Nat’s Mana strategy: exploit Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, November 3rd, 2010 - 47 comments
Categories: by-election, john key, national/act government, Parliament, Politics - Tags:

National is finding new exploitative ways to try save their by-election campaign in Mana.

Last week, Parliament’s Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee announced that the House will go into Urgency between 16 and 18 November. Urgency is the government’s way of speeding up legislation by enabling the House to sit for longer hours. It was recently used to pass the Hobbit Act.
 
But it’s clear that National has a secondary agenda.
 
Instead of granting Urgency during the first week of the next sitting session, Brownlee chose the second week. This seems odd given that if there were bills that were truly urgent, surely National would take the first opportunity to try and pass them.
 
So why would National call Urgency in the second week?
 
The second sitting week is also the final week of the Mana by-election campaign. Certainly, Urgency will tie up many Labour MPs who were otherwise planning to spend the final few days on the campaign trail in Mana. National will also be aware of Labour’s added difficulty of getting regular supporters to canvass during the working week.
 
However, National’s sole asset in Mana is John Key, who makes rare appearances in the House at the best of times. Urgency will barely stand in the way of Key’s enduring strategy of one-man photo-opportunities.
 
So for the most vital week of the by-election campaign, National will manipulate parliamentary process to help their campaign for Mana.
 
Obviously, this is grossly inappropriate. It’ll be interesting to see what lame bills Brownlee decides are ‘urgent’.

47 comments on “Nat’s Mana strategy: exploit Parliament ”

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  1. outofbed 1
    3 November 2010 at 8:43 am

    Can’t help feeling though, if Labour were an effective opposition they should be sleepwalking to victory in Mana.
    Pains me to say but Hekia winning, might be the kick up the jacksie that labour needs.

    • mickysavage 1.1
      3 November 2010 at 9:02 am

      The only possible way that Hekia could win would be if Matt McCarten took enough votes. I am still shaking my head on that decision.

      • Shane Gallagher 1.1.1
        3 November 2010 at 10:31 am

        Matt McCarten is dragging Labour to the left – I saw the interview on Q+A and he was by far the strongest candidate in terms of presentation and content. Fa’afoi was just a bit middle of the road really – very nice person, as is Jan Logie – but maybe that is Labour’s strategy.

      • Lazy Susan 1.1.2
        3 November 2010 at 12:58 pm

        I was initially puzzled by Matt McCarten’s decision to stand but now think it makes sense. He is saying the things he believes Labour should be saying but aren’t. If he takes alot of votes from Labour the worst that could happen is that Hekia comes through the middle. Not a good result in the short term but will pull Labour to the left before the next General Election. He is testing the water for Labour, exposing National and getting a bit of publicity for Unite.

        • Rex Widerstrom 1.1.2.1
          3 November 2010 at 3:56 pm

          Precisely.

          You’d only be “shaking your head” at Matt’s decision if you equate “what’s best for ordinary people” with “what’s best for Labour in its present form, because we know best”.

          The inability of Labour activists and its leadership to differentiate between the two is what is causing it to slowly decay.

      • Shazzadude 1.1.3
        3 November 2010 at 10:36 pm

        I actually think McCarten will come fourth.

  2. Roflcopter 2
    3 November 2010 at 8:58 am

    She may not win, but a reduction in the vote margin % between National and Labour compared to 2008 election, and whether that reduction is due to Hekia getting more or McCarten carving the left vote, is a rejection of Labour.

    • Marty G 2.1
      3 November 2010 at 9:07 am

      well, it’s not a rejection of labour if the labour candidate wins.

      National’s strategy is to out-perform expectations. They’ve been low-key in the national media hoping that Parata will get a higher than expected number of votes.

      Now that McCarten is in the race, of course, they will attempt to shift the focus to the size of Fa’afoi’s majority, claiming (as rofl does in proto-form above) that a smaller majority is somehow a victory for National over Labour, even if many of the votes have gone leftward.

    • gobsmacked 2.2
      3 November 2010 at 9:21 am

      John Key says it on the radio, Roflcopter says it on here five minutes later. Good dog!

      • Roflcopter 2.2.1
        3 November 2010 at 10:54 am

        Nice…

        Except I posted this opinion on other blogs weeks ago.

        But that’s ok, you just keep on with the name-calling, you do yourself no favours.

  3. Tigger 3
    3 November 2010 at 8:59 am

    Are you sure Key has time to lollop around Mana? Surely he’s too busy patting spiders and giving school girls hot flashes by making random appearances at their schools?

  4. Bunji 4
    3 November 2010 at 9:12 am

    Asked about her strategy to win a few weeks ago Hekia was heard to respond:
    “Low voter turnout.”

    This would appear to be part of that plan.

    • Lanthanide 4.1
      3 November 2010 at 9:50 am

      Wow, that’s an admission that should be trumpeted as widely and loudly as possible – National candidate seeks to edge in via voter apathy, because if people cared they’d never vote for her.

    • Fisiani 4.2
      3 November 2010 at 11:58 am

      Got a source for that totally made up quote

      • Fisiani 4.2.1
        3 November 2010 at 11:59 am

        Knew it.

        • Mac1 4.2.1.1
          3 November 2010 at 12:05 pm

          You can’t get holier than thou on this one, Fisiani.

          Politicians have the ‘H’ word for that behaviour. Indeed!

        • Bunji 4.2.1.2
          3 November 2010 at 4:15 pm

          I love how you expect a reply within a minute. Some of us have work, sorry.

          • felix 4.2.1.2.1
            3 November 2010 at 4:44 pm

            I love how Fizzy has never, ever, been able to produce even the thinnest sliver of evidence or any corroborating links for anything he has ever posted here, ever, despite being asked many many times.

        • bbfloyd 4.2.1.3
          3 November 2010 at 6:02 pm

          still practicing you maiden speech then fisi? needs more work… try asking paul holmes to write it for you… he’d write a good mouth frothing piece for you… right down your alley.

      • Colonial Viper 4.2.2
        3 November 2010 at 12:09 pm

        So are you saying that Hekia *wants* a higher voter turn out as possible?

        No , didn’t think so.

        • Rex Widerstrom 4.2.2.1
          3 November 2010 at 4:02 pm

          Hmmmm… in her position I would. Surely the lowest turnout would be in the Aotea / Whitby parts of the electorate where people – particularly without a party vote to cast – would think “National hasn’t got a chance, bugger it I’ll stay home”?

          An effective GOTV effort is her best chance. She’d also be hoping every single one of McCarten’s voters turned out, and the Greens as well.

          That’s quite a few people… so my instincts tell me Bunji’s been given mischevious gossip rather than fact (unless of course s/he is telling us it was overheard in teh first person, in which case I’d accept the truth of it).

          • Bunji 4.2.2.1.1
            3 November 2010 at 4:11 pm

            It is admittedly hearsay, but from a reputable source… but I’m most inclined to believe it because it would fit in with her best chances practically. A low turnout, combined with a good Get Out The Vote of her voters could push her over the line if the left is split (thanks Matt). It doesn’t matter to her how many McCarten / Greens voters turn out, just how many Labour voters stay home. Key and Perata have been going to the big Samoan churches and saying: back the Tangata Whenua candidate not the Tokelauan (same old National: divide and rule!); they’ve been pushing the line that Kris is imposed from the Goffice (despite the fact that the majority in any Labour selection panel is from locals); they’ve been pushing the line that he’s not true Labour, just a gun for hire… Anything to reduce the Labour vote, but nothing to push the race into the media, nothing to promote their own candidate and risk motivating Labour voters…

            • Rex Widerstrom 4.2.2.1.1.1
              3 November 2010 at 4:51 pm

              Key and Perata have been going to the big Samoan churches and saying: back the Tangata Whenua candidate not the Tokelauan (same old National: divide and rule!)

              Yuck that really is appealling to the underbelly of motivation. Though to be fair they’re not doing the dividing, that’s a facet of inter-Pasifika relations I didn’t realise till I heard my Samoan friends talking about people from other Pacific islands.

              I’d (naively, I now realise) assumed that what differences there may be would be subsumed by what united them – including being Pasifikans in a predominantly Pakeha/ Maori culture. But the animosity felt by all the Samoans I knew for other Pasifikans outweighed anything they might have felt for people of any other background.

              It’s an ugly scab to pick, in other words, but National didn’t cause it to form.

              If pollywog’s about, I wonder what he makes of it… and whether he thinks it’ll be an effective tactic? Because in my experience, denigrating one minority group to another can cause a temporary alignment of the two (not that I’ve done it, but I’ve seen it happen).

              • pollywog …
                3 November 2010 at 7:35 pm

                Yeah, it’s to my shame that Samoans truly are arrogant in their dealings with other Pasifikans.

                It comes from seeing ourselves as the originators and keepers of ‘true’ polynesian culture, such that everyone else is seen as young upstarts. You only have to look at David Tua’s ‘100% Samoan’ t-shirt print to get a feel for how much pride in Samoan culture exists to the detriment of other ‘lesser’ islands.

                It’s widely considered that Maori are our younger cousins, but in relation to the by election, my feeling is Samoans would vote more for a Tokelauan than a Maori and more so a man over a woman.

                It’s seems a last ditch effort by National to campaign within the churches along cultural lines and not something Samoans would give respect to. The whole ploy reeks of desperation so i’m afraid it’s looking like a cake walk for Fa’afoi.

                So how soon will his caring rhetoric evaporate once he gets his snout in the big house trough ???…before last drinks have been called at his victory party i reckon.

                be keen to see what bullshit promises he and Parata trot out tonight on ‘backbenches’, that they have no intention of following through on and to hear McCarten tell it like it is.

                • NickS …
                  3 November 2010 at 11:39 pm

                  It comes from seeing ourselves as the originators and keepers of ‘true’ polynesian culture, such that everyone else is seen as young upstarts.

                  Heh, archaeology fail. While Samoa was settled by the Lapita culture that gave rise to Polynesian culture, that development occurred across multiple islands thanks to trade networks (bar NZ, too damn far, too damn cold 😛 ) for as long as there was stuff to trade.

                  So really, Samoan culture is just one form of the myriad ones Polynesian culture took, as shaped by the environments of the islands people settled on, rather than the “source”, let alone the one true culture. Oh well, it’s not like Western cultures have ever gotten fully rid of the “Heirs of Rome And Greece” myth…

                  • pollywog …
                    4 November 2010 at 12:07 am

                    Archaeology is, IMO, hit and miss at the best of times and always subject to revisionism.

                    Putting aside Lapita ‘source’ culture, uniquely ‘original’ Polynesian culture came into its own in the early years of interaction between Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.

                    …but more than trade, it was also about the royal bloodlines and ruling houses of Polynesia running strongest through Samoa as does the Hawaiki myth of early NZ settlement being Savai’i.

                    Samoa can arguably, by way of holding onto the Pe’a/Tatau and not compromising it for the sake of christianity, be seen as a mark of keeping the ‘true’ culture alive.

                    …even if we don’t know what the symbolism truly means anymore, we can still be prideful and arrogant about our place in the general scheme of Pasifikan culture just by wearing it 🙂

                    • NickS …
                      4 November 2010 at 12:30 am

                      By archaeology I also include Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA migration studies, which place Maori founding populations on Islands south of Samoa 😛 (meh post tomorrow, need to sleep…)

                      But yeah, Polynesia doesn’t have the best conditions for preserving organic evidence, and loss of pottery makes normal methods a bit patchy. Though I’d link to think it’s mostly small revisions thanks to all the old white dudes having mostly died off by now…

                      Samoa can arguably, by way of holding onto the Pe’a/Tatau and not compromising it for the sake of christianity, be seen as a mark of keeping the ‘true’ culture alive.

                      …even if we don’t know what the symbolism truly means anymore, we can still be prideful and arrogant about our place in the general scheme of Pasifikan culture just by wearing it 🙂

                      Heh, that’s actually surprisingly common, useful stuff gets turned into purely symbolic traditions and the roots become lost due to it not being maintained in stories (or writing…) 😛

                      Oh yeah, that post was aimed at teh sentiment 😛

                      And Pe’a are frakking awesome, and I love how it’s only guys who get tattooed due to a mistake.

                    • pollywog …
                      4 November 2010 at 8:36 am

                      It’s my view that the cultural centre of Polynesia was always transcient as new cults of worship became prominent in various locales, subtly changing the core myths. Kind of like the changing of the gods in greek mythology and funnily enough Tonga means south which, conveniently, it is south of…Samoa 😛

                      Yeah i’ve heard some trivial stuff on the Pe’a but it’s a shame no one knows what it truly meant. I’ve always thought the curved bits on the side of one’s torso were star paths tracking zeniths, seasons and currents/tides such that the whole thing became a set of instructions for travel among the islands that only a select few could read..

                      and theres some nice looking Malu around on teh ladies.

  5. The Voice of Reason 5
    3 November 2010 at 11:45 am

    Key admitted they weren’t going to win on Nat Rad this morning. He said not increasing Laban’s majority was Labour’s only worry, because anything less than that result would mean Labour would have failed to give National a ‘blood nose’.

    Translated into english, it appears to mean they know they are going to get a thrashing, but will spin anything less than a total rout as some sort of victory.

    • felix 5.1
      3 November 2010 at 4:32 pm

      Exactly. And that’s why they’re doing it all on the ground with no media fanfare – so if they make a dent at all in the Lab vote they can say “And we weren’t even trying“.

      Which is bullshit of course, they’re trying their very hardest but they don’t want a repeat of Mt Albert where everyone knew they tried their hardest and still got pantsed.

  6. randal 6
    3 November 2010 at 11:56 am

    so keys and his crew are now putting rum in their tea and crying in their beer.

  7. randal 7
    3 November 2010 at 11:57 am

    they will get a thrashing all right.
    excuse the pun but they were the tea party before the tea party was invented and now the voters are going to show them the error of theri ways.

  8. Irascible 8
    3 November 2010 at 3:27 pm

    You mean to say that Key is actually still in the country? I thought he’d smiled, waved, scuttled and run off to see the country’s owners at the Warner Bros Studio while stopping off to have another holiday in Hawaii.

  9. Thomas forrow 9
    3 November 2010 at 5:52 pm

    Gee Matt’s got a good team in Mana ,billboards everywhere.
    I wonder what there target is ? 10%?
    Looking forward to backbenches tonight ;~)

  10. swordfish 10
    3 November 2010 at 5:54 pm

    As I suggested in comments on ‘Mana Campaign Heating Up’ (October, 26 – this site), the chances of Fa’afoi receiving anything like Winnie Laban’s 6100+ majority are fairly remote.

    There are two key factors:

    (1) The inevitably lower turnout. By-Election turnout is always well down on General Election turnout. Imagine Labour’s Fa’afoi receiving precisely the same proportion of the vote as Labour’s Laban did in 2008 (53%) and National’s Parata, likewise, receiving the same percentage as she (Parata) took in 2008 (35%). If turnout is only, say, 60% of what it was in Mana in 2008 then Fa’afoi’s majority would be cut to about 3700.

    This assumes that the fall-off in voter turnout would be relatively evenly-spread in terms of Party support. But many would argue that, traditionally, lower-income Labour supporters are the most difficult to get out to vote. If those staying at home are, indeed, disproportionately erstwhile Labour people, then obviously this majority would be cut even further.

    The only way Fa’afoi could retain anything like Laban’s 6100+ majority is if National’s vote absolutely collapsed (mainly from staying at home) as it did in Mt Albert last year. But Parata is not Melissa Lee and it seems very unlikely to happen. (although I don’t discount the possibility of some Nat voters staying at home because the media has led them to believe – I think wrongly – that Parata has no chance).

    (2) Just as importantly, a huge chunk of Laban’s 6100+ majority came from voters who were not, in fact, Labour supporters. With the luxury of two votes, these 4500 people cast their all-important Party-Vote for a party other than Labour and then went on to give Winnie Laban their Candidate-Vote. With only ONE vote in the by-election, it’s not beyond reason that most of these 4500 will return to the candidate representing the party they gave their Party-Vote to in 2008. (For example, the 1800 Greens who split their votes between Green (Party) and Laban (Candidate) returning to Green Candidate Logie rather than Labour’s Fa’afoi and so on).

    Result: a further significant cut in the majority.

    Labour are going to have to fight to retain as many of these 4500 as possible. (see my comments on October 26 for more details).

    Like Phil Quin at the Irredeemable blog, I have concerns that Mana is more vulnerable to the Tories than many understand. As a Mana voter and Labour supporter (albeit with some Harre/McCarten tendencies), I just can’t stand the idea of a Parata win ! Jesus !, can you imagine the crowing ? !!! Although it’s significantly more likely that Fa’afoi will take it out, I expect the majority to be cut heavily (for the reasons outlined above). And, of course, with the MSM (together with Key/Nats and Right-leaning blogosphere) setting an enormously high benchmark (anything other than a 6000+ majority as supposedly constituting a disaster for Labour/Goff), there is a clear potential, here, for negative momentum in the media regarding Centre-Left 2011 Election chances.

  11. climate justice 11
    3 November 2010 at 8:46 pm

    read about Matt’s campaign here: Matt’s election tabloid –
    http://www.matt4mana.com/Matt4Mana_A4_web.pdf

    Predictions of 1st,2nd,3rd,4th..?

    left unity?
    Alliance co-leader Kay Murray said the last-minute entry by Mr McCarten, who is backed by the Unite Union which he leads, took the party by surprise.

    “However, the Alliance is backing Matt’s campaign in the interests of a strong left challenge to National and Labour in the by election, despite having already selected its own candidate,” she said.
    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/alliance-backs-mccarten-over-own-candidate-132214

    • swordfish 11.1
      4 November 2010 at 5:07 pm

      @ climate justice: “Predictions of 1st,2nd,3rd,4th…?”

      My Provisional predictions (gut-feeling, still need to do the sums/think through properly):

      1st Fa’afoi (Lab) (majority: probably between 1200-2200) perhaps 12000 votes

      2nd Parata, (Nat) perhaps 10400 votes

      3rd Logie, (Green) 1600

      4th McCarten, (Ind) 1400

      All others combined, 400

      (Logie and McCarten to fight it out for 3rd place. McCarten somewhere between 1100 – 1700, Logie 1300 – 1900)

      Remember: When comparing with 2008 Party-Votes and Candidate-Votes, = Much lower turnout in By-Elections (and see my earlier comments for reasoning behind majority-size prediction).

  12. pollywog 12
    3 November 2010 at 10:21 pm

    re: ‘backbenches’

    Cracked me up Fa’afoi on his 1st week in parliament saying he’d make a maiden speech about how hard done by (some) Mana residents have it. It’d be like watching an ad for starving kids in Africa where you only care as long as the ad lasts. Its sad, but the feeling i get from watching him is, he’s only in it for himself as a wannabe career politician who’s lined up his opportunity since day one.

    McCarten however is in a class of his own. Love to hear more widespread coverage on the 1% transaction tax to replace GST that Brash was pimping back in the day. Shame he’s not local but you can hear the passion and caring in his voice towards all NZers especially the downtrodden and less well to do.

    Was good to hear Logie acknowledge the cultural bias in the system towards Pasifikan youth. It’d be easier to take her more seriously on all the good shit she said if she didnt smile inanely after dishing out the punchline. She pretty much looked like she’d lost the election already.

    Parata was doing it hard defending the gov’t on all policies so less time to put her own personal views forward and we’re left not knowing if she has any. She cuts a fine figure though and made a damn fine Key apologist, but not much more.

    Du Plessis can just fuck right off ‘cos he seems way out of his depth on local and national issues and is only regurgitating ACT policy like a good lil muppet with rodders hand right up his bum. So what if he’s lived there for 12 years ?…bet he doesn’t live in cannons creek.

  13. social justice 13
    3 November 2010 at 10:58 pm

    http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2010/10/matt-mccarten-for-mana-the-return-of-the-left.html
    Matt McCarten’s candidacy in the Mana by-election is one of the most promising developments on the New Zealand left for many years. Not only does this mean that the by-election just became much more interesting, McCarten’s campaign has much wider political ramifications…’

    Good Post on why MrCarten is in the race.

    …’there are a number of factors that make the assumption of a Labour/Faafoi victory less certain. Things can turn around quickly in politics, and by-elections are not normal elections – they’re often a chance for voters to experiment and send unusual messages. Maverick, colourful or under-dog candidates can often come from no where to win. And if anyone meets that criteria – it’s Matt McCarten. He’s certainly got the chutzpah to make things happen in politics, and he’s been achieving the so-called unachievable in New Zealand politics for over two decades now….’

    …McCarten will have a huge support infrastructure that he can tap into. There’s a number of left intellectuals like Laila Harre, Chris Trotter, Marty ‘Bomber’ Bradbury, John Minto, Mike Lee, Cathy Casey, etc, who might be expected to help rally the troops and design a leftwing political platform that will resonate with Mana voters. Maybe even some more Labour/Green partisans like Andrew Campbell and Sue Bradford might also pitch in.

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  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • No new funding for cycling & walking

    Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 99

    Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership

    One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.

    This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Tea and Toast

    When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago
  • Can Brown deliver his roads

    The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X

    Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”

    In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

    On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Israeli Lives Matter

    There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Luxon Cries

    Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland

    A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?

    This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35

    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

    I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When Do We Look Away?

    Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • The decades just fly by

    You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: August

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • White Noise

    Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.

    Norman KirkPrime Minister of New Zealand 1972-1974Born: 6 January 1923 - Died: 31 August 1974Of the working-class, by the working-class, for the working-class.Video courtesy of YouTubeThese elements were posted on Bowalley Road on Saturday, 31 August 2024. ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Claims and Counter-Claims.

    Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent  that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand Honours Maori King ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • The Principles of the Treaty

    Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.Treaty principles were introduced into the governance of New Zealand ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Only Other Reliable Vehicle.

    An Elite Leader Awaiting Rotation? Hipkins’ give-National-nothing-to-aim-at strategy will only succeed if the Coalition becomes as unpopular in three years as the British Tories became in fourteen.THE SHAPE OF CHRIS HIPKINS’ THINKING on Labour’s optimum pathway to re-election is emerging steadily. At the core of his strategy is Hipkins’ view ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • A Big F U to this Right Wing Government

    Open to all - deep thanks to those who support and subscribe.One of the things that has got me interested recently is updates about Māori wards.In April, Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported that ~ 2/3 of our 78 councils had adopted Māori wards in NZ.That meant that under the Coalition repeal ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: James Shaw’s legacy keeps paying off

    One of the central planks of the previous Labour-Green government's emissions reduction policy was GIDI (Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry). This was basically using ETS revenue to pay polluters to clean up production, reducing emissions while protecting jobs. Corporate welfare, but it got the job done, and was often a ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Gravity

    Oh twice as much ain't twice as goodAnd can't sustain like one half couldIt's wanting moreThat's gonna send me to my kneesSong: John MayerSome ups and downs from the last week of August ‘24. The good and bad, happy and sad, funny and mad, heroes and cads. The week that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Ditch the climate double speak and get real

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The Government announced changes to the Fast-Track Approvals Bill on Sunday, backing off from the contentious proposal to give ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to August 30

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest science of changing sea temperatures and which emissions policies actually work; on the latest from Ukraine, Gaza and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • This Govt’s infrastructure strategy depends on capital gains taxes & new road taxes

    Billions of dollars in value uplift was identified around the Transmission Gully project, but that was captured 100% by landowners and not shared to pay for the project. Now National is saying value capture should be used for similar projects. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/ Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 30-August-2024

    Kia ora and welcome to the end of another week. Here’s our regular Friday roundup of things that caught our eye, in the realm of cities and transport. If you enjoy these roundups, feel free to join our growing ranks of supporters by making a recurring donation to keep the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Table Talk: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.

    “That’s the sort of constitutional reform he favours: conceived in secret; revolutionary in intent; implemented incrementally without fanfare; and under no circumstances to be placed before the electorate for democratic ratification.”TO SAY IT WAS RAINING would have understated seriously the meteorological conditions. Simply put, it was pissing down. One of ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Big Norm and Chris Hipkins

    It’s 50 years ago today that “Big Norm” Kirk died of a heart attack in Wellington’s Home of Compassion. Home of Compassion. Although he was Prime Minister for only 623 days, he has an iconic place in New Zealand history, particularly Labour history. When Labour leaders like Jacinda Ardern recite ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #35 2024

    Open access notables Arctic glacier snowline altitudes rise 150 m over the last 4 decades, Larocca et al., The Cryosphere: We mapped the snowline (SL) on a subset of 269 land-terminating glaciers above 60° N latitude in the latest available summer, clear-sky Landsat satellite image between 1984 and 2022. The mean SLA was extracted ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

    A Crown Response Office is being established within the Public Service Commission to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. “The creation of an Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report.  “It will have the mandate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister has today announced three new appointments and one reappointment to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) board. Tracey Berry, Nicholas Hegan and Mariette van Ryn have been appointed for a five-year term ending in August 2029, while Chris Swasbrook, who has served as a board member ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

    5 September 2024  The Government is progressing further reforms to financial services to make it easier for Kiwis to access finance when they need it, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.  “Financial services are foundational for economic success and are woven throughout our lives. Without access to finance our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

    As Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is laid to rest today, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to a leader whose commitment to Kotahitanga will have a lasting impact on our country. “Kiingi Tuheitia was a humble leader who served his people with wisdom, mana and an unwavering ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Resource Management reform to make forestry rules clearer

    Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced proposals to reform the resource management system that will provide greater certainty for the forestry sector and help them meet environmental obligations.   “The Government has committed to restoring confidence and certainty across the sector by removing unworkable regulatory burden created by the previous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • More choice and competition in building products

    A major shake-up of building products which will make it easier and more affordable to build is on the way, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Today we have introduced legislation that will improve access to a wider variety of quality building products from overseas, giving Kiwis more choice and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Joint Statement between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand 4 September 2024, Seoul

    On the occasion of the official visit by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to the Republic of Korea from 4 to 5 September 2024, a summit meeting was held between His Excellency President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnership the goal for New Zealand and Korea

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. “Korea and New Zealand are likeminded democracies and natural partners in the Indo Pacific. As such, we have decided to advance discussions on elevating the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • International tourism continuing to bounce back

    Results released today from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) confirm international tourism is continuing to bounce back, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey says. The IVS results show that in the June quarter, international tourism contributed $2.6 billion to New Zealand’s economy, an increase of 17 per cent on last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government confirms RMA reforms to drive primary sector efficiency

    The Government is moving to review and update national level policy directives that impact the primary sector, as part of its work to get Wellington out of farming. “The primary sector has been weighed down by unworkable and costly regulation for too long,” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.  “That is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Weak grocery competition underscores importance of cutting red tape

    The first annual grocery report underscores the need for reforms to cut red tape and promote competition, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “The report paints a concerning picture of the $25 billion grocery sector and reinforces the need for stronger regulatory action, coupled with an ambitious, economy-wide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government moves to lessen burden of reliever costs on ECE services

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the Government has listened to the early childhood education sector’s calls to simplify paying ECE relief teachers. Today two simple changes that will reduce red tape for ECEs are being announced, in the run-up to larger changes that will come in time from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Over 2,320 people engage with first sector regulatory review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says there has been a strong response to the Ministry for Regulation’s public consultation on the early childhood education regulatory review, affirming the need for action in reducing regulatory burden. “Over 2,320 submissions have been received from parents, teachers, centre owners, child advocacy groups, unions, research ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government backs women in horticulture

    “The Government is empowering women in the horticulture industry by funding an initiative that will support networking and career progression,” Associate Minister of Agriculture, Nicola Grigg says.  “Women currently make up around half of the horticulture workforce, but only 20 per cent of leadership roles which is why initiatives like this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government to pause freshwater farm plan rollout

    The Government will pause the rollout of freshwater farm plans until system improvements are finalised, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. “Improving the freshwater farm plan system to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers is a priority for this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Milestone reached for fixing the Holidays Act 2003

    Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden says yesterday Cabinet reached another milestone on fixing the Holidays Act with approval of the consultation exposure draft of the Bill ready for release next week to participants.  “This Government will improve the Holidays Act with the help of businesses, workers, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New priorities to protect future of conservation

    Toitū te marae a Tāne Mahuta me Hineahuone, toitū te marae a Tangaroa me Hinemoana, toitū te taiao, toitū te tangata. The Government has introduced clear priorities to modernise Te Papa Atawhai - The Department of Conservation’s protection of our natural taonga. “Te Papa Atawhai manages nearly a third of our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Faster 110km/h speed limit to accelerate Kāpiti

    A new 110km/h speed limit for the Kāpiti Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS) has been approved to reduce travel times for Kiwis travelling in and out of Wellington, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • IVL increase to ensure visitors contribute more to New Zealand

    The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) will be raised to $100 to ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences while visiting New Zealand, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Matt Doocey and Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka say. “The Government is serious about enabling the tourism sector ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Delivering priority connections for the West Coast

    A record $255 million for transport investment on the West Coast through the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) will strengthen the region’s road and rail links to keep people connected and support the region’s economy, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “The Government is committed to making sure that every ...
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  • Record investment to boost economic and housing growth in the Waikato

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  • Building reliable and efficient roading for Taranaki

    A record $808 million for transport investment in Taranaki through the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) will support economic growth and productivity, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Taranaki’s roads carry a high volume of freight from primary industries and it’s critical we maintain efficient connections across the region to ...
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  • Supporting growth and resilience in Otago and Southland

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  • Delivering connected and resilient roading for Northland

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  • Top of the South to benefit from reliable transport infrastructure

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  • Transport resilience a priority for Gisborne

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