Open mike 04/07/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 4th, 2021 - 54 comments
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54 comments on “Open mike 04/07/2021 ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    New Zealand's long history of amateur landlordism has created a little third world in our own country.

    Problems were difficult to uncover with little resource available to police landlords' behaviour, and little incentive for tenants to come forward, (Salvation Army's Queenstown community ministries director Lieutenant Andrew Wilson) said.

    "It's a vicious cycle. Particularly for vulnerable communities like our migrants and our low income earners. Their house is the only thing that might be secure for them and so to risk making a complaint to their landlord or to the property manager or whoever, risks that house over their head.

    Little fiefdoms are created by ordinary, power-hungry people, many of whom are completely unsuited to public function. NZ landlord's unregulated behaviour allows for a dangerous power imbalance.

    Tenancy reform should go much further. Not only should houses for rent have a warrant of fitness, but those renting and managing them should too. It is wrong for the government to rely on tenants to police the actions of their landlords, and masters.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446016/number-of-overcrowded-costly-rentals-in-queenstown-area-reaches-pre-covid-19-levels

    • KSaysHi 1.1

      I'd like to see the entire system favor people buying their own home especially the vulnerable. Unable to see someone who is able to borrow to purchase property + rent it out at exploitative levels with occassional maintanence grudgingly chucked in as adding value to society.

    • RedBaronCV 1.2

      I looked at this. As far as I can make out these are the "working poor" who are being stuck with this. But I can't see why the state should stick up social housing for them, because that is a straight and large subsidy to employers from the taxpayers.

      Maybe the employers need to pay much better wages or accept that their "business" is not actually viable? Or we could use local bed taxes or differential rates on hospitality providers to fund the housing.

      • Sabine 1.2.1

        The min wage atm is 20NZD plus kiwi saver, holiday pay, sickness leave. so 800 before tax a week. Median Rent is 570. NZD for pretty much any shitter. You have yet to heat your house, pay for your commute, eat a meal and buy some pants. Mind you wont' do that cause the money will not stretch that far.

        The government nor the bosses will ever be able to pay more then the landlord will charge.

        So the best the government can do is use some of the taxes that it collects from these same poor min wage workers and provide low income housing.

        I mean we can spend several hundred million on Jeff Bezos movies (in the name of money), on the Americas Cup (in the name of money) and other assorted crap for rich people. Many whom not pay any taxes at all – see Jeff Bezos and any of the Americas Cup tossers. Or is offering freebies and tax incentives/write offs for tax avoiders only something to discuss when its National who does it?

  2. Ad 2

    If this writer is too tired, she should just stop.

    Plenty more will take her place.

    Her endless, pointless, meandering self-pitying melancholy has no use.

    Greta is better.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  3. RedLogix 3

    Carbon intensity in the developed world has been declining gradually for a decade or so now – it would drop a lot faster if the trad environmentalists would get out of the way and let the rest of us get the job done.

    [TheStandard: The site’s chief censor moved this comment to Open Mike as being ‘off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in’. Which of course is a dishonest excuse for not wanting to have a debate they don’t want to have.]

    • Ad 3.1

      A grid stabiliser battery system would be great for a wind power dominated system.

      Not a replacement for days of low wind, but a very important feature. Lot more useful than just leaving it to the spot market.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2

      Carbon intensity in the developed world has been declining gradually for a decade or so now – it would drop a lot faster if the trad environmentalists would get out of the way and let the rest of us get the job done.

      Red, no mention of "the trad environmentalists" (that I could see) in that great (v. positive) "RenewEconomy" link (thanks) – could you expand on how you see "the trad environmentalists" getting in the way of "the rest of us" implementing VPPs and large battery projects? Are there perhaps some "trad environmentalists" in Aussie who are opposed to solar VPPs and large battery initiatives, or is it as simplistic as "trad environmentalists" bad, you (presumably) and "the rest of us" good?

      Can't help wondering if "trad environmentalists" are, on average, at least as keen on renewables and big batteries as "the rest of us", and if (for some reason) you're seeing a division where none exists. Apologies in advance for any misinterpretation on my part, it's just that to me your comment read as being from someone who's a little pissed off at "trad environmentalists". Personally I think they're still a useful part of the mix – the environment needs a bit of ‘traditional’ TLC more than ever, imho.

      Did you know over 27% of Australia's electricity generation now comes from renewable energy.

      WWF welcomes pumped hydro proposal for Queensland

      Totally Renewable Yackandandah: How far have we come?

      https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment

      https://www.scec.org.au/

      • RedLogix 3.2.1

        And the reason why I'm throwing rocks at the 'trad environmentalists' is their Malthusian insistence that we're all doomed, when the exact opposite is the case. It's science, tech and heavy industry – for all of the manifest flaws and imperfections they have at present – which are delivering on projects like the one I linked to above. And in doing so heading us in the right direction. But as I pointed out in my short series earlier in the year, there is only one way to get carbon to zero (or negative as is really required) and the trads are standing obdurately in the way of achieving this.

        It is of course a point that's so irksome to them that this perfectly relevant comment gets moved off the post – but I'm accustomed to that now.

        I might also add a personal note that the lithium needed for these batteries comes from somewhere. As I finish typing this I'm going to go back to work (yes we commission 24hrs/7 days) to get another crucial part of the plant ready for feed tomorrow. It involves mixing literally tonnes of concentrated sulphuric acid with a dry powdery like material in a somewhat exothermic reaction – and the responsibility for getting this right sits with myself and one of the process engineers. Wish us luck.

        • Sabine 3.2.1.1

          the point is not that WE are all doomed,

          the point is some are.

          Chances are YOU will live your life out in relative comfort and safety, but the question is will the generations after you?

          Mind, we may all become Fremen and drink our piss and get vaporised rather tehn buried, but for now we seem to be loosing.

          So really everyone needs to work together. Unless one values technology above humanity then we could turn the world into the matrix, where humans are the batteries for machines. 🙂
          Maybe we are all just replicants?

          Working Together:
          https://utahstories.com/2019/06/solar-farms-present-opportunity-for-sheep-ranchers-in-utah/

          • RedLogix 3.2.1.1.1

            Unless one values technology above humanity then we could turn the world into the matrix, where humans are the batteries for machines.

            Maybe you could consider it like this – that technology creates the platform on which human progress – our humanity as you name it – develops. Take away the energy density and materials that we now have, and we immediately revert back to pre-industrial world and the same social conditions. And I have zero rosy-eyed illusions about what that would mean – especially for women everywhere.

            It's not a binary choice between 'technology' and 'humanity' – both are entwinned together. Of course any arbitrary 'good thing' can become an evil when taken to an extreme – that we always must guard against. I'm perfectly happy to concede that technology absent an informed and principled social fabric can become a 'matrix-like' tyranny of it's own. We see this already in the trend toward unchecked and ubiquitous surveillance. But the correct response doesn't involve smashing all the cameras and machines – the manifest failure of the Luddites is the example that leaps to mind.

            So really everyone needs to work together.

            Yes. I've been kind of saying this all along – I appreciate hearing it from others too.

          • Muttonbird 3.2.1.1.2

            Another point is that renewable energies would not be explored and developed without the insistence of 'trad environmentalists'.

            They drive political and social change through activism. Emissions spewing industry does not change because they want to – the profit motive explicitly prevents that. They change because they have to – due to public and political pressure.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2.1.2

          But are all "trad environmentalists" devotees of Malthus? You have such good ideas and intentions that it's difficulkt to reconcile these with your confrontational style of commenting – a style that you probably share with a few of those "trad environmentalists".

          For example, what do you want to achieve by suggesting that (all? most?) "trad environmentalists" "are standing obdurately in the way of" your one and "only one way to get carbon to zero"? How do you think that style enhances your comments; how might it might help to win few of the obdurate trad environmentalists to your cause?

          Or do you believe all "trad environmentalists" are lost causes, to be ridiculed and pilloried as useless millstones to 'progress'? In which case, best of luck with fashioning the millstone which (whether you recognise it or not) is a hinderance to others at least considering your ideas and opinions.

          • RedLogix 3.2.1.2.1

            You have such good ideas and intentions that it's difficulkt to reconcile these with your confrontational style of commenting

            Can you not see that being arbitrarily kicked off a thread for manifestly dishonest reasons is just another form of confrontation?

            Complaining about my 'tone' is frankly a bit rich, when at the same time I see trad environmentalists shutting down nuclear power plants in Germany and increasing that country's carbon emissions as a direct result. That is so frankly delusional I'm bound to pillory and ridicule those who would defend this Malthusian style of thinking. The idea that resources are finite turns out to be paradoxically wrong. Our adaptive abilities should be obvious, though they clearly are not. We’ve been adapting to resource scarcity for millennia, and the idea that we would stop today, at the pinnacle of our development so far, is a peculiar one.

            The Simon–Ehrlich bet provides academics with plenty to argue over, but the larger trend is unambiguous – resources are becoming more, not less, abundant in relation to the labour time it takes to “buy” them. The period since 1900 has been marked by world wars, famines and depressions. Yet population grew at an average rate of 1.33 per cent per year and the five-metal basket of commodities grew more abundant at an average rate of 1.75 per cent per year. Adding the increase in population and the increase in abundance indicates a combined rate of around 3.08 per cent, indicating a doubling of abundance every 23 years. These figures are a salutary reminder to those who, like Paul Ehrlich, see resource constraints as limiting economic progress.

            https://www.humanprogress.org/luck-or-insight-the-simon-ehrlich-bet-re-examined/

            • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2.1.2.1.1

              Can you not see that being arbitrarily kicked off a thread for manifestly dishonest reasons is just another form of confrontation?

              RL, don't know what you're trying to achieve by describing someone as acting "arbitrarily" for "manifestly dishonest reasons", but please consider that it might not have the desired effect. We're all in this pig’s-breakfast together – it's going to take heaps of good will and cooperation, yesterday and now, to spare future generations the consequences of our current catastrophic trajectory.

              'Trad' and other environmentalists are keen on protecting (even regenerating) natural ecosystems that have been degraded due to habitat destruction, be it by unsustainable resource extraction, pollution or other encroachments. They too deserve our support, and thanks, for at least some of their efforts, imho.

      • greywarshark 3.2.2

        edit
        DmK Thanks for the enquiring commentary. We need to interrogate the 'technology and engineering' will fix all proponents. I find so little concern for ordinary humans and our ability to carry on with human lives that I am sensitive to this matter and have little time to concentrate on the truth or value of the programs being instigated.

        • AB 3.2.2.1

          Enormous effort and ingenuity will go into finding technology solutions to the climate crisis – and much of this will be driven by the potentially staggering profits to be made by whomever owns and commercialises the technology. It might save us, or it might not. It might save us, but in doing so push all the existing inequalities of market-based economies to stratospheric levels because of the enormous economic power that would accrue to those who own the salvation technology – and the absolutely abject weakness of everyone else.

          Personally, I think that expecting the same driver (profit/endless capital accumulation) that got us into this climate crisis to also get us out of it, is a touch incautious. I think it is more likely that any salvation consists of pitching us from this crisis into a new, different one. But we are not in a position to turn our backs on whatever technology throws up, and it's going to be a very rocky ride.

      • Andre 3.3.1

        As the wiki entry notes, the big issue with compressed air storage are the intertwined issues of efficiency and thermal management.

        in short, compressing air raises its temperature. A lot of the energy that goes into the compressor ends up as the raised temperature. If the stored compressed air simply cools to the environment, that heat energy is just lost. There are schemes to try to capture and store that heat, but at best they might raise the round-trip efficiency to 70%, but AFAIK no large installations have actually come anywhere near that efficiency yet.

        Pumped hydro storage in contrast easily achieves routinely efficiencies greater than 70%, with over 80% common. It also uses much more established technology. These factors which is why almost all electricity storage worldwide is pumped hydro. New Zealand is blessed with lots of suitable topography and water sources for pumped hydro. So it's seems unlikely there will be much by way of compressed air or battery storage her in NZ (except for a bit of local grid stabilisation).

        Outside of NZ, it appears thermal storage in conjunction with concentrating solar is the second biggest storage technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_energy_storage_power_plants . Compressed air to me looks like the best fit with wind energy, at least until there's some kind of massive breakthrough in battery tech.

    • Gabby 3.4

      Well the Easter Bunny is away at present.

  4. Cricklewood 4

    I've got a question… maybe someone with a better understanding of the issues can explain.

    As I understand it if an employee say steals $20 from the till it can be a criminal matter ie theft as a servant but if an employer steals an employees legally entitled wages this is an employment matter?

    Surely now we have a Lab majority govt its time to make wage theft a criminal offence? I read so many stories about wage theft and it seems a torturous process to get any resolution and when caught and finally fined the protagonists melt away.

    Making it a criminal matter on the same footing as theft by a servant will sort alot of the scumbags out given delay and obfuscation wont protect them any longer.

    Anyone able to explain why it wouldnt work?

    • Bruce 4.1

      This is from a few years ago and a different country but it still true here.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT03vCaL-F0

    • Nic the NZer 4.2

      I think this interacts with company limited liability and bankruptcy law. Owners and directors are only responsible for a companies debts as long as they are running it responsibly.

      Wages are of course a debt which the company carries until pay day arrives.

      There are also potential issues with how the inability to pay wages arose. Its possible for example a major contract collapsed or was unpaid leading to sub contractors being unable to pay their employees.

      • Cricklewood 4.2.1

        Thanks, could legislate around that right? Business circumstance/failure is very different to systematic under payment etc

        • Nic the NZer 4.2.1.1

          Its certainly possible to have criminal convictions for certain types of employment violations. For example prostitution is legal in NZ but someone may still be prosecuted for employing underage people.

          I think there are situations where employing with no intention of paying will be criminal. Just you need to prove intent in such cases and they are already at the severe end of violations.

          Its also important to understand with company law that the company and its officers are different entities and companies don't make decisions, their officers do.

      • Sacha 4.2.2

        You seem to be conflating unwillingness to pay wages with inability to do so. These are going concerns.

        • Nic the NZer 4.2.2.1

          No, I am highlighting that a similar inability to pay wages can result from either intent or be outside of control.

          • Sacha 4.2.2.1.1

            You doubt that our justice system can take the distinction into account? Otherwise it's a red herring.

            • Nic the NZer 4.2.2.1.1.1

              Did you notice the original comment is followed by one more saying thanks. Its like I managed to explain there are some complexities to think about and it seems in a way that allows them to be reasoned about, as the questioner subsequently does.

              What is your (futile) attempt to post a contradiction contributing? Maybe you should go a post a reply on twitter or something where it can be properly appreciated?

              • Sacha

                Business circumstance/failure is very different to systematic under payment etc

          • RedBaronCV 4.2.2.1.2

            There doesn't seem to be any reason, other than tradition, that allows employers to hang onto things like holiday pay redundancy etc. IMHO they should have to pay these amounts over to the IRD as they are accrued or the worker becomes eligible not leave them as an employer liability. It would lessen worker loss and give employers a better view of their cash. Rather than have employees giving interest free loans and losing out badly if there is business failure.

      • McFlock 4.2.3

        heh

        The thought of a reverse "theft as a servant" offence comes to mind: not stealing from the employer, but stealing for the employer.

        Sorts out the owner/manager distinction, for a start.

    • Descendant Of Smith 4.3

      Because employers have more power than workers.

      My wife and my children have all had wages, PAYE, student loan payments either not paid to them or not forwarded to IRD.

      In this day and age these payments to IRD should be paid same day as wages – it is not the employers money it s the workers. This would help identify dodgy and problematic employers much, much earlier.

  5. Muttonbird 5

    Brilliant as always from Sharon Murdoch.

    • Tiger Mountain 5.1

      yes

    • McFlock 5.2

      I find Murdoch is consistently really good at going deep – not always going for the most obvious connection, but making something visually intriguing to keep the audience's attention while going for the less obvious connection that has a stronger punch.

      That one is one of them.

  6. Tiger Mountain 6

    Welcome to neo-McCarthyism.

    RNZ’s “Redline” programme I heard today was verging on 50s scaremongering such were the number of hearsay comments, unattributed speakers, and lightly examined assertions.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/red-line

  7. greywarshark 7

    I am afraid of our selling every little bit of NZ to foreign investors and have the PTB regard it as the Right Thing To Do!

    Advert – https://www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz/innovation-skills/capital-education?gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21m90gG90QY8LQmz7vPjrZ-7476nG5_YfZYuhMwj63ZY0X6_eq5NdcORoCPp8QAvD_BwE

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446151/border-exemptions-visas-approved-for-14-wealthy-investors

    2021 July 4 – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-border-exemptions-visas-approved-for-14-wealthy-investors/FOZ6MDRPX7SBEEOAV77FCVZPDM/

    Understand this? ~~~ Investment News for financial advisers in New Zealand … https://investmentnews.co.nz
    7 days ago — AMP Wealth NZ has officially pushed back the long-awaited investment shift to a BlackRock-managed passive strategy into the September quarter. The change …

    2021 May 17 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300309160/wealthy-investors-due-to-arrive-on-new-border-exemption

    2021 May 4 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/five-wealthy-investors-granted-border-exemptions-then-residency/KQYAQUJENGTAPAP47OM3TXBKKA/

    2020 Aug 17 https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/the-ultra-rich-foreign-buyers-who-are-all-about-nz-38288

    Get your bargains here in the basement of the world!

    And Tether – getting money in return for 'milk tokens' – Money has gone mad. Let's face it. The ultimate drug, and the derivatives are even more hallucinatory!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-whuXHSL1Pg

    • RedBaronCV 7.1

      Why don't we know more about this. Are they visitor visa's with no family exemption attached so they cannot be used for a holiday. Are they residency visas in which case should they not be issued after any investment and local jobs have occurred?? If they are people wanting to undertake projects etc are they then going to want to drag all their own people in? Any obligations to train the locals? Any ban on buying existing land buildings and business. According to the stuff story none of them want to invest unless they can actually come here. I really can't see what's in it for the locals except more colonisation.

      Colour me suspicious but isn't MOBIE stuck in the neo lib dark ages?

  8. Byd0nz 8

    no

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • weka 8.1

      Noticing a tendency for you do say something is wrong without explaining how. Moved this comment to OM to circumvent this becoming a problem. Maybe invest a bit more time in sharing your own thinking.

      (and we don’t have like/dislike buttons on TS for a reason).

      • Byd0nz 8.1.1

        Noticing a tendency for you do say something is wrong without explaining how.

        I don't think my comment needed much explaining unless ignorant of American war crimes committed all over the Globe.

        • Sacha 8.1.1.1

          Does my agreeing or disagreeing with a comment add much value to the discussion in itself? If not, maybe I could say nothing, or write a reason..

        • weka 8.1.1.2

          Lots of people reading don't know what you are talking about. Better to explain.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 8.2

      OK to use the thumbs-up emoji on it's own, or in combination with text, imho, but I'd be wary of using the OK hand emoji.

      Quite like using the smiley-winky-laughie emojis since they were made available (presumably for a reason.) If others don't like thumbs up/down, then there's always:

      +1 … +10 … +100, etc.
      ^ … ^^ … ^^^ … ^^^^ … ^5 … ^ this, or (just) this, etc.

      A blast from the past – we really are spoilt for choice these days. Time for some gdr.

      https://www.computerworld.com/article/2586816/quickstudy–emoticons-and-internet-shorthand.html

      https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/articles/email-abbreviations.html

      • Treetop 8.2.1

        Gee some of the emojis and abbreviations I do not get them.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 8.2.1.1

          Didn’t/don't get a lot of them either, Tt, but reckon I’m improving thanks to TS wink

          • Treetop 8.2.1.1.1

            I do not get them as in not understanding the meaning.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 8.2.1.1.1.1

              Not always understanding how their appearance reflects the stated meaning? Me too frown

  9. Incognito 9

    Talking of intimidation of academics: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300349283/eat-a-bat-and-die-vile-threats-against-wuhan-lab-conspiracybuster

    “A colleague said to just think about what happened to climate change scientists, we’re in their shoes now, and that’s a really good point. I kind of want to reach out to climate scientists and say, ‘I know what you’re going through.’ ”

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    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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
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  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
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