Oram on the budget and Treasury fantasies

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, May 25th, 2015 - 75 comments
Categories: budget 2015, debt / deficit, economy, national - Tags: , , ,

Extracts from Rod Oram’s piece in the SST as posted on Facebook:

No worries, it’ll all come right, the Budget assures us

Everything economic will come right by 2017, the government assures us in its latest budget. Businesses will enjoy higher commodity prices, moderate wage inflation, modest interest rates and a manageable dollar. Citizens will thrive on more jobs, low inflation, more spending and only moderate increases in house prices. And the government will benefit from higher tax revenues, enabling it to double new spending, increase its budget surpluses and cut taxes – just in time for the 2017 election.

This sunny view is based on Treasury’s economic forecasts accompanying the budget. Treasury believes serious shocks to the global and local economies over the past decade, and particularly over the past year, will fade quickly away. Dairy and oil prices will rise, inflation will resume and economies will motor on, whether in stagnant developed or slowing developing countries.
…
But what if the world is experiencing profound shifts? What if, for example, deflation is driven by structural causes such as ageing populations and rapid technological change?
…
This air of unworldly calm also pervades the budget itself, which the government has entitled “A plan that’s working”. Sure enough, there is a bit more money for health, education, police, corrections and other core services. But our population and inflation will both rise by 1.4 per cent in the year ahead, Treasury forecasts. So, the extra spending announced for core public services won’t cover rising costs and demand. So there’s no chance for real wage increases for teachers, nurses, doctors and other public servants.
…
So this budget, as the six before it, is a triumph of micro-management. The government has mastered the skill of switching small sums around to give the illusion of progress. What’s missing from it, and the six before, is any glimpse of the world we live in, let alone the political leadership we need to survive and thrive in it.

Nailed it.

75 comments on “Oram on the budget and Treasury fantasies ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Peter 1
    25 May 2015 at 7:43 am

    ….. I for one would like to see Mr Key give us his views on, say , a strategy for NZ ports …… addressing the short term concerns of focus groups appears to be his main focus

  2. Charles 2
    25 May 2015 at 7:52 am

    In the old days every “man woman and child” worried about the national (small n) deficit, children were given milk to drink at school, voters generally disliked the government, tariffs and tax were heavy, and you could live on a pension without fear of dying of hypothermia or resorting to catfood. No one knew what a dumpster might be. Electricity, water, and telephone services were owned by the government, there were trains carrying manufacturing materials. Trust in the police was high and essential services had professional shift staff, their officiers not much concerned for the cost of saving property and lives. Unemployment was non-existent, and pakeha liked to complain about “the maoris”. Banks opened special childrens accounts, accepted deposit for 1c or 2c and encouraged children to save. They didn’t advertise on black and white TV.

    Now children have fallen into poverty conditions, no one much cares about the National (capital N) deficit unless it’s implied they might have to contribute, it’s not fair and too expensive to supply children with food at school, voters love the government and it’s cult leaders, tarrifs and taxes are light, and you might not be able to live on a pension without resorting to dumpster diving. Electricity, water, and telephone services are privately owned and the train tracks got pulled up, so raw materials go by road on trucks. Trust in police is non-existent – unless you’re white, male and rich, or know someone who is – the officiers of essential services are concerned with profit and safety systems need volunteers and charity to keep running. When someone is lost at sea or in the bush, they’re blamed for the rest of us having to go look for them. Unemployment is high, and pakeha like to complain about “the maoris” – just before leaving for Australia. If you can find a bank teller in your town it’ll cost you. There aren’t 1c or 2c pieces anymore, but plenty of cheap debt, and banks advertise on colour TV that they “live in your world”.

    Can’t wait for 2017. Can’t wait for budget number seven.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      25 May 2015 at 10:07 am

      In the old days every “man woman and child” worried about the national (small n) deficit, children were given milk to drink at school, voters generally disliked the government, tariffs and tax were heavy, and you could live on a pension without fear of dying of hypothermia or resorting to catfood.

      Which particular ‘old days’ are you talking about? It wasn’t until Muldoon brought in NZSuper in 1975 that the Old Age Pension was a liveable amount. Before then it was somewhat less.

      • Tracey 2.1.1
        25 May 2015 at 10:13 am

        Can you recall what the widow’s pension was?

        • joe90 2.1.1.1
          25 May 2015 at 10:48 am

          In 1970 the weekly widows rate was $13.75 with $10 for one dependent child, $11 for two dependent children and $1 for each additional dependent child.

          under SUMMARY OF RATES OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

          http://www3.stats.govt.nz/New_Zealand_Official_Yearbooks/1970/NZOYB_1970.html#idsect1_1_52751

          • Tracey 2.1.1.1.1
            25 May 2015 at 11:04 am

            Thanks Joe.

            A widow received the same amount as an unmarried superannunant…

            Key referred to his mum during his budget speech but left out how she was on the same as an over 65

            More when you factor in the children.

            WHY don’t Labour or the press know this stuff?

            • Tracey 2.1.1.1.1.1
              25 May 2015 at 11:11 am

              Invalids’—
              Unmarried person, 20 years or over 715 13.75
              Unmarried person under 20 years 611 11.75
              Married man with wife included 1,300 25.00
              Married woman 650 12.50

              We did have full employment in those days…

              • John …
                25 May 2015 at 11:42 am

                Tracy says “We did have full employment in those days…”

                In 1970 we had a population of 2,811,000 and 1,215,000 people employed (43% employed).

                In 1970 we have a population of 4,500,000 and 2,355,000 people employed (52% employed).

                So in those days we had an extra 9% of the population (9% of todays population is 405,000 people ) who were not working.

                They just didn’t appear in the figures.

                • weka …
                  25 May 2015 at 12:04 pm

                  There’s a difference between not-employed and unemployed. The 1970s stats would need to be broken down by gender and probably class to understand them.

                  Full employment = all people who need/want a job having one.

                  • John …
                    25 May 2015 at 12:13 pm

                    That certainly wasn’t the case in 1970.

                    Solo mothers with babies didn’t even get a the DPB.

                    Then there were unofficial work for the dole schemes where if you showed you were capable of leaning on a shovel you could get a job with the falsely named “Ministry of Works”.

                    • Colonial Rawshark …
                      25 May 2015 at 12:20 pm

                      That Ministry helped build this nation, you ungrateful shit head

                    • weka …
                      25 May 2015 at 12:36 pm

                      “That certainly wasn’t the case in 1970.”

                      What wasn’t the case in 1970? Are you saying there weren’t enough jobs to go around?

                    • John …
                      25 May 2015 at 12:42 pm

                      Let’s go back to your rose tinted 1970 employment levels.

                      If we did, today we’d have and extra 400,000 people out of work.

                      Duh.

                    • weka …
                      25 May 2015 at 12:52 pm

                      You’re not making sense John. Is there a reason you can’t answer my question?

                    • joe90 …
                      25 May 2015 at 1:26 pm

                      Solo mothers with babies didn’t even get a the DPB

                      You’re right, in 1970 it was a family maintenance allowance.
                      /

                      A sole parent is paid at the rate of $10.00 a week for the first dependent child, increased by $1 a week for each additional dependent child.

                      http://www3.stats.govt.nz/New_Zealand_Official_Yearbooks/1970/NZOYB_1970.html

                    • tracey …
                      25 May 2015 at 1:35 pm

                      John

                      stick to your knitting.

                    • tracey …
                      25 May 2015 at 1:36 pm

                      “Solo mothers with babies didn’t even get a the DPB.”

                      Unless the father had died and then they got a widow’s allowance

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      25 May 2015 at 1:41 pm

                      Then there were unofficial work for the dole schemes…

                      LOL

                      You really are an idiot. Those works built our entire nation and if we’d left it to the capitalists we’d still be living in the 19th century.

                      Phones and power would only go to rich neighbourhoods and cost several times more. Poverty would be rampant with the middle class taking up maybe 10% of the population.

                      This is what capitalism does. Poverty and deprivation are systemic to it.

                    • John …
                      25 May 2015 at 1:55 pm

                      In 1970 only 31,000 working age adults were on benefits.

                      Yet there were around 800,000 working age adults who were not working – two thirds as many as those who did have jobs.

                      And it was called full employment – yeah right.

                    • Rodel …
                      25 May 2015 at 2:09 pm

                      “Leaning on a shovel”?
                      This kind of comment is usually made by someone who has never had a manual job in their life. Probably coasting on Daddy’s money.
                      Guarantee those who criticize road workers have never worked on road works…never had to.

                    • te reo putake []
                      25 May 2015 at 2:24 pm

                      Ha! Reminded me of the local bodies candidate a couple of elections ago who put out a leaflet saying he was going to sort out all the council staff he saw leaning on their shovels every day all over the town. He looked a total prat when it was pointed out that the council hadn’t employed labourers for twenty years.

                    • John …
                      25 May 2015 at 2:26 pm

                      Rodel – making grand assumptions when you are totally ignorant about a situation, does just one thing – displays how totally ignorant you are.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      25 May 2015 at 3:36 pm

                      I was working a while back installing the new computers in the new ASB tower at the Viaduct. At the end of the day we’d all gathered at a single location with one person doing the finishing work for the day and the project manager observed, jokingly, that it was just like public works where only one person worked.

                      Thing is, that’s actually what happened and still happens. At the beginning of a day and at the end there may only be enough work for one or two people to do and the others are waiting on them to finish that before they can start their work. And this is what people saw on their way to and from work. They only saw the beginning and end of the day and nothing in between and so assumed that was all that happened with, of course, the help of the lies that the RWNJs spread.

                      Lies that you, John , in your ignorance, still believe.

                • tracey …
                  25 May 2015 at 1:32 pm

                  You don’t seem to understand the figures and labels you are relying upon.

                • Wynston …
                  25 May 2015 at 5:48 pm

                  Given that it was not common for married mothers to work then, it is not at all surprising that raw figures like you use do not tally!

              • dukeofurl …
                25 May 2015 at 11:43 am

                Yes full employment, in every sense of the word, and not just Auckland was bi partisan government policy.
                People like Michael Lhaws parents could easily find jobs in Whanganui, and he didnt face high student loans on graduation.
                Not that he has ever see the advantages he got!
                House prices didnt rise too rapidly as the banks werent allowed to borrow overseas and rationed loans based on your lending history and a considerable deposit.

          • weka 2.1.1.1.2
            25 May 2015 at 12:05 pm

            great link joe, thanks. I was looking for historical benefit rates the other day and couldn’t find them.

      • Grant 2.1.2
        25 May 2015 at 11:29 am

        I can’t speak to the amounts involved, but both sets of my very working class grandparents retired in the very early 1960’s at age 60, both lots owning their own homes outright and running reasonably good cars for the times. This despite the fact that they had plenty to say about how hard it was to survive the depression and war years. As I recall they lived simple restrained lifestyles but were short of nothing and always looked to be leading good lives. It wasn’t until their later old age in the late 70’s- early 80’s that inflation etc made them really start to feel the pinch and you could see things going down hill. Of course some of that may also have been a reduced ability to manage as they got towards the end of their lives.

      • Rjay 2.1.3
        26 May 2015 at 6:18 pm

        It would have been those old days when women had to stay home and not allowed to work and there was no dpb.

    • SMILIN 2.2
      25 May 2015 at 11:37 am

      Nz political climatology explained should be the founding article going with the new flag least we forget
      Well said thanks

  3. Ad 3
    25 May 2015 at 7:56 am

    To me this has been the most perplexing thing about the response from the collective Opposition.

    They failed to portray any sense of looming crisis. Little’s throwaway line about “…more to New Zealand than milk and housing” was really the missed theme.
    By that I mean that Little went to business audiences, when I would have preferred him to preach to haybarns full of disillusioned and indebted farmers, or suburban halls full of the permanently renting. He needed to land on where the hurt is, and show it.

    I want to hear an alternative economic vision from Labour. It was great to hear Little give a few thoughts – and I appreciate they have to be a little sketchy at this time.
    But overall the opposition can surely see that Key is choking their remaining oxygen.

    Oram shows that there is still plenty of space to do this. Could someone from Labour give him a call?

  4. whateva next? 4
    25 May 2015 at 8:02 am

    Thankyou to Rod Oram for not letting reality slip by, under these master illusionists. My worry is that the majority of people and professionals I work alongside everyday seem to be enjoying John Key’s show, despite all the warnings and a few good men keeping their heads above the parapet.
    I wonder if Campbell had to go as those “sleepyheads” were actually hearing/responding to him.

  5. Steve Withers 5
    25 May 2015 at 8:48 am

    National, as a conservative party, is psychologically incapable of delivering what Oram wants it to deliver.

    National drives boldly into the future based on a mixture of discredited neo-liberal economic presumptions and an idealised view of past successes.

    Never mind the world doesn’t work the way they hope…and never worked as they imagine it.

    • Clean_power 5.1
      25 May 2015 at 9:22 am

      “Never mind the world doesn’t work the way they hope…and never worked as they imagine it” …. I’m sure you know what you are talking about, Mr Whiters.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.2
      25 May 2015 at 10:17 am

      National drives boldly into the future based on a mixture of discredited neo-liberal economic presumptions and an idealised view of past successes.

      National still believes in the aristocracy and are putting in place policies that will resurrect them and will turn the rest of us into serfs.

      • Clean_power 5.2.1
        25 May 2015 at 10:58 am

        “National still believes in the aristocracy and are putting in place policies that will resurrect them and will turn the rest of us into serfs.”

        Wow. Draco’s fantasies are even more unbelievable than Oram’s.

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1
          25 May 2015 at 11:14 am

          It’s not a fantasy – it’s what’s actually happening. That’s what privatisation is.

          • Clean_power 5.2.1.1.1
            25 May 2015 at 12:13 pm

            Are you proposing the joy of socialism for NZ? Are you proposing we embrace such wonderful and successful system?

            • Stuart Munro 5.2.1.1.1.1
              25 May 2015 at 12:43 pm

              We need only reverse the horrific and unsuccessful economic reforms that allowed a generation of unqualified ‘managers’ to enrich themselves at the public expense. NZ ran on Fabian socialism and was the envy of the world – now our young people travel – not for an OE, but to escape our shrinking economy and declining living standards.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1.1.2
              25 May 2015 at 1:29 pm

              Capitalism has presided over a decline in living standards in NZ over the last 30 years.

              In fact, when we look at our history it has been socialism pushing capitalism in the right direction that has built up the living standards that we have. In the 1970s that system was failing, no doubt about that, but we went in the wrong direction. Instead of focusing more on developing our economy and becoming more egalitarian we did the opposite by enriching the already rich and dismantling our economy.

              This resulted in the inevitable declining living standards that we have today and the increasing corruption that we see in our business people and politicians.

              • Clean_power …
                25 May 2015 at 1:58 pm

                You should tell that not-so-white lie to many Russians and Eastern Europeans, free now from the tyranny of communism and socialism. Wake up and smell the roses.

                • One Anonymous Bloke …
                  25 May 2015 at 3:01 pm

                  Which lie? Living standards have most certainly declined over the last thirty years. In New Zealand, you know, that place that everyone except you is happy to discuss.

                  Just as everyone knows that the reason you’d rather talk shit about Eastern Europe instead is that you’re ideologically handicapped.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  25 May 2015 at 3:24 pm

                  The USSR was neither socialist nor communist the same way that, despite it’s name, the DPRK isn’t democratic.

                  A label doesn’t mean that the thing so labelled is what it says it is. You have to look to the actions and the actions of the USSR, China and the DPRK are capitalist. A few people at the top calling the shots and controlling everyone else through fear.

                  • Facetious …
                    25 May 2015 at 4:55 pm

                    Socialism is a tragedy, a sad and terrible event for the people of the country concerned. God help NZ from getting the fatal disease.

                    • McFlock …
                      25 May 2015 at 5:11 pm

                      lol nice one, facetious

                    • Colonial Rawshark …
                      25 May 2015 at 5:53 pm

                      Socialism is a tragedy, a sad and terrible event for the people of the country concerned. God help NZ from getting the fatal disease.

                      NZ remains a socialist country at its core. If you don’t like it, you are free to move to the USA where things are so much “better.”

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      25 May 2015 at 7:44 pm

                      Yeah, that fatal disease that built NZ up and almost got round to eliminating poverty…

                      oh, wait…

                    • ropata …
                      25 May 2015 at 8:30 pm

                      By your logic, Facetious and clean_power, Capitalism must equal Fascism? Because a social philosophy should always be taken to its most radical and egregious extreme?

                      I call this kind of argument “lying”

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      25 May 2015 at 8:56 pm

                      Ropata hits the nail on the head. These dishonest gimps can’t handle the truth.

                    • ropata …
                      26 May 2015 at 12:03 am

                      Facetious, by “socialist” do you mean those kind of countries that had

                      ~an economic theory that demands human sacrifice
                      ~impoverished masses and an untouchable elite
                      ~a police state with total surveillance capability
                      ~no independent media or dissidence
                      ~political propaganda saturation

                      because that is exactly where FJK is taking us

                • Mike S …
                  25 May 2015 at 6:36 pm

                  You don’t seem to understand what socialism is. We live in a social democracy. Socialism doesn’t mean communism.

                • ropata …
                  25 May 2015 at 8:35 pm

                  You mean Russia that is now ruled by oligarchs and a military dictator?
                  Or Ukraine that is on the verge of civil war?
                  Or Ceaucescu’s Romania?

                  Check your facts before spouting ignorant slogans.

                • ropata …
                  25 May 2015 at 9:36 pm

                  Some history for cleanpower

            • Lloyd 5.2.1.1.1.3
              25 May 2015 at 9:47 pm

              So you want neo-liberal success like Iraq or Russia – both places where the short, sharp , shock of selling off everything the state owned was applied more thoroughly than he Gnats have so far managed with New Zealand’s economy?
              Mixed economies where the state owns a significant part of the economy have been generally healthier for their citizens since the global financial melt-down.

  6. Tracey 6
    25 May 2015 at 8:58 am

    “The government has mastered the skill of switching small sums around to give the illusion of progress.”

    And when political journalists have no training or understanding of economics, maths or other related stuff, they can get away with it.

    Come Budget time SURELY the reporting needs to be done by journalists who understand the numbers, the economics etc?

    Audrey Young, John Armstrong etc are not, to my knowledge expert in the stuff required to critique.

    Fran O’Sullivan on the other hand spent her column helping people forget that Banks made a declaration that everything in the form was true and correct to the best of his belief BUT HAD NEVER READ IT, and so by her reasoning is entitled to taxayer funded compensation for the agregious wrongs done him with no part played it in by one Mr Banks.

    • ianmac 6.1
      25 May 2015 at 9:29 am

      Let alone the strange fact of 2 X $25,000 and another 3 X $25,000. Or that Mr Banks refuses to comment on those facts.
      It is probable that the Opposition has to be cautious about condemning the economy or just become another Opposition moan. Later in the year the reality of our economy will become clear. Of course English/Key will claim it is outside their control and we are doing so much better than World.

      • Tracey 6.1.1
        25 May 2015 at 10:09 am

        yes, but what about the media? Isn’t it their job to read the budget, read/listen to the things said about it by our politicians, analyse it and tell us what stands scrutiny or doesn’t.

        • tc 6.1.1.1
          25 May 2015 at 10:33 am

          Media in nz is there to prop up the bs and deception the NACT trot out regularly and keep the steeple dumbed down with celebrity home menu model makeover reality content.

          You only have to to look at the diversions they ran hard with during the recent northland by election and Campbell’s axing to see what their job really is.

    • Colonial Rawshark 6.2
      25 May 2015 at 10:45 am

      Come Budget time SURELY the reporting needs to be done by journalists who understand the numbers, the economics etc?

      It probably won’t help – they’ve all been taught a false framework of financialised economics. Like most of our politicians.

      Economics about the infrastructure, capability, capacity and direction of a nation – no one discusses that nowadays. I believe that is what Oram infers when he talks about the wider world that we actually live in and the things which are happening within it.

      Instead “economics” as it is understood by our political class and MSM has been reduced to book keeping and managing numbers.

      • Draco T Bastard 6.2.1
        25 May 2015 at 11:18 am

        Instead “economics” as it is understood by our political class and MSM has been reduced to book keeping and managing numbers.

        And profit. Can’t forget the profit. It can’t be economical if one of the new aristocracy isn’t making a profit.

        • Colonial Rawshark 6.2.1.1
          25 May 2015 at 11:24 am

          Yeah, and especially profit from ticket clipping on the essentials needed by society. That’s what capitalism has reduced itself to now.

      • dukeofurl 6.2.2
        25 May 2015 at 11:49 am

        We saw yesterday on the Standard, Hooton pontificate about Bill Englishes borrowing only being the ‘amount of the budget deficit- $500 or so mill, when the actual deficit on a cash basis is between $6.5 and $7 biilion, as shown by their loan program.

        All along the public is mislead about the government ‘household budget’ being near surplus when its nothing of the sort. The accrual accounting being a piece of smoke and mirrors.

        • Stuart Munro 6.2.2.1
          25 May 2015 at 11:54 am

          And Treasury – which Hooton praises extravagantly – are complicit in the lie.

      • Tracey 6.2.3
        25 May 2015 at 12:02 pm

        it would help them to expose the lies being told about what is actually being done or not. Economic theory aside

  7. Sable 7
    25 May 2015 at 12:32 pm

    And when the economic miracle National promises doesn’t occur it will all be someone else’s fault. Either the political left or space aliens….I’m sure the MSM can make something up as per usual…

  8. linda 8
    25 May 2015 at 7:25 pm

    national will need to be forced to take responsibility for there mismanagement and there supporters will need to be made to pay

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1
      25 May 2015 at 8:48 pm

      That sounds like something a National Party supporter would say. They’re all about getting “tough” on crime, which is one of the reasons we have close to the highest recidivism rate in the developed world.

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    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • No new funding for cycling & walking

    Studies show each $1 of spending on walking and cycling infrastructure produces $13 to $35 of economic benefits from higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, less congestion, lower emissions and lower fossil fuel import costs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • 99

    Dad turned 99 today.Hell of a lot of candles, eh?He won't be alone for his birthday. He will have the warm attention of my brother, and my sister, and everyone at the rest home, the most thoughtful attentive and considerate people you could ever know. On Saturday there will be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Open Government: National reneges on beneficial ownership

    One of the achievements of the New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan was a formal commitment from the government to establish a public beneficial ownership register. Such a register would allow the ultimate owners of companies to be identified - a vital measure in preventing corruption, money ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt One.

    This project analyzes security politics in three peripheral democracies (Chile, New Zealand, Portugal) during the 30 years after the end of the Cold War. It argues that changes in the geopolitical landscape and geo-strategic context are interpreted differently by small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • Tea and Toast

    When the skies are looking bad my dearAnd your heart's lost all its hopeAfter dawn there will be sunshineAnd all the dust will goThe skies will clear my darlingNow it's time for you to let goOur girl will wake you up in the mornin'With some tea and toastLyrics: Lucy Spraggan.Good ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • NLTP 2024 released – destroying pipeline of shovel ready local projects

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Waka Kotahi yesterday released the latest National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) for 2024-27. The NLTP sets out what transport projects will be funded for the next three years, including both central and local government projects. As expected given the government’s extremely ideological transport policy, it’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    7 days ago
  • Can Brown deliver his roads

    The Government’s unveiling of its road-building programme yesterday was ambitious and, many would say, long overdue. But the question will be whether it is too ambitious, whether it is affordable, and, if not, what might be dropped. The big ticket items will be the 17 so-called Roads of National Significance. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    7 days ago
  • New paper about detecting climate misinformation on Twitter/X

    Together with Cristian Rojas, Frank Algra-Maschio, Mark Andrejevic, Travis Coan, and Yuan-Fang Li, I just published a paper in Nature Communications Earth & Environment where we use the Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) machine learning model to detect climate misinformation in 5 million climate tweets. We find over half ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Excerpting “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies.”

    In the late 2000s-early 2010s I was researching and writing a book titled “Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.” The book was a cross-regional Small-N qualitative comparison of the security strategies and postures of three small … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Hating for the Wrong Reasons: Of Rings of Power, Orcs and Evil

    A few months ago, my fellow countryman, HelloFutureMe, put out a giant YouTube video, dissecting what went wrong with the first season of Rings of Power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ6FRUO0ui0&t=8376s). It’s an exceptionally good video, and though it spans some two and a half hours, it is well worth your time. But ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: “Least cost” to who?

    On Friday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released their submission on National's second Emissions Reduction Plan, ripping the shit out of it as a massive gamble based on wishful thinking. One of the specific issues he focused on was National's idea of "least cost" emissions reduction, pointing out that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Israeli Lives Matter

    There is no monopoly on common senseOn either side of the political fenceWe share the same biology, regardless of ideologyBelieve me when I say to youI hope the Russians love their children tooLyrics: Sting. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Luxon Cries

    Over the weekend, I found myself rather irritably reading up about the Treaty of Waitangi. “Do I need to do this?” It’s not my jurisdiction. In any other world, would this be something I choose to do?My answer - no.The Waitangi Tribunal, headed by some of our best legal minds, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Just one Wellington home being consented for every 10 in Auckland

    A decade of under-building is coming home to roost in Wellington. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday September 2:Wellington’s leaders are wringing their hands over an exodus of skilled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Container trucks on local streets: why take the risk?

    This is a guest post by Charmaine Vaughan, who came to transport advocacy via her local Residents Association and a comms role at Bike Auckland. Her enthusiasm to make local streets safer for all is shared by her son Dylan Vaughan, a budding “urban nerd” who provided much of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35

    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. Story of the week After another crammed week of climate news including updates on climate tipping points, increasing threats from rising ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • An Uncanny Valley of Improvement: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episodes 1-3 (Season ...

    And thus we come to the second instalment of Amazon’s Rings of Power. The first season, in 2022, was underwhelming, even for someone like myself, who is by nature inclined to approach Tolkien adaptations with charity. The writing was poor, the plot made no sense on its own terms, and ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Alcohol debris and Crocodile Tears

    I write to you this morning from scenes of carnage. Around the floor lie young men who only hours earlier were full of life, and cocktails, and now lie silent. Read more ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When Do We Look Away?

    Hi,The first time I saw something that made me recoil on the internet was a visit to Rotten.com. The clue was in the name — but the internet was a new thing to me in the 90s, and no-one really knew what the hell was going on. But somehow I ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • The decades just fly by

    You turn your back for a moment and a city can completely transform itself. It was, oh, just the other day I was tripping up to Kuala Lumpur every few months to teach workshops and luxuriate in the tropical warmth and fill my face with Char Kway Teow.It has to ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Reading Summary: August

    Completed reads for August: Aesop’s Fables (collection), by Aesop Berserk: Volume XXV (manga), by Kentaro Miura Benighted, by J.B. Priestly Berserk: Volume XXVI (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXVIII (manga), by Kentaro Miura Berserk: Volume XXIX (manga), by Kentaro Miura ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • Is recent global warming part of a natural cycle?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is recent global warming part ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • White Noise

    Now here we standWith our hearts in our handsSqueezing out the liesAll that I hearIs a message, unclearWhat else is there to decide?All that I'm hearing from youIs White NoiseLyrics: Christopher John CheneyIs the tide turning?Have we reached the high point of the racist hate and lies from Hobson’s Pledge, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The Death Of “Big Norm” – Exactly 50 Years Ago Today.

    Norman KirkPrime Minister of New Zealand 1972-1974Born: 6 January 1923 - Died: 31 August 1974Of the working-class, by the working-class, for the working-class.Video courtesy of YouTubeThese elements were posted on Bowalley Road on Saturday, 31 August 2024. ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Claims and Counter-Claims.

    Whose Foreshore? Whose Seabed? When the Marine and Coastal Area Act was originally passed back in 2011, fears about the coastline becoming off-limits to Pakeha were routinely allayed by National Party politicians pointing out that the tests imposed were so stringent  that only a modest percentage of claims (the then treaty ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand Honours Maori King ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • The Principles of the Treaty

    Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.Treaty principles were introduced into the governance of New Zealand ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Only Other Reliable Vehicle.

    An Elite Leader Awaiting Rotation? Hipkins’ give-National-nothing-to-aim-at strategy will only succeed if the Coalition becomes as unpopular in three years as the British Tories became in fourteen.THE SHAPE OF CHRIS HIPKINS’ THINKING on Labour’s optimum pathway to re-election is emerging steadily. At the core of his strategy is Hipkins’ view ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • A Big F U to this Right Wing Government

    Open to all - deep thanks to those who support and subscribe.One of the things that has got me interested recently is updates about Māori wards.In April, Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported that ~ 2/3 of our 78 councils had adopted Māori wards in NZ.That meant that under the Coalition repeal ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago

  • Action to grow the rural health workforce

    Scholarships awarded to 27 health care students is another positive step forward to boost the future rural health workforce, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “All New Zealanders deserve timely access to quality health care and this Government is committed to improving health outcomes, particularly for the one in five ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Pharmac delivering more for Kiwis following major funding boost

    Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our Government assumed office, New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Sport Minister congratulates NZ’s Paralympians

    Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop has congratulated New Zealand's Paralympic Team at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games in Paris.  “The NZ Paralympic Team's success in Paris included fantastic performances, personal best times, New Zealand records and Oceania records all being smashed - and of course, many Kiwis on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

    A Crown Response Office is being established within the Public Service Commission to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. “The creation of an Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report.  “It will have the mandate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister has today announced three new appointments and one reappointment to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) board. Tracey Berry, Nicholas Hegan and Mariette van Ryn have been appointed for a five-year term ending in August 2029, while Chris Swasbrook, who has served as a board member ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

    5 September 2024  The Government is progressing further reforms to financial services to make it easier for Kiwis to access finance when they need it, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.  “Financial services are foundational for economic success and are woven throughout our lives. Without access to finance our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

    As Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is laid to rest today, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to a leader whose commitment to Kotahitanga will have a lasting impact on our country. “Kiingi Tuheitia was a humble leader who served his people with wisdom, mana and an unwavering ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Resource Management reform to make forestry rules clearer

    Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced proposals to reform the resource management system that will provide greater certainty for the forestry sector and help them meet environmental obligations.   “The Government has committed to restoring confidence and certainty across the sector by removing unworkable regulatory burden created by the previous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • More choice and competition in building products

    A major shake-up of building products which will make it easier and more affordable to build is on the way, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Today we have introduced legislation that will improve access to a wider variety of quality building products from overseas, giving Kiwis more choice and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Joint Statement between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand 4 September 2024, Seoul

    On the occasion of the official visit by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to the Republic of Korea from 4 to 5 September 2024, a summit meeting was held between His Excellency President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnership the goal for New Zealand and Korea

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. “Korea and New Zealand are likeminded democracies and natural partners in the Indo Pacific. As such, we have decided to advance discussions on elevating the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • International tourism continuing to bounce back

    Results released today from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) confirm international tourism is continuing to bounce back, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey says. The IVS results show that in the June quarter, international tourism contributed $2.6 billion to New Zealand’s economy, an increase of 17 per cent on last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government confirms RMA reforms to drive primary sector efficiency

    The Government is moving to review and update national level policy directives that impact the primary sector, as part of its work to get Wellington out of farming. “The primary sector has been weighed down by unworkable and costly regulation for too long,” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.  “That is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Weak grocery competition underscores importance of cutting red tape

    The first annual grocery report underscores the need for reforms to cut red tape and promote competition, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “The report paints a concerning picture of the $25 billion grocery sector and reinforces the need for stronger regulatory action, coupled with an ambitious, economy-wide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government moves to lessen burden of reliever costs on ECE services

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the Government has listened to the early childhood education sector’s calls to simplify paying ECE relief teachers. Today two simple changes that will reduce red tape for ECEs are being announced, in the run-up to larger changes that will come in time from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Over 2,320 people engage with first sector regulatory review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says there has been a strong response to the Ministry for Regulation’s public consultation on the early childhood education regulatory review, affirming the need for action in reducing regulatory burden. “Over 2,320 submissions have been received from parents, teachers, centre owners, child advocacy groups, unions, research ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Government backs women in horticulture

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