NZ is number one – for domestic violence

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, March 23rd, 2017 - 96 comments
Categories: crime, domestic violence, human rights - Tags: , , , , ,

The fact that NZ leads the world in domestic violence is one of the awful symptoms of just how stressed and messed up this country is. So it’s good to see this opinion piece from Amy Adams:

NZ’s highest rate of family violence in the developed world – Amy Adams has ‘had enough’

There are plenty of successes to celebrate in this country. … Less well-known, however, is that we also top the world at the rate in which we beat our partners and kids. We have the highest rates of family violence in the developed world.

This is a shameful record.

Every five minutes police are called out to respond to abuse happening somewhere. Kids are present at two thirds of these incidents. Each year the number of family violence cases climbs.

Even after the bruises fade, the damage lives on.

Those who experience family violence go on to perpetuate the abuse on others. They are less likely to finish school and keep down a job, and are more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol, and end up homeless. They are three times more likely to attempt suicide.

When someone dies at the hands of another in this country, nearly half of these are family violence.

I’ve had enough. And so have most of you.

So we’re doing something about it.

The system is broken but the Government introduced sweeping reforms to overhaul it.

Read on for an outline of the changes – some of it looks good.

I’m proud to be part of a Government that’s prepared to take on the big challenges.

A cynic might ask why you waited until election year to publicly highlight domestic violence and “take on the big challenges”. Because this problem has existed for decades, and we topped the world in 2015. Rachel Stewart wrote at the time:

New Zealand has reached the pinnacle of world number one in domestic violence

There’s no doubt that New Zealand’s epidemic of domestic violence lies firmly at the feet of men. As does the solution.

Sorry boys, but it’s just not acceptable to trot out the tired old line that women hit men too. It’s a fact that men physically hurt women many times more than the reverse, and implying anything else is just another form of abuse towards us.

New Zealand has reached the pinnacle of world number one in domestic violence statistics. We now have the highest reported rate of intimate partner violence in the developed world.

Police undertook more than 100,000 investigations into domestic abuse last year. In 2013 children were present at 63 per cent of the callouts police attended.

Yet, it’s estimated that 90 per cent of family violence goes unreported.

Think on that for a moment. Sit with it. Let it sink in. …

There was an extended discussion here on The Standard, see the end of that post for links to a list of organisations offering help.

It’s great that the government is planning some action on this shameful situation. It’s a pity that they are treating the consequences, not the underlying social problems that contribute so much to the causes, and it’s a pity that it’s taken so long.

96 comments on “NZ is number one – for domestic violence ”

  1. Draco T Bastard 1

    It’s a pity that they are treating the consequences, not the underlying social problems that contribute so much to the causes

    A lot of those social problems are caused by this governments policies of punishing poor people for being poor and cutting taxes for the rich.

    This government can’t really address the underlying social problems because they’re the cause of them.

  2. Belladonna 2

    Shameful – as is the lack of interest in mental abuse. Hopefully Labour will actually do something about both forms of abuse.

  3. Gosman 3

    It is errant nonsense to suggest we have the highest rate of domestic violence in the developed world. I presume this means the OECD and is linked to reports such as the following https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/SF3_4_Family_violence_Jan2013.pdf.

    I think it is inconceivable that NZ has a domestic violence rate higher than incredibly macho societies with severe social issues such as Mexico. The fact that Sweden has a higher domestic violence rate against women greater than Mexico suggests the rankings have more to do with how the people in society report or regard domestic violence rather than actual real rates. Indeed if you look at the numbers of children impacted by domestic violence Mexico has a much, much higher rate than NZ.

    This is not to state there isn’t work to be done to eliminate domestic violence just that trying to paint NZ as being some sort of pariah nation due to it is disingenuous.

    • One Two 3.1

      Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Counter Party Risk

      Gosman the handle bot is disingenuous…

    • Keith 3.2

      Ahh, Mexico, the white world’s new straw man. Why Mexico?

      Gosman, it’s real, we’re a violent society! Fueled by cheap booze, drugs, a steady diet of violent sports or media, unaffordable accommodation and that alone is a major stressor, gross inequality and all that hopelessness that goes with that and for the past several years cut backs to public services painted as “efficiencies”.

      The recipe has all the ingredients and no one should be surprised!

      • Muttonbird 3.2.1

        It seems he has a thing for Latin America.

      • timeforacupoftea 3.2.2

        I have just returned from the USA where booze is 3 to 4 times cheaper than it is in New Zealand. I was buying NZ wine and Steinlager far cheaper than here.
        New Zealand is a very expensive country to live in.
        Still no excuse to bash our kids though,
        our morals have collapsed get used to it.
        I’ve been bankrupt 3 times here in NZ and not all my doing either, never bashed anyone, perhaps should have.
        We went from $800,000 to negative $300,000 in a matter of weeks in the eighties.
        We slept with a gun under the bed and a guy had heard about our problem and wanted to help. He said for $5,000 he would take out the person that caused our grief. Naturally it was tempting but NO was the answer in 20 seconds
        New Zealand is a great country to bounce back from poverty to riches.

        We have a heap of bad buggers here for sure.
        Our prisons tell the true story.

        • Keith 3.2.2.1

          Booze is just one of the MANY factors I have outlined. Of course you know that. And it is very cheap here, far more than Aussie just not in bars.

          We were beating up our families long before this but modern NZ has more stressors/enablers than before including naggingly high unemployment .

          It is interesting to note that police have kept detailed records for at least 15 years. And you could add into the mix the huge difficulty the police and justice system have holding these abusers to account.

          Of course none of this justifies anyone assaulting or abusing anyone. But enablers are part of the problem too!

    • Alex 3.3

      You’re absolutely right about incidence vs. reported incidence and it’s obvious to anyone who spends even a moment thinking about it.

      Family violence is massively under-reported.

      I work in a developing country in a programme to strengthen law and justice systems. Here, there is evidence that around 2/3’s of women experience frequent intimate partner violence. Last year reported incidents of family violence increased by 500% (from a very low baseline) and we are celebrating.

      The fact that NZ has the highest rates of reported violence says nothing about incidence; rather, and more likely, it shows that family violence is increasingly unacceptable to NZ’ers and that there is good access to support for victims and adequate information systems to capture and report the information.

  4. One Two 4

    Domestic violence
    Male suicide
    Female suicide
    Teen pregnancy
    Homelessness
    Inequality

    And many more…

  5. Gosman 5

    Here are some actual statistics on Domestic violence in Mexico

    “In Mexico, the most recent official nationwide survey indicates that 44.9% of women have suffered some form of violence in their homes, with 25.8% of women reporting physical violence; 11.7% sexual violence; 56.4% economic violence; and 89.2% emotional violence”

    http://theconversation.com/sexual-and-domestic-violence-the-hidden-reasons-why-mexican-women-flee-their-homes-65352

    Are we seriously to believe that the rate in NZ is worse than that?

    [put up a comparison with the NZ information. It better be good, reliable information too that includes analysis of the different kinds of DV and how they are measured. Otherwise I’ll consider this trolling and moderate accordingly – weka]

    [and you need to likewise provide back up for the Mexico figures as well. The article you link to relies on a report in Spanish. You’re in premod until this gets sorted – weka]

    • Gosman 5.1

      Here’s a link to statistic from NZ

      http://areyouok.org.nz/family-violence/statistics/

      “1 in 3 women experience physical and/or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetime. (10)”

      This equates to a rate of 33 1/3% for woman and as they are by far the victims of domestic violence that would mean that is the upper level for the rate.

      Here is a link to statistics in Mexico

      http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=360771&CategoryId=14091

      “MEXICO CITY – Thirty-eight percent of Mexican women suffer physical, sexual or psychological aggression, and nearly 75 percent of victims don’t report the abuse, according to a report from industrial-safety consultants GMSI.”

      Is this sufficient?

      [no, it’s not. Reread my original moderation notes. – weka]

      • Gosman 5.1.1

        Here’s WHO report which breaks down Intimate partner violence prevalence by region (not country).

        http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85239/1/9789241564625_eng.pdf?ua=1

        Given the fact that we are in an area where the prevalence rate is amongst the LOWEST (not highest) in the World (even compared to places like Europe and the America’s) and that the Western Pacific includes a nation such as PNG where Domestic violence is extremely high I would argue it is inconceivable that NZ has the highest rate of Domestic violence in the World.

        [I’m not going to open a PDF file in order to figure out what you are on about. You could have cut and pasted, or typed out the relevant bits. 2 week ban for wasting my time. My suggestion is next time put some effort into your first comment rather than expecting others to chase up detail. Otherwise it looks like trolling – weka]

    • Gosman 5.2

      Here’s another article from last year about violence against women in Mexico

      http://www.womens-forum.com/news/womens-forum-mexico-context-report

      [dropping links doesn’t equal “It better be good, reliable information too that includes analysis of the different kinds of DV and how they are measured.”. I can’t mind read what you think is important about that link and I’m not going to start doing your homework. You started this, it’s up to you to do the legwork. I’m starting to feel like my time as a moderator is being wasted – weka]

      • Antoine 5.2.1

        PS weka, Absolutely not challenging your moderation or supporting Gosman, but I’m pretty sure he is actually right (Having spent some time in South America). Not that that detracts in any way from the importance of addressing family violence here.

        • McFlock 5.2.1.1

          If he was right, he didn’t show it. Some of those links he dumped were almost sixty pages long, and some of them seemed to have different measures if you trawled through them enough.

          They didn’t just differ on year of measurement, either: Look at his comment 5.1. He actually provided NZ data for “physical and sexual violence”, took the phrase “1 in 3” to literally mean 33 1/3%, and compared it with 38% for Mexico’s rate of “physical, sexual or psychological aggression”. If 5% of NZ’s women experience “psychological aggression” but no other types, and we make the massive assumption that “aggression” and “violence” are interchangeable (and I’ve been in meetings where people spent 30minutes discussing the semantic differences of an en-dash vs an em-dash), then Gossy is plain wrong.

          Hell, I’m a Grade 5 bureaucrat and even I had difficulty finding vaguely relevant bits in some of gossy’s links. It would have been simpler if he’s just done the link with, say, “page 37 figure 5.1” so we could see what planet he was on.

          But he was just doing a dox version of a gish gallop. He knows how to argue (we’ve crossed links several times), and he wasn’t doing it. He just wanted to be a jerk.

        • weka 5.2.1.2

          I have no idea if he was right or wrong. As McFlock points out, he knows how things work here and he didn’t demonstrate anything meaningful about what he was asserting. Nor did he really make an argument. He just dropped some shit in the thread multiple times that was going to take other people a lot of work to figure out if it was true or not. I looked at the first link which referenced a document in Spanish and understood he was just pulling any old shit off google to run lines that were inflammatory with not intention of backing them up.

          He could have raised the issue in a different way, but my guess is he was way more interested in shit stirring than he was in what DV is actually about.

          tl;dr he trolled.

          • Antoine 5.2.1.2.1

            Not disagreeing with you there

          • David C 5.2.1.2.2

            Oh come on weka you know he was right, A casual glance at the links proves his argument, but the message didnt suit so you smashed him.

            But hey that is your right.

            [read the Policy and About. You can argue just about whatever line you want here but you don’t get to criticise authors/moderators, nor tell lies about their motivations. In this case my motivation was that I think that women and DV survivors have more rights to this space than people with patterns of troll behaviour like Gosman. He had his chance to make an actual argument, he didn’t take it. He knows how it works here. You’ve been here long enough to know the rules too – weka]

  6. james 6

    All domestic violence is bad – and there is no doubt that there are issues in parts of NZ culture.

    But I wonder how they make the measurement – to make us the worst in the world – take some countries where women get little to no rights like Saudi Arabia – I would guess that there is more violence toward women – although the measurements (or reporting) would be somewhat different.

    Regardless – concentrating on NZ – I have no idea how to tackle it – but something needs to be done.

    • Gosman 6.1

      James, that is easily countered by the fact that they are only meaning the ‘developed’ world (although why that is important is not made clear). That is why places where there is a massive problem with domestic violence like South Africa are not included. However even if we accept that as being a valid measuring stick the statistics being used are majorly suspect as I have pointed out.

      • weka 6.1.1

        see moderation note above.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.2

        Actually, the only thing that’s majorly suspect is you and your insistence that we’re not the worst in the world.

        James, that is easily countered by the fact that they are only meaning the ‘developed’ world (although why that is important is not made clear).

        It’s fairly important distinction. See, we of the developed world should have similar statistics and similar standards. That’s what ‘developed’ pretty much means. The fact that we’re falling behind in many of those standards and are going up in some pretty bloody statistics is a serious cause for concern.

        The fact that you then come in and say but we’re not the worst WAAAAAAH as an attempted distraction from the worsening conditions here just show how sociopathic you are in you defence of a status quo that’s causing irreparable harm to so many.

        • james 6.1.2.1

          You deliberately missed 2/3’s of my post.

          Your hatred blinds you.

        • Korero Pono 6.1.2.2

          It is no coincidence that the rate of abuse/violence in New Zealand has increased in conjunction with free market reforms. The fact that New Zealand has the worst DV rates in the developed world perhaps provides anecdotal evidence that the free market experiment has failed. Women and children are at risk of being locked into abusive relationships by a Government that has undermined and devalued the role of parenting, a government that has forced women into unstable, low paid work and forced single mothers to juggle the demands of children, employers and a society who constantly judges them for their supposed failings.

          Reported DV is just the tip of the iceberg and for some women may be the lesser of two evils when the alternative is entering a draconian and punishing benefit system that is psychologically abusive and degrading or a family court system that forces women into close proximity and communication with their abuser further traumatizing them and their children. Every which way victims of violence turn there are barriers that make it extremely difficult for them to leave their abusers – and that is before they even start to untangle and overcome the psychological impacts of the abuse in their domestic relationship – only to find themselves in an abusive relationship with the state and a society that judges women, particularly those with children and reliant on benefits.

          • Andrew O 6.1.2.2.1

            Korero Pono:

            It is no coincidence that the rate of abuse/violence in New Zealand has increased in conjunction with free market reforms.

            Correlation is not causality. It’s most likely to coincide with society’s growing intolerance to it and the consequences of introducing DPB. Solo parenting is definitely a major cause of family violence.

            Research proves it:

            [deleted]

            [It looks like you have cut and paste from either the source document or a website reprint. Either you or where you got it from have changed some of the original wording. You didn’t provide a link, which is required if you are cut and pasting, but also the references are meaningless without the reference list. You criticise another commenter about correlation and causation but it looks to me like the research you are trying to use to back your argument doesn’t in fact claim what you do and that you are equating correlation with causation yourself. All of that is bad enough, but to do it under a post on such a sensitive topic as domestic violence is out of bounds.

            Banned until 1 month after the election for all that and wasting moderator time. You don’t comment much here, but my suggestion is that you read the About and Policy if you decide to come back, and then learn how the place works – weka]

            • Bill 6.1.2.2.1.1

              Daddy O, Andrew O!

              Twisted ‘cherry picking bullshit’ behaviour will see the life expectancy of your commenting ability here diminish to zero in something like double quick time.

            • Korero Pono 6.1.2.2.1.2

              Andrew O, it is a pity that I wasn’t able to read the rest of your post, which I have no doubt is just as ignorant as the statement “Correlation is not causality. It’s most likely to coincide with society’s growing intolerance to it and the consequences of introducing DPB. Solo parenting is definitely a major cause of family violence”.

              Did I hit a raw nerve? You have not substantiated your claim but from a purely academic point of view it would be great to see the research that “proves it” as you claim. I have read plenty of research showing the correlation between sole parenting, poorly paid work and child abuse. Of course that is quite complex but interestingly shows that children who live in homes with a single parent (usually women) are more likely to be abused if those women are forced into low paid, unstable working conditions…pretty much the situation that the Natzis have forced upon women and children across New Zealand under the guise of protecting ‘vulnerable’ children.

              • weka

                It was a long cut and paste. The source document appears to be this (below), but Andrew had changed the wording of what he was quoting and appeared to be taking things out of context and misrepresenting the research. Far too complicated to parse and make sense of as a moderator.

                I’d be interested to know what you think of the research though.

                http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/WhaHap/itc/pdf/fatheringourcity.pdf

                • Korero Pono

                  I see what you mean about this document. My immediate thoughts on the brief glance I had is I would question the validity and the theoretical underpinnings of the ‘research’ – also the author appears to be active in men’s groups that have a gripe with the family court system – It may be that they are naturally going to use research that supports their position, whilst seeking out research that suggest that women are not doing so well. One of the reference materials comes from an author with a similar agenda. I think the research may not be as objective as it should or could be.

                  • weka

                    Ok, thanks. When I looked at the cut and paste and tried to google it, my first result was an MRA site. But then when I found the original document it did have statements in it about this not being about negating women or putting them down. I found it hard to judge without reading the whole thing and following up the references, but for me there was too much emphasis on the negatives of fatherless families as if all fatherless families are somehow lesser or can never be whole (which is a hugely problematic position to take).

                    It’s a hard conversation to have. There are some pretty serious issues in NZ around men and their roles, and these discussions are too often left to the MRAs.

      • Muttonbird 6.1.3

        This is a favourite ploy of rwnjs like Gosman, Hooten, and Farrar.

        When unflattering statistics are reported about the current government’s New Zealand they immediately compare us with African countries, or post-war and rationed New Zealand, and even medieval Europe.

        Also a favorite is to flood the argument with numbers and analogies completely irrelevant to the area of concern, as Farrar did when he parroted Dr Nick’s 500 Trillion litres line.

        They do this in an attempt deflect reasonable analysis of what is best for all Kiwis.

        • BM 6.1.3.1

          You blame the government for ferals giving females the bash?

          • weka 6.1.3.1.1

            Ferals?

          • McFlock 6.1.3.1.2

            so now “ferals” includes Tony Veitch, not just grieving West Coast mothers & widows?

          • bwaghorn 6.1.3.1.3

            hard not ”blame the government” to when the chief feral was pulling fucking girls pony tails and amy adams said fuck all then

            • BM 6.1.3.1.3.1

              How was that domestic violence?

              • McFlock

                It was an example of what tories think is an acceptable way to treat people – if you’re rich.

                • BM

                  Personally, I thought that was probably the dumbest thing Key did, having said that I don’t think he meant any malice, he was just clowning around as he does and it backfired on him rather badly.

                  What ever happened to that waitress?

                  • McFlock

                    No idea. I’d be surprised if she was still employed there after the entire glucina bullshit her bosses lobbed on her. Hope she got a decent cheque.

                    BTW, loved the ‘boys-will-be-boys’ angle you just played.

                    • BM

                      I read that she left that job which dosen’t really come as a surprise, it would have been a rather uncomfortable work place.

                      No idea what she’s doing now.

          • Muttonbird 6.1.3.1.4

            They are certainly to blame for worsening indicators of social stress.

            • BM 6.1.3.1.4.1

              Social stress, phfft, stop making excuses.

              These guys just need to grow the fuck up get a bit of control and deal with life like a fucking adult.

              • Muttonbird

                It’s like you don’t understand basic anthropology.

                • BM

                  When you get angry or frustrated do you beat your Missus? or your kids?

                  Lots of excuse making going on here.

                  • Banjo

                    Domestic violence is not just physical abuse though. Theres a whole range of controlling behaviours that can culminate into physical violence as outlined in the violence wheel.

                    It seems to me that some of these behaviours are socially acceptable in certain situations, like minimising, denying & blaming. We often see that happen in public discussion around high profile incidents – a woman speaks out and her concerns aren’t taken seriously, the blame is put on her, she was just being silly, or drunk or an attention seeker.

                    How an individual manages anger or frustration is part of the issue but there is also a wider cultural context of how women are treated in general by a society.

                    http://www.domesticviolence.org/violence-wheel/

    • adam 6.2

      Concern trolling at i’s despicable best.

      What a winner you are james, what a winner.

    • Red Hand 6.3

      All domestic violence is bad. I don’t think so. Violence to prevent this would be justified IMO.

      https://kindnessblog.com/2014/08/27/the-love-of-a-mother-and-her-3-year-old-daughter-who-were-attacked-with-acid-by-their-husbandfather/

  7. Antoine 7

    Even if we did not have the highest rate of violence in the developed world, it would be good to reduce it.

  8. Tricldrown 8

    Looking at the Reasons why NZ has so high rates.
    Our rugby mentality
    Alcohol 75% of police time wasted on alcohol related crime.
    Combine that with family break downs.
    Poor housing high unemployment.
    Low wages.
    Poor relationship skills.
    All add up to a disaster.
    We need to do something about it.
    National have made this problem a lot worse by making housing unaffordable

  9. Greg 9

    Another terrible statistic after nine years of national .domestic violence is a sign of socail break down and stress in the community 9 years of legends in there own time government and a big zero just terrible statistics and hopelessness thanks national . One simple thing would be to mix housing but this says it’s all to hard.

  10. Cinny 10

    Self control and stress relief are we teaching that? How stressed is everyone? How much pressure in peoples lives? Money worries are a contributing factor. Living wage anyone? Bad things start to happen when basic needs aren’t met (food, clothing, shelter). Housing crisis? Huge volumes of people going to food banks?

    Learned behaviour, are we demonstrating that? To our children, to each other. We see adults tv, advertised during general viewing hours, nice bit of violence, death, CSI whatever, to keep minds occupied while their programme resumes.

    Educate the people, far out it really is that bloody easy. Make it unacceptable for any domestic violence within your social circle, men need to speak up about it, rather than turning a blind eye, ‘oh so and so was just drunk, you know how he gets when he drinks”. And yes there are women who beat men as well.

    Some will be embarrassed of their violent behaviour, maybe so embarrassed they find it hard to ask for or get help. What to do? How about a program on the telly? Gosh we have enough funding to pay that muppet Hoskings. How about some quality self help educational programs instead of him? That would help.

    Offer people support and advice and help and show them how to change, reducing or taking away social services does naught but add fuel to the fire.

    After eight long years of this government not doing enough to combat this massive massive problem in our country, I’ve fucken had enough too.

    Where’s the evolution? It’s the day after the spring equinox.

  11. AB 11

    You know there’s a problem when David Cunliffe was pilloried for saying this at a Women’s Refuge:
    “I don’t often say it. I’m sorry for being a man right now, because family and sexual violence is perpetrated overwhelmingly by men against women and children.”
    This was deliberately misconstrued as Cunliffe apologising for being a man. He wasn’t – he was expressing his discomfort as a man speaking at a Women’s Refuge. That discomfort was a mark of his decency. When decency and compassion are ridiculed your society has problems.

    • Jilly Bee 11.2

      Thank you AB, succinctly explained.

    • reason 11.3

      thank-you AB ..,,
      and Cinny
      and Greg
      and Tricldrown
      and One Two
      and Draco …. Belladonna … Adam …Jilly Bee … and Weka

      And even Antoine……

      To fix a problem requires people to care about it …. and your answers show there are still people who care and think …..in the hard little racist society that is New Zealand.

      I thank you all for still allowing me to hope …….,.,

  12. Mrs Brillo 12

    I think substance abuse is a big factor. Alcohol use that is nationally condoned. A major P epidemic that is getting nothing like the attention it deserves.
    And each time people put forward solutions that might rein part of it in, no government has been interested in taking the hard action because of their friends in the liquor trade – who are no friends to New Zealand.

    I also take Tricldrown’s point about the rugby mentality. Good luck in confronting that one, because there will be a lot of fingers stuck in ears.

    But imagine if they decided to promote some other sport – let’s say netball, for argument’s sake – in the deliberate way that rugby now gets precedence. Making netball the default setting for media coverage and national pride.
    All small towns with a netball court instead of a rugby field. Fawning over the players, paying them too much, treating them like little tin gods, admiring their precision and cooperative ball skills instead of their ability to tackle and swagger and sink the suds. Having PR visits of netballers to sick kids in hospital, netballers instead of footballers talking at schools, magazines reporting on netballers’ private lives and covering their weddings and house renos. Pages and pages about netball players instead of rugby players in the newspapers. Asking them what their New Year’s resolutions are and their opinion on everything in general. Trying to make the netball uniform into a national flag. Having the Prime Minister regularly turn up for photo ops with the netball players. Overlooking their criminal acts and antisocial behaviour because they’ve had a tough tour and they are just letting off steam. And if they do something truly heinous, ensuring the courts grant name suppression.

    Because this is what we do with rugby players. And it does set a tone, and a norm, and a model, that is aped by little boy wannabes. And not so little boy wannabes.

    And some of us are bloody fed up with the poverty of imagination that turns ball kickers into role models. And coarseness and thuggishness into a national style. We can do better.

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1

      I think substance abuse is a big factor.

      A big factor of substance abuse is what’s driving that substance abuse and that often comes down to government policy that increases financial stress on poor people – just like National’s have done over the last 8 years.

      We also have a poor alcohol culture in that we tend to binge drink.

      Because this is what we do with rugby players. And it does set a tone, and a norm, and a model, that is aped by little boy wannabes. And not so little boy wannabes.

      Yep, pisses me off when I hear that a man got let off some sort of violent behaviour because he may be/is a great quarter back and make millions. He should have thought of that before he committed the crime. If it happened to someone else they would lose their job and no one would bat an eyelid.

  13. Mordecai 13

    “Because this problem has existed for decades, and we topped the world in 2015”

    We topped the world between 2000 and 2010.
    http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/5332717/NZ-worst-for-domestic-violence-UN-report

    Attempts to paint this as the governments fault or the result of some perceived social injustice is pathetic. Hold the perpetrators accountable, lock them up and throw away the key.

    • Muttonbird 13.1

      New Zealand also fell short with paid parental leave, ranking 16th out of 22 with 14 weeks’ paid leave while countries such as Norway, Denmark and Sweden offered 46, 52 and 68.4 weeks respectively.

      Studies had shown that paid maternity leave increased employee retention, and reduced infant mortality and post-partum depression, the report said.

      I found this interesting. It is Labour policy to do something to alleviate drivers of society stress, particularly in poorer communities, but Bill English smashed Sue Moroney’s bill to extend PPL to 26 weeks (still miles away from Scandinavia) because it might cost his rich mates a BMW or two.

      There are a few rwnjs here at the moment (not you, I’m talking about Antoine and James) who recognise the problem National has created for low income families because of housing stress, insecure and casual contracts, and poor support for young families.

      They ask for action to improve damning statistics like these domestic violence numbers.

      They need look no further than opposition policy for this action.

      • Antoine 13.1.1

        Your classic RWNJ doesnt’t blame domestic violence on economic conditions, because they don’t accept that poverty is a valid reason for hitting someone. Nor do they have confidence that the poorer working class people of today will be materially better off under a left wing government.

        • Antoine 13.1.1.1

          So to a RWNJ the solution is simple: Don’t hit people and don’t tolerate or condone anyone else hitting people. And clearly if everyone followed this advice, the DV problem would go away.

          • Antoine 13.1.1.1.1

            And a RWNJ who follows that advice in their own life, feels like they’re doing their bit and not much more can be asked of them on the DV front.

            Hope that all enhances mutual understanding a bit…

            • Draco T Bastard 13.1.1.1.1.1

              And a RWNJ who follows that advice in their own life

              But they don’t which is why so many of them end up in court.

              feels like they’re doing their bit and not much more can be asked of them on the DV front.

              No, it seems that it’s more that they don’t want to accept that their actions are abuse and so they prevent laws that would clearly spell out that their actions are abuse.

  14. David Mac 14

    We’re all familiar with that moment when we are so wound up we could just scream. Rather than how we got there, I think it’s what we do when there that matters. Pointing the finger at various triggers has little value as a solution. There will always be circumstances that pushes each and every one of us to the red mist brink. It’s how we handle those moments that counts.

    Whether a person chooses to lash out or say “I need to be alone for a minute and when I’ve cooled down we need to talk about this”. In so many cases, decisions to lash out or cool down are drawn from our conditioning years. Today’s basher grew up around it, usually both emotional and physical over-lording.

    The problem isn’t what gets us mad, we’ll always have a catalyst, it’s what we do when we are that counts. I do feel that our government could be doing a better job of leading people that tend towards a knee-jerk lash-out to making better spur of the moment decisions. In the light of a new day nobody wakes up proud of thumping a person they then claim to love.

  15. Tui 15

    shameful! i had a talk about this with my very close friend and she said its because we as women let men get away with it. too many of our wahine go back to their abusive partners!

    ~ Tui

    • BM 15.1

      Unfortunately, Maori are massively overrepresented when it comes to domestic violence, around 50% of all DV is by Maori.

      What do you think is causing this? and what can be done to stop it?

  16. RedBaronCV 16

    A lot of the discussion above boils down to

    “is it 1 out of every 3 women or 2 out of every 3 women that you would past on the street who has been subjected to domestic violence?”

    With a question like that who cares about the fine detail of the answer? Both are far too many and Nact have made it a real priority to water down domestic violence consequences and support services plus degrading and demeaning single parents (mainly women). But hey they have printed a poster to hang up in towns.

    So I think we can suggest that this is just opportunistic RW electioneering

  17. RedBaronCV 17

    You can also bet that Nact want the police to collect the names addresses and children’s names of anyone who lodges a complaint. And you can bet they won’t collect the same level of detail about the perpetrator.

    “Now how many brothers do you have?” will never be asked.

  18. ropata 18

    just wanted to share this

    Toddler Ihaka Stokes suffered two broken bones at least a week before he was allegedly murdered. https://t.co/EGXgE17CuE #facesofinnocents pic.twitter.com/riyQwYDb6o— Blair Ensor (@blairensor) March 23, 2017

  19. Sanctuary 19

    This thread sums up NZ in a nutshell. Point out we have a crisis in domestic violence, and the pernicious mythology of the Kiwi paradise brings all the trolls, deniers and defeatists out in naysaying, with the explicit aim of bogging down any form of action in a welter of accusation, insult and recrimination just so they can maintain their smug belief in the myth that New Zealand is a paradise for all. It is the same for anything – dirty dairying, domestic violence, wealth inequality – Kiwi denialism is rooted in a penny pinching belief that everything is awesome in our little lego land.

    Other countries, unencumbered with myths of their social, political and environmental exceptionalism, can recognise a problem when they see it and the argument in more mature societies is how to deal with it, rather than having a tiresome debate about whether the sky is blue or not.

    NZ is the most violent country I have ever lived in (I’ve lived in five for periods of one to five years). This shouldn’t even be up for discussion. Domestic violence is endemic. Just this morning passengers I was waiting for the train with called the police over a violent, drunken domestic incident occuring on the road next to the station. At 5.40am on a weekday. My very middle class, very aspirational ex-girlfriend is in a long term relationship with an affable, upwardly mobile guy who infrequently partly demolishes their house in drunken rages.

    The problem is, fixing violence requires money. Money for special courts, councilling services, social services, education programs, etc etc. And here in awesome Kiwi lego land we don’t like spending money on problems that we would prefer to believe don’t exist in our little paradise.

  20. Korero Pono 20

    DV is extremely complex and helping women, children and even perpetrators requires substantial investment. Services such as refuge, rape crisis and anti violence programmes. Women also need support to leave, current support is grossly inadequate. If Amy Adams is serious then she should be pushing for better funding for specialist services, better financial support for women and children, and tackling the dangerous information sharing of client level data, which will see victims avoiding vital services, further isolating them and their children.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    5 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T08:19:02+00:00