Political vision?

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 3rd, 2013 - 61 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, class war, cost of living, democratic participation, elections, jobs, local government, mana, national, political alternatives, poverty, public transport, sustainability, vision, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

What amounts to “good” vision as part of a political campaign?

Is it only in the mind of the holder and skewed by their political position?

Or is it a vision that appeals to the majority, in spite of whether they lean left, right, or to a different place form the left-right spectrum?

Many would say Obama’s “Yes we can” campaign crossed the usual political boundaries.

barack_yes_we_can_small

However, considering Obama’s bankster backers, I’m inclined to see such a “vision” as a “neoliberal” style presidential branding, rather than on a realistic vision of a fair and livable society for all of the 99%.

After it looked like the New Zealand Herald was starting to promote Maurice Williamson as future mayor, while bagging Len Brown’s Auckland Unitary Plan, I expressed a wish that the Herald cover the upcoming Auckland Council elections in a fair and balanced way.  Today, the Herald editorial, “Where’s the vision, Mr Williamson?” took a promising turn by offering an alternative view to the previous positive articles on Williamson as potential mayoral candidate.

The editorial argues for Len Brown having a vision that John Banks lacked in the last election:

Aucklanders then clearly supported a candidate with ideas and a vision that did not embrace Mr Banks’ perspective or tally with the National Government’s priorities.

The implication is, that Banks’s motives were the same as Williamsons’:

… to ensure due heed was paid to a National government’s wishes, some of which would certainly not correspond to the desires of Aucklanders.

So what was Brown’s vision?  The NZ Herald on the night of Brown’s victory in 2010:

The 53-year-old Mr Brown stood on a platform of uniting Auckland’s diverse communities and promised rapid process on rail projects.

len brown mayor for all auckland

This actually amounted to a very narrow vision, focused on a key issue for the majority of Aucklanders – transport in an increasingly grid-locked and sprawling city. It manages to give the semblance of unity, by ignoring some more fundamental issues: realities that divided Auckland Central (Epsom?) and North Shore NAct supporters of “neoliberal” values, from those in West and South Auckland struggling to to survive on meagre incomes.

Today’s Herald editorial also glosses over a fundamental division: one which influences many people’s politics for the future.  The editorial dismisses Auckland mayoral candidate John Minto as, like Williamson, lacking vision.  The editorial argues that there needs to be a “worthy rival” to contest Brown’s “policies and planks”.

Only then will the advancement and assessment of alternative ideas, part of the fabric of a healthy democracy, take place. Unfortunately, such an opponent has not emerged. It is not John Minto, the Mana Party candidate for Manukau East at the last general election, who announced his bid yesterday. Nor is it the National Party’s long-standing Pakuranga MP, Maurice Williamson, who is considering running. In both cases, these are the wrong men wishing to be the mayor for the wrong reason.

The wrong reason given for Williamson is that he would just be there to do the National Party bidding, and to work in the interests of Aucklanders.  Presumably the implication is that Minto is just standing to promote Mana, and not in the interests of Aucklanders.

However, Mana does have a clear vision:

MANA will promote the principle that what is good for Maori is good for Aotearoa. MANA will promote policies that allow all New Zealanders to lead a good life. MANA will outline a budget to meet those expectations. MANA will bring courage and honesty to political endeavour. MANA will guarantee a measure of people power and accountability from its MPs, that has never been seen before in this country.

mana for all

And clearly, Mana and Minto campaign for those struggling on low incomes. Minto does see the mayoral campaign as the opportunity to get Mana’s message out there.  However, it is a message in support of the struggling people that are too often sidelined by the main focus of Brown’s vision.  Brown ignored the workers at the Ports of Auckland. He has a very good vision for compact housing, but it ignores the issue of the need for social, including state, housing.

Minto is standing for the “majority of Aucklanders struggling to get ahead”.  He will focus on these issues:

· Traffic gridlock
· Affordable rental housing
· A living wage for Aucklanders
· Who runs the supercity – Auckland or Wellington?
· Rates and council charges

And as I was typing, Minto was just talking on RNZ about Brown’s failure to support (Port of) Auckland workers, and about Brown’s mayoralty being barely distinguishable from that of John Banks.

http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20130503-0841-john_minto_running_for_auckland_mayor-048.mp3

What sort of vision should left and progressive candidates and parties provide in the up-coming local authority elections around NZ, and in NZ’s parliamentary elections in 2014?

61 comments on “Political vision? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Tracey 1
    3 May 2013 at 9:58 am

    With Williamson not yet declared in the race it is premature to declare him visionless.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2
    3 May 2013 at 10:08 am

    Well commenters like Rudman need to read the Daily Blog and get their heads around the fact that there is a highly credible third candidate in John Minto. An articulate experienced guy who has put himself on the line for decades, supports the GI residents and waterside union members unlike Brown.

    Minto’s ‘vision’ is pretty damn clear from his own words and published here by Karol. The trick is to get the vote out. At least John has not been captured by the right like ‘Lenslide’ Brown or is a natural tory like Williamson so he can unequivocally express Te Manas left wing and “unite all who can be united” views.

    The supercity was ACTs dirty filthy experiment with the undemocratic CCOs, no Māori representation etc. A genuine leftie is needed to help turn it around.

    • Sanctuary 2.1
      3 May 2013 at 10:45 am

      What a load of hogwash – some people here are badly in need of a reality check. John Minto is not a credible candidate. He has got no money and no constituency. While I admire his relentless energy he will be little more than an electoral wrecker for the left. Given he is an out-and-out unreformed 1930s Comintern style Marxist who probably thinks John A. Lee was a lackey of the capitalist classes for fighting in the Great War Minto is as committed to the defeat of Len Brown as any Cameron Brewer might be. To unreformed Marxists like John Minto Len Brown is a callaboratist class traitor whose actions merely mask the repression of the Prolitiariat by the capitalist class. He likes the idea of ensuring moderate candidates from the left(ish) side lose, because he still believes in the revolutionary theory that polarising the debate brings the revolution that one step closer.

      Minto is at his best as a tireless community activist, not as a politician.

      I know his yellow bellied response to the PoAL dispute has put Brown out of favour with the fervent true believers, but the airy dismissal by Karol of Len Brown’s achievements as the first supercity mayor smacks of the frankly ridiculous musing of a political naiveté. In face of a flawed supercity model foisted on the people of Auckland by Rodney Hide (whose weekly Herald column is like a slow motion strip tease revealing just how thick he actually is), the need to unite several different councils, IT systems, workforces, cultures and somehow keep the city functioning, and the lack of accountability of the CCOs, he has done a reasonable job. In the face of unrelenting and childishly spiteful opposition from central government Brown has managed to at least keep PT and the CRL on the agenda.

      Brown is far from pefect, but he has a solid political support base he is actually from and which he knows and likes and he is streets ahead in electoral terms than a card carrying Marxist from the self-styled Bohemian inner city ‘burbs.

      • Rogue Trooper 2.1.1
        3 May 2013 at 11:49 am

        😀 (She Sells, Sanctuary)

        • Jenny 2.1.1.1
          3 May 2013 at 12:34 pm

          ….he is an out-and-out unreformed 1930s Comintern style Marxist.

          Twice within the period of a few weeks and 30 years after the cold war ended, we have the red terror thrown at us again.

          How about trying this for a change, Sanctury. Discuss the policies.

          • Populuxe1 2.1.1.1.1
            3 May 2013 at 12:41 pm

            What policies? The only vision yet presented is a continuation of Len Brown’s soft left and generally quite succesful policies. Williamson hasn’t even said he’s running yet, and Minto – someone the electoral majority find off putting – has just got the usual Mana industrial strength weapons grade handwavium and warm fuzzy abstract nouns.

          • BLiP 2.1.1.1.2
            3 May 2013 at 2:23 pm

            ‘

            The Right is incapable of discussing the policies, mainly because most of them can’t be bothered reading them, let alone understanding them. No, discourse with the Right requires conversation be devolved to perjorative lables and a 1980s primary-school concept of economics, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, justice, and school yard taunts. The ones to watch out for are those who inject new lables and feed out salacious ad hom by innuendo. And seek to influence by the use of fear.

          • Sanctuary 2.1.1.1.3
            3 May 2013 at 2:27 pm

            Red terror? What are you on about? Minto’s political beliefs are hardly a secret – he has been around long enough to have told half the nation personally. I don’t give two fiddlesticks that he is a Marxist, his politics are relevant because they inform the shrewd observer as to the real motive behind this political project in running against Brown.

            I don’t for a second believe he thinks he will come within a country mile of winning. His sole aim in running will be to wreck Len Brown, so he can then happily carry on as usual moaning “Oh! Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!” when the right start flogging off the CCO’s to all the “right” people.

            As for the policies – Most of Mana’s wider policy is feelgood waffle about issues it would zero ability to do anything about from the mayors office and that are rightly matters of national not regional government. It has an emphasis on bi-culturalism that might fly up North but would be poison in the most culturally diverse city in the country, and (by the look of it) Minto is quite keen on deliberately buying into a confrontation with Wellington – a disasterous policy that would inevitably lead to a fight he would have something less than zero chance of winning.

            What would he do about the UP? Bin it as part of the war with Wellington? His whole mayoral bid is preposterous, the very worst sort of left wing self-indulgence and wishful thinking.

            • Tiger Mountain 2.1.1.1.3.1
              3 May 2013 at 3:01 pm

              John Minto will not be running for you Sanctuary. Candidates usually claim to support everyone, all citizens, Mana does not and that is the key difference. Welcome to a class analysis.

              Minto has been battoned, locked up and variously assaulted by the NZ blue bellies for years and had his ribs kicked in as recently as last year defending the people at Glen Innes Auckland. That level of dedication is what the people that will vote for him see. Gentler souls can vote for Len or Cits and Rats if they so desire.

              • Populuxe1 …
                3 May 2013 at 4:18 pm

                “Class analysis” or “class war”? That sort of cartoon Marxism doesn’t really wash with the electorate, so don’t hold your breath.

                • karol …
                  3 May 2013 at 4:37 pm

                  Ah, yes. We’re not supposed to provide any kind of class analysis, because that would disrupt from the fun of personality politics and neoliberal branding. And it would just make the comfortable middle classes a little uncomfortable, because elections are all about them these days.

                  Resorting to a “cartoon” as a dismissive, is a lame attempt to divert from the struggles of people on low incomes.

                  Whats more “cartoon” than “I’m a Key person”, or “Yes we can”?

                • Tiger Mountain …
                  3 May 2013 at 4:41 pm

                  Does ‘wash’ actually with part of the electorate when you reduce it down to action like “Feed the Kids” and involve people that have previously been politically marginalized.

                  It may not suit some blogging woofters and mid level socio economic kiwis but Te Mana Movement is acting regardless. I mean why did the Nats extend K-GCSB powers and ban at sea protest action? It was a reaction to stuff mana and green activists had done.

      • karol 2.1.2
        3 May 2013 at 2:58 pm

        Sanctuary, if you read my last post on the Auckland Unitary Plan, you will see I am far from doing an “airy dismissal of Brown”. I think the AUP has a lot going for it, and ditto for Brown’s transport plans.

        However, I can also see that Minto is focusing on issues that Brown’s narrow unity focus marginalises.

        It seems to me that whenever someone in politics starts speaking for the politically disengaged and people struggling on low incomes, their motives are questioned as being mere vote-getting, self-promotion, or “ideologically” underhand. Something similar has happened with MSM commentators’ responses to the Labour-Green NZ Power – the likes of Colin Espiner & Fran O’Sullivan dismiss it as a cynical attempt at getting votes. This is them avoiding saying they don’t support social justice for those on low incomes.

        For all the good things in the AUP, the promotion of it tends to focus on private sector accommodation. Brown’s Auckland Council seems unwilling to comment on the problem for low income people in finding affordable rental accommodation. And social housing just seems to get marginalised or ignored. For Auckland to be a “livable city” for those on low incomes, the issues of affordable rents and diminishing state housing stock need to be brought into the centre of the discussions and of council contests.

        Brown offers the same temptations and failings that I have struggled with for at least a couple of decades: he represents the lesser evil of Third Way compromise – the pitch is primarily at not scaring the middle-classes, while those on low incomes continue to languish.

        Even with Minto running and my support of his platform, it’s still possible that I will vote Brown – I’ll wait for the contest of ideas and vested interests to play out further before making my final decision.

        However I vote, I do not doubt Minto’s sincerity in his campaign for the disempowered and politically disconnected, struggling on low incomes.

        We need more political candidates standing up for strong left principles of social justice, workers’ rights, and social security for all. Then we will be able to relegate Third Way, soft “neoliberalism” to the dustbin of history.

      • Lefty 2.1.3
        3 May 2013 at 5:01 pm

        Sanctuary, instead of speculating on what Minto might beleive you might want to compare his actual words and actions with Len Browns over a period of years.

        Len’s sins are far greater than his yellow bellied response to the Ports dispute. He refuses to confront the dodgy and overpaid leaders of the CCOs, he promotes PPPs and he is absolutely a part of the rotten elite who run the country – he just happens to disagree over a few details around transport and planning with the ones that are in government at the moment.

        We have seen no real vision around either housing or transport from him – just alternative ways of making the same old handouts to the same group of developers and transport multinationals that have been riding the local government gravy train for decades.

        For example we have not heard a word about things like reducing public transport fees to a nominal amount to get people using it, because that would mean taking back ownership of public transport.

        We have not heard a word about cutting private property developers out of the housing loop (apart from allowing people to build their own homes).

        In fact we have seen neither innovation nor imagination from Len we aren’t likely ever to do so from a any establishment figure because the establishment don’t do innovation or creativity.

        Of course Minto is unlikely to come anywhere near being a serious challenge to Len, or to any other right wing candidate like Williamson or Brewer either because he totally lacks the resources and the right wing respectability required but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t give people an alternative to poisonous old right wing men in suits to vote for.

        Fuck that shit about not splitting the centre right vote and letting the far right in.

        After all the lesser of two evils is still evil and voting for the likes of Brown because he might not be quite as nasty and arrogant as Williamson only encourages the sort of bad behaviour right wing social democrats have been conning us with for the last thirty years.

      • Murray Olsen 2.1.4
        3 May 2013 at 5:28 pm

        John Minto is far from being a 1930s Comintern Marxist. He believes in parliamentary democracy, for a start. He just believes it will never work in favour of the majority without continual pressure from the streets. He is one of the most honest people I have ever met and has more integrity in his little finger than a restaurant full of important politicians.

        Len Brown is a collaborationist class traitor though. You got that bit right.
        John as Mayor would be a breath of fresh air and honesty for Auckland. Even a strong campaign would show the majority of the people that the city can be taken back from the citrats and developers. Of course, the cops would have to be a bit more subtle in singling him out for the odd aggravated assault.

        • Sosoo 2.1.4.1
          3 May 2013 at 11:31 pm

          Who wouldn’t agree that Minto is an honest man? That doesn’t stop him from being unelectable. A lot of regular folks consider him poisonous. I think they are wrong, but they won’t be swayed.

  3. Brett Dale 3
    3 May 2013 at 10:20 am

    What is Minto’s real reason for running? Too boost his lagging profile? To boost temana’s profile at the next general election?

    There is no way he can win. why run?

    How can anyone vote for such a vile racist party as temana, who one of their current members said she broke open champagne when she heard about 9/11.

    She was glad people died?

    That little soundbite you posted, is not what temana stands for.

    They dont give a f bout poor people, they just care about their own broken ideology. Take a look at their party list.

    If Minto gets more than 2% of the vote in the election, then more mug the people of auckland.

    • karol 3.1
      3 May 2013 at 10:34 am

      What is this “broken ideology” of which you speak, if it isn’t part of a politics that struggles for the well being of those on low income?

      • Brett Dale 3.1.1
        3 May 2013 at 11:12 am

        No, its what nearly every country around the globe has said no to.

        • BLiP 3.1.1.1
          3 May 2013 at 2:33 pm

          ‘

          Leaders who lie? Politicians sitting around getting drunk and abusing the servants? Carrying out illegal armed raids on New Zealanders at the behest of Hollywood? Flogging off essential infrastructure to multinational negatively geared credit default swap insurance companies? Surrounding Aotearoa with dodgy oilwells constructed over rumbling earthquake shaken tectonic plates? A police force which publicly celebrates those who corrupt justice and imprison the innocent? Ignoring thousands of hungry children? I’ve had enough of that, thanks.

  4. Bill Engrish 4
    3 May 2013 at 10:24 am

    John Minto gets more attention than deserved for a guy who stood in Manukau East during the 2011 general election and won 461 votes to Labour MP Ross Robertson’s 19,399.

    I look forward to all the smart political analysis from commentators saying Minto will “split the left vote” away from Brown.

    What a distraction.

  5. Penny Bright 5
    3 May 2013 at 10:35 am

    MY AUCKLAND MAYORAL CAMPAIGN COMMENT PUBLISHED ON TV3 WEBSITE:

    (How you can still get the message out when you don’t have $500,000 in campaign funds! 🙂

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Protestors-Minto-Bright-to-run-for-mayoralty/tabid/1607/articleID/296315/Default.aspx

    PENNY BRIGHT wrote:

    I tried to warn you folks – that the Auckland $upercity would be a SUPER RIPOFF – a super public trough, for fewer but bigger private snouts.

    Where was I wrong?

    Why I stood as an Auckland Mayoral candidate in 2010:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10673942

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10673942&gallery_id=113947

    2013 ACTION PLAN against ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’

    http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/action-plan-to-prevent-corruption/

    PROVEN TRACK RECORD, as a successful Occupy Auckland Appellant (in my own name) in fighting the corporate 1% who run the Auckland region, ‘like a business – for business’:

    EVIDENCE in the following High Court document – exposing the role of the unelected Committee for Auckland, of which the CEO for Auckland Council, Doug McKay is a member. So – whose interests is he serving?
    The majority of citizens and ratepayers – or his corporate mates?

    http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OCCUPY-AUCKLAND-APPEAL-APPLICATION-BY-APPELLANT-BRIGHT-TO-ADDUCE-NEW-EVIDENCE-pdf.pdf

    There is more!

    Cheers!

    Penny Bright

    ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner
    2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate

    PS: My defended hearing in the above-mentioned Court case on the charge of ‘willful trespass’ for occupying John Banks electoral office on 18 June 2013 – has been adjourned until 27 September 2013 🙂

  6. Ad 6
    3 May 2013 at 10:42 am

    Len Brown has generated what no-one else before him has ever done: an Auckland Plan that has a long term and unifying direction. He will also shortly deliver a Unitary Plan that replaces the swath of double-layered mess Aucklanders previously had. Both have been done with genuine consultation on a scale that has not been attempted before in the country let alone Auckland.

    He has also pulled the CCOs into line particularly Transport, and has already signalled that he sees that others will be merged or pulled in-house.

    Sure some will campaign less for him because of the Waterside Workers action. Agreed.

    But there is no other candidate from the left or right would would have had a chance of doing what has been done so far. Otherwise they would have put their hand up last time or now.

    So to be really clear: Auckland has a vision. It’s called the Auckland Plan. We don’t need any more “visions”, from Mana or anyone. We need to make the one that thousands of Aucklanders have engaged on actually turn into a reality.

    • Anne 6.1
      3 May 2013 at 11:17 am

      +1

      Sorry Penny Bright and John Minto… but Len Brown is our only guarantee we don’t end up with a NAct mayor. No, he’s not perfect (nobody is) but he’s the best we’ve had since Robbie. Think of the awful consequences of Brown losing…

      • Penny Bright 6.1.1
        3 May 2013 at 11:46 am

        With all due respect – it’s NOT a ‘left’ vs ‘right’ issue here.

        It’s the corporate and property developer 1% vs the public majority 99%.

        Although Len Brown promised to ‘open the books’ – they’re STILL not open.

        We don’t know EXACTLY where rates monies are being spent – the names of the consultants/contractors; the scope, value or term of the contracts.

        That’s why I have refused to pay rates for over 5 years – because we’re not being told EXACTLY where this money is going.

        I’m making a stand – which cannot be ignored – in support of our lawful rights as citizens and ratepayers to ‘open, transparent and democratically-accountable’ local government – which we are NOT getting under the Auckland ‘$upercity’ Council.

        With all due respect – why would the Committee For Auckland and NZ Property Council want to get rid of Mayor Len Brown?

        Whose interests are being served?

        Have YOUR rates gone up or down under this Auckland $upercity – SUPER RIPOFF?

        NB: Some of us have opposed this corporate takeover of the Auckland region from Day One:
        Seen http://www.stopthesupercity,org.nz ?

        Penny Bright
        ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner

        http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
        http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz

        • Rogue Trooper 6.1.1.1
          3 May 2013 at 12:00 pm

          you bring an entertained smile to this “lefties” day Penny. You have some grit all of your own.

        • Brett Dale 6.1.1.2
          3 May 2013 at 2:45 pm

          What are laws around candidates blogging during the local body elections?

          • BLiP 6.1.1.2.1
            3 May 2013 at 2:51 pm

            ‘

            Good question . . . found it!

          • lprent 6.1.1.2.2
            3 May 2013 at 3:09 pm

            None.

            • Brett Dale 6.1.1.2.2.1
              3 May 2013 at 4:44 pm

              Cool, thanks for the info. The internet wouldnt exist, if every question got
              answered by a link to “let me google that for you”

              • lprent …
                3 May 2013 at 5:07 pm

                We usually restrict what people say on a election day for a general election. There are requirements in the electoral act about what can be published in the media on that day. But are we media? We just don’t allow much political comment on that day because we don’t want to be the test case. Local government is mostly a postal vote over several weeks and runs under different rules.

                There are some restrictions about what constitutes political donations. For instance if I allowed a clear advertisement that has placement value on site for a candidate. But the only time we did that was for the MMP referendum, and we gave them a nominal amount to declare (to avoid being a test case).

                http://elections.org.nz has quite a lot of material and commentary on the restrictions

        • unpcnzcougar 6.1.1.3
          3 May 2013 at 3:21 pm

          Surely there are laws that state you must be up to date with your rates to stand for Council!

      • Murray Olsen 6.1.2
        3 May 2013 at 5:37 pm

        As far as I can see, the awful consequences of Brown losing are painted with the same broad brush strokes as the awful consequences of Brown winning.

    • Naturesong 6.2
      3 May 2013 at 11:37 am

      Since John Minto came to the public’s attention with HART, he has been consistently on the right side of history. I have huge respect for the man.

      I hope his run generates enough momentum to give Len Brown a big enough scare to bring him back to the centre left.

      • Ad 6.2.1
        3 May 2013 at 11:45 am

        More likely Williamson or any other rag-tag righty will just cancel the loons on the other side out.

        Seriously, Len Brown should have lost. He was avowedly Labour when the Labour Party in a time where Labour couldn’t win a lolly scramble. Aucklanders should have voted according to their real estate interests. Instead …
        … by the end of Brown’s next term the following would have happened, and no, Minto would have achieved none of it:

        – A plan for Auckland that a huge majority agree with
        – A functioning public transport system, with new train stations and bus stations at every major junction, and the entire motorway network completed
        – The City Rail Link under construction
        – New planned suburb at Ormiston under construction
        – Massey North – and much of the west generally – reborn from a tired sleeper-suburb to a massively integrated new development, not dominated by Westfield
        – A reasonable chance that for the first time in its political life, a united Auckland will be fully politically aligned to central government.
        – Auckland’s waterfront open to the public and flourishing, from the Harbour Bridge to Cooks Wharf.

        No abstract nouns about poverty or love or hope or any other bull. Just good progress.

        • Rogue Trooper 6.2.1.1
          3 May 2013 at 11:58 am

          yet, the prospective woes facing Auckland across the next 30 years are still substantial.

          • Ad 6.2.1.1.1
            3 May 2013 at 12:01 pm

            After 60 years of motorway-fuelled real estate capitalism, what you will get in 6 years is a bit of softening. Don’t ever expect Auckland to turn into Copenhagen.

            • Rogue Trooper 6.2.1.1.1.1
              3 May 2013 at 12:15 pm

              i was thinking a puddly Kuala Lumpur, without the attractions.(now where did I place my passport).

      • Populuxe1 6.2.2
        3 May 2013 at 1:32 pm

        Not convinced his absurd protests against tennis-player Shahar Pe’er put him on the right side of history – personally I think it made him look like a dick. Given that every Israeli citizen has compulsory military service, surely there would be more relevant Israeli targets to protest – like perhaps actually political ones.

        And then there was his public “rejection” of the South African Companion of OR Tambo Award, even though he’d never been offered it in the first place.

        • Brett Dale 6.2.2.1
          3 May 2013 at 1:48 pm

          and for the fact when that invercargill cafe refused to serve Israeli’s, and Minto refused to protest that cafe, saying “I couldnt care less if two isareli’s cant get a cup of coffee” shows that is not always on the right side of history.

          • BLiP 6.2.2.1.1
            3 May 2013 at 2:48 pm

            ‘

            Ummm . . . no. It highlights that when you ask John Minto a question he will tell you the truth. Like it or not.

            • Brett Dale 6.2.2.1.1.1
              3 May 2013 at 4:42 pm

              So hes a bigot.

              • Clockie …
                3 May 2013 at 5:15 pm

                Define your terms. Was it bigoted for much of the civilized world to refuse to play sport with apartheid Sth Africa?

                • Brett Dale …
                  3 May 2013 at 8:46 pm

                  Of course not, but to refuse to sure people in a cafe because of where they’re from is, and its also fuckin disgusting. But hey, you werent refused service, so thats okay then.

                  • BLiP …
                    3 May 2013 at 8:53 pm

                    ‘

                    Huh – I’m sure it was the cafe owner who refused service? Had good reason to, as well. And that’s why they are not a bigot. See, a bigot, by definition, believes things based on ignorance. Like you.

                  • Clockie …
                    3 May 2013 at 9:30 pm

                    @ Brett Dale; So refusing to play sport with Sth Africans who may or may not have supported apartheid was fine (you agree), but refusing to serve coffee to Israelis (who may or may not be supporters of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory) is morally wrong. Both things may be unfair (the affected parties may not support the thing you’re protesting against), but the point is that the evil being protested against outweighs a game of rugby or an espresso. Difficult philosophical and ethical concept for you to wrap your head around I know..

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    3 May 2013 at 9:46 pm

                    Of course not, but to refuse to sure people in a cafe because of where they’re from is, and its also fuckin disgusting.

                    I thought you were fine with business owners having freedom of choice, brettyboy

          • Murray Olsen 6.2.2.1.2
            3 May 2013 at 5:43 pm

            Did you hop down to Invercargill to protest outside the cafe? John puts his money where his mouth is, you put your foot where your mouth is, and Israelis are hardly without representation anyway. I’m sure they could have dragged the odd Mossad agent away from passport fraud duties to make them a cup of coffee if it had been a problem.

      • Lefty 6.2.3
        3 May 2013 at 5:09 pm

        I don’t think Len was ever centre left. It has been a convenient lie to pull out now and then.

  7. Ed 7
    3 May 2013 at 3:44 pm

    In many cities around New Zealand, standing for Mayor as well as for Council is he only way to get any publicity – hence there are often nearly as many candidates for Mayor as for Council. Those that stand only for Council have a much lower chance of being elected than those who get the publicity of the “presidential” race. After all, just as at national level, all wisdom springs from the one person in charge. . The drawback is that many do not know who has a real chance of getting enough votes to win the mayoralty, and too many could indeed split the vote. Not much chance of that with Brown, but it may be why the right is having difficulty. Perhaps they will put Aaron Gilmore forward?

  8. Penny Bright 8
    3 May 2013 at 6:16 pm

    Stirring it up on Kiwiblog………….. 😉

    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/05/herald_attacking_maurice_before_he_even_decides.html/comment-page-1#comment-1136792

    YOU WANT ‘VISION’?

    Try this for size Kiwibloggers

    2013 ACTION PLAN against ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’

    http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/action-plan-to-prevent-corruption/

    PROVEN TRACK RECORD, as a successful Occupy Auckland Appellant (in my own name) in fighting the corporate 1% who run the Auckland region, ‘like a business – for business’:

    EVIDENCE in the following High Court document – exposing the role of the unelected Committee for Auckland, of which the CEO for Auckland Council, Doug McKay is a member.

    So – whose interests is he serving?

    The majority of citizens and ratepayers – or his corporate mates?

    http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OCCUPY-AUCKLAND-APPEAL-APPLICATION-BY-APPELLANT-BRIGHT-TO-ADDUCE-NEW-EVIDENCE-pdf.pdf

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Protestors-Minto-Bright-to-run-for-mayoralty/tabid/1607/articleID/296315/Default.aspx

    I tried to warn you folks – that the Auckland $upercity would be a SUPER RIPOFF – a super public trough, for fewer but bigger private snouts.

    Where was I wrong?

    Why I stood as an Auckland Mayoral candidate in 2010:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10673942

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10673942&gallery_id=113947

    Have YOUR rates gone UP or DOWN?

    Cut rates by cutting out the consultants and private contractors and return Council services back ‘in-house’ under the ‘public service’ model.

    Save MILLION$ by cutting out all those private ‘piggies-in-the-middle’ who are dependent on long-term ‘corporate
    welfare’.

    Open the books!

    I want to know where EVERY $ of ratepayer monies is being spent / invested / loaned ….

    Dump the ‘Corporate Controlled Organisations’ (oops – sorry ‘Council Controlled Organisations – CCOs), which have been the mechanism for the corporate takeover of the Auckland region, and bring Council services back under the direct democratic control of elected representatives.

    Stop this ‘market madness’ Auckland growth strategy, as outlined in the DAFT Unitary Plan.

    Why does all this ‘growth’ have to come to Auckland?

    Who benefits from this Auckland growth strategy apart from property developers, speculators and overseas investors?

    Where did this magic ‘million’ figure of Auckland population increase over the next 30 years actually come from?

    Where is the NATIONAL growth strategy – encouraging immigrants to settle in areas SOUTH of the Bombay Hills?

    Transport: Why are the public subsidising PRIVATE passenger transport?

    How about we change the uniforms and business cards and take back the operation and management of the Auckland passenger rail network back from French multi-national Veolia and give it to Auckland Transport to manage directly?

    (After we’ve got rid of the Auckland Transport CCO model).

    Same applies to Watercare.

    That should do for starters…………

    Have a LOVELY evening!

    Kind regards,

    Penny Bright
    ‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner.

    2013 Auckland Mayoral Candidate

    ‘Her Warship’

  9. millsy 9
    3 May 2013 at 10:03 pm

    The left are better off to stick to what they do best, and advocate for:

    Libararies
    Parks, playgrounds, community halls, community centres, and green spaces
    Swmming pools
    better public transport (AND TAKING THE GODDAMN BUSES BACK INTO PUBLIC OWNERSHIP).
    Social housing
    Keeping water assets in public hands

    ..and steer clear of:

    abstract “Unified Plans”
    abstract art in public places
    subsidies for professional sporting codes (the mantra should be “let Rupert pay for it”)

    .. and openly oppose:

    Road pricing and congestion charging in any way, shape or form

    The left has drifted from its bread and butter in recent years, Len Brown, I dont think, ever said anything about parks and libraries in his campaign.

    • karol 9.1
      4 May 2013 at 7:16 am

      The Unified Plan is far from “abstract”. It sets up regulations and rules for guiding future changes in the city.

      The Auckland Plan, which preceded and is coordinated with the Transport: Why are the public subsidising PRIVATE passenger transport?

      How about we change the uniforms and business cards and take back the operation and management of the Auckland passenger rail network back from French multi-national Veolia and give it to Auckland Transport to manage directly?

      (After we’ve got rid of the Auckland Transport CCO model). Auckland Unitary Plan includes libraries and park as part of the important thing to the city.

      662_ In Auckland, infrastructure refers to a broader range of services and includes investments in libraries, museums, and recreation and sports facilities. In addition, the public open space network is part of the publicly provided infrastructure….

      For the purposes of this Plan, critical infrastructure is defined as “Infrastructure assets, services and systems which:…

      are fundamental to the long-term well-being of the community, and contribute to Auckland’s liveability, such as those components relating to cultural and social infrastructure (e.g. public open space and libraries)”.

      Agree on taking buses back into public ownership, and with Penny when she said this:

      Transport: Why are the public subsidising PRIVATE passenger transport?

      How about we change the uniforms and business cards and take back the operation and management of the Auckland passenger rail network back from French multi-national Veolia and give it to Auckland Transport to manage directly?

      (After we’ve got rid of the Auckland Transport CCO model).

  10. Lefty 10
    4 May 2013 at 10:15 am

    All the great plans in the world won’t make the slightest bit of differencc while the same old group run the city.

    Unelelected power brokers make all the real decisions, while senior council staff have been bending the rules for developers for many years. They will continue to do so until the power is removed from them and the CCOs and put in the hands of elected representatives where it belongs.

    The interests of the well connected at national and local level will continue to be put before the needs of Aucklanders until there is a council leadership that does not come from that same elite group.

    Even within the grey men who control things there is some diversity. Len is simply one of their faces who happens to be a bit more user friendly than most and any competition between the him and the likes of Williamson or Banks is just a bit of friendly jousting among the boys.

    Len Brown is a creature of the system and will never lead the necessary rebellion against it.

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    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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