Resignationwatch: constraints

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 6th, 2012 - 61 comments
Categories: act, john banks, john key - Tags:

Banks is deadmeat. It’s just a matter of time before Key gives him the boot. Politically, he must. He has grounds, even on the limited ‘ethics while a minister’ test he has created. We’re now just waiting for something sufficiently new that Key can use it as justification for an about face. Then comes the question of a by-election. And that’s where it gets tricky for Key.

Clearly, the Right has no interest in Banks hanging around when he’s no longer a minister – he’s not doing anything useful, he’s a continuing source of embarrassment to the government, and he’s taking the place someone with a future could fill. Better to have a by-election.

Things could get really interesting if Banks stayed but left ACT, even joining the Conservatives. It would be the ultimate kick in the guts for ACT, but I don’t see it happening.

Now, unless there’s a three-way shit fight between National, Catherine Isaac for ACT, and Colin Craig for the Conservatives, I can’t see a Labour candidate winning. In fact, the only reason to stand one would be to get a platform to embarrass Key. So, the result of any by-election will ultimately leave the balance of the House unchanged – with the important caveat that Craig would vote against asset sales (in the long-run, getting Colins in might not be worth that initial gain for the Left because it would give National a desperately needed partner).

What matters is the three months where the seat of Epsom would sit empty between Banks resigning and a new member being sworn in – leaving 60 v 60 on rightwing policies, which would cause legislation to fail. National can’t afford to have its agenda in hiatus for three months right now – it needs to pass the Budget, the asset sales law, and the SkyCity deal, amongst other things that the Maori Party won’t vote for.

It’s not as easy, as Matt McCarten suggests, as waiting until the day after Budget Day. While the Budget legislation will be introduced to the House on 24th of May, that is only the beginning of a lengthy process. The Budget debate (technically, the second reading of the Appropriations (Estimates) Bill) goes on for a couple of dozen hours of House sitting time. There’s only 20 hours of sitting time in a sitting week – with recess and all the other things the House does, last year it took three weeks just for the Budget debate to end. Then, the individual Votes (parts of the Budget like Health and Education) are considered by the responsible select committees, and the Budget goes back to the House for two more rounds of debate. Last year’s Budget didn’t actually finally pass until August the 12th – 3 months after it was introduced.

If Banks was going to hold on that long, he may as well hold on until December, just like Pansy Wong did. That way most of the time the Epsom seat would be empty would be while the House was risen over summer.

So, I reckon we won’t see a by-election until the end of the year, or the start of 2013. Given that Key can’t afford to have a by-election earlier, how will he keep Banks from resigning? Leaving him as a minister would be one option but that’s going to get more and more politically damaging. It is already becoming all about Key, all about his weakness and lack of principles. Just firing him risks an early resignation. So – and this shouldn’t be surprising any more of this government – we’ll see some kind of dirty deal.

61 comments on “Resignationwatch: constraints ”

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  1. marsman 1
    6 May 2012 at 9:48 am

    Here’s John Key of the Nasty Party:

    Twitch there Mr Key? – YouTube

  2. Lanthanide 2
    6 May 2012 at 10:12 am

    “leaving 60 v 60 on rightwing policies,”

    Or, more correctly, leaving 60 v 60 on policies the Maori Party decided to vote against. They could still abstain and allow a 60 vs 57 passage.

    They have passed, and will pass, many more rightwing policies in the future. Most notably the last 3 budgets and the next 3.

  3. Nick K 3
    6 May 2012 at 10:13 am

    Wishful thinking.

  4. james 111 4
    6 May 2012 at 10:32 am

    Why would Maori abstain when the tirbes want to buy significant portions of the Partial SOE sales for their investment portfolios, and good on them I say a wise investment choice

    • Lanthanide 4.1
      6 May 2012 at 10:55 am

      Because the MP want to give Maori preferential treatment in the asset sales, which at the moment they aren’t getting.

  5. Pete George 5
    6 May 2012 at 10:37 am

    He has grounds, even on the limited ‘ethics while a minister’ test he has created.

    So all you have for sure on Banks is his ballsing up of the gotcha play on him? That’s weak, and dirty politics. It’s got nothing to do with holding government to account,m it’s trying to defeat a key MP and defeat a governem after failing at the election.

    I see you are promoting a by election. When Mallard says he wants Banks to stay for the full term is he lying?

    • felix 5.1
      6 May 2012 at 10:42 am

      “So all you have for sure on Banks is his ballsing up of the gotcha play on him?”

      Are you serial?

    • Lanthanide 5.2
      6 May 2012 at 11:00 am

      “I see you are promoting a by election. When Mallard says he wants Banks to stay for the full term is he lying?”

      Why would he be? Any by-election in Epsom is 98% likely to mean business as usual for this government. The ~3 month window of losing Banks’ vote ultimately won’t harm the government’s agenda much at all, whereas Banks staying put for the entire term is very likely to reduce National’s vote at the next election, all but guaranteeing the left a victory.

  6. captain hook 6
    6 May 2012 at 11:02 am

    msn homepage this am.
    Epsom has had enough of carpetbagger banks.
    Looks like his scumming around is over.

  7. James N 7
    6 May 2012 at 11:03 am

    Even if Key were driven to relieve Banks of his ministerial portfolios, there is no guarantee Banks would consequently resign his seat. Key cannot kick him out of Parliament, and Banks would probably have the chutzpah/arrogance and delusions of a change in fortune to stay on the crossbenches probably still supporting the Nat agenda until the next general election.

    Incidentally does his appearance in those glasses and the whiny one-liners remind anyone else of a bad Woody Allen (albeit without the wit)?

    • Pascal's bookie 7.1
      6 May 2012 at 11:30 am

      Even if Key were driven to relieve Banks of his ministerial portfolios, there is no guarantee Banks would consequently resign his seat.

      Indeed James.

      Here’s what Hooten was saying about that in the NBR:

      In considering his options this week, Mr Key knew that had Mr Banks resigned from Parliament or gone feral on the backbench, Bill English would not have had a majority for his budget without the Maori Party.

      Those associated with Mr Banks since he entered Parliament in 1981 say there is no way he would have passively accepted a sacking. He has endured too many ups and downs to go down without a fight. To his mantra this week “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” could be added “nothing to lose.”

      http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/matthew-hooton-key-forced-to-protect.html

      Now that’s obviously an indictment on Mr Banks, who was elected purely on a platform of supporting Key. It’s also worth bearing in mind just how many right wing commenters have said that banks should be stepped down, when we hear the PM saying that it’s really not necessary.

  8. Draco T Bastard 8
    6 May 2012 at 11:16 am

    Matt McCarten figures that Key will drop Banks after the budget:-

    But the other reason that Key will keep fudging this sordid story is that he needs Banks’ vote in Parliament on May 24 to get his Budget through. If Banks resigns, the Government will have to rely totally on the Maori Party to pass it. Having Tariana Turia holding Key to ransom isn’t something his Government could survive.

    So for the next 19 days, Key will wear the fallout and hope his reputation isn’t too damaged.

    However, on May 25, Banks’ usefulness is over. Key may well decide to cut his losses and sack Banks – hoping to force a by-election in Epsom.

    Which could possibly be true. It’s not as if National are held up by scruples or anything.

  9. Jenny 9
    6 May 2012 at 11:38 am

    Banks is deadmeat.

    EDDIE

    ACT is dead meat. leaving the Nats. to scramble around for another “Right Wing” support party.

    The most likely candidate in Epsom being the Conservatives.

    • RobertM 9.1
      6 May 2012 at 3:22 pm

      The real oil on John Banks is in the Micheal Basset book review of the Goldsmith biography of John Banks. And I apologise in putting it up in reply to ‘Jenny’ who is one of the finer spirits on the Standard. But Micheal Basset’s conclusions have always been mine. To me Banks was Muldoons final insult to the old National of the Professional classes when they had ,One son in the Church, One in Law, One In Medicine, One in the Nat Cabinet.

  10. Jenny 10
    6 May 2012 at 11:46 am

    Will there be another tea party (or other such public stunt), where Colin Craig instead of John Banks will receive the Key papal blessing?

    Will the electorate put up with it?

    What should the left do?

  11. KJT 11
    6 May 2012 at 11:54 am

    While I have no time for Banks in this, what about innocent until proven guilty. for Dotcom.

    For once I find myself in agreement with Hide.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10803744
    “Our Government should have stood up for Dotcom as a New Zealand resident and simply told the US Government to prove it. Dotcom would still be in business and other digital entrepreneurs would be attracted to New Zealand for the lifestyle and for a government that sticks up for its people”.

    • Draco T Bastard 11.1
      6 May 2012 at 12:18 pm

      This government does stand up for its people it’s just that its people isn’t NZers but rich people/corporations, usually foreign.

    • Jenny 11.2
      6 May 2012 at 12:25 pm

      Hear, hear.

      Over the top para-military treatment of the accused Dotcom at the behest of a foreign power.

      Secrecy and extra judicial sentencing of an accused legal New Zealand resident, the punishment being summary deportation as the sentence.

      Justice and open democracy is not being served here.

      The US government should have had to file their case and to put up their evidence in a court just like everyone else.

      Will this government uphold the rule of law?

      Will this government support the sanctity of the individual right to a fair trial?

      Or will they submit to the most venal right wing instinct to smother due process?

      • Draco T Bastard 11.2.1
        6 May 2012 at 1:08 pm

        Will this government uphold the rule of law?

        Nope, rue of law would mean that they would be accountable as well and they can’t have that if they want to continue to strip NZ of its wealth.

        Will this government support the sanctity of the individual right to a fair trial?

        Nope, else Ambrose would not have been found guilty without a trail.

        Or will they submit to the most venal right wing instinct to smother due process?

        That’s what they’ve been doing for quite some time now.

        • Jenny 11.2.1.1
          6 May 2012 at 3:15 pm

          No wonder Dotcom is pissed with Banks then. This so called leader of the so called party of the Libertarian Right is not interested in defending individual rights even for a friend. In his our of need instead Banks chose to disown his friend Dotcom.

          This act of moral cowardice alone should be enough to condemn Banks and his party of hypocrites in the eyes of the public.

    • seeker 11.3
      6 May 2012 at 7:43 pm

      @KJT 11.54am

      “Our Government should have stood up for Dotcom as a New Zealand resident …”

      I’m sure good ol’ John Key would have stood up for Dot if only he had known who he was and that he was a resident of New Zealand residing in John’s own electorate of Helensville. What a pity John had no idea (as he said on TV3 Campbell Live on Friday 4-5-12)

      @Jenny 12.25pm

      “Will this government uphold the rule of law?”

      Of course it will (sarc.) After all that is all John Key is concerned about at the moment when it comes to his ministers and the guidance of the cabinet manual – the law, no ethics needed.

      Ethics are obviously too abstract and of such a vapid (wide) spectrum in the PM’s mind that they have magically (conveniently) been totally spun (dissipated) into the atmosphere, as usual.

      • Rodel 11.3.1
        6 May 2012 at 9:01 pm

        John Key’s statements,…..’ I have no idea’ lacks an ‘s’.

  12. Jenny 12
    6 May 2012 at 12:00 pm

    In my opinion to derail the government’s dictatorial and undemocratic over riding of parliament democracy through back door deals and manipulation.

    The left will never win in any resulting by-election in Epsom, so there is no point in even standing.

    But we may have an interest in common with the voters of Epsom in preventing manipulation and gerrymandering of their vote with secret back door electoral deals.

    The left may be best to back an independent conservative candidate.

    Someone like Gareth Morgan comes to mind.

    • Jester 12.1
      6 May 2012 at 12:50 pm

      “But we may have an interest in common with the voters of Epsom in preventing manipulation and gerrymandering of their vote with secret back door electoral deals.

      The left may be best to back an independent conservative candidate.”

      Preventing manipulation with manipulation?

      • Jenny 12.1.1
        6 May 2012 at 3:03 pm

        No. Just ensuring that even the mostly well off people get the representation that most accurately represents their view point.

        It is not uncommon in a democracy for those who disagree on almost every other issue to combine around some issue in common.

        I find it hard to believe that the majority of those in Epsom would be flattered to have people think that John Banks is representative of the people of their suburb.

  13. Jackal 13
    6 May 2012 at 12:22 pm

    Ignoring the court of public opinion

    Any credible leader would stand John Banks down until the investigation into the so-called “anonymous” donations is concluded.

    • Pete George 13.1
      6 May 2012 at 1:07 pm

      Ignoring the elephanatidae in the room.

      Mallard calls for anyone he accuses of something to stand down, leaving only the elephanatidae in the house?

      • felix 13.1.1
        6 May 2012 at 1:18 pm

        And there’s my new word for the day 😉

      • Jackal 13.1.2
        6 May 2012 at 4:26 pm

        Although I don’t like to entertain your delusions Pete George:

        I’ve pointed out before that David Shearer has spoken against the sort of “gotcha” politics that Mallard seems to be doing more than ever. But nothing is said about Mallard’s continued attacks.

        I disagree with your (and others) assertion that Trevor Mallard is undertaking Gotcha politics. Making police complaints concerning a clear breach of electoral law is not similar to making unfunded accusations like Cameron Slater for instance.

        What exactly do you think should happen? Should people just turn the other cheek and accept Banks at face value when he’s a proven liar? I don’t think so, and thankfully neither does most of the media at the moment.

        Face it Pete George, the right wing you support are largely corrupt and the public has higher moral standards… the Act party is sunk and National is taking on water. Therefore a better analogy to use is rats instead of elephants.

        • Pete George 13.1.2.1
          6 May 2012 at 4:33 pm

          Making police complaints concerning a clear breach of electoral law

          Except that it’s not a clear breach of electoral law, and he’s made a number of other accusations without any known foundation apart from “there could be something worth looking in to”.

          If he made the one police complaint and left it at that he would have been within reason, but he’s made several more accusations, including the one that Judith Collins is complaining about.

          • Jackal 13.1.2.1.1
            6 May 2012 at 4:45 pm

            You mean he commented about a letter that was sent by Michelle Boag to only four people (including Judith Collins) being leaked? Interesting that Collins has chosen not to ensure the ACC report that states Bronwyn Pullar tried to bribe them is changed. Wanting a proper inquiry into these matters is hardly Gotcha politics Pete George.

            It is a clear breach of electoral law… the only question is by whom?

  14. Robert Glennie 14
    6 May 2012 at 1:14 pm

    http://www.willsheberight.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/which-john-will-end-charade.html

    A.C.T. and Banks are finish, but I wonder who will fill the vacuum that will form on the right-wing of the New Zealand political spectrum.

  15. The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 15
    6 May 2012 at 4:05 pm

    I wish you guys would stop pretending that Colin Craig has a chance. It’s just dishonest.

    • mickysavage 15.1
      6 May 2012 at 5:26 pm

      Dunno know Gormless Fool.  What happens when ACT disappears.  Who does National go to for support?

      • Jackal 15.1.1
        6 May 2012 at 5:41 pm

        In terms of politics, I don’t think it’s such a good thing. One viable rightwing party against four leftwing parties divides support. Unless people learn to strategically vote (fat chance)… the left might need to look at amalgamation?

        • mickysavage 15.1.1.1
          6 May 2012 at 5:44 pm

          MMP dear Jackal

          Potential partners are more important than the number of seats. 

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 15.1.1.1.1
            6 May 2012 at 8:24 pm

            What happens when ACT disappears. Who does National go to for support?

            Well not Colin Craig. He is unelectable.

            • Colonial Viper 15.1.1.1.1.1
              6 May 2012 at 9:32 pm

              Has Colin stood anywhere yet? Surely he has to be electorate tested before you make that conclusion?

              • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
                7 May 2012 at 8:17 am

                Do you remember that election we had near the end of last year?

    • RobertM 15.2
      6 May 2012 at 5:50 pm

      He may be a magnet for a large range of gold diggers. After all Remuera feels like a South Island country town say Rangiora. I think on the strip, theirs one bar and possibly a resteraunt or two that serves liquor. Its about the most dry place in the country and its concievable IQ, Youth and anybody seriously sexually interesting has already left for Aus or California. Craig could concievably be found exciting here like Jorg Haider in Vienna

  16. Craig 16
    6 May 2012 at 5:13 pm

    I’m just looking forward to finally being rid of the rort wing of NZ politicks.

  17. ianmac 17
    6 May 2012 at 6:05 pm

    Remember the moment when Key hinted at dark secrets of a criminal nature which justified the rejection of a Resident, Kim Dotcom, to purchase a mansion? John Campbell called him on that. Kim realised that he had bought too many shares, so went to the authorities off his own bat, explained the problem, sold the excess shares and was fined $1,200NZ. Key unmasked had to agree. Very strange reason to block a $30,000,000 house sale. But it was Simon Power’s fault said Key, and no he can’t talk to him about that ’cause Simon has gone. Very very weird.

    • Carol 17.1
      6 May 2012 at 6:26 pm

      And yet, Andrea Vance on Stuff the next day, just repeated Key’s unsuccessful attempt to give the reason as insider trading:

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/6866642/Dotcoms-OIO-application-declined-PM

      Prime Minister John Key has confirmed Kim Dotcom’s Overseas Investment Office application was declined because of insider trading convictions in Hong Kong.

      Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson initially approved the internet tycoon’s bid to buy the $30 million Coatesville mansion he rented in April last year.

      But then justice and associate finance minister Simon Power stepped in in July and refused to finally approve the bid because of Dotcom’s convictions for insider trading in Hong Kong seven months earlier. He was fined $1250 for the offences in January 2011.

      How is buying too many shares “insider trading”?

      • ianmac 17.1.1
        6 May 2012 at 7:06 pm

        My impression Carol was that to become an Insider Trader you have an inside knowledge which gives you an unfair advantage, so you buy those shares. There must be a set limit when fewer shares is OK but if you buy more that X number you have become guilty of unlawful Insider Trading. Kim realised that the number that he bought put him over the X limit, so he “confessed” and corrected his error. They fined him anyway and the $1200NZ must be a token fine as the full blown Insider Trader can be fined heaps. (Remember when Key appeared to have an inside Knowledge and applied pressure re I think Rail Share about 6-7 years ago?)
        PS I have no Commercial knowledge or experience. I Just look for connections.

        • Carol 17.1.1.1
          6 May 2012 at 7:21 pm

          Thanks. Well, yes I thought Insider Trading meant buying shares based on insider knowledge, which gives you an unfair advantage. I just didn’t understand how that could be equated with buying too many shares.

        • Reality Bytes 17.1.1.2
          6 May 2012 at 7:36 pm

          I recon it’s very easy to cream a significant amount of profit purely off nothing other than insider trading once you reach a certain influential level.

          It doesn’t even have to be at a nation-state economy level (ala polis), cheating in big business is enough to provide very many opportunities to exploit. The only brakes on such run-away behavior is simply detection avoidance measures of such individuals.

    • mickysavage 17.2
      6 May 2012 at 7:31 pm

      Campbell did well here.  Key was going to hint at something really dark that he could not comment on but Campbell then put him straight immediately.  It is a shame he put Key straight so quickly.  He could have let Key answer and then led him on a bit before confronting him with the truth.

      I really get the feeling Campbell has something bigger to confront Key with and I hope to see it soon …

      • Anne 17.2.1
        6 May 2012 at 7:47 pm

        I really get the feeling Campbell has something bigger to confront Key with and I hope to see it soon

        I do too. Campbell seemed almost gleeful at the end of the John Key interview, but you can never be sure with him. He’s a born actor.

        Even so, I will be watching Campbell Live tomorrow night in anticipation…

    • joe90 17.3
      6 May 2012 at 7:48 pm

      I really get the feeling Campbell has something bigger to confront Key with and I hope to see it soon …

      I thought Campbells smirk and his ‘very enlightening’ comment at the conclusion of the interview hinted at more to come.

      • ianmac 17.3.1
        6 May 2012 at 7:57 pm

        Yes. Key stopped his relief giggle at as soon as Campbell said, “Enlightening.” Key stared hard for a moment and his mind went tick, tick, tick, …… As did ours! 🙂

      • Carol 17.3.2
        6 May 2012 at 8:11 pm

        It seemed to me that Campbell started to thank Key in a very friendly and flattering way he often thanks guests, then something seemed to occur to him and he hesitated, or stopped himself. So instead of finishing the effusive thank-you, all he seemed able to say was that the interview was….interesting/enlightening.

        So I don’t know if Campbell has further rabbits in his hat, but he’s left Key a little unsettled and wondering…

    • Hami Shearlie 17.4
      6 May 2012 at 11:15 pm

      Interesting that John Campbell already knew about the so-called “dark secrets” and called John Key on it! Key had to back down. Makes me think that, seeing John Campbell was a few steps ahead of Key on that subject , maybe this week Campbell will have more to reveal. Can’t wait to see if Dot.Com donated to the Nats to grease the wheels of his residency application. Campbell’s demeanor seemed to suggest that he had more in his arsenal! Brian Edwards on “The Nation” thought Key had done very well in the interview. I don’t agree. Key was caught out and exposed for exaggerating about the “dark secrets” and looked a bit deflated after that. It didn’t aid his cause to try and lay blame on Simon Power re the OIO. He hadn’t talked to Power, or anyone else involved in Dot.Com’s application to purchase the property , but he said that Simon Power was very conservative, and “this is what I think may have happened” (or words to that effect). It’s not what Key THINKS may have happened that counts, it’s what REALLY happened!

  18. Joseph Gielen 18
    6 May 2012 at 8:40 pm

    long live free media lets keep paying for public broadcasting because Key and Banks sure do not like it up em?

  19. Rodel 19
    6 May 2012 at 9:06 pm

    Eddie.
    Your comment on Banks

    ‘…..he’s not doing anything useful, he’s a continuing source of embarrassment to the government, and he’s taking the place someone with a future could fill…..’ sums up Banks in a nutshell.( pun intended) .

    Nat, ACT, Greens , Maori Party, or Labour,….. I don’t mind but Banks really is taking up space and we need someone useful.

  20. toad 20
    6 May 2012 at 9:19 pm

    Everyone is excited about the supermoon tonight, apart from John Banks. Guess that coz he is pwned by it.

  21. Jenny 21
    6 May 2012 at 9:22 pm

    Matt McCarten dissects the missteps that have led up to ACT’s downfall.

    Starting with Don Brash’s take over.

    ….. not even a party member, (Brash) offered to save Act from oblivion and take them to the dizzy heights of 15 per cent of the popular vote.

    The price was that they had to assassinate their incumbent leader.

    The idiot caucus, with the exception of MP John Boscawen, blindly swallowed the doctor’s snake-oil sales pitch and threw Hide under the bus. The doctor’s appointment of his business partner and doyen of social conservatism, John Banks, as their Epsom candidate signalled the end of any pretence of Act being a liberal, free-market vanguard…..

    I wonder if it occurred to the Act board that if they’d told Brash and Banks to disappear last year, they would probably be enjoying a resurgence with three competent true believers in Parliament: Hide, Boscawen and Catherine Isaac.

    Instead, they embarrass the Prime Minister, the Government, their supporters and expose our national politics as sleazy.

    McCarten goes on to predict the probable trajectory of this sorry chapter in New Zealand’s political history to it’s inevitable close.

    The Prime Minister’s admission that he hasn’t spoken to Banks directly, or anyone else involved, is because he needs to cover his own butt.

    John Key [also] needs to protect Banks because he needs the SkyCity pokies deal done. The hypocrisy of Banks – the anti-gambling campaigner being the deciding vote that allows 500 more pokie machines in the community – is breathtaking.

    But the other reason that Key will keep fudging this sordid story is that he needs Banks’ vote in Parliament on May 24 to get his Budget through. If Banks resigns, the Government will have to rely totally on the Maori Party to pass it. Having Tariana Turia holding Key to ransom isn’t something his Government could survive.

    So for the next 19 days, Key will wear the fallout and hope his reputation isn’t too damaged.

    However, on May 25, Banks’ usefulness is over. Key may well decide to cut his losses and sack Banks – hoping to force a by-election in Epsom. National will romp home. Having a one-MP coalition serves no purpose, anyway. Gifting Act the Epsom seat at the last election was only a benefit if Act got extra MPs from their party list. They didn’t.

    The upside for National by winning a byelection is its caucus numbers will increase by one. This negates its need for Banks and makes it much easier. No more wasted time dealing with Act, a Cabinet place opens up for one of their own, and this embarrassing distraction ends.

    To McCarten’s projection I would like to add that it is possible that National will not “romp home” in Epsom. For one reason. The National candidate for Epsom who also happens to be John Banks biographer, is also a damaged brand, being deeply involved in the rort that saw Epsom dished up to Banks.

    It is possible that after having been cynically manipulated, rather than be taken for granted again, in a byelection Epsom voters might choose an independent conservative over the unpopular and weak National candidate Paul Goldsmith.

    Enter Colin Craig. If Craig throws everything he has into it, taking into account that byelections traditionally go against the government of the day. It is quite possible that Craig could win this seat in a byelection.

    If Craig can then hold this seat through a general election and his party vote also holds up, the Conservatives could have up to 4 MPs in the next parliament possibly seeing Craig as the king maker for the next government.

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    National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    19 hours ago

  • Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Winding back the hands of history’s clock
    Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    20 hours ago

  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    23 hours ago

  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    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
    2 days ago

  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
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