Remember the big picture, Fran

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, February 28th, 2009 - 66 comments
Categories: Media - Tags:

Fran, you’re pretty smart, you can do maths, and you understand the economy. You’re ideology is fundamentally flawed but at least you’ve got the analytical tools.

So, how can you go and write something like this “It can cut a number of Labour’s own expensive prior election bribes, like making student loans interest-free.”

Fran, think about the macroeconomics. The only sensible economic policy at the moment is the one that every other country expect New Zealand is pursuing. That is, inject demand into the economy as an adrenaline shot to break the downward cycle and restore confidence, which then becomes self-sustaining. Ending interest-free loans will cause the hundreds of thousands of people of my generation to prioritise paying back the loan to avoid the interest costs. That will result in us decreasing our consumer demand. That’s de-stimulatory, Fran, it is pro-recessionary. And all so the Government could save a few million of the billions it will have to borrow anyway. That’s just dumb.

And, Fran, you’re far smarter than that.

66 comments on “Remember the big picture, Fran ”

  1. Redbaiter 1

    C’mon, why should underpaid trades apprentices, that are in short supply anyway, pay for dimbulbs to be ‘educated’.

    (Let’s use that word [educated] for now. They aren’t really, but that’s another issue).

    The fact is NZ is drowning in a surfeit of over educated dimbulbs most of them with a mental capacity that makes them more suited to being bus conductors or traffic wardens. (that’s right, they wouldn’t even make half useful tradesmen)

    No free education. Make users pay, with charities and bursaries for youngsters who show promise but might be poor.

    Universal free education merely makes the product almost worthless and many of the “educated” virtually unemployable. You know this is true.

    Anyway, the real problem is government funded education. That’s really what needs changing. Vouchers would be a start.

  2. Redbaiter,

    I’m sure you own a rock somewhere so why don’t you go and “rest’ under it for a wee while. You are a singularly exasperating soul.

  3. anti-tosspot 3

    The government is attempting to increase credit liquidity so playing the supply side.

    Anyway, I agree with Redbaiter, why should heartland NZ pay to support some whining middle class tosspots studying marxist politics while living in Kingsland drinking soy lattes on K Road.

    [we generally don’t allow handles that refer to an author or another commentator, too provocative/creepy. So I’ve suggested a different one]

  4. That doesn’t mean I agree with you young Steve. There is a lot you need to learn yet.

    • Ianmac 4.1

      Travellerev: Do you think that the interest free element of the Student loans should be dropped? As it is those very rich who can manage their income so that their student children are eligble for a Student allowance instead, avoid repayment and interest. My youngest son’s friend is in that position, while said son owes tens of thousands. It would be an insult to escalate the cost of Student Loans while wiping the loans for selected people.

  5. Redbaiter 5

    “I?m sure you own a rock somewhere ”

    How come you know that? Bet you don’t know its name.

    Maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough for you Evie. I’m merely making the point that primary and secondary education should be paid for and that this would have two clear benefits-

    1) reduce the number of over educated bozos cluttering universities with free loans that are a tremedous drain on the economy and,

    2) add to the pool of apprentices.

    The way it is now, these dipshits travel at virtually no real cost through an underperforming primary and secondary education system, and then travel on to tertiary, where they’re provided with free money, and there’s no real benefit to the taxpayer given so many of them are unsuited to a university education anyway.

    Paying for secondary and primary would weed a lot of the useless twits out of the system and therefore reduce the massive debt burden of loans made to nitwits. A debt burden that apprentices have to shoulder. Quite unfairly.

    Its OK for me to express such views isn’t it?

  6. Felix 6

    “I’m sure you own a rock somewhere ‘

    How come you know that? Bet you don’t know its name.

    Oh shit we’re through the looking glass now, people.

  7. burt 7

    Interest free student loans might be interest free for the borrowers but the money isn’t for the lender – the govt. All that foregone interest has to be paid somehow. Currently the country is borrowing to keep student loans interest free. Is that sensible and is it sustainable for perhaps another 10 years ?

    I think loans should be interest free for a maximum of five years of full time study or until such time as a persons earnings exceed the repayment threshold (current about $18,000 I think).

    Free money is a novel concept.

    • RedLogix 7.1

      So burt, what do you think of the Nats policy of WRITING OFF loans for med, vet and other students who bond to certain locations then.

      That has to be better than free money, its paying them to take it away.

      • burt 7.1.1

        RedLogix

        IMHO

        If it achieves it’s goal as a bond it will probably have the long term consequence of keeping the salaries of the groups who its available to less internationally competitive. Thus perpetuating the requirement to have the bond.If this is the case then we need to look at it as a social policy cost of having NZ trained people working in NZ.

        Personally I would rather we made the jobs competitive on salary, the problem of repaying the student loans would also then go away. However I don’t write policy & I can’t control wages.

        • RedLogix 7.1.1.1

          So you ducked the question.

          Writing off a loan is a huge step further than making it interest free, yet you seem happy with the former and still bitchin about the latter.

          (As it happens I’m happy with both, and this new loan policy has to be the one decision the Nats have made I can fully support so far.)

          Oh and my pet rock is Jadis.

          • burt 7.1.1.1.1

            I didn’t dodge the question. I didn’t expressly say I don’t like it because I think it will achieve a goal, and it’s an important goal for NZ. I just don’t like how the goal is being archived. Where the people effected are state employees I would rather the ‘state’ just wacked an extra $10K or more on their salary.

            These people leave the country for more money, we need to give it to them one way or another, but do we want a system that encourages hiring grads over more experienced staff. The unintended consequence will be that salaries do not need to rise as much as they should to attract ‘one group’ of staff therefore holding them low overall and driving experienced rather than freshly trained people off shore.

  8. Edna 8

    My pet rock is called Norman.

  9. None of you righties have addressed the economic argument. ‘I don’t like interest-free student loans’ is not an argument to get rid of them as a counter-recessionary measure.

    • djp 9.1

      I am not necessarily a righty but I do disagree with you that fixing the recession is all about restoring confidence. Back a couple of years ago everyone was irrationally exuberantly overconfident, it was false confidence (and malinvestment) that caused the problem.

      As I said the other day people are now realizing that:

      a) their assets are not worth as much as they (wished) to believe

      and

      b) they have been spending too much because of point a)

      Sorry Steve but I don’t think a shot of confidence is going to fix a) or b)

    • TghtyRighty 9.2

      Steve. the interest differential is funded by the government through taxes. or if the government is not borrowing to lend, then it is foregone revenue. in return for returning the interest component of student loans, the government could decrease taxes by the same amount as it was spending on the interest/revenue differential. this would put more money in all new zealanders pockets, not just those with student loans. returning to interest bearing student loans would stimulate the economy, as the macro-economic effect of across the board tax cuts would be to increase consumption and/or savings.

  10. keith 10

    “..more suited to being bus conductors or traffic wardens…”

    do they still have bus conductors in NZ??

  11. Edna 11

    My friendly bus conductor clicks ny ticket when I flash him my tits.

  12. Redbaiter 12

    “Oh and my pet rock is Jadis.”

    Well of course it is.

    I’m saying interest free loans are of little benefit to the taxpayer because there are too many dipshits at unversities anyway and the taxpayer would be better off training apprentices.

    I am also saying it is unfair to expect apprentices to pay (thru PAYE) the interest on university loans taken out by people who are probably less intelligent than the apprentice anyway.

    Do you think its fair that apprentices should pay? Leftists are all for “fairness” aren’t they??

    I could tell you the real reason the left want people to attend university and its nothing to do with education.

  13. Redbaiter 13

    Mr Pierson, the idea that people buying knick knacks in shop is something that is critical to a strong economy is just not correct. Especially when the knick knacks come from China. Consumer demand does not drive economies. It eventuates as a result of strong economies.

  14. RedLogix 14

    There is no point in arguing with you RB. I’ve worked many years in both University and industry settings. You meet intelligent and capable people in both. And dumbasses.

    I’ve every respect for good tradespeople. my closest mate is one. There is as my father once said, no such thing as unskilled labour. All work takes skill.

    But to assert that tradespeople are generally smarter than university graduates is so much palpable nonsense. They are both good at what they do, but in quite different aspects of human capacity.

    And most technical and professional jobs these days demand a level of tertiary training simply as an entry point.

  15. Redbaiter 15

    “There is no point in arguing with you RB”

    Good. Don’t do it then. I’m quite happy for you to ignore me. Please feel free.

    “I’ve worked many years ”

    Oh. You do want to argue. Make up your mind.

    ( I can’t imagine a tradesman behaving so irrationally.)

    Actually you’re probably quite a good example of a wasted tertiary education. Wouldn’t have made much of a tradesman either I’d venture. Its clipping bus tickets for you I’m afraid. Don’t be glum. Its not all bad. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a flash of Edna’s tits.

  16. RedLogix 16

    There is not much point in arguing with you because of your monomania, but however little there is, I’m bored and I will anyway. (Besides I’m running five different blogs and chats right now and it’s kinda fun cranking your handle as an idle distraction.)

    In the meantime I suggest you stop drinking the water, I’ve poisoned it.

    • keith 16.1

      redbaiter has been particulary frothy today, I think the nurses at his rest home must have mucked up his meds.

  17. keith 17

    from redbaiter –> “consumer demand does not drive economies.”

    lol! Hey frothy chops, what does drive economies?? Do the nurses know you’re out of bed??

  18. Redbaiter 18

    “lol!”

    That you clearly think of yourself as so clever as you simultaneously reveal what an ignoramus you really are is pretty symptomatic of a lot of NZ’s problems. Such conceited arrogance it reminds me of Helen Clark, another half educated vain and arrogant dimbulb who thought public servants spending money at the Warehouse was the epitome of a strong economy. Or Zerobama or Krudd. All the same kind of leftist dipshit struggling with the same daft misconception.

    Economies are strong when production is high and exports are high. If you’ve got those two essentials, then you can start spending on imported shit. The leftist twits interfering with the economies in most of the western world have it completely arse about face. As usual.

    BTW your attempt to be clever with your references to “meds” is so banal and unoriginal I’d be embarrassed to try it myself. You’re apparently not. This is another thing that tells me all I need to know about the mental capability of Keith. Another sad pitiful leftist loser.

  19. RedLogix 19

    RB,

    New Zealand HAS a strong economy with exports and imports of goods actually almost in balance with each other (within a billion or so, small enough not to matter so much.)

    The real enduring weakness of NZ is that far too much of it was sold off to overseas owners in the 80’s and 90’s creating a massive structural imbalance. Sure at the time we gained a very small short term benefit from the cash we got for those assets, but since then the profits from these assets are now being exported back overseas each year, every year. To the tune of about 9% of GDP.

    We are tenants in our own land RB, with no hope of paying off the money-lenders. That is the fatal flaw. It is something your hero Mr Douglas brought down on us all.

  20. Santi 20

    “You are a singularly exasperating soul.”

    How ironic! The Dutch Einstein calling someone else exasperating. Akin to the pot calling the kettle black.

  21. Edna 21

    At least redbaiter has a “soul”.

  22. keith 22

    “We are tenants in our own land RB, with no hope of paying off the money-lenders. That is the fatal flaw. It is something your hero Mr Douglas brought down on us all.”

    good post RL. Speaking of Mr Douglas I’m beginning to think RB actually IS Roger Douglas. Think about it; the old timey language patterns (who actually says “knick knacks” anymore except your grandma?) Add that to the irrational evangelist frothy posts and the inverted reality economic theories and I think there’s a strong case to be made that RB is none other than the repugnant Roger Douglas!

    Or am I being too unfair to Redbaiter?

  23. ieuan 23

    Redblither: ‘I am also saying it is unfair to expect apprentices to pay (thru PAYE) the interest on university loans taken out by people who are probably less intelligent than the apprentice anyway.’

    Of course you totally ignore all the taxes paid by graduates once they leave university and as the average income for someone with a degree is higher than those without a degree this means graduates make a significant contribution to future government tax income.

    • Mike Collins 23.1

      “as the average income for someone with a degree is higher than those without a degree”

      Quite right about that point. So please tell me why it is essential that New Zealand taxpayers support tomorrow’s high income earners through interest free student loans. I somehow don’t think it is to stimulate consumer demand which seems to be the excuse de jour. What was the rationale last year or the year before that?

      Lefties – finding new ways to express support for stupid ideas since ages ago.

  24. Redbaiter 24

    “Of course you totally ignore all the taxes paid by graduates once they leave”

    Of course you totally ignore all the taxes paid by apprentices once they are fully qualified tradesmen. Go away. Nobody whose name starts with four vowels could possibly be sane or rational.

  25. Redbaiter 25

    “the repugnant Roger Douglas”

    What an ignorant hateful zealot you are. Mr. Douglas was a Labour man. He just was not a socialist. Is this what things have come to on your watch in NZ? Where anyone who does not subscribe to the poison of European socialism becomes a figure of hate and scorn and is marginalized by those means?

    You totalitarians are such a blight on the civilized world. This is a democracy you half educated bigot. Where political ideas compete. People are not sent to the gulags here for having opinions that challenge the socialist norm. Not yet anyway. Jack booted oaf.

  26. calltoaccount 26

    Redbaiter: Time for you to have a coffee break I reckon, and I registered especially to say that. The clash of ideas is fine, flaming (and the deliberate baiting of it) is not. And definitely not here.

    If I could ban you for a week I would.

  27. ieuan 27

    RB ‘Of course you totally ignore all the taxes paid by apprentices once they are fully qualified tradesmen.’

    Your the one saying trades good, degrees bad – not me. The trades make a huge contribution to our economy.

  28. Redbaiter 28

    “I registered especially to say that.”

    If you registered for the express purpose of muzzling the opinions of others than you should not have bothered. This is the blogosphere. Not “Letters to The Editor” where contributions are controlled by some timid jerk off left liberal too frightened to print anything that confronts the norm.

    NZers need to speak out a lot more strongly to turn back the tide of suffocating left wing totalitarianism and pry their culture from the talons of a spent and dying ideology.

    This is a thread on education. You’ve got a view, express it. Seeking to oppress the views of others is just repugnant Stal*n*st evil of the kind I have fought against all the time I have ever written on the internet. Fuck off is all I have to say to you and your poison. Think yourself lucky you earned that you oily condescending creep. You picked the wrong person to attempt to silence.

  29. RedLogix 29

    Seeking to oppress the views of others is just repugnant Stal*n*st evil of the kind I have fought against all the time I have ever written on the internet.

    And how do you go about it? By using the foul, bullying language of a petty totalitarian tyrant who seeks to oppress the views of others.

    It’s not working RB. Ever considered why?

  30. Redbaiter 30

    Oh Go away Redillogix. Every post you make here reeks of spite and malice and utter outrage at the fact that others have different views to you and that they dare to express those views. You’re a miserable small minded low IQ twit with an extremely inflated opinion of your own worth.

    You misuse the word “bullying”, another sly and sleazy attempt by the left to stifle discussion by categorising those who hold socialism in utter contempt as “undesirables’.

    Here’s a clue. Bullying is traditionally a situation where the victim is unable to escape. Here, its all voluntary. Nobody forces you to communicate with Redbaiter. Nobody forces you to read his posts. Others choose not too and seem quite happy. They of course have the choice to ignore and exercize that choice and good on them.

    Your whining is false and deceitful, in that its real objective is to appease the hurt and panic that arises in you when you see your precious ideology threatened by truth.

    Now this is a thread on education. Shut the fuck up about Redbaiter and stick to the issue. Or ignore me.

    As I’ve said before and many times, this is my preference.

  31. RedLogix 31

    RB, we’ve been crossing paths on blogs now for about 3-4 years. Has it not occured to you that I’m WAY over any of your silly formulaic insults? The more florid they get the more entertaining they become, but that’s about as far as it goes.

    Sure I can understand why you would like me to ignore you. But I am going to exercise my choice not to. You cannot do anything about that.

    Is there some reason why you keep referring to Redbaiter in the third person? I’ve seen you do this many, many time over the years. For someone who prizes his personal rights above all else, this always struck me as odd behaviour. Either YOU are Redbaiter and you take ownership of that persona, or YOU are not Redbaiter?

    Who is the real person here?

  32. Redbaiter 32

    “Has it not occured to you that I’m WAY over any of your silly formulaic insults”

    I don’t care dipshit. Let me say it again. I don’t care. Either discuss the issue or fuck off. I do not have the slightest interest in your views on Redbaiter.

    No hang on, I’m being far too liberal here. I don’t care for your views on anything. Just leave me alone and fuck off. I’ve got better things to do than argue politics with obsessive retards with no point of reference other than left wing doctrine.

  33. RedLogix 33

    I’ve got better things to do than argue politics with obsessive retards with no point of reference other than left wing doctrine

    Then why are you here at all? It is plainly obvious that your point of reference (however correct and wonderful you believe it to be) shares almost nothing in common with most posters here at The Standard.

    That means that almost every attempt at an on-topic discussion with you degenerates immediately into a slugfest of insults. Why do you keep doing this, when after years of trying, it must be plain to you that isn’t working?

  34. Ianmac 34

    Redbaiter: Is it true that you score points for yourself for every response that your insults bring?
    1 for a mention by name.
    2 for a counter-argument and
    5 for an angry name-calling response.
    I think that you are up to 999 so perhaps you could count a reply to yourself under another name to get you over the 1000.

  35. Redbaiter 35

    Ianmac- What does it take to get through to you infantile knuckle draggers? I do not want to discuss Redbaiter, I want to discuss education. The topic of the thread. Get over your fixations.

    • Pascal's bookie 35.1

      ” I do not want to discuss Redbaiter”

      Then stop doing it you hypocritical fuckstick. no one is forcing you.

  36. calltoaccount 36

    Correction redbaiter, this was a thread on education. Now, it’s a thread about you. Take a long look at your language and approach to others. In one word, disgraceful.

    My vote is to ban you permanently.

    • yeah, I edge that way too. It’s not necessarily the content of Reddy’s comments, it’s the quantity and how he turns every thread into a discussion about him.

  37. m_c 37

    I think university education is important, and of course, it leads to higher wages. These days, a university education is all but crucial to a successful career in a number of fields – let alone the lawyers, doctors and accountants etc that require even higher education. University graduates are much more likely to earn more than the average wage.

    The problem with the leftist argument appears to be that while arguing for a universal university education, many are arguing (on this website anyway) that the well off are rich pricks with zero social conscience who hate the poor. I can’t understand how you can argue for the means, but argue against the ends the means create. We want you to have an education, but if you earn more than X amount you are probably an elitist rich prick who hates the poor.

    Education is surely emancipation, shouldn’t we be celebrating success and aspiration? Do you REALLY think every successful person wants to see working class people deprived of education and opportunity? After all, New Zealand is a changing society. The number in the “middle” classes has surely grown over the last 25 years. Many of today’s high flyers will have come from working class roots. You don’t have to be born rich to stay rich, nor does being poor mean you are poor forever. This is a flaw in the leftist theory to me, at least in the NZ context. Growing up, NZers are told of everything they can achieve – and that doesn’t matter what decile school you are at.

    I’ve probably just taken this the wrong way, but it would be great is someone could explain to me the dichotomy in that theory. For what it’s worth, I’m a university graduate earning less than the average wage.

    • m_c 37.1

      Sorry – I should have clarified that I can’t understand how one can argue for more university education but make judgements reagarding any financial success that is the outcome…. I wasn’t arguing anyone who goes to university immediately becomes a “rich prick” or making any sweeping judgements! 🙂

  38. Redbaiter 38

    “how he turns every thread into a discussion about him.”

    Except I don’t. Read the thread for chrissakes. There’s half a dozen posts here that saying nothing about interest on student loans but are totally focused on Redbaiter. Its the left who are so weirdly obsessed. Tell them to focus on the issue or STFU. As you have once already IIRC.

    “Correction redbaiter, this was a thread on education. Now, it’s a thread about you.”

    ..and if it is, its because you with your arrogant codescending compulsion to control, made it so. Two posts so far and not a word on the issue.

    • Pascal's bookie 38.1

      So, this guy turns up to a pot luck dinner and starts wanking into the butter chicken.

      Everyone gets all up in in face and calling him names and shit.

      Some people start getting a bit tempted towards a bit of the old violence, others reckon the guy should just fuck off so the rest of the peeps can try and recover something out of the evening. Others still are more fixated on who this tosser is, why is he here, and why the fuck is he spilling his worthless seed into what would otherwise have been a nourishing and tasty meal.

      If the onanistic reprobate then starts crying and whinging that everyone should “Stop talking about me and just have a bloody bowl of curry for chrissake”, I reckon the gathering is justified in lynching his arse, or at the very least, dis-inviting the boring, self-centered, whiney arsed fool on a more or less permanent basis.

  39. keith 39

    hahahahaha !! I would like to take the credit for so successfully winding up old frothy chops red baiter in this thread. You know you’ve really got him on the hook when he starts spewing lines like: “suffocating left wing totalitarianism” and “repugnant Stal*n*st evil”.
    Can’t you just see him seething at his pc? eyes bloodshot, veins popping out on his forehead, angry spittle jettisons from his slavering lips as he relentlessy mashs the keyboard with stubby violent fingers.
    The truth is he serves as a useful reminder of just how completely nutty those on the far right can be.

    • higherstandard 39.1

      “The truth is he serves as a useful reminder of just how completely nutty those on the far right can be.”

      About as nutty as those on the far left methinks.

  40. Redbaiter 40

    zzzzz… yawn.. zzzzzzzzz

    Don’t worry losers, I’d be frustrated too if I couldn’t answer a simple question like why apprentices should pay the interest on loans taken out by their intellectual inferiors.

  41. calltoaccount 41

    Redbaiter: Two posts on education, and then look what happens. One post by you about you, and it’s all on again.

    Cut back the losers, inferiors, etc etc stuff, before you FC someone and get banned. That’s what I reckon.

  42. Redbaiter 42

    “Redbaiter: Two posts on education,”

    That’s three from you and all on Redbaiter. Go away bore, I’ve had condescending sermonising small minded dickwads like you hounding me for years. I’m bullet proof. Address the issue or STFU.

  43. calltoaccount 43

    Redbaiter: This will be the last from me on this thread, I think you have got the message. But don’t worry, I’ll be checking the others to see if you are behaving yourself. If not, believe me, there will be more from me on you.

    I have a real appetite for tasks like this, and I imagine the moderators need the help.

    Remember, stay on topic by showing some respect and not dragging the debate down to a slanging match. That way you’ll have a better chance of dodging the bullets and staying alive.

    [lprent: The moderators are perfectly capable of moderating the site. Beware than I am a jealous BOFH, and a zealot on protecting the rights in the system (ie mostly mine, the moderators, and writers). I think that you’re presuming a bit more that you can actually claim. ]

  44. Edna 44

    Do you fire bullets at each other at this blog? Staying alive was a Bee Gees song that Heather plays all the time.

  45. the sprout 45

    Is it that you can’t see you’ve been nailed RB, or is it that you just can’t let go?
    Poor sad man.

  46. Redbaiter 46

    “Is it that you can’t see you’ve been nailed RB,”

    No I can’t see that Sprout. As usual all I see is a horde of leftists asserting it, and given how objective that judgment would be, I think its shows mental weakness on your behalf to think it even remotely worthy of posting here.

    Again, if you can get over the arrogant condescending lectures, and the threats, and the worthless judgments-

    Anyone ready to tell me why apprentices should pay the interest on the loans of university students who are probably their intellectual inferior?

    • the sprout 46.1

      Thanks for that confirmation Redbaited.

      All that remains to be clarified now is why you dwell where you are unwelcome.
      Do you see yourself as a saviour of lost souls?

      [lprent: He has as much right to be here as anyone else – at least if he stays within the moderating bounds]

  47. RedLogix 47

    Anyone ready to tell me why apprentices should pay the interest on the loans of university students?

    You seem to forget that most apprentices also have a polytech study component of their apprenticeship, and likely also end up with one of those interest free student loans you are getting so anxious about.

    Almost every trade, technical specialty, or profession,demands some form of tertiary study these days. It’s far from just University Students who have student loans.

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  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    21 hours ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    22 hours ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    23 hours ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    1 day ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    2 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    2 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    2 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    2 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    3 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    3 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    5 days ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    5 days ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    6 days ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    6 days ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    6 days ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago
  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    1 week ago
  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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 ...
    1 week ago
  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    1 week ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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