystery dinner wasn’t a contentious fundraiser, but today Mr Key said he knew it was a Cabinet Club dinner.

And …

Liu’s links to National have hurt the Government – most notably last year’s resignation by Maurice Williamson as a minister for interfering in Liu’s ongoing police case.

At the time, Mr Key was keen to keep his distance, admitting they’d met, but wouldn’t give specifics. However Mr Key’s office later said the pair met at a National Party fundraiser.

But today’s pictures reveal that fundraiser was actually the private dinner at Liu’s home – complete with a smiling Mr Key and National’s Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross.

When asked last year if it was a Cabinet Club dinner, the Prime Minister’s office replied in a statement simply saying no.

So what happened?  Maybe Key employs absolutely amateurish staff who put out information without running it past the boss to make sure that it is accurate.  Or maybe not.

So Key denied last year the dinner was a Cabinet Club dinner.  And his staff said it was not a contentious fundraiser the day after TV3 broke the news about cabinet clubs and on the same day that news about contentious Cabinet Club meetings for the Chinese was released.  Then this year it is said to be a cabinet club fundraiser but the donation is not declared by National even though it seems that it has declared other cabinet club donations.

The whole story is as fishy as Talley’s best products.

 

41 comments on “National’s electoral returns and the Donghua Liu donation ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Graeme Edgeler 1
    25 February 2015 at 11:30 am

    There’s no reason yet to believe that the Herald was given a heads up. Candidate returns had to be filed on 20 January, but the Commission doesn’t place them on-line until after the the party returns get in, about four weeks later. There’s no reason at present to believe that an enterprising Herald journalist didn’t simply go in and inspect the returns at the Electoral Commission 🙂

    • Tom Gould 1.1
      25 February 2015 at 11:41 am

      Indeed. The notion that the Tories and the Herald are in cahoots is preposterous. People who think otherwise need to get some guts and join the right side, eh?

    • mickysavage 1.2
      25 February 2015 at 11:53 am

      You might be right Graeme. Time will tell!

    • tracey 1.3
      25 February 2015 at 12:27 pm

      Graeme

      Would the returning of the donation have shown up, and how would anyone know to look for it?

    • veutoviper 1.4
      25 February 2015 at 1:06 pm

      Well put! LOL. Good to see someone undertaking some proactive investigation.

      BUT – how did they get the photos of the dinner?

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.4.1
        25 February 2015 at 1:24 pm

        After the slap in the face I expect Liu supplied them.

      • Clemgeopin 1.4.2
        25 February 2015 at 9:35 pm

        “BUT – how did they get the photos of the dinner?”

        May be the ‘honest’-‘non corrupt’-‘the great man of guts’, John Key, had a copy himself in his top drawer and gave it quietly through his honest ‘blind trust’ to his propaganda rag, NZ Herald, to double cross the ‘honest’-‘non corrupt’-‘silly fool’, Jamie Lee Ross?

        Walter Scott foretold this a while ago:

        “Oh what a tangled web National weave,
        When first they practice to deceive!

  2. Jonas 2
    25 February 2015 at 11:57 am

    There is also a broader issue here, and that is the role of Chinese donations in the NZ political system. They come from a culture where ‘donations’ or gifts to local party officials is an integral part of life, hence the never ending anti-corruption campaign. Donations from Mainland Chinese business men or women, with only tenuous links to NZ, is a dangerous development. For the PM to fund raise in this manner, and then cover it up, is completely unacceptable.

    • Olwyn 2.1
      25 February 2015 at 12:59 pm

      A further problem is that the behaviour of these right wing politicians is disgraceful by any cultural norm, and I can’t help but wonder what people like Mr Liu make of being feted one minute and disowned the next. They neither adhere to the constraints of our system nor the mutual respect and obligation inherent to theirs – their levels of expedience and callous indifference to others are simply staggering.

    • Clemgeopin 2.2
      25 February 2015 at 9:39 pm

      +1

  3. Tom Jackson 3
    25 February 2015 at 11:59 am

    This perhaps puts the Liu-Cunliffe smear in a new light. I’m thinking that National knew that the issue could hurt them after Williamson, and so prepared a smear against Cunliffe so that they could defend the donations along the lines of “everyone does it”, if it turned out that the press found out about Liu’s donations to National.

    I’ve always wondered why it was such a weak smear. Surely they could have concocted something better.

    Of course it ended up working better than expected because the press never picked up on this particular donations to National, and because – as Frank Macskasy has proved – people in the Herald and TV3 were acting as de facto National party press secretaries.

  4. ghostwhowalksnz 4
    25 February 2015 at 12:11 pm

    I thought National was constantly squeezing its local branches for money?

    Then we see it was really the other way around.

    As an incorporated society doenst national have to publish figures on its accounts, not just the ‘declared’ income and expenditure which has lots of legal gaps. ie polling money doesnt have to declared as expenditure

    • tracey 4.1
      25 February 2015 at 12:14 pm

      I don’t think an incorporated has to publish details on the minutiae of its accounts.

    • mickysavage 4.2
      25 February 2015 at 12:19 pm

      This will surprise you ghost but National is not an incorporated society, neither is Labour. They do have to declare donations each year under the electoral act however.

      • tracey 4.2.1
        25 February 2015 at 12:26 pm

        So national has to list all its donors but the party would be responsible for any “mistakes” not the candidates?

  5. tracey 5
    25 February 2015 at 12:12 pm

    Once national put Jamie-Lee Ross tot he front on this issue you know Key has already contradicted himself at least once and they don’t want him speaking of it any more. That’s the pattern.

  6. ankerawshark 6
    25 February 2015 at 12:27 pm

    I posted this on open mike this morning just before you post went up Micky. I know it might not read so well, but please excuse, very limited time today.

    I felt so incensed about the whole Dong Liu donations saga and the spin about Labour and Liu, that I contacted the Press Council last night and asked them to re-consider Frank Mac’s submission to them about the Herald’s claims that Dong Liu donated $$$$ to Labour. The complaint from Frank wasn’t upheld, because the Herald maintained there was “more to come” about Liu and Labour. And of course nothing has come about Labour and Liu, but indeed we find out it was National receiving donations.

    Last night I re-submitted Frank’s complaint to the Press Council, copied a link about National’s donations and asked them to re-consider Frank’s complaint. (hope that’s o.k. Frank???? didn’t know how to contact you to get your permission);

    Much to my surprize I had an email this morning saying it would be re-presented to the council.

    I will keep you updated!

    • mickysavage 6.1
      25 February 2015 at 12:36 pm

      Thanks ankerawshark. Please do.

    • Lanthanide 6.2
      25 February 2015 at 12:57 pm

      The press council shouldn’t use the “more to come” as a reason to dismiss a complaint – it should be put into a pending/holding state until such time as the Herald ponies up the goods. Then, if they fail to pony up the goods, that can additionally weigh into the complaint as further evidence.

    • Pasupial 6.3
      25 February 2015 at 1:46 pm

      ankerawshark

      The only times I’ve communicated with MacSkasy have been on comment threads of TDB. However, the About page of his own blog does have a gmail address (no idea if it’s still current, or how often he checks it):

      https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/about-3/

      • ankerawshark 6.3.1
        26 February 2015 at 10:36 pm

        Hi Pasupial.

        I have left a message for Frank on his gmail address, but to date haven’t heard.

    • mary_a 6.4
      25 February 2015 at 1:53 pm

      Hey thanks for this @ ankerawshark. Look forward to further posts from you on this one.

      Have to give it to Frank Mac, he dedicates a lot of time and effort on various contentious issues on behalf of ordinary Kiwi folk, attempting to get to the truth. Doing the work of lazy msm it seems!

    • ianmac 6.5
      25 February 2015 at 2:03 pm

      Well done ankershank! Was pretty annoyed back then when reading Frank’s complaint and now that it might reawaken is good. Pity that the Press Council can do very little except say naughty, naughty.

    • linda 6.6
      25 February 2015 at 9:23 pm

      labour should go lui for lies and the herald

  7. wyndham 7
    25 February 2015 at 12:36 pm

    I see David Parker is quizzing key at question time today – – – q.10.

    10. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by the statement made on his behalf last year about his contact with Mr Liu that: “As Prime Minister and the leader of the National Party, Mr Key attends a number of functions up and down the country which are attended by a large number of people. While we don’t have a record of who attends these events, Mr Key recalls seeing Mr Liu at various functions, including a dinner as part of a National Party fundraiser”?

    • mary_a 7.1
      25 February 2015 at 1:56 pm

      @ wyndham – thanks for this info. I shall watch out for Parker’s question and listen to the sleazy, slimy response drivel from Key.

    • Clemgeopin 7.2
      25 February 2015 at 10:00 pm

      Here is the video. Incisive questions. Seems to me that David Parker KNOWS much more and more questions will follow. (It is a shame we mostly have quite an useless, biased or RW bought up media!)

      http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/35809

      As an aside, also watch the speech from Ron Mark about ISIL and guts and his EXCELLENT telling off to the idiot, Goldsmith who was behaving like a prick when Ron Mark was speaking. You must watch it! The first two minutes of this link:

      http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/35815

      • mickysavage 7.2.1
        25 February 2015 at 10:34 pm

        Yep the meeting with Woodhouse is potentially dynamite. If it happened shortly after the donation was made there would be a very bad perception created …

  8. irascible 8
    25 February 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Botany has been ill served by its National Party MPs ever since the electorate was formed… first Pansy Wong forced to resign over using taxpayer funded travel to boost her family business in China and now JL Ross acting as the bagman between Donghua Liu and John Key in search of largesse for their campaigns locally and nationally.
    If this is how crassly theNats treat their electors in a “safe” seat then its no wonder Key feels justified in his lying over this donation scandal.

  9. Tautoko Mangō Mata 9
    25 February 2015 at 7:53 pm

    I see the Herald has made available the returns for donations and expenses for the candidates in last year’s election.
    The dates for the Jami Lee Ross $25,000 are published.

    “Money in politics / Our crowdsourcing experiment: How you can lay bare candidate expenses and donations”
    Article by Jared Savage

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11407714

  10. Clemgeopin 10
    25 February 2015 at 8:52 pm

    “So Key denied last year the dinner was a Cabinet Club dinner. And his staff said it was not a contentious fundraiser the day after TV3 broke the news about cabinet clubs and on the same day that news about contentious Cabinet Club meetings for the Chinese was released. Then this year it is said to be a cabinet club fundraiser but the donation is not declared by National even though it seems that it has declared other cabinet club donations”

    I have ABSOLUTELY no doubt in my mind that New Zealand at present being led by a government that is corrupt, dishonest, deceptive, cunning, dangerous and harmful to our country, its ethos and its common people.

  11. NZJester 11
    26 February 2015 at 8:39 am

    Those cabinet club donations that are all so called anonymous donations seam to add up to quite a large figure and a lot of people would have to donate multiple times for them to get those sort of anonymous figures. How is it that they can also claim them as anonymous as those people donating the money are all there sitting at the events so they know they had to donate to get in. To me it seams to break the following rules listed on http://www.elections.org.nz/parties-candidates/registered-political-parties/party-donations/about-annual-returns-party-donatio-5
    (Donations made in the following ways are not considered to be anonymous:
    where a known or identifiable donor asks that the donation be treated as anonymous.
    Concealing the identity of a donor when the donor is not anonymous is an offence.)

    The cabinet club seams to be designed to do nothing but try to conceal the identity of a known donor and the donor is not really anonymous.

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    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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