Open Mike 21/06/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 21st, 2017 - 66 comments
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66 comments on “Open Mike 21/06/2017 ”

  1. Tamati Tautuhi 1

    Any odds on Todd Barclay’s demise today ?

    Obviously the PM’s Office knew about this Issue and did they get directly involved ?

    The plot thickens ?

    • Ed 1.1

      Low odds,
      The press gallery are not impressed with English.
      These are not the headlines he’d be wanting to read.

      Tape saga shows lack of leadership
      By:Barry Soper

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11879788

      English inflicts damage to own leadership
      By: Audrey Young

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11879785

      National owes the taxpayer for Todd Barclay’s hush money
      By Patrick Gower

      http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/patrick-gower-national-owes-the-taxpayer-for-todd-barclay-s-hush-money.html

      • Red 1.1.1

        upcoming Rugby test and Americas cup is more interesting, this borefest will be fish n chip paper next week, beltway issue at best now zzzzzzz

    • Cinny 1.2

      It’s headline news on both networks this morning, I don’t think this will be going away anytime soon. Kiwi’s don’t like arrogance or liars.

      When you do a runner from the press without answering any questions, then they will be all over you like white on rice, it makes it look like he has more to hide.

      • Tamati Tautuhi 1.2.1

        If it smells like a rat it probably is a rat ?

        • Cinny 1.2.1.1

          For sures, just had a peak at the Herald, seven out of the nine political stories are about Barclay

      • tc 1.2.2

        Unlike the past 8+ years where not answering questions and lying has seen our owned MSM whimper away while assisting with dirty politics memes.

        The NZ electorate seems to not mind the arrogance, see what happens when a bit of journalism occurs.

        IMO Blinglish will act sometime soon and all the media puppets will fawn over his strong leadership allowing this distraction from housing, health, education etc to play out.

        • bwaghorn 1.2.2.1

          yes if scum key was still around the nats would have sailed through this , twas an odd 8 years to witness

          • Tamati Tautuhi 1.2.2.1.1

            Key would have tidied this issue up quick smart, unfortunately Bill doesn’t have Key’s skills in this department.

            • garibaldi 1.2.2.1.1.1

              Things were running out for Key’s smarminess so he buggered off. More like a dishonestly flawed 8 years than odd.

              • ianmac

                This Barclay episode started with Key and his smelly fingers leave the mess for English to clean up.

      • Red 1.2.3

        No they don’t but full well understand most politicians are, Darren Hugh’s episode comes to mind

    • Draco T Bastard 1.3

      We’re probably going to see the same thing as we did with Philip Field. He’s going to wait to be found guilty before being removed from office.

      We have no other legal paths to remove this scum from office.

      • Anne 1.3.1

        It looks like the police are going to pick up the cudgels again:

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11879975

        If the police prosecute – and surely they will – then English has an excuse to stand him down.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.1

          Apparently he’s just a backbench MP that doesn’t actually do anything so Blinglish is limited there. He could tell him not to turn up at parliament but he can ignore that. The only other thing he might be able to do is remove him from any committees he’s on.

          The only thing that Blinglish can do is the same as Helen Clark did when Philip Field was on the rocks and going down – kick him out of the party.

          No one can get him out of the electoral office until and unless he’s actually convicted of a crime that carries a maximum sentence of two years jail or more or he doesn’t get voted back in – whichever comes first.

        • gsays 1.3.1.2

          again what, for the police, is new information?
          apart from the public being privvy to the police statement by the prime minister.

          something isn’t right here.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.2.1

            True. Either the police stopped the investigation for political reasons before or they really are incompetent.

            • Anne 1.3.1.2.1.1

              There’s a third option. They were instructed to stop the investigation.

  2. Ad 2

    An awful lot of massive corporations signing up to a carbon tax, in the USA. Not adequate, but a really interesting broadcast to President Trump:

    https://www.clcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Climate_Leadership_Council_WSJ_Ad.pdf

  3. In remembrance.

    Last video of Otto Warmbier before imprisonment in North … – YouTube
    Video for last photos of otto warmbier youtube▶ 0:34
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjoaH45nKfc

    • Sabine 3.1

      last day of that black fella that was killed while driving a car in the us. the cop was found not guilty of anything, not even of being not suited to being a cop.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ac7Zblqyk

      authoritarian governments do as authoritarian governments do. And for what its worth, that US American kid could have not gone to North Korea as everyone knows they are not a democracy, not a great and friendly tourist destination. Whereas the black fellow in the car, well he was in his home country, in his home city, with his missus and the child on the way home.

      Authoritarian governments kill, and they will always say that the killed was breaking some law, the one ‘stole’ a poster, the other ‘driving while black’.

      • WILD KATIPO 3.1.1

        You may not like the nationalist movement , Brexit , Trump or Alex Jones.

        But it was telling that there was a clip of a late night TV show host mocking Otto Warmbier crying and pleading before N. Korea’s courts , and accusing him of being a privileged ‘ white’ ‘ frat- boy’ as well as several times even mocking his name ‘ Warmbier’.

        What an inverted racist piece of shit.

        And that particular late night host was not only ‘ African American’ , – but a known and prominent anti Trump personality and supporter of Hillary Clinton.

        That was BEFORE news of 22 year old Otto Warmbeirs death hit the headlines.

        And if that isn’t politically motivated inverse racism ,… then what is.

        I notice they’ve taken that clip down from you tube.

        And rightly so.

        • Sabine 3.1.1.1

          i shall cry about inverse racism when white people stop killing non white people by the dozen.

          that seventeen year old muslima who got bashed after leaving a food joint with her friends. Beaten to death, dumped in a pond. They call it “road rage”.

          the black women, pregnant and with kids at home, calls some cops and is killed in front of her children. by the cops. Ooops, they call that ‘ a series of unfortunate events’.

          the bullshit generally speaking that goes on and on in the states, and other places that we call ‘white working class economic anxiety’.

          this kid should have never been where he was, but it was his choice to go there. He could have finished his holiday in China, gone home to his family with nothing but good memories. But alas, he went to North Korea, a beacon of human rights.
          So while i have pity with his family, even have pity with him, i have more pity for those that get killed in their homes, their cities, on their streets but fuckwits who know they will get away with it casue ‘white working class economic anxiety’ and a severe case of ‘negrophobia’.

          I don’t give a flying fuck about white people whinging about discrimination. We, us white people, our ‘culture’ wrote the fucking book on discrimination and racism.

          This killing of the boy here was by a totalitarian state, and the killings that i listed where by a totalitarian state.
          Pot, kettle all fucking black.

  4. esoteric pineapples 4

    Here’s the first part of the Oliver Stone four hour interview with Putin – very interesting

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKbz5S8yQDw

    Here’s Stone being interviewed on Democracy Now! about the interview – also very interesting

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRzhUO-Pz40

  5. esoteric pineapples 5

    No-one is paying much attention to what is happening in Venezuela but it is hugely important within the context of what is happening with the United States and many other parts of the world right now. There is a conscious attempt to undermine the socialist government through economic means.

    Here is Abby Martin interviewing Venezuela’s Economy Minister which is very interesting

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk1qlKu_RJo

    Here Abby Martin is interviewed about her recent trip to Venezuela where she was in great danger from opposition “protestors” who are groups of agitators who go about doing things like blocking highways with petrol tankers they hijack, and burning people alive. The majority of people being killed in protests in Venezuela are being killed by this opposition agitators, not government forces.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8w7CKp1FM0

  6. Yep – its happening all over from all quarters… And John Key was a mate of Obama and passed some of the most invasive surveillance laws this country has ever seen.

    And a few years before called Glen Greenwald a ‘screaming lefty’ – then was found to be lying about the XKEYSCORE program…. remember?

    Globalists. Good for nothing.

    Colonel Shaffer Warns Of A Bloody Civil War – YouTube
    Video for Colonel Shaffer Warns Of A Bloody Civil War The Alex Jones Channel The Alex Jones Channel▶ 18:24
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzijUlcHGUc

  7. Kevin 7

    Now, if only our SFO could grow a pair…

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/20/sfo-charges-barclays-bank-executives-ceo-2008-qatar-fundraising

    “Taking on Barclays, one of the largest banks in the world, and its most senior officials who literally were at the very top, sends a very strong message that the SFO is now fearless in terms of the companies and individuals it pursues.”

    • adam 7.1

      The SFO was set up to terrorize small to medium business, not corporations. Gotta keep the club protected.

  8. Andre 8

    Can we look forward to extremist vegans running around dumping boxes of ticks all over the place now?

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oh-lovely-the-tick-that-gives-people-meat-allergies_us_59496743e4b0579a1f392748

    Come to think of it, could be a useful weapon against climate change…

  9. Andre 9

    Ooooh, meee-ow. McCain getting a wee bit tetchy about how his own team is carrying on…

    http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/338633-mccain-no-american-has-seen-healthcare-bill-but-im-sure-russia-has

    edit: He’s not the only one, but the others aren’t as entertaining.

    http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/338643-trio-of-conservative-republicans-rip-senate-healthcare-process

  10. greywarshark 10

    The health boil is bursting. Pus coming out, and there is a deep well of bad news and bad government management. Bad because the government is bad and is trying to demonise the systems that the DHBs have to govern themselves by appointing government people over their heads who are not accountable to the DHBs for what they do, but are drawing on their money.

    And that is bad government management because of its lack of effectiveness, lack of oversight which has been taken from the DHBs, and bloody arrogance by government which seems set on a titanic course directly targeted in an effort to bring our health and hospital system to a state of crisis. And then, obviously, they will replace many direct government-provided services with contracted out to some private entity. Milking the (public) cow is what they know, it works for them, so refine the systems and adapt and keep forging ahead while the public stands gawping. ‘You wanted to say something? Sorry, too slow. Bye’ ……

    I’ll just add this last little sentence from Bradbury’s recent summation of National.
    it creates a false illusion of middle class wealth that keeps them voting National.
    It’s the key to everything now.

    • greywarshark 10.1

      Health interviews from Radionz.

      business health
      9:05 am today
      Mounting anger from DHBs towards Health Ministry
      From Nine To Noon, 9:05 am today
      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201848288/mounting-anger-from-dhbs-towards-health-ministry

      Listen duration 20′ :58″
      There’s widespread anger from District Health Boards over the Health Ministry’s performance and the budget funds blunder.

      (Note that this has been catalogued under business health, not government health. Not a good look I think.)

      • In Vino 10.1.1

        Well said, gws. Serious issue, but I guess that the lions and america’s cup (non-capitalisation deliberate) will take prominence. Frustrating.

    • Tamati Tautuhi 10.2

      Always a lot of money $$$’s to be made in change especially for the people involved in effecting the change.

      There is an old saying “If is isn’t broken don’t try and fix it, neoliberalism tried to change an effective Health System here in NZ”.

  11. heman 11

    nick smith latest on point england.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201848280/govt-accused-of-micro-managing-pt-england-housing-development

    he is retaining the playing fields but in order to do that he is taking them away.
    And banning farm animals on a public reserve. Surely a step too far?

    • joe90 12.1

      Buy it for a dollar, we’ll give you 82 cents worth of tax relief and you get to wring a 3% return on your dollar.

      Following Trump’s election, markets rose as investors predicted that Trump would increase infrastructure spending and provide a tailwind to the economy. But rather than directly borrowing cash and paying for infrastructure projects, Trump’s infrastructure plan actually offers some $137 billion in tax cuts to private investors who are willing to back and own transportation projects.

      As a result, Trump’s plan doesn’t guarantee additional spending in the economy, Krugman said. The Nobel Prize winner added that private investors may simply choose to privatize infrastructure projects that would have happened with or without Trump’s plan—only the private company would pay just 18 cents on the dollar, while taxpayers would cover the rest.

      http://fortune.com/2016/11/21/paul-krugman-trump-infrastructure/

  12. mac1 13

    Wow! Today’s editorial in Fairfax media. It catalogues the lying and misinformation, and weighs into English, Key, the Police and Barclay.

    It begins-” The spat over an obscure National backbencher has caused serious damage to the reputation of Prime Minister Bill English. It has also raised disturbing questions about the political independence of the police. Finally, it has dealt a fatal blow to the credibility of Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay.

    And ends

    “This is a squalid shambles.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/93898739/editorial-a-bad-day-for-the-national-party

    It is also interesting that the only supporters in the background for Barclay when he made his so-called apology and then scarpered were other lowly-placed National back-benchers. They may also have issues about how they got in through stacking their own selection processes, as Barclay is alleged to have done.

    Senior MPs were noticeably absent.

    • mac1 13.1

      One of the backbenchers supporting Barclay at his media apology outing was Paul Foster-Bell, who in three years as an MP by 2016 had lost twelve staff. Lest we forget.

      https://yournz.org/2016/06/26/foster-bells-staff-problems/

      Another back-bencher attending was Stuart Smith who rolled the sitting Kaikoura MP, Colin King, in 2014. That little saga involved some shenanigans as well.

  13. weka 14

    John Hart‏ @farmgeek

    James Shaw receiving a warm welcome at the @FedFarmers AGM.

    https://twitter.com/farmgeek/status/877303286050676736

    and this reply from FedFarmers Diary Chair,

    Chris Waikato Farmer‏ @Lewisridge_Farm 27m

    James spoke really well. Everyone impressed with how he delivered his message! Won some respect!

    This is why the GP have James Shaw in a suit as co-leader. It’s about change.

  14. joe90 15

    A reign of error…… and, I’ll get me coat..

    In 151 days, President Trump has made 669 false and misleading claims

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?

  15. Penny Bright 16

    Subject: URGENT! Request for Minister Simon Bridges as Leader of the House to ensure the Pt England Development Enabling Bill is NOT progressed through the House.

    21 June 2017

    ‘Open Letter’

    Minister Simon Bridges,
    I have just contacted the Speaker’s Office, regarding the progressing of the Point England Development Enabling Bill, when information upon which this Bill is based is factually inaccurate.

    I call on you as Leader of the House to ensure this fundamentally flawed legislation is NOT progressed through the House.

    Kind regards

    Penny Bright

    ‘Anti-privatisation/ anti-Corruption campaigner’

    2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.

    Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.

  16. Pete 17

    After the last few days in particular I’d thought Todd Barclay was an idiot.

    That Hekia Parata was one of his heroes shows the sort of cretin he is.

  17. Draco T Bastard 18

    “How Did We Get Into This Mess?: Politics, Equality, Nature” by George Monbiot

    The article marked a new form of employment: the nursery consultant.3 These people, who charge £290 an hour, must find a nursery that will put their clients’ toddlers on the right track to an elite university. They spoke of parents who have already decided that their six-month-old son will go to Cambridge then Deutsche Bank, or whose two-year-old daughter ‘had a tutor for two afternoons a week (to keep on top of maths and literacy) as well as weekly phonics and reading classes, drama, piano, beginner French and swimming’. They were considering adding Mandarin and Spanish. ‘The little girl was so exhausted and on edge she was terrified of opening her mouth.’

    From infancy to employment, this is a life-denying, love-denying mindset, informed not by joy or contentment, but by an ambition that is both desperate and pointless, for it cannot compensate for what it displaces: childhood, family life, the joys of summer, meaningful and productive work, a sense of arrival, living in the moment. For the sake of this toxic culture, the economy is repurposed; the social contract is rewritten; the elite is released from tax, regulation and the other restraints imposed by democracy.

    Capitalism: destroying life from infancy.

    • greywarshark 18.1

      Reminds me of helicopter mums and dads –
      5 Signs You Were Raised By Helicopter Parents | HuffPost
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/5-ways-to-tell-you-were-raised-by-helicopter-parents_us...
      Sep 30, 2015 – The parenting style, characterized by a helicopter-like tendency to hover over children and swoop in to rescue them at the first sign of trouble, …

      And the beauty queen moulded from babyhood JonBenet Ramsay.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_JonBen%C3%A9t_Ramsey

      Being trained to be a financial star, a maths star, a rugby star, a tennis star, is very limiting to the soul. Social policy research has found that some families who build their lives around their child star do not love the child. If that child wants to reject their sport, music etc. the family can turn away and ostracise him or her, they like the social standing the gifted child gives.

      Also the book Affluenza talks about the destroying effect of living up to unreal goals.

  18. AB 19

    Getting in before James.
    Fantastic Lions display last night – All Blacks clearly in big trouble. 2-1 to the Lions likely series outcome. Also Oracle are sure to come out faster than Team NZ after the 5 day break. Very little feel-good factor going into September.

  19. Ad 20

    The English and Northern Irish 2017 coalition negotiating teams meet:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc3jqf4cdfc

  20. Penny Bright 21

    Here’s how MPs were misled, in my opinion, and given inaccurate advice regarding the Point England Development Enabling Bill.

    https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/Point%20England%20Development%20Enabling%20Bill.pdf

    “The development land adjoins housing owned by the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company that is due for redevelopment as part of the regeneration of the Tāmaki area.

    A new housing development on the development land will result in new homes being made available that could rehouse existing Tāmaki Redevelopment Company tenants and therefore assist the regeneration.

    ….”

    The Tamaki Redevelopment Company Ltd owns NO houses and has NO tenants.

    This ‘Tamaki Regeneration’ has been, in my opinion, a massive $1.6 billion $CAM.

    The real aim has been gentrification of Tamaki.

    Don’t you think that MPs would be given correct information before they passed legislation?

    Penny Bright

    2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.

    Exposing the $1.6 billion Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM.

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    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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 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
    23 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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