Nats “discovered poverty last week” – and will forget it just as quickly

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 21st, 2017 - 72 comments
Categories: accountability, bill english, class war, jacinda ardern, national, poverty - Tags: , , , ,

It was the line of the debate:

Bill English ‘discovered poverty last week’ – Jacinda Ardern

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has heavily criticised National’s Bill English’s response to poverty, accusing him of only recently putting it on his agenda.

In the final TVNZ Leaders Debate, Ms Ardern claimed National had been failing to acknowledge and fix issues including child poverty and the housing crisis.

“I think people looking forward to the future already know what National is going to deliver to them, they’ve had nine years to test what that looks like,” she said. … “You discovered poverty last week, that’s what happened,” …

“Then why are there kids living in cars? Why are there kids going to school without food in their tummies?” she asked. …

National has ignored and denied the issue of poverty in NZ for the last 9 years. They have refused to implement an official poverty measure so that they cannot be held accountable for their failure. But look around at the increasing homelessness, the rising child disease and malnutrition, the crises in food banks, the crises in mental health and the record suicide rates. There it is.

National has been forced to acknowledge poverty during the election campaign. But it they get to form the next government the record of the last nine years suggests that they will forget it again just as quickly.

Do you want to vote for that?

72 comments on “Nats “discovered poverty last week” – and will forget it just as quickly ”

  1. Patricia 1

    Well done Jacinda – an excellent observation about National “discovering poverty last week”. And they will completelyl forget about it on Sunday morning.
    A nasty debate last night ; the moderator did not keep good control. English came over as a bully constantly talking over Jacinda and keeping on with the fiscal hole which nobody else can see.

    • A fiscal hole that doesnt exist ,… why has Joyce and English been allowed to get away with that ? ,… why have English and Joyce been given the green light by so many in the media to campaign negatively ? Why is there still this stiff necked bloc that refuses to admit they are voting for politicians who are unscrupulous and willing to lie to maintain a grip on power?

      What ?, … do they endorse liars?

      • tracey 1.1.1

        I see the Herald gleefully declared Bill the winner… and Du Plessis Allen confused angry on behalf of struggling and vulnerable NZers for flustered. I saw a leader frustrated by the lies and the lack of consequence of those lies trying to remain states”man”like in the face of English’s relentless deceit.

        • WILD KATIPO 1.1.1.1

          I am afraid , Adern has been far too lenient on English. Unfortunate to have to say it , but I believe its true . Personally , I would have let the bastard have it , –
          both barrels in full view of the public. But then ,… that is not Aderns way. She is more gracious than that.

          I’ve just got this view you don’t mess around with rabid dogs. You deal to them. Terminally.

          • tracey 1.1.1.1.1

            If she did we stay in the same cycle of BS. I think she deal to him. And it has made one headline.

            • WILD KATIPO 1.1.1.1.1.1

              No doubt about it this country would prosper under Adern.

              She and her govt would bring long overdue healing to NZ.

              And yes she did do well . But we are fighting an enemy who has no intention of fighting under ‘ Queensbury Rules’ . They are underhanded, deceitful , twisting the truth and the facts ,- and have no qualms whatsoever to resorting to bald faced lying to the public to advance their cause.

              And dogs like that need to called out for what they are and exposed in no uncertain terms. Its just unfortunate we live under such conditions , – or rather , – that so many Kiwis have voted willfully to let it drift towards such a low bar in our publicly elected officials.

              The good thing is this may all change by Saturday night. And that will be a time for rejoicing if it happens.

              • Zeroque

                I’ll say! The amount of BS I heard from Bill last night was more than most days I hear him talk. Jesus I hope he gets the take-down he deserves on Saturday.

        • Zeroque 1.1.1.2

          I agree Tracey, she wasn’t flustered at all, just frustrated and possibly somewhat angered by the constant BS coming at her from Bill.

      • Johan 1.1.2

        MSM in New Zealand appears to be in the pocket of the Tories. Even today Hosking on his morning radio show was putting in the boot against Ardern once again.
        Balance and impartiality is not something that poor Mike is familiar with, so why make such an biased, person a moderator?

      • Unicus 1.1.3

        Well yes I think there is a large constituency of NZ ers who like the idea of being lied to as long as they feel comforted – they became so immune to the truth during Keys tenure that asking them to respond to real issues its a bit like asking a junkie to give up the stuff .

        The Tories have hit the fear button and their windy little tribe have tottered in behind .

        Its not in the overall spirit of what has been a brilliant Labour campaign but last night I was on th edge of my seat willing Jacinda to say to Bullshit Bills face LIAR

        • tracey 1.1.3.1

          It as worked bautifully. Lie to keep them co.fortable and if they start to see scare the crap out of them… You do need money and motivation to achieve it Ads, third party lobby groups from which to pretend to be arms length. The last 7 days have seen “taxpayers union” and Fed Farmers fullfilingbthis on cue.

        • SpaceMonkey 1.1.3.2

          Ah! The gilded cage! As someone once said to me: “Money might not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy a pretty comfortable misery”.

          This, I am afraid, is what many NZers may be settling for. Hobbit-like behaviour.
          As long as they are feeling comfortable… everything is fine.

    • Heather Grimwood 1.2

      agree wholeheartedly Patricia at 1. English did bully and indeed his body language portrayed anger at times, quite frightening.

      • NZJester 1.2.1

        Bullying and talking over people is a common trait of the right wing in debates. They filibuster to get their message (lies) out and stop the left getting their message out and using the filibuster to say that they have no real policy. You try to do that to them and they say you are rude and failed to let them get their message out and use it to attack the person for the next few days with the help of their MSM lapdogs. They manage to filibuster and these MSM lapdogs claim they won the debate and that the other person was week. They have both sides of the coin covered.

    • Anne 1.3

      Patricia @ 1.
      To me, the almost unprecedented level of lies and misinformation about Labour’s tax policy in particular is tantamount to defamation. That being the case why don’t Labour announce they will be suing Steven Joyce (first defendent) and Bill English (second defendent) for wittingly committing falsehoods designed to destroy a major political party. I’m sure they can think of better wording than me – I’m no lawyer.

      A case in point was English’s allegation last night that Labour will increase taxes on the 1st April next year. He bases it on National’s tax cuts (for the well off) kicking in on the 1st April so that means under Labour they are going to increase. Quelle horreur!

  2. tracey 2

    Such a good job has been done since 1987 dehumanising beneficiaries and the working poor that over 40% of our voting citizens have been given permission to not give a shit. For an extra 15 bucks a week they will sell our vulnerable down the river. The people born disabled who will know no more than subsistence as their punishment for not being “whole”.

    Even though that $15 bucks a week is probably not a real tax rise, using their logic, cos the unmandated 2.5% GST has cost way more than that… and the petrol tax rises…

  3. red-blooded 3

    He’s feeling pretty damn confident and satisfied with his lies and campaign of fear. Fake news is doing the job. People who haven’t yet voted need to remember that the largest party gets first right to put together a government and NZF has no made no commitment and alwayttalks about going with the biggest party.

    If you want these arseholes out, you need to party vote Labour. The Greens are not in trouble and the only way the left gets to form a government is if Labour does well.

    • tracey 3.1

      English if he wins will suddenly be able to measure poverty, but only after the April money scramble. His measure will show it has dropped based on campaigning figures.

      CB suggests a slight bleed to the Greens RB, given Labour and National will not govern alone I am pleased to see Greens entering safe territory ( if polls, cursed polls), are to be believed.

      Have you seen Peters latest bottom line?

    • Carolyn_nth 3.2

      The biggest party does not have the first right to form a government.

      NZF may decide they will first have a go at negotiating with the party with the most votes. but that’s not the same thing.

      The party that can first go to the GG to claim they can lead a government, is the one with first right to form a govt. It doesn’t need to be the party with the most votes. It can be the coalition/alliance of 2 or more parties with the most votes between them.

      • SpaceMonkey 3.2.1

        That’s good to know. I always thought it was the party with the most votes that gets first attempt to form a Government.

    • Union city greens 3.3

      “If you want these arseholes out, you need to party vote Labour. The Greens are not in trouble and the only way the left gets to form a government is if Labour does well.”

      That’s the same bullshit you squitted out last night. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting such misinformation.

      A vote for the greens is a vote for the green/labour block. It doesn’t matter what percentage each party gets as long as the end result is more than the nats and it’s support partners.
      L30% + G20% is just as good (actually much better, but beside the point) as L42 + G8.

      • red-blooded 3.3.1

        Save your attacks for the people we both oppose, mate. I’m entitled to see things differently from you and to express that viewpoint. If the Nats get to form the next government it won’t matter if the Greens are on 6 or 8. They’ll be back, but if they want to be in government they need Labour to pull back into contention. That’s just the truth of the matter. You may not like it – tough. I don’t like it when people attach me for having a commitment to actually changing things.

        • Union city greens 3.3.1.1

          Seeing things differently is one thing, deliberately lying is another.
          However you try to rationalise it, you’ve given out misinformation for party cause. That makes you no worse than the nats.

          To be clear, challenging this partisan bs with fact, a vote for the greens is a vote to change the government. A vote for labour, the same.
          Enough of us do it, we win, no matter what the percentage split.

          • red-blooded 3.3.1.1.1

            So, you truly believe that if Labour gets 37% and the Nats 46%, it will get to form the next government with the Greens? You’re delusional. On 46% the Nats would romp back to power, with their pet poodle from Epsom and whoever makes it in for the Maori Party. If NZF are back, they’ve said they’ll talk first to the biggest party (and while they’ve dialled it back a bit recently, we all know they don’t like the Greens). If they’re not, the wasted votes get divvied up and the Nats would be able to govern without them.

            I really really really hope we don’t end up with either of those scenarios and I’m doing my best to make sure that we don’t. If you are determined not to vote for Labour, then vote Green. I’ve always said my preferred option is a Labour-Green government. The problem is (as mentioned above), that doesn’t get to happen if Labour don’t get a big enough slice of the pie. That’s not a lie – it’s an inconvenient truth.

            • Union city greens 3.3.1.1.1.1

              Clearly you don’t know how mmp works.

              Most of your post above makes no sense to the argument about voting labour over green. The only relevant bit is about you wanting a labour green government. The only way to do that is voting labour or green. If they have the numbers it will happen. If not, it won’t. Whatever proportion of the total each gets is immaterial to the end result.

              If labour don’t get enough to entice Winston, then so be it, that’s the will of the people. If enough people vote labour and green it doesn’t matter about that blowhard.

              • red-blooded

                That’s right – don’t bother thinking about or responding to the detail of the discussion, just throw enough insults about and that’ll do the job!

                • Union city greens

                  What insults? You’ve falsely made claims that green voters have to vote labour to change the government, when under mmp that’s simply not the case. I’ve just called you on it and showed how the proportion of the two parties doesn’t change the overall left vote. This is undeniable fact. You lied and got caught doing it.

                  That’s an insult to our collective intelligence.

      • cleangreen 3.3.2

        I heartily agree with ‘Union city greens’ that we need to vote for the labour Party now as they are looking as they are in trouble now.

        The wide united call to vote for the Greens by all labour & green supporters, sadly took many away from labour and are now damaging our whole capability to form a ‘change of government; and we dont want to be labelled as “the Party that eats its partners” as welll as we will surely now loose this election.

        We need to share the call for support to back labour now.

        Sadly over on The Daily Blog Greens (Keith Locke) is still callling for more voters in a blog labeled as “Let’s make sure the Greens get well over the threshold” to boldly switch to the Green Party to increase their figures even more.

        It was sad to see as if they are keen to hurt their Labour MOU like a poisoned chalice, and we don’t need a left wing fight between now as election day nears 48hrs time.

        https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/09/21/lets-make-sure-the-greens-get-well-over-the-threshold/

        • Union city greens 3.3.2.1

          Firstly I never said you should vote labour. That’s as big a lie as red blooded’s. Second, do you understand how mmp works? Without nz1st in the equation, any split of 50% by labour and the greens wins, as long as both get over 5%. What’s so hard about that to understand?

          Reality is I don’t care who you vote for, but voting red instead of green because labour are slipping back makes no sense. Just saying.

          • cleangreen 3.3.2.1.1

            We will return the apology to you YCG, You have not said vote for Labour.
            I guess you are wanting us all to vote green?

            I willl vote labour and NZ First as Greens only won’t get the National Government thrown out.

            I was a Green Party member when the Greens joined NZ First and Labour in 1999 to form the Government and it was a great era, and want to see another long 9yr Labour lead Government, so I hope we see this on Saturday again.

            • Union city greens 3.3.2.1.1.1

              I’ve already written above I don’t care who you vote for, but if you ‘all’ did vote green, then I wouldn’t be unhappy.

              If you’re voting to change the government your choices are greens and labour. Anything else, to that end, is a wasted vote.

              • cleangreen

                UCG,

                You have your views, and we have ours that is democracy.

                • Union city greens

                  Having different views is great. Posting untruths about the make up of the left block party vote in mmp elections isn’t.

                  Still doesn’t change the fact that if you want to guarantee a left leaning government, to address and eradicate poverty, you have to vote greens or labour.
                  Sure you’re on the right site?
                  We know for fact that a vote for labour and the greens is a vote to oust the nats. Fact. Feel free to quote Winston saying he’ll go with labour.

                  Party vote green.

        • tracey 3.3.2.2

          What makes you think the MOU says

          Greens step aside in seats for Labour
          All Green Voters must vote Labour

          As a NZF supporter I suspect your knowledhe of the MOU is scant. Humour me and tell me what Labour conceded to Greens?

    • tracey 3.4

      RB, this is a genuine question not an attack, are you happy to have NZFs bottom lines in your next government?

      • red-blooded 3.4.1

        If it’s a choice between Nat plus whoever or Lab plus NZF, I’ll go with the latter. However, if you actually look at what I’m saying, it’s more nuanced than that the Greens are safe, but they will have no role to play if Labour doesn’t get to form the next government. You may be too tribal to hear and respond to that message, but hopefully others aren’t. (And BTW I’ve voted Green in the past when I’ve thought they needed it and when I’ve known Labour would be leading and wanted the Greens stronger than NZF. That’s not the situation this time.)

        • tracey 3.4.1.1

          I am not too tribal to understand what you are saying any more than I think you are too tribal to understand the Laboyr +Greens equation.

          My question was are you happty with NZFs bottom lines? I am assuming from how you framed your answer that even National type policy is fine as long as Labour is at the table?

          • red-blooded 3.4.1.1.1

            We all know that a “bottom line” from Winston in campaign mode is no such thing. Look at the man’s history.

            No, I’m not keen on his “bottom lines”, but even a Labour-NZF government that involved some compromises from Labour (and they’ve already made it clear that there are things he’s asking for that won’t be negotiated) would be better than a Nat-led government. There’s enough clear difference between the two parties to make that clear. What you can assume from my answer is that I was running late for work and tapping away at my phone, so keeping it short. That’s it. No more assumptions, thank you.

            What you (and various others on this thread) still haven’t acknowledged is that the Greens don’t get to play a role if they’re not in coalition with Labour. That’s looking doubtful, at this stage. That make some tactical thinking necessary. End of message.

            • tracey 3.4.1.1.1.1

              So NZF leader cannot be believed is your position. Fair enough.

              I tried to have a discussion but you are so defensive it hasnt proved fruitful. I have already voted. Labour for electorate and Greens for party. So, have at it.

  4. Incognito 4

    What’s much worse is that most of the country will slump back into its collective amnesia and BAU unless we have a change of government with a real commitment to a strong progressive agenda.

    • tracey 4.1

      Hopefully the debate has some impact give “look at me Look at me” Hosking even agreed the 11b hole is a lie?

  5. tracey 5

    7000 nat supporters will get their 1000 a year tax cut… from here

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924050

    And from the money saved by not telling teachers they could get 3500 if they went to a low decile school, and from Dunedin Hospitals cuts in services, and Waikato’s and Canterbury’s… and from Lifeline.

    What a sorry, nasty little nation we have become. When you use it to go to Fiji next winter, maybe spare a thought for the person in a wheelchair who cannot visit family in another town because that is considered a luxury.

    • Lara 5.1

      I’ll donate it to Women’s Refuge thank you very much. We’re not all assholes.

      But yeah, many of us are. A nasty small mean minded lot I see around me. Thanks internet. I can now see what my neighbours really think. And its not pretty.

      We will get the government we deserve on Saturday, of that I am 100% confident.

  6. Carolyn_nth 6

    From newsroom last night:

    Sources told Newsroom that National’s latest internal polling has it at 43 percent and Labour at 39 percent. NZ First and the Greens were both on six percent. But there were suggestions from those close to National that its figures had softened overnight.

  7. Janet 7

    National has done nothing but increase tax. Eg, GST, and fees to Govt departments that were free before they became govt.
    And the money they have given away – Rio Tinto Zinc, Warner Bros, Saudi businessmen, the list is long
    Hell bent on ‘balancing’ their check book, they have shown over and over they are penny wise pound foolish. Stopping payments to the Cullen Fund and their other decisions against the advice of Teasury, buying votes with tax cuts for the rich, and the flagrant and disgusting punishment of the poor…
    I suspect they might want to lose, given they have again left the country in a mess.

    • Brigid 7.1

      Thats the best summation of the government I’ve read on here. I have also wondered if they want to loose given their appalling electioneering, something similar to what you’d see in the school play ground. They’re truly embarrassing.

    • tracey 7.2

      Cutting Lifeline funding

  8. Bearded Git 8

    Sandra Lee just said on RNZ that Jacinda had her best debate last night and Bill woffled on key issues. Definite tick for new PM Jacinda. Worth a listen.

  9. Bob 9

    It doesnt matter if you vote party vote Labour or Green, just vote! Either way, the Nats have to go………….unless the global Financial crisis Keith Rankin Talks about is coming.
    Anyone read the Daily blog lately. ? On why Jacinda should loose this election ? & wait until 2020, I’m not sure if I can wait that long, with nepotism on the rise.

    • I read that and spat it out ,- I’d rather a Labour / Green govt in that circumstance . There’s only one way and that way is getting rid of National.

      There is no other way.

    • cleangreen 9.2

      100% Bob.

      NZ can’t afford to wait, it was a dumb arguement Keith Rankin put up as natiional will just sell the whole country before that time, with or without another GFC Rankin says is comming.

  10. Delia 10

    Old Bill looks down at the ground a lot these days, had to face the public, after all those back slapping, back room meetings, where he and his mates hawed hawed over ripping NZ workers.

  11. This Comment by Ms Ardern only proves she has dreamt and/or slept through most Questiontimes in the House during the past eighteen months rather than listening to Ministerial answers to her and her colleagues questions!

    • Jon Jones 11.1

      Well Jacinda wants to frame the debates and the questions that suit her and Bill wants to do the same, whoever is most successful will likely form the next government

      • cleangreen 11.1.1

        Jon, Who runs the natative and the press wins. We all know who runs the media so the narative is the only option left to ‘frame’ and penetrate it in the media, good luck with that.

    • indiana 11.2

      Equally if she was so passionate about reducing poverty, what members bills did she champion whilst in opposition?

  12. Time to put the bung back into Stephen Joyces cakehole .

    • cleangreen 12.1

      Joyce is the master planner behind all, and BilliE is just a pupet of his paymaster it is that simple.
      National = hollowmp’s.

  13. useyourhead 13

    I know this is off topic but where is this 2 tb of national emails that kim dotcom promised would sink national before the election??? Anytime now kim?? A little sense of urgency has arisen on the matter given the last polls..

    • cleangreen 13.1

      useyourhead,
      Good question that is?
      ‘where is this 2 tb of national emails that kim dotcom promised would sink national before the election’???

    • Jon Jones 13.2

      You didn’t seriously believe that did you

      • tracey 13.2.1

        People are appatently still believing English is decent and trustworthy with billions, despite being a proven liar so it is a strange world indeed.

        • Jon Jones 13.2.1.1

          Depends on the lie I guess, the general consensus seems to be that the economy, and NZ, is doing all right especially compared with the rest of the OECD and so the government will be cut some slack and rewarded at the election

          Much like Labour was rewarded with three election wins

          • tracey 13.2.1.1.1

            I know it depends on the lie.

            Brown plus poor = bad lie
            White plus rich = good lie

            Ridiculous

      • useyourhead 13.2.2

        jon jones
        I take everything with a grain of salt but neither would surprise me. I personally belive natioanal is extremely unethical and definately have been doing underhanded things behind closed doors that would make the nation cringe. i also think it is very plausabile that if there was 2 tb of stolen emails out there kim dotcom would probably be in the right circles to have knowledge of this but i also see your point in that there is also likely personal grievences from kim dotcom that could have him making fraudulent claims.. I guess im trying to put out a batsignal in the sky asking Kim Dotcom to back up his bullshit.

        I also have no faith in the polls, my prediction is that the necessity of ease for voting this year is going to put the left into a landslide postion of power after the election. I believe this because the working class is often to time poor and fatigued to make it to the voting stations where as the right are organised and are often voting early. I think the overwhelming amount of early votes cast this year are in favor of the left as the right has already exploited this in the past so the difference this year will be in the working class favor.

        I also believe really at the core of it all the whole election system is a farce.. It is an age old system of divide and conquer, No party reaches out to me in any shape or form. Their thoughts and ideals are either outdated, impractical or simply rubbish. I believe the only true democracy is binding referendums and for people given the privaledge of representing us to be held accountable if they intentionally fuck us over. I hold no political allegence to be honest but as far as im concerned national has fucked the country i love dearly to the point i am ashamed to call myself a kiwi and admit that i sat on my hands while my kindered souls have been forced to suffer.

        I also read right blogs and find it very amusing that there is a common theme among them where they believe the left and uneducated to do not have the intellect to vote. They do this to elevate themselves into a position of superiority. Are feelings not also entitled to have a say. I am no fool but sometimes policies or more reasoning for policy goes over my head too. I think that if uneducated people simply feel that the direction of the country is not right or they feel that a party can lead their life in a better direction then that is just cause to have confidence in them.

        Sometimes intellect isnt everything. I would rather be in the company of happy smiling people , than have reason for polacies explained to me . my two cents

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    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 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
    3 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
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 hours 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
    23 hours 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
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