Right turns a blind eye to middle NZ

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 16th, 2010 - 62 comments
Categories: class war, gst, poverty - Tags: , ,

Having decided to do a post about politics for once, National Party pollster David Farrar attacked The Standard and No Right Turn over our pieces on the distribution of income and how low and middle income people won’t be getting promised compensation for GST increases from National:

“The Standard have made the same mistake also. You see in New Zealand, we have these things called families and households. What No Right Turn sees as a mass of poor people who will be unaffected by tax cuts, are spouses, older children, many students and even parents of those who do earn more than $23,000 a year, or even $48,000 a year.

If a family has one parent earning $60,000 a year, and one on $15,000 part-time, they both benefit from a change to the 33% tax rate. Because they are a family!!”

Hear that ladies? (implicitly, you’re the parent on the low income in this Farrar’s scenario) You don’t need a tax cut to compensate for the increased GST you’re paying with your income because your husband got a tax cut! As long as you have a wealthy husand, you’re no worse off. Whoo!

Key made similar comments on Q+A but it doesn’t stack up. Key promised that no-one would be worse off because of the hike in GST to pay for income tax cuts. That means all taxpayers need to get an offsetting income tax cut, whether they have a sugar daddy or not.

Key and Farrar want us to believe there isn’t a huge lower and middle class of people scraping by who are set to be hammered by a GST increase in a time of rising unemployment and stangnating wages. The poor, they say, aren’t really poor because they’re living with well-off people. Well, I don’t know about you, but my experience tells me that high-income people tend to live together and poor people tend to live together.

Anyway, the best bit is when Farrar concludes:

“So ignore the stupid stats and graphs about individual incomes. They are relevant to academic theory, rather than the real world. Household Family income is what affects most people”

I’ve been waiting for him to say that:


(graph is blocky because the source data is by decile. assumed uniform distribution of households within deciles and gradual trail-off in top decile)

50% of households have total incomes of less than $64,000. There are 365,000 households of two or more people getting by on a total income of less than $52,000. All these people, these one to two million people, will be worse off when National raises GST but doesn’t cut the bottom tax rate.

Whether you look at individual incomes or household incomes, the story is the same. The Right is blind to Middle New Zealand and the incomes we live on. Their only concern is tax cuts for the rich few, and we will be forced to pick up the bill.

62 comments on “Right turns a blind eye to middle NZ ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. prism 1
    16 February 2010 at 10:05 am

    ” Well, I don’t know about you, but my experience tells me that high-income people tend to live together and poor people tend to live together.”

    Yes they are different strata of society. They meet in different bars at the opposite ends of town. In fact they tend not to meet much at all. Access to money or not, makes a large disconnect, can happen in families – the poor relation etc.

    The fact that to get a comfortable household income both parents have to work while they are raising children, means a lot less time spent in parenting and a lot more time in front of tv or videogames as child minder and pacifier.

    Choice and opportunity to stay home when needed, and be in the work force when one wishes would be a fine thing. Not to be forced to get ‘out’ there and then have ignorant commentators gloss over the problems of balancing the two roles parenting and paid work, by just comparing household income levels.
    They actually need to be divided into deciles with households listed by both primary income earner (male or female) with joint household earnings being a comparative listing or something.

  2. Lee Paterson 2
    16 February 2010 at 11:02 am

    The amazing thing is that Key sold himself as centrist so well when lobbying for our votes. I have a lot of (possibly misguided) young friends who honestly thought that they would be better off tax-wise under National. They expected cuts in income tax.

    Well, here is the leopard showing it’s spots. conservative government will always favour business and upper level wage earners, as it truly believes this is the best way to a strong economy. And it will always sacrifice the underclass population to do it.

    I’m a socialist, so I am personally prepared to pay MORE tax… and I’m “fortunate” enough that the current taxation plans are likely to benefit me directly.

    The downside of a more financially-polarised income base? – a bigger gap between the haves, and the have-nots…
    Result? – more crime, more discontent with government systems from the lower classes, and more actions of diminished responsibility from those ignored masses.

    The “country” may well end up on aggregate to be more wealthy… but the society will be weaker.

  3. randal 3
    16 February 2010 at 11:11 am

    right on the nail martyg. national mp’s in the house have stopped using the pie chart metaphor and now use the cake metaphor. they ate all the pies and now they want all the cake.

  4. Fisiani 4
    16 February 2010 at 11:53 am

    “Key promised that no-one would be worse off because of the hike in GST to pay for income tax cuts.”

    No he did not…… Stop inventing a myth.

    If you are in the top 10% of earners and avoiding tax you will be worse off.
    If you have taken advantage of the broken the system using Trust vehicles to write off losses and claim depreciation you will be worse off (like so many tax bludgers on the Labour side of the House).

    [lprent: Where is the link? I’m pretty sure that he didn’t add the qualifiers. I suspect that you did. ]

    • Mac1 4.1
      16 February 2010 at 1:19 pm

      Fisiani, here is a link in which Key states, “The vast bulk will be better off”, lower-income New Zealanders would be “compensated” and the killer for you “on purely GST/personal tax cuts no-one is worse off on the numbers I’ve seen most recently.” The last ‘quote’ is my paraphrase in which Key covers himself by saying that it’s not been decided yet.

      The link is Visible text

      The dialogue is about half way through. You won’t mind listening to a few minutes of John Key.

      Now, please can you supply the links I have asked for? Fair’s fair.

    • Fisiani 4.2
      16 February 2010 at 1:20 pm

      Where is the link to say that he said NO ONE will be worse off. There simply isn’t one. Just another straw man myth.

      • felix 4.2.1
        16 February 2010 at 1:48 pm

        As has already been pointed out to you,

        8 minutes 36 seconds into the mp3 Mac1 linked to:

        John Key: “I can’t say everyone’s better off but on a purely GST/personal tax cut sort of offset, on the numbers that I’ve most recently seen, no-one’s worse off and most people are better off.”

        Happy?

      • felix 4.2.2
        16 February 2010 at 2:19 pm

        ….aaaaaand he just repeated it in the house. Just now.

        • zugzug 4.2.2.1
          16 February 2010 at 2:54 pm

          lol @ Fisiani… you just got pwned…

          [lprent: That is a BAD word around here and one I associate with someone trying to start a flamewar. I’d suggest (strongly) that you desist from saying it rather urgently before I remove the source of infection. The idea is to have a debate, and not claim victories. All sides are usually wrong to some degree or another and you can’t win bugger all – apart from getting an annoyed BOFH focusing on you. ]

  5. r0b 5
    16 February 2010 at 12:00 pm

    Farrar: “You see in New Zealand, we have these things called families and households.”

    Pompous git. Thanks for handing him his ass Marty.

  6. dave 6
    16 February 2010 at 12:00 pm

    There are 365,000 households of two or more people getting by on a total income of less than $52,000. All these people, these one to two million people, will be worse off when National raises GST but doesn’t cut the bottom tax rate.

    No not all these people, because you have not taken into account that National is going to raise benefits, super and student allowances and WFF to compensate. If they do compensate they are not going to be worse off directly due to an increase in GST. What I`d like to know is how childless working low income couples will not be worse off. So far Key has not told us. Even income splitting for tax purposes will not do the trick for couples who earn similar amounts, say $35k each..

  7. TightyRighty 7
    16 February 2010 at 12:36 pm

    really? there are less than 1000 households on more than $149,000? I know at least 100 people on more than that, in wellington, so how can that be true?

    • gitmo 7.1
      16 February 2010 at 12:51 pm

      Yep seems a bit odd to me as well when there’d be almost no salaried medical specialist, or barrister and I sure there’s other professions that could be named where the indivdual salary is well over that level.

      • Pascal's bookie 7.1.1
        16 February 2010 at 12:56 pm

        less than 1000 households on more than $149,000?

        Who’s claiming that?

        • TightyRighty 7.1.1.1
          16 February 2010 at 4:58 pm

          um, the graph that this whole article appears to be based upon. or did you just decide to jump on in and try and discredit my observation. looks like another discredited hockey stick graph to me now.

          • Bright Red 7.1.1.1.1
            16 February 2010 at 5:12 pm

            Tighty can’t read a simple graph. Oh dear.

            • felix 7.1.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2010 at 5:27 pm

              Not graphs – Tighty can’t read simple numbers.

              Hey Tighty, we usually read a 3 digit number to be hundreds, tens, ones – not hundreds, ones, tens.

            • TightyRighty 7.1.1.1.1.2
              16 February 2010 at 5:35 pm

              my mistake. mis read it indeed. saw $149 where it reads $194. tax cuts help everyone, and consumption tax encourages saving and investment. the basic tenents of that remain the same. only socialists and idiots (socialists) think otherwise

              • Draco T Bastard …
                16 February 2010 at 7:21 pm

                Those basic tenets that you have so much faith in have been disproved for decades.

                http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1692027,00.html
                Virtually every economics Ph.D. who has worked in a prominent role in the Bush Administration acknowledges that the tax cuts enacted during the past six years have not paid for themselves–and were never intended to. Harvard professor Greg Mankiw, chairman of Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2003 to 2005, even devotes a section of his best-selling economics textbook to debunking the claim that tax cuts increase revenues.

                The Laffer curve is, quite simply, a joke.

                What you’ve said is just more of a the usual delusional rightward spin that we’ve come to expect from you. The only people getting a tax cut are people with incomes over $200k – everyone else will have their taxes increased to pay for them.

    • Pat 7.2
      16 February 2010 at 12:55 pm

      It can’t be true. In my small advisory business I could compile a list of over 100 clients with household incomes over $149K.

    • kaplan 7.3
      16 February 2010 at 12:56 pm

      Which figures are you looking at?
      The graph shows around 8000 households at $154,000 and many more above that.
      The source data shows a total of 161,000 at $150,000 +
      Comprehend graphs and stats much???

    • b 7.4
      16 February 2010 at 5:10 pm

      I don’t know a single household on more than 80 000 where i live. Maybe you move in wealthy circles tightyrighty lol.

  8. indiana 8
    16 February 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Just out of interest, if a group of 3 people flat together and for argument’s sake all are on $40k per annum, are they considered to be one of the 10,000 or so households earning $120k per annum?

    • Gosman 8.1
      16 February 2010 at 1:00 pm

      I would think so. Why do you ask?

      I presume these people are flatting together to get some benefit from the arrangement such as lower costs versus if they flatted on their own.

      • indiana 8.1.1
        16 February 2010 at 1:19 pm

        So would they be worse off or better off with a rise in GST and lower taxes? I guess I have the view that the people in an household are codependent on each other. In a flatting situation all their incomes are not pooled together and then discretionary spending money is handed out

        • felix 8.1.1.1
          16 February 2010 at 1:38 pm

          Outgoings are pooled though so flatmates are dependent on each other in as far as each is helping each other to lower their cost of living.

  9. Olwyn 9
    16 February 2010 at 1:26 pm

    Thanks Marty G for bringing facts to bear on things: much public dialogue suggests that anyone who counts for anything is well off, and if you claim otherwise we will relegate you to the underclass. The supermarket shelves late at night tell a different story, being for the most part depleted of budget bread, pasta and cans of tomatoes. It is so good to see the actual figures.

    • TightyRighty 9.1
      16 February 2010 at 5:00 pm

      but they are not actual figures. there has been some manipulation in them if you look at it closely? or can you only count pasta and cans of tomatoes?

      • Bright Red 9.1.1
        16 February 2010 at 5:07 pm

        “less than 1000 households on more than $149,000?”

        that’s not what the graph says you retard.

        Bother to check the source: the top 10% of households (that’s 160,000 households) have incomes over $150,000. Now, we can’t know how that is distributed but it’s fair to assume it’s a gradual decline, which is what marty explains he did in the post.

        The post clear has nearly 10,000 households at $150,000 and fewer each income block above that.

        • TightyRighty 9.1.1.1
          16 February 2010 at 5:45 pm

          fuck off BR. we know your bludging socialist agenda. i did mis read the graph. it certainly looks like $149 at the far right of the x axis, but on closer inspection i can see i was wrong. i can still think of over 50 individuals on over $200k, and i’m sure there are plenty more i don’t know about. still fairly certain the data is wrong, even taking into account my misinterpretation.

          of course these wealthy people are all scabs, how dare they take risks, educate themselves and become wealthy while other layabouts aren’t rich. goddam i hate those rich pricks, but it’s not envy, it’s because it’s against my beliefs for some people to have more than others, and me. even if those others won’t help themselves. ah socialism, never worked, never will.

          • felix 9.1.1.1.1
            16 February 2010 at 5:54 pm

            It doesn’t really matter what any of the stats say though does it?

            You hang out with rich people so everyone must be rich and that’s all there is to it.

            And with no way to defend your absurd position in the face of all available evidence (yep all, you haven’t provided any) you call people s0cialists instead.

            • TightyRighty 9.1.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2010 at 6:21 pm

              i don’t necessarily hang out with rich people. but i do know some. what evidence? the bull shit trotted out here as reasons the electorate rejected your views? hate to say it, but i’m not alone in thinking that you’ve got it all wrong, and i’m also not alone thinking we are heading in the right direction.

              • Marty G …
                16 February 2010 at 6:23 pm

                mate, there’s a corner over there if you want to have a cry about it.

                Take a book about learning to read graphs over there with you.

          • Marty G 9.1.1.1.2
            16 February 2010 at 6:14 pm

            Jesus Tighty. You wouldn’t pass the national standard would you? You can’t even read a bloody graph. It clearly shows 8,000 households are $150,000 and many thousands above. As BR notes, I assuemd a gradual rate of decline because the upper limite for the upper decile isn’t given.

            Your rant at BR is priceless but maybe you wouldn’t be so upset if you hadn’t made such a complete cowpat of yourself in the first place.

            With your maths skills, you would fit right in with Bill English.

            “it certainly looks like $149 at the far right of the x axis”

            no it doesn’t, it says $194,000. And that’s not the upper limit, obviously. The graph just stops at $200,000 because the numbers by that stage are so small and there’s no upper limit

            • TightyRighty 9.1.1.1.2.1
              16 February 2010 at 6:28 pm

              i admitted i made a mistake earlier you unctuous twat. of course lets pillory those who make mistakes, like john key. or how about taito phillip field, ruth dyson etc etc? the worst thing about the left, they never see when they make mistakes, and then wonder why everyone calls them unctuous twats and corrput.

              • Marty G …
                16 February 2010 at 6:41 pm

                It’s just funny you know. I come on and there’s you making a half dozen highly sure of yourself comments alleging I’ve doctored the figures and it turns out you just can’t read a graph. Can’t blame a guy for enjoying himself.

                And watch the abusive terms to authors.

  10. prosaic 10
    16 February 2010 at 5:17 pm

    I haven’t had time to read all the comments here but being glib by callingthe husbands of low-income women who choose to stay at home with their pre-school kids rather than earn a full-time salary “sugar daddies” is not the way to establish this particular point against Farrar, Key and the like. Your argument would have been strong without that particular comment. Maybe there are more of these “ladies” with “sugar Daddies” amongst your readership than you imagine. Don’t insult them.

  11. b 11
    16 February 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Jk did say he will raise benefits & wff so if he compensates adequate amount many households will be ok. But low income people without children and students who don’t qualify for student allowance who support themselves wth part time work are screwed.

    • blinded by the right 11.1
      16 February 2010 at 5:40 pm

      so not much changes then. They’ll be used to the feeling.

    • TightyRighty 11.2
      16 February 2010 at 5:48 pm

      which is why WFF is discriminatory as i have argued before. that money should be used to provide tax cuts to low earners, rather than reaping it then handing it back (minus the cut that bureaucracy takes off course)

      • b 11.2.1
        16 February 2010 at 7:38 pm

        I don’t agree – before wff far more children lived in poverty – it should stay. But key shouldnt pretend everyone will be compensated when its not true.

  12. Descendant Of Smith 12
    16 February 2010 at 7:14 pm

    Of course it’s discriminatory. It’s meant to be. Ummm if you don’t have kids you don’t get it.

    Discriminatory is a red herring.

    What you are really saying is that help shouldn’t be provided to people with kids cause those without kids can’t get it.

    Which then leads to you shouldn’t have kids without being able to afford it.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again if you don’t have kids and replenish the population you’re a selfish self serving snot. I don’t see why my kids should work for you, serve you in the shops, wipe your bum when you get old. You’ve chosen not to contribute to the population and begrudge any support that those who have get. You portray having children as a selfish act when the reverse is true.

    In the real world most people have children when they are young, before they are economically established. Given the real reduction in wages in NZ through the 80’s they need support then and I for one am happy for them to have it.

  13. prism 13
    16 February 2010 at 9:37 pm

    Don’t think DoS is being sarcastic. He’s being passionate about the importance of having children to individuals and the nation. He is presenting the hard facts that parents, particularly young ones face.

    There seems to be a regular anti WFF line that comes through, partly on the basis that it doesn’t target only the very poor. Those who have studied social policy dynamics know that society is more accepting of welfare being available to those who most need it, if there is assistance available to the better off when there are stresses on their purse, and providing children’s needs is indeed costly.

    Also there is the administrative point. It is not as expensive to administer a universal scheme with perhaps income steps, than if people have to apply and be screened with interviews, paperwork etc to see if they are eligible.

    Personally I think it is nauseating to read some of the resentful comments about parents and children and resenting assistance to their parents in any way. It is like hating life, like being so sophisticated that such people have forgotten what life and being a human involves.

    • Quoth the Raven 13.1
      16 February 2010 at 10:03 pm

      Do you really think the world’s population of near 7 billion needs everyone to contribute?

      Is it really your opinion that people who don’t have children are selfish? Do you think gay couples who don’t have children are just ‘selfish snots’? You should know your gracious host on this site is childfree.

      Personally I think it is nauseating to read vitriolic comments propounding heteronormative and conservative family-centric values about the importance of being a breeder.

      I myself plan to remain childfree like the selfish libertine I am.

  14. pollywog 14
    16 February 2010 at 11:26 pm

    “Do you really think the world’s population of near 7 billion needs everyone to contribute?”

    you might find this interesting…or not

    “Too many of whom, and too much of what?”
    What the new population hysteria tells us about the global economic and environmental crisis, and its causes.
    http://dustormagic.net/NOII/TooManyOfWhomJan10.html

    • Quoth the Raven 14.1
      16 February 2010 at 11:47 pm

      No, I don’t find that confused little piece interesting. My comment wasn’t on overpopulation it was on the perceived necessity for reproduction in Smith’s comment and the worldview it presents.

      As to that piece I don’t support any coercive measures to stem population growth and I support completely open borders. In fact I don’t support the stupid notion of borders or nation-states in the first place.

      If they can find a way of doing capitalism in which “we’ really does mean “all of us’ and “equality’ means just that, we will welcome it with open arms: they will have achieved socialism.

      They have it’s called the free market. You might find that interesting 🙂

      • pollywog 14.1.1
        17 February 2010 at 10:43 am

        Wigga please… ah ain’t readin all that shit 🙂

        I’s all reality and no theory and what i know is aint nuthin free bout the market. You gots to pay if you wants to play. It’s like, Polynesians aren’t socialist, capitalist, left or right. We got our own systems and ways of dealing with shit…ya feel me ? and it carries over from generation to generation! It’s that whole ‘take the boy outta the jungle but you can’t take the jungle outta the boy’ steez.

        So y’all can turn a blind eye to whats goin on in the street and in the hood but all them jobless younguns out there grindin and hustlin on the real aint nuthin to be fucked with and sooner or later they’s gonna rise up and there wont be enough jails to hold em. Sheeeit, we cain’t all be playin sports and rap singin. Sure a playa needs sum book learnin but that shit costs and we is some broke ass n*ggas.

        Here, let me break it down for ya. Idle hand make the devil’s work and all that handiwork ain’t invisible if you know whats to look for. Jesus aint gonna save us…..nahm sayin ?

        Apologies for the vernacular i’m just catching up on ‘The Wire’ but the sentiment stands

  15. prism 15
    17 February 2010 at 10:40 am

    QtR
    So do nothing, let it all happen, let humanity be swept away by the power of the free market focussed on its goals of piling up material things which can include bodies of people and animals and their homes when there are extreme breakdowns in society.

    • Quoth the Raven 15.1
      17 February 2010 at 12:06 pm

      prism – The free market doesn’t have goals. People have goals. We are the market you me and the market is only an aspect of society not society itself.

      The market makes a perfect totalizing enemy: it is impersonal, has no particular location and legitimates itself through a myriad of democratic practices of buying and selling. . . . The problem is that . . . the market is a democratic institution aggregating the decisions of whomever participates in it. When all is said and done, complaints about the market are nothing but complaints about the people themselves.

      Paul Piccone

      If you want to look at consumerism and mass production you should examine the state’s role in their development. Try this for starters – Mass-Production industry as a Statist construct

  16. Descendant Of Smith 16
    17 February 2010 at 6:55 pm

    Quoth The Raven – keep my comments in context. I am responding to ongoing comments that assistance to families with children is unfair on those who don’t have children and the other conclusions that lead from this about only having children when and if you can afford them.

    It would be great if employers paid everyone enough – or the cost of goods were low enough that people could afford to raise a family without state assistance but sadly this is not the case.

    If the gay couple ( who could have children if they so wished – their are ways and means ) were being as critical of help being provided to these families on the basis of I don’t have kids I can’t get it then indeed I would consider them selfish snots.

    You raised the issue of the current world’s population when the context is in relation to NZ’s aging population and the children in this country. These children are our future citizens / workers / employees / employers / artists / singers and so on. Of course their are always those who rise above poverty and abuse and hardship to thrive / survive but many do not. Trying to endure they are at least well fed and provided for and educated and feel part of everyday society – the world they live in – at last lifts the prospect of them becoming good citizens later on.

    The alternative is eventually throwing them in jail.

    In the absence of a clear policy to have immigration as a means of looking after our aged population then clearly replenishing our population is the other viable option. I’m excluding such aspects as euthanasia / exporting them ( you know like Japan does with old cars ) / accepting a lower standard of living and so on. I also happen to favour looking after our own children first.

    The language used reflects quite clearly how I feel about the language used against people with families and people on benefit. Too often these labels go unchallenged e.g. bludger so throwing some labels back now and then I don’t see as a problem.

    Lastly in dealing with reality people do have children, they do have them young and it takes a society to raise them not just the parents. We either value them or we don’t. They have little choice in the matter.

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    18 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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

  • Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére Sosou Market gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • At a time of media turmoil, Melissa had nothing to proclaim as Minister – and now she has been dem...
    Buzz from the Beehive   Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    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
    8 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
    8 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
    10 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
    16 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
    16 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
    18 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
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