Parasite Drive; the NBR Rich List

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, July 31st, 2015 - 98 comments
Categories: capital gains, class war, Economy, health and safety, unemployment, wages - Tags: , , ,

The National Business Review has released its annual list of the richest New Zealanders. These are the people National and their franchises govern for; the one percent who will continue to benefit from growing inequality, who are in the queue to make more millions from the surrendering of our sovereignty under the TPP and who regard health and safety as a risk to their ongoing ability to exploit the disposable lives of the majority of Kiwis.

The flea market economy has let us down. Researcher Max Rashbrooke says

“Household debt is much much higher than it was 10 or 20 years ago and, than conversely, you’ve got this really significant increase in wealth at the top so it does look like we’re in a bit more of a trickle up than a trickle down situation.”

Trickle up. Yep.

The NBR reckons the economy is working well for the wealthy. How’s it working for you?

THE TOP TEN

1) Graeme Hart – $9 billion
2) Richard Chandler – $4 billion
3) Todd family – $3.16 billion
4) Erceg family – $1.6 billion
5) Michael Friedlander – $1.4 billion
6) Christopher Chandler – $1.3 billion
7) Goodman family – $1.2 billion
8) Stephen Jennings – $980 million
9) Douglas Myers – $930 million
10) Michael Fay – $870 million
=10) David Richwhite – $870 million

 

 

 

98 comments on “Parasite Drive; the NBR Rich List ”

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  1. Anno1701 1
    31 July 2015 at 10:55 am

    “We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live”

    …Lucy parsons

    • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 1.1
      31 July 2015 at 11:48 am

      More detail, please.

      • Anno1701 1.1.1
        31 July 2015 at 12:32 pm

        ” Let every dirty, lousy tramp arm himself with a revolver or a knife, and lay in wait on the steps of the palaces of the rich and stab or shoot the owners as they come out. Let us kill them without mercy, and let it be a war of extermination.”

        …. Lucy Parsons, Chicago Tribune

        • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 1.1.1.1
          31 July 2015 at 1:11 pm

          Charming.

          • Anno1701 1.1.1.1.1
            31 July 2015 at 1:14 pm

            there’s plenty more if you like those ?

            • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 1.1.1.1.1.1
              31 July 2015 at 1:21 pm

              Press on if you like, but I need to tell you that I’m kind of against murdering people.

              • Anno1701 …
                31 July 2015 at 1:26 pm

                there just quotes buddy , dont get carried away !

                • Michael …
                  31 July 2015 at 1:43 pm

                  They’re not people: they’re rich.

                  • Anno1701 …
                    31 July 2015 at 1:49 pm

                    could it be construed as self defense ?

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      31 July 2015 at 6:04 pm

                      Considering that poverty does induce early death and poverty is a direct result of the rich then I don’t see why not.

                • northshoredoc …
                  31 July 2015 at 4:08 pm

                  Why do you feel the need to post quotes that advocate violence and murder ?

                  • Anno1701 …
                    31 July 2015 at 4:19 pm

                    its what i believe its going to take inevitably to protect the world from predation by the greedy/psychopathic elites who are performing some EXTREME acts of violence on us

                    even the very environment we live in & the air and water we need to survive is being trashed for the sake of profit/rapacious greed

                    you dont consider that violence ?

                    • northshoredoc …
                      31 July 2015 at 5:18 pm

                      Well in my opinion you’re either a nutty key board warrior who is having a laugh, or if you actually believe that in need of some help.

                      Violence and anarchy begets little else apart from violence and anarchy.

                    • Blue Horseshoe …
                      31 July 2015 at 6:35 pm

                      Sadly , that is the most likely outcome humanity is heading towards.

                      The police will be armed with tasers…

                      1. Because they anticipate the country is going to become a more dangerous and violent place

                      2. Because they anticipate the country is going to become a more peaceful and less violent place

                      Horse, cart, chicken egg

                      Standing back and hoping those on the levers of power are going to pull back and alter the course, is the stuff of fantasy..

                      Peaceful options were removed a long time back, and people went to war because they thought it would bring peace.

                      A million people peacefully marched in London against a future Iraq war more than 10 years ago.

                      What was the outcome of that expression of peace ?

                  • greywarshark …
                    31 July 2015 at 4:22 pm

                    Why can you not accept the expression of reality here of violence that happens every day around the world and is used eagerly as a dramatic point of reference in our major news outlets? Aggression registers blatantly, but the passive aggression that is rife slips by, from the trolls here for instance.

  4. Ad 4
    31 July 2015 at 11:21 am

    +1000 TRP good on you.

  5. Kiev 5
    31 July 2015 at 11:29 am

    Great to see that #1 is a former Tow Truck driver & Panel Beater. Go’s to show you what working hard for yourself can achieve. Well done Graeme.

    • te reo putake 5.1
      31 July 2015 at 11:35 am

      Nope. It shows what other people working hard can achieve for yourself. I have no doubt that at some point most of the richlisters have done some manual labour, uni term breaks at the freezing works being the classic kiwi example, but it’s what they do as capitalists that makes them parasites.

      • Old Mickey 5.1.1
        31 July 2015 at 11:47 am

        ” it’s what they do as capitalists that makes them parasites.” Do you mean things like build companies that hire people and contribute to the tax take for the govt to redistribute ? Or, do you mean things like taking risks with capital to try and grow enterprises ? Or things like the philanthropy that their wealth allows them to undertake ? Grapes….sour…..much ?

        • te reo putake 5.1.1.1
          31 July 2015 at 11:53 am

          They don’t build their companies, OM, their employees build their companies. There is a clear point in the development of any growing business where the owner’s own contribution is overtaken by that of the employees.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_value

          • Alan W 5.1.1.1.1
            31 July 2015 at 12:07 pm

            So riddle me this TRP, where would the thousands of people that rich lister companies employ be if these ‘rich pricks’ hadn’t built their empires?

            • te reo putake 5.1.1.1.1.1
              31 July 2015 at 12:15 pm

              Still working, Alan. If all the owners disappeared, nothing would change in the day to day operation of the businesses. For example, no CHH worker knows where the owner’s yacht is parked at present, but the work continues regardless.

            • maui 5.1.1.1.1.2
              31 July 2015 at 12:29 pm

              They would be more financially secure and have some ownership/shareholding of the business they work in. Take the Warehouse for example, if that didn’t exist many more kiwis would be employed in local businesses with higher incomes.

              • Alan W …
                31 July 2015 at 2:11 pm

                Really? tell me how you have reached that conclusion.

                • maui …
                  31 July 2015 at 3:03 pm

                  It’s pretty obvious isn’t it, my local town centre was thriving before the Warehouse came in, more local businesses stocking more locally made produce, providing more employment than a superstore does, it’s been downhill since. Profits are distributed through small business owners rather than being filtered up to the top of a corporate.

                  • The lost sheep …
                    31 July 2015 at 3:50 pm

                    The Warehouse succeeded because NZ consumers chose to purchase goods at the lower prices it offered, rather than deliberately pay more to keep local businesses running.

                    Do you think those consumers would be happy If you removed the Warehouse / Briscoes / Countdown low cost outlets, and forced them to pay more for goods from local producers and retailers?

                    • greywarshark …
                      31 July 2015 at 4:27 pm

                      sheep
                      House sellers win when they sell at high prices to overseas investors, but the market that works for one doesn’t work for all. There are cul de sacs down which money is enticed, hit on the head and kidnapped to gang headquarters. Everyone else can smile, sheeps will be dumbfounded.

                    • Descendant Of Sssmith …
                      31 July 2015 at 4:40 pm

                      The choice was oft forced upon them through lower wages. When your wages dropped the “choice” to buy better quality or New Zealand made was taken away from you.

                      You can easily see this by the lack of rich-listers shopping at the warehouse.

                      They are the ones who have the “choice” to shop elsewhere.

                      Much of that choice made possible by the low wages and high rents that exist today.

                      As someone who has a decent income, although not rich by any quantitative measure, I know how fortunate I am to be able to choose where I shop.

                      So yeah I make choices to shop at the dairy around the corner, although it costs me more, cause that dairy is sustaining a family, that when the recession hit I made another choice to do some renovations earlier than intended to keep some local electricians and builders with some work, that I can choose to give stuff I no longer need away rather than sell them on Trade Me, etc.

                      It’s privilege to make those choices not a freedom and each day in this country less and less people get to enjoy the privilege of choice – certainly in the way you intend it to mean.

                    • The lost sheep …
                      31 July 2015 at 4:48 pm

                      Nice prose, but it didn’t answer my question.

                      Low priced goods made possible because of cheap third world raw materials and labour, and the purchasing power and efficiency of large corporations, are seen as a benefit by the majority of NZ consumers, and so they choose to put their money down those avenues.

                      Removing their choice to purchase those goods would be seen as an active decrease in quality of life by most of them.
                      How do you think they would react to such a proposal?

                    • The lost sheep …
                      31 July 2015 at 4:56 pm

                      Sssmith.

                      Less than wealthy People used to buy goods from local businesses before the warehouse came along.
                      When it did come along they chose to purchase there instead of where they used to buy. They understood very clearly that the goods were made in China and other places where wages were very low and that’s why the goods were cheap.

                      They knew perfectly well that taking their business away from the corner shop was going to kill the local business that was owned by the people that lived in their street.

                      But they saw it as a benefit to themselves to do so, and so they did.

                      It’s an uncomfortable paradox for those of you who believe in the innate solidarity of the proletariat isn’t it?

                    • Descendant Of Sssmith …
                      31 July 2015 at 5:18 pm

                      Removing their choice to purchase those goods would be seen as an active decrease in quality of life by most of them.

                      How do you think they would react to such a proposal?

                      Yet their choice to buy better quality goods has been undermined completely by lower wages, increased rent, fewer jobs, lower benefit rates, less security of housing, higher power prices and so on.

                      How do you think they react to an ever greater proportion of their income going in rent with the growth in rent outstripping any income increases they receive – particularly the most vulnerable.

                      Yeah I know it’s their choice to have predatory landlords put their rents up isn’t it.

                      There was some work done a few years ago on why poor people got their milk and bread from petrol stations where the price was higher.

                      When you’ve only got $20-00 left to spend on food after you’ve paid the bills it was just too depressing for most to travel to the supermarket and see people with trolleys full of groceries.

                      I get that as a perfectly understandable way of coping with their lack of money – you’d say they are making bad choices.

                      That is part of the fundamental economic theory bull-shit about choice that the right spout. The notion that such choice operates in a vacuum aside of actual real human behaviour.

                    • maui …
                      31 July 2015 at 7:58 pm

                      The Warehouse may be successful and a lot of people may prefer shopping there. But it doesn’t change the fact that these superstores destroy local employment and lessen incomes, and I would argue that few consumers would be concious of that. Look at America, half their population is on some kind of state welfare and manufacturing has mostly been redistributed to China. Now it’s China with the manufacturing base, ample jobs and consumer income and spending to drive their economy.

                    • The lost sheep …
                      31 July 2015 at 8:23 pm

                      Regardless of whether your allegations of less purchasing power are true or not Ssss, exactly the same reality applies.
                      Very few NZ’ers are going to pay more for goods than they need to in order to benefit the ‘greater good’.
                      Such Altruism is no more common among ‘workers’ than it is among the ‘wealthy’.

                      So if you or anyone else think that forcing NZ’ers to buy locally at higher prices is going to be such a great idea, why don’t you ask Labour or the Greens to promote that policy?

                      Hint. They will not.

                    • Descendant Of Sssmith …
                      31 July 2015 at 9:20 pm

                      You’re being deliberately disingenuous now.

                      You’re well aware that for the poor in our society they have less and less money to spend and less job security and less housing security and a greater proportion of their incomes go towards lining the pockets of landlords.

                      Those aren’t allegations they are facts.

                      The choice you refer to is an illusion and a right wing method of working class condemnation. They cannot choose to shop at Kirkcaldie & Stains‎ because they have insufficient income to do so.

                      I can absolutely guarantee that if you lifted the poor’s incomes on a consistent basis they would shop in different places and for better quality.

                      People who work in a decent paying job buy better quality food and clothes and better cars. Their spending habits change.

                      Why do you think clothing trucks and security scare firms and vacuum cleaner salesmen target poor areas and not well off areas?

              • greywarshark …
                31 July 2015 at 4:24 pm

                The Warehouse does contribute by being part of the Sustainable business network.

          • dukeofurl 5.1.1.1.2
            31 July 2015 at 1:06 pm

            Harts big break when he “stole” what was Government Print. The conditions were so favourable that he paid the government out of money made AFTER he took over the business.
            Its the russian oligarch model

      • Kiev 5.1.2
        31 July 2015 at 1:07 pm

        If you ever get a chance to check out Graemes ink, you should. It tells a very interesting story, which he keeps well covered these days.

        I had the opportunity to work with him & his wife in the early 90’s on one of his projects, they are a bloody nice couple, very down to earth and very much not deserving the parasite title you seem to want to bestow upon them.

    • maui 5.2
      31 July 2015 at 11:44 am

      Somehow those other 2-3 million hard-working kiwis just didn’t quite make the cut to become millionaires/billionaires eh.

      • Puckish Rogue 5.2.1
        31 July 2015 at 11:46 am

        Some people have the drive to become rich and some people don’t

        • maui 5.2.1.1
          31 July 2015 at 12:43 pm

          Some people work two jobs, well over 40+ hour weeks just to bring up a family and are probably doing more hours than the rich.

        • Colonial Rawshark 5.2.1.2
          31 July 2015 at 2:25 pm

          Yep need an inheritance tax so that lazy people don’t receive riches without working

          • Anno1701 5.2.1.2.1
            31 July 2015 at 2:49 pm

            & a mansion tax IMO maybe 2-3% of the value on homes above a certain size/value per annum

            & possibly a luxury tax on ferraris , yachts (above a certain size) ETC

            • northshoredoc 5.2.1.2.1.1
              31 July 2015 at 4:04 pm

              Isn’t that what GST and FBT are for to some extent ?

              • Anno1701 …
                31 July 2015 at 4:16 pm

                possibly increase the GST on “luxury” items

                and drop it on un-prepared/processed fresh foods (fruit ,veg,meats etc)

                • Colonial Rawshark …
                  31 July 2015 at 5:37 pm

                  Yes the Andersons Bay Peninsula Branch of the Labour Party suggested something similar.

                  IMO removing all GST except for a 30% GST applying to each dollar of an item over $250, would be appropriate.

          • Descendant Of Sssmith 5.2.1.2.2
            31 July 2015 at 5:23 pm

            If everyone can be self-made than the inheritance tax should be 100%. No need for inheritance at all.

        • freedom 5.2.1.3
          31 July 2015 at 3:16 pm

          NEWS FLASH FOR PUCKISH ROGUE

          SOME PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO BE RICH

          Many just want a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work with time to enjoy their community, their family and their friends

        • greywarshark 5.2.1.4
          31 July 2015 at 4:29 pm

          Hows it with PR? You seem to have lots of time to put your oar in here all the time, usually negatively.

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.5
          31 July 2015 at 6:12 pm

          No, some people have the psychopathy to screw over as many people as they can to enrich themselves whereas most people don’t.

    • TeWhareWhero 5.3
      31 July 2015 at 2:11 pm

      If you could stop tugging your forelock for a moment Kiev and read a bit further in Hart’s Wikipedia entry you’d see that he hardly came from humble beginnings. His father was a radiographer; Hart Jnr went to Mt Roskill Grammar School and, although he allegedly dropped out at 16 and worked as a tow truck driver / panel beater, he managed to go on to do an MBA at Otago University where he apparently outlined his business strategy of growing a company by means of ‘leveraged buyouts’.

      Like many in the course of the monetarist revolution, Hart got his first big break by buying state assets at less than capital value. In other words he wasn’t so much given a leg up as a load of politicians and bureaucrats lay themselves down in a heap for him to clamber up on.

    • les 5.4
      31 July 2015 at 4:23 pm

      yes and dont forget to thank Prebble and co the long suffering NZ taxpayer fot gifting him the Govt Printing Office !

  6. Puckish Rogue 6
    31 July 2015 at 11:34 am

    I’m surprised it took this long for the jealousy to rear its ugly head

    [There’s no jealousy involved. There is no reference in the post to wanting to have the lifestyle of the rich. Rather, the post talks about growing inequality. Take a week off for trolling. TRP]

    • mac1 6.1
      31 July 2015 at 11:50 am

      And I’m surprised that it took you 40 minutes to raise the ‘envy/jealousy’ catch cry, PR.

      Who’d want to be rich when all the day long all you can do is ‘biddy biddy bum?”

      “If I were a rich man,
      Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum.
      All day long I’d biddy biddy bum.
      If I were a wealthy man.” Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

      • greywarshark 6.1.1
        31 July 2015 at 4:31 pm

        I like the bit where he would have a mansion with one long staircase going up, and one even longer going down.

        • mac1 6.1.1.1
          31 July 2015 at 8:49 pm

          Yes, greywarshark.

          Tevye realised that both he and the rich man had one great lack in their lives. The difference is that Tevye realised it, but the rich man did not.

          “If I were rich, I’d have the time that I lack
          To sit in the synagogue and pray.
          And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.
          And I’d discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.
          That would be the sweetest thing of all.”

          Tevye understood that poverty for a Jewish father meant he could not pay full attention to his religion, something that the rich man in his spiritual poverty never understood.

          L’chaim!

  7. Bill 7
    31 July 2015 at 11:59 am

    A bit of relevance on the ‘envy’ front from a few weeks ago… http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/07/humanity-chancellor-emergency-budget-george-osborne-austerity

    There’s a lot of projection among our elites. Perhaps they have to imagine the people they prey on as having their own worst qualities, so currently we hear a lot about scroungers and parasites and frauds, as a class of yacht-owning, show jumping, off-piste-skiing, incestuous monsters projects the shame it feels at its own greed on to a population whose idea of decadence is probably bath bombs.

    Our ruling class are largely unaware of the struggles of unknowable muggle lives, but our desiccated culture has probably left us alienated enough to be able to empathise with theirs a little. I want you to try something. Imagine that you become a member of our elite. You have every success you’ve ever wanted but have to spend your time surrounded by the worst people on earth. It’s like being a Chelsea fan. You start to take cocaine, partly because you now socialise exclusively with people it wouldn’t be safe to fall asleep around. You buy a yacht.

    • Colonial Rawshark 7.1
      31 July 2015 at 5:39 pm

      Yep. The whole “Keeping up with the Joneses” peer pressure is a very upper middle class one.

  8. Skinny 8
    31 July 2015 at 12:06 pm

    Nothing is more true than this proverb;
    Money begets money.
    The more money you make, the easier it becomes to make still more.

    Meanwhile as the parasites at the top accumulate even great wealth, down the bottom the working poor on subsistence wages are deliberately kept that way. After all sharing is caring and the 1% don’t, preferring to keep the loot in their exclusive club.

    • whateva next? 8.1
      31 July 2015 at 3:15 pm

      can’t buy a soul though, and that’s what will plague them later in life, no matter how much wealth they have accumulated.

  9. Kevin 9
    31 July 2015 at 12:26 pm

    I wouldn’t be too upset. Wealth seldom lasts more than three generations.

  10. b waghorn 10
    31 July 2015 at 12:33 pm

    Things you’ll never hear a richlister say ;

    How much more can I pay my workers

    How do I restructure to increase employee numbers.

  11. freedom 11
    31 July 2015 at 1:33 pm

    2008 John Key’s estimated wealth on the NBR rich list was $50 million
    2009 -$55 million
    2010 – $55 million
    2011 – $55 million
    2012 – $50 million
    2013 – $55 million
    2014 – $55 million
    2015 John Key’s estimated wealth on the NBR rich list was $55 million

    Yeah that list looks legit, as Key himself said ” I think they interview their own typewriter when they put that list together.”

    • stigie 11.1
      31 July 2015 at 2:47 pm

      No wonder Keys wealth is not growing….he keeps giving his salary away to charity ?

      • freedom 11.1.1
        31 July 2015 at 3:08 pm

        Read a comment on a MSM site the other day where the person stated John Key gives ALL his salary to charity 🙂
        (naturally, the moderator let it through without adding any editorial comment )

    • les 11.2
      31 July 2015 at 4:27 pm

      if the 50 mil has not doubled by the time he leaves office…I will go…..he or is that hee.

      • freedom 11.2.1
        31 July 2015 at 4:41 pm

        I reckon there will be a “1” involved, but just not sure if it will be afore or after the staid “55”

  12. Clean_power 12
    31 July 2015 at 2:45 pm

    If one could dam the envy shown by some of the previous comments, the Hoover Dam would look insignificant.

    [I’ve already banned someone for trolling on the ‘envy’ line. Unless you can swiftly point to previous comments that indicate envy, you’re joining them. TRP]

  13. swordfish 13
    31 July 2015 at 3:21 pm

    Ahhhhh, the dear old Todd family.

    Those of us who went to state schools in the Porirua area during either the 60s, 70s or 80s were supposed to be educated just enough to work as obedient drones in the huge local Todd Motors factory. Some of us just managed to escape the fate by our fingertips.

    I can guess how they managed to keep their fortune. About 15 years ago, a friend of mine spent a number of nights baby-sitting the IHC child of one of the key members of the Todd family. What did she receive from this Mega-Wealthy family for her labours ? …….a cabbage – a scrawny old cabbage that had clearly gone well past its Use-By date.

    You gotta laugh.

    • les 13.1
      31 July 2015 at 4:30 pm

      dont give a man ,money,he will just spend it,give him a cabbage and teach him to make …soup.

    • thechangeling 13.2
      31 July 2015 at 4:38 pm

      Here I was thinking the car industry was good for New Zealand workers and their families because at least to some degree we were producing what we consumed and the wages, taxes and profits circulated around our economy creating flow on spending, thus causing more locally domiciled supply and demand paradigms.
      Contrast that with now, where everything we purchase comes from offshore and offshore is where the profits. wages and taxes generated from production go too.

  14. PhilP 14
    31 July 2015 at 3:24 pm

    TRP, Your headline “Parasite Drive” and referring to the PM’s residential address sounds pretty envious to me!

    • te reo putake 14.1
      31 July 2015 at 3:48 pm

      I’m going to be charitable, because you appear to be new around here.

      1) Key’s main NZ holiday home is in Parnell, not Orakei.
      2) As far as I can tell, nobody mentioned Hawaii John till you did.
      3) Paritai Drive has been known as Parasite Drive for a very long time, certainly well before Key became PM and All Black captain.

    • DoublePlusGood 14.2
      31 July 2015 at 3:51 pm

      Envy requires that you want what someone else has. That is clearly not the case here, where we actually just want things to be fairly distributed in society, rather than concentrated in a few individuals. By definition that means that we must not be seeking to have the same concentrated wealth.

    • thechangeling 14.3
      31 July 2015 at 3:56 pm

      I thought he meant parasitic in terms of business owners not paying a living wage to people thus being able to live a lavish lifestyle at their own workers expense. That’s how the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ occurs across society. You haven’t figured that out yet?

  15. Charles 15
    31 July 2015 at 3:59 pm

    I ran a half marathon where the route went through Paratai Drive area. Good route to make sure your pace doesn’t slack off toward the end. Because that place… it’s strange, man. Clean. Tidy. Quiet. Reeeal creepy. Nothing visually wrong, but bad vibe. You wouldn’t want to walk it. On the other hand, I’ve wandered around the greater Porirua area where, theoretically, someone like me is at greater personal risk, but I felt entirely “safe”.

    • Colonial Rawshark 15.1
      31 July 2015 at 5:41 pm

      It’s an inhuman atmosphere, almost anti-social or dare I say it, sociopathic.

  16. Chrys Berryman 16
    31 July 2015 at 4:34 pm

    apparently a number of the rich list have increased their wealth by having lots of shares in retirement home providers…..Rymans, Oceania,etc……..the workers in those places are amongst the most poorly paid in the country….they are the working poor …these rich listers life styles are based on exploitation…….I do not envy them,I do not want to be them and I hate their philanthropy,poverty doesn’t need charity,it needs justice….bugger them

  17. cancerman 17
    31 July 2015 at 4:46 pm

    It’s working for me great. Only the dumb or unlucky end up on the rich list. You definately want to stay off that list or else you can’t get anything past the IRD.

  18. Draco T Bastard 18
    31 July 2015 at 6:15 pm

    Trickle up. Yep.

    More like a flood.

  20. millsy 20
    1 August 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Well, you wont see me bowing down to them, that is for sure.

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
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    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
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    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
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    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
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    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
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    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
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    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
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    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
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    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
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    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
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    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
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    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
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    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
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    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
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    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
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    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
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    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
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    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
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    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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