web analytics

Open Mike 03/07/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 3rd, 2017 - 48 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

48 comments on “Open Mike 03/07/2017 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Ad 1
    3 July 2017 at 8:32 am

    A little quote from Dr Jim McAloon from Vic in June 2015:

    “Labour’s interest will not be served by simply waiting for the wheels to fall off the Key government (which may or may not happen in 2017—Labour underestimates John Key at its peril). To fulfil its purpose, Labour has to lift its share of the vote well above 35 per cent.

    Non-voters are one target. Parts of National’s ‘soft’ vote are another.

    Rather than the sometimes facile suggestions that Labour’s current troubles are the consequence of being either excessively or insufficiently Left-wing, increasing the vote means convincing enough people that the party’s fundamental values are meaningful to them today and in the future.”

    Can Labour make 35% this time?

    • BM 1.1
      3 July 2017 at 8:38 am

      No.

      Andrew Little
      Untrustworthy
      No policy detail
      Unrealistic “promises”
      Contradictory statements/announcements/actions
      MOU with the Greens

      • Nick 1.1.1
        3 July 2017 at 8:46 am

        Yes.

        Andrew Little
        trustworthy
        policy detail
        realistic “promises”
        Not Contradictory statements/announcements/actions
        MOU with the Greens

        • Halfcrown 1.1.1.1
          3 July 2017 at 8:58 am

          Don’t bite Nick BM is only fishing or winding up.

          • greywarshark 1.1.1.1.1
            3 July 2017 at 11:25 am

            Halfcrown
            If only we could harness the winding up provided by all these trolls and RW afficionados we could power a wind farm which in turn would power our slightly brighter future, that we must achieve of back to the future of a new Dark Age.

      • mpledger 1.1.2
        3 July 2017 at 9:06 am

        Hilarious – National are full of unrealistic promises e.g. their predator free by 2050 policy. It means they can suck eggs now and let someone else deal with and pay for it later, if they can. In 30 or so years they’ll be dead or too senile to care that they stuffed around so much that a ton of species died because they would rather give tax cuts then fund the Conservation Department properly.

        And I can even write Bill English and. Trustworthy in the same sentence. And if you disagree go and relive last week again.

      • Robert Guyton 1.1.3
        3 July 2017 at 9:19 am

        BM pictures himself as a spanner in the works where he’s really no more than an engineer’s used tissue, chewed to shreds by the cogs’ teeth.

    • savenz 1.2
      3 July 2017 at 12:02 pm

      Can Labour make 35% this time? – of course they can. Look at Corbyn massive turn around in weeks.

      But it is ultimately votes who decide. So if voters want the change of government the voters need to make it happen with unconditional support. Yep, Labour and Greens are not perfect, BUT National is a very scary party and getting worse with their unbridled level of power.

      Now we have Thiel a Trump supporter (yep pro wall, anti women and muslims) and anti democracy billionaire being wooed by the National party and given citizenship here, even though he doesn’t want to live here!

      We have migrants that have worked hard to get citizenship here, people who live here 365 days of the year paying taxes, people in poverty, people being poisoned by Meth that has become a thriving industry since The National Party took over and residents who can not afford to rent or buy here anymore with the increasing prices foreign ownership and National party policy it is driving. Now our state houses are even been sold off cheap to Banks and finance people who set up charities as ‘fronts’. It’s obscene. National don’t even care what people think anymore.

      Every vote against National counts. Because even if Labour does not win, then voters against them dilute their power to do the massive damage to our country.

  2. Penny Bright 2
    3 July 2017 at 9:17 am

    (Turbo-charge in the broomstick over-heated and now it’s buggered 🙁

    I need a hand.

    HELP SEND ‘HER WARSHIP’
    TO THE HAGUE!

    I’ve been given the great honour of being invited to attend the 2017 World Justice Project ‘Rule of Law’ Forum at The Hague, 10 – 13 July 2017.

    https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/engagement/events/world-justice-forum

    Although as an outspoken ‘anti-privatisation / anti-corruption campaigner / investigative activist /whistle- blower’ I usually face significant mainstream NZ media ‘censorship’ – internationally it seems that my work has not gone unnoticed.

    (For the last three years I have participated in the World Justice Project ‘Rule of Law Index’ as an NZ ‘expert’, and I have attended 6 International Anti-Corruption Conferences.)

    This is a HUGE chance to tell fellow ‘Rule of Law experts’ from potentially 130 countries – the TRUTH about how undeserved is NZ’s ‘perceived’ status as ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ according to the 2016 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’.

    https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016#table

    I’m not scared to speak out.

    Need to ‘seize the moment!’

    This World Justice Forum
    (10 – 13 July 2017) is NOT funded.

    It is my intention to fly out 6 July and return 16 July.

    The approximate costs are:

    Registration $200(donated)

    Accommodation at Student ‘hostel’
    NZ $63 per night.
    (X 8 $504

    Air travel (return)
    Auckland – Amsterdam
    Amsterdam – Rotterdam
    Rotterdam – The Hague

    Ball park $4000

    (The sooner I can book my air fares – the cheaper it will be).

    How much do I need?

    $5000 should do it.

    That’s 500 X $10
    250 X $20
    100 X $50
    50 X $100

    I have over 3,300 Facebook friends.

    This is NOT a big ask?

    For those of you who have helped me in the past – THANK YOU! (Again 🙂

    As you know I choose to work full time on a self-funded basis (flat mate income), no benefit or funding from any source apart from occasional donations when I’m stuck and need a hand and I have done this since 2000 (17 years).

    So!

    To get to The Hague I do need a hand.

    If you choose to help and are able – please send me a personal message on Facebook / Messenger and I will send you my bank account details.

    Let’s DO IT!

    Help send ‘Her Warship’ to The Hague!

    Kind regards

    Penny Bright

  3. patricia bremner 3
    3 July 2017 at 9:20 am

    You are looking at English BM. He lied by omission, covered up for Barclay, cut him loose when it got difficult, didn’t support a person who had worked for him for years.
    NOT P.M. material at all.

    • tc 3.1
      3 July 2017 at 10:04 am

      One of the many successes of the shonky/dirty politics era is to lower the bar for every govt minister.

      Its to the point that blinglish’s behaviour is predictably of a low standard and most reasonable people arent surprised by this level of leadership from national.

  4. greywarshark 4
    3 July 2017 at 9:48 am

    Looking at Wikipedia on the Grenfell fire, seems a good overview.

    Residents expressed significant safety concerns prior to the fire, with criticism levelled against the council for fire safety and building maintenance failures.[32] They had also said repeatedly that in the event of a fire, their escape path was limited to a single staircase.[16]

    Exposed gas pipes were another concern raised by the Grenfell Tower Leaseholders’ Association in the months before the fire; while a fire safety expert had ordered them to be covered by fire-retardant boxing, two-thirds remained exposed at the time of the fire.[33]

    There is concern that cuts to Legal aid prevented tenants and tenants’ groups taking legal action over their safety concerns. Robert Bourns of The Law Society said, “There have been reports that tenants of Grenfell Tower were unable to access legal aid to challenge safety concerns because of the cuts. If that is the case then we may have a very stark example of what limiting legal aid can mean.”[34]…

    ITV business editor Joel Hills stated that he had been told that the installation of sprinklers had not even been discussed.[20] In a 2012 report, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association said that sprinklers could be retrofitted in Grenfell Tower for an average cost of £1,150 per flat, which would have added up to a total cost of £138,000 for the whole block….[38]

    Plans for the renovation were publicised in 2012.[18] Overseen by Studio E Architects,[19] the £8.7 million refurbishment,[20] undertaken by Rydon Ltd…
    …new aluminium composite rainscreen cladding, in part to improve the appearance of the building.[24] Two types were used: Arconic’s Reynobond, which consists of two, coil-coated, aluminium sheets that are fusion bonded to both sides of a polyethylene core; and Reynolux aluminium sheets. Beneath these, and fixed to the outside of the walls of the flats, was Celotex RS5000 PIR thermal insulation.[25][26][27][28] The work was carried out by Harley Facades of Crowborough, East Sussex, at a cost of £2.6 million. (The project cost included new windows and:
    The renovation included a water-based heating system for individual flats.)
    My question – If water was being piped to heaters, it would seem to have been cost-effective and efficient if extended to sprinkler systems?

    The UK government is accused of having ignored warnings about fire safety in tower blocks.[39] A former chief fire officer and secretary of the all-party parliamentary group on fire safety, Ronnie King, said ministers stonewalled requests for meetings and efforts to tighten rules….

    [After] the 2009 Lakanal House fire, the coroner made a series of safety recommendations for the government to consider, and the Department for Communities and Local Government agreed to hold a review in 2013. In March 2014, the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group sent a letter to then–Minister for Communities Stephen Williams, which said in part:

    “Surely … when you already have credible evidence to justify updating … the guidance … which will lead to saving of lives, you don’t need to wait another three years in addition to the two already spent since the research findings were updated, in order to take action?
    “As there are estimated to be another 4,000 older tower blocks in the UK, without automatic sprinkler protection, can we really afford to wait for another tragedy to occur before we amend this weakness?”[41]…

    A residents’ organisation, Grenfell Action Group (GAG), published a blog in which it highlighted major safety problems. In 2013, the group published a 2012 fire risk assessment done by a TMO Health and Safety Officer which recorded safety concerns. Firefighting equipment at the tower had not been checked for up to four years; on-site fire extinguishers had expired, and some had the word “condemned” written on them because they were so old. GAG documented its attempts to contact KCTMO management; they also alerted the council Cabinet Member for Housing and Property but said they never received a reply from him or his deputy.[43][44]

    The casualty statistics:
    On 28 June, the authorities stated that there were known survivors from 106 of the tower’s 129 flats; eighteen people among the occupants of these flats were reported as dead or missing presumed dead, whereas most of those killed were said to have been in the remaining 23 flats between the 11th and 23rd floors….

    A total of 151 homes were destroyed in the tower and surrounding area. The incident ranks as the deadliest structural fire in the United Kingdom since the start of the 20th century, when detailed records began

    Note: Other buildings and deaths were involved in the “surrounding area” which I hadn’t heard much about.

    It’s the “deadliest structural fire” etc. illustrates how over the years responsible safety laws and measures get watered down, ignored, fudged and those supposedly responsible get complacent because nothing has ever happened, and the preventative idea becomes a nice-to-have. Keeping vigilant over all of our sensible thoughtful laws and systems is obviously a grassroots basic bit of life education we need to absorb through our pores, and connect to the brain.

    • McFlock 4.1
      3 July 2017 at 11:36 am

      The tragedy is a wake-up call to everyone who thought that creeping cuts didn’t really affect people. The fact is, as this shows, cuts to random areas multiply hazards. Everything from cladding change, to fire suppression, to fire service, even to legal aid, all of it worked together to create this tragedy, each cut being viewed individually.

      • savenz 4.1.1
        3 July 2017 at 12:10 pm

        +1 McFlock – all the ‘small’ changes add up. That is why piecemeal policy is not effective and even the current ‘process’ way of making decisions. Yep, it might work in a box factory having everybody doing a little task without knowing what the result might be as a sum, but it’s the big picture that counts and results in real life.

        With tragic results.

        We have had our Grenfell with Pike river and the CTV building, and it is people who must hold the government to account for the Pike river deaths AND their lack of interest in them or any justice to them and question our justice system over CTV building deaths.

        • outofbed 4.1.1.1
          3 July 2017 at 12:20 pm

          Just got back from London drove on westway past grenfell. Just horrible if ever there was a monument to Tory governments and there attitudes to poor People . There it is. We need to fight really hard where ever we are to make our society fair and safe for all. Look at that tower, and get motivated for this September’s fight.

  5. joe90 5
    3 July 2017 at 9:59 am

    Scroll to replies below Sinyangwe’s initial thread.

    First day in Barbados and we drove past this monument three times. I've never seen anything like it. (1/x) pic.twitter.com/ZwJ3GKAprz— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) July 2, 2017

    • ianmac 5.1
      3 July 2017 at 11:02 am

      Actually I neither heard nor saw any mention of the residents of Barbados during the Americas Cup. They invested $100million in the Infrastructure but what about the locals? Good fun for them was it?

  6. greywarshark 6
    3 July 2017 at 11:48 am

    Eddication, edification, elucidation – something….
    The government thinks that we have a suficiently satisfactory education system to keep us in our place, which is competing with the rest of the world for the job placements going which are at present good payers. And lining up with the hundreds for advertised jobs at supermarket: literacy and numeracy a must!

    Actually the status of turmoil that the world and the use of competitive technology
    puts us in, requires better understanding and wider education than ever before not simplified spam handed out letter by letter and screen by screen by a machine responding to the requests for information that it itself produces so limiting thinking, self-enquiry and self-discovery.

    So help the educators hold onto what we have now otherwise they will be swamped and end up on a little promontory with their main skills being needed to keep themselves alive and to jump nimbly from one precarious situation to another.

    http://www.together.org.nz/keep_it_public
    Keep it Public!
    Public tertiary education gives all New Zealanders the opportunity to develop skills, learn trades, and create knowledge which helps our families, communities and economy.

    But Paul Goldsmith, the Minister for Tertiary Education, is trying to change the law to take public funds away from our universities, polytechs and wānanga and hand them to private companies who are more concerned with profit than providing quality education.

    Together, let’s make sure tertiary education stays public, local and focused on learning.
    They want a minimum of 4,000 signatures. Please support. See link above.

    This would be the single biggest change to tertiary education funding in a generation. If enough of us speak out, then together we can stop it happening.
    By pledging to support public tertiary education you will be adding your voice to the many others that want to keep tertiary education public, local, and focused on learning, not profit.

    Tertiary education belongs to all of us. Now is the time to tell Paul Goldsmith you want it to stay that way.
    Keep it Public!

    Don’t leave our educators all alone, stranded, and our good education being decimated by private business.
    Need you

  7. Molly 7
    3 July 2017 at 12:53 pm

    Have your say on the Scoop Hivemind discussion on housing.

    Add your own statements to the discussion as well.

  9. mauī 9
    3 July 2017 at 2:35 pm

    Trumps best tweet so far #FraudNewsCNN

  10. joe90 10
    3 July 2017 at 3:11 pm

    True too form, it seems the pumpkin pinochet has climbed into bed with the very worst so he can fuck over ordinary folk.

    .

    Now a Four Corners investigation will reveal how Donald Trump, as he was closing in on his political rivals, was negotiating luxury resort deals in Bali and Java, raising serious questions about presidential conflicts of interest.

    “The project is going to be a huge one, a mega project.” Landowner

    In Bali, plans are under way to Trumpify one of the most iconic and sacred sites in Bali – Tanah Lot. But curiously, for a tourist destination usually keen to talk up what the island paradise has to offer, government officials are not keen to talk about the proposed Trump Tower development.

    “I can’t talk about this. I cannot talk about this.” Balinese government official.

    In a second development on Java, the deal to build a massive gaudy theme park and resort development has been inked, leaving local farmers frightened of what the future holds.

    “When the financial power of Trump comes here, we the original people who live here are powerless. Their enormous wealth buys enormous influence.”

    Four Corners investigates how these deals were done through an unholy alliance formed between Donald Trump and controversial business and political figures in Indonesia.

    Trump’s business partners have a troubling history with ties to the corrupt Suharto regime.

    While at home in the United States, President Trump rails against Islamic extremism. In Indonesia, he has formed political alliances with politicians aligned with Islamist forces.

    “He is dealing with the worst of Indonesia’s past, and he is going to deal with the worst of Indonesia’s future, the Islamists. I think Donald Trump is going to get his businesses messier and also Indonesia messier.” Human rights investigator.

    http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2017/06/29/4693993.htm

    edit: trailer from Four Corners FB page.

  11. Stunned Mullet 11
    3 July 2017 at 3:41 pm

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/94324299/a-public-health-warning

    If you and yours aren’t vaccinated and have no medical reason why you can’t be vaccinated and haven’t had mumps before can you please pop down to your GP and have a shot.

    • greywarshark 11.1
      3 July 2017 at 6:25 pm

      Yes can we have some bravery about this – the odds that anything bad will happen because of the mumps vaccination is small. Only if you are already sick, ask your GPs opinion.

  12. Treetop 12
    3 July 2017 at 4:15 pm

    I really hope that Pora is awarded the adjusted inflation compensation approx $500,000. It is way overdue that the huge injustice done to him is settled as much as it can be.

    I do not want to see anymore of his life wasted on holding those to account for what he has been put through. Those who hold the power to give closure MUST not misuse their power.

    To often the forgotten are expected to forgive their persecutor and somehow get over it. E.g. those who were abused in statecare or sexually assaulted in childhood.

    An inquiry is necesssary because an inquiry is what maybe the only thing which gives as much healing that can be given.

    I have thought about Alison (story seen on the Nation last Saturday) who was committed into psychiatric care from 1950 – 1990 when aged 11, she was sexually assaulted, shock treated, put into isolation…. Alison had a brain injury from contracting chicken pocks when she was a toddler, she was never mentally disordered. I am troubled by how she was treated by the standards of the years 1950 – 1990; not much has changed.

    I would like to see a comprehensive inquiry into how her life was turned inside out and upside down. Alison is now 75 and she is in the last part of her life. She is a courageous woman. I really hope that she gets all her questions answered. Even though she has had some compensation in 1990, this would have been minimal compared to what she deserves.

    How much is 40 years being imprisoned worth?

    • Cinny 12.1
      3 July 2017 at 4:29 pm

      “How much is 40 years being imprisoned worth?”

      40 years is a life time for some, life is priceless. Least I tell my kids I wouldn’t swap them for all the riches on the planet, with that in mind, both Teina and Alison deserve the world.

      That story disturbed me as well Treetop, the most vulnerable exploited, it’s a disgusting abuse of justice.

  13. Cinny 13
    3 July 2017 at 4:22 pm

    Haley Holt, you are an incredibly brave woman. Your story will resonate with many women, THANK YOU, you are enormously courageous by making it so public

    When I watched Sunday last night, your story is near on identical to a dear friend of mine, a dear friend but I just can’t stand to be around when she is drinking, in fact her behaviour has turned me off booze. Will share with her, it may just change her life.

    Hayley you are even more amazing for your honesty. MASSIVE RESPECT.

    • ianmac 14.1
      3 July 2017 at 4:57 pm

      Too true Xanthe. Vaguely read something about the issue a few days ago but glossed over it but now…..

    • AsleepWhileWalking 14.2
      3 July 2017 at 5:09 pm

      I thought it was gone but I read it too.

      I’m sure it will be investigated by someone to prove it were true or not. After all the allegations are serious and although historic a crime is a crime.

      Although they may have limited the sharing I bet there are lots of screen shots still in existence.

      • AsleepWhileWalking 14.2.1
        3 July 2017 at 5:26 pm

        In any case what happens if this guy Farrell swears an affidavit? Does the fact that he is making the claims against a minister mean it is just ignored without trial?

        • weka 14.2.1.1
          3 July 2017 at 5:55 pm

          He’d need to lay a complaint with the police in order for it to be investigated. Unless the media pick it up and it becomes a public interest issue that the govt can’t make go away. Which I would guess is why he’s approaching it this way. I expect Bennett will go hard out with the lawyers though.

          • AsleepWhileWalking 14.2.1.1.1
            3 July 2017 at 6:32 pm

            Hmmm. I thought only MSD could lay charges.

            In any case his mistake (if you can call it that) was to share it with MSM.

            • weka 14.2.1.1.1.1
              3 July 2017 at 6:40 pm

              I see what you mean. I don’t know about that, especially as it’s an historic case.

              why was that a mistake?

  15. greywarshark 15
    3 July 2017 at 5:32 pm

    There’s always trouble at mill, and elsewhere. Big employers are refusing to employ subbies/ employees if they have been involved in disputes. That’s interesting, they don’t want to take on all the work themselves, contract it out, and then take the power out of the contractors hands.
    http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/michael-clifford/blacklisted-workers-run-up-against-a-brick-wall-440273.html

  16. Robert Atack 16
    3 July 2017 at 8:18 pm

    [deleted]

    [Firefox gives me a security warning on that site, so I’m not going to look at it. But please don’t post to sites that are publishing the allegations. Putting you into moderation until I see an acknowledgement of this. – weka]

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Older posts

  • Government guarantees free vaccines for every New Zealander
    The Government has invested $1.4 billion in New Zealand’s COVID-19 vaccination programme to ensure every New Zealander can receive a free vaccination, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Government has today confirmed for the first time the amount of money it has allocated over two years for vaccines and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago

  • Top Scholars from 2020 recognised at Parliament
    New Zealand’s highest scoring students have been recognised and presented with awards of excellence by the Prime Minister and Minister of Education today at Parliament.  Rohan Kumar from Hutt International Boys' School, and Yi Fan (George) Yang from Westlake Boys’ High School were today presented with the Prime Minister’s Award ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Speech to Contact Energy event at Parliament
    It’s great to be here to celebrate Contact Energy’s new 580 million dollar geothermal power station to be built on the Tauhara field near Taupō. I would like to congratulate Contact on this project, which will see a 152 megawatt power station operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Technical amendment to Medicines Act
    The Government is aware of a High Court decision today about processes to grant provisional consent to some approved medicines, and is making a technical amendment to modernise the law. The Court has said that while the Minister of Health can, under Section 23 of the Medicines Act, grant approval ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • COVID-19 fund benefits hundreds of thousands of learners
    More than 2,000 schools, kura and early learning services me ngā kōhanga reo have been funded to help more than 300,000 New Zealand children and young people affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. More than $30 million from the Urgent Response Fund has been allocated between ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Speech to the AI Summit
    Check against delivery. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wā, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, Tāmaki herenga waka, nei rā aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te whakanuia tēnei ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • COVID-19 milestone: 5000th vaccinator completes specialised training
    A significant COVID-19 workforce milestone has been reached, with the 5000th vaccinator completing specialised training to administer the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “A huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to boost numbers of trained vaccinators and this is a milestone worth celebrating,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Immigration Reset: Setting the scene
    TIHEI MAURI ORA Tuia te whakapono Tuia te tumanako Tuia te aroha Tuia te hunga ora Ki te hunga ora Tihei Mauri ora Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Thank you for being here tonight as I outline the government’s planning to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Australia New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting 2021
    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will visit New Zealand for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting on 30 and 31 May. Prime Minister Morrison, accompanied by Mrs Morrison, will arrive in Queenstown on Sunday 30 May and talks will take place on the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • International collaboration delivers new tools to help tackle agricultural emissions
    The Global Research on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), an alliance backed by New Zealand is delivering promising new technologies such as cow vaccines and probiotics to tackle agricultural emissions, Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor said. Eleven research projects, funded and delivered under the alliance of 64 countries, have been recently ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Take your time and get home safe this Road Safety Week
    The Government is urging Kiwis to drive carefully and check their speed, Transport Minister Michael Wood said at the start of Road Safety Week.                 Michael Wood said despite the Government investing in safer roads, drivers still need to take care.     ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Budget boosts Carbon Neutral Government commitment
    Budget 2021 delivers $67.4 million to support the transition to a carbon neutral public sector by 2025 State Sector Decarbonisation Fund receives significant boost to support more schools, hospitals and other government organisations to replace coal boilers with clean alternatives Funding boost will also accelerate the Government’s ‘electric vehicles first’ ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Report shows progress on Homelessness Action Plan
    The Government has welcomed the release of the second progress report on the Homelessness Action Plan, showing that good progress is being made on every one of the immediate actions in the Plan. “Homelessness will not be solved overnight, but I am pleased to see that this plan is continuing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Arts and cultural festivals get funding boost
    One of New Zealand’s oldest cultural festivals and a brand new youth festival are amongst four events to win grants to help them grow, attract new audiences, and boost local economies.  Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash has announced new support from an incubator fund launched last year to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Govt to rev up reductions in transport emissions
    The Government is calling for feedback on a range of potential policies to eliminate emissions in the transport sector. Transport Minister Michael Wood today released Hīkina te Kohupara – Kia mauri ora ai te iwi - Transport Emissions: Pathways to Net Zero by 2050, a Ministry of Transport report outlining ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Government recognises David McPhail’s contribution to New Zealand comedy and television
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni today pays tribute to David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) – New Zealand comedian, actor, producer and writer. David McPhail ONZM QSM had a comedy career that spanned four decades, across both television and theatre.  “David’s contribution to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Support for drought-stressed regions fills a need
    An innovative iwi-led plan to help maintain water supply to a far North community battered by drought is set to get underway with support from the Government, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says.  “The impacts of climate change are not something that just our grandchildren will have to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • KiwiSaver default provider scheme improvements slash fees, boosts savings
    Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will be significantly better off in retirement following changes to the default KiwiSaver scheme, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said today. The new default provider arrangements, which will take effect once the terms of the current providers ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Industry leadership for our training system becomes reality
    Six new Workforce Development Councils formally established today will ensure people graduate with the right skills at the right time to address skill shortages, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. Every industry in New Zealand will be covered by one of the following Workforce Development Councils: •           Hanga-Aro-Rau – Manufacturing, Engineering ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Rotorua Emergency Housing update
    The Government has announced a suite of changes to emergency housing provision in Rotorua:  Government to directly contract motels for emergency accommodation Wrap around social support services for those in emergency accommodation to be provided Grouping of cohorts like families and tamariki in particular motels separate from other groups One-stop ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Further COVID-19 vaccine and economic support for the Pacific
    New Zealand will be providing protection against COVID-19 to at least 1.2 million people in the Pacific over the coming year $120 million in Official Development Assistance has been reprioritised to support Pacific economies in 2021 Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Associate Health and Foreign Affairs Minister Aupito William ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Statement on the escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Gaza
    Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today expressed Aotearoa New Zealand’s grave concern at the escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Gaza. “The growing death toll and the large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes and Gazan rockets is unacceptable,” Nanaia Mahuta said “Senior officials met ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Trade Minister to travel to UK and EU to progress free trade agreements
    Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor announced today he will travel to the United Kingdom and European Union next month to progress New Zealand’s respective free trade agreement negotiations. The decision to travel to Europe follows the agreement reached last week between Minister O’Connor and UK Secretary of State for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Pre-Budget speech to Business New Zealand
    Kia ora koutou katoa It’s great to be here today, at our now-regular event in anything-but-regular times. I last spoke to some of you in mid-March. That was an opportunity to reflect on an extraordinary 12 months, but also to reflect on how the future was shaping up. In what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Te Hurihanganui growing with Nelson community celebration
    Nelson is the latest community to join the Te Hurihanganui kaupapa to drive change and address racism and bias in education, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Speaking at today’s community celebration, Kelvin Davis acknowledged the eight iwi in Te Tau Ihu for supporting and leading Te Hurihanganui in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Te Hurihanganui Nelson Community Celebration 
    Te Hurihanganui Nelson Community Celebration  Victory Community Centre, Nelson   “Racism exists – we feel little and bad”. Those were the unprompted words of one student during an interview for a report produced by the Children’s Commissioner in 2018. They were also the words I used when I announced the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Child wellbeing reports highlight need for ongoing action
    The Government has released the first Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and the second Child Poverty Related Indicators (CPRI) Report, both of which highlight improvements in the lives of children as a result of actions of the Government, while setting out the need for ongoing action.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Formal consultation starts on proposals for Hawera schools
    Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced a formal consultation for the future of schooling in Hawera. "Recent engagement shows there is a lot of support for change. The preferred options are for primary schools to be extended to year 7 and 8, or for a year 7-13 high school to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • He Whenua Taurikura: New Zealand’s Hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism
    The Government is progressing another recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain by convening New Zealand’s first national hui on countering terrorism and violent extremism. He Whenua Taurikura, meaning ‘a land or country at peace’, will meet in Christchurch on 15 and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Hundreds of new electric cars for state sector
    Total of 422 new electric vehicles and charging infrastructure across the state sector $5.1 million for the Department of Conservation to buy 148 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure $1.1 million to help Kāinga Ora buy 40 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure 11,600 tonnes of carbon emissions saved over ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Apartments give new life to former Trade Training hostel
    A building that once shaped the Māori trade training industry will now revitalise the local community of Ōtautahi and provide much needed housing for whānau Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The old Māori Trade Training hostel, Te Koti Te Rato, at Rehua Marae in Christchurch has been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Opening of Te Kōti o Te Rato at Rehua Marae, Ōtautahi
    *Check with delivery* It is a great pleasure to be here with you all today. I acknowledge Ngāi Tūāhuriri and the trustees of Te Whatu Manawa Māoritanga o Rehua Trust Board. The opening of six new apartments on these grounds signifies more than an increase in much-needed housing for Ōtautahi. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Major step to pay parity for early learning teachers
    Certificated teachers on the lowest pay in early education and care services will take another leap towards pay parity with their equivalents in kindergartens, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said in a pre-Budget announcement today. “Pay parity for education and care teachers is a manifesto commitment for Labour and is reflected ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand Wind Energy Conference
    Tēnā koutou katoa Tēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te Rā No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa  Thank you Grenville for the introduction and thanks to the organisers, the New Zealand Wind Energy Association, for inviting me to speak this morning. I’m delighted that you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Drug Foundation 2021 Parliamentary Drug Policy Symposium
    Speech to Through the Maze: On the road to health New Zealand Drug Foundation 2021 Parliamentary Drug Policy Symposium Mōrena koutou katoa, Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, Kua tae mai nei me ngā kete matauranga hauora, E whai hononga ai tatau katoa, Ka nui te mihi! Thank you for the opportunity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Govt to deliver lower card fees to business
    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark has today announced the Government’s next steps to reduce merchant service fees, that banks charge businesses when customers use a credit or debit card to pay, which is estimated to save New Zealand businesses approximately $74 million each year. “Pre COVID, EFTPOS has ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government support boosts Arts and Culture sector
    Government support for the cultural sector to help it recover from the impact of COVID-19 has resulted in more cultural sector jobs predicted through to 2026, and the sector performing better than forecast. The latest forecast by economic consultancy ‘Infometrics’ reflects the impact of Government investment in keeping people in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Govt takes further action against gang crime
    The Government will make it illegal for high risk people to own firearms by introducing Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs) that will strengthen action already taken to combat the influence of gangs and organised crime to help keep New Zealanders and their families safe, Police Minister Poto Williams and Justice Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Thousands of MIQ spaces allocated to secure economic recovery
    Five hundred spaces per fortnight will be allocated in managed isolation facilities over the next 10 months, many for skilled and critical workers to support our economic recovery, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor say. “The Trans-Tasman bubble has freed up more rooms, allowing us to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand Sign Language Week a chance to recognise national taonga
    This week (10 – 16 May 2021) is New Zealand Sign Language Week (NZSL), a nationwide celebration of NZSL as an official language of New Zealand. “We’re recognised as a world leader for our commitment to maintaining and furthering the use of our sign language,” says Minister for Disability Issues ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Older posts

Older posts