National’s weekend of blind panic

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 14th, 2017 - 53 comments
Categories: national, useless, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , , , , , ,

I have never seen so much panic out of National in a single weekend.

Let’s start with the desperate lies over Labour’s plan to clean up our water with a minor tax on irrigation. National (Boag on Q&A) and proxies started going on about $18 cabbages (the actual “cost increase would be around half a cent) and the like. The Nats get their crazy numbers by pretending that Labour’s plans include rainfall (they don’t) and multiplying everything by 1000 because they can’t tell the difference between a litre and a cubic meter. It’s either incompetence or it’s deliberate scaremongering, take your pick, but either way it’s panic city.

Then there was the proposal to bring back bootcamps, failed policy from 2008. They don’t work. Everyone knows they don’t work – they increase rates of re-offending (really excellent piece on The Spinoff). Even National’s science advisor knows they don’t work. But The Nats have re-announced bootcamps anyway, because in a blind panic you reach out to shore up your angry, fearful base.

Just in case bootcamps aren’t stupid enough, how about that plan for a youth curfew? ” Police will be able to fine parents when children are out unsupervised between midnight and 5am”. Using their own logic and level of debate (just for once) you have to ask yourself why Nanny State Nasty National hates and punishes parents? Will kids carry ID papers? Will paperboys and girls and early morning trainers be exempt? Do you think the police are going to be thrilled to be waking people up at 1am to administer “instant fines for parents of under-14s unsupervised on the street at night”? If the parents can’t or won’t pay the fine do they get carted off to jail in their jammies? WHAT IF THEY AREN’T EVEN WEARING ANY JAMMIES??? Phew – I think I should stop channeling Nat logic now – and just call this stupid, impractical, panicked policy on the hoof.

All that in one weekend. Whatever will they think of next?




https://twitter.com/DrJessBerentson/status/896536283652149249


https://twitter.com/MPD_NZ/status/896644825021153280



https://twitter.com/di_f_w/status/896545488492650497


And just as a bonus social media fail:
https://twitter.com/bentorkington/status/896624063229050881
Hilarity ensues:


https://twitter.com/JohnKeyMustGo/status/896672002617950208
https://twitter.com/bentorkington/status/896644888380325888
and many more…

53 comments on “National’s weekend of blind panic ”

  1. Abbi 1

    Please stop picking on national.. this is all part of their plan to lose the next election.. please let them lose gracefully..

  2. Incognito 2

    Good post but I’d wonder whether the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, would object to being called “National’s science advisor”.

  3. lol so funny that tweet of bill english having a fake family walk on the beach – while it is actually pissing down – fail. sad. – I’ve found an $18 cabbage and it is called bill.

    As they get more desperate they will do more dirty tricks including some really dirty ones.

  4. Tautoko Mangō Mata 4

    I see Chris Finlayson is trying to scare voters that Labour’s water policy will stir up Treaty of Waitangi issues. National are using the Audrey Young column.

    Treaty warning over Labour’s water tax
    Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson is warning that Labour’s water taxes could force existing full-and-final Treaty of Waitangi settlements to be opened for renegotiation with iwi.
    He said the policy overturned accepted policy of successive Labour and National Governments of the past 25 years that no one owned the water.
    Governments applying a tax on water was an assertion of Crown ownership “and then that gives rise to the counter assertion that Maori own water”.
    “They are dicing with death, quite frankly,” he told the Herald.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11903486

    At the bottom of the article was this:

    The chairman of the New Zealand Maori Council, Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie, said if legislation was put through to give effect to Labour policy, it need not open up existing treaty settlements.
    “It is not a free lunch for Maori, but something that would give employment to our young people.
    “We are pretty much in line with what the Labour Party is saying except we would apply it to all commercial users.”
    Domestic users should not pay.

    • Eco maori 4.1

      National are so predictable using scare mongering tactics to get votes Bill will trough any one under the bus to keep in power.That is why Labour need to attack national image any chance they gets

  5. Sanctuary 5

    Panic stricken isn’t half of it. Farrar has gone full sleezeball with an appalling David Garret muck raking piece that is really rather base and vulgar. I guess the idea of having to trim the budget and holiday at home once National is back in opposition is truly terrifying for David Farrar.

    Perhaps the link should be emailed to Jim Mora, he can ponder if Mr. Farrar is really the sort of character he would want on the oh so proper Tory vicar’s tea party he runs in the afternoon.

  6. Keith 6

    “It’s either incompetence or it’s deliberate scaremongering, take your pick…”

    Nah, its just plain old lying, its what they do.

    I mean Chris Findlayson, a minister of the honesty starved Key government no less, why is his word being accepted as some kind of reference on water? Seriously? An objective voice?? FFS, its so disingenuous.

    Focus grouping must be telling them to attack any possibility of our water being exported by foreign companies for almost no cost to them for profit for Nationals donors and shareholders, or otherwise the party is over for the very few!

    • BM 6.1

      Chris Findlayson is the Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister.

      • tc 6.1.1

        And self appointed QC.

      • Eco maori 6.1.2

        And Chris Finlayson will ramp up the bullshit about treat settlement water or any type hype to try to keep National in parliament who cares about the damage it does to Maori this shit damages Maori morell and just adds to the instatutiona racism against Maori

  7. Penny Bright 7

    MICHELLE BOAG IS A PAID PR HACK – A MOUTHPIECE FOR SECRET ‘VESTED INTEREST$’

    IMO paid PR hacks like Mischelle Boag and Matthew Hooton should be banned as ‘political commentators’ from MSM:

    “Michelle is currently a partner in Boag Allan Pirie Ltd, a consultancy providing strategic communications advice to businesses, organisations and individuals seeking to influence business, political and public sector outcomes.”

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-boag-0b1202b/?trk=public-profile-join-page

    Michelle Boag
    2nd degree connection2nd
    Michelle Boag
    Director at Boag Allan SVG Ltd
    Boag Allan Pirie Ltd Victoria University of Wellington
    Auckland, New Zealand

    Michelle Boag is one of New Zealand’s leading public relations practitioners, with thirty years of experience in the world of government, consultancy and corporate public relations.

    A former Press secretary to several National Party Leaders and Prime Ministers, she also has an extensive background in the not-for-profit world, as a Trustee of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and the Eden Park Trust, a former Trustee of Surf Livesaving and a former President of Variety, the Childrens Charity.

    Her corporate career included five years as General Manager, Corporate Affairs for DB Breweries and a similar period as Director of Corporate Affairs for merchant bank Fay Richwhite.

    Following a period as President of the NZ National Party in 2002, Michelle set up a boutique recruitment agency specializing in the recruitment of public relations and communications practitioners.

    In September 2008 PR People was acquired by the Momentum Group of Companies, one of New Zealand’s largest, privately-owned recruitment companies with 70 staff in Auckland and Wellington.

    Michelle left Momentum in December 2010 and spent a year as an Executive Director with Ogilvy, one of New Zealand’s largest advertising agencies.

    Michelle is currently a partner in Boag Allan Pirie Ltd, a consultancy providing strategic communications advice to businesses, organisations and individuals seeking to influence business, political and public sector outcomes.

    Specialties: Strategic Communications advice, Government Relations, personal mentoring, professional networking
    __________________________

    #SACKThePRHacks

    • Stuart Munro 7.1

      A failed PR hack – advised the Gnats the last time Bill returned a result in the low twenties, and poured oil on the flames of the Mad Butcher racism panic.

  8. NZJester 8

    When National is out of ideas they tend to polish off an old one of theirs putting an even worse spin on it and say it is new or they reach into old Labour policies and tout them as something that they came up with. The old Labour ones they borrow however are always past their use by date as they needed to be implemented soon after the election they were used in to be effective and now would hardly be of any use at all like putting a band-aid on a leaking crack in a dam. If they do borrow from a newer Labour Idea they gut it down till it would be ineffective if implemented.
    They took the failed boot camp idea and have basically turned it into a long term youth detention center by changing it from a quick boot camp to a long term one easily allowing them to lock them away. Any of the offspring of the rich caught doing similar things to those of the poor you can bet will be spared these detention camps.

    • Robert Guyton 8.1

      Even David Garrett, David Garret says (on Kiwiblog sorry-to-say)

      “I’m afraid this is pretty much “nice try but no cigar”.

      I am not normally in agreement with criminologist Jarrod Gilbert, but on this occasion I agree with him: there is no evidence that such programs do anything other than turn out very physically fit criminals…that is the result anywhere and whenever such programs have been tried.

      The time to prevent young offenders embarking on a career of crime is when they are four, or even younger; by the time they are old enough to be incarcerated – whether in a youth justice facility or otherwise – it is far too late.

      The problem of course is that intervening at age four or less requires a fundamental re think of our policy towards child rearing, and an admission that we have been going down the wrong path for nigh on 40 years. I can’t see any government having the courage to do that.

      At the very best, this program will do no great harm, but anyone who thinks it will have any great effect is dreaming.”

  9. The decrypter 9

    Tory mouth pieces have all been instructed. —-Don’t just stand there PANIC . ffs.

  10. The decrypter 10

    If library cards have date of birth on them they would prove the age of the kids on the street to the police.

  11. Sacha 11

    The challenge for the left is not getting sucked into responding to the details of this daft
    policy. Just confidently promote their own for improving people’s lives and prospects.

  12. james 12

    The edits on the beach walk were very funny.

  13. patricia bremner 13

    Reading Stuff about $18 cabbages, and the moans of entitled kings!!!

    I’m enjoying seeing all the + (plus) signs next to comments on Labour’s water policy.

    The – (minus) signs after the moans and whines also make for smiles!!

    For such “good managers” National & supporters have very little math skill.

    Thankfully most Kiwis can use the calculator app in their ‘phone.

  14. greywarshark 14

    On Radionz after the interview about boot camps there was a reply put in by some one who quoted success with them from I think Kapiti. There was 3% recidivism which is pretty good compared to the usual but am I comparing kiwifruit with apples?

    Does anyone know about this program? The police up there are involved I think.

  15. Peter 15

    For the Nats facts don’t matter. They are employing the old age FUD technique of Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. The real question is how do you counter it, especially their ability to dominate the front page of the NZ Herald with their perspective?

    • tc 15.1

      Let the herald and other outlets show how owned they are by duely recycling the spin and bs.

      Helps set the scene for an overhaul of tvnz and a media complaints process with teeth outing the propaganda. No surprise nact allow them to self regulate.

  16. Tanz 17

    So, you’re saying then that it’s ok for young folk, fourteen and younger to be running around at night, committing crimes or glue sniffing etc, whilst their parents do nothing?
    Finally some bold policy from National re this, where values actually matter and youth arn’t encouraged to be young crims.

    • left_forward 17.1

      And that is the point being made here Tanz – experience shows that the policy will not actually discourage youth from a criminal future (in fact it would do the opposite) – it just creates smoke to give the appearance that National is finally doing something about youth crime after years in Government.
      Are you interested in something that might actually work, or are you content with preserving the illusion?

      • Tanz 17.1.1

        What’s Labour’s solution then? Carry on the same? If Boot Camp turns young people who have gone off the rails around and gives them a better future, keeps them out of prison, allows them to dream etc, university, career, reaching their potentials, what is wrong with that? As it is, the do nothing approach is achieving nothing good or positive or different. Just a perpetual cycle of crime and hopelessness.

        • UncookedSelachimorpha 17.1.1.1

          A big part of the solution is to invest in poverty reduction, better health care, free education, mental health and youth support services, drug counseling, housing etc.

          Unlike boot camps, the above is actually proven to help.

          Perhaps you could read the links in the main post that explain how boot camps haven’t worked – The Spinoff one is particularly good. Pushing on with failed policy – against the evidence – is stupid and helps no one.

        • left_forward 17.1.1.2

          Generally Labour and particularly the Greens have policies aimed at improving the well-being of all people and to reduce the current inequalities (a significant cause of youth crime). This would reverse the National party practice of slowly diminishing investment in education, health, housing and welfare. ‘Boot Camp’ is a punitive program by its very definition and shown not to work – the so-called wrap-around support will be compromised by the negative nature of the environment.

          Why not turn it into a positive (throw away the sole destroying military bullshit)? – many of us have advocated for extension of whanau ora style wrap around, multi-agency support services aimed at supporting and assisting families through difficult times – but these models of care are new and fragile and have been largely unsupported by the current Government (other than a small tilt of the hat towards their Maori Party allies).

          I think you are confused – National are in Government – they are the ones that you should hold accountable as to whether they have achieved or done anything.

        • Draco T Bastard 17.1.1.3

          If Boot Camp turns young people who have gone off the rails around and gives them a better future

          It’s been proven, quite conclusively, that it doesn’t.

        • Robert Guyton 17.1.1.4

          If boot camp “allows them (young people) to dream”
          Fairy-tale thinking from Tanz. Dreaming is the last thing boot camps “allow”.

    • Gabby 17.2

      Maybe the ‘nothing’ is not beating them or raping them tanzie.

  17. ianmac 18

    Rob a great collection of links thankyou.

  18. mac1 19

    “A beautiful evening for a walk on the beach”.

    Readers should know that this is a virtual reality walk on the beach which you can do from the comfort of your own armchair. No problem with rain, nor horrible sand in the shoes, no rubbish to ignore, no hoons on quad bikes, no undesirables and no people sleeping out.

    Virtual reality outdoor living means that you can enjoy our pristine, pure, 100% green environment without having to swim in waters fit only for wading, nor smells from sewage, no dead eels in the water and again no freedom campers or homeless spoiling the experience.

    National- the virtual reality party.

  19. greywarshark 20

    Looking for information about programs for rehabilitation for the young.
    I haven’t found the one I was looking for but found this little statement of intention from the government. We all thought we knew what was NZHousing, and found out surprising differences in recent years.

    As a community aid I will copy it here to record that there was one and what they did, or were supposed to do.

    Housing New Zealand
    http://www.hnzc.co.nz
    Housing New Zealand provides New Zealanders with access to good quality, affordable homes. It is also the New Zealand government’s main advisor on housing, and services related to housing. The page was dated 2017.

    Smooth, written by one of their well paid PR experts in communication.
    While looking for data on expense of government PR and looking at an extensive OIA for which there was no published reply accessible I was vaguely amused at the
    controls put on dissemination of the ‘public’ information from our government.
    https://fyi.org.nz/request/1974-how-the-govt-spends-money-on-public-relations-and-interacts-with-media
    The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
    the intended recipient(s) only and is not necessarily the view or
    communication of the Department of Internal Affairs. If you are not the
    intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute this message
    or the information in it, if you have received this message in error,
    please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.

    Here is an interesting summary of pay scales in government for CEs. Informative, good background stuff.
    https://www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/senior-pay-report-2016.pdf

  20. greywarshark 21

    ‘WHAT IF THEY AREN’T EVEN WEARING ANY JAMMIES??? Phew – I think I should stop channeling Nat logic now – and just call this stupid, impractical, panicked policy on the hoof. ‘

    The next step is to make it mandatory for all parents to wear onesies to bed. That will help to keep down population growth by preventing them being sexually inflamed by their naked bodies, and prevent the police where involved, from having their finer, sensitive natures disturbed by such sights, or indeed prevent unhealthy prurience developing in our noble upholders of the law.

  21. AB 22

    Threatened Privilege Derangement Syndrome (TPDS).
    Usually not terminal – Boag seems to have quite successfully lived with the disease for about 150 years.

    • Liberal Realist 22.1

      Wonder if citrus fruit is a treatment for TPDS? Boag sure looks like she’s been sucking a lemon for at 149 of those years!

  22. Whispering Kate 23

    Even with the best intentions parents can only do the best they can. A kid will do what a kid will do, I bet there are countless parents in NZ who are good parents and given their kids a really good home life but when the hormones kick in with adolescence there are some kids who just cannot be controlled. If you want to tie them to the bed each night or have the money to send them to a Boarding School then maybe that will work. Some kids run away from home and are hard to find.

    Don’t think for one minute its only parents who couldn’t give a toss where their kids are that this happens to. Kids can have sunday school, girl guides/boy scouts, sporting activities, ballet lessons, music lessons, camping holidays – an entire family to look after them and still if they want to run wild they will do it. Punishing the parents isn’t going to work, some parents are desperate and don’t know how to handle their kids when they are so bloody determined to jump out of bedroom windows, hoon around in cars, drink under age you name it.

    Parents need help – this Government is lumping every parent into the “neglectful parent” basket – life isn’t all black and white. the filthy rich can hide their “naughty” kids and get darned expensive help but in the end – as I said at the start – a kid will do what a kid will do come hell or high water – some are obedient and will do as their told or be guided and others will not be guided or do as their told – toss the dice up and just hope you get kids who are not going to be on the streets at night.

    • Don’t think for one minute its only parents who couldn’t give a toss where their kids are that this happens to. Kids can have sunday school, girl guides/boy scouts, sporting activities, ballet lessons, music lessons, camping holidays – an entire family to look after them and still if they want to run wild they will do it.

      Yep.

      You just may be the odd mom out and have been lucky enough to raise the perfect baby, toddler, child, teenager, and young adult. But if you’re like the rest of us struggling to be the best parents we can be, only to find ourselves staring into the eyes of a dumbfounded teenager while gasping for air and screaming, “You did what!?” then welcome to the club. Sit down, have some wine, and let me be the first to tell you this too shall pass, and I’d be more worried if I had raised a kid who never fucked up royally, than raising one who’s been knocked on his own ass more than once from the unforeseen consequences of his actions.

      • Whispering Kate 23.1.1

        Don’t be like that Draco – I have run the gauntlet and have the teeshirt to prove it and you’d better believe it. I also agree that its better to have a kid that’s fucked up royally as you said and will come through in the end with some rough edges knocked off – but in the meanwhile its hell on earth when you see your kid acting stupidly and often dangerously and now this Government wants to clobber you on the head to add to your misery.

        Some of this Government’s policies are just punish punish and more punishment. I have had my drink of wine and have come through my 20 year period and still we have speed wobbles but I am not if anything tenacious and will never give up on my kid. I am perplexed as to why you thought I was a holier than thou sort of person. Nobody understands and is more compassionate than I am when it comes to kids wandering the street at night and as I said they are not all offspring of parents who don’t give a damn.

        • Draco T Bastard 23.1.1.1

          Don’t be like that Draco

          ???

          You do realise that I was a) agreeing with you and b) quoted a linked article right?

          Some of this Government’s policies are just punish punish and more punishment.

          Yep. This government hasn’t realise yet that externally applied discipline doesn’t teach the necessary self-discipline.

          • Whispering Kate 23.1.1.1.1

            My apologies – yes this Government is thick as p…s…. No vision and no nipping problems in the bud, just clobbering and punishing when it all turns to custard.

            The last thing our Defence Force needs is seriously disfunctioning kids. This idea has been tried and does not work. How about giving people decent employment on decent wages. A health system that isn’t going to break the bank for people. Give people the tools and they can do the job. This Government depends on a certain ratio of unemployed to keep their economic model working and that’s the way it suits them – under-fed and under-worked. People actually want to work and have a home they own or at least a secure tenancy.

            I am voting Greens this time, they are the only party left who has a heart and soul for the planet and for the people.

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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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