Nu phone who dis?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 6th, 2023 - 37 comments
Categories: act, david seymour, national, nz first, winston peters, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Let the circus start.

It is very early days and already, in what appears to be a finely calibrated insult to make David Seymour appear weak, Winston Peters has responded to the first overture from the Act leader for talks by ignoring him.

From Bridie Witton at Stuff:

NZ First leader Winston Peters says he will only hold coalition discussions with ACT Party leader David Seymour in person, and that he thought a text from Seymour after the general election was “fake” so he didn’t respond.

“You know that I am a people person. I want to see someone in person,” Peters said. “The communication came without any identification and I will explain that to him when I do see him.”

He got so many “fake calls” before and after the election that he also thought Seymour’s message – which he said came via text – was also fake.

“I thought this has gotta be fake so I didn’t answer it.”

Maybe I have watched too much West Wing but I thought that the initial contact between the leaders would have been finely choreographed including details of the time the call would be made to who would ring who.  There must be staffers working in the background organising this sort of thing.

The article reports that Act had tried to contact Peters on multiple occasions but had been ignored.

Of course this could have been dealt with on the quiet.  There was no need for the media to be alerted.  That already the media is being fed this information does not bode well for the Government’s future.

But what can you expect when one leader has previously said that they will not sit around a cabinet table with “this clown” or the other leader says that Seymour “reminds me of a chihuahua at the front gate barking at every cat, human being or fellow dog that passes by”.

As James Shaw previously said putting these guys in the same Government would be like putting two cats in a sack.  Stand by …

37 comments on “Nu phone who dis? ”

  1. Ad 1

    Jones and Peters for a Foreign Affairs+Defence combo.

  2. Mike the Lefty 2

    Did you ever get the feeling that you have been had?

    I wonder if all this nonsense is just a diversion from the real thing. Perhaps Seymour, Peters and Luxon are already in serious negotiation and they are playing everyone else for fools. They know how the MSM are preoccupied with personalities and identities and thus can easily be led away from discovering anything important by a few crafted insults and innuendo.

    Maybe I'm paranoid but I can't help thinking that this is just the council of thieves' masterplan and the public circus is a distraction.

    • Ghostwhowalks 2.1

      What you see is what you are getting.

      No way Peters will be negotiating – nothing in common to discuss- with the other minor party.

    • Thinker 2.2

      I don't think you're paranoid but I also don't think this is a public circus…

      I think that Peters is pleased by the outcome, in the sense that his 8 seats is only 3 MPs short of ACTs 11. Prior to the election, Luxon went from "I would phone him, but I hope I don't need to" to "It looks as if I will need to include Peters somehow" but I think Luxon and Seymour always had in mind a coalition of two, with NZF in there for a bit of extra margin.

      But, look at it this way: Based on the size of the governing coalition, National's 48 seats represents 72% of the vote, ACT has 16% and NZF has about 12%, which doesn't seem to change if National wins Port Waikato. If, as Winston imagines is possible, NZF wins Port Waikato, it will be ACT 16% and NZF 13%. So, the gap between NZF and ACT is going to be only 3 to 4%. Within the margin of error for a standard sample.

      Check Wikipedia – Peters has been in politics for the past 45 years and leader of the party he created for the past 30 years. Seymour has been leader of a party he didn't create for only 9 years.

      Yet, the impression I have is that Seymour still sees himself as the natural-born Number Two. Peters probably has quite the opposite view. IMHO, this is a contest to be the Beta male. Does Peters doff his hat to Seymour, or is it going to be the other way?

      Importantly, Peters knows that it will be Luxon that gets most of the blame for the length of time it takes to form a coalition – based on his “I’ve been CEO of Air NZ and now I’m CEO of NZ itself” kind of talk, so Peters has all the time in the world.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3

    Who dis?–Incel man from Epsom…dats who

    In case anyone missed it, the Greens beat Act in party votes.
    From the Electoral Commission site…
    Green–11.60%, 330,883
    Act–8.64%, 246,409

    Natzos and Act did not at all get the victory they thought they had on the night. Labour’s self sabotage with the Cap’n’s calls, and National and Acts big social media spend up remain major stories of the 2023 General Election.

    Agree with Mike the Lefty’s suspicion because all three will support the needs of capital first and foremost, even if Winston is more an old school tory rather than a neo liberal.

    • alwyn 3.1

      "In case anyone missed it, the Greens beat Act in party votes."

      I'm inclined to think that everyone except the people who actually voted for the Green Party missed it. And I also expect that they don't care.

      Until the Green Party decide that they are willing to deal with both the Labour or the National Party they are going to remain out the back with the kitchen staff where nobody outside their own little circle will notice them or take any interest in them.

      Meanwhile the smaller ACT and NZF parties will be in positions of real power and where they are able to have some real influence over the direction that New Zealand goes.

      C'est la vie.

      • Bruce 3.1.1

        Until the fires and floods demonstrate were the real power lies.

      • bwaghorn 3.1.2

        Act will never work with labour and until recently where on life support thanks to national, how is that different to the greens

      • Ghostwhowalks 3.1.3

        Actorrhoids have never had a Mp in Cabinet – despite their cohabitation with Shipleys Ship of fools and Keys first term where Nats and ACT were a majority.

        Maybe this will change soon but still find the aces held by Peters

      • That_guy 3.1.4

        The Greens have never ruled out working with National.

        It's just that they would need to be working in the same reality and with the same understanding of the laws of physics, which would mean National would have to move more than they are prepared to do.

  4. Dennis Frank 4

    I thought that the initial contact between the leaders would have been finely choreographed including details of the time the call would be made to who would ring who. There must be staffers working in the background organising this sort of thing.

    Presumption of competence & efficiency may seem sensible but inaccurate I suspect. More likely that both tails are intent on being first to wag the Nat dog.

    Being neolib, Luxon will use incremental steps in process. In practice, this is likely to mean alternating between the prospective partners. Only when a pattern of common ground emerges in the dim recesses of Luxon's mind will we see a troika process begin to gel into a plan for decision-making.

  5. Incognito 5

    What Peters was actually saying is that he didn’t know what the tree emojis (1 teapot + 2 teacups) with the question mark meant, and it was signed “Dave’s".

  6. Obtrectator 6

    When the call finally gets made, it'll be amusing to learn which of them acknowledged lesser status by coming on the line first, so that he had to wait for the other. An old. old power-ploy, and one that’s of excessive importance to some outsize egos.

  7. weka 8

    Assuming Peters is telling truthful truth there (a big assumption), who sends a text to open government coalition negotiations?

    This is the NZ a big chunk of voters wanted. Not allowed to criticise voters of course 🙄

    • AB 8.1

      It is what a big chunk of voters wanted. and despite numerous commentators describing it as a vote for change, it can equally be seen as a vote against change. Among other things:

      • against doing anything urgently about climate change (mitigation or adaptation)
      • against tackling economic inequality through engineering higher wages, FPAs and benefit increases
      • against improving housing affordability by using the tax system to weaken the demand from investors and by building social housing
      • against addressing deficits in water infrastructure
      • against continuing our 30-40 year long effort to recognise the Treaty and the importance of a Maori voice in public affairs
      • weka 8.1.1

        possibly. However what I meant was that a big chunk of people voted for this kind of MMP and coalition building. Whatever else is going on with policy, this undermines democracy. Whether people don't understand that, or do understand and don't care, I don't know. I suspect most people are thinking about it.

      • Ghostwhowalks 8.1.2

        All parties in 2019 voted for the Zero Carbo Act – except Seymour. That was when the national caucus was much larger than now.

        The noise from National is really about continuing the taxpayers paying for the farm share of emissions , same as they always have

        Remember it was John Key who went to Paris in 2016 and committed NZ to "30% less by 2030"

        As the Zero Carbon Act is in force cant see a way the election campaign bluster can get around it – except the farmers share being 'socialised'

  8. tsmithfield 9

    Hopefully a lot of the conflict between ACT and NZ First will subside when the are forced to focus on the superordinate goal of governing the country. From the link:

    In social psychology, superordinate goals are goals that are worth completing but require two or more social groups to cooperatively achieve.[1] The idea was proposed by social psychologist Muzafer Sherif in his experiments on intergroup relations, run in the 1940s and 1950s, as a way of reducing conflict between competing groups.

    That study by Sherif is fascinating. And, unfortunately, the type of study that would never get past the ethics committees these days.

    The study was called the Robbers Cave Experiment. The study was designed so conflict would naturally arise between two groups of young people who were both in the same general location, but became aware of each other as part of the experiment.

    Ingroup-Outgroup factors lead to a high degree of conflict and competition between the groups, to the point that the experimenters were quite worried about the degree of angst they had created.

    Various strategies were tried. But the only one that actually worked was creating situations where both groups had to work together to solve over-arching problems affecting both the groups.

    Based on this study, my prediction is that the conflict between ACT and NZ First will reduce substantially once they are forced to work together to meet the overarching super-ordinate goal of governing the country.

    • Dennis Frank 9.1

      Yeah, you got it. A useful lens into social darwinism. Prescriptions for non-violent conflict resolution have been in circulation the past 4 decades, so even slow-learner conservatives can be expected to cope.

      • tsmithfield 9.1.1

        I think we have noticed similar when the country has faced major situations over the last decade or so.

        While political parties on both sides of the fence have still had their political differences at these times, they have pulled together a lot more to solve those bigger issues.

    • AB 9.2

      Change that to – "in social psychology, superordinate goals are goals that are thought to be worth completing" – then you have described such a commonplace of human behaviour that it doesn't require a psychologist to point out.

      The actual goals of NACT-NZF are in my opinion either worthless in themselves, or where they are not worthless, the implementation will be attempted by methods that put them further out of reach

      • tsmithfield 9.2.1

        I guess any theory is at some level in the category of "thought to be" which is why it is a theory. So, I couldn't disagree with you there in principle.

        The actual goals of the individual parties are not what I am talking about here. Rather, it is the overarching goal of governing the country well that will require all those parties to work together to achieve.

      • tsmithfield 9.2.2

        The other thing is, I would agree with you that most of us would intuitively know that subordinate goals help reduce conflict. But the study highlighted that as a highly effective way of reducing conflict.

        In the study, the experimenters tried other strategies as well, from what I remember. For instance, having movie nights where they came together as a group etc. But, it was the superordinate goals that were actually effective.

    • SPC 9.3

      We still do these experiments today – it's called reality television in made up environment circumstances.

  9. observer 10

    It was so long ago (um, last month) but let's not forget the reassuring words of Willis and Luxon, immediately after the election …

    On the details of negotiations:

    "I've watched New Zealand elections play out over many years, I've been pretty unimpressed with the process in terms of how that gets done." (Luxon)

    Luxon keeping talks confidential | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)

    "We don't want this to turn into side shows and parlour games and media exposés, we want to have respectful, professional, confidential conversations" (Willis)

    National expects confidential coalition talks, Peters not likely to negotiate until special votes counted | RNZ News

    It's not clear what English/Ardern or Bolger/Clark once did that left Luxon so "unimpressed". Perhaps they answered their phones?

    • Thinker 10.1

      I think it means having a moral compass that allows you to Diss someone before the election then call them "Sir" the day after the official results came out, and still expect voters to trust you…

      Makes Winston sound a bit like Jim Croce's Leroy Brown…

      "Now Leroy more than trouble

      You see he stand 'bout six foot four

      All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"

      All the men just call him "Sir"

      • Barfly 10.1.1

        "Well the two men took to fighting
        And when they pulled them from the floor
        Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
        With a couple of pieces gone"

  10. ianmac 11

    Talking of power sharing, on Nick's Kōrero today Nick includes an exploration of Alex Stones on Labour/National power sharing. Why not have a Government where a bigger majority of voters chose? (26 + 38%)

    https://open.substack.com/pub/nickrockel/p/a-grand-coalition?r=25honw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email (Alex's bit is in the last quarter of the page.)

    "To two New Zealand political leaders, a call to responsible democratic leadership."

  11. SPC 12

    It's all about a one liner at the first three party meeting.

    Be quiet, the adults are talking.

  12. observer 13

    Every time Ardern went overseas the chorus of chaos would yell "photo op!". Never mind that she was doing the same things as Key, Clark and other previous PMs, attending the UN, signing trade deals, etc. She was Jacinda, therefore a dimbo bimbo who only wanted to look pretty on telly … because "Stardust".

    And now … what is Luxon desperate to do? Go overseas and do the photo-op, of course. (Yes, the PM should be at APEC … but only if he's the big bloke CEO, it seems).

    For Seymour and Peters, it's about the next 3 years. For Luxon, it's about next week.

    Newsroom reports:

    “Realistically, Seymour and Peters don’t place anywhere near as much importance on Luxon being there, but it certainly works to their advantage and their chance of cutting a deal knowing it matters to him.”

    In-Person Government Negotiations Slow Going | Newsroom

    • Ghostwhowalks 13.1

      Yes. hes very photo op focused.

      During election campaign he would have the obligatory local candidates as backdrop for a media question and answer….. except in Christchurch where the 'ancient' Gerry Brownlee was nowhere to be seen amoung the younger newer faces.

      Cleverly during the news segments Luxon would be an 'action' sequence during the walk around , not just "walking around' or talking but involved with the people – all staged of course.

  13. Thinker 14

    To be fair, it would be better for a Pm-elect to stay away.

    Despite the group-hug photos, things like APEC are a jostling for power and one-up-manship, and it would be better to send someone with plausible deniability "Sorry, I can't promise anything, I'm not Luxon" than it would be to have to say "Yes, I'm Luxon but can't promise anything while others are running Aotearoa as a caretaker government (because I haven't been able to conclude coalition talks with two subordinate politicians)".

    Karma is a wonderful thing to watch, from the outside looking in.

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    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    5 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    5 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    5 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    6 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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